[Federal Register Volume 69, Number 50 (Monday, March 15, 2004)]
[Notices]
[Pages 12248-12251]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 04-5675]


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DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION


Privacy Act of 1974; System of Records--Office for Civil Rights 
Complaint Files and Log

AGENCY: Office for Civil Rights, Department of Education.

ACTION: Notice of an altered system of records.

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SUMMARY: In accordance with the Privacy Act of 1974, as amended 
(Privacy Act), the Department of Education (Department) publishes this 
notice of proposed alterations to its system of records for the 
Complaint Files and Log (18-08-01). These alterations serve to update 
the system of records to reflect current administrative and related 
procedures, the implementation of a new computer system to maintain 
what formerly and exclusively were paper files, the deletion and 
consolidation of the Case Information System into the Complaint Files 
and Log system, the renumbering of the Complaint Files and Log system 
notice from 18-08-02 to 18-08-01, revisions to the purpose statement, 
and the addition of a new routine use disclosure.

DATES: The Department seeks comments on the altered system of records 
described in this notice, in accordance with the requirements of the 
Privacy Act. We must receive your comments on or before April 14, 2004.
    The Department filed a report describing the altered 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, Office of Management and Budget (OMB) on March 9, 
2004. This altered system of records will become effective at the later 
date of--(1) the expiration of the 40-day period for OMB review on 
April 18, 2004, or (2) April 14, 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 altered system of records to 
Sandra G. Battle, Director, Program Legal Group, Office for Civil 
Rights, room 5036, MES Building, 400 Maryland Avenue, SW., Washington, 
DC 20202-6132. The fax number for submitting comments is (202) 260-
3040. If you prefer to send your comments through the Internet, use the 
following address: [email protected].
    You must include the term ``Complaint Files and Log'' in the 
subject line of the electronic message.
    During and after the comment period, you may inspect all public 
comments about this notice in room 5036, MES Building, 330 C Street, 
SW., Washington, DC, between the hours of 9:30 a.m. and 5 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: Sandra G. Battle. Telephone: (202) 
205-5526. 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 in the preceding 
paragraph.

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 an altered 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 for OMB whenever the agency publishes a new or altered 
system of records. Each agency is also required to send copies of the 
report to the Chair of the Senate Committee on Governmental Affairs and 
the Chair of the House Committee on Government Reform.
    Examples of when a system of records is considered altered include 
an expansion of the types or categories of information or an addition 
of a new routine use for information maintained in the system. Since 
the last publication of these system of records notices in the Federal 
Register on June 4, 1999 (64 FR

[[Page 12249]]

30143-30146), a number of technical changes are needed to update and 
accurately describe the current system of records.

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 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 version of the Federal Register and the Code of Federal 
Regulations is available on GPO Access at http://www.gpoaccess.gov/nara/index.html.


    Dated: March 9, 2004.
Kenneth L. Marcus,
Senior Counsel for Civil Rights.
    For the reasons discussed in the preamble, the Office for Civil 
Rights of the U.S. Department of Education publishes a notice of an 
altered system of records as follows:

DELETED SYSTEM

    The Department of Education (Department) identifies system of 
records 18-08-02, Complaint Files and Log, 64 FR 30145-30146 (June 9, 
1999) to be deleted, because it has been merged into and consolidated 
with the following system of records notice.

ALTERED SYSTEM

18-08-01

SYSTEM NAME:
    Complaint Files and Log.

SECURITY CLASSIFICATION:
    None.

SYSTEM LOCATION(S):
    Office for Civil Rights, U.S. Department of Education, 330 C 
Street, SW., Room 5000 MES, Washington, DC 20202.
    See the Appendix at the end of this system notice for additional 
system locations.

CATEGORIES OF INDIVIDUALS COVERED BY THE SYSTEM:
    This system contains information on individuals or groups of 
individuals who have made civil rights complaints to the Office for 
Civil Rights (OCR).

CATEGORIES OF RECORDS COVERED BY THE SYSTEM:
    This system consists of records relating to complaints to the 
Office for Civil Rights including--
    (1) Names, addresses, and telephone numbers of complainants, 
complaint allegations, and results of investigations;
    (2) Correspondence related to the complaint, which may include 
copies of correspondence sent by OCR to others, correspondence received 
by OCR, records of telephone conversations, copies of e-mail, or other 
written communications;
    (3) Investigator and attorney memoranda;
    (4) Interview notes or transcriptions and witness statements;
    (5) Documents gathered during an investigation, including 
photographs of persons or things, portions of a recipient institution's 
records, and complainants' or other individuals' scholastic, medical, 
or employment records; and
    (6) Charts, prepared exhibits, or other analytical materials 
prepared by OCR staff or by consultants retained by OCR.

