[Federal Register Volume 76, Number 127 (Friday, July 1, 2011)]
[Notices]
[Page 38647]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2011-16614]



[[Page 38647]]

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DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION


Notice of Proposed Information Collection Requests

AGENCY: Department of Education.

ACTION: Comment request.

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SUMMARY: The Department of Education (the Department), in accordance 
with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (PRA) (44 U.S.C. 
3506(c)(2)(A)), provides the general public and Federal agencies with 
an opportunity to comment on proposed and continuing collections of 
information. This helps the Department assess the impact of its 
information collection requirements and minimize the reporting burden 
on the public and helps the public understand the Department's 
information collection requirements and provide the requested data in 
the desired format. The Director, Information Collection Clearance 
Division, Privacy, Information and Records Management Services, Office 
of Management, invites comments on the proposed information collection 
requests as required by the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995.

DATES: Interested persons are invited to submit comments on or before 
August 30, 2011.

ADDRESSES: Comments regarding burden and/or the collection activity 
requirements should be electronically mailed to [email protected] or 
mailed to U.S. Department of Education, 400 Maryland Avenue, SW., LBJ, 
Washington, DC 20202-4537. Please note that written comments received 
in response to this notice will be considered public records.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Section 3506 of the Paperwork Reduction Act 
of 1995 (44 U.S.C. Chapter 35) requires that Federal agencies provide 
interested parties an early opportunity to comment on information 
collection requests. The Director, Information Collection Clearance 
Division, Information Management and Privacy Services, Office of 
Management, publishes this notice containing proposed information 
collection requests at the beginning of the Departmental review of the 
information collection. 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 the respondents, including through the use of information 
technology.

    Dated: June 28, 2011.
Darrin A. King,
Director, Information Collection Clearance Division, Privacy, 
Information and Records Management Services, Office of Management.

Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services

    Type of Review: Revision.
    Title of Collection: Annual Progress Report for the Access to 
Telework Program under the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, as Amended.
    OMB Control Number: 1820-0687.
    Agency Form Number(s): N/A.
    Frequency of Responses: Annually.
    Affected Public: State, Local, or Tribal Government, State 
Educational Agencies or Local Educational Agencies.
    Total Estimated Number of Annual Responses: 19.
    Total Estimated Number of Annual Burden Hours: 209.
    Abstract: Nineteen states currently have Access to Telework 
programs that provide financial loans to individuals with disabilities 
for the purchase of computers and other equipment that support 
teleworking for an employer or self-employment on a full or part-time 
basis. These grantees are required to report annual data on their 
programs to the Rehabilitation Services Administration. This 
information collection provides a standard format for the submission of 
those annual performance reports and a follow-up survey to be 
administered to individuals who receive loans. The proposed instrument 
eliminates an entire section of optional information that is not 
required for submission by the Telework grantees, further reducing the 
burden from approximately 12.5 hours to 11 hours per state. Section C. 
Telework Optional Data Elements, which are not annual reporting 
requirements for the Telework grantees, has been proposed for removal 
from the current instrument. The information collected in this optional 
data section includes: 1. Types of Telework programs (partnership loans 
or revolving loans), 2. Interest Rates (lowest and highest interest 
rates established by policy), 3. Loan Amounts (lowest and highest loan 
amounts established by policy), 4. Repayment Terms (shortest and 
longest repayment terms established by policy), and Loan Guarantee 
Requirement, the percentage of the loans that must be repaid by the 
alternative financing program (AFP) to the lender in case of default as 
established by the agreement with the lender. Since the data reported 
under C. Telework Optional Data Elements of the current instrument is 
not required, grantees did not report this information uniformly across 
programs. If every grantee doesn't report in this section, then the 
data can't be reported in aggregate form. This optional section 
contains information about program features and descriptions that may 
or may not change on an annual basis. Since there is limited utility to 
the annual reporting of this optional information, the decision was 
made to further reduce the burden to all grantees by eliminating this 
section from the current instrument in the Management Information 
System.
    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 4657. 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., LBJ, Washington, DC 20202-4537. 
Requests may also be electronically mailed to [email protected] or 
faxed to 202-401-0920. Please specify the complete title of the 
information collection and OMB Control Number when making your request.
    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. 2011-16614 Filed 6-30-11; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4000-01-P