[Federal Register: August 7, 2006 (Volume 71, Number 151)]
[Notices]               
[Page 44670-44671]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr07au06-49]                         

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DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION

 
Submission for OMB Review; Comment Request

AGENCY: Department of Education.

SUMMARY: The Leader, Information Policy and Standards Team, Regulatory 
Information Management Services, Office of Management invites comments 
on the submission for OMB review as required by the Paperwork Reduction 
Act of 1995.

DATES: Interested persons are invited to submit comments on or before 
September 6, 2006.

ADDRESSES: Written comments should be addressed to the Office of 
Information and Regulatory Affairs, Attention: Rachel Potter, Desk 
Officer, Department of Education, Office of Management and Budget, 725 
17th Street, NW., Room 10222, New Executive Office Building, 
Washington, DC 20503 or faxed to (202) 395-6974.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Section 3506 of the Paperwork Reduction Act 
of 1995 (44 U.S.C. Chapter 35) requires that the Office of Management 
and Budget (OMB) provide interested Federal agencies and the public an 
early opportunity to comment on information collection requests. 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 Policy and Standards 
Team, Regulatory Information Management Services, Office of Management, 
publishes that notice containing proposed information collection 
requests prior to submission of these requests to OMB. 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. OMB invites public comment.

    Dated: August 1, 2006.
Leo J. Eiden,
Leader, Information Policy and Standards Team, Regulatory Information 
Management Services, Office of Management.

Office of Planning, Evaluation and Policy Development.

    Type of Review: Revision.
    Title: Annual Mandatory Collection of Elementary and Secondary 
Education Data for the Education Data Exchange Network (EDEN).
    Frequency: Annually.
    Affected Public: State, Local, or Tribal Gov't, SEAs or LEAs.
    Reporting and Recordkeeping Hour Burden:
     Responses: 17,152.
     Burden Hours: 570,804.
    Abstract: The Education Data Exchange Network (EDEN) is in the 
implementation phase of a multiple year effort to consolidate the 
collection of education information about States, Districts, and 
Schools in a way that improves data quality and reduces paperwork 
burden for all of the national education partners. To minimize the 
burden on the data providers, EDEN seeks the transfer of the proposed 
data as soon as it has been processed for State, District, and School 
use. These data will then be stored in EDEN and accessed by federal 
education program managers and analysts as needed to make program 
management decisions. This process will eliminate redundant data 
collections while providing for the timeliness of data submission and 
use.
    Additional Information: The Department of Education is specifically 
requesting the data providers in each State Education Agency review the 
proposed data for availability, consistency with state data 
definitions, and appropriate use. Our responses to the public comments 
that were submitted in May and June are found in Attachment E. There 
are two additional issues state data providers are asked to address.
    The Department proposes collecting the EDEN data groups from the 
Civil Rights Survey directly from the districts in 2006 as it has 
historically collected that data. It is the Department's intent to move 
this data collection into the EDEN Submission System in the future and 
ask state education agencies to submit the data for their districts. 
The Department plans to specify in the 2007-2008 EDEN paperwork 
submission request that all civil rights data groups and categories be 
included in the EDEN Submission System beginning with the 2007-2008 
school year. During a transition period through 2009-2010, the 
Department may continue to use the Web-based EDEN Survey Tool or other 
mechanism to collect these data directly from districts in those states 
that are unable to report required civil rights items from the SEA 
level through EDEN. The Department would like to know what challenges 
this decision will put on the states and how the Department might work 
with the states to mitigate any problems.
    In response to the public comment regarding the challenges of 
submitting the whole EDEN data set and the need to prioritize the EDEN 
data and focus on the submission of the most important and useful data, 
the Department has developed a prioritized phase-in plan to the states 
that is presented in Attachment B of the EDEN 2006-2007 data collection 
package. All EDEN data will still need to be submitted within the two-
year transition period but the expectation to submit will be adjusted 
based on which data is most available and most highly required by the 
Department. The EDEN Submission System will receive all requested EDEN 
data from every state that can submit any EDEN data from the 2006-2007 
school year. The Department would like to know if this adjustment will 
help the States make more timely submissions of EDEN data and if States 
agree with the prioritization of the data groups.
    In this issue of the Federal Register the Department is publishing 
Proposed Guidance on Maintaining, Collecting, and Reporting Data on 
Race and Ethnicity to the U.S. Department of Education. Data on race 
and ethnicity in the format outlined in the proposed guidance will be 
required to be reported to ED no later than the 2009-2010 school year. 
Those States that can provide it sooner are encouraged to do so. Since 
this guidance may directly and immediately affect the collection of 
EDEN data, the Department encourages relevant public comment on the 
impact of this guidance on the collection of EDEN data as part of this 
EDEN paperwork clearance process.
    Requests for copies of the information collection submission for 
OMB review may be accessed from http://edicsweb.ed.gov, by selecting 

the ``Browse Pending Collections'' link and by clicking on link number 
3017. When you access the information collection, click on ``Download 
Attachments'' to view. Written requests for information should be 
addressed to U.S. Department of Education, 400 Maryland Avenue, SW., 
Potomac Center, 9th Floor, Washington, DC 20202-4700. Requests may also 
be electronically mailed to

[[Page 44671]]

ICDocketMgr@ed.gov or faxed to 202-245-6623. Please specify the 

complete title of the information collection when making your request.
    Comments regarding burden and/or the collection activity 
requirements should be electronically mailed to ICDocketMgr@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. E6-12695 Filed 8-4-06; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 4000-01-P