[Federal Register Volume 78, Number 249 (Friday, December 27, 2013)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 79222-79239]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2013-30260]



[[Page 79221]]

Vol. 78

Friday,

No. 249

December 27, 2013

Part IV





Department of Education





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





34 CFR Part 200





Title I--Improving the Academic Achievement of the Disadvantaged; 
Migrant Education Program; Proposed Rule

  Federal Register / Vol. 78, No. 249 / Friday, December 27, 2013 / 
Proposed Rules  

[[Page 79222]]


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

DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION

34 CFR Part 200

RIN 1810-AA99
[Docket ID ED-2013-OESE-0119]


Title I--Improving the Academic Achievement of the Disadvantaged; 
Migrant Education Program

AGENCY: Office of Elementary and Secondary Education, Department of 
Education.

ACTION: Notice of proposed rulemaking.

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

SUMMARY: The Secretary proposes regulations to implement the Migrant 
Student Information Exchange (MSIX), a nationwide, electronic records 
exchange mechanism mandated under title I, part C, of the Elementary 
and Secondary Education Act of 1965, as amended (ESEA). As a condition 
of receiving a grant of funds under the Migrant Education Program 
(MEP), each State educational agency (SEA) would be required to 
collect, maintain, and submit minimum health and educational 
information to MSIX within established time frames. The proposed 
regulations would facilitate timely school enrollment, placement, and 
accrual of secondary course credits for migratory children and help the 
Department determine accurate migratory child counts and meet other MEP 
reporting requirements.

DATES: We must receive your comments on or before February 25, 2014.

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 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 the site?''
     Postal Mail, Commercial Delivery, or Hand Delivery: If you 
mail or deliver your comments about these proposed regulations, address 
them to Lisa C. Gillette, U.S. Department of Education, 400 Maryland 
Avenue SW., Room 3E313, Washington, DC 20202-6135.
    Privacy Note: The Department's policy is to make all comments 
received from members of the public 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.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Lisa C. Gillette, U.S. Department of 
Education, 400 Maryland Avenue SW., Room 3E313, Washington, DC 20202-
6135. Telephone: (202) 260-1426 or by email: [email protected].
    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:
    Invitation to Comment: We invite you to submit comments regarding 
these proposed regulations. To ensure that your comments have maximum 
effect in developing the final regulations, we urge you to identify 
clearly the specific section or sections of the proposed regulations 
that each of your comments addresses and to arrange your comments in 
the same order as the proposed regulations. We specifically request 
public comment on issues raised in our discussion of records of 
secondary school-aged migratory children in proposed section 
200.85(b)(3)(i)(B) and procedures for MSIX data correction in proposed 
section 200.85(e).
    We invite you to assist us in complying with the specific 
requirements of Executive Orders 12866 and 13563 and their overall 
requirement of reducing regulatory burden that might result from these 
proposed regulations. Please let us know of any further ways we could 
reduce potential costs or increase potential benefits while preserving 
the effective and efficient administration of the Department's programs 
and activities.
    During and after the comment period, you may inspect all public 
comments about these proposed regulations by accessing Regulations.gov. 
You may also inspect the comments in person in Room 3E315, 400 Maryland 
Avenue SW., Washington, DC, between 8:30 a.m. and 4:00 p.m., 
Washington, DC time, Monday through Friday of each week except Federal 
holidays. Please contact the person listed under FOR FURTHER 
INFORMATION CONTACT.
    Assistance to Individuals with Disabilities in Reviewing the 
Rulemaking Record: On request we will provide an appropriate 
accommodation or auxiliary aid to an individual with a disability who 
needs assistance to review the comments or other documents in the 
public rulemaking record for these proposed regulations. If you want to 
schedule an appointment for this type of accommodation or auxiliary 
aid, please contact the person listed under FOR FURTHER INFORMATION 
CONTACT.

Background

    The educational needs of children of migratory agricultural workers 
and migratory fishers present unique challenges for educators and our 
Nation's schools. Migratory workers travel from community to community 
in search of temporary and seasonal work. Given the nature of their 
employment, migratory workers and their families often settle in a 
single community for a short period of time. One consequence of this 
lifestyle and mobility is that the children of migratory workers 
frequently enroll in new schools and school districts without adequate, 
and in many cases any, documentation of their educational and health 
history.
    In section 1308(b)(2) of the ESEA, Congress directed the Secretary, 
in consultation with the States, to ``ensure the linkage of migrant 
student record systems for the purpose of electronically exchanging, 
among the States, health and educational information regarding all 
migratory students.'' The statute specifies that the linkage of migrant 
student records shall occur in a cost-effective manner, utilizing those 
systems that States used before or developed after enactment of the 
latest reauthorization of the ESEA in the No Child Left Behind Act in 
January 2002. Congress further directed the Secretary, in section 
1308(b)(2) of the ESEA, to seek public comment on (1) the ``minimum 
data elements'' (MDEs) that each State receiving MEP funds would be 
required to collect for purposes of the electronic transfer of 
migratory student information, and (2) the requirements that States 
must meet for immediate electronic access to this information.
    In addition to these specific directives, section 1304(b)(3) of the 
ESEA requires each State that applies for a grant of MEP funds to 
include in its application a description of how it will use MEP funds 
to promote interstate and intrastate coordination of services for 
migratory children. The description must include how the State will 
provide for educational continuity through the timely transfer of 
pertinent school records when children move from one school to another 
either during or outside of the regular school year. All States that 
receive MEP funds do so on the basis of consolidated State applications 
authorized in section 9302 of the ESEA. However, the Department 
requires all SEAs to implement the statutory provisions governing 
program design and operation that otherwise

[[Page 79223]]

would be required of their individual program applications. See 67 FR 
35967, 35970-71 (May 22, 2002).
    In early 2000, the Department began consulting extensively with 
migrant education stakeholders to identify what information is 
essential to the continuity of services for migratory children. These 
consultations included State officials, migrant program administrators 
and educators, guidance counselors, registrars, and other school 
district officials, migrant health officials, and other users of 
student data.
    On May 28, 2002, the Department published for public comment in the 
Federal Register (67 FR 36862-69) a notice of proposed requirements and 
minimum data elements for the electronic transfer of this information. 
Since then, we have spent considerable time and attention consulting 
with migrant education stakeholders and addressing their suggestions 
and concerns about the proposed MDEs and how MSIX would operate. 
(Summaries of the Department's consultative activities are contained in 
question and answer number 8 of the supporting statements for the 2007 
and 2011 MDE Paperwork Reduction Act submissions.)
    The Department has learned through this extensive consultative 
process that the lack of health and educational information for 
migratory children may cause delays in student enrollment, lead to 
inappropriate classroom and course placements, complicate or hinder the 
accrual of course credits needed for high school graduation, and result 
in duplicate services, such as multiple assessments and immunizations. 
As such, we determined that the primary purpose of MSIX should be to 
provide migrant education and other school personnel with the data 
essential to facilitate--
    (1) The timely enrollment of all school-aged migrant children;
    (2) The placement of migratory students in the appropriate grade 
level and courses of instruction; and
    (3) For secondary students, the accrual of course credits needed to 
graduate from high school.
    Further background on the Department's early consultation with 
migrant education stakeholders may be found in the Office of Migrant 
Education's full report to Congress in 2003, Education of Migratory 
Children: Maintenance and Transfer of Health and Educational 
Information for Migrant Students by the States, which is available at 
www2.ed.gov/admins/lead/account/reporttocongress.pdf.
    School staff at all levels need basic enrollment data, and 
typically need proof of immunizations, to place students in the correct 
grade or course in a timely manner. Migrant educators have stressed, 
however, that students in secondary grades have the greatest need for 
the timely exchange of records because they have much less time to make 
up for mistakes made when school officials lack information needed for 
proper grade placement, course selection, and accrual of course credits 
required for high school graduation. As such, educators suggested that 
the migrant record-linking mechanism have a ``special focus'' on 
exchanging information needed for full and partial credit accrual for 
mobile secondary students.
    We also learned through consultations that gaining access to 
student records in a timely manner generally is more of a concern for 
students who make interstate, rather than intrastate, moves. This is 
because the new school district in another State is much less likely 
than a new school district in the same State to have ready access to 
information in the former district's records, and thus the new district 
in another State is far less able to avoid critical delays in the 
transfer of necessary information. In many cases, however, the same 
problem exists when students make an intrastate move because district 
officials do not always have ready access to student-level data from 
another district within the State. In both cases, the problem is 
exacerbated for students who move during the summer, when many migrant 
education programs are conducted, because many of the schools that 
those students last attended, and from which student records would need 
to be gathered and transmitted, are closed.
    Through our continued consultations with migrant education 
stakeholders, we have also identified MDEs that would facilitate 
enrollment, grade and course placement, and accrual of secondary school 
course credits for migratory students. We published a notice of 
proposed information collection requests relating to the MDEs in the 
Federal Register on May 30, 2007 (72 FR 29994), and the Office of 
Management and Budget (OMB) approved the collection of 66 MDEs on 
November 27, 2007, under OMB Approval Number 1810-0683.
    On August 20, 2010, we published in the Federal Register (75 FR 
51449) a second notice of proposed information collection requests to 
add five new data elements to the set of MDEs collected and exchanged 
through MSIX. On January 30, 2011, OMB approved the revision and 
extended the expiration date of this information collection to January 
31, 2014. After additional public comments, on March 30, 2011, OMB 
approved minor, non-substantive modifications to the collection, which 
now contains 71 MDEs. As discussed elsewhere in the Paperwork Reduction 
Act section of this notice, we are publishing a third notice of 
proposed information collection requests for MSIX with these proposed 
regulations.
    MSIX is a system in which SEAs upload the required MDEs from their 
own State student record systems into a single data repository where 
information on each migrant student is maintained, organized, and 
compiled. MSIX uses a Web-based application that allows stakeholders 
with the appropriate security clearance to access the system via a Web 
browser. Using the required MDEs, MSIX generates a ``Consolidated 
Migrant Student Record.'' It is used to promote proper enrollment, 
grade and course placement, and accrual of secondary school course 
credits for any identified migratory child by SEAs, their local 
operating agencies--that is, local educational agencies (LEAs) and 
other public or nonprofit private agencies that receive a subgrant of 
MEP funds--and those LEAs, sometimes known as ``non-project LEAs,'' 
that do not receive subgrants of MEP funds.
    The Department started collecting data from participating SEAs on 
September 28, 2007, and MSIX is now fully operational. At present, 
State use of MSIX is voluntary. As of April 2013, 46 of the 47 States 
participating in the MEP, as well as the contractor that operates the 
program through a bypass arrangement under section 1307 of the ESEA for 
eligible migratory children in the three States that do not participate 
in the MEP, have voluntarily executed both the MSIX Interconnection 
Agreement and MSIX Interconnection Security Agreement, which is a 
precondition for using MSIX under the Computer Security Act of 1987 
(Pub. L. 100-235), the Information Technology Management Reform Act of 
1996 (Pub. L. 104-106), OMB Circular A-130 Appendix III, and National 
Institute of Standards and Technology Special Publication 800-47. These 
States are now using MSIX to electronically transfer and receive 
migrant student data that apply to 99 percent of the Nation's migrant 
children found eligible for the MEP.
    Under these proposed regulations, and consistent with sections 
1304(b)(3) and 1308(b)(2) of the ESEA, as a condition of receiving a 
grant of MEP funds, an SEA would be required to collect, maintain, and 
submit to MSIX the MDEs approved by the Secretary within the timeframes 
established in final regulations. In addition, each SEA

[[Page 79224]]

receiving MEP funds would be required to obtain the MDEs both from 
their MEP local operating agencies and from their non-project LEAs.
    We note finally that, in addition to its role in exchanging 
information among States and creating Consolidated Migrant Student 
Records for enrollment, placement, and credit accrual purposes, MSIX 
may also be used to produce national data on the migrant population. 
For further information, see the description of MSIX objectives at 
www2.ed.gov/admins/lead/account/recordstransfer.html. In particular, 
the Department plans to use MSIX to provide stakeholders with census 
data and statistics on the national migrant population and to generate 
accurate child counts under section 1303(e)(1) of the ESEA. After all 
phases of MSIX data submission have been completed, we also plan to use 
statistical data from MSIX to help meet reporting requirements related 
to the national migrant child population.

Summary of Proposed Changes

    These proposed regulations would help ensure that health and 
educational records of migratory children are available promptly for 
school enrollment, grade and course placement, and credit accrual 
purposes, and for producing national statistical data on the migrant 
population, by requiring each SEA that receives a grant of MEP funds 
to--
     Collect, maintain, and submit current and updated MDEs for 
eligible migratory children to MSIX within established timeframes;
     Ensure that all data submitted to MSIX are accurate and 
complete and that appropriate safeguards are in place to protect the 
integrity, security, and confidentiality of Consolidated Migrant 
Student Records in MSIX;
     Establish procedures for using, and requiring each of its 
subgrantees to use, Consolidated Migrant Student Records in MSIX; and
     Establish procedures for MSIX data correction by parents, 
guardians, and migratory children.

