[Federal Register Volume 60, Number 8 (Thursday, January 12, 1995)]
[Notices]
[Pages 3048-3049]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 95-810]




[[Page 3047]]

_______________________________________________________________________

Part III





Department of Education





_______________________________________________________________________



Office of Elementary and Secondary Education



_______________________________________________________________________



Records Transfer for Mobile Students; Notice

  Federal Register / Vol. 60, No. 8 / Thursday, January 12, 1995 / 
Notices    
[[Page 3048]]

DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION

Office of Elementary and Secondary Education


Records Transfer for Mobile Students

AGENCY: Department of Education.

ACTION: Request for comments on records transfer for mobile students.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

SUMMARY: The Assistant Secretary for Elementary and Secondary Education 
requests comments on (1) current methods for transferring educational 
and health records and enrolling highly mobile students, especially 
migrant students, at the appropriate grade level and documenting their 
course completion; and (2) how the Federal Government can best work 
with State educational agencies (SEAs) and local educational agencies 
(LEAs) to improve existing systems and technologies for transferring 
records between school districts. The Department will review and 
analyze information obtained through this notice and will use it to 
consider what, if any, Federal actions might be useful to those who 
provide direct services to children.

DATES: Comments are requested by February 27, 1995.

ADDRESSES: Comments should be addressed to Lori__Ahmady, U.S. 
Department of Education, 600 Independence Ave., SW, Room 4100 Portals, 
Washington, DC 20202-6135. Comments sent by courier should be addressed 
to Lori Ahmady, 1250 Maryland Ave., SW, Suite 4100, Washington, DC 
20024. Comments may also be sent via the Internet to 
Lori__A[email protected].

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Lori Ahmady, at the above addresses or 
by telephone at 202-260-1391. Individuals who use a telecommunications 
device for the deaf (TDD) may call the Federal Information Relay 
Service (FIRS) at 1-800-877-8339 between 8 a.m. and 8 p.m., Eastern 
time, Monday through Friday.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: For purposes of this discussion, ``highly 
mobile students'' includes specific groups targeted by programs the 
Department administers, i.e., children of migrant agricultural or 
fishing workers, homeless children, and military dependents, as well as 
other children whose education is adversely affected by frequent moves 
(children from poor urban families and children of other itinerant 
workers). Also, for purposes of this discussion, a ``student record'' 
consists of a body of information transferred from one school to 
another, electronically, by telephone, or in hard copy, to assist in 
the enrollment and appropriate placement of the student in the new 
school. These records may include official transcripts, report cards, 
cumulative files, health records, and other related information. The 
content of a student record may differ substantially between elementary 
and secondary schools, between public and private schools, and among 
States and localities.
    The Department's current interest in records transfer is prompted 
by a number of factors, including the high rate of mobility within our 
society as a whole, and the effects of that mobility on educating 
school-age children. A recent report by the General Accounting Office 
(GAO), stated that ``The United States has one of the highest mobility 
rates of all developed countries. * * * One in six of the Nation's 
children who are third-graders--over a half million--have changed 
school frequently, attending at least three different schools since the 
beginning of first grade. Unless policymakers focus greater attention 
on the needs of children who have changed schools frequently--often 
low-income, inner city, migrant, and limited English proficient (LEP)--
these children may continue to be low achieving. * * *'' Studies such 
as this one have focused public attention on the need to provide timely 
and comparable records to help mobile children, who are less likely to 
receive federally funded services than their more stable peers, get the 
help they need. This study also questioned the utility and adequacy of 
current records transfer efforts on behalf of children who move 
frequently from one district (or even one school) to another. The GAO 
study reports that ``* * * the most commonly used mode of transferring 
student records--by mail--can be cumbersome and time-consuming. In one 
State, local officials reported it often takes 2 to 6 weeks before a 
new child's records arrive. In a school with a high mobility rate, 
teachers rarely used records to place children * * * because these 
records usually arrived days or weeks after the children transferred or 
not at all. * * *'' These delays may prove particularly limiting for 
those subpopulations of students who are highly mobile, such as the 
children of migrant agricultural workers, children of other itinerant 
workers, homeless children, children from poor urban families, and 
military dependents.
    In response to recommendations from several groups that the 
Department explore the potential of new technologies (e.g., FAX 
technology and electronic data interchange (EDI)) to improve records 
transfer for all children and particularly for highly mobile student 
subpopulations, Department staff have, over the past year, initiated 
conversations with the Council of Chief State School Officers about its 
SPEEDE/ExPRESS data transfer protocols, commissioned a report of 
available data on alternatives to the current Migrant Student Record 
Transfer System and convened a Departmental workgroup to study records 
transfer issues. The Department has also discussed issues related to 
records transfer for mobile students with some SEA and LEA 
representatives. These initial efforts have indicated, in part, that 
even with new technologies for linking all State educational records 
systems and new momentum to expand the automation of SEA and LEA 
student data systems, the costs of applying technology to records 
transfer, while unknown, are likely to be considerable.

