[Federal Register: June 8, 2004 (Volume 69, Number 110)]
[Notices]               
[Page 31981]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr08jn04-46]                         

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DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION

 
Supplementary Notice

SUMMARY: The Leader, Regulatory Information Management Group, Office of 
the Chief Information Officer, invites comments on the proposed 
information collection request published on April 16, 2004 (Page 20603, 
Column 3) entitled, ``Performance Based Data Management Initiative 
(PBDMI)'' as required by the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995.

DATES: Interested persons are invited to submit comments on or before 
June 15, 2004.

    Dated: June 3, 2004.
Angela C. Arrington,
Leader, Regulatory Information Management Group, Office of the Chief 
Information Officer.

    On April 16, 2004 the United States Department of Education 
requested public comments under the Paperwork Reduction Act for the 
Performance Based Data Management Initiative (PBDMI). This 
supplementary notice provides some necessary additional material to 
explain this collection activity and invite interested persons to 
access the site again to obtain updated documents on PBDMI.

Civil Rights Data Collection

    For many years, the Office of Civil Rights has conducted a Bi-
annual collection of data from a sample of districts and schools to 
measure education trends and evaluate data associated with ensuring 
that the laws and regulations providing all students with equal access 
to education are being enforced. In this next information collection 
cycle, this data collection will be coordinated with PBDMI in an effort 
to reduce the paperwork burden on those educators providing this 
information. Comments from the public regarding the collection of this 
data should be included as part of this clearance process.

Use of the Collected Data

    The primary and immediate use of this data will be to evaluate the 
education outcomes of selected federally funded education programs in 
elementary and secondary education. This data will be used by federal 
program managers and analysts to ascertain the status and progress of 
the education programs for which they are responsible. It is expected 
that this data will be made available to State and local education 
agencies and the public after data quality has been established and 
compliance with all laws and regulations protecting the privacy of 
individuals has been met. There are no current plans to provide this 
information to any other interested groups except through the general 
public access situation just mentioned.

Data To Be Provided

    PBDMI data to be collected over the next twelve months will include 
data about schools, districts, and States for the 2002-2003, 2003-2004, 
and 2004-2005 school years. Many of the States have already provided a 
significant portion of the 2002-2003 school year data as part of the 
pilot test that was conducted this past year. Quality data submitted 
during the pilot test will not need to be resubmitted. Data for the 
2003-2004 school year will be collected in the fall of this year and 
data for the 2004-2005 school year will be collected as it becomes 
available throughout the 2004-2005 school year. Data specifically 
associated with the Civil Rights Data Collection will be collected 
starting in December 2004 and due by the end of March 2005.

Further Inquiry Invited

    The PBDMI collection clearance submission has been revised and 
expanded to provide a more comprehensive and understandable description 
and justification of this activity. Interested persons are invited to 
visit the Web site OCIO_RIMG@ed.gov or write to the following address 
and request a paper copy of this clearance package for their review: 
U.S. Department of Education, 400 Maryland Avenue, SW., Potomac Center, 
9th Floor, Washington, DC 20202-4700. Comments regarding burden and/or 
the collection activity requirements should be directed to Joseph 
Schubart at his e-mail address Joe_Schubart@ed.gov. Individuals who 
use a telecommunications device for the deaf (TDD) may call the Federal 
Information Relay Service (FIRS) at 1-800-877-8339.

[FR Doc. 04-12894 Filed 6-7-04; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 4000-01-P