83 FR 27587 - Privacy Act of 1974; System of Records

DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION

Federal Register Volume 83, Issue 114 (June 13, 2018)

In accordance with the Privacy Act of 1974, as amended (Privacy Act), the Department of Education (Department) publishes this notice of a modified system of records for the ``Customer Engagement Management System (CEMS)'' (18-11-11) to expand the CEMS system to cover records that the Department previously maintained in the Department's system of records entitled ``Common Services for Borrowers (CSB)'' (18-11-16) to carry out the responsibilities of the Department to receive, review, evaluate, process, and render decisions on the eligibility of individuals for relief under the borrower defense regulations and, where requests for borrower defense to repayment are successful, to determine the relief that is appropriate to borrowers under the circumstances as well as to initiate appropriate proceedings to require schools whose acts or omissions resulted in the successful defenses against repayment to pay the Department the amounts of the loans to which the defenses apply. This modification also renames the system of records, which was formerly entitled the ``Office of the Student Loan Ombudsman Records.'' The Department previously created the system of records entitled the ``Office of the Student Loan Ombudsman Records'' for a number of purposes related to the duties and responsibilities of the Ombudsman, including verifying the identities of individuals; recording complaints and comments; tracking individual cases through final resolution; reporting trends; analyzing the data to recommend improvements in the Student Financial Assistance Programs; and assisting in the resolution of disputes.

[Federal Register Volume 83, Number 114 (Wednesday, June 13, 2018)]
[Notices]
[Pages 27587-27591]
From the Federal Register Online  [www.thefederalregister.org]
[FR Doc No: 2018-12700]


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DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION

[Docket ID ED-2018-FSA-0053]


Privacy Act of 1974; System of Records

AGENCY: Federal Student Aid, Department of Education.

ACTION: Notice of a Modified System of Records.

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SUMMARY: In accordance with the Privacy Act of 1974, as amended 
(Privacy Act), the Department of Education (Department) publishes this 
notice of a modified system of records for the ``Customer Engagement 
Management System (CEMS)'' (18-11-11) to expand the CEMS system to 
cover records that the Department previously maintained in the 
Department's system of records entitled ``Common Services for Borrowers 
(CSB)'' (18-11-16) to carry out the responsibilities of the Department 
to receive, review, evaluate, process, and render decisions on the 
eligibility of individuals for relief under the borrower defense 
regulations and, where requests for borrower defense to repayment are 
successful, to determine the relief that is appropriate to borrowers 
under the circumstances as well as to initiate appropriate proceedings 
to require schools whose acts or omissions resulted in the successful 
defenses against repayment to pay the Department the amounts of the 
loans to which the defenses apply. This modification also renames the 
system of records, which was formerly entitled the ``Office of the 
Student Loan Ombudsman Records.'' The Department previously created the 
system of records entitled the ``Office of the Student Loan Ombudsman 
Records'' for a number of purposes related to the duties and 
responsibilities of the Ombudsman, including verifying the identities 
of individuals; recording complaints and comments; tracking individual 
cases through final resolution; reporting trends; analyzing the data to 
recommend improvements in the Student Financial Assistance Programs; 
and assisting in the resolution of disputes.

DATES: Submit your comments on this modified system of records notice 
on or before July 13, 2018.
    This modified system of records will become applicable upon 
publication in the Federal Register on June 13, 2018, unless the 
modified system of records notice needs to be changed as a result of 
public comment.
    Modified routine uses (1), (3), (5), (7), and (10) and new routine 
uses (8) and (11) listed under ``ROUTINE USES OF RECORDS MAINTAINED IN 
THE SYSTEM, INCLUDING CATEGORIES OF USERS AND PURPOSES OF SUCH USES'' 
will become applicable on July 13, 2018, unless the modified system of 
records notice needs to be changed as a result of public comment. The 
Department will publish any significant changes resulting from public 
comment.