Significant Proposed Regulations

    We discuss substantive issues under the sections of the proposed 
regulations to which they pertain. Generally, we do not address 
proposed regulatory changes that are technical or otherwise minor in 
effect.

Section 200.81 Program definitions

    Statute: The statute does not define ``Consolidated Migrant Student 
Record,'' ``Migrant Student Information Exchange (MSIX),'' ``Minimum 
Data Elements (MDEs),'' ``MSIX Interconnection Agreement,'' or ``MSIX 
Interconnection Security Agreement.''
    Current Regulations: The current regulations do not define 
``Consolidated Migrant Student Record,'' ``Migrant Student Information 
Exchange (MSIX),'' ``Minimum Data Elements (MDEs),'' ``MSIX 
Interconnection Agreement,'' or ``MSIX Interconnection Security 
Agreement.''
    Proposed Regulations: The proposed regulations would define 
``Consolidated Migrant Student Record'' as the MDEs for a migratory 
child that have been submitted by one or more SEAs and consolidated 
into a single, uniquely identified record available through MSIX. The 
proposed regulations would define ``Migrant Student Information 
Exchange (MSIX)'' as the nationwide system for linking and exchanging 
specified health and educational information for all migratory children 
in accordance with section 1308(b)(2) of the ESEA. The proposed 
regulations would define ``Minimum Data Elements (MDEs)'' to mean the 
health and educational information for migratory children that the 
Secretary requires each SEA that receives an MEP grant to collect, 
maintain, submit to MSIX, and use. The proposed regulations would 
define ``MSIX Interconnection Agreement'' to mean the agreement between 
the Department and an SEA that governs the interconnection between the 
State student records system and MSIX. The proposed regulations would 
define ``MSIX Interconnection Security Agreement'' to mean the 
agreement between the Department and an SEA that specifies the 
technical and security requirements for establishing, maintaining, and 
operating the interconnection between the State student records system 
and MSIX.
    Reasons: These definitions are needed to clarify the meanings of 
basic terms used in these proposed regulations for implementing the 
nationwide system for the linkage and exchange of migrant student 
records established under section 1308(b)(2) of the ESEA.

Section 200.84 Responsibilities for Evaluating the Effectiveness of the 
MEP and Using Evaluations To Improve Services to Migratory Children

    Statute: Section 1304 of the ESEA requires each grantee to evaluate 
the effectiveness of MEP projects using measurable program goals and 
outcomes.
    Current Regulations: Current Sec.  200.84 specifies the 
responsibilities of SEAs for evaluating the effectiveness of the MEP. 
Current Sec.  200.85 identifies the responsibilities of SEAs and local 
operating agencies for improving services to migratory children.
    Proposed Regulations: The proposed regulations would revise the 
heading for Sec.  200.84 as set forth above and make technical changes 
to this proposed section. We would designate the current text of Sec.  
200.84 (concerning the responsibilities of SEAs for evaluating the 
effectiveness of the MEP) as Sec.  200.84(a) and redesignate the 
current text of Sec.  200.85 (concerning the responsibilities of SEAs 
and local operating agencies for improving services to migratory 
children) as new Sec.  200.84(b). We would not make any substantive 
changes to the text of current Sec.  200.84 and Sec.  200.85; we would 
make technical changes to the text of current Sec.  200.85 by deleting 
the introductory phrase and clarifying in proposed Sec.  200.84(b) that 
the evaluation under paragraph (a) is carried out by the SEA. The 
redesignation of current Sec. Sec.  200.84 and 200.85 is needed to 
create space for the proposed MSIX regulations in 34 CFR part 200, 
subpart C.

Section 200.85 Responsibilities of SEAs for the Electronic Exchange 
Through MSIX of Specified Health and Educational Information of 
Migratory Children

    Statute: Section 1308(b)(2) of the ESEA requires the Secretary, in 
consultation with the States, to ensure the linkage of migrant student 
records systems for the purpose of States exchanging health and 
educational information about all migratory students and to determine 
the MDEs that each State receiving MEP funds shall collect and maintain 
for this purpose.
    Current Regulations: Current Sec.  200.85 clarifies the statutory 
responsibilities of an SEA receiving MEP funds to use evaluation 
results to improve services provided to migratory children.
    Proposed Regulations: As described in our discussion of proposed 
Sec.  200.84, we would move the text of current Sec.  200.85 
(``Responsibilities of SEAs and operating agencies for improving 
services to migratory children'') to new Sec.  200.84(b). We would 
replace current Sec.  200.85 with a new Sec.  200.85, 
``Responsibilities of SEAs for the electronic exchange through MSIX of 
specified health and educational information of migratory children,'' 
and the new regulations would address the following:
    MSIX State record system and data exchange requirements. Proposed 
Sec.  200.85(a) provides that as a condition of receiving a grant of 
MEP funds, an SEA would be required to collect, maintain, and submit to 
MSIX the

[[Page 79225]]

MDEs, and otherwise exchange and use information on, migratory children 
in accordance with all of the data submission and other requirements in 
proposed Sec.  200.85. Failure of an SEA to do so would constitute a 
failure under section 454 of the General Education Provisions Act, 20 
U.S.C. 1234c, to comply substantially with a requirement of law 
applicable to the funds made available under the MEP.
    Reasons: We recognize that at this time the various State student-
information systems do not uniformly contain all the information that 
the Department has determined is needed to support the purposes and 
goals of MSIX. Likewise, although MSIX has been operational since 2007 
and nearly all States currently participate, SEAs still do not 
uniformly submit and use MSIX data in a manner that would most benefit 
migratory children. Proposed Sec.  200.85(a) would ensure that SEAs 
participate fully in MSIX so that it can fulfill its principal 
statutory purpose--to enable school personnel throughout the Nation to 
quickly access data needed to make proper educational decisions about 
any migratory child who enrolls in school. It would also clarify that 
the Secretary may take appropriate enforcement action if an SEA fails 
to comply with any of these proposed requirements.
    We note that under the proposed regulations, a State would not be 
required to maintain a separate migrant student records system and 
could use any statewide or local system that contains the necessary 
information on migratory children. While the proposed regulations would 
require an SEA to collect, maintain, and submit to MSIX the MDEs 
required by the Secretary and use Consolidated Migrant Student Records, 
they would not otherwise require any change in an SEA's approach to 
student data systems.
    MSIX data submission requirements. Proposed Sec.  200.85(b) sets 
forth requirements for the content and timing of an SEA's start-up and 
subsequent data submissions to MSIX.
    General. Under proposed Sec.  200.85(b)(1), an SEA that receives a 
grant of MEP funds would be required to submit to MSIX, within the 
timelines for start-up and subsequent data submissions contained in 
proposed Sec.  200.85(b)(2) and (b)(3), the MDEs applicable to a 
migratory child's age and grade level that the Secretary has determined 
are needed to implement MSIX. We note that these proposed data 
submission requirements would apply to any migratory child whom the SEA 
considered eligible for MEP services in accordance with Sec.  
200.89(c). This would include not only pre-school and K-12 migratory 
children enrolled in public schools, but also those who are home-
schooled or enrolled in non-public schools because, as they migrate, 
these home-schooled or non-public school children may move into and out 
of public schools, where their private school or home-school records 
would be needed for enrollment and placement purposes. The proposed 
data submission requirements would apply also to secondary school-aged 
children who are not enrolled in school at all, known as out-of-school 
youth or ``OSY,'' whom the SEA had determined to be eligible for MEP 
services. Applying these proposed requirements to all of these 
migratory children will ensure that demographic, educational, health, 
and other information will be available promptly upon initial or 
subsequent school enrollments.
    Reasons: Proposed Sec.  200.85(b)(1) would establish a requirement 
that SEAs must submit electronically to MSIX those MDEs that the 
Secretary designates. For the convenience of the reader, we have 
appended to this notice a list of the 71 MDEs currently collected by 
the Secretary under OMB Control Nos. 1875-0240, 1810-0662, and 1810-
0683, as well as one new MDE identified in the Paperwork Reduction Act 
section of this notice. As discussed in the Background and Paperwork 
Reduction Act sections of this notice, we have consulted extensively 
with MEP stakeholders and believe that these MDEs reflect the minimal 
information needed to ensure the proper enrollment, grade and course 
placement, and accrual of secondary course credits (including credit 
for any courses taken for college credit) for migratory children. The 
Secretary would continue to consult with MEP stakeholders in connection 
with any future changes to the MDEs collected for submission to MSIX.
    While the majority of MDEs, such as name, date of birth, qualifying 
arrival date, etc., apply to all migratory children, some of the 
required MDEs apply only after a child reaches a certain age or grade 
level. For example, depending on their grade level, primary and middle 
school children may not have certain assessments, nor will the course 
title and type of information that is required for secondary school 
students apply to them. Because State policies vary regarding the ages 
and grade levels at which these requirements come into play, we are not 
proposing to regulate precisely which MDEs an SEA must submit to MSIX 
for a migratory child. Rather, under the proposed regulations, SEAs 
would need to determine which MDEs are applicable to the child's age 
and grade level in accordance with State policy and submit those MDEs 
to MSIX as required under this section. The Department would issue non-
regulatory guidance on this issue as needed.
    Start-up data submissions. Under proposed Sec.  200.85(b)(2), no 
later than 90 calendar days after the effective date of the final 
regulations, an SEA would be required to collect and submit to MSIX 
each of the MDEs required by the Secretary, as described in paragraph 
(b)(1) of this section, applicable to the child's age and grade level. 
An SEA would do so for every migratory child whom the SEA considered 
eligible for the MEP under Sec.  200.89(c) within one year preceding 
the effective date of the final regulations. An SEA would have to 
collect and submit MDEs for a migratory child whether or not the child 
has a current Certificate of Eligibility under Sec.  200.89(c) at the 
time the SEA makes its start-up data submission.
    Reasons: Proposed Sec.  200.85(b)(2) would ensure that by a 
specified date MSIX is fully populated with MDEs for migratory children 
whom SEAs have already determined are eligible for the MEP. The section 
would specify the group of migratory children covered under an SEA's 
start-up data submission as well as the content and timeframe of those 
submissions. We believe that 90 days is a reasonable period of time for 
SEAs to locate and submit the required MDEs to MSIX given that the 
proposed requirement applies only to those children considered eligible 
for the MEP within the preceding year, and that many SEAs would have 
already submitted some or all of the required MDEs by the time the 
final regulations would take effect. With regard to the administrative 
effort required for this proposed requirement, we note that the SEA 
would not have to ascertain whether the child is still resident in the 
State or otherwise eligible for the program at the time of this data 
submission.
    As noted in the Background section of this notice, MSIX has been 
operational since 2007 and, accordingly, many SEAs have already 
submitted most of the MDEs approved under the Department's information 
collection (OMB Approval Number 1810-0683) for their States' migratory 
children. For purposes of the start-up data submissions required under 
these proposed regulations, SEAs would not be required to resubmit to 
MSIX any MDEs they have already submitted. However, a small number of 
SEAs have not yet submitted any data to MSIX, and those that have done 
so may not have submitted all of the

