[Federal Register Volume 75, Number 132 (Monday, July 12, 2010)]
[Notices]
[Pages 39669-39671]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2010-16926]


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DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION


Privacy Act of 1974; System of Records

AGENCY: Office of the Inspector General, U.S. 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 proposing to revise the system of records notice for the Hotline 
Complaint Files of the Inspector General (18-10-04), 64 FR 30157-59 
(June 4, 1999). The Department proposes to amend this system of records 
notice by: (1) Adding that a purpose of the system is to report on 
complaints and allegations related to American Recovery and 
Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA) funds to the Recovery Accountability 
and Transparency Board (RATB) as established by the ARRA (Pub. L. 111-
5); (2) adding a new routine use to allow the disclosure of ARRA-
related complaints and allegations to the RATB; (3) adding a new 
routine use to allow for disclosure of information in connection with 
response and remedial efforts in the event of a data breach in 
accordance with Office of Management and Budget (OMB) requirements in 
M-07-16 (May 22, 2007); (4) revising the routine use ``Disclosure to 
Public and Private Sources in Connection with the Higher Education Act 
of 1965, as amended (HEA)'' to allow the disclosure of information to 
an educational institution or a school that is or was a party to an 
agreement with the Secretary of Education pursuant to the HEA; and (5) 
updating the address of the System Manager.

DATES: The Department seeks comments on the proposed, new routine uses 
of the information in the altered system of records described in this 
notice, in accordance with the requirements of the

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Privacy Act. We must receive your comments on or before August 11, 
2010.
    The Department filed a report describing the altered 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, OMB on July 7, 2010. 
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 August 
16, 2010 unless OMB waives 10 days of its 40-day review period in which 
case on August 6, 2010, or (2) August 11, 2010, unless the system of 
records needs to be changed as a result of public comment or OMB 
review. The Department will publish any changes to the routine uses 
that result from public comment or OMB review of this notice.

ADDRESSES: Address all comments about the proposed routine uses to this 
altered system of records to William Hamel, Assistant Inspector General 
for Investigations, Office of Inspector General, U.S. Department of 
Education, 400 Maryland Avenue, SW., room 8093, PCP building, 
Washington, DC 20202-1510. If you prefer to send comments by e-mail, 
use the following address: [email protected].
    You must include the term ``Hotline Complaint Files'' in the 
subject line of your electronic message.
    During and after the comment period, you may inspect all public 
comments about this notice at the U.S. Department of Education, PCP 
Building, room 8166, 500 12th Street, SW., Washington, DC 20202-0028, 
between the hours of 8:00 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 accommodation or 
auxiliary 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: Shelley Shepherd, Assistant Counsel to 
the Inspector General, 400 Maryland Avenue, SW., room 8166, PCP 
building, Washington, DC 20202-1510. Telephone: (202) 245-7077. If you 
use a telecommunications device for the deaf (TDD), you can call the 
Federal Relay Service (FRS) at 1-800-877-8339.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Introduction

    The Privacy Act (5 U.S.C. 552a) requires the Department to publish 
in the Federal Register this notice of an altered system of records (5 
U.S.C. 552a(e)(4) and (11)). 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 information 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 a notice of a 
system of records in the Federal Register and to prepare a report to 
OMB, whenever the agency publishes a new system of records or makes a 
significant change to an established 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. The report 
is intended to permit an evaluation of the probable or potential effect 
of the proposal on the privacy rights of individuals.
    Accessible Format: Individuals with disabilities can obtain this 
document in an accessible format (e.g., braille, large print, 
audiotape, or computer diskette) on request to the contact person 
listed under FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT.

Electronic Access to This Document

    You can 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.

    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: July 7, 2010.
Kathleen S. Tighe,
Inspector General.

    For the reasons discussed in the preamble, the Inspector General of 
the U.S. Department of Education publishes a notice of an altered 
system of records. The following amendments are made to the Notice of 
an Altered System of Records published in the Federal Register on June 
4, 1999 (64 FR 30157-30159):
    1. On page 30157, 3rd column, under the heading ``PURPOSES'', the 
paragraph is revised to read as follows:

PURPOSES:
    Pursuant to the Inspector General Act, this system is maintained 
for purposes of: (1) Maintaining a record of complaints and allegations 
received concerning Department of Education programs and operations and 
a record concerning the disposition of those complaints and 
allegations; and (2) reporting on American Recovery and Reinvestment 
Act of 2009 related complaints and allegations to the Recovery 
Accountability and Transparency Board.
    2. On page 30158, 1st and 2nd columns, the paragraph labeled ``(4) 
Disclosure to Public and Private Sources in Connection with the Higher 
Education Act of 1965, as amended (HEA)'', is revised to read as 
follows:
    ``(4) Disclosure to Public and Private Sources in Connection with 
the Higher Education Act of 1965, as amended (HEA). The Department may 
disclose information from this system of records as a routine use to 
facilitate compliance with program requirements to any accrediting 
agency that is or was recognized by the Secretary of Education pursuant 
to the HEA; to any educational institution or school that is or was a 
party to any agreement with the Secretary of Education pursuant to the 
HEA; to any guaranty agency that is or was a party to an agreement with 
the Secretary of Education pursuant to the HEA; or to any agency that 
is or was charged with licensing or legally authorizing the operation 
of any educational institution or school that was eligible, is 
currently eligible, or may become eligible to participate in any 
program of Federal student assistance authorized by the HEA.
    3. On page 30158, 2nd column, after the paragraph labeled ``(6) 
Congressional Disclosure'', add two new paragraphs that read as 
follows:
    (7) Disclosure to the Recovery Accountability and Transparency 
Board (RATB). The Department may disclose records as a routine use to 
the RATB for

[[Page 39671]]

purposes of coordinating and conducting oversight of American Recovery 
and Reinvestment Act of 2009 funds to prevent fraud, waste, and abuse.
    (8) Disclosure in the Course of Responding to Breach of Data. The 
Department may disclose records from this system to appropriate 
agencies, entities, and persons when (a) The Department suspects or has 
confirmed that the security or confidentiality of information in the 
system of records has been compromised; (b) the Department has 
determined that as a result of the suspected or confirmed compromise 
there is a risk of harm to economic or property interests, identity 
theft or fraud, or harm to the security or integrity of this system or 
other systems or programs (whether maintained by the Department or 
another agency or entity) that rely upon the compromised information; 
and (c) the disclosure made to such agencies, entities, and persons is 
reasonably necessary to assist in connection with the Department's 
efforts to respond to the suspected or confirmed compromise and 
prevent, minimize, or remedy such harm.
    4. On page 30158, 3rd column, under the heading ``SYSTEM MANAGER 
AND ADDRESS'', the paragraph is revised to read as follows:

SYSTEM MANAGER AND ADDRESS:
    Assistant Inspector General for Investigations, Office of Inspector 
General, U.S. Department of Education, 400 Maryland Avenue, SW., room 
8093, PCP building, Washington, DC 20202-1510.

[FR Doc. 2010-16926 Filed 7-9-10; 8:45 am]
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