81 FR 66265 - Agency Information Collection Activities; Comment Request; Measures and Methods for the National Reporting System for Adult Education

DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION

Federal Register Volume 81, Issue 187 (September 27, 2016)

In accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (44 U.S.C. chapter 3501 et seq.), ED is proposing an extension of an existing information collection.

[Federal Register Volume 81, Number 187 (Tuesday, September 27, 2016)]
[Notices]
[Pages 66265-66266]
From the Federal Register Online  [www.thefederalregister.org]
[FR Doc No: 2016-23265]


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DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION

[Docket No.: ED-2016-ICCD-0104]


Agency Information Collection Activities; Comment Request; 
Measures and Methods for the National Reporting System for Adult 
Education

AGENCY: Department of Education (ED), Office of Career, Technical, and 
Adult Education (OCTAE)

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: In accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (44 
U.S.C. chapter 3501 et seq.), ED is proposing an extension of an 
existing information collection.

DATES: Interested persons are invited to submit comments on or before 
November 28, 2016.

ADDRESSES: To access and review all the documents related to the 
information collection listed in this notice, please use http://www.regulations.gov by searching the Docket ID number ED-2016-ICCD-
0104. Comments submitted in response to this notice should be submitted 
electronically through the Federal eRulemaking Portal at http://www.regulations.gov by selecting the Docket ID number or via postal 
mail, commercial delivery, or hand delivery. Please note that comments 
submitted by fax or email and those submitted after the comment period 
will not be accepted. Written requests for information or comments 
submitted by postal mail or delivery should be addressed to the 
Director of the Information Collection Clearance Division, U.S. 
Department of Education, 400 Maryland Avenue SW., LBJ, Room 2E-349, 
Washington, DC 20202-4537.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For specific questions related to 
collection activities, please contact John LeMaster, 202-245-6218.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Department of Education (ED), in 
accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (PRA) (44 U.S.C. 
3506(c)(2)(A)), provides the general public and Federal agencies with 
an opportunity to comment on proposed, revised, and continuing 
collections of information. This helps the Department assess the impact 
of its information collection requirements and minimize the public's 
reporting burden. It also helps the public understand the Department's 
information collection requirements and provide the requested data in 
the desired format. ED is soliciting comments on the proposed 
information collection request (ICR) that is described below. The 
Department of Education is especially interested in public comment 
addressing the following issues: (1) Is this collection necessary to 
the proper functions of the Department; (2) will this information be 
processed and used in a timely manner; (3) is the estimate of burden 
accurate; (4) how might the Department enhance the quality, utility, 
and clarity of the information to be collected; and (5) how might the 
Department minimize the burden of this collection on the respondents, 
including through the use of information technology. Please note that 
written comments received in response to this notice will be considered 
public records.
    Title of Collection: Measures and Methods for the National 
Reporting System for Adult Education.
    OMB Control Number: 1830-0027.
    Type of Review: An extension of an existing information collection.
    Respondents/Affected Public: State, Local, and Tribal Governments.
    Total Estimated Number of Annual Responses: 57.
    Total Estimated Number of Annual Burden Hours: 5,700.
    Abstract: Title II of the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act 
of 2014 (WIOA--Pub. L. 113-128), entitled the Adult Education and 
Family Literacy Act (AEFLA), was enacted on July 22, 2014. AEFLA 
creates a partnership among the Federal government, States, and 
localities to provide, on a voluntary basis, adult education and 
literacy services. Section 116 of WIOA requires States and Local Areas 
that operate the six core programs of the workforce development system 
to comply with common performance accountability requirements for those 
programs. In addition to the WIOA Joint Performance ICR, ED's Office of 
Career, Technical, and Adult Education (OCTAE) has modified its 
previously-approved ICR, used by States for performance reporting under 
the Workforce Investment Act of 1998 (WIA) through the National 
Reporting System for Adult Education (NRS ICR), to conform to the new 
requirements under WIOA. The NRS ICR obtains aggregate data annually 
from States using a set of data tables developed by ED (OMB Control No. 
1830-0027).
    Through this proposal, the Department is submitting a revised NRS 
ICR to include additional data collection elements consistent with the 
WIOA performance accountability requirements for the AEFLA program. 
These new requirements will become effective July 1, 2017. Thus, for 
purposes of the AEFLA program, States will be required to complete and 
submit annually to OCTAE the WIOA Annual Statewide Performance Report 
Template

[[Page 66266]]

(in the Joint Performance ICR) and the aggregate data tables in the 
revised NRS ICR under OMB Control No. 1830-0027.
    This revised NRS ICR contains 17 tables, two of which are required 
only for States that offer distance education; one optional table; two 
financial reports; one narrative report; and one data quality 
checklist. These tables and report forms are included in the document 
titled ``Adult Education and Family Literacy Act (AEFLA) Reporting 
Tables.'' States include in the tables all participants in programs (1) 
that meet the purposes of AEFLA, and (2) for which expenditures are 
reported on the Federal Financial Report. In June 2016, OMB approved 
the data collection required by AEFLA (OMB 1830-0027) by approving non-
substantive changes that conformed to the performance accountability 
requirements in WIOA section 116. OCTAE is requesting an extension of 
this approval, with proposed minor changes in order to obtain a more 
accurate reporting of participants served in the various AEFLA 
activities, services, and programs that support the purposes of AEFLA. 
These minor enhancements will increase the efficiency of the data 
collection process and ensure the quality of the data that States 
report.

    Dated: September 22, 2016.
Tomakie Washington,
Acting Director, Information Collection Clearance Division, Office of 
the Chief Privacy Officer, Office of Management.
[FR Doc. 2016-23265 Filed 9-26-16; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 4000-01-P