81 FR 96446 - Agency Information Collection Activities; Comment Request; Mandatory Civil Rights Data Collection

DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION

Federal Register Volume 81, Issue 251 (December 30, 2016)

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

[Federal Register Volume 81, Number 251 (Friday, December 30, 2016)]
[Notices]
[Pages 96446-96447]
From the Federal Register Online  [www.thefederalregister.org]
[FR Doc No: 2016-31727]


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DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION

[Docket No.: ED-2016-ICCD-0147]


Agency Information Collection Activities; Comment Request; 
Mandatory Civil Rights Data Collection

AGENCY: Office for Civil Rights (OCR), Department of Education (ED).

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 a revision of an existing 
information collection.

DATES: Interested persons are invited to submit comments on or before 
February 28, 2017.

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-
0147. 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 224-82, 
Washington, DC 20202-4537.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For specific questions related to 
collection activities, please contact Rosa Olmeda, 202-453-5968.

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: Mandatory Civil Rights Data Collection.
    OMB Control Number: 1870-0504.
    Type of Review: A revision of an existing information collection.
    Respondents/Affected Public: State, Local, and Tribal Governments.
    Total Estimated Number of Annual Responses: 17,620.
    Total Estimated Number of Annual Burden Hours: 1,511,450.
    Abstract: The collection, use and reporting of education data is an 
integral component of the mission of the U.S. Department of Education 
(ED). EDFacts, an ED initiative to put performance data at the center 
of ED's policy, management, and budget decision-making processes for 
all K-12 education programs, has transformed the way in which ED 
collects and uses data. For school years 2009-10 and 2011-12, the Civil 
Rights Data Collection (CRDC) was approved by OMB as part of the 
EDFacts information collection (1875-0240). For school years 2013-14 
and 2015-16, the Office for Civil Rights (OCR) cleared the CRDC as a 
separate collection from

[[Page 96447]]

EDFacts. OCR used the most current EDFacts information collection 
approved by OMB (1875-0240) as a model for the 2013-14 and 2015-16 CRDC 
information collections that were approved by OMB (1870-0504). 
Similarly, the currently proposed revised CRDC information collection 
for school year 2017-18 is modeled after the most recent OMB-approved 
EDFacts information collection (1850-0925). For the 2017-18 CRDC, OCR 
is proposing few changes, and those changes will have the net effect of 
reducing burden on school districts. As with previous CRDC collections, 
the purpose of the 2017-18 CRDC is to obtain vital data related to the 
civil rights laws' requirement that public local educational agencies 
and elementary and secondary schools provide equal educational 
opportunity. ED has analyzed the uses of many data elements collected 
in the 2013-14 CRDC and sought advice from experts across ED to refine, 
improve, and where appropriate, add or remove data elements from the 
collection. ED also made the CRDC data definitions and metrics 
consistent with other mandatory collections across ED wherever 
possible. ED seeks OMB approval under the Paperwork Reduction Act to 
collect from LEAs, the elementary and secondary education data 
described in the sections of Attachment A. In addition, ED requests 
that LEAs and other stakeholders respond to the directed questions 
found in Attachment A-5.

    Dated: December 27, 2016.
Stephanie Valentine,
Acting Director, Information Collection Clearance Division, Office of 
the Chief Privacy Officer, Office of Management.
[FR Doc. 2016-31727 Filed 12-29-16; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 4000-01-P