[Federal Register: January 9, 2004 (Volume 69, Number 6)]
[Notices]
[Page 1575-1576]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr09ja04-52]
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DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION
Notice of Proposed Information Collection Requests
AGENCY: Department of Education.
ACTION: Notice of proposed information collection requests.
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SUMMARY: The Leader, Regulatory Information Management, Office of the
Chief Information Officer, invites comments on the proposed information
collection requests as required by the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995.
DATES: An emergency review has been requested in accordance with the
Act (44 U.S.C. Chapter 3507(j)), since public harm is reasonably likely
to result if normal clearance procedures are followed. Approval by the
Office of Management and Budget (OMB) has been requested by January 7,
2004. A regular clearance process is also beginning. Interested persons
are invited to submit comments on or before March 9, 2004.
ADDRESSES: Written comments regarding the emergency review should be
addressed to the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs,
Attention: Melanie Kadlic, Desk Officer: Department of Education,
Office of Management and Budget; 725 17th Street, NW., Room 10235, New
Executive Office Building, Washington, DC 20503 or should be
electronically mailed to the internet address Melanie--
Kadlic@omb.eop.gov.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Section 3506 of the Paperwork Reduction Act
of 1995 (44 U.S.C. Chapter 35) requires that the Director of OMB
provide interested Federal agencies and the public an early opportunity
to comment on information collection requests. The Office of Management
and Budget (OMB) may amend or waive the requirement for public
consultation to the extent that public participation in the approval
process would defeat the purpose of the information collection, violate
State or Federal law, or substantially interfere with any agency's
ability to perform its statutory obligations. The Leader, Information
Management Group, Office of the Chief Information Officer, publishes
this notice containing proposed information collection requests at the
beginning of the Departmental review of the information collection.
Each proposed information collection, grouped by office, contains the
following: (1) Type of review requested, e.g., new, revision,
extension, existing or reinstatement; (2) Title; (3) Summary of the
collection; (4) Description of the need for, and proposed use of, the
information; (5) Respondents and frequency of collection; and (6)
Reporting and/or Recordkeeping burden. ED invites public comment. 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 respondents,
including through the use of information technology.
Dated: January 5, 2004.
Angela C. Arrington,
Leader, Regulatory Information Management Group, Office of the Chief
Information Officer.
Office of Elementary and Secondary Education
Type of Review: Reinstatement.
Title: Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) Title I, Part
C (Education of Migratory Children) Migrant Child Count Report.
Abstract: The report collects information on the numbers of
identified eligible migratory children in the States, for use in
allocating State Migrant Education Program (MEP) formula grant funds
and for reporting on the size of the migrant child population to
Congress and the public.
Additional Information: The Department is requesting emergency
processing for this information collection since failure to collect the
2002-03 migrant child count information in a timely manner will cause
public harm in that the delay would diminish the reliability of the
child counts and thus negatively affect the accuracy of the State MEP
formula allocations. The reliability of child counts will suffer if
data collection is delayed because many of the student record systems
maintained by the State educational agencies (SEAs) from which these
counts are generated are ``dynamic'' systems (i.e., the databases are
continuously updated to include newly identified children.) Delays in
reporting the 2002-03 child counts beyond December 1, 2003 will
increase the likelihood that some SEAs will, by re-running their child
counts after
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December 1, inadvertently count and report additional children who
would not otherwise have been counted and reported to ED as ``Category
1'' or ``Category 2'' within the usual (i.e., by December 1) reporting
cycle. This will mean that not all States who ran the final counts
after December 1 receiving higher allocations at the expense of the
other States who ran their final counts before December 1.
Because States have always annually reported their migrant child
counts to the Department for allocation purposes, the data requested
through this emergency clearance is not new or unexpected. All States
have already collected the requested data and are awaiting an approved
reporting mechanism from the Department to submit these data. All of
the MEP child count information from the 2002-2003 reporting period is
readily available for collection as the SEAs maintain migrant student
record systems for many purposes. In summary, we are requesting an
emergency review and clearance of a MEP Child Count Report containing
the following information items: 12-Month Count of Students Eligible
for Funding Purposes; Summer/Intersession Count of Participants
Eligible for Funding Purposes; and a written summary of the procedures
the state used to collect, compile and verify the accuracy of the child
counts.
We request OMB's emergency clearance of the MEP Child Count Report
by January 7, 2004.
Frequency: Annually.
Affected Public: State, local, or tribal gov't, SEAs or LEAs.
Reporting and Recordkeeping Hour Burden:
Responses: 52.
Burden Hours: 1560.
Requests for copies of the proposed information collection request
may be accessed from http://edicsweb.ed.gov, by selecting the ``Browse
Pending Collections'' link and by clicking on link number 2430. When
you access the information collection, click on ``Download
Attachments'' to view. Written requests for information should be
addressed to Vivian Reese, Department of Education, 400 Maryland
Avenue, SW., Room 4050, Regional Office Building 3, Washington, DC
20202-4651 or to the e-mail address vivan.reese@ed.gov. Requests may
also be electronically mailed to the Internet address OCIO_RIMG@ed.gov
or faxed to 202-708-9346. Please specify the complete title of the
information collection when making your request.
Comments regarding burden and/or the collection activity
requirements, contact Kathy Axt at her e-mail address Kathy.Axt@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. 04-393 Filed 1-8-04; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4000-1-P