[[Page 79226]]

required data, particularly the additional MDEs added in 2011. (Of 
course, none of the SEAs has submitted the new MDE identified in the 
Paperwork Reduction Act section and appendix of this notice.).
    We note also that the Department initially collected MDEs in three 
phases, covering demographic data collected in Certificates of 
Eligibility, assessments, and course history for secondary students. 
However, MSIX has since eliminated the phased submission of MDEs, and 
there is no provision for phased submission of MDEs under the start-up 
or subsequent data submissions required under these proposed 
regulations.
    This means, for example, that SEAs would be required to collect and 
submit to MSIX in their start-up submissions the assessment and course 
history data (applicable to the child's age and grade level) located in 
the State for children for whom the SEA may have previously submitted 
only demographic data. We propose to limit the start-up submission 
requirement to data for children considered eligible within the year 
preceding the effective date of the final regulations because of the 
added burden some SEAs would incur if they had to go back beyond one 
year in order to locate and collect assessment and course history data 
for these children from LEAs and non-migrant databases in the State.
    Subsequent data submissions.
    Newly documented migratory children. For every migratory child for 
whom an SEA documents eligibility for the MEP on or after the effective 
date of these regulations, proposed Sec.  200.85(b)(3)(i)(A) would 
require the SEA to collect and submit to MSIX the MDEs required under 
paragraph (b)(1) within ten working days of documenting the child's 
eligibility for the MEP under Sec.  200.89(c). This requirement would 
apply when an SEA determines that a migratory child has made a 
qualifying move and documents the child's eligibility on a Certificate 
of Eligibility; it would not apply when an SEA subsequently verifies 
that a previously identified migratory child is still a resident in the 
State. Unless a child is secondary school-aged, an SEA would not be 
required under proposed Sec.  200.85(b)(3)(i)(A) to collect and submit 
MDEs in existence before the SEA's documentation of the child's 
eligibility for the MEP.
    If the newly documented migratory child is secondary school-aged 
(whether or not the child is currently enrolled in school), proposed 
Sec.  200.85(b)(3)(i)(B) would require an SEA to collect and submit to 
MSIX MDEs from the most recent secondary school in that State attended 
previously by the child, if any, and also to notify MSIX within 30 
calendar days if one of its local operating agencies obtains records 
from a secondary school attended previously by the student in another 
State.
    End of term submissions. Proposed Sec.  200.85(b)(3)(ii) provides 
that within 30 calendar days of the end of the fall, spring, summer, 
and intersession terms, an SEA must collect and submit to MSIX all 
updates to MDEs and all newly available MDEs for migratory children who 
were eligible for the MEP during the term and for whom the SEA 
previously submitted data to MSIX. (If the SEA has not previously 
submitted data to MSIX for a particular migratory child to be included 
in an end of term submission, then the submission would fall under the 
timeframes and other specific requirements of paragraph (b)(2)(start-up 
data submissions) or (b)(3)(i) (newly documented migratory children).) 
Note that this proposed end of term submission requirement would apply 
even if the migratory child is no longer enrolled in school at the end 
of the term so long as the child was eligible for the MEP sometime 
during the term.
    In addition, when a migratory child's MEP eligibility expires 
before the end of a school year, the proposed regulations would require 
an SEA to submit to MSIX all MDE updates and newly available MDEs for 
the child through the end of the school year in which the child is 
enrolled. Likewise, an SEA would be required to submit all MDE updates 
and newly available MDEs for any child who continues to receive MEP-
funded services under section 1304(e) of the ESEA (continuation of 
services) after expiration of the child's eligibility for the MEP.
    Change of residence submissions. Proposed Sec.  200.85(b)(3)(iii) 
would require that within four working days of the date that MSIX 
notifies an SEA that a migratory child has changed residence to a new 
school district within the State or is newly documented as a migratory 
child in another State, the SEA must submit to MSIX all MDE updates and 
all MDEs that have become newly available to the SEA or one of its 
local operating agencies since the SEA's last data submission to MSIX 
for the child. If the MDEs are not available to the SEA or local 
operating agency when the SEA receives a change of residence notice 
from MSIX, the SEA would need to submit the MDEs to MSIX within four 
working days of the date that the SEA or its local operating agency has 
the MDE.
    Proposed Sec.  200.85(b)(3) would require an SEA to comply with 
specified timelines for subsequent data submissions throughout the 
entire calendar year whether or not local operating agencies or LEAs in 
the State are closed for summer or intersession periods.
    Reasons: Proposed Sec.  200.85(b)(3) is needed to establish 
reasonable and definite timeframes within which SEAs must submit MDEs 
to MSIX after their start-up data submissions. MSIX will transmit a 
migratory child's Consolidated Migrant Student Record immediately upon 
request of a local operating agency or non-project LEA. However, MSIX 
can meet its intended purpose of facilitating proper enrollment, grade 
and course placement, and credit accrual for migratory children only if 
the information in MSIX is complete, accurate, and current. This means 
that SEAs must submit new, updated, and newly available MDEs, including 
certain prior secondary school records, for migratory children within 
these timeframes.
    We note, however, that these proposed timeframes represent the 
maximum amount of time that an SEA may take to submit MDEs to MSIX, not 
an ideal practice. For example, most States that have large migrant 
populations currently upload data to MSIX nightly; others have 
organized their systems to update MSIX whenever the value for an MDE 
has changed. We encourage SEAs to follow these practices and submit 
available data as promptly as possible so that school officials will 
have access to the most up-to-date information for enrolling, placing, 
and accruing credits for migratory children.
    Newly documented migratory children. Section 200.89(c)(1) of the 
current regulations requires an SEA and its local operating agencies to 
use the Certificate of Eligibility form established by the Secretary to 
document the State's determination of the eligibility of migratory 
children for the MEP. A consensus was reached during the Department's 
MSIX consultations with SEAs and other MEP stakeholders that an SEA 
could be expected to submit a migratory child's MDEs to MSIX within ten 
working days of the date that the SEA documents under Sec.  
200.89(c)(1) that the child is eligible for the program. We believe 
that this timeframe appropriately balances the need for local operating 
agencies and non-project LEAs to have access to data as quickly as 
possible for enrollment, grade and course placement, and credit accrual 
purposes with fiscal and administrative

[[Page 79227]]

constraints faced by SEAs and local operating agencies that would have 
to respond to requests for such data.
    In particular, experience suggests that although migratory children 
could move at any time, newly documented migratory children are 
unlikely to move again within ten working days. We recognize that the 
ten working-day starting point will vary depending on an SEA's process 
for approving and accepting a child's Certificate of Eligibility. 
Regardless of the process an SEA uses to make this determination, 
however, we agree with MEP stakeholders that ten working days from the 
date that an SEA documents a child's eligibility for the MEP should 
allow sufficient time for the SEA to gather and submit the necessary 
MDEs to MSIX. We take this position because, except for secondary 
school-aged individuals, proposed Sec.  200.85(b)(3)(i)(A) would 
require an SEA to collect and submit to MSIX only MDEs that exist at 
the time the SEA documents the child's eligibility for the MEP.
    We agree with the MEP stakeholders who have advised us consistently 
over the years that it is secondary school-aged students who are most 
adversely affected when information about their prior coursework and 
assessments is not available promptly after they migrate to a new area. 
In order to address this problem, we propose to require an SEA to 
collect and submit to MSIX those MDEs that were gathered prior to 
documentation of MEP eligibility for migratory children who previously 
attended secondary school in the same State.
    In these cases, proposed Sec.  200.85(b)(3)(i)(B) would require an 
SEA to collect and submit MDEs from the most recent secondary school in 
that State attended previously by the newly documented migratory child, 
if any. We are proposing this requirement so that when the migratory 
child makes a qualifying move, the new State or school district will 
have more complete data on the student's high school record for 
enrollment, course placement, and credit accrual purposes than it would 
have if the SEA submitted only data that came into existence in the 
State after the date it documented the child as eligible for the MEP.
    We specifically invite public comment on our expectation that MDEs 
from the student's most recent secondary school in the State would 
contain MDEs from any secondary school in the same State in which the 
student previously enrolled.
    For a migratory child who was not previously documented as eligible 
for the MEP in that State, the proposed regulations do not require an 
SEA to submit MDEs for the period prior to the new documentation. As 
such, a State that newly documents the eligibility of a child who 
previously attended secondary school in another State, but who was 
never identified as eligible for the MEP in that other State, would not 
be able to obtain the child's previous secondary school records from 
MSIX.
    In these circumstances, we are proposing in Sec.  
200.85(b)(3)(i)(B)(2) to require an SEA (in State A) to notify MSIX 
within 30 calendar days if one of its local operating agencies obtains 
secondary school records from another State (State B) so that when the 
migratory child moves again, the new district can use MSIX to quickly 
locate the child's prior coursework and other secondary school records. 
We are not proposing to require the SEA of State B to transfer a 
student's previous secondary school records to State A because of the 
added administrative burden that would be associated with students who 
were never identified as migratory in State B, particularly as we 
understand that many of these transfers occur in summer or intercession 
months when school districts are closed. We also believe that, provided 
a student remains enrolled for an adequate period, the LEA in State A 
where a student transfers will eventually incorporate any prior 
secondary school course placements from State B into the student's 
records in State A, and that the SEA in State A will submit those MDEs 
to MSIX under the end of term submissions, described below.
    We specifically ask for public comment as to whether these proposed 
regulations address adequately the problem of obtaining course 
placement records of secondary school-aged migratory children in a 
timely manner without overly burdening MEP participants.
    End of term submissions. MEP stakeholders also generally agreed 
that, for children already identified in MSIX, 30 calendar days from 
the end of a school term (including summer and intersession terms) was 
a reasonable timeframe for an SEA to update a child's MSIX record and 
provide any newly available MDEs, such as State assessment data. Here 
again, we realize that a child could move at any time before or after 
the end of the term. However, the proposed regulations in Sec.  
200.85(b)(3)(iii) would call for a much faster, four-working day 
timeframe for submitting MDEs when MSIX notifies an SEA that a child 
has been identified in another location that seeks information from 
MSIX. As such, we believe that the 30-day timeframe for end of term 
submissions in proposed Sec.  200.85(b)(3)(ii) reflects an appropriate 
balance between the need for MSIX to be able to provide current and 
accurate records and the need for SEAs, local operating agencies, and 
non-project LEAs to manage their staff-time and workloads.
    By proposing to require SEAs to update and provide newly available 
MDEs to MSIX at the end of each term even when a migratory child's MEP 
eligibility expires before the term or school year has ended, the 
proposed regulations would help ensure that MSIX has available the most 
complete and up-to-date information should the child again become 
eligible for the MEP based on a subsequent move to a new location. 
Without these requirements, there would be a gap in MSIX data for the 
period between expiration of the child's eligibility and the submission 
of updated data to MSIX if the child is documented as eligible again in 
a new location. We believe that this approach is more efficient than 
relying solely on the SEA's responsibility under proposed Sec.  
200.85(b)(3)(iii) to submit MDEs within four working days of learning 
from MSIX that the child has been identified as migratory in another 
location. For similar reasons, the proposed regulations would require 
an SEA to update MDEs during any period of time in which a migratory 
child whose eligibility has expired continues to receive MEP services 
under section 1304(e) of the ESEA.
    Change of residence submissions. Once an SEA has documented the MEP 
eligibility of a migratory child and submitted the MDEs to MSIX, MSIX 
thereafter may notify the SEA when that child has been newly documented 
as eligible for the MEP in another State or has changed residence to a 
new local operating agency within the same State. In these 
circumstances, proposed Sec.  200.85(b)(3)(iii)(A) would require the 
SEA to submit to MSIX, within four working days of receipt of a change 
of residence notification from MSIX, updated MDEs that have become 
available to the SEA or its local operating agencies since the SEA's 
last submission of MDEs for the child. While we recognize that this is 
a very short timeframe, MEP and school personnel in the new State or 
district need critical information on the most mobile migratory 
children as soon as possible to allow them to make appropriate 
decisions regarding enrollment, grade and course placement, and accrual 
of secondary course credits.
    We note that an SEA would be required under proposed

[[Page 79228]]

