[Federal Register Volume 80, Number 136 (Thursday, July 16, 2015)]
[Notices]
[Pages 42093-42094]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2015-17415]


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DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION

[Docket No.: ED-2015-ICCD-0093]


Agency Information Collection Activities; Comment Request; 
Guaranty Agencies Security Self-Assessment and Attestation

AGENCY: Federal Student Aid (FSA), Department of Education (ED).

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: In accordance with the Paperwork Reduction of 1995 (44 U.S.C. 
Chapter 3507(j)), ED is requesting the Office of Management and Budget 
(OMB) to conduct an emergency review of a new information collection.

DATES: Approval by the OMB has been requested by July 20, 2015. A 
regular clearance process is also hereby being initiated. Interested 
persons are invited to submit comments on or before September 14, 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-
0093 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 2E103, Washington, DC 20202.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For specific questions related to 
collection activities, please contact Beth Grebeldinger, 202-377-4018.

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: Guaranty Agencies Security Self-assessment and 
Attestation.
    OMB Control Number: 1845--NEW.
    Type of Review: A new information collection.
    Respondents/Affected Public: Private Sector, State, Local and 
Tribal Governments.
    Total Estimated Number of Annual Responses: 28.
    Total Estimated Number of Annual Burden Hours: 8,848.
    Abstract: The E-Government Act (Pub. L. 107-347) passed by the 
107th Congress and signed into law by the President in December 2002 
recognized the importance of information security to the economic and 
national security interests of the United States. Title III of the E-
Government Act, entitled the Federal Information Security Management 
Act (FISMA) requires each federal agency to develop, document, and 
implement an agency-wide program to provide information security for 
the information and information systems that support the operations and 
assets of the agency, including those provided or managed by another 
agency, contractor, or other source. FISMA, along with the Paperwork 
Reduction Act of 1995 and the Information Technology Management Reform 
Act of 1996 (Clinger-Cohen Act), explicitly emphasizes a risk-based 
policy for cost-effective security.
    FSA is initiating a formal assessment program of the Guaranty 
Agencies that will ensure the continued confidentiality and integrity 
of data entrusted to FSA by students and families. The assessment will 
identify security deficiencies based on the Federal standards described 
in the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) 
publications. The comprehensive self-assessment links all questions 
with a NIST control. This collection of information impacts 28 
independently owned Guaranty Agencies (GAs) dispersed throughout the 
U.S. Each agency is under signed agreement with the Department of 
Education to service Federal Family Education Loans that have been 
turned over from the lending institutions to the GAs for the purpose of 
student loan collections.

[[Page 42094]]

    Additional Information: This is a request for an emergency 
clearance to enable Federal Student Aid (FSA) to ensure that all data 
collected and managed by Guaranty Agencies (GAs) in support federal 
student financial aid programs is secure. FSA is initiating a formal 
assessment program for ensuring the GAs have security protocols in 
place to protect the confidentiality and integrity of data entrusted to 
FSA by students and families. This assessment is designed to identify 
security deficiencies based on the federal standards described in the 
National Institute of Standards and Technology publications.

    Dated: July 13, 2015.
Kate Mullan,
Acting Director, Information Collection Clearance Division, Office of 
the Chief Privacy Officer (OCPO), Office of Management.
[FR Doc. 2015-17415 Filed 7-15-15; 8:45 am]
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