Document

Privacy Act of 1974; Matching Program

Pursuant to the Privacy Act of 1974, as amended by the Computer Matching and Privacy Protection Act of 1988 and the Computer Matching and Privacy Protection Amendments of 1990 (...

Department of Education
  1. [Docket ID ED-2026-OFO-2410]

AGENCY:

Federal Student Aid, U.S. Department of Education.

ACTION:

Notice of a new matching program.

SUMMARY:

Pursuant to the Privacy Act of 1974, as amended by the Computer Matching and Privacy Protection Act of 1988 and the Computer Matching and Privacy Protection Amendments of 1990 (Privacy Act), and Office of Management and Budget (OMB) guidance on the conduct of matching programs, notice is hereby given of the establishment of a matching program between the U.S. Department of Education (Department) and the U.S. Department of the Treasury, Bureau of the Fiscal Service (Fiscal Service). The matching program allows Fiscal Service to provide services relating to the identification, prevention, and/or recovery of improper payments pursuant to the Do Not Pay program operating under 31 U.S.C. 3554.

DATES:

Submit your comments on the proposed establishment of the matching program on or before September 24, 2026.

The matching program will become effective 30 days after the publication of this notice on August 25, 2026, unless comments have been received from interested members of the public requiring modification and republication of the notice. The matching program will continue through September 10, 2029.

ADDRESSES:

Comments must be submitted via the Federal eRulemaking Portal at regulations.gov. However, if you require an accommodation or cannot otherwise submit your comments via regulations.gov, please contact the program contact person listed under FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT . The Department will not accept comments submitted by fax or by email, or comments submitted after the comment period. To ensure that the Department does 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 “FAQ” tab.

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.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Carolyn Dempster, Supervisory Financial Management Analyst, Office of Finance and Operations, U.S. Department of Education, 400 Maryland Avenue SW, Washington, DC 20202. Telephone: (202) 453-6303.

If you are deaf, hard of hearing, or have a speech disability and wish to access telecommunications relay services, please dial 7-1-1.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

In accordance with the Privacy Act of 1974, as amended (Privacy Act) (5 U.S.C. 552a); Office of Management and Budget (OMB) Final Guidance Interpreting the Provisions of Public Law 100-503, the Computer Matching and Privacy Protection Act of 1988, published in the Federal Register on June 19, 1989 (54 FR 25818); and OMB Circular No. A-108, notice is hereby provided of the establishment of a matching program between the Department and Treasury.

The Payment Integrity Information Act of 2019 (31 U.S.C. 3351 et seq.) provides the head of the agency ( printed page 54858) operating the Do Not Pay (DNP) Working System with the authority, in consultation with OMB, to waive the requirements in 5 U.S.C. 552a(o) in any case or class of cases for matching activities conducted under the DNP Initiative (31 U.S.C. 3354). Pursuant to this authority, the Secretary of the Treasury, after consulting with the OMB Director, authorized the issuance of a four-year waiver of the requirement for entering into a matching agreement under 5 U.S.C. 552a(o) for the class of matching programs that meet all of the criteria defined in OMB Memorandum M-25-32, Preventing Improper Payments and Protecting Privacy through Do Not Pay.

The Department, in coordination with Treasury, has determined that the DNP matching program described in this notice is eligible for the waiver described in OMB Memorandum M-25-32, which is effective from September 10, 2025 through September 10, 2029.

Participating Agencies: The U.S. Department of Education and the U.S. Department of the Treasury, Bureau of the Fiscal Service.

Authority for Conducting the Matching Program: The Payment Integrity Information Act of 2019 (31 U.S.C. 3351 et seq.) establishes the DNP Initiative and requires, for the purposes of identifying and preventing improper payments, each executive agency to have access to, and use of, the relevant databases in DNP to verify payment or award eligibility. Additional applicable authorities for this matching program include Executive Order 13520, Reducing Improper Payments (74 FR 62201); Executive Order 14249, Protecting America's Bank Account Against Fraud, Waste, and Abuse (90 FR 14011); and OMB Memorandum M-25-32, Preventing Improper Payments and Protecting Privacy Through Do Not Pay.

