[Federal Register Volume 71, Number 220 (Wednesday, November 15, 2006)]
[Notices]
[Pages 66506-66508]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E6-19290]


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DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION


Privacy Act of 1974; System of Records--Early Reading First 
National Evaluation

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 Department of Education (Department) publishes this 
notice of a new system of records entitled Early Reading First National 
Evaluation (18-13-08). The system will contain information about 
participants in the Early Reading First program (Title I, Part B, 
Subpart 2, Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (ESEA)), as 
well as about children attending preschools that applied for but did 
not receive Early Reading First program funds.
    The evaluation obtained a sample of sites from the universe of 
applicants that applied for Early Reading First (ERF) grants that were 
awarded in 2003. The treatment group consists of 28 grantees that 
received ERF funds. The comparison group consists of 37 applicants that 
did not receive ERF funds and that received average scores from peer 
reviewers in the interval below the average score of the lowest-scoring 
funded application. A random sample of three to five preschool 
classrooms was selected from each ERF grantee in the treatment group 
and each unfunded applicant site in the comparison group. In each site, 
up to 33 children were randomly selected from those whose parents have 
given consent for them to participate in the study.
    Specific data collection activities will include direct in-person 
assessments of children, telephone surveys of parents, self-
administered teacher surveys and teacher ratings of children, self-
administered preschool director surveys, informal grantee director in-
depth interviews, classroom observations, and extraction of records on 
children. Information collected will include the following: Names; 
addresses; demographic information such as race/ethnicity, age, 
educational background, and family income for children in the sample 
and their parents; preschool staff answers to interview questions; 
children's results from early literacy and language assessments; and 
teacher reports of children's social and emotional outcomes.

DATES: The Department seeks comment on this new system of records 
described in this notice, in accordance with the requirements of the 
Privacy Act. We must receive your comments on the proposed routine uses 
for the system of records included in this notice on or before December 
15, 2006.
    The Department filed a report describing the new system of records 
covered by this notice with the Chair of the Senate Committee on 
Homeland Security and 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 November 9, 2006. This system of records will become effective 
at the later date of--(1) The expiration of the 40-day period for OMB 
review on December 19, 2006 or (2) December 15, 2006, unless the system 
of records needs to be changed as a result of public comment or OMB 
review.

ADDRESSES: Address all comments about the proposed routine uses to Dr. 
Ricky Takai, Associate Commissioner, Evaluation Division, National 
Center for Education Evaluation and Regional Assistance, Institute of 
Education Sciences, U.S. Department of Education, 555 New Jersey 
Avenue, NW., room 502D, Washington, DC 20208-0001. Telephone: (202) 
208-7083. If you prefer to send comments through the Internet, use the 
following address: [email protected]. You must include the term ``Early 
Reading First National Evaluation'' in the subject line of the 
electronic message.
    During and after the comment period, you may inspect all comments 
about this notice in room 502D, 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 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: Dr. Ricky Takai. Telephone: (202) 208-
7083. If you use a telecommunications devise for the deaf (TDD), you 
may call the Federal Relay Service (FRS) 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 this section.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Introduction

    The Privacy Act (5 U.S.C. 552a) 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 part 5b of title 34 of the Code of 
Federal Regulations.
    The Privacy Act applies to information about individuals that 
contains individually identifiable information and 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 new or altered systems of records in the Federal 
Register and to prepare reports to the Administrator of the Office of 
Information and Regulatory Affairs, OMB, the Chair of the Senate 
Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs, and the Chair 
of the House Committee on Government Reform.

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

[[Page 66507]]

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 CFR is available on 
GPO Access at: http://www.gpoaccess.gov/nara/index.html.


    Dated: October 2, 2006.
Grover Whitehurst,
Director, Institute of Education Sciences.
    For the reasons discussed in the preamble, the Director of the 
Institute of Education Sciences, U.S. Department of Education publishes 
a notice of a new system of records to read as follows:
18-13-08

SYSTEM NAME:
    Early Reading First National Evaluation.

SECURITY CLASSIFICATION:
    None.

SYSTEM LOCATION:
    Evaluation Division, National Center for Education Evaluation and 
Regional Assistance, Institute of Education Sciences, U.S. Department 
of Education, 555 New Jersey Avenue, NW., room 502D, Washington, DC 
20208-0001.
    Decision Information Resources, Inc., 2600 Southwest Freeway, Suite 
900, Houston, TX 77098.
    Mathematica Policy Research, Inc., 600 Alexander Park, Princeton, 
NJ 08540.
    Center for Improving the Readiness of Children for Learning and 
Education, University of Texas-Houston Health Sciences Center Medical 
School, 7000 Fannin Street, Houston, TX 77030.

CATEGORIES OF INDIVIDUALS COVERED BY THE SYSTEM:
    This system contains records on Early Reading First children and 
their parents and project staff from Early Reading First programs 
participating in the national evaluation. In addition, the system 
contains records for children, parents, and staff in some preschools 
not receiving Early Reading First funds. The evaluation will obtain a 
sample of sites from the universe of applicants that applied for Early 
Reading First (ERF) grants that were awarded in 2003. The treatment 
group consists of 28 grantees that received ERF funds. The comparison 
group consists of 37 applicants that did not receive ERF funds and that 
received average scores from peer reviewers in the interval below the 
average score of the lowest-scoring funded application. A random sample 
of three to five preschool classrooms was selected from each ERF 
grantee in the treatment group and each unfunded applicant site in the 
comparison group. In each site, up to 33 children were randomly 
selected from those whose parents have given consent for them to 
participate in the study. Parents of children in those classrooms were 
asked to sign a consent form with contact information.

