[Federal Register Volume 80, Number 121 (Wednesday, June 24, 2015)]
[Notices]
[Page 36325]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2015-15438]


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DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION

[Docket No.: ED-2015-ICCD-0081]


Agency Information Collection Activities; Comment Request; School 
Climate Surveys (SCLS) Benchmark Study 2016

AGENCY: Institute of Education Sciences/National Center for Education 
Statistics (NCES), Department of Education (ED).

ACTION: Notice.

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

DATES: Interested persons are invited to submit comments on or before 
August 24, 2015.

ADDRESSES: Comments submitted in response to this notice should be 
submitted electronically through the Federal eRulemaking Portal at 
http://www.regulations.gov by selecting Docket ID number ED-2015-ICCD-
0081 or via postal mail, commercial delivery, or hand delivery. If the 
regulations.gov site is not available to the public for any reason, ED 
will temporarily accept comments at [email protected]. Please note 
that comments submitted by fax or email and those submitted after the 
comment period will not be accepted; ED will ONLY accept comments 
during the comment period in this mailbox when the regulations.gov site 
is not available. Written requests for information or comments 
submitted by postal mail or delivery should be addressed to the 
Director of the Information Collection Clearance Division, U.S. 
Department of Education, 400 Maryland Avenue SW., LBJ, Mailstop L-OM-2-
2E319, Room 2E105, Washington, DC 20202.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For specific questions related to 
collection activities, please contact Kashka, Kubzdela 202-502-7411.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Department of Education (ED), in 
accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (PRA) (44 U.S.C. 
3506(c)(2)(A)), provides the general public and Federal agencies with 
an opportunity to comment on proposed, revised, and continuing 
collections of information. This helps the Department assess the impact 
of its information collection requirements and minimize the public's 
reporting burden. It also helps the public understand the Department's 
information collection requirements and provide the requested data in 
the desired format. ED is soliciting comments on the proposed 
information collection request (ICR) that is described below. The 
Department of Education is especially interested in public comment 
addressing the following issues: (1) Is this collection necessary to 
the proper functions of the Department; (2) will this information be 
processed and used in a timely manner; (3) is the estimate of burden 
accurate; (4) how might the Department enhance the quality, utility, 
and clarity of the information to be collected; and (5) how might the 
Department minimize the burden of this collection on the respondents, 
including through the use of information technology. Please note that 
written comments received in response to this notice will be considered 
public records.
    Title of Collection: School Climate Surveys (SCLS) Benchmark Study 
2016.
    OMB Control Number: 1850-NEW.
    Type of Review: A new information collection.
    Respondents/Affected Public: Individuals.
    Total Estimated Number of Annual Responses: 358,649.
    Total Estimated Number of Annual Burden Hours: 190,665.
    Abstract: The School Climate Surveys (SCLS) are a suite of survey 
instruments being developed for schools, districts, and states by the 
U.S. Department of Education's (ED) National Center for Education 
Statistics (NCES). This national effort extends current activities that 
measure school climate, including the state-level efforts of the Safe 
and Supportive Schools (S3) grantees, which were awarded funds in 2010 
by the ED's Office of Safe and Healthy Students (OSHS) to improve 
school climate. Through the SCLS, schools nationwide will have access 
to survey instruments and a survey platform that will allow for the 
collection and reporting of school climate data across stakeholders at 
the local level. The surveys can be used to produce school-, district-, 
and state-level scores on various indicators of school climate from the 
perspectives of students, teachers, noninstructional school staff and 
principals, and parents and guardians. This request is to conduct a 
national SCLS benchmark study, collecting data from a nationally 
representative sample of schools across the United States, to create a 
national comparison point for users of SCLS. A nationally 
representative sample of 500 schools serving students in grades 5-12 
will be sampled to participate in the national benchmark study in 
spring 2016. The data collected from the sampled schools will be used 
to produce national school climate scores on the various topics covered 
by SCLS, which will be released in the updated SCLS platform and 
provide a basis for comparison between data collected by schools and 
school systems and the national school climate.

    Dated: June 18, 2015.
Stephanie Valentine,
Acting Director, Information Collection Clearance Division, Office of 
the Chief Privacy Officer. Office of Management.
[FR Doc. 2015-15438 Filed 6-23-15; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 4000-01-P