[Federal Register Volume 69, Number 40 (Monday, March 1, 2004)]
[Notices]
[Pages 9602-9605]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 04-4514]


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DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION


Privacy Act of 1974; System of Records; What Works Clearinghouse 
(18-13-06)

AGENCY: Institute of Education Sciences, Department of Education.

ACTION: Notice of a new system of records.

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SUMMARY: In accordance with the Privacy Act of 1974, as amended 
(Privacy Act), the U.S. Department of Education (the Department or ED) 
publishes this notice of a new system of records for the Institute of 
Education Sciences (IES or the Institute) ``What Works Clearinghouse'' 
(WWC or Clearinghouse). The Clearinghouse is a web-based system that 
will maintain a national registry of educational interventions--
educational programs, products, and practices that are claimed to 
enhance important student outcomes. In particular, the Clearinghouse 
will assess and report on the strength of research-based evidence of 
the effectiveness of these educational programs.
    The Institute anticipates that the Clearinghouse will gather 
personal information in two ways. First, the Clearinghouse will be 
collecting identifying information from members of the public when--
    1. The public voluntarily and anonymously suggests studies, 
interventions, and topics for WWC review, and provides optional contact 
information.
    2. The public voluntarily subscribes to receive e-mail updates 
about new information on the WWC Web site.
    In both cases, access to contact information will be restricted to 
authorized WWC staff on a need-to-know basis. In the case of e-mail 
addresses, this information will only be available to the Web site 
administrator.
    Second, evaluators--individuals and organizations--may use the Web 
site to voluntarily submit contact information and information about 
their services and experience in evaluating educational programs. The 
purpose of this information is to create a public listing to assist 
people in identifying those evaluators who are potentially qualified to 
conduct rigorous studies of the effectiveness of education programs. 
Interested evaluators will sign a letter giving their written 
permission for this information to be used in the registry.

DATES: The Department seeks comment on the new system of records 
described in this notice, in accordance with the requirements of the 
Privacy Act. We must receive your comments on or before March 31, 2004.
    The Department filed a report describing the system of records 
covered by this notice with the Chair of the Senate Committee on 
Governmental Affairs, the Chair of the House Committee on Government 
Reform, and the Administrator of the Office of Information and 
Regulatory Affairs, OMB, on February 25, 2004. This system of records 
will become effective at the later date of--(1) the expiration of the 
40-day period for OMB review on April 5, 2004 or (2) March 31, 2004, 
unless the system of records needs to be changed as a result of public 
comment or OMB review.

ADDRESSES: Address all comments about this system of records to Nancy 
Loy, Ph.D., Contracting Officer's Technical Representative (COR), What 
Works Clearinghouse, U.S. Department of Education, Institute of 
Education Sciences, 555 New Jersey Avenue, NW., suite 504, Washington, 
DC 20208. If you prefer to send comments through the Internet, use the 
following address: [email protected]. You must include the term ``What 
Works Clearinghouse'' in the subject line of the electronic comment.
    During and after the comment period, you may inspect all public 
comments about this notice in suite 504, 555 New Jersey Avenue, NW., 
Washington, DC, between the hours of 8 a.m. and 4:30 p.m., Eastern 
time, Monday through Friday of each week except Federal holidays.

Assistance to Individuals With Disabilities in Reviewing the Rulemaking 
Record

    On request, we will supply an appropriate aid, such as a reader or 
print magnifier, to an individual with a disability who needs 
assistance to review the comments or other documents in the public 
rulemaking record for this notice. If you want to schedule an 
appointment for this type of aid, please contact the person listed 
under FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Nancy Loy. Telephone: (202) 208-3680. 
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 
alternative format (e.g., Braille, large print, audiotape, or computer 
diskette) on request to the contact person listed under FOR FURTHER 
INFORMATION CONTACT.