Sec.  200.85(b)(3)(ii) to submit updated and newly available MDEs to 
MSIX within 30 days of the end of the most recent school term in which 
the child was enrolled. While this provision would help keep MSIX up to 
date for migratory children who have not yet moved again, it would not 
meet the needs of children who have already migrated to a new school 
district, where school officials and staff need records from the former 
school district as quickly as possible.
    Proposed Sec.  200.85(b)(3)(iii)(B) recognizes that an SEA or local 
operating agency may not be able to submit new or updated MDEs for a 
child at the time the SEA receives a change of residence notification 
from MSIX because the information is not yet available. For example, a 
State or local operating agency may not have a child's scores for State 
reading and mathematics assessments for some time after the child has 
already migrated to a new State or school district. In these cases, the 
proposed regulation would require an SEA to submit the new or updated 
MDEs to MSIX within four working days of the date that the SEA or one 
of its local operating agencies obtains the MDEs. By this we mean that 
the information has been processed by the local school district, other 
local operating agency, or other responsible party, such as a 
contractor for the SEA, and could be collected by the SEA. Without such 
a provision, SEAs would be under no obligation to submit to MSIX those 
MDEs that an SEA or one of its local operating agencies obtains after 
the standard, four-day submission period has lapsed.
    Under proposed Sec.  200.85(b)(3), the fact that a school district 
or other local operating agency is closed for the summer (or other 
vacation period) would not relieve an SEA of its obligation to collect 
and submit MDEs to MSIX that are available to one of its local 
operating agencies. Allowing an SEA to defer submission of MDEs until 
after the child's district or other local operating agency reopens 
after a vacation period would defeat the purpose of the proposed 
subsequent data submission requirements. We note that consistent with 
sections 1304(b)(3) and 1308(b)(2) of the ESEA, an SEA's costs of 
making arrangements with its local operating agencies and non-project 
districts to secure needed MDE information, including under the 
subsequent data submission requirements in proposed Sec.  200.85(b)(3), 
would be allowable costs of the MEP.
    Use of Consolidated Migrant Student Records. Proposed Sec.  
200.85(c)(1) would require SEAs to use, and to require each of their 
local operating agencies to use, Consolidated Migrant Student Records 
to help ensure proper participation in the MEP, school enrollment, 
grade and course placement, and accrual of high school credits, for all 
migratory children who have changed residence to a new school district 
within the State or in another State. Under proposed Sec.  
200.85(c)(2), SEAs also would be required to encourage non-project LEAs 
to use Consolidated Migrant Student Records for these same purposes. 
Proposed Sec.  200.85(c)(3) would require SEAs to establish procedures, 
develop and disseminate guidance, and provide training to SEA, local 
operating agency, and non-project LEA personnel who have been 
designated by the SEA as authorized MSIX users under proposed Sec.  
200.85(f)(2) to ensure that Consolidated Migrant Student Records are 
used for the purposes provided in proposed Sec.  200.85(c)(1).
    Reasons: Migratory children will benefit from the expedited 
availability of records in MSIX only if school registrars, counselors, 
MEP specialists, and other local and State officials and staff use the 
system for its intended purposes--ensuring that migratory students 
receive proper enrollment, grade and course placement, and accrual of 
high school credits. Because staff may be inclined to opt for the 
familiarity of existing systems and methods that do not include or 
provide for a nationwide data exchange, proposed Sec.  200.85(c)(1) is 
needed to ensure that SEAs and local operating agencies actually use 
Consolidated Migrant Student Records from MSIX, and that MSIX therefore 
fulfills its intended purposes.
    No similar requirement is proposed for non-project LEAs because 
they do not receive MEP funds. However, proposed Sec.  200.85(c)(2) and 
(c)(3) would ensure that these LEAs are familiar with the added 
benefits for migratory children of using a student's Consolidated 
Migrant Student Record. Proposed Sec.  200.85(c)(3) is needed also to 
ensure that SEAs properly train authorized users in the appropriate use 
of the MSIX online system as well as the information contained in the 
Consolidated Migrant Student Record.
    MSIX data quality. Proposed Sec.  200.85(d)(1) would require SEAs 
to use reasonable and appropriate methods to ensure that all data 
submitted to MSIX are accurate and complete, and to require each of 
their local operating agencies to do the same.
    Proposed Sec.  200.85(d)(2) would require SEAs to respond promptly, 
and ensure that each of their local operating agencies responds 
promptly, to any request by the Department for information needed to 
meet the Department's responsibility for the accuracy and completeness 
of MSIX data under the Privacy Act of 1974, as amended (Privacy Act).
    Reasons: The data in MSIX will help school officials make correct 
decisions about enrollment, grade and course placement, and accrual of 
high school credits for migratory children only if SEAs take reasonable 
steps to ensure that records of migratory children submitted to MSIX 
are accurate and complete. If the information that SEAs submit to MSIX 
is not accurate and complete, then Consolidated Migrant Student Records 
from MSIX cannot and will not be used as intended under section 
1308(b)(2) of the ESEA. (Proposed regulations requiring SEAs also to 
respond to requests to correct data in MSIX are discussed later in this 
notice in connection with proposed Sec.  200.85(e).)
    In addition, MSIX is a ``system of records'' under the Privacy Act. 
See the system of records notice published in the Federal Register at 
72 FR 68572, 68576 (Dec. 5, 2007). The MSIX is implemented through a 
Department contract, and therefore the Department and its contractor 
are responsible for complying with applicable Privacy Act requirements 
in the maintenance and operation of MSIX. In particular, 5 U.S.C. 
552a(e)(6) requires the Department and its contractor to make 
reasonable efforts to assure that MSIX records are accurate, complete, 
timely, and relevant.
    These proposed regulations are needed to help the Department meet 
its responsibility under this provision of the Privacy Act. The 
requirement that MSIX records be accurate and complete is addressed by 
proposed Sec.  200.85(d) (along with proposed Sec.  200.85(e), which 
addresses requests to correct the records); the timeliness requirement 
is addressed in proposed Sec.  200.85(b); and the relevance requirement 
is addressed through the MDEs required by the Secretary. Proposed Sec.  
200.85(d) helps to ensure that migrant students have accurate and 
complete records; in particular, proposed Sec.  200.85(d)(2) would 
ensure that SEAs and local operating agencies help the Department carry 
out its responsibility to engage in reasonable efforts to maintain 
accurate and complete records in MSIX, and to respond to any civil 
action that might be brought under the Privacy Act (5 U.S.C. 
552a(g)(1)(C) or (D)) alleging failure to maintain accurate and 
complete records in MSIX.
    Finally, as noted above in the Background section of this notice, 
the Department plans to use MSIX to

[[Page 79229]]

generate MEP child counts for State funding purposes and to meet 
reporting requirements related to the national migrant child 
population. Proposed Sec.  200.85(d) is thus also needed to ensure that 
the Department has the most accurate, complete, and timely data that is 
reasonably possible for these purposes.
    Procedures for MSIX data correction by parents, guardians, and 
migratory children. Proposed Sec.  200.85(e) would require each SEA 
that receives a grant of MEP funds to establish and implement written 
procedures to allow a parent or guardian of a migratory child, or a 
migratory child, to ask an SEA to correct or determine the correctness 
of MSIX data.
    These written procedures would need to meet the following minimum 
regulatory requirements. Under proposed Sec.  200.85(e)(1)(i), within 
30 calendar days of receipt of a data correction request from a parent, 
guardian, or migratory child an SEA would need to (A) send a written or 
electronic acknowledgement to the requester; (B) investigate the 
request; (C) decide whether to revise the data as requested; and (D) 
send the requester a written or electronic notice of the SEA's 
decision. This process would occur outside of MSIX.
    Under proposed Sec.  200.85(e)(1)(ii), an SEA would have to submit 
any revised data to MSIX within four working days of its decision to 
revise the data; an SEA would not need to notify MSIX if it decided not 
to revise data as requested. Under proposed Sec.  200.85(e)(1)(iii), if 
a parent, guardian, or migratory child asks an SEA to correct or 
determine the correctness of data that was submitted to MSIX by another 
SEA, the SEA would be required to send the data correction request to 
the SEA that had submitted the data to MSIX within four working days of 
its receipt. This process also would occur outside of MSIX. An SEA that 
receives an MSIX data correction request from another SEA under this 
provision would need to respond as if it had received the request 
directly from the parent, guardian, or migratory child.
    Under proposed Sec.  200.85(e)(2), an SEA would need to respond, 
and ensure that its local operating agencies respond, within ten 
working days to a request by the SEA of another State for information 
needed by that SEA to respond to a data correction request by a parent, 
guardian, or migratory child under proposed Sec.  200.85(e)(1). This 
process, too, would occur outside of MSIX. (Note that procedures for 
SEAs to respond to requests by MSIX itself to resolve data matching and 
other data integrity issues internal to MSIX are discussed in 
connection with proposed Sec.  200.85(f)(1).)
    Proposed Sec.  200.85(e)(3) would require an SEA to respond within 
ten working days to a request from the Department for information it 
needs to respond to an individual's request to correct or amend a 
Consolidated Migrant Student Record under the Privacy Act, 5 U.S.C. 
552a(d)(2), and 34 CFR 5b.7. This process would occur outside of MSIX 
as well.
    Reasons: MSIX is a system of records under the Privacy Act, 5 
U.S.C. 552a. As such, subject individuals have a right under paragraph 
(d)(2) of the statute and Department regulations codified at 34 CFR 
Sec.  5b.7(a) to ask the responsible Department official to correct or 
amend a Consolidated Migrant Student Record that the individual 
believes is not accurate, timely, complete, or relevant or necessary to 
accomplish a Department function. Our purpose for proposing Sec.  
200.85(e) is not to duplicate or supplant these rights under the 
Privacy Act but to provide a more limited and accessible procedure for 
individuals who want only to correct an inaccurate record and who would 
be more likely to do so if given an opportunity at the State or local 
level. These proposed regulations, and Sec.  200.85(e)(3) in 
particular, are also needed because the Department cannot respond to a 
request to correct or amend an MSIX record under the Privacy Act 
without the intervention of SEAs because MSIX contains only records 
submitted by the SEAs.
    Parents and guardians of migratory children and those children 
themselves often have the most accurate information about a migratory 
child and his or her family, such as whether a child attended a 
particular school or already completed a specific course, and they have 
a strong interest in ensuring that MSIX data are accurate. These 
proposed regulations advance that interest by requiring SEAs to develop 
and implement written procedures, within established timeframes, for 
(1) receiving and responding to requests by these individuals to 
correct or determine the correctness of records that have been or would 
be submitted to MSIX, and (2) sending any revised and corrected data to 
MSIX.
    Moreover, the proposed regulations would facilitate MSIX data 
correction by allowing SEAs to establish their own procedures in the 
most efficient and effective possible manner (within specified 
timeframes). We anticipate, for example, that most SEAs would require 
parents, guardians, and migratory children to submit their MSIX data 
correction requests to a local operating agency and would delegate to 
these agencies most of the SEA's responsibilities under these proposed 
regulations for investigating requests and communicating with 
requesters, other SEAs and local operating agencies, and the 
Department. The proposed requirement in Sec.  200.85(e)(1)(iii) would 
also provide parents, guardians, and migratory children with a single, 
local point where they could request MSIX data correction, even when 
the questionable data had been submitted to MSIX by the SEA of another 
State.
    We believe that the proposed timeframes for these MSIX data 
correction procedures will help to ensure that incorrect data are 
removed from MSIX as quickly as possible, while providing sufficient 
time for SEAs to seek further information and resolve any conflicts. We 
note that, while an SEA would have 30 calendar days overall to respond 
to an individual's request and four working days from the date of its 
decision to submit any revised data to MSIX, under Sec.  200.85(e)(2) 
we propose that an SEA or local operating agency would have nearly one-
half of that time (i.e., ten working days) to provide information that 
an SEA in another State needs to respond to a request it has received 
from a parent, guardian, or migratory child to correct MSIX 
information. Similarly, in Sec.  200.85(e)(3) we propose that an SEA or 
local operating agency would have the same ten working-day time period 
in which to respond to a request from the Department for information 
the Department needs to respond to a request to correct or amend 
records under the Privacy Act.
    We specifically seek public comment on whether these are reasonable 
timeframes for SEAs and local operating agencies to complete their work 
and respond to the requester.
    MSIX data protection. Under proposed Sec.  200.85(f)(1), each SEA 
that receives a grant of MEP funds would enter into and carry out its 
responsibilities under an MSIX Interconnection Agreement, an MSIX 
Interconnection Security Agreement, and other information technology 
(IT) agreements required by the Secretary in accordance with applicable 
Federal requirements.
    SEAs would be required under proposed Sec.  200.85(f)(2) to 
establish and implement written procedures to protect the integrity, 
security, and confidentiality of Consolidated Migrant Student Records, 
whether in electronic or print format, through appropriate 
administrative, technical, and physical safeguards established in 
accordance

[[Page 79230]]

with the MSIX Interconnection Agreement and MSIX Interconnection 
Security Agreement. An SEA's written procedures would have to include, 
at a minimum, reasonable methods to ensure that (i) the SEA permits 
access to MSIX only by authorized users at the SEA, its local operating 
agencies, and LEAs in the State that are not MEP local operating 
agencies but where a migratory child has enrolled; and (ii) the SEA's 
authorized users obtain access to and use MSIX records only for 
authorized purposes as described in proposed Sec.  200.85(c)(1).
    Under proposed Sec.  200.85(f)(3), before providing authorized 
users with access to MSIX an SEA would require that they complete the 
User Application Form approved by the Secretary, which is available 
currently at https://msix.ed.gov. An SEA would also be permitted to 
develop its own documentation for approving user access to MSIX 
provided that it contains the same information as the User Application 
Form approved by the Secretary. Proposed Sec.  200.85(f)(4) would 
require SEAs to retain the documentation required for approving user 
access to MSIX for three years after the SEA terminates the user's 
access.
    Reasons: The proposed regulations are needed to ensure that, in 
connecting to MSIX and allowing individuals to obtain access to the 
electronic student records system, SEAs protect the integrity, 
security, and confidentiality of Consolidated Migrant Student Records 
through appropriate administrative, technical, and physical safeguards.
    Currently, this is accomplished through specific provisions in the 
MSIX Interconnection Agreement and MSIX Interconnection Security 
Agreement that SEAs, in accordance with various Federal requirements, 
must enter into before they may participate in MSIX. In particular, OMB 
Circular A-130 Appendix III and National Institute of Standards and 
Technology Special Publication 800-47, which implement requirements of 
the Computer Security Act of 1987 and the Information Technology 
Management Reform Act of 1996, require Federal agencies to obtain 
written management authorization before connecting their IT systems to 
other systems based on an acceptable level of risk. Similarly, the MSIX 
Interconnection Agreement and MSIX Interconnection Security Agreement 
are part of the means by which the Department meets its 
responsibilities under the Privacy Act, 5 U.S.C. 552a(e)(10), for 
establishing appropriate safeguards to ensure the security and 
confidentiality of records, and to protect against any anticipated 
threats or hazards to their security or integrity that could result in 
substantial harm, embarrassment, inconvenience, or unfairness to any 
individual on whom information is maintained in MSIX. As such, proposed 
Sec.  200.85(f) is needed to help the Department meet its IT data 
security responsibilities under the Privacy Act.
    The proposed regulations would help to ensure that SEAs comply with 
all Federal information security requirements applicable to MSIX by 
requiring that they execute and implement satisfactory IT agreements 
with the Department as a condition of receiving a grant of MEP funds 
and of connecting to and accessing the MSIX system. We note that the 
Department's MSIX IT agreements with participating States also include 
provisions related to various internal processing requirements 
applicable to SEAs that help ensure the integrity of Consolidated 
Migrant Student Records. For example, there are MSIX work rules that 
require SEAs to resolve data match and other data discrepancy issues 
within specified timeframes. An SEA's failure to comply with these 
internal MSIX work rules is a breach of its IT agreements and would 
constitute a violation of proposed Sec.  200.85(f)(1).
    Because Consolidated Migrant Student Records contain personally 
identifiable information (PII) on all migratory children, the proposed 
regulations are needed to ensure that SEAs limit access to authorized 
users and for authorized purposes. However, while the number of users 
in each SEA, local operating agency, or non-project LEA would likely be 
limited, we anticipate that, consistent with their MSIX data protection 
procedures, SEAs will promote the maximum use of Consolidated Migrant 
Student Records at State and local levels in order to meet the needs of 
migratory children who have moved to a new LEA or State.
    In terms of the data protection procedures that SEAs would be 
required to implement under these proposed regulations, we note that 
the restrictions on redisclosure of PII from education records in the 
Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA), 20 U.S.C. 
1232g(b)(3) and 34 CFR part 99.35(c)(2), do not apply to FERPA-
protected PII that is disclosed to and by MSIX because Federal law 
(section 1308(b)(2) of the ESEA) specifically authorizes and requires 
the redisclosure of MDEs to the Department (i.e., FERPA-protected PII). 
However, FERPA's restrictions on redisclosure still apply to PII from 
education records that LEAs and SEAs obtain from MSIX and subsequently 
maintain in their own data systems.
    In order to ensure that MSIX users are aware of the Department's 
rules of behavior governing the use of MSIX and that the Department can 
effectively monitor use of MSIX, as well as promptly respond to any 
actual or potential security breaches, the proposed regulations in 
Sec.  200.85(f)(3) and (f)(4) would require SEAs to collect and 
maintain minimum documentation identifying MSIX users and their 
authorizing supervisors. The OMB-approved User Application Form (OMB 
Approval No. 1810-0686) contains the minimum information that the 
Department needs for this purpose, including a certification signed by 
the proposed user to abide by the MSIX rules of behavior issued by the 
Department. Under proposed Sec.  200.85(f)(3), an SEA may use either 
this OMB-approved form or another document that the SEA has developed 
that contains the information required by the OMB-approved form. By 
requiring SEAs to retain their records authorizing access to MSIX for a 
minimum of three years, the Department may gain access to these records 
when needed consistent with the general three-year record retention 
period in 34 CFR 80.42.

