[Federal Register Volume 71, Number 243 (Tuesday, December 19, 2006)]
[Notices]
[Pages 75952-75953]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E6-21601]


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DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION


Notice of Proposed Information Collection Requests

AGENCY: Department of Education.

ACTION: Notice of Proposed Information Collection Requests.

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SUMMARY: The IC Clearance Official, Regulatory Information Management 
Services, Office of Management, invites comments on the proposed 
information collection requests as required by the Paperwork Reduction 
Act of 1995.

DATES: An emergency review has been requested in accordance with the 
Act (44 U.S.C. Chapter 3507 (j)), since public harm is reasonably 
likely to result if normal clearance procedures are followed. Approval 
by the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) has been requested by 
January 24, 2007.

ADDRESSES: Written comments regarding the emergency review should be 
addressed to the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs, 
Attention: Rachel Potter, Desk Officer, Department of Education, Office 
of

[[Page 75953]]

Management and Budget; 725 17th Street, NW., Room 10222, New Executive 
Office Building, Washington, DC 20503 or faxed to (202) 395-6974.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Section 3506 of the Paperwork Reduction Act 
of 1995 (44 U.S.C. Chapter 35) requires that the Director of OMB 
provide interested Federal agencies and the public an early opportunity 
to comment on information collection requests. The Office of Management 
and Budget (OMB) may amend or waive the requirement for public 
consultation to the extent that public participation in the approval 
process would defeat the purpose of the information collection, violate 
State or Federal law, or substantially interfere with any agency's 
ability to perform its statutory obligations. The IC Clearance 
Official, Regulatory Information Management Services, Office of 
Management, publishes this notice containing proposed information 
collection requests at the beginning of the Departmental review of the 
information collection. Each proposed information collection, grouped 
by office, contains the following: (1) Type of review requested, e.g., 
new, revision, extension, existing or reinstatement; (2) Title; (3) 
Summary of the collection; (4) Description of the need for, and 
proposed use of, the information; (5) Respondents and frequency of 
collection; and (6) Reporting and/or Recordkeeping burden. ED invites 
public comment.
    The Department of Education is especially interested in public 
comment addressing the following issues: (1) Is this collection 
necessary to the proper functions of the Department; (2) will this 
information be processed and used in a timely manner, (3) is the 
estimate of burden accurate; (4) how might the Department enhance the 
quality, utility, and clarity of the information to be collected, and 
(5) how might the Department minimize the burden of this collection on 
respondents, including through the use of information technology.

    Dated: December 13, 2006.
Angela C. Arrington,
IC Clearance Official, Regulatory Information Management Services, 
Office of Management.

Institute of Education Sciences

    Type of Review: New.
    Title: Impact Evaluation of Upward Bound's Increased Focus on 
Higher-Risk Students--Baseline Data Collection Protocols.
    Abstract: This evaluation will focus on the impacts of Upward Bound 
on students applying to enter the program as early as the summer of 
2007. The current OMB package requests clearance for the instruments to 
be used in gathering information.
    Additional Information: The Department is requesting emergency 
clearance to begin collection of parental and student consent forms, 
baseline information forms, and student selection forms. If the 
evaluation has to go through the normal clearance process, ED's 
notification to work with grantees on data collection could not begin 
until late March or early April 2007, where many grantees are 
completing their application periods. This schedule would likely mean 
that summer programs would need to be delayed or perhaps cancelled for 
new students, creating hostility toward the evaluation, undermining the 
validity of the evaluation and harming its ability to draw conclusions 
about the effectiveness of the redesigned Upward Bound program. 
Emergency processing would allow the Department to contact sampled 
grantees to be in the evaluation in late January or early February 
2007, allowing more time for the evaluator to work with grantees 
selected for the evaluation (contingent on their receipt of funding for 
2007), ensure that a sufficient number of eligible students are 
recruited to form a control group, and obtain the necessary consent and 
baseline student data required before random assignment can occur. The 
Department is requesting OMB approval by January 24, 2007.
    Frequency: One time.
    Affected Public:
    Individuals or households; not-for-profit institutions
    Reporting and Recordkeeping Hour Burden:
    Responses: 7,290. Burden Hours: 3,900.
    Requests for copies of the proposed information collection request 
may be accessed from http://edicsweb.ed.gov, by selecting the ``Browse 
Pending Collections'' link and by clicking on link number 3242. When 
you access the information collection, click on ``Download 
Attachments'' to view. Written requests for information should be 
addressed to U.S. Department of Education, 400 Maryland Avenue, SW., 
Potomac Center, 9th Floor, Washington, DC 20202-4700. Requests may also 
be electronically mailed to the Internet address IC [email protected] or 
faxed to 202-245-6623. Please specify the complete title of the 
information collection when making your request.
    Comments regarding burden and/or the collection activity 
requirements should be electronically mailed to IC [email protected]. 
Individuals who use a telecommunications device for the deaf (TDD) may 
call the Federal Information Relay Service (FIRS) at 1-800-877-8339.

 [FR Doc. E6-21601 Filed 12-18-06; 8:45 am]
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