ADDRESSES: Submit your comments through the Federal eRulemaking Portal 
or via postal mail, commercial delivery, or hand delivery. We will not 
accept comments submitted by fax or by email or those submitted after 
the comment period. To ensure that we do not receive duplicate copies, 
please submit your comments only once. In addition, please include the 
Docket ID at the top of your comments.
     Federal eRulemaking Portal: Go to www.regulations.gov to 
submit your comments electronically. Information on using 
Regulations.gov, including instructions for accessing agency documents, 
submitting comments, and viewing the docket, is available on the site 
under the ``help'' tab.
     Postal Mail, Commercial Delivery, or Hand Delivery: If you 
mail or deliver your comments about this modified system of records, 
address them to: Ombudsman/Director, Ombudsman Group, Customer 
Experience, FSA, U.S. Department of Education, 830 First Street NE, 4th 
Floor/MC-5144, Union Center Plaza (UCP), Washington, DC 20202-5144.
    Privacy Note: The Department's policy is to make all comments 
received from members of the public available for public viewing in 
their entirety on the Federal eRulemaking Portal at 
www.regulations.gov. Therefore, commenters should be careful to include 
in their comments only information that they wish to make publicly 
available.
    Assistance to Individuals with Disabilities in Reviewing the 
Rulemaking Record: On request, we will provide an appropriate 
accommodation or auxiliary aid to an individual with a disability who 
needs assistance to review the comments or other documents in the 
public rulemaking record for this notice. If you want to schedule an 
appointment for this type of accommodation or auxiliary aid, please 
contact the person listed under FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Joyce DeMoss, Ombudsman/Director, 
Ombudsman Group, Customer Experience, FSA, U.S. Department of 
Education, 830 First Street NE, 4th Floor/MC-5144, Union Center Plaza 
(UCP), Washington, DC 20202-5144. Telephone: (202) 377-3992.
    If you use a telecommunications device for the deaf (TDD) or text 
telephone (TTY), you may call the Federal Information Relay Service 
(FIRS) at 1-800-877-8339.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Department is renaming the system of 
records from the ``Office of the Student Loan Ombudsman Records'' to 
the ``Customer Engagement Management System (CEMS).'' The system of 
records described in this notice maintains records on individuals who 
are, were, or may be participants in any of the Student Financial 
Assistance Programs authorized under title IV of the Higher Education 
Act of 1965, as amended (HEA) who request assistance, directly or 
through a designated third party, from the Department. The CEMS 
maintains the information for a number of purposes related to the 
duties and responsibilities of the Ombudsman and the FSA Enforcement 
Office, including: Verifying the identities of individuals; recording 
complaints and comments; tracking individual cases through final 
resolution; reporting trends; analyzing the data to recommend 
improvements in student financial assistance programs; and assisting in 
the informal resolution of disputes. In addition, the system of records 
described in this notice maintains records on individuals who have 
asserted defenses to the repayment of their Federal student loans, also 
known as ``borrower defenses,'' pursuant to the Department's 
regulations at 34 CFR 685.206. These records are maintained to carry 
out the responsibilities of the Department to receive, review, 
evaluate, process, and render decisions on the eligibility of 
individuals for relief under the borrower defense regulations, which 
may include the discharge of a William D. Ford Federal Direct Loan 
(Direct Loan) Program loan and further relief as determined by the 
Secretary, as well as the initiation of appropriate proceedings to 
require schools whose acts or omissions resulted in successful defenses 
against repayment to pay the Department the amounts of the loans to 
which the defenses apply.
    The CEMS consists of a variety of records that identify 
individuals' complaints, requests for assistance, or other inquiries. 
Records include, but are not limited to: Written documentation

[[Page 27588]]