Executive Orders 12866 and 13563

Regulatory Impact Analysis
    Under Executive Order 12866, the Secretary must determine whether 
this regulatory action is ``significant'' and, therefore, subject to 
the requirements of the Executive order and subject to review by the 
Office of Management and Budget (OMB). Section 3(f) of Executive Order 
12866 defines a ``significant regulatory action'' as an action likely 
to result in a rule that may--
    (1) Have an annual effect on the economy of $100 million or more, 
or adversely affect a sector of the economy, productivity, competition, 
jobs, the environment, public health or safety, or State, local, or 
tribal governments or communities in a material way (also referred to 
as an ``economically significant'' rule);
    (2) Create serious inconsistency or otherwise interfere with an 
action taken or planned by another agency;
    (3) Materially alter the budgetary impacts of entitlement grants, 
user fees, or loan programs or the rights and obligations of recipients 
thereof; or
    (4) Raise novel legal or policy issues arising out of legal 
mandates, the President's priorities, or the principles set forth in 
the Executive order.

[[Page 79231]]

    This proposed regulatory action is a significant regulatory action 
subject to review by OMB under section 3(f) of Executive Order 12866.
    We have also reviewed these regulations under Executive Order 
13563, which supplements and explicitly reaffirms the principles, 
structures, and definitions governing regulatory review established in 
Executive Order 12866. To the extent permitted by law, Executive Order 
13563 requires that an agency--
    (1) Propose or adopt regulations only upon a reasoned determination 
that their benefits justify their costs (recognizing that some benefits 
and costs are difficult to quantify);
    (2) Tailor its regulations to impose the least burden on society, 
consistent with obtaining regulatory objectives and taking into 
account--among other things and to the extent practicable--the costs of 
cumulative regulations;
    (3) In choosing among alternative regulatory approaches, select 
those approaches that maximize net benefits (including potential 
economic, environmental, public health and safety, and other 
advantages; distributive impacts; and equity);
    (4) To the extent feasible, specify performance objectives, rather 
than the behavior or manner of compliance a regulated entity must 
adopt; and
    (5) Identify and assess available alternatives to direct 
regulation, including economic incentives--such as user fees or 
marketable permits--to encourage the desired behavior, or provide 
information that enables the public to make choices.
    Executive Order 13563 also requires an agency ``to use the best 
available techniques to quantify anticipated present and future 
benefits and costs as accurately as possible.'' The Office of 
Information and Regulatory Affairs of OMB has emphasized that these 
techniques may include ``identifying changing future compliance costs 
that might result from technological innovation or anticipated 
behavioral changes.''
    We are issuing these proposed regulations only on a reasoned 
determination that their benefits would justify their costs. In 
choosing among alternative regulatory approaches, we selected those 
approaches that maximize net benefits. Based on the analysis that 
follows, the Department believes that these proposed regulations are 
consistent with the principles in Executive Order 13563.
    We also have determined that this regulatory action would not 
unduly interfere with State, local, and tribal governments in the 
exercise of their governmental functions.
    In accordance with both Executive Orders, the Department has 
assessed the potential costs and benefits, both quantitative and 
qualitative, of this regulatory action. The potential costs associated 
with this regulatory action are those resulting from statutory 
requirements and those we have determined as necessary for 
administering the Department's programs and activities.
    The Secretary believes that the proposed regulations are necessary 
in order for the Department to implement effectively the requirement in 
section 1308(b) of the ESEA that the Secretary ensure the linkage of 
migrant student record systems and for the effective implementation of 
the MEP by States and local agencies serving migrant children. The 
Secretary also believes that the requirements contained in these 
proposed regulations represent a careful balance between placing burden 
on States and other agencies providing services to migrant children and 
meeting the need for collecting and maintaining updated, accurate 
information about this mobile population in order to ensure timely 
transfer of pertinent school records when migrant children move from 
one school to another.
    The Secretary also believes that the proposed regulations are 
necessary because implementation of a statutorily required system for 
transferring migrant student records will not be completely successful 
if the system does not contain complete, updated, and accurate student 
records and if not all States use the system as the official mechanism 
for transferring migrant student records. Although MSIX has been 
operational since 2007 and most States now submit data on their migrant 
children to the system voluntarily, not all States submit data on all 
the migrant children they have documented as eligible or submit all the 
required data elements. These data elements (known as ``minimum data 
elements,'' or ``MDEs'') encompass three types of information: Basic 
information on migrant children (including their eligibility for 
migrant services and school enrollment information, if any), also known 
as core data elements; information pertaining to State assessments; and 
information about high school credits and grades, which pertains only 
to secondary students.
    As described in the following paragraphs, the Department estimates 
that the total cost to participating SEAs of implementing these 
proposed regulations is approximately $18,516,444 for the first year, 
and $15,986,441 annually thereafter. The estimated burden per eligible 
child, amortized over three years, is approximately one hour and 10 
minutes, at an approximate cost of $38.54 per year. These estimates 
cover all proposed regulatory requirements, including the costs of 
information collection activities, which are discussed separately under 
the heading Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995. As of September 2012, 22 
States have provided complete start-up submissions for all MDEs; an 
additional 27 States have provided partial start-up submissions; and 
only one State has not provided any data to MSIX. Thus, the first-year 
estimate excludes start-up costs that have already been incurred by 
participating SEAs since MSIX began operating in 2007, as well as costs 
for using records, data quality, data protection, and data correction 
(activities required under Sec.  200.85(c)-(f)) for those 22 States 
that have provided complete start-up submissions.
    These costs will not all be borne by the States and their local 
operating agencies; the Department provides resources to States, both 
monetary and non-monetary, to assist them in implementing MSIX 
activities successfully. For example, in 2007 the Department paid for 
contractors to work with States to develop system interfaces that allow 
State data systems housing migrant student data to connect to MSIX 
directly, avoiding the need to enter information into MSIX manually if 
it already exists in a data system. In 2008 and 2010 the Department 
provided modest funding to States under the MSIX Data Quality program 
that could be used for developing these interfaces, improving the 
quality of migrant student data, and submitting data to MSIX, and the 
Department expects to provide such funding in the future. In addition, 
the Department has provided extensive technical assistance to States on 
issues of data quality and security not only through the MEP, but also 
through the State Longitudinal Data System program and as part of the 
implementation of the Education Data Exchange Network and other data 
collections that are part of the EDFacts system. Each of these 
activities will result in reduced costs of implementing these proposed 
regulations. Further, and most importantly, States may use MEP funds to 
cover the costs associated with implementing the proposed regulations 
(albeit with the result that less MEP funding is then available for 
direct services). A more detailed discussion of

[[Page 79232]]

the costs of each regulatory requirement follows.
    In order to help calculate the time estimates associated with the 
various proposed data submission requirements, the Department surveyed 
State officials in nine States with varying numbers of migrant children 
regarding the time it takes them to collect and enter these data in 
their State data systems; the Department used for its estimates the 
median number of minutes that States provided in their responses. 
Estimates of the numbers of migrant children for whom States will 
submit information to MSIX were derived from Consolidated State 
Performance Reports (CSPRs) for the 2010-2011 program year and include 
the number of migrant children ages 0-21 that States reported as 
eligible for MEP services in program year 2010-2011 (418,643), the 
number of eligible K-12 children enrolled in school (298,159), the 
number of eligible secondary students (83,838), and the number of 
migrant students reported as having taken State assessments (125,293). 
The hourly cost used for these estimates was $33.02, the mean hourly 
earnings for State and local government management, professional, and 
related occupations reported by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics in 
its National Compensation Survey: Occupational Earnings in the United 
States, 2010.
    The Secretary estimates that the one-time cost for providing start-
up submissions to MSIX under proposed Sec.  200.85(b)(2), excluding 
costs that were incurred by States before these proposed regulations, 
is approximately $2,077,537.
    That figure assumes that State and local officials take 
approximately 53 minutes per student to collect, enter into the State 
data system, and submit to MSIX general demographic and enrollment data 
elements that pertain to all migrant children who have been documented 
as eligible for the program; approximately 5 minutes per student for 
the data elements pertaining to students who participate in State 
assessments; and approximately 55 minutes per student for the course 
history data elements pertaining only to eligible secondary students.
    The Secretary estimates that the annual costs for complying with 
proposed Sec.  200.85(b)(3), which covers subsequent submissions to 
MSIX of data on newly documented migrant children, updates to MSIX at 
the end of every school term, and updates to MSIX if a receiving State 
or local agency notifies a sending State or local agency that a migrant 
child has moved, will be approximately $15,338,820. Within that 
estimate, the Department estimates the annual costs of implementing the 
requirements under proposed Sec.  200.85(b)(3)(i), covering collection 
and submission of data to MSIX for newly documented migratory children, 
at $5,681,377. The Department estimates the annual number of newly 
documented migrant children to be 121,602 based on the number of 
qualifying moves for migrant children that States reported to the 
Department in section 2.3.1.5 of the CSPR for program year 2010-2011. 
The number of newly documented migrant children for whom there will be 
data elements pertaining to assessment data (36,394) and secondary 
schooling (22,855) is based on the proportion of those students in the 
population of migrant students enrolled in grades K-12 during school 
year 2010-2011. The Department assumes the same time estimates used for 
calculating burden for collecting and submitting data for start-up 
submissions as are assumed for the calculations of other proposed data 
submission requirements under proposed Sec.  200.85(b)(2). Based on 
responses to the Department's survey of States discussed above, the 
Department also estimates an additional effort of 1 hour and 10 minutes 
per student to collect data elements for a secondary student who 
previously attended another secondary school in the same State 
(proposed Sec.  200.85(b)(3)(i)(B)(1)) and another 40 minutes to 
determine if, and notify MSIX when, a local agency has received 
secondary school records from out of State for a newly documented 
secondary student (proposed Sec.  200.85(b)(3)(i)(B)(2)).
    The cost estimate for implementing the requirements under proposed 
Sec.  200.85(b)(3)(ii), end of term submissions, is $9,618,004. The 
estimate assumes that States must provide updated data for every 
migrant child once over the course of each year for most, but not all, 
of the data elements pertaining to all children, and that that effort 
will take approximately 42 minutes per migrant child. The time burden, 
which the Department estimated based on the experience of Department 
staff who have worked on migrant programs at the State level, also 
assumes a smaller burden for this effort than that for start-up data 
submissions because some States have developed automated processes for 
collecting this information and providing these updates to MSIX.
    MSIX is structured so that many of the data elements in a student's 
record must be updated every year; for example, when a student finishes 
a grade level the student must be marked as ``withdrawn'' from that 
grade, and when the student enters the following grade the next school 
year the student is then marked as ``enrolled'' in the new grade. Thus, 
updates may happen throughout the school year, but will likely only 
occur once a year, for a subset of the data elements required for 
start-up submissions. There are a smaller number of data elements, such 
as birth city, that would not require an update. In addition, the 
estimate assumes that States will need five minutes per student for the 
data elements pertaining to those who participate in State assessments, 
the same effort as for start-up submissions, as those assessments are 
administered only once a year. The Department's estimate also assumes 
55 minutes per student for the data elements pertaining only to 
secondary students, the same effort as for start-up submissions, as the 
Department's previously discussed survey asked States to report their 
estimated average burden for data elements for secondary students 
regardless of the number of courses in which secondary students were 
enrolled.
    The estimate for the annual costs of implementing the requirements 
under proposed Sec.  200.85(b)(3)(iii), change of residence 
submissions, is approximately $39,438. This estimate is based on the 
637 requests that receiving States or local agencies (i.e., States or 
local agencies where migrant students moved) made through MSIX in the 
2010-2011 school year to request records from sending States or local 
agencies (i.e., a student's previous location of enrollment). This 
number is low because, apart from the proposed end of term data 
submission requirements, the proposed regulations require a sending 
State to update a student record only if it receives notification from 
a receiving State or local agency (through MSIX) that it has enrolled a 
student formerly enrolled in the sending State. However, the proposed 
regulations do not require receiving States (or their local agencies) 
to notify the student's former location that the student has changed 
residence. This allows a State or local agency enrolling a student the 
flexibility to determine if there are data missing from a student's 
MSIX record, and send a notification (through MSIX) to a student's 
former location requesting an updated student record only if needed.
    In addition, the Department expects that, as implementation of 
these regulations takes effect, MSIX records will be updated regularly 
and data elements will not likely be missing, thus reducing the need 
for a State or local