Authority for maintenance of the EDCAPS system includes section 415 of the Department of Education Organization Act (Pub. L. 96-88, 20 U.S.C. 3475); 31 U.S.C. 3321 (note); 31 U.S.C. 3512 (including the note) and 3515; 31 U.S.C. 7504; 31 U.S.C. 902(a); Executive Order (E.O.) 9397 (8 FR 16095), as amended by E.O. 13478 (73 FR 70239), and 31 U.S.C. 7701 (TIN); 31 U.S.C. 3711-3720E.

Authority for maintenance of the FMS system is Title IV of the Higher Education Act of 1965, as amended (HEA), (20 U.S.C. 1070 et seq.).

Purpose(s): The purposes of the matching program are identifying and preventing improper payments and conducting any related recovery activities by verifying through Do Not Pay prepayment or pre-award eligibility. Data elements that are necessary for eligibility determinations for a relevant Department program that are contained in records from the respective systems of records will be compared with records in the DNP Working System. When there is a match between a record provided by the Department and a record in the DNP Working System, the DNP Working System will provide the Department notice of a potentially matching record and will identify the database(s) that contain the potentially matching record(s). The Department will then review the information to determine whether additional action is needed.

Categories of Individuals: Applicants for, or recipients of, Federal funds from the Department. Specifically:

Categories of Records

Applicant's name (which may include individual name and/or business names, if applicable); Social Security Number (SSN); State and federal Taxpayer Identification Number (TIN); Individual Taxpayer Identification Number (ITIN); home and work address(es); bank account information, including account number and financial institution routing and transit number; and tracking numbers used to locate payment information.

System(s) of Records

Treasury will use the system of records entitled “Department of the Treasury, Bureau of the Fiscal Service .017—Do Not Pay Payment Verification Records”, last published in full in the Federal Register on February 27, 2020 (85 FR 11776).

The Department will disclose data from the system of records entitled “Education Central Automated Processing System (EDCAPS)” (18-04-04), which was most recently published in the Federal Register on December 24, 2015 (80 FR 80331, as amended by 90 FR 57040) and the system of records entitled “Financial Management System (FMS)” (18-11-17), which was most recently published in the Federal Register on January 2, 2008 (73 FR 179, as amended by 90 FR 57040).

Accessible Format: On request to the program contact person listed under FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT , individuals with disabilities can obtain this document in an accessible format. The Department will provide the requestor with an accessible format that may include Rich Text Format (RTF) or text format (txt), a thumb drive, an MP3 file, braille, large print, audiotape, compact disc, or other accessible format.

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 at www.govinfo.gov. 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.

Appendix

Below is a list of the ED programs that will match records with the DNP Working System, and the applicable system of records notice(s) for each program. For purposes of this notice, matching activities conducted between the Federal benefit programs listed in the following appendix and the DNP Working System constitute a single agency-wide matching program.