Request for Comments

    The Assistant Secretary, in particular, requests comments from 
knowledgeable education personnel in LEAs and SEAs, especially from 
those teachers, counselors, school administrators, and other school 
personnel who are responsible for placement and credit acceptance 
decisions in schools and LEAs that have a high mobility rate among 
students. Parents of mobile children are also requested to comment.
    In order to determine whether and how the Federal Government might 
assist States and localities in developing strategies for transferring 
records for highly mobile students, the Department is seeking public 
comment about current practices and barriers to the transfer of student 
records. In addition, information obtained through this notice will 
contribute to the preparation of a report of findings and 
recommendations on records transfer to be submitted to the Committee on 
Labor and Human Resources of the Senate and the Committee on Education 
and Labor of the House of Representatives as required in section 
1308(b)(2) of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act, as amended by 
Pub. L. 103-382. The Department will consider all timely comments 
received and does not require commenters to identify themselves. The 
information requested in this notice regarding characteristics of the 
commenter is needed for analysis only.

Commenter Characteristics

    1. Indicate either the type of organization you represent or your 
occupation, e.g., parent, teacher, counselor, local program or school 
administrator, State educational agency management information systems 
specialist, advocacy organization, State [[Page 3049]] or local 
educational agency staff, or other.
    2. Indicate the nature of the mobility you deal with most 
frequently, (e.g., within district, across districts within your State, 
or across States), the kind of mobile students you or your organization 
deals with the most (e.g., migrant children, homeless children, 
military dependents), and the amount of mobility you deal with (e.g., 
the approximate percentage of students in your school, district or 
State who move each year).

Questions for Commenters

    1. How, in your experience, are students' educational and health 
records currently transferred across schools, districts and States 
(e.g., by mail, FAX, telephone, electronic transfer)?
    2. For newly arriving students, what information do school 
personnel and classroom teachers use to enroll students, assign them to 
a grade level or class, and grant credit for coursework completed at 
previous schools? Where does this information come from (e.g., teacher 
observations, the student's cumulative files, migrant student records, 
formal or informal needs assessments, or other information obtained 
from the student, the student's family, or the students' previous 
schools)?
    3. To what extent do schools and teachers rely upon records 
transferred from other schools to make or confirm enrollment, 
placement, programming and other educational or support service 
decisions including the transfer of credits for high school graduation? 
(Commenters are asked to characterize how much they rely on student 
records in making or confirming these decisions, and how comfortable 
they are in doing so, as compared to other information sources like 
those listed in Question #2.)
    4. Are existing methods of transferring student records from school 
to school adequate? If not, what problems or barriers exist and what 
are their ensuing consequences for highly mobile students, including 
migrant students? How prevalent are these problems and their subsequent 
effects on mobile students? Are there particular situations in which 
problems occur most frequently?
    5. What can States, school districts, and individual schools do to 
improve the transfer of student records? What can parents do to ensure 
that their children's records move from school to school?
    6. Should the Federal Government work to advance the development of 
more effective State and local methods of transferring student records? 
How?

Invitation to Comment

    All comments submitted in response to this notice will be available 
during and after the comment period in room 4100, Portals Building, 
1250 Maryland Avenue, S.W., Washington, D.C., between the hours of 8:30 
a.m. and 4:30 p.m., Monday, through Friday of each week except Federal 
holidays.

    Dated: January 6, 1995.
Thomas W. Payzant,
Assistant Secretary, Elementary and Secondary Education.
[FR Doc. 95-810 Filed 1-11-95; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4000-01-P