of an individual's complaint, request for assistance, or other comment 
or inquiry; and information pertaining to a student's or parent's 
student financial assistance program account(s) under title IV of the 
HEA, such as the individual's name, Social Security number, date of 
birth, address, telephone number(s), and FSA ID. Additionally, records 
may include the name, address, and phone numbers of school(s), 
lender(s), secondary holder(s) or lender(s), guaranty agency(ies), 
servicer(s), and private collection agency(ies), if applicable. The 
system of records also contains loan level information, and data 
submitted by individuals who have requested relief from Federal student 
loan repayment under the borrower defense to repayment regulations, as 
well as data that may be submitted by schools or other entities in 
connection with individuals' discharge requests.
    The Department is modifying the section of the notice entitled 
``AUTHORITY FOR MAINTENANCE OF THE SYSTEM'' to include 20 U.S.C. 
1087e(h), which is the Department's authority to collect records on 
individuals who have requested relief under the borrower defense 
regulations.
    The Department is modifying the section of the notice entitled 
``PURPOSE(S) OF THE SYSTEM'' to include the duties and responsibilities 
of FSA to provide relief under the borrower defense regulations, 
including the receipt, review, evaluation, and processing of requests 
for relief under the borrower defense to repayment regulations, the 
rendering of decisions on the merits of such requests, and, where 
requests for borrower defense to repayment are successful, the 
determination of the relief that is appropriate to borrowers under the 
circumstances as well as the initiation of appropriate proceedings to 
require schools whose acts or omissions resulted in the successful 
defenses against repayment to pay the Department the amounts of the 
loans to which the defenses apply.
    The Department is modifying the section of the notice entitled 
``CATEGORIES OF INDIVIDUALS COVERED BY THE SYSTEM'' to include 
individuals who request relief under borrower defense to repayment 
regulations from the Department.
    The Department is modifying the section of the notice entitled 
``CATEGORIES OF RECORDS IN THE SYSTEM'' to include individuals' 
requests for relief and related records under the borrower defense to 
repayment regulations and to indicate that records may contain other 
loan level data.
    The Department is modifying the section of the notice entitled 
``RECORD SOURCE CATEGORIES'' to include as record source categories 
third parties who provide data to the Department under the routine uses 
set forth below. The Department is also modifying this section to 
clarify that in addition to obtaining information from the individuals 
(e.g., borrowers), the Department also may obtain information from the 
individuals' counsel or representatives, or from students or their 
parents (if the individual is a borrower and depending on whether the 
individual is a parent or student). This Section also has been revised 
by adding that the Department may obtain information from accreditors 
in addition to the sources previously listed, which were Federal 
agencies, State agencies, schools, lenders, private collection 
agencies, and guaranty agencies.
    The Department is making several modifications to routine use (1) 
entitled ``Program Disclosure.'' First, the Department is including 
requests for relief under the borrower defense regulations as one of 
the types of requests for which the Department may disclose records and 
clarifying that the Department may disclose records where a request for 
borrower defense to repayment is successful in order to determine the 
relief that is appropriate under the circumstances as well as to 
initiate the appropriate proceeding to require the school whose acts or 
omissions resulted in the successful defense against repayment to pay 
the Department the amount of the loan to which the defense applies. 
Disclosing records where a request for borrower defense to repayment is 
successful in order to determine the relief that is appropriate under 
the circumstances was previously authorized by ``routine uses'' 
published in the ``Common Services for Borrowers (CSB)'' system of 
records notice, see 81 FR 60,683-60,691 (Sep. 2, 2016), and the 
Department is making this more explicit now. Second, the Department is 
revising this routine use to permit the Department to make disclosures 
when further information ``is relevant'' to, rather than ``is necessary 
to,'' the Department's resolution of the complaint, request, or other 
inquiry. Third, the Department is adding accreditors.
    The Department is removing former routine use (2) entitled 
``Disclosure for Use by Other Law Enforcement Agencies'' because the 
Department no longer intends to disclose any records under this routine 
use.
    The Department is modifying routine use (3) entitled ``Litigation 
and Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) Disclosure'' to insert the 
word ``person'' in place of the word ``individual'' to avoid any 
confusion to the public because we did not intend the word 
``individual'' to have the meaning of this term as defined in the 
Privacy Act.
    The Department is also modifying routine use (5) entitled 
``Contract Disclosure'' to remove the reference to ``Privacy Act 
safeguards as required under 5 U.S.C. 552a(m)'' to now require that all 
contractors agree to maintain safeguards to protect the security and 
confidentiality of the records in the system. The Department also has 
clarified that such safeguards will be agreed to as part of the 
contract, rather than before the contract is entered into.
    The Department is removing former routine use (7) entitled 
``Research Disclosure.'' Consistent with our commitment to protect 
personal data, we do not anticipate releasing student, borrower, or 
applicant-level data for purposes other than program administration.
    The Department is modifying routine use (7) entitled ``Borrower 
Complaint Disclosure'' to include ``processing'' and ``reviewing'' of a 
complaint as a course through which the Department may disclose a 
record to better align with the language of routine use (8) entitled 
``Borrower Defense to Repayment Disclosure''.
    The Department is adding routine use (8) entitled ``Borrower 
Defense to Repayment Disclosure'' to clarify that disclosure of a 
record from this system of records is allowed in the course of 
reviewing, processing, investigating, fact-finding, or adjudicating a 
request for relief under the borrower defense regulations or in the 
course of the Department's enforcement activity to: Federal agencies, 
the student (if the student is not the borrower), the counsel or 
representative of the borrower or the student, or the school whose 
conduct is subject of the request for relief or the school's counsel or 
representative; a witness; or a designated fact-finder, mediator, or 
other person designated to resolve issues or decide the matter. The 
disclosure may only be made during the course of the review, 
processing, investigation, fact-finding, or adjudication of the request 
for relief.
    Pursuant to the requirements in Office of Management and Budget 
Memorandum M-17-12 entitled ``Preparing for and Responding to a Breach 
of Personally Identifiable Information,'' the Department is also adding 
an additional routine use (11) in order to permit the Department to

