[Federal Register Volume 80, Number 164 (Tuesday, August 25, 2015)]
[Notices]
[Pages 51543-51544]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2015-20958]


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DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION

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


Agency Information Collection Activities; Submission to the 
Office of Management and Budget for Review and Approval; Comment 
Request; ED School Climate Surveys (EDSCLS) Benchmark Study 2016

AGENCY: Institute of Education Sciences (IES)/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 
September 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,

[[Page 51544]]

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 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: ED School Climate Surveys (EDSCLS) Benchmark 
Study 2016.
    OMB Control Number: 1850--NEW.
    Type of Review: A new information collection.
    Respondents/Affected Public: Voluntary.
    Total Estimated Number of Annual Responses: 358,649.
    Total Estimated Number of Annual Burden Hours: 190,665.
    Abstract: The ED School Climate Surveys (EDSCLS) 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 EDSCLS, 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 EDSCLS benchmark 
study, collecting data from a nationally representative sample of 
schools across the United States, to create a national comparison point 
for users of EDSCLS. 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 EDSCLS, which will be released in the 
updated EDSCLS platform and provide a basis for comparison between data 
collected by schools and school systems and the national school 
climate.

    Dated: August 20, 2015.
Kate Mullan,
Acting Director, Information Collection Clearance Division, Office of 
the Chief Privacy Officer, Office of Management.
[FR Doc. 2015-20958 Filed 8-24-15; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 4000-01-P