[Federal Register Volume 72, Number 169 (Friday, August 31, 2007)]
[Notices]
[Pages 50343-50346]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E7-17367]


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DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION


Privacy Act of 1974; System of Records--Evaluation of Conversion 
Magnet Schools

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 ``Evaluation of Conversion 
Magnet Schools'' (18-13-18). The National Center for Education 
Evaluation and Regional Assistance at the Department's Institute of 
Education Sciences (IES) commissioned this evaluation. IES awarded a 
contract to American Institutes for Research (AIR) and Berkeley Policy 
Associates (BPA) in September 2006 to conduct this evaluation. IES has 
been collaborating with the Department's Office of Innovation and 
Improvement (OII) to plan and implement the study of the relationship 
between magnet school conversion and student outcomes at the elementary 
school level.
    The study will occur in two phases during which the following 
questions will be addressed:
    (1) Are sufficient data available from the 2004 and 2007 Magnet 
Schools Assistance Program (MSAP) grantees to conduct an evaluation of 
elementary conversion magnet schools and provide descriptive analyses 
of such schools?
    (2) What is the relationship of magnet school conversion to (i) The 
educational achievement of students attending the magnet schools that 
are their neighborhood schools (resident students); (ii) the reduction 
of minority group isolation in the magnet schools and corresponding 
district; and, (iii) the educational achievement of non-resident 
students who apply for admission to over-subscribed magnet programs?
    The system will contain information about elementary school 
students who attend approximately (i) 50 conversion magnet schools and 
(ii) 100 elementary schools that are not magnet schools that will serve 
as comparison elementary schools for the purposes of this study. The 
total number of elementary school students included in this system of 
records will be approximately 15,000 per year for the years 2004-2005 
through 2009-2010 and approximately 7,500 per year for the years 2001-
2002 through 2003-2004. The 50 magnet schools in the study are drawn 
from

[[Page 50344]]

school districts that were awarded MSAP grants by OII in 2004 and/or 
2007. For each conversion magnet school and its comparison schools, 
data will be collected for the three years before and for at least the 
three years after the conversion date.
    The system of records will include information about students who 
attend the elementary schools participating in the evaluation including 
demographic information (such as race/ethnicity, gender, age, and 
language status); attendance zone; grade level; and annual English 
language arts and mathematics test scores.

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 the proposed routine uses 
for the system of records referenced in this notice on or before 
October 1, 2007.
    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 Oversight and Government Reform, and the Administrator of 
the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs, Office of Management 
and Budget (OMB) on August 28, 2007. This system of records will become 
effective at the later date of--(1) The expiration of the 40-day period 
for OMB review on October 9, 2007 or (2) October 1, 2007, 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, Director, 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. Telephone: (202) 208-7083. If you 
prefer to send comments through the Internet, use the following 
address: http://[email protected].
    You must include the term ``Evaluation of Conversion Magnet 
Schools'' 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 device 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 (CFR).
    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 systems of records in the Federal Register and to 
prepare reports to the OMB and Congress whenever the agency publishes a 
new system of records. Each agency is also required to send copies of 
the report to the Chair of the Senate Committee on Homeland Security 
and Governmental Affairs and the Chair of the House Committee on 
Oversight and Government Reform. These reports are intended to permit 
an evaluation of the probable effect of the proposal on the privacy 
rights of individuals.
    Electronic Access to This Document: You may view this document, as 
well as all other documents of this Department 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: August 28, 2007.
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:
18-13-18

SYSTEM NAME:
    Evaluation of Conversion Magnet Schools.

SECURITY CLASSIFICATION:
    None.

SYSTEM LOCATION:
    (1) 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.
    (2) American Institutes for Research, 1070 Arastradero Road, Suite 
200, Palo Alto, CA 94304.
    (3) Berkeley Policy Associates, 440 Grand Avenue, Suite 500, 
Oakland, CA 94610-5085.