[[Page 27589]]

disclose records from this system of records in the course of assisting 
another Federal agency or entity in responding to a breach of data. 
Lastly, the Department is modifying routine use (10) (previously 
routine use (11)) so that the routine use conforms with the 
requirements set forth in OMB Memorandum M-17-12 entitled ``Preparing 
for and Responding to a Breach of Personally Identifiable 
Information.''
    The Department is updating the section entitled ``POLICIES AND 
PRACTICES FOR RETENTION AND DISPOSAL OF RECORDS'' to explain that the 
applicable Department records schedule is being amended, pending 
approval by the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA).
    The sections entitled ``RECORD ACCESS PROCEDURES,'' ``CONTESTING 
RECORD PROCEDURES,'' and ``NOTIFICATION PROCEDURES'' are modified to 
define the ``necessary particulars'' needed to access, contest, or be 
notified of a record.
    The Department has also added a section entitled ``HISTORY.''
    Accessible Format: Individuals with disabilities can obtain this 
document in an accessible format (e.g., Braille, large print, 
audiotape, or compact disc) on request to the person listed under FOR 
FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT.
    Electronic Access to This Document: The official version of this 
document is the document published in the Federal Register. You may 
access the official edition of the Federal Register and the Code of 
Federal Regulations via the Federal Digital System at: www.thefederalregister.org/fdsys. At this site you can view this document, as well as all other 
documents of this Department published in the Federal Register, in text 
or Portable Document Format (PDF). To use PDF you must have Adobe 
Acrobat Reader, which is available free at the site. You may also 
access documents of the Department published in the Federal Register by 
using the article search feature at: www.federalregister.gov. 
Specifically, through the advanced search feature at this site, you can 
limit your search to documents published by the Department.

    Dated: June 8, 2018.
James F. Manning,
Acting Chief Operating Officer, Federal Student Aid.

    For the reasons discussed in the preamble, the Acting Chief 
Operating Officer of Federal Student Aid (FSA) of the U.S. Department 
of Education (Department) publishes a notice of a modified system of 
records to read as follows:
SYSTEM NAME AND NUMBER:
    Customer Engagement Management System (CEMS) (18-11-11).

SECURITY CLASSIFICATION:
    Unclassified.

SYSTEM LOCATION:
    Salesforce Data Center, primary data center in 44521 Hastings Drive 
Ashburn, VA 20147. The system is accessible via the internet to 
different categories of users, including Department personnel, 
customers, and designated agents of the Department at any location 
where they have internet access.

SYSTEM MANAGER(S):
    Ombudsman, Federal Student Aid, U.S. Department of Education, 830 
First Street NE, Room 4111, Washington, DC 20202.

AUTHORITY FOR MAINTENANCE OF THE SYSTEM:
    20 U.S.C. 1018(f) and 1087e(h).