[[Page 9603]]


SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Introduction

    The Privacy Act (5 U.S.C. 552a(e)(4)) requires the Department to 
publish in the Federal Register this notice of a new system of records 
maintained by the Department. The Department's regulations implementing 
the Privacy Act are contained in the Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) 
in 34 CFR part 5b.
    The Privacy Act applies to a record about an individual that 
contains individually identifiable information that is retrieved by a 
unique identifier associated with each individual, such as a name or 
social security number. The information about each individual is called 
a ``record'' and the system, whether manual or computer-based, is 
called a ``system of records.'' The Privacy Act requires each agency to 
publish notices of systems of records in the Federal Register and to 
prepare reports to OMB whenever the agency publishes a new or altered 
system of records. Each agency is also required to send copies to the 
Chair of the Senate Committee on Governmental Affairs and the Chair of 
the House Committee on Government Reform. These reports are intended to 
permit an evaluation of the probable or potential effect of the 
proposal on the privacy or other rights of individuals.

Electronic Access to This Document

    You may view this document, as well as other Department of 
Education documents published in the Federal Register, in text or Adobe 
Portable Document Format (PDF) on the Internet at the following site: 
http://www.ed.gov/news/fedregister.
    To use PDF you must have Adobe Acrobat Reader, which is available 
free at this site. If you have questions about using 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.gpoaccess.gov/nara/index.html.


    Dated: February 25, 2004.
Grover J. Whitehurst,
Director, Institute of Education Sciences.
    For reasons discussed in the preamble, the Director of the 
Institute of Education Sciences (IES or the Institute) of the U.S. 
Department of Education (the Department or ED) publishes a notice of a 
new system of records to read as follows:
18-13-06

SYSTEM NAME:
    What Works Clearinghouse (WWC) Database.

SECURITY CLASSIFICATION:
    None.

SYSTEM LOCATION:
    Aspen Systems Corporation, 2277 Research Boulevard, Rockville, MD 
20850.

CATEGORIES OF INDIVIDUALS COVERED BY THE SYSTEM:
    This web-based system will maintain a national registry of 
educational interventions--educational programs, products, and 
practices that are claimed to enhance important student outcomes. In 
particular, the WWC will assess and report on the strength of research-
based evidence of the effectiveness of these educational programs.
    There are two categories of individuals covered by the system. 
First, the WWC will be collecting identifying information from members 
of the public if the public voluntarily and anonymously suggests 
studies, interventions, and topics for WWC review, and provides 
optional contact information. The WWC will also collect information 
from the public if an individual voluntarily subscribes to receive e-
mail updates about new information on the WWC Web site.
    Second, evaluators--individuals and organizations--may use the Web 
site to voluntarily submit contact information and information about 
their services and experience in evaluating educational programs. The 
purpose of this information is to create a public listing to assist 
people in identifying those evaluators who are potentially qualified to 
conduct rigorous studies of the effectiveness of education programs.

CATEGORIES OF RECORDS IN THE SYSTEM:
    For members of the public who suggest a study, intervention, or 
topic for WWC review, and choose to provide contact information, the 
form will include name, title, organization, mailing address, e-mail 
address, phone number, URL and comments. The individual will be able to 
choose whether or not to submit any contact information at all, provide 
just a contact name and e-mail address, or give more detailed contact 
information, including title, organization, mailing address, phone 
number, URL, or comments.
    For members of the public who voluntarily subscribe to receive e-
mail updates from the WWC Web site, an automated system will collect 
and retain the e-mail addresses of subscribers.
    Finally, evaluators may use the Web site to voluntarily submit 
contact information--name, work mailing and e-mail addresses, phone 
number--together with information about their services and experience, 
if they would like this information to be included in the public-
access, web-based registry of evaluators.
    This notice does not cover records, including but not limited to 
letters, e-mails, and facsimiles, sent by individuals to the Secretary, 
Deputy Secretary, Senior Officers, such as the Director of IES, for 
whom the Department controls responses to these inquiries. Further, 
this notice does not cover the official correspondence files of IES, 
specifically the hard copies of official documents and electronic 
images of certain incoming and outgoing documents.

AUTHORITY FOR MAINTENANCE OF THE SYSTEM:
    Education Sciences Reform Act of 2002, Pub. L. 107-279 (2002), 
sections 172(a)(2) and (3).

PURPOSE(S):
    This system of records is maintained to provide the WWC with the 
means to:
    1. Contact members of the public who suggest a study, intervention, 
or topic for review and who choose voluntarily to provide optional 
contact information, if their suggestions need clarification.
    2. Send e-mail updates about new information on the WWC Web site to 
subscribers.
    3. Provide contact information for evaluators who wish to have 
their services, experience, and contact information included in the 
public-access, web-based registry of evaluators.