( printed page 54859)
Principal office Program name System of records notice(s)
Office of Finance and Operations Alaska Native Educational Programs EDCAPS (18-04-04)
Office of Finance and Operations American History and Civics Education EDCAPS (18-04-04)
Federal Student Aid Federal Family Education Loan (FFEL) EDCAPS (18-04-04); FMS (18-11-17)
Office of Finance and Operations Federal Pell Grant Program EDCAPS (18-04-04)
Federal Student Aid Federal Perkins Loan (Perkins) EDCAPS (18-04-04); FMS (18-11-17)
Office of Finance and Operations Federal Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grant (FSEOG) EDCAPS (18-04-04)
Office of Finance and Operations Federal Work-Study EDCAPS (18-04-04)
Federal Student Aid Health Education Assistance Loan (HEAL) EDCAPS (18-04-04); FMS (18-11-17)
Office of Finance and Operations Teacher Education Assistance for College and Higher Education Grant (TEACH) EDCAPS (18-04-04); FMS (18-11-17)
Federal Student Aid William D. Ford Federal Direct Loan Program EDCAPS (18-04-04); FMS (18-11-17)
Office of Finance and Operations American Overseas Research Centers EDCAPS (18-04-04)
Office of Finance and Operations American Printing House for the Blind EDCAPS (18-04-04)
Office of Finance and Operations Business and International Education Projects EDCAPS (18-04-04)
Office of Finance and Operations Charter Schools EDCAPS (18-04-04)
Office of Finance and Operations Comprehensive Centers EDCAPS (18-04-04)
Office of Finance and Operations Congressionally Directed Spending—Rehabilitation Services and Disability Research EDCAPS (18-04-04)
Office of Finance and Operations Consolidated Grant to the Outlying Areas EDCAPS (18-04-04)
Office of Finance and Operations Contractual Services EDCAPS (18-04-04)
Office of Finance and Operations Credit Programs EDCAPS (18-04-04)
Office of Finance and Operations Directed Grants and Awards EDCAPS (18-04-04)
Office of Finance and Operations Disability Innovation Fund (DIF) EDCAPS (18-04-04)
Office of Finance and Operations Education Evaluation and Technical Assistance Grants EDCAPS (18-04-04)
Office of Finance and Operations Education Research, Development and Dissemination EDCAPS (18-04-04)
Office of Finance and Operations Education Stabilization Fund EDCAPS (18-04-04)
Office of Finance and Operations Federal Real Property Assistance Program EDCAPS (18-04-04)
Office of Finance and Operations Higher Education Institutional Aid EDCAPS (18-04-04)
Office of Finance and Operations Personnel Compensation and Benefits EDCAPS (18-04-04)
Office of Finance and Operations Postsecondary Education Scholarships for Veteran's Dependents EDCAPS (18-04-04)
Office of Finance and Operations Rural Education EDCAPS (18-04-04)
Office of Finance and Operations School Safely National Activities EDCAPS (18-04-04)
Office of Finance and Operations Statewide Longitudinal Data Systems EDCAPS (18-04-04)
Office of Finance and Operations Strengthening Minority-Serving Institutions EDCAPS (18-04-04)
Office of Finance and Operations Supported Employment Services for Individuals with the Most Significant Disabilities EDCAPS (18-04-04)
Office of Finance and Operations Traditionally Underserved Populations EDCAPS (18-04-04)
Office of Finance and Operations Twenty-First Century Community Learning Centers EDCAPS (18-04-04)
Office of Finance and Operations Adult Education—Basic Grants to States EDCAPS (18-04-04)
Office of Finance and Operations Adult Education National Leadership Activities EDCAPS (18-04-04)
Office of Finance and Operations Career and Technical Education—Basic Grants to States EDCAPS (18-04-04)
Office of Finance and Operations Career and Technical Education—Grants to Native Americans and Alaska Natives EDCAPS (18-04-04)
( printed page 54860)
Office of Finance and Operations Career and Technical Education—National Programs EDCAPS (18-04-04)
Office of Finance and Operations Native Hawaiian Career and Technical Education EDCAPS (18-04-04)
Office of Finance and Operations Tribally Controlled Postsecondary Career and Technical Institutions EDCAPS (18-04-04)
Office of Finance and Operations Civil Rights Training and Advisory Services (also known as Equity Assistance Centers) EDCAPS (18-04-04)
Office of Finance and Operations Competitive Grants for State Assessments EDCAPS (18-04-04)
Office of Finance and Operations Comprehensive Literacy Development EDCAPS (18-04-04)
Office of Finance and Operations Credit Enhancement for Charter School Facilities EDCAPS (18-04-04)