PURPOSE(S) OF THE SYSTEM:
    The information maintained in this system will be used for a number 
of purposes related to the duties and responsibilities of the FSA 
Ombudsman; and, separately, to perform the duties and responsibilities 
of the Department to provide Federal student loan repayment relief, and 
certain further relief, under the borrower defense to repayment 
regulations at 34 CFR 685.206. The information will be used to: Verify 
the identities of individuals; record complaints and comments; track 
individual cases through final resolution; report trends; and analyze 
the data to recommend improvements in student financial assistance 
programs; and assist in the informal resolution of disputes. The 
information will also be used by the Department to receive, review, 
evaluate, and process requests for relief under the borrower defense to 
repayment regulations, to render decisions on the merits of such 
requests for relief, and, where requests for borrower defense to 
repayment are successful, to determine the relief that is appropriate 
to borrowers under the circumstances as well as to initiate appropriate 
proceedings to require schools whose acts or omissions resulted in the 
successful defenses against repayment to pay the Department the amounts 
of the loans to which the defenses apply.

CATEGORIES OF INDIVIDUALS COVERED BY THE SYSTEM:
    This system maintains records on individuals who are, were, or may 
be participants in any of the Student Financial Assistance Programs 
under title IV of the Higher Education Act of 1965, as amended (HEA) 
who request assistance, directly or through a designated third party, 
from Federal Student Aid Enforcement Office or the FSA Ombudsman.

CATEGORIES OF RECORDS IN THE SYSTEM:
    This system consists of a variety of records that identify the 
individuals' complaints, requests for assistance, requests for borrower 
defense relief, or other inquiries. Records include, but are not 
limited to: Written documentation of an individual's complaint, request 
for assistance, request for relief under the borrower defense 
regulations, or other comment or inquiry; and information pertaining to 
the individual's or the individual's parent's student financial 
assistance program account(s) under title IV of the HEA, such as the 
individual's name, Social Security number (SSN), date of birth, 
address, telephone number(s), and Federal Student Aid ID (FSA ID). 
Records may include the name, address, and phone numbers of the 
individual's counsel or representative, school(s), lender(s), secondary 
holder(s) or lender(s), guaranty agency(ies), servicer(s), and private 
collection agency(ies), if applicable, and, may contain other loan 
level data.

RECORD SOURCE CATEGORIES:
    Information is obtained from individuals (e.g., borrowers), their 
counsel or representatives, or students or their parents (when the 
individual is a borrower and depending on whether the individual is a 
parent or student), Federal agencies, State agencies, schools, lenders, 
private collection agencies, guaranty agencies, accreditors, and from 
other persons or entities from which data is obtained under routine 
uses set forth below.

ROUTINE USES OF RECORDS MAINTAINED IN THE SYSTEM, INCLUDING CATEGORIES 
OF USERS AND PURPOSES OF SUCH USES:
    The Department may disclose information contained in a record in 
this system of records under the routine uses listed in this system of 
records without the consent of the individual if the disclosure is 
compatible with the purposes for which the record was collected. These 
disclosures may be made on a case-by-case basis or, if the Department 
has complied with the computer matching requirements of the Privacy Act 
of 1974, as amended (Privacy Act), under a computer matching agreement.
    (1) Program Disclosure. The Department may disclose records to

[[Page 27590]]