ROUTINE USES OF RECORDS MAINTAINED IN THE SYSTEM, INCLUDING CATEGORIES 
OF USERS AND THE PURPOSES OF SUCH USES:
    The Department may disclose information contained in a record in 
this system of records under the routine uses listed in this system of 
records without the consent of the individual if the disclosure is 
compatible with the purposes for which the record was collected. These 
disclosures may be made on a case-by-case basis or, if the Department 
has complied with the computer matching requirements of the Privacy 
Act, under a computer matching agreement.
    1. Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) Advice Disclosure. The 
Department may disclose records to the Department of Justice (DOJ) and 
OMB if the Department concludes that disclosure is desirable or 
necessary in determining whether particular records are required to be 
disclosed under the FOIA.

[[Page 9604]]

    2. Disclosure to the DOJ. The Department may disclose records to 
the DOJ to the extent necessary for obtaining DOJ advice on any matter 
relevant to an audit, inspection, or other inquiry related to the 
programs covered by this system.
    3. Contract Disclosure. If the Department contracts with an entity 
for the purposes of performing any function that requires disclosure of 
records in this system to employees of the contractor, the Department 
may disclose the records to those employees. Before entering into a 
contract, the Department shall require the contractor to maintain 
Privacy Act safeguards as required under 5 U.S.C. 552a(m) with respect 
to the records in the system.
    4. Litigation and Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) Disclosures.
    (a) Introduction. In the event that one of the parties described in 
(a)(i) through (v) is involved in litigation or ADR, or has an interest 
in litigation or ADR, the Department may disclose certain records to 
the parties described in paragraphs (b), (c), and (d) of this routine 
use under the conditions specified in those paragraphs:
    (i) The Department, or any of its components; or
    (ii) Any Department employee in his or her official capacity; or
    (iii) Any Department employee in his or her official capacity if 
the DOJ has agreed or been requested to provide or arrange for 
representation for the employee; or
    (iv) Any Department employee in his or her individual capacity if 
the Department has agreed to represent the employee; or
    (v) The United States if the Department determines that the 
litigation is likely to affect the Department or any of its components.
    (b) Disclosure to the DOJ. If the Department determines that 
disclosure of certain records to the DOJ is relevant and necessary to 
litigation or ADR, and is compatible with the purpose for which the 
records were collected, the Department may disclose those records as a 
routine use to the DOJ.
    (c) Adjudicative disclosures. If the Department determines that 
disclosure of certain records to an adjudicative body before which the 
Department is authorized to appear or to an individual or entity 
designated by the Department or otherwise empowered to resolve or 
mediate disputes is relevant and necessary to the litigation or ADR, 
the Department may disclose those records as a routine use to the 
adjudicative body, individual, or entity.
    (d) Parties, counsel, representatives and witnesses. If the 
Department determines that disclosure of certain records to a party, 
counsel, representative or witness is relevant and necessary to the 
litigation or ADR, the Department may disclose those records as a 
routine use to the party, counsel, representative or witness.
    5. Research Disclosure. The Department may disclose records to a 
researcher if an appropriate official of the Department determines that 
the individual or organization to which the disclosure would be made is 
qualified to carry out specific research related to functions or 
purposes of this system of records. The official may disclose records 
from this system of records to that researcher solely for the purpose 
of carrying out that research related to the functions or purposes of 
this system of records. The researcher shall be required to maintain 
Privacy Act safeguards with respect to the disclosed records.
    6. Congressional Member Disclosure. The Department may disclose 
information to a Member of Congress from the record of an individual in 
response to an inquiry from the Member made at the written request of 
that individual. The Member's right to the information is no greater 
than the right of the individual who requested it.
    7. Enforcement Disclosure. In the event that information in this 
system of records indicates, either on its face or in connection with 
other information, a violation or potential violation of any applicable 
statute, regulation, or order of a competent authority, the Department 
may disclose the relevant records to the appropriate agency, whether 
foreign, Federal, State, Tribal, or local, charged with the 
responsibility of investigating or prosecuting that violation or 
charged with enforcing or implementing the statute, Executive order, 
rule, regulation, or order issued pursuant thereto.