Office of Finance and Operations DC Opportunity Scholarship Program EDCAPS (18-04-04)
Office of Finance and Operations Disaster Recovery Assistance for Education EDCAPS (18-04-04)
Office of Finance and Operations Education for Homeless Children and Youth EDCAPS (18-04-04)
Office of Finance and Operations Education Innovation and Research (formerly Investing in Innovation (i3) Fund) EDCAPS (18-04-04)
Office of Finance and Operations Grants for State Assessments and Related Activities EDCAPS (18-04-04)
Office of Finance and Operations Impact Aid EDCAPS (18-04-04)
Office of Finance and Operations Impact Aid Facilities Maintenance EDCAPS (18-04-04)
Office of Finance and Operations Indian Education—Special Programs for Indian Children EDCAPS (18-04-04)
Office of Finance and Operations Indian Education Grants to Local Educational Agencies EDCAPS (18-04-04)
Office of Finance and Operations Indian Education National Activities (State Tribal Education Partnership (STEP) and Native American Language (NAL) EDCAPS (18-04-04)
Office of Finance and Operations Innovative Approaches to Literacy; Promise Neighborhoods; Full-Service Community Schools; and Congressionally Directed Spending for Elementary and Secondary Education Community Projects EDCAPS (18-04-04)
Office of Finance and Operations Javits Gifted and Talented Students Education EDCAPS (18-04-04)
Office of Finance and Operations Magnet Schools Assistance EDCAPS (18-04-04)
Office of Finance and Operations Migrant Education College Assistance Migrant Program EDCAPS (18-04-04)
Office of Finance and Operations Migrant Education Coordination Program EDCAPS (18-04-04)
Office of Finance and Operations Migrant Education High School Equivalency Program EDCAPS (18-04-04)
Office of Finance and Operations Migrant Education State Grant Program EDCAPS (18-04-04)
Office of Finance and Operations Native Hawaiian Education EDCAPS (18-04-04)
Office of Finance and Operations Ready-To-Learn Television EDCAPS (18-04-04)
Office of Finance and Operations Statewide Family Engagement Centers EDCAPS (18-04-04)
Office of Finance and Operations Student Support and Academic Enrichment Program EDCAPS (18-04-04)
Office of Finance and Operations Supporting Effective Educator Development Program EDCAPS (18-04-04)
Office of Finance and Operations Supporting Effective Instruction State Grants (formerly Improving Teacher Quality State Grants) EDCAPS (18-04-04)
Office of Finance and Operations Teacher and School Leader Incentive Grants (formerly the Teacher Incentive Fund) EDCAPS (18-04-04)
Office of Finance and Operations Teacher Quality Partnership Grants EDCAPS (18-04-04)
Office of Finance and Operations Title I Grants to Local Educational Agencies EDCAPS (18-04-04)
Office of Finance and Operations Title I State Agency Program for Neglected and Delinquent Children and Youth EDCAPS (18-04-04)
Office of Finance and Operations Arts in Education EDCAPS (18-04-04)
( printed page 54861)
Office of Finance and Operations English Language Acquisition State Grants EDCAPS (18-04-04)
Office of Finance and Operations Augustus F. Hawkins Centers of Excellence—Teacher Preparation and Development EDCAPS (18-04-04)
Office of Finance and Operations Centers for International Business Education EDCAPS (18-04-04)
Office of Finance and Operations Child Care Access Means Parents in School EDCAPS (18-04-04)
Office of Finance and Operations Fund for the Improvement of Postsecondary Education EDCAPS (18-04-04)
Office of Finance and Operations Gaining Early Awareness and Readiness for Undergraduate Programs EDCAPS (18-04-04)
Office of Finance and Operations Graduate Assistance in Areas of National Need EDCAPS (18-04-04)
Office of Finance and Operations Howard University EDCAPS (18-04-04)
Office of Finance and Operations International Research and Studies EDCAPS (18-04-04)
Office of Finance and Operations Language Resource Centers EDCAPS (18-04-04)
Office of Finance and Operations Minority Science and Engineering Improvement EDCAPS (18-04-04)
Office of Finance and Operations National Resource Centers Program for Foreign Language and Area Studies or Foreign Language and International Studies Program and Foreign Language and Area Studies Fellowship Program EDCAPS (18-04-04)
Office of Finance and Operations Overseas Programs—Doctoral Dissertation Research Abroad EDCAPS (18-04-04)
Office of Finance and Operations Overseas Programs—Faculty Research Abroad EDCAPS (18-04-04)