CATEGORIES OF RECORDS IN THE SYSTEM:
    This system consists of the names and addresses of children in the 
evaluation and their parents as well as demographic information--such 
as race/ethnicity, age, educational background, and family income; 
names of preschool staff in the evaluation; parent and preschool staff 
responses to survey questions, children's results from early literacy 
and language assessments and teacher reports of children's social and 
emotional outcomes. Information collected will include the following: 
Names; addresses; demographic information such as race/ethnicity, age, 
educational background, and family income for children in the sample 
and their parents; and preschool staff answers to interview questions. 
Specific data collection activities will include direct in-person 
assessments of children, telephone surveys of parents, self-
administered teacher surveys and teacher ratings of children, self-
administered preschool director surveys, informal grantee director in-
depth interviews, classroom observations, and extraction of records on 
children.

AUTHORITY FOR MAINTENANCE OF THE SYSTEM:
    20 U.S.C. 6376, 9561(b) and 9563.

PURPOSE(S):
    The information in this system is used for the following purposes: 
(1) To fulfill the requirements under section 1226 of the Elementary 
and Secondary Education Act (ESEA), for an evaluation of the Early 
Reading First program; and (2) to provide information on effective 
practices in Early Reading First for the purpose of improving the 
program.

ROUTINE USES OF RECORDS MAINTAINED IN THE SYSTEM, INCLUDING CATEGORIES 
OF USERS AND THE PURPOSE OF SUCH USES:
    The Department of Education (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 Act, under a computer matching agreement. 
Any disclosure of individually identifiable information from a record 
in this system must also comply with the requirements of section 183 of 
the Education Sciences Reform Act (20 U.S.C. 9573) providing for 
confidentiality standards that apply to all collections, reporting, and 
publication of data by the Institute of Education Sciences.
    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 to this system notice.

POLICIES AND PRACTICES FOR STORING, RETRIEVING, ACCESSING, RETAINING, 
AND DISPOSING OF RECORDS IN THE SYSTEM:
STORAGE:
    The Department maintains records on CD-ROM and the contractors 
maintain data for this system on computers and in hard copy.

RETRIEVABILITY:
    Records in this system are indexed by a number assigned to each 
individual that is cross-referenced by the individual's name on a 
separate list.

SAFEGUARDS:
    All physical access to the Department site, and the sites of 
Department contractors where this system of records is maintained, is 
controlled and monitored by security personnel. The computer system 
employed by the Department offers a high degree of resistance to 
tampering and circumvention. This security system limits data access to 
Department and contract staff on a ``need to know'' basis, and controls 
individual users' ability to access and alter records within the 
system.
    The contractor, Decision Information Resources, Inc. (DIR), and its 
subcontractors Mathematica Policy Research, Inc. (MPR) and the Center 
for Improving the Readiness of Children for Learning and Education 
(CIRCLE) at University of Texas-Houston Health Sciences Center have 
established a set of

[[Page 66508]]

procedures to ensure confidentiality of data. All employees sign a 
pledge that emphasizes the importance of confidentiality and describes 
their obligations. Access to sample selection data is limited to those 
who have direct responsibility for providing the sample and maintaining 
the sample-locating information. At the conclusion of the research, 
these data are destroyed. Identifying information is maintained on 
separate forms and files, which are linked only by sample 
identification numbers. Access to the file that links sample 
identification numbers with the respondents' identification and contact 
information is limited to a small number of individuals who have a need 
to know this information. Access to the hardcopy documents is strictly 
limited. Documents are stored in locked files and cabinets. Discarded 
material is shredded. Computer data files are protected with passwords, 
and access is limited to specific users. Especially sensitive data are 
maintained on removable storage devices that are kept physically secure 
when not in use. An Institutional Review Board (IRB) has reviewed and 
approved the data collection protocol and the procedures used to ensure 
confidentiality. The parent consent form required for children's 
participation in the study states that information collected about the 
child will be kept confidential. The interviewers' introductory 
comments given at the beginning of each parent and grantee director 
interview includes all the information that respondents need for 
deciding to give informed consent (verbal) for that interview.

RETENTION AND DISPOSAL:
    Records are maintained and disposed of in accordance with the 
Department's Records Disposition Schedules (ED/RDS). In particular, the 
Department will follow the schedules outlined in Part 3 (Research 
Projects and Management Study Records) and Part 14 (Electronic 
Records).

SYSTEM MANAGER AND ADDRESS:
    Associate Commissioner, Evaluation Division, National Center for 
Education Evaluation and Regional Assistance, Institute of Education 
Sciences, U.S. Department of Education, 555 New Jersey Avenue, NW., 
room 502D, Washington, DC 20208-0001.

NOTIFICATION PROCEDURE:
    If you wish to determine whether a record exists regarding you in 
the system of records, contact the systems manager. Your request must 
meet the requirements of regulations in 34 CFR 5b.5, including proof of 
identity.

RECORD ACCESS PROCEDURE:
    If you wish to gain access to your record in the system of records, 
contact the system manager. Your request must meet the requirements of 
regulations in 34 CFR 5b.5, including proof of identity.

CONTESTING RECORD PROCEDURE:
    If you wish to contest the content of a record regarding you in the 
system of records, contact the system manager. Your request must meet 
the requirements of regulations in 34 CFR 5b.7, including proof of 
identity.

RECORD SOURCE CATEGORIES:
    Information is obtained from interviews with parents of Early 
Reading First participants and with Early Reading First staff, and from 
direct assessments of children attending Early Reading First 
preschools. In addition, information will be obtained from interviews 
with parents of children attending non-Early Reading First preschools 
and with non-Early Reading First preschool staff, and from direct 
assessments of children enrolled in non-Early Reading First preschools.

EXEMPTIONS CLAIMED FOR THE SYSTEM:
    None.

[FR Doc. E6-19290 Filed 11-14-06; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4000-01-P