DISCLOSURES TO CONSUMER REPORTING AGENCIES:
    Not applicable to this system of records.

POLICIES AND PRACTICES FOR STORING, RETRIEVING, ACCESSING, RETAINING, 
AND DISPOSING OF RECORDS IN THE SYSTEM: STORAGE:
    The information in the tracking system will be stored on a server 
maintained by the WWC subcontractor staff. Records generated by the 
system will be maintained electronically on the server.

RETRIEVABILITY:
    The public will have access to the searchable, web-based registry 
of evaluators, containing information voluntarily submitted by 
evaluators about their services and experience, as well as contact 
information, after the evaluators have signed a letter giving their 
written permission for this information to be used in the registry.
    The data are retrieved by searching by record number, type of 
suggestion, study author, title, reference type, publisher, topic, type 
of intervention, and organization.
    The data for the evaluator registry will be searchable on the WWC 
public-access Web site by topic, type of research, geographic area, 
study title, intervention title, years of experience, and contact 
information.

SAFEGUARDS:
    Access to this system will be restricted to authorized WWC 
contractors, subcontractors, consultants, and ED employees on a need-
to-know basis. Authorized users of this system will enter a unique user 
ID as well as a password to enter the system. They will be required to 
change their passwords periodically, and they will not be allowed to 
repeat old passwords. Any individual who attempts to log in to the 
system three times and fails will be locked out of the system. Access 
after that time requires intervention by the system manager.
    The computer system employed by the WWC offers a high degree of 
resistance to tampering and circumvention. This security system limits 
data access to authorized WWC staff and controls individual users' 
ability to access and alter records within the system.
    All file servers, routers/hubs, tape back-up stations, and 
communications servers are located in secure rooms at the 
subcontractor's Headquarters site, and only authorized personnel have 
access via key or magnetic card.
    All files will be password-protected and back-up files will be 
secured in a locked area. Access to the data files and software on the 
WWC site are controlled through the Microsoft NT Server operating 
system by providing all staff with user accounts (user IDs). All secure 
user accounts will require passwords that must be changed every six 
months. Passwords for ongoing data processing will be changed 
frequently, and users will be blocked from gaining access to certain 
types of data and programs based on their IDs and passwords.

RETENTION AND DISPOSAL:
    Records in this system will be retained in accordance with the 
National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) General Records 
Schedule 20, Item 1.c which

[[Page 9605]]

provides disposal authorization for electronic files and hard-copy 
printouts created to monitor system usage. Records will be deleted or 
destroyed when the agency determines they are no longer needed for 
administrative, legal, audit, or other operational purposes.

SYSTEM MANAGER AND ADDRESS:
    Contracting Officer's Representative (COR), What Works 
Clearinghouse, U.S. Department of Education, Institute of Education 
Sciences, 555 New Jersey Avenue, NW., suite 504, Washington, DC 20208.

NOTIFICATION PROCEDURE:
    If you wish to determine whether a record exists about you in the 
system of records, provide the system manager with your name or e-mail 
address. Your request for notification must also meet the requirements 
of the regulations in 34 CFR 5b.5, including proof of identity. You may 
also present your request in person or make your request in writing to 
the system manager at the above address.

RECORD ACCESS PROCEDURES:
    Request to access a record also must reasonably specify the record 
contents sought and otherwise meet the requirements of the regulations 
in 34 CFR 5b.5, including proof of identity.

CONTESTING RECORD PROCEDURES:
    If you wish to change the content of a record in this system of 
records, you must contact the system manager at the above address and 
follow the steps outlined in the NOTIFICATION PROCEDURE section. 
Requests to amend a record must also reasonably identify the record, 
specify the information being contested, provide in writing your 
reasons for requesting the change, and otherwise meet the regulations 
in 34 CFR 5b.7.

RECORD SOURCE CATEGORIES:
    Information in this system is obtained from members of the public 
and evaluators who voluntarily provide information. The primary way for 
the public and evaluators to contact the WWC is electronically through 
the WWC Web site, although they also could contact the WWC by 
telephone, by mail, or in person.

SYSTEM EXEMPTED FROM CERTAIN PROVISIONS OF THE PRIVACY ACT:
    None.
[FR Doc. 04-4514 Filed 2-27-04; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4000-01-P