[Federal Register Volume 77, Number 125 (Thursday, June 28, 2012)]
[Notices]
[Pages 38610-38611]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2012-15884]


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DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION


Privacy Act of 1974; Computer Matching Program

AGENCY: Department of Education.

ACTION: Notice--Computer matching agreement between the Department of 
Education and the Department of Defense.

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SUMMARY: This document provides notice of the continuation of the 
computer matching program between the Departments of Education (ED) and 
Defense (DoD). The continuation is effective on the date specified in 
paragraph 5.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Section 473(b) of the Higher Education Act 
of 1965, as amended (HEA) (20 U.S.C. 1087mm(b)), requires the Secretary 
of Defense to provide the Secretary of Education with information to 
identify children whose parent or guardian was a member of the Armed 
Forces of the United States and died as a result of performing military 
service in Iraq or Afghanistan after September 11, 2001. Beginning with 
the 2009-2010 Award Year, a qualifying student may be eligible for a 
greater amount of Title IV, HEA program assistance. The qualifying 
student must have been age 24 or less at the time of the parent or 
guardian's death or, if older than 24, enrolled part-time or full-time 
in an institution of higher education at the time of the parent or 
guardian's death. Beginning July 1, 2010, students who are otherwise 
qualified children of deceased U.S. military who meet the requirements 
of section 420R of the HEA (20 U.S.C. 1070h) may also be eligible for 
higher amounts of Title IV, HEA program assistance.
    To ensure that eligible students receive the maximum allowable 
amount of Title IV, HEA program assistance, the Department of Defense 
and the Department of Education created a computer matching program.
    The purpose of this notice is to announce the continuation of the 
computer matching program and to provide certain required information 
concerning the computer matching program.
    We provide this notice in accordance with the Privacy Act of 1974 
(5 U.S.C. 552a), as amended by the Computer Matching and Privacy 
Protection Act of 1988 (Pub. L. 100-503) and the Computer Matching and 
Privacy Protection Amendments of 1990 (Pub. L. 101-508) (Privacy Act); 
the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) Guidelines on the Conduct of 
Matching Programs (54 FR 25818, June 19, 1989); and OMB Circular A-130:

1. Names of Participating Agencies

    The Department of Education (recipient agency) and the Department 
of Defense (source agency).

2. Purpose of the Match

    The purpose of this matching program is to ensure that the 
requirements of sections 420R and 473(b) of the HEA (20 U.S.C. 1070h 
and 20 U.S.C. 1087mm(b)) are fulfilled.
    DoD is the lead contact agency for information related to benefits 
for military service dependents and, as such, provides these data to 
ED. ED (recipient agency) seeks access to the information contained in 
the DoD (source agency) Defense Manpower Data Center (DMDC) system and 
the Defense Enrollment Eligibility Reporting System (DEERS).

3. Authority for Conducting the Matching Program

    Under sections 420R and 473(b) of the HEA (20 U.S.C. 1070h and 20 
U.S.C. 1087mm(b)), ED must identify the children of military personnel 
who have died as a result of their military service in Iraq or 
Afghanistan after September 11, 2001, to determine if the child is 
eligible for increased amounts of Title IV, HEA program assistance.
    DoD and ED have determined that using DoD data provided to ED for 
matching against ED's Federal Student Aid Application File (18-11-01) 
is the only practical method that the agencies can use to meet the 
statutory requirements of the HEA.

4. Categories of Records and Individuals Covered by the Match

    DoD will submit for verification records from its DMDC and DEERS 
data bases to ED's Central Processing System files (Federal Student Aid 
Application File (18-11-01)), the Social Security number (SSN) and 
other identifying information for each qualifying dependent record. ED 
will use the SSN, date of birth, and the first two letters of an 
applicant's last name to match with the Federal Student Aid Application 
File.
    The DoD DMDC and DEERS systems contain the names, SSNs, dates of 
birth, and other identifying information about dependents of service 
personnel who died as a result of performing their military service in 
Iraq or Afghanistan after September 11, 2001. This system of records 
also contains the date the servicemember died.

5. Effective Dates of the Matching Program

    The matching program will be effective on the last of the following 
dates: (1) August 1, 2012; (2) 30 days after notice of the matching 
program has been published in the Federal Register; or (3) 40 days 
after a report concerning the matching program has been transmitted to 
OMB and transmitted to the Congress along with a copy of this 
agreement, unless OMB waives 10 days of this 40-day period for 
compelling reasons shown, in which case, 30 days after transmission of 
the report to OMB and Congress.
    The matching program will continue for 18 months after the 
effective date of the computer matching agreement and may be extended 
for an additional 12 months thereafter, if the conditions

[[Page 38611]]

specified in 5 U.S.C. 552a(o)(2)(D) have been met.

6. Address for Receipt of Public Comments or Inquiries

    Leroy Everett, Management and Program Analyst, U.S. Department of 
Education, Federal Student Aid, Union Center Plaza, Room 64A5, 830 
First Street NE., Washington, DC 20202-5454. Telephone: (202) 377-3265. 
If you use a telecommunications device for the deaf (TDD) or text 
telephone (TTY), call the Federal Relay Service (FRS), toll free, at 1-
800-877-8339.
    Individuals with disabilities can obtain this document in an 
accessible format (e.g., braille, large print, audiotape, or compact 
disc) by contacting the contact person listed in the preceding 
paragraph.
    Electronic Access to This Document: 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 via the Federal Digital System 
at: www.gpo.gov/fdsys. At this site 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). To use PDF 
you must have Adobe Acrobat Reader, which is available free at the 
site.
    You may also access documents of the Department published in the 
Federal Register by using the article search feature at: 
www.federalregister.gov. Specifically, through the advanced search 
feature at this site, you can limit your search to documents published 
by the Department.

    Authority: 5 U.S.C. 552a; 21 U.S.C. 862(a)(1).

    Dated: June 25, 2012.
James W. Runcie,
Chief Operating Officer, Federal Student Aid.
[FR Doc. 2012-15884 Filed 6-27-12; 8:45 am]
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