Office of Finance and Operations Overseas Programs—Group Projects Abroad EDCAPS (18-04-04)
Office of Finance and Operations Overseas Programs Special Bilateral Projects EDCAPS (18-04-04)
Office of Finance and Operations Transition Programs for Students with Intellectual Disabilities into Higher Education EDCAPS (18-04-04)
Office of Finance and Operations TRIO Educational Opportunity Centers EDCAPS (18-04-04)
Office of Finance and Operations TRIO McNair Post-Baccalaureate Achievement EDCAPS (18-04-04)
Office of Finance and Operations TRIO Staff Training Program EDCAPS (18-04-04)
Office of Finance and Operations TRIO Student Support Services EDCAPS (18-04-04)
Office of Finance and Operations TRIO Talent Search EDCAPS (18-04-04)
Office of Finance and Operations TRIO Upward Bound EDCAPS (18-04-04)
Office of Finance and Operations Undergraduate International Studies and Foreign Language Programs EDCAPS (18-04-04)
Office of Finance and Operations Gallaudet University EDCAPS (18-04-04)
Office of Finance and Operations Innovative Rehabilitation Training EDCAPS (18-04-04)
Office of Finance and Operations National Technical Institute for the Deaf EDCAPS (18-04-04)
Office of Finance and Operations Research in Special Education EDCAPS (18-04-04)
Office of Finance and Operations Special Education—Personnel Development to Improve Services and Results for Children with Disabilities EDCAPS (18-04-04)
Office of Finance and Operations Special Education—Special Olympics Education Programs EDCAPS (18-04-04)
Office of Finance and Operations Special Education—State Personnel Development EDCAPS (18-04-04)
Office of Finance and Operations Special Education Educational Technology Media, and Materials for Individuals with Disabilities EDCAPS (18-04-04)
Office of Finance and Operations Special Education Grants to States EDCAPS (18-04-04)
Office of Finance and Operations Special Education Parent Information Centers EDCAPS (18-04-04)
Office of Finance and Operations Special Education Preschool Grants EDCAPS (18-04-04)
Office of Finance and Operations Special Education Studies and Evaluations EDCAPS (18-04-04)
( printed page 54862)
Office of Finance and Operations Special Education Technical Assistance and Dissemination to Improve Services and Results for Children with Disabilities EDCAPS (18-04-04)
Office of Finance and Operations Special Education Technical Assistance on State Data Collection EDCAPS (18-04-04)
Office of Finance and Operations Special Education—Grants for Infants and Families EDCAPS (18-04-04)
Office of Finance and Operations American Indian Vocational Rehabilitation Services EDCAPS (18-04-04)
Office of Finance and Operations Program of Protection and Advocacy of Individual Rights EDCAPS (18-04-04)
Office of Finance and Operations Randolph-Sheppard—Financial Relief and Restoration Payments EDCAPS (18-04-04)
Office of Finance and Operations Rehabilitation Long-Term Training EDCAPS (18-04-04)
Office of Finance and Operations Rehabilitation Services Client Assistance Program EDCAPS (18-04-04)
Office of Finance and Operations Rehabilitation Services Demonstration and Training Programs EDCAPS (18-04-04)
Office of Finance and Operations Rehabilitation Services Independent Living Services for Older Individuals Who are Blind EDCAPS (18-04-04)
Office of Finance and Operations Rehabilitation Services Service Projects EDCAPS (18-04-04)
Office of Finance and Operations Rehabilitation Services Vocational Rehabilitation Grants to States EDCAPS (18-04-04)
Office of Finance and Operations Rehabilitation Short-Term Training EDCAPS (18-04-04)
Office of Finance and Operations Rehabilitation Training Technical Assistance Centers EDCAPS (18-04-04)
Office of Finance and Operations Training Interpreters for Individuals who are Deaf and Individuals who are Deaf-Blind EDCAPS (18-04-04)

Dated: August 21, 2026.

Mark Washington,

Delegated Deputy Chief Financial Officer, Office of Finance and Operations.

[FR Doc. 2026-17297 Filed 8-24-26; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 4000-01-P

Legal Citation

Federal Register Citation

Use this for formal legal and research references to the published document.

91 FR 54857

Web Citation

Suggested Web Citation

Use this when citing the archival web version of the document.

“Privacy Act of 1974; Matching Program,” thefederalregister.org (August 25, 2026), https://thefederalregister.org/documents/2026-17297/privacy-act-of-1974-matching-program.