AUTHORITY FOR MAINTENANCE OF THE SYSTEM:
    Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, 42 U.S.C. 2000d, et seq.; 
Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972, 20 U.S.C. 1681, et seq.; 
Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, 29 U.S.C. 794, et seq.; 
Age Discrimination Act of 1975, 42 U.S.C. 6101, et seq.; Title II of 
the Americans With Disabilities Act, 42 U.S.C. 12131, et seq.; and the 
Boy Scouts of America Equal Access Act, 20 U.S.C. 7905.

PURPOSE(S):
    The Office for Civil Rights uses this system for the following 
purposes:
    (1) To determine and to document whether there was discrimination 
against the complainant or others;
    (2) To record the steps taken to resolve a case;
    (3) To store materials gathered, developed, or received during the 
processing of a case;
    (4) To document the steps taken to resolve a case;
    (5) To report the status of individual complaints to OCR managers 
and staff for tracking the progress of individual cases and to provide 
information used to prepare summaries of case processing activities; 
and
    (6) To report to Congress, other agencies, and to the public to 
explain or document the work that has been accomplished.

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. The 
Department may make these disclosures on a case-by-case basis or, if 
the Department has complied with the computer matching requirements of 
the Computer Matching and Privacy Protection Act of 1988, under a 
computer matching agreement.
    (1) Disclosure to Congress, Other Agencies, or the Public. The 
Department may disclose summary information derived from this system of 
records to Congress, other agencies, and the public to describe the 
kinds of work OCR has done or to document the work OCR has 
accomplished.
    (2) Disclosure to Recipients of Federal Financial Assistance, 
Witnesses, or Consultants. The Department will release information 
contained in this system of records to recipients of Federal financial 
assistance, witnesses, or consultants if it determines that the release 
would assist OCR in resolving a civil rights complaint or in obtaining 
additional information or expert advice relevant to the investigation.
    (3) Disclosure for Use by Other Law Enforcement Agencies. The 
Department may disclose information to any Federal, State, tribal, 
local, or foreign agency or other public authority responsible for 
enforcing, investigating, or prosecuting violations of administrative, 
civil, or criminal law or regulations if that information is relevant 
to any enforcement, regulatory, investigative, or prosecutorial 
responsibility within the receiving entity's jurisdiction.
    (4) 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, regulations, 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, regulations, or order issued pursuant thereto.
    (5) Litigation and Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) 
Disclosures.
    (a) Introduction. In the event that one of the following parties 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)

[[Page 12250]]

of this routine use under the conditions specified in those paragraphs:
    (i) The Department of Education, or any component of the 
Department; or
    (ii) Any Department employee in his or her official capacity; or
    (iii) Any Department employee in his or her individual capacity if 
the Department of Justice (DOJ) has been requested to provide or 
arrange for representation for the employee;
    (iv) Any Department employee in his or her individual capacity if 
the agency 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, the Department may disclose those records as a 
routine use to the DOJ.
    (c) Adjudicative Disclosures. If the Department or one of its 
components determines that disclosure of certain records to an 
adjudicative body before which the Department or one of its components 
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, Counsels, Representatives, and Witnesses. If the 
Department or one of its components determines that disclosure of 
certain records to a party, counsel, representative, or witness is 
relevant and necessary to the litigation or ADR, the Department or its 
component may disclose those records as a routine use to the party, 
counsel, representative, or witness.
    (6) Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) Advice Disclosure. The 
Department may disclose records to the DOJ if the Department determines 
that disclosure is desirable or necessary in determining whether 
particular records are required to be disclosed under the FOIA.
    (7) 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.
    (8) 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.
    (9) 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 such 
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.

DISCLOSURE TO CONSUMER REPORTING AGENCIES:
    Not applicable.

POLICIES AND PRACTICES FOR STORING, RETRIEVING, ACCESSING, RETAINING, 
AND DISPOSING OF RECORDS IN THE SYSTEM:
STORAGE:
    The records in this system are contained in digital storage media 
and in file folders.

RETRIEVABILITY:
    The records in this system are indexed by and retrievable by the 
name of the complainant, the complaint number, the name of the entity 
against which the complaint was filed, the basis for the alleged 
discrimination, and the stage of case processing.

SAFEGUARDS:
    The system is maintained on secure computer servers located in one 
or more secure Department of Education network server facilities. OCR 
staff access information in the system through use of personal 
computers located in OCR offices. Data are transmitted among offices on 
secure servers through the Department of Education's Secure Wide Area 
Network. The Department of Education maintains the servers on which the 
records are stored in secure locations with controlled access. Access 
to OCR offices is controlled and available only to OCR staff and 
authorized visitors. Authorized OCR staff access the information system 
using individual user identifiers and passwords.
    The system also limits data access by type of user and controls 
users' ability to alter records within the system. File folders 
containing non-digital information in the system are kept in lockable 
storage rooms. Access to offices in which storage rooms are located is 
restricted to OCR staff and authorized visitors. Similar records made 
before December 1993 were stored on magnetic tape, a format that is no 
longer in use, in a secure location in OCR Headquarters.