CATEGORIES OF INDIVIDUALS COVERED BY THE SYSTEM:
    This system contains records on elementary school students 
attending an elementary school in school districts that are recipients 
of Magnet Schools Assistance Program (MSAP) grants in 2004 and/or 2007. 
The system will contain information about students who attend 
approximately (i) 50 conversion magnet schools and (ii) 100 elementary 
schools that are not magnet schools that will serve as comparison 
elementary schools for the purposes of this study. The total number of 
elementary school students included in this system of records will be 
approximately 15,000 per year for the years 2004-2005 through 2009-2010 
and approximately 7,500 per year for the years 2001-2002

[[Page 50345]]

through 2003-2004. The 50 magnet schools in the study are drawn from 
school districts that were awarded MSAP grants by the U.S. Department 
of Education's Office of Innovation and Improvement in 2004 and/or 
2007. For each conversion magnet school and its comparison schools, 
data will be collected for the three years before or for at least the 
three years after the conversion date.

CATEGORIES OF RECORDS IN THE SYSTEM:
    The system of records will include information about the elementary 
school students participating in the evaluation including student 
demographic information (such as race/ethnicity, gender, age, and 
language status); attendance zone; grade level; and annual English 
language arts (ELA) and mathematics test scores.

AUTHORITY FOR MAINTENANCE OF THE SYSTEM:
    The MSAP, the program being evaluated, is authorized under the 
Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965, as amended, Title V, 
Part C; 20 U.S.C. 7231-7231j. Sections 5301-5311 of the No Child Left 
Behind Act of 2001 (NCLB) most recently amended this program. Section 
5310 of the NCLB statute authorizes the Secretary of Education to use 
MSAP monies to evaluate the program. The evaluation being conducted is 
authorized under sections 171(b) and 173 of the Education Sciences 
Reform Act of 2002 (ESRA) (20 U.S.C. 9561(b) and 9563).

PURPOSE(S):
    The goal of this study is to assess the relationship between magnet 
school conversion and student outcomes at the elementary school level. 
In particular, this system is necessary to provide information about 
whether and how students' educational achievement and minority group 
isolation change when elementary schools convert to magnet schools.

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 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 ESRA (20 U.S.C. 9573) 
providing for confidentiality standards that apply to all collections, 
reporting and publication of data by IES.
    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 must 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 contractor and 
subcontractor 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's site and to the sites of 
the Department's contractor and subcontractor, 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 and subcontractor will 
establish similar sets of procedures at their sites to ensure 
confidentiality of data. Their systems are required to ensure that 
information identifying individuals is in files physically separated 
from other research data. The contractor and subcontractor will 
maintain security of the complete set of all master data files and 
documentation. Access to individually identifiable data will be 
strictly controlled. At each site all data will be kept in locked file 
cabinets during nonworking hours, and work on hardcopy data will take 
place in a single room, except for data entry. Physical security of 
electronic data will also be maintained. Security features that protect 
project data include: password-protected accounts that authorize users 
to use the contractor's and subcontractor's systems but to access only 
specific network directories and network software; user rights and 
directory and file attributes that limit those who can use particular 
directories and files and determine how they can use them; and 
additional security features that the network administrators will 
establish for projects as needed. The contractor and subcontractor 
employees who ``maintain'' (collect, maintain, use, or disseminate) 
data in this system shall comply with the requirements of the 
confidentiality standards in section 183 of the ESRA (20 U.S.C. 9573).

RETENTION AND DISPOSAL:
    Records are maintained and disposed of in accordance with the 
Department's Records Disposition Schedules (Section Ed/RDS, Part 3, 
Item 2b and Part 3, Item 5a).

SYSTEM MANAGER AND ADDRESS:
    Director, 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.

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 the regulations in 34 CFR 5b.7, including proof of 
identity.

RECORD SOURCE CATEGORIES:
    The system will contain records that are obtained from (i) 50 
conversion magnet schools and (ii) 100 elementary schools that are not 
magnet schools that will serve as comparison elementary schools for the 
purposes of this study. These data, including students' annual English 
language arts and mathematics

[[Page 50346]]

test scores, will be collected from school district databases.

EXEMPTIONS CLAIMED FOR THE SYSTEM:
    None.

[FR Doc. E7-17367 Filed 8-30-07; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4000-01-P