[Federal Register Volume 64, Number 110 (Wednesday, June 9, 1999)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Page 31066]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 99-14585]


      

[[Page 31065]]

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Part IV





Department of Education





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34 CFR Part 5b



Privacy Act of 1974; Implementation; Final Rule

  Federal Register / Vol. 64, No. 110 / Wednesday, June 9, 1999 / 
Proposed Rules  

[[Page 31066]]



DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION

34 CFR Part 5b

RIN 1880-AA78


Privacy Act Regulations; Implementation

AGENCY: Office of Inspector General, Department of Education.

ACTION: Final regulations.

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SUMMARY: The Secretary amends the Department's regulations implementing 
the Privacy Act of 1974 (the Act). These amendments are needed to 
modify existing departmental regulations to exempt from certain 
provisions of the Act a new system of records known as the Office of 
Inspector General (OIG) Hotline Complaints Files (System No. 18-10-
0004) (ED/OIG Hotline Complaint Files). These exemptions are needed to 
protect information regarding Hotline complaints from disclosure to 
target individuals and others who could interfere with the processing 
and disposition of the information and with law enforcement activities 
relating to the Hotline complaints.

DATES: These regulations are effective July 9, 1999.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Gary Mathison, Acting Assistant 
Inspector General for Investigations, U.S. Department of Education, 400 
Maryland Avenue, SW., room 4106, Switzer Building, Washington, DC 
20202-1530. Telephone: (202) 205-8762. If you use a telecommunications 
device for the deaf (TDD), you may call the Federal Information Relay 
Service (FIRS) at 1-800-877-8339.
    Individuals with disabilities may obtain this document in an 
alternate format (e.g., Braille, large print, audiotape, or computer 
diskette) on request to the contact person listed in the preceding 
paragraph.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: On November 24, 1997, the Secretary 
published a notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM) for this amendment in 
the Federal Register (62 FR 62670). The NPRM included a detailed 
summary of major issues on pages 62670-62672. In the same issue of the 
Federal Register, the Secretary published a Notice of a New System of 
Records entitled ``Hotline Complaint Files of the Inspector General'' 
(62 FR 62673). The Secretary stated that the new system would not be 
implemented until the proposed exemptions became final. The exemptions 
become final on the effective date of these final regulations.
    Except for minor editorial and technical revisions, there are no 
differences between the NPRM and these final regulations.
    The exemptions are authorized under the Privacy Act, 5 U.S.C. 
552a(j)(2) and (k)(2). Under subsection (j)(2) of the Act, the 
Secretary through rulemaking may exempt from certain provisions of the 
Act those systems of records maintained by a component of the 
Department that performs as its principal function any activity 
pertaining to the enforcement of criminal laws, if the information in 
the system is compiled for the purpose of criminal investigation. Under 
5 U.S.C. 552a(k)(2), the Secretary through rulemaking may exempt from a 
more limited number of Privacy Act requirements a system of records 
that contains investigatory materials compiled for civil and 
administrative law enforcement purposes.

Public Comment

    In the NPRM the Secretary invited comments on the proposed 
regulations. We did not receive any comments.

Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995

    These regulations do not contain any information collection 
requirements.

Intergovernmental Review

    This program is not subject to the requirements of Executive Order 
12372 and the regulations in 34 CFR Part 79.

Electronic Access to This Document

    You may view this document, as well as all other Department of 
Education documents published in the Federal Register, in text or Adobe 
Portable Document Format (PDF) on the Internet at either of the 
following sites:

http://ocfo.ed.gov/fedreg.htm
http://www.ed.gov/news.html

To use the PDF you must have the Adobe Acrobat Reader Program with 
Search, which is available free at either of the previous sites. If you 
have questions about using the PDF, call the U.S. Government Printing 
Office (GPO), toll free, at 1-888-293-6498; or in the Washington, DC, 
area at (202) 512-1530.

    Note: The official version of this document is the document 
published in the Federal Register. Free Internet access to the 
official edition of the Federal Register and the Code of Federal 
Regulations is available on GPO Access at: http://
www.access.gpo.gov/nara/index.html.

(Catalogue of Federal Domestic Assistance Number does not apply)

List of Subjects in 34 CFR Part 5b

    Privacy.

    Dated: June 4, 1999.
Richard W. Riley,
Secretary of Education.

    The Secretary amends part 5b of title 34 of the Code of Federal 
Regulations as follows:

PART 5b--PRIVACY ACT REGULATIONS

    1. The authority citation for part 5b is revised to read as 
follows:

    Authority: 5 U.S.C. 301 and 552a.

    2. Section 5b.11 is amended by revising paragraphs (b), 
introductory text, and (c)(1), introductory text, to read as follows:


Sec. 5b.11  Exempt systems.

* * * * *
    (b) Specific systems of records exempted under (j)(2). The 
Department exempts the Investigative Files of the Inspector General ED/
OIG (18-10-0001) and the Hotline Complaint Files of the Inspector 
General ED/OIG (18-10-0004) systems of records from the following 
provisions of 5 U.S.C. 552a and this part:
* * * * *
    (c) * * *
    (1) The Department exempts the Investigative Files of the Inspector 
General ED/OIG (18-10-0001) and the Hotline Complaint Files of the 
Inspector General ED/OIG (18-10-0004) from the following provisions of 
5 U.S.C. 552a and this part to the extent that these systems of records 
consist of investigatory material and complaints that may be included 
in investigatory material compiled for law enforcement purposes:
* * * * *
[FR Doc. 99-14585 Filed 6-8-99; 8:45 am]
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