RETENTION AND DISPOSAL:
    Records are disposed pursuant to the Education Department Records 
Disposition Schedule (ED/RDS) Part 4, item 1, as approved by the 
National Archives and Records Administration (NARA). Digital records 
are destroyed or deleted when no longer needed for administrative, 
legal, or audit purposes. Records maintained at the Headquarters Office 
will be transferred to the Federal Records Center (FRC) after the case 
has been inactive for five years. Records at the regional offices are 
transferred to the FRC after the record has been inactive for two 
years. Records that are no longer needed will be destroyed 15 years 
after the end of the fiscal year in which the case is resolved.

SYSTEM MANAGER(S) AND ADDRESS:
    Deputy Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights, Office for Civil 
Rights, U.S. Department of Education, 400 Maryland Avenue, SW., Room 
5000, MES Building, Washington, DC 20202.

NOTIFICATION PROCEDURE:
    This system is exempted from 5 U.S.C. 552a(e)(4)(G) pursuant to 34 
CFR 5b.11(c)(2)(iii).

RECORD ACCESS PROCEDURES:
    This system is exempted from 5 U.S.C. 552a(e)(4)(H) pursuant to 34 
CFR 5b.11(c)(2)(iii).

CONTESTING RECORD PROCEDURES:
    This system is exempted from 5 U.S.C. 552a(e)(4)(H) pursuant to 34 
CFR 5b.11(c)(2)(iii).

RECORD SOURCE CATEGORIES:
    Records are derived from information in complaint investigation 
files.

SYSTEMS EXEMPTED FROM CERTAIN PROVISIONS OF THE ACT:
    The Secretary of Education has exempted by regulations the two 
record systems that are being combined into the Complaint Files and Log 
record system, which is thereby also exempt from the following 
provisions of the Privacy Act pursuant to 5 U.S.C. 552(k)(2) (civil 
enforcement):
    (1) 5 U.S.C. 552a(c)(3), regarding access to an accounting of 
disclosures of records.

[[Page 12251]]

    (2) 5 U.S.C. 552a(d)(1) through (4) and (f), regarding notification 
of and access to records and correction or amendment of records.
    (3) 5 U.S.C. 552a(e)(4)(G) and (H) regarding inclusion of 
information in the system notice about procedures for notification, 
access, and correction of records.
    These exemptions are stated in 34 CFR 5b.11. As indicated in 34 CFR 
5b.11, individuals will be provided with information from a record in 
this system if any individual is denied any right, privilege, or 
benefit that he or she would otherwise be entitled to by Federal law, 
or for which he or she would otherwise be eligible, as a result of the 
maintenance of that material, except when in accordance with the 
following provisions of 5 U.S.C. 552a(k)(2):
    (1) Disclosure of the information would reveal the identity of a 
source who furnished information to the Government under an express 
promise that the identity of the source would be held in confidence.
    (2) If information was obtained prior to September 28, 1975, 
disclosure of the information would reveal the identity of the source 
under an implied promise that the identity of the source would be held 
in confidence.

Appendix to 18-08-01

ADDITIONAL SYSTEM LOCATIONS:
    OCR, Boston Office, J.W. McCormack Post Office and Court House 
Building, Room 701, Boston, MA 02109.
    OCR, New York Office, 75 Park Place, 14th Floor, New York, NY 
10007.
    OCR, Philadelphia Office, 100 Penn Square East, Suite 515, 
Philadelphia, PA 19107.
    OCR, Chicago Office, 111 North Canal Street, Room 1053, Chicago, 
IL 60606.
    OCR, Cleveland Office, Bank One Center, 600 Superior Avenue, 
East, Suite 750, Cleveland, OH 44114.
    OCR, Atlanta Office, Sam Nunn Federal Office Building, 61 
Forsyth Street, SW., Suite 19T70, Atlanta, GA 30303.
    OCR, Dallas Office, 1999 Bryan Street, Suite 2600, Dallas, TX 
75201.
    OCR, Kansas City Office, 8930 Ward Parkway, Suite 2037, Kansas 
City, MO 64114.
    OCR, Denver Office, Colonnade Building, 1244 Speer Boulevard, 
Suite 300, Denver, CO 80204.
    OCR, San Francisco Office, Old Federal Building, 50 United 
Nations Plaza, Room 239, San Francisco, CA 94102.
    OCR, Seattle Office, Henry M. Jackson Federal Building, 915 
Second Avenue, Room 3310, Seattle, WA 98174.
    OCR, District of Columbia Office, 100 Pennsylvania Ave., NW., 
Rm. 316, P.O. Box 14620, Washington, DC 20004.

[FR Doc. 04-5675 Filed 3-12-04; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4000-01-P