Federal agencies, State agencies, accreditors, schools, lenders, 
guaranty agencies, servicers, and private collection agencies when 
further information about the complaint, request for assistance, 
request for Federal student loan repayment relief and other further 
relief under the borrower defense to repayment regulations, or other 
inquiry is relevant to the Department's resolution of the complaint, 
request, or other inquiry, and, where a request for borrower defense to 
repayment is successful, to determine the relief that is appropriate 
under the circumstances as well as to initiate the appropriate 
proceeding to require the school whose acts or omissions resulted in 
the successful defense against repayment to pay the Department the 
amount of the loan to which the defense applies.
    (2) Enforcement Disclosure. In the event that information in this 
system of records indicates, either on its face or in connection with 
other information, a violation or potential violation of any applicable 
statute, regulation, or order of a competent authority, the Department 
may disclose the relevant records to the appropriate agency, whether 
foreign, Federal, State, Tribal, or local, charged with the 
responsibility of investigating or prosecuting that violation or 
charged with enforcing or implementing the statute, Executive Order, 
rule, regulation, or order issued pursuant thereto.
    (3) Litigation and Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) Disclosure.
    (a) Introduction. In the event that one of the parties listed in 
sub-paragraphs (i) through (v) is involved in judicial or 
administrative litigation or ADR, or has an interest in such litigation 
or ADR, the Department may disclose certain records to the parties 
described in paragraphs (b), (c), and (d) of this routine use under the 
conditions specified in those paragraphs:
    (i) The Department, or any component of the Department;
    (ii) Any Department employee in his or her official capacity;
    (iii) Any Department employee in his or her individual capacity if 
the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) has been requested to or has 
agreed to provide or arrange for representation for the employee;
    (iv) Any Department employee in his or her individual capacity 
where the Department has agreed to represent the employee; or
    (v) The United States where the Department determines that the 
litigation is likely to affect the Department or any of its components.
    (b) Disclosure to the DOJ. If the Department determines that 
disclosure of certain records to the DOJ is relevant and necessary to 
litigation or ADR, the Department may disclose those records as a 
routine use to the DOJ.
    (c) Adjudicative Disclosure. If the Department determines that it 
is relevant and necessary to the litigation or ADR to disclose certain 
records to an adjudicative body before which the Department is 
authorized to appear, to a person, or an entity designated by the 
Department or otherwise empowered to resolve or mediate disputes, the 
Department may disclose those records as a routine use to the 
adjudicative body, person, or entity.
    (d) Disclosure to Parties, Counsel, Representatives, and Witnesses. 
If the Department determines that disclosure of certain records to a 
party, counsel, representative, or witness is relevant and necessary to 
the litigation or ADR, the Department may disclose those records as a 
routine use to the party, counsel, representative, or witness.
    (4) Disclosure to the DOJ. The Department may disclose records to 
the DOJ to the extent necessary for obtaining DOJ advice on any matter 
relevant to an audit, inspection, or other inquiry related to the 
programs covered by this system.
    (5) Contract Disclosure. If the Department contracts with an entity 
for the purposes of performing any function that requires disclosure of 
records in this system to employees of the contractor, the Department 
may disclose the records to those employees. As part of such a 
contract, the Department shall require the contractor to agree to 
maintain safeguards to protect the security and confidentiality of the 
records in the system.
    (6) Congressional Member Disclosure. The Department may disclose 
records to a member of Congress from the record of an individual in 
response to an inquiry from the member made at the written request of 
that individual. The member's right to the information is no greater 
than the right of the individual who requested it.
    (7) Borrower Complaint Disclosure. If a record is relevant and 
necessary to a borrower complaint regarding participants in any of 
Student Financial Assistance Programs under title IV of the HEA, the 
Department may disclose a record from this system of records in the 
course of processing, reviewing, investigating, fact-finding, or 
adjudicating the complaint to: Any party to the complaint; the party's 
counsel or representative; a witness; or a designated fact-finder, 
mediator, or other person designated to resolve issues or decide the 
matter. The disclosure may only be made during the course of the 
review, processing, investigation, fact-finding, or adjudication.
    (8) Borrower Defense to Repayment Disclosure. If a record is 
relevant and necessary to an individual's request for relief from 
repayment of a Federal student loan or other relief under the borrower 
defense to repayment regulations, or the potential provision of such 
relief in connection with the Department's enforcement activities on 
any of the Student Financial Assistance Programs under title IV of the 
HEA, the Department may disclose a record from this system of records 
in the course of processing, reviewing, investigating, fact-finding, or 
adjudicating the request or in the course of the Department's 
enforcement activity to: Federal agency, the student (if the student is 
not the borrower), the counsel or representative of the borrower or the 
student, or the school whose conduct is subject of the request for 
relief or the school's counsel or representative; a witness; or a 
designated fact-finder, mediator, or other person designated to resolve 
issues or decide the matter. The disclosure may only be made during the 
course of the review, processing, investigation, fact-finding, or 
adjudication.
    (9) Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) and Privacy Act Advice 
Disclosure. The Department may disclose records from this system of 
records to the DOJ or Office of Management and Budget (OMB) if the 
Department concludes that disclosure is desirable or necessary in 
determining whether particular records are required to be disclosed 
under the FOIA or the Privacy Act.
    (10) Disclosure in the Course of Responding to a Breach of Data. 
The Department may disclose records from this system of records to 
appropriate agencies, entities, and persons when: (a) The Department 
suspects or has confirmed that there has been a breach of the system of 
records; (b) the Department has determined that as a result of the 
suspected or confirmed breach, there is a risk of harm to individuals, 
the Department (including its information systems, programs, and 
operation), the Federal Government, or national security; and (c) the 
disclosure made to such agencies, entities, and persons is reasonably 
necessary to assist the Department's efforts to respond to the 
suspected or confirmed breach or to prevent, minimize, or remedy such 
harm.
    (11) Disclosure in Assisting another Agency in Responding to a 
Breach of

