[Federal Register Volume 78, Number 32 (Friday, February 15, 2013)]
[Notices]
[Pages 11165-11166]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2013-03531]


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DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION

[Docket No. ED-2012-ICCD-0055]


Agency Information Collection Activities; Submission to the 
Office of Management and Budget for Review and approval; Comment 
Request; DC Choice Evaluation

AGENCY: Department of Education (ED), Institute of Education Sciences 
(IES).

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: In accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (44 
U.S.C. chapter 3501 et seq.), ED is proposing a reinstatement with 
change of a previously approved information collection.

DATES: Interested persons are invited to submit comments on or before 
March 18, 2013.

ADDRESSES: Comments submitted in response to this notice should be 
submitted electronically through the Federal eRulemaking Portal at 
http://www.regulations.gov by selecting Docket ID number ED-2012-ICCD-
0055 or via postal mail, commercial delivery, or hand delivery. Please 
note that comments submitted by fax or email and those submitted after 
the comment period will not be accepted. Written requests for 
information or comments submitted by postal mail or delivery should be 
addressed to the Director of the Information Collection Clearance 
Division, U.S. Department of Education, 400 Maryland Avenue SW., LBJ, 
Room 2E105, Washington, DC 20202-4537.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Electronically mail 
[email protected]. Please do not send comments here.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Department of Education (ED), 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, revised, and continuing 
collections of information. This helps the Department assess the impact 
of its information collection requirements and minimize the public's 
reporting burden. It also helps the public understand the Department's 
information collection requirements and provide the requested data in 
the desired format. ED is soliciting comments on the proposed 
information collection request (ICR) that is described below. 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. Please note that 
written comments received in response to this notice will be considered 
public records.
    Title of Collection: DC Choice Evaluation.
    OMB Control Number: 1850-0800.
    Type of Review: Reinstatement with change of a previously approved 
information collection.
    Respondents/Affected Public: State, Local, or Tribal Governments.
    Total Estimated Number of Annual Responses: 3,057.
    Total Estimated Number of Annual Burden Hours: 1,009.
    Abstract: This information collection requests clearance approval 
from the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for the collection of 
data under the Evaluation of the Effectiveness of the Scholarships for 
Opportunity and Results (SOAR) Act Program. In particular, we are 
requesting approval for: (1) parent, student, and principal surveys, 
and (2) records abstraction from DC Public School (DCPS), from the 
District of Columbia Public Charter School Board, and private school 
administrative files. The study design, data collection plan, 
instruments, and levels of burden are consistent with forms clearance 
packages approved by OMB for the previous evaluation of this program 
(1850-0800).
    The Scholarships and Opportunities for Results (SOAR) Act H.R. 1473 
(Pub. L.112-10), signed into law on April 15, 2011, reauthorized the DC 
School Choice Incentive Act and provided for

[[Page 11166]]

a five-year continuation of a school choice program for low-income 
residents of Washington, DC. The program, still titled the Opportunity 
Scholarship Program or OSP, now provides scholarships to enable low-
income elementary and secondary students to attend private schools in 
the District of Columbia in lieu of the public schools already 
available to them. The OSP is operated under a grant from the U.S. 
Department of Education (ED) to the DC Children and Youth Investment 
Corporation (the Trust).
    The reauthorization once again stipulated that an evaluation of the 
program be conducted ``using the strongest possible research design for 
determining the effectiveness'' of the program. ED awarded a contract 
to Westat, and its research partners, Pemberton Research and the 
University of California at San Diego to: (1) provide technical 
assistance to the program operator, particularly with respect to the 
design and conduct of the lotteries of applicants, and (2) conduct an 
evaluation of the impacts of the program.
    The foundation of the evaluation will be a randomized control trial 
(RCT) comparing outcomes of eligible applicants (students and their 
parents) assigned by lottery to receive or not receive a scholarship. 
This design is consistent with the requirement for a rigorous 
evaluation as well as the need to fairly allocate the scholarships if 
the program is oversubscribed. Because the law also specified other 
kinds of comparisons and analyses, the planned evaluation study 
includes both quantitative and qualitative components.

    Dated: February 11, 2013.
Stephanie Valentine,
Acting Director, Information Collection Clearance Division, Privacy, 
Information and Records Management Services, Office of Management.
[FR Doc. 2013-03531 Filed 2-14-13; 8:45 am]
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