[[Page 79233]]

agency to request data elements from another location upon a student's 
change of residence. Furthermore, proposed Sec.  200.85(b)(3)(ii) 
requires SEAs to update MSIX records at the end of each term; 
therefore, States and local agencies are most likely to use MSIX to 
request records from a previous location under Sec.  200.85(b)(3)(iii) 
only for students moving in the middle of the term. An analysis of MSIX 
data on the timing of student moves during school year 2010-2011 showed 
that approximately 52 percent of the moves occurred during the summer 
months, after the end of the school year; that proportion is 63 percent 
if the moves that occurred in January are included, all of which should 
further reduce the number of data submissions under the proposed change 
of residence provision in Sec.  200.85(b)(3)(iii).
    The estimate for the total costs of implementing the proposed 
requirements under Sec.  200.85(c), using consolidated migrant student 
records contained in MSIX; Sec.  200.85(d), establishing rules 
pertaining to the quality of data submitted to MSIX; and Sec.  
200.85(f), establishing rules pertaining to the protection of data 
submitted to MSIX, is approximately $1,099,180. The Department 
estimates that the main costs for implementing these requirements are 
associated with the time that will be needed to establish policies and 
procedures to address the use of MSIX, data quality, and data 
protection; develop and disseminate the guidance and procedures to SEA 
and local personnel; and provide training to State and local personnel 
who have access to MSIX.
    In order to minimize the burden on States of complying with these 
proposed requirements, the Department developed a template for a State 
manual to assist the States in developing policies and procedures for 
using MSIX, ensuring data quality, and protecting the data; the 
Department also developed a training kit for State officials to use in 
carrying out training within their States. Based on the experience of 
Department staff who have worked on migrant programs at the State 
level, the Department estimates that each State will spend 
approximately 120 hours developing policies and procedures with the aid 
of the template; using the same cost per hour used for the proposed 
data submission requirements, the one-time cost of establishing 
policies and procedures will be an estimated $198,120. To calculate the 
costs of training State and local personnel in the use of MSIX and 
associated policies and procedures, the Department estimates 10 person-
hours per State for developing training sessions using the training kit 
and 2-hour training sessions for approximately 3,577 users of MSIX. 
(This estimate is based on 2,365 current active users, which is 
expected to increase by 25 percent during the first year these proposed 
regulations are implemented and 10 percent for each of the following 
two years.) Based on the same cost per hour used for the proposed data 
submission requirements, the total training cost is an estimated 
$252,735.
    In addition, State personnel will likely need the assistance of an 
information technology professional at the State level to run reports 
and monitor the data collected and submitted to MSIX, to review system 
security, and to work with other State or local personnel to remedy any 
concerns or problems with the data. The Department estimates that it 
will take 32 hours per month for one computer support specialist per 
State to accomplish this work, at a salary of $23.60 an hour (the mean 
hourly earnings for computer support specialists in State and local 
government reported by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics in its 
National Compensation Survey: Occupational Earnings in the United 
States, 2010), for a total of $344,371. The estimate also includes an 
additional $301,895 for complying with proposed Sec.  200.85(c), using 
consolidated records in MSIX, to meet costs associated with development 
of electronic interfaces and communications between State data systems 
and MSIX. The Department provided resources for this work, as discussed 
earlier, and estimates that the burden associated with doing this work 
is approximately 241 hours per State using the same methodology as that 
used to estimate the time needed for start-up submissions. The estimate 
further includes an additional $49,607 for complying with the 
requirement in proposed Sec.  200.85(f) that MSIX users fill out user 
application forms, which the Department estimates at 5 minutes, and for 
a supervisor to review a user application form and other documentation 
in order to determine whether to grant access to MSIX to an applicant, 
which the Department estimates at 20 minutes, for a total of 25 minutes 
to grant access to a user. This cost is based on 3,577 users (as 
discussed previously) and the same labor cost as that used to calculate 
the proposed data submission requirements.
    The estimate for implementing the proposed requirements under Sec.  
200.85(e), procedures for MSIX data correction by parents, guardians, 
and migratory children, is approximately $908. Based on responses to 
the Department's survey of States discussed above, the Department 
estimates the number of requests to States to correct data to be one 
per State per year and that each request will take approximately 38 
minutes to acknowledge, review, make any necessary corrections to the 
data, and notify the requester of the resolution to the request. In 
addition, the Department, based on its experience in implementing MSIX 
to date, estimates receiving six requests per year nationally for data 
correction from parents, guardians, or migrant children, and 
anticipates that States will similarly require an average of 38 minutes 
to address any requests from the Department on this matter. The cost 
per hour used is the same as that used to estimate start-up data 
submissions.
    While it is difficult to quantify the benefits of these proposed 
regulations, we believe that they will provide important benefits to 
migrant children and their families and to States and local agencies, 
particularly for the approximately 26 percent of migrant students who 
move across school district boundaries each year (based on data States 
reported for school year 2010-2011). Overall, one of the major benefits 
of these proposed regulations is that instantaneous access to records 
of children who have previously been identified as migrant will reduce 
the time it takes to enroll a student in a new school and the time 
needed for placing a student in appropriate classes. Prompt placement 
is necessary not only to ensure continuity of schooling and other 
services, but also to ensure that students receive the maximum benefits 
they are entitled to under MEP, as the program limits the amount of 
time that migrant children may receive services. Prompt access to 
records also reduces the likelihood of duplication of services and 
helps ensure that students are placed in the right classes, reducing 
the likelihood that a student will repeat classes or be placed in an 
inappropriate class, actions that adversely affect students 
academically and emotionally. For secondary school students, the 
benefits will also include having a record documenting credit accrual, 
thus increasing the likelihood that a student will graduate from high 
school on a timely basis.
    As MSIX incorporates information about inoculation records, it also 
helps prevent duplication of vaccinations, an unnecessary additional 
expense for families and community health systems. Most States require 
students to be vaccinated, at a minimum, for polio, diphtheria, 
tetanus, pertussis, measles,

[[Page 79234]]

mumps, rubella, hepatitis B, and varicella. The combined cost per dose 
as of July 2012 for these vaccinations under the Center for Disease 
Control vaccine contracts (established for the purchase of vaccines by 
immunization programs that receive CDC immunization grant funds, such 
as State health departments) was approximately $144, and the average 
cost of the same vaccine to the private sector was approximately $210. 
Reducing duplicate vaccinations also preserves the vaccine supply for 
others in the community. In addition, MSIX incorporates a flag for 
students with acute or chronic medical conditions, thus instantly 
alerting school personnel enrolling a migrant student to the fact that 
the student may need additional support services and referrals to 
medical care.
    We further note that these proposed regulations were informed by 
the Department's and the States' previous experience in implementing a 
migrant student record transfer service in the 1970s through the 1990s. 
The Migrant Student Record Transfer System (MSRTS) was a national, 
computer-based system for records collection and transfer established 
in response to a 1969 congressional mandate requiring the creation of a 
service for transmitting educational and health records for migrant 
students. MSRTS was terminated in 1995 due both to concerns about the 
accuracy and usefulness of the data in the system and to the lack of 
uniformity in the data reported to the system. In addition, many users 
considered MSRTS too slow and burdensome, as the computer technology 
used still relied largely on a paper-based system for collecting and 
reporting information that did not incorporate technological 
advancements efficiently, making it an inefficient mechanism for 
meeting its mission. These proposed regulations have been designed to 
ensure that MSIX users have ready access to complete, up-to-date 
records that they may trust, and to ensure that the transfer of those 
records through MSIX occurs efficiently.
    The proposed requirement that agencies serving migrant children use 
MSIX and the Consolidated Migrant Student Records MSIX generates would 
ensure not only that information in MSIX is used, but also that the 
agencies acquire an interest in ensuring the quality and timeliness of 
the data they provide to and obtain from the system. Other benefits 
would include access to migrant records that are current, accurate, 
secure, and complete, and that contain data that may be currently 
maintained in different systems within States; for example, data from 
State assessments may not be maintained in the same system where 
student health records are maintained. States' current voluntary 
participation in MSIX reflects the fact that this service is valuable 
to them and enables them to better serve one of their most vulnerable 
populations.
    For these reasons, the Department believes that the benefits of 
these proposed regulations would significantly exceed the somewhat 
minor estimated costs, much of which would be met with Federal 
resources.
    Elsewhere in this section under Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, we 
identify and explain burdens specifically associated with information 
collection requirements.

Clarity of the Regulations

    Executive Order 12866 and the Presidential memorandum ``Plain 
Language in Government Writing'' require each agency to write 
regulations that are easy to understand.
    The Secretary invites comments on how to make these proposed 
regulations easier to understand, including answers to questions such 
as the following:
     Are the requirements in the proposed regulations clearly 
stated?
     Do the proposed regulations contain technical terms or 
other wording that interferes with their clarity?
     Does the format of the proposed regulations (grouping and 
order of sections, use of headings, paragraphing, etc.) aid or reduce 
their clarity?
     Would the proposed regulations be easier to understand if 
we divided them into more (but shorter) sections? (A ``section'' is 
preceded by the symbol ``Sec.  '' and numbered heading; for example, 
Sec.  200.85.)
     Could the description of the proposed regulations in the 
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION section of this preamble be more helpful in 
making the proposed regulations easier to understand? If so, how?
     What else could we do to make the proposed regulations 
easier to understand?
    To send any comments that concern how the Department could make 
these proposed regulations easier to understand, see the instructions 
in the ADDRESSES section.

Regulatory Flexibility Act Certification

    The Secretary certifies that these proposed regulations would not 
have a significant economic impact on a substantial number of small 
entities because these proposed regulations affect primarily SEAs. SEAs 
are not defined as ``small entities'' in the Regulatory Flexibility 
Act. The only small entities that could be affected by the proposed 
regulations would be small local operating agencies that receive MEP 
subgrants from an SEA or entities that contract with SEAs to provide 
various services in connection with MSIX activities. Local operating 
agencies would be required to submit data on migratory children to a 
State's data system under timeframes identified in the proposed 
regulations. However, the costs of doing so would likely be financed 
through the State's MEP award and would not impose a significant 
financial burden that small entities would have to meet from non-
Federal resources.

Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995

    As part of its continuing effort to reduce paperwork and respondent 
burden, the Department provides the general public and Federal agencies 
with an opportunity to comment on proposed and continuing collections 
of information in accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 
(PRA) (44 U.S.C. 3506(c)(2)(A)). This helps ensure that: The public 
understands the Department's collection instructions, respondents can 
provide the requested data in the desired format, reporting burden 
(time and financial resources) is minimized, collection instruments are 
clearly understood, and the Department can properly assess the impact 
of collection requirements on respondents.
    Section 200.85 contains information collection requirements. Under 
the PRA the Department has submitted a copy of this section to OMB for 
its review.
    A Federal agency may not conduct or sponsor a collection of 
information unless OMB approves the collection under the PRA and the 
corresponding information collection instrument displays a currently 
valid OMB control number. Notwithstanding any other provision of law, 
no person is required to comply with, or is subject to penalty for 
failure to comply with, a collection of information if the collection 
instrument does not display a currently valid OMB control number.
    Minimum data elements (MDEs) consist of 72 data elements that 
reflect the minimal information needed to ensure proper enrollment, 
grade and course placement, and accrual of secondary course credits for 
migratory children. The MDEs, and the various information sources 
through which they are currently obtained, would not change as a result 
of the proposed regulations except for the collection of one new MDE 
related to the records of secondary school-aged children.
    Thirty of the MDEs are collected and entered into State data 
systems through

[[Page 79235]]

the information collection requests (ICRs) for the Department's 
Education Data Exchange Network (EDEN) (OMB Control Number 1875-0240) 
and for the Migrant Education Program (MEP) Certificate of Eligibility 
(COE) and related regulations (OMB Control Number 1810-0662). There is 
no need to account here for the burden of collecting, maintaining, and 
submitting to MSIX these 30 MDEs because these MDEs are already 
collected and maintained for other purposes, and we have assumed that 
submission of these MDEs to MSIX would occur automatically once a 
State's electronic interface with MSIX has been established.
    Forty-one of the remaining 42 MDEs are collected and entered into 
the State data systems under the existing MSIX ICR (OMB Control Number 
1810-0683). In addition to creating a new MDE, the proposed regulations 
would change the parties to whom the collection applies as well as the 
content, timing, and circumstances of submissions of data under the 
existing ICR. As a result, we propose to amend and restate the MSIX ICR 
to reflect, among other things, a new burden analysis and supporting 
statement. In the final regulations we will display the existing MSIX 
ICR OMB control number 1810-0683 on all information collection 
requirements in these proposed regulations and adopted in the final 
regulations.

Section 200.85--Responsibilities of SEAs for the Electronic Exchange 
Through MSIX of Specified Health and Educational Information of 
Migratory Children

    Proposed Sec.  200.85 would require SEAs to collect, maintain, and 
submit to MSIX educational and health information on migrant children 
who move from one State or district to another. This information would 
enable SEAs to reduce educational disruptions for migrant children, 
make timely and accurate school placements, ensure academic credit for 
school work completed, streamline academic progression toward 
graduation requirements, and provide complete academic records as 
needed for postsecondary education and employment opportunities. The 
exchange of health information through MSIX would also help reduce 
unnecessary immunizations of migrant children because of a lack of 
timely, accurate health information.

Estimates of Annualized Burden to SEA Respondents

    For the 42 MDEs not covered by other information collections, the 
total burden for all SEA respondents in the first three years after the 
effective date of the proposed regulations is estimated at 465,866 
hours per year. This amounts to an average of 9,317 hours per year for 
each of the 50 participating SEAs. Because eligibility for MEP services 
varies greatly among the States, we have also estimated the overall 
burden as 1,113 hours annually per 1,000 eligible children to enable 
individual SEAs to assess the burden of the information collection.
    These estimates were developed by program and contract staff with 
experience in the State-level administration of the MEP based upon 
consultation with States, analysis of the information reported by each 
State in its 2010-2011 CSPR (OMB Number 1810-0614), and State data 
submitted previously to MSIX. Note, the estimated burden to collect the 
MDE information includes the effort to enter the data in the 
appropriate State information systems for electronic transmission to 
MSIX.
    In calculating the burden of this information collection, we have 
not included the burden associated with start-up submissions previously 
made to MSIX in whole or in part. In calculating the burden associated 
with subsequent data submissions, our estimates quantify the total 
annualized burden to SEAs, and do not specify the incremental burden to 
those SEAs that have previously collected, maintained, and submitted to 
MSIX any or all the MDEs covered by the MSIX ICR relating to subsequent 
data submissions.
    See the discussion below for a further explanation of the burden 
related to specific regulatory provisions. Additional information about 
the basis of the burden estimates in this document is available at 
www.reginfo.gov. Click on Information Collection Review. The proposed 
collection is identified as proposed collection [1810-0683 ED-2013-
ICCD-0154].

Start-Up Data Submissions (Sec.  200.85(b)(2)(i))

    As of September 2012, twenty-two States had already met the 
requirement to collect and submit to MSIX MDEs for every migrant child 
considered eligible in the State within the preceding year; an 
additional 27 States had provided partial start-up submissions; and 
only one State has not provided any data to MSIX. We used these figures 
for our start-up data submissions calculations. Start-up data is a one-
time requirement for each SEA; submissions are required to be completed 
no later than 90 calendar days after the effective date of the final 
regulations. Amortized over three years, the annualized burden of the 
requirement for the remaining 28 States is estimated to be 21,651 hours 
per year in total and 773 hours per year per SEA. All subsequent data 
submission requirements are covered by the other information collection 
activities described below.

Newly Documented Migratory Children (Sec.  200.85(b)(3)(i)(A))

    The annualized burden of the requirement for 50 States to collect 
and submit the MSIX MDEs within 10 days of documenting the eligibility 
of each new migratory child is estimated at 109,435 hours per year in 
total and 2,189 hours per SEA. Documenting the eligibility of migratory 
children is an ongoing process, and we estimate the burden would remain 
at a constant level in each of the three years that this information 
collection covers.

Newly Documented Migratory Children With Prior Secondary School Records 
in the Same State (Sec.  200.85(b)(3)(i)(B)(1))

    The annualized burden of the requirement for SEAs to collect and 
submit to MSIX MDEs from the most recent secondary school attended 
previously within the State is estimated at 26,664 hours per year in 
total and 533 hours per year for each SEA. Collecting and submitting 
secondary school information for newly documented migratory children is 
an ongoing process, and we estimate the burden would remain at a 
constant level in each of the three years that this information 
collection covers.

Newly Documented Migratory Children With Secondary School Records From 
Another State (Sec.  200.85(b)(3)(i)(B)(2))

    The annualized burden of the requirement for SEAs to notify MSIX 
within 30 days of obtaining out-of-state secondary school records for a 
newly documented migratory child is estimated at 15,609 hours per year 
in total and 312 hours per year for each SEA. Our burden estimate 
includes a one-time effort for each State to modify its State data 
system and MSIX interface to collect and submit a new MDE to indicate 
whether or not out-of-state school records are present at an LEA for a 
migrant student (this one-year effort is amortized over the three years 
of the collection). Documenting migratory children is an ongoing 
process, and the burden remains at a constant level in each of the 
three years that this information collection covers.

[[Page 79236]]

End of Term Submissions (Sec.  200.85(b)(3)(ii))

    The annualized burden of the requirement to collect and submit 
updated and newly available MDEs to MSIX within 30 days after the end 
of each educational term for all eligible MEP children is estimated at 
291,278 hours per year in total and 5,826 hours per year per SEA. This 
is an ongoing process, and the burden remains at a constant level in 
each of the three years that this information collection covers.

Notice of Change of Residence Submissions (Sec.  200.85(b)(3)(iii))

    The annualized burden of the requirement to collect and submit to 
MSIX all new and updated MDEs within four working days of receiving 
notification from MSIX that a migratory child has changed residence is 
estimated at 1,194 hours per year in total and 24 hours per year per 
SEA. This is an ongoing process, and we estimate the burden would 
remain at a constant level in each of the three years that this 
information collection covers.

Parental Request to SEAs for MSIX Data Correction (Sec.  
200.85(e)(1)(ii))

    The annualized burden for SEAs to submit revised data to MSIX 
within four working days of the decision to correct previously 
submitted data following a request from a parent, guardian, or student 
is estimated at 31 hours per year in total and .06 hours per year per 
SEA. This is an ongoing process, and we estimate the burden would 
remain at a constant level in each of the three years that this 
information collection covers.

Parental Request to the Department for MSIX Data Correction (Sec.  
200.85(e)(3))

    The annualized burden for SEAs to respond within 10 working days to 
a request from the Department for information needed by the Department 
to respond to an individual's request to correct or amend a 
Consolidated Migrant Student Record under the Federal Privacy Act is 
estimated at four hours per year in total and 0.1 hour per year per 
SEA. This is an ongoing process, and we estimate the burden would 
remain at a constant level in each of the three years that the 
information collection covers.

                        Collection of Information
------------------------------------------------------------------------
        Reporting activity               Description       Total burden
------------------------------------------------------------------------
1. Start-up Data Submission Sec.    Collect and submit            21,651
 200.85(b)(2)(i).                    to MSIX MDEs
                                     (applicable to
                                     child's age and
                                     grade level) for
                                     every migrant child
                                     whom the SEA
                                     considered eligible
                                     for MEP services
                                     within one year
                                     preceding the
                                     effective date of
                                     the regulations.
2. Newly Documented Migratory       Collect and submit           109,435
 Children Sec.                       to MSIX all MDEs
 200.85(b)(3)(i)(A).                 (applicable to
                                     child's age and
                                     grade level) for
                                     newly documented
                                     migrant students.
3. Newly Documented Migratory       Collect and submit            26,664
 Children with Secondary School      all applicable MDEs
 Records in the Same State Sec.      from the most
 200.85(b)(3)(i)(B)(1).              recent secondary
                                     school previously
                                     attended by the
                                     student within the
                                     same State.
4. Newly Documented Migratory       Notify MSIX if one            15,609
 Children with Secondary School      of its local
 Records from Another State Sec.     operating agencies
 200.85(b)(3)(i)(B)(2).              obtains records
                                     from a secondary
                                     school previously
                                     attended by the
                                     migrant student in
                                     another State.
5. End of Term Submissions Sec.     Collect and submit           291,278
 200.85(b)(3)(ii).                   to MSIX all MDE
                                     updates and newly
                                     available MDEs for
                                     migratory children
                                     who were eligible
                                     for the MEP during
                                     the term and for
                                     whom the SEA
                                     previously
                                     submitted data.
6. Change of Residence Submissions  Collect and submit             1,194
 Sec.   200.85(b)(3)(iii).           to MSIX all newly
                                     available MDEs and
                                     MDE updates that
                                     have become
                                     available to the
                                     SEA or one of its
                                     local operating
                                     agencies.
7. Parental Request for MSIX Data   If an SEA determines              31
 Correction Sec.                     that data
 200.85(e)(1)(ii).                   previously
                                     submitted to MSIX
                                     should be corrected
                                     as the result of a
                                     request from a
                                     parent, guardian,
                                     or migrant student,
                                     the SEA must submit
                                     revised data.
8. Response to the Department Sec.  Submit information                 4
   200.85(e)(3).                     requested by the
                                     Department needed
                                     to respond to an
                                     individual's
                                     request to amend a
                                     record under the
                                     Privacy Act.
------------------------------------------------------------------------

    If you want to comment on the proposed information collection 
requirements, please send your comments to the Office of Information 
and Regulatory Affairs, OMB, Attention: Desk Officer for U.S. 
Department of Education. Send these comments by email to [email protected] or by fax to (202) 395-6974. You may also send a 
copy of these comments to the Department contact named in the ADDRESSES 
section of this preamble or submit them electronically through the 
Federal eRulemaking Portal at www.regulations.gov by selecting Docket 
ID number ED-2013-ICCD-0154.
    We have prepared an ICR for this collection. In preparing your 
comments you may want to review the ICR, which is available at 
www.reginfo.gov. Click on Information Collection Review. This proposed 
collection is identified as proposed collection [1810-0683 ED-2013-
ICCD-0154].
    We consider your comments on this proposed collection of 
information in--
     Deciding whether the proposed collection is necessary for 
the proper performance of our functions, including whether the 
information will have practical use;
     Evaluating the accuracy of our estimate of the burden of 
the proposed collection, including the validity of our methodology and 
assumptions;
     Enhancing the quality, usefulness, and clarity of the 
information we collect; and
     Minimizing the burden on those who must respond. This 
includes exploring the use of appropriate automated, electronic, 
mechanical, or other technological collection techniques.
    OMB is required to make a decision concerning the collection of 
information contained in these proposed regulations between 30 and 60 
days after publication of this document in the Federal Register. 
Therefore, to ensure that OMB gives your comments full

[[Page 79237]]

consideration, it is important that OMB receives your comments by 
January 27, 2014. This does not affect the deadline for your comments 
to us on the proposed regulations.

Intergovernmental Review

    This program is subject to Executive Order 12372 and the 
regulations in 34 CFR part 79. One of the objectives of the Executive 
order is to foster an intergovernmental partnership and a strengthened 
federalism. The Executive order relies on processes developed by State 
and local governments for coordination and review of proposed Federal 
financial assistance.
    This document provides early notification of our specific plans and 
actions for this program.

Assessment of Educational Impact

    In accordance with section 411 of the General Education Provisions 
Act, 20 U.S.C. 1221e-4, the Secretary particularly requests comments on 
whether these proposed regulations would require transmission of 
information that any other agency or authority of the United States 
gathers or makes available.