[[Page 27591]]

Data. The Department may disclose records from this system to another 
Federal agency or Federal entity, when the Department determines that 
information from this system of records is reasonably necessary to 
assist the recipient agency or entity in (a) responding to a suspected 
or confirmed breach or (b) preventing, minimizing, or remedying the 
risk of harm to individuals, the recipient agency or entity (including 
its information systems, programs, and operations), the Federal 
Government, or national security, resulting from a suspected or 
confirmed breach.

POLICIES AND PRACTICES FOR STORAGE OF RECORDS:
    These records will be maintained in an electronic database.

POLICIES AND PRACTICES FOR RETRIEVAL OF RECORDS:
    Records are indexed by Social Security number, name, date of birth, 
and case tracking number.

POLICIES AND PRACTICES FOR RETENTION AND DISPOSAL OF RECORDS:
    All records are retained and disposed of in accordance with 
Department Records Schedule 052: Ombudsman Case Files (N1-441-09-21) 
(ED 052). ED 052 is being amended, pending approval by the National 
Archives and Records Administration (NARA). Records will not be 
destroyed until NARA-approved amendments to ED 052 are in effect, as 
applicable.

ADMINISTRATIVE, TECHNICAL, AND PHYSICAL SAFEGUARDS:
    Access to and use of these records by Department employees and 
agents shall be limited to those persons whose official duties require 
access. This includes staff members of the Office of the Student Loan 
Ombudsman, Enforcement Office staff members, and other Department 
employees and agents. All physical access to the site where this system 
of records is maintained, is controlled and monitored by security 
personnel who check each individual entering the building for his or 
her employee or visitor badge.
    The computer system offers a high degree of resistance to tampering 
and circumvention. This security system limits data access to staff on 
a ``need to know'' basis, and controls individual users' ability to 
access and alter records within the system. All users of this system of 
records are given unique user IDs with personal identifiers. All 
interactions by individual users with the system are recorded.

RECORD ACCESS PROCEDURES:
    If you wish to gain access to a record regarding you in the system 
of records, contact the system manager at the address listed above. You 
must provide necessary particulars such as your name, SSN, and any 
other identifying information requested by the Department while 
processing the request to distinguish between individuals with the same 
name. Your request must meet the requirements of 34 CFR 5b.5, including 
proof of identity.

CONTESTING RECORD PROCEDURES:
    If you wish to contest the content of a record regarding you in the 
system of records, contact the system manager with the information 
described in the record access procedures. Your request must meet the 
requirements of 34 CFR 5b.7.

NOTIFICATION PROCEDURES:
    If you wish to determine whether a record exists regarding you in 
the system of records, contact the system manager at the address listed 
above. You must provide necessary particulars such as your name, SSN, 
and any other identifying information requested by the Department while 
processing the request to distinguish between individuals of with the 
same name. Your request must meet the requirements of 34 CFR 5b.5, 
including proof of identity.

EXEMPTIONS PROMULGATED FOR THE SYSTEM:
    None.

HISTORY:
    The system of records notice entitled ``Office of the Student Loan 
Ombudsman Records'' (18-11-11) was published in the Federal Register on 
December 27, 1999 (64 FR 72384, 72399-72400). The ``Office of the 
Student Loan Ombudsman Records'' system of records notice was most 
recently altered and republished in full in the Federal Register on 
March 8, 2016 (81 FR 12081).
    The records that will be maintained in the CEMS system of records 
that are about individuals who have asserted defenses to the repayment 
of their Federal student loans, also known as ``borrower defenses,'' 
pursuant to the Department's regulations at 34 CFR 685.206, previously 
were covered by the system of records notice entitled ``Common Services 
for Borrowers (CSB)'' (18-11-16), which was first published in the 
Federal Register on January 23, 2006 (71 FR 3503), subsequently updated 
on September 12, 2014 (79 FR 54685), and last altered on September 2, 
2016 (81 FR 60683).

[FR Doc. 2018-12700 Filed 6-12-18; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 4000-01-P