[Federal Register Volume 78, Number 174 (Monday, September 9, 2013)]
[Notices]
[Pages 55068-55069]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2013-21767]


=======================================================================
-----------------------------------------------------------------------

DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION

[Docket ID ED-2013-OELA-0117]


Request for Information To Inform the Title III Evaluation and 
Research Studies Agenda

AGENCY: Office of English Language Acquisition, Language Enhancement, 
and Academic Achievement for Limited English Proficient Students, 
Department of Education.

ACTION: Request for information.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

SUMMARY: The U.S. Department of Education (Department) requests 
information on priorities for future evaluation and research studies 
needed to inform effective instruction, assessment, and professional 
development that is responsive to the needs of English learners (ELs).

DATES: Written submissions must be received by the Department by 
October 9, 2013.

ADDRESSES: Submit your comments through the Federal eRulemaking Portal 
or via postal mail, commercial delivery, or hand delivery. We will not 
accept comments by fax or by email. To ensure that we do not receive 
duplicate copies, please submit your comments only once. In addition, 
please include the Docket ID and the term ``Evaluation Studies'' at the 
top of your comments.
     Federal eRulemaking Portal: Go to www.regulations.gov to 
submit your comments electronically. Information on using 
Regulations.gov, including instructions for accessing agency documents, 
submitting comments, and viewing the docket, is available on the site 
under ``Are you new to this site?''
     Postal Mail, Commercial Delivery, or Hand Delivery: If you 
mail or deliver your comments, address them to Elizabeth Judd, Office 
of English Language Acquisition, Attention: Evaluation RFI, U.S. 
Department of Education, 400 Maryland Avenue SW., Room 5C126, 
Washington, DC 20202-6132.
     Privacy Note: The Department's policy for comments 
received from members of the public (including comments submitted by 
mail, commercial delivery, or hand delivery) is to make these 
submissions available for public viewing in their entirety on the 
Federal eRulemaking Portal. at www.regulations.gov. Therefore, 
commenters should be careful to include in their comments only 
information that they wish to make publicly available on the Internet.
    Submission of Proprietary Information: Given the subject matter, 
some comments may include proprietary information as it relates to 
confidential commercial information. The Freedom of Information Act 
defines ``confidential commercial information'' as information the 
disclosure of which could reasonably be expected to cause substantial 
competitive harm. You may wish to request that we not disclose what you 
regard as confidential commercial information.
    To assist us in making a determination on your request, we 
encourage you to identify any specific information in your comments 
that you consider confidential commercial information. Please list the 
information by page and paragraph numbers.
    This Request for Information (RFI) is issued solely for information 
and planning purposes and is not a request for proposals (RFP), a 
notice inviting applications (NIA), or a promise to issue an RFP or 
NIA. This RFI does not commit the Department to contract for any supply 
or service whatsoever. Further, the Department is not now seeking 
proposals and will not accept unsolicited proposals. The Department 
will not pay for any information or administrative costs that you may 
incur in responding to this RFI.
    If you do not respond to this RFI, you may still apply for future 
contracts and grants. The Department posts RFPs on the Federal Business 
Opportunities Web site (www.fbo.gov). The Department announces grant 
competitions in the Federal Register (www.gpo.gov/fdsys). It is your 
responsibility to monitor these sites to determine whether the 
Department issues an RFP or NIA after considering the information 
received in response to this RFI.
    The documents and information submitted in response to this RFI 
become the property of the U.S. Government and will not be returned.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Elizabeth Judd, U.S. Department of 
Education, 400 Maryland Avenue SW., Room 5C126, Washington, DC 20202-
6132 or by phone at 202-401-1407.
    If you use a telecommunications device for the deaf (TDD) or a text 
telephone (TTY), call the Federal Relay Service (FRS), toll free, at 1-
(800) 877-8339.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Introduction

    The Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) of 1965, as 
amended, holds States accountable for closing achievement gaps and 
ensuring that all children, including children with limited English 
proficiency, meet the same challenging academic and achievement 
standards all students are

[[Page 55069]]

expected to meet. To this end, Title III of the ESEA requires States to 
develop English language proficiency (ELP) standards that are aligned 
with challenging State academic content and student academic 
achievement standards. States must also develop and administer ELP 
assessments that are aligned with those standards, and must develop 
annual measurable achievement objectives (AMAOs) for English language 
proficiency.
    To support EL student achievement, States, school districts and 
schools need information on effective EL instruction, assessment, and 
professional development practices that is informed by data from 
current research. With this RFI we seek to gather information on the 
evaluation and research studies needs of the field, which may include 
the needs of administrators, teachers, teacher trainers, researchers, 
and other members of the English learner community. The Department 
anticipates making use of this information to inform the development of 
our evaluation and research agenda in the coming years and to guide 
future evaluation and research studies addressing the needs of ELs.
    Information on Department studies related to the needs of English 
learners is posted on the following Web site: http://www.ncela.gwu.edu/edpubs/.
    Once we receive responses to this RFI, the Department will 
summarize the recommendations made by the public and post that summary 
on the Office of English language Acquisition, Language Enhancement, 
and Academic Achievement for Limited English Proficient Students (OELA) 
and the National Clearinghouse for English Language Acquisition (NCELA) 
Web sites for viewing. We will use the information received through 
this RFI to develop an agenda for evaluation and research studies that 
we will also publish on the OELA and NCELA Web sites.

Context for Responses

    The primary goal of this RFI is to gather information that will 
help shape the Department's evaluation and research studies agenda.
    We have developed a question with topic areas. We request 
information about evaluation and research studies that would be most 
helpful in shaping the Department's evaluation and research agenda. You 
do not have to respond to each topic area included in the question; 
however, it would be helpful if you would elaborate on each topic you 
choose to address. You may provide comments in any convenient format, 
and you may also provide relevant information that is not directly 
responsive to a particular topic but may, nevertheless, be helpful.
    General Question Regarding potential evaluation and research 
studies.
    In which of the following areas should the Department conduct new 
studies or conduct a review of the literature on existing studies?
    a. Identification, screening, and assessment practices of ELs in 
general, or in particular, who are (1) Early learners, (2) students 
with disabilities, (3)secondary students, (4) students with interrupted 
formal education, or (5) other category of ELs.
    b. Strategies for data collection, data analysis, and data-based 
decision-making with respect to EL assessment data.
    c. The alignment of ELP standards with college- and career-ready 
standards and the alignment of ELP assessments with ELP standards, 
including assessments that are accessible to, and usable with, ELs with 
disabilities.
    d. Key features of instruction for ELs that promote language 
acquisition, including academic language, social language, and content 
knowledge in various educational programs that provide instruction in 
English or in English and another language.
    e. Technology-based instructional strategies that promote EL 
achievement.
    f. Characteristics of professional development that prepares 
prospective teachers or currently practicing teachers who are language 
development specialists or content teachers of ELs to design and 
deliver instruction that promotes language acquisition and content 
knowledge.
    Accessible Format: Individuals with disabilities can obtain this 
document in an accessible format (e.g., braille, large print, 
audiotape, or compact disc) upon request to the program contact person 
listed under FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT.
    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.

    Program Authority:  20 U.S.C. 6801-7014.

    Dated: September 3, 2013.
Joseph C. Conaty,
Acting Director, Office of English Language Acquisition, Language 
Enhancement, and Academic Achievement for Limited English Proficient 
Students.
[FR Doc. 2013-21767 Filed 9-6-13; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4000-01-P