Federalism

    Executive Order 13132 requires us to ensure meaningful and timely 
input by State and local elected officials in the development of 
regulatory policies that have federalism implications. ``Federalism 
implications'' means substantial direct effects on the States, on the 
relationship between the National Government and the States, or on the 
distribution of power and responsibilities among the various levels of 
government. The proposed regulations in Sec.  200.85 may have 
federalism implications. We encourage State and local elected officials 
to review and provide comments on these proposed regulations.
    Accessible Format: Individuals with disabilities can obtain this 
document in an accessible format (e.g., braille, large print, 
audiotape, or compact disc) on 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. (Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance Number 
84.011: Title I, Education of Migrant Children.)

List of Subjects in 34 CFR Part 200

    Education of disadvantaged, Elementary and secondary education, 
Grant programs-education, Indians-education, Infants and children, 
Juvenile delinquency, Migrant labor, Private schools, Reporting and 
recordkeeping requirements.

    Dated: December 13, 2013.
Arne Duncan,
Secretary of Education.
    For the reasons discussed in the preamble, the Secretary of 
Education proposes to amend part 200 of title 34 of the Code of Federal 
Regulations as follows:

PART 200--TITLE I--IMPROVING THE ACADEMIC ACHIEVEMENT OF THE 
DISADVANTAGED

0
1. The authority citation for part 200 continues to read as follows:

    Authority:  20 U.S.C 6301 through 6578, unless otherwise noted.

0
2. Section 200.81 is amended by:
0
A. Redesignating paragraphs (h) through (k) as paragraphs (m) through 
(p).
0
B. Redesignating paragraph (g) as paragraph (j).
0
C. Redesignating paragraphs (d) through (f) as paragraphs (f) through 
(h).
0
D. Redesignating paragraphs (b) and (c) as paragraphs (c) and (d), 
respectively.
0
E. Adding new paragraphs (b), (e), (i), (k), and (l).
    The additions read as follows:


Sec.  200.81  Program definitions

* * * * *
    (b) Consolidated Migrant Student Record means the MDEs for a 
migratory child that have been submitted by one or more SEAs and 
consolidated into a single, uniquely identified record available 
through MSIX.
* * * * *
    (e) Migrant Student Information Exchange (MSIX) means the 
nationwide system administered by the Department for linking and 
exchanging specified health and educational information for all 
migratory children.
* * * * *
    (i) Minimum Data Elements (MDEs) means the health and educational 
information for migratory children that the Secretary requires each SEA 
that receives a grant of MEP funds to collect, maintain, and submit to 
MSIX, and use under this part. MDEs may include--
    (1) Immunization records and other health information;
    (2) Academic history (including partial credit, credit accrual, and 
results from State assessments required under the Elementary and 
Secondary Education Act);
    (3) Other academic information essential to ensuring that migratory 
children achieve to high academic standards; and
    (4) Information regarding eligibility for services under the 
Individuals with Disabilities Education Act.
* * * * *
    (k) MSIX Interconnection Agreement means the agreement between the 
Department and a State educational agency that governs the 
interconnection of the State student records system and MSIX, including 
the terms under which the agency will abide by the agreement based upon 
its review of all relevant technical, security, and administrative 
issues.
    (l) MSIX Interconnection Security Agreement means the agreement 
between the Department and a State educational agency that specifies 
the technical and security requirements for establishing, maintaining, 
and operating the interconnection between the State student records 
system and MSIX. The MSIX Interconnection Security Agreement supports 
the MSIX Interconnection Agreement and documents the requirements for 
connecting the two information technology systems, describes the 
security controls to be used to protect the systems and data, and 
contains a topological drawing of the interconnection.
* * * * *
0
3. Section 200.84 is revised to read as follows:


Sec.  200.84  Responsibilities for evaluating the effectiveness of the 
MEP and using evaluations to improve services to migratory children.

    (a) Each SEA must determine the effectiveness of its MEP through a 
written evaluation that measures the implementation and results 
achieved by the program against the State's performance targets in 
Sec.  200.83(a)(1), particularly for those students who have

[[Page 79238]]

priority for service as defined in section 1304(d) of the ESEA.
    (b) SEAs and local operating agencies receiving MEP funds must use 
the results of the evaluation carried out by an SEA under paragraph (a) 
of this section to improve the services provided to migratory children.

    (Authority: 20 U.S.C. 6394)

0
4. Section 200.85 is revised to read as follows:


Sec.  200.85  Responsibilities of SEAs for the electronic exchange 
through MSIX of specified health and educational information of 
migratory children.

    (a) MSIX State record system and data exchange requirements. In 
order to receive a grant of MEP funds, an SEA must collect, maintain, 
and submit to MSIX MDEs and otherwise exchange and use information on 
migratory children in accordance with the requirements of this section. 
Failure of an SEA to do so constitutes a failure under section 454 of 
the General Education Provisions Act, 20 U.S.C. 1234c, to comply 
substantially with a requirement of law applicable to the funds made 
available under the MEP.
    (b) MSIX data submission requirements--(1) General. In order to 
satisfy the requirements of paragraphs (b)(2) and (3) of this section, 
an SEA that receives a grant of MEP funds must submit electronically to 
MSIX the MDEs applicable to the child's age and grade level that the 
Secretary has determined are needed to implement section 1308(b)(2) of 
the ESEA.
    (2) Start-up data submissions. (i) No later than 90 calendar days 
after [EFFECTIVE DATE OF FINAL RULE], an SEA must collect and submit to 
MSIX each of the MDEs described in paragraph (b)(1) of this section 
applicable to the child's age and grade level for every migratory child 
whom the SEA considered eligible for MEP services in accordance with 
Sec.  200.89(c) within one year preceding the effective date of the 
final regulations.
    (ii) An SEA must make start-up data submissions to MSIX for a 
migratory child whether or not the SEA has a current Certificate of 
Eligibility under Sec.  200.89(c) for the child at the time the SEA 
submits the data to MSIX under this paragraph (b)(2).
    (3) Subsequent data submissions. An SEA must comply with the 
following timelines for subsequent data submissions throughout the 
entire calendar year whether or not local operating agencies or LEAs in 
the State are closed for summer or intersession periods.
    (i) Newly documented migratory children. For every migratory child 
for whom an SEA documents eligibility for the MEP under Sec.  200.89(c) 
on or after the effective date of these regulations--
    (A) An SEA must collect and submit to MSIX the MDEs described in 
paragraph (b)(1) of this section within ten working days of documenting 
the child's eligibility. The SEA is not required to collect and submit 
MDEs in existence before its documentation of the child's eligibility 
for the MEP except as provided in paragraph (b)(3)(i)(B) of this 
section; and
    (B) An SEA that documents the eligibility of a secondary school-
aged migratory child must also--
    (1) Collect and submit to MSIX MDEs from the most recent secondary 
school in that State attended previously by the newly documented 
migratory child; and
    (2) Notify MSIX within 30 calendar days if one of its local 
operating agencies obtains records from a secondary school attended 
previously by the newly documented migratory child in another State.
    (ii) End of term submissions. (A) Within 30 calendar days of the 
end of an LEA's or local operating agency's fall, spring, summer, or 
intersession terms, an SEA must collect and submit to MSIX all MDE 
updates and newly available MDEs for migratory children who were 
eligible for the MEP during the term and for whom the SEA submitted 
data previously under paragraph (b)(2) or (b)(3)(i) of this section.
    (B) When a migratory child's MEP eligibility expires before the end 
of a school year, an SEA must submit all MDE updates and newly 
available MDEs for the child through the end of the school year in 
which the child is enrolled. This submission includes all MDE updates 
and newly available MDEs for any child who continues to receive MEP 
services under section 1304(e) of the ESEA after expiration of MEP 
eligibility.
    (iii) Change of residence submissions. (A) Within four working days 
of receiving notification from MSIX that a migratory child in its State 
has changed residence to a new local operating agency within the State 
or has been newly documented as a migratory child in another State, an 
SEA must collect and submit to MSIX all new MDEs and MDE updates that 
have become available to the SEA or one of its local operating agencies 
since the SEA's last submission of MDEs to MSIX for the child.
    (B) An SEA or local operating agency that does not have a new MDE 
or MDE update for a migratory child when it receives a change of 
residence notification from MSIX must submit the MDE to MSIX within 
four working days of the date that the SEA or one of its local 
operating agencies obtains the MDE.
    (c) Use of Consolidated Migrant Student Records. In order to help 
ensure proper participation in the MEP, school enrollment, grade and 
course placement, and accrual of all appropriate high school credits, 
each SEA that receives a grant of MEP funds must--
    (1) Use, and require each of its local operating agencies to use, 
the Consolidated Migrant Student Record for all migratory children who 
have changed residence to a new school district within the State or in 
another State;
    (2) Encourage LEAs that are not local operating agencies receiving 
MEP funds to use the Consolidated Migrant Student Record for all 
migratory children described in paragraph (c)(1) of this section; and
    (3) Establish procedures, develop and disseminate guidance, and 
provide training in the use of Consolidated Migrant Student Records to 
SEA, local operating agency, and LEA personnel who have been designated 
by the SEA as authorized MSIX users under paragraph (f)(2) of this 
section.
    (d) MSIX data quality. Each SEA that receives a grant of MEP funds 
must--
    (1) Use, and require each of its local operating agencies to use, 
reasonable and appropriate methods to ensure that all data submitted to 
MSIX are accurate and complete; and
    (2) Respond promptly, and ensure that each of its local operating 
agencies responds promptly, to any request by the Department for 
information needed to meet the Department's responsibility for the 
accuracy and completeness of data in MSIX in accordance with the 
Privacy Act of 1974, as amended, 5 U.S.C. 552a(e)(6) and (g)(1)(C) or 
(D).
    (e) Procedures for MSIX data correction by parents, guardians, and 
migratory children. Each SEA that receives a grant of MEP funds must 
establish and implement written procedures that allow a parent or 
guardian of a migratory child, or a migratory child, to ask the SEA to 
correct or determine the correctness of MSIX data. An SEA's written 
procedures must meet the following minimum requirements:
    (1) Response to parents, guardians, and migratory children. (i) 
Within 30 calendar days of receipt of a data correction request from a 
parent, guardian, or migratory child, an SEA must--
    (A) Send a written or electronic acknowledgement to the requester;

[[Page 79239]]

    (B) Investigate the request;
    (C) Decide whether to revise the data as requested; and
    (D) Send the requester a written or electronic notice of the SEA's 
decision.
    (ii) If an SEA determines that data it submitted previously to MSIX 
should be corrected, the SEA must submit the revised data to MSIX 
within four working days of its decision to correct the data. An SEA is 
not required to notify MSIX if it decides not to revise the data as 
requested.
    (iii)(A) If a parent, guardian, or migratory child asks an SEA to 
correct or determine the correctness of data that was submitted to MSIX 
by another SEA, within four working days of receipt of the request, the 
SEA must send the data correction request to the SEA that submitted the 
data to MSIX.
    (B) An SEA that receives an MSIX data correction request from 
another SEA under this paragraph must respond as if it received the 
data correction request directly from the parent, guardian, or 
migratory child.
    (2) Response to SEAs. An SEA or local operating agency that 
receives a request for information from an SEA that is responding to a 
parent's, guardian's, or migratory child's data correction request 
under paragraph (e)(1) of this section must respond in writing within 
ten working days of receipt of the request.
    (3) Response to the Department. An SEA must respond in writing 
within ten working days to a request from the Department for 
information needed by the Department to respond to an individual's 
request to correct or amend a Consolidated Migrant Student Record under 
the Privacy Act of 1974, as amended, 5 U.S.C. 552a(d)(2) and 34 CFR 
5b.7.
    (f) MSIX data protection. Each SEA that receives a grant of MEP 
funds must--
    (1) Enter into and carry out its responsibilities in accordance 
with an MSIX Interconnection Agreement, an MSIX Interconnection 
Security Agreement, and other information technology agreements 
required by the Secretary in accordance with applicable Federal 
requirements;
    (2) Establish and implement written procedures to protect the 
integrity, security, and confidentiality of Consolidated Migrant 
Student Records, whether in electronic or print format, through 
appropriate administrative, technical, and physical safeguards 
established in accordance with the MSIX Interconnection Agreement and 
MSIX Interconnection Security Agreement. An SEA's written procedures 
must include, at a minimum, reasonable methods to ensure that--
    (i) The SEA permits access to MSIX only by authorized users at the 
SEA, its local operating agencies, and LEAs in the State that are not 
local operating agencies but where a migratory child has enrolled; and
    (ii) The SEA's authorized users obtain access to and use MSIX 
records solely for authorized purposes as described in paragraph (c) of 
this section;
    (3) Require all authorized users to complete the User Application 
Form approved by the Secretary before providing them access to MSIX. An 
SEA may also develop its own documentation for approving user access to 
MSIX provided that it contains the same information as the User 
Application Form approved by the Secretary; and
    (4) Retain the documentation required for approving user access to 
MSIX for three years after the date the SEA terminates the user's 
access.

(Approved by the Office of Management and Budget under control 
number 1810-0683)

(Authority: 20 U.S.C. 6398)

[FR Doc. 2013-30260 Filed 12-26-13; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4000-01-P