[Federal Register Volume 83, Number 75 (Wednesday, April 18, 2018)]
[Notices]
[Page 17161]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2018-08068]


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DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION

[Docket No.: ED-2018-ICCD-0043]


Agency Information Collection Activities; Submission to the 
Office of Management and Budget for Review and Approval; Comment 
Request; Statewide Longitudinal Data System (SLDS) Survey 2018-2019

AGENCY: 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, ED is 
proposing a revision of an existing information collection.

DATES: Interested persons are invited to submit comments on or before 
May 18, 2018.

ADDRESSES: To access and review all the documents related to the 
information collection listed in this notice, please use http://www.regulations.gov by searching the Docket ID number ED-2018-ICCD-
0043. Comments submitted in response to this notice should be submitted 
electronically through the Federal eRulemaking Portal at http://www.regulations.gov by selecting the Docket ID number or via postal 
mail, commercial delivery, or hand delivery. Please note that comments 
submitted by fax or email and those submitted after the comment period 
will not be accepted. 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, Room 216-34, 
Washington, DC 20202-4537.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For specific questions related to 
collection activities, please contact Kashka Kubzdela, 202-245-7377.

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: Statewide Longitudinal Data System (SLDS) 
Survey 2018-2019.
    OMB Control Number: 1850-0933.
    Type of Review: A revision of an existing information collection.
    Respondents/Affected Public: State, Local, and Tribal Governments.
    Total Estimated Number of Annual Responses: 112.
    Total Estimated Number of Annual Burden Hours: 140.
    Abstract: As authorized by the Educational Technical Assistance Act 
of 2002, Title II, the Statewide Longitudinal Data Systems (SLDS) Grant 
Program has awarded competitive, cooperative agreement grants to states 
since 2005. Through grants and a growing range of services and 
resources, the program has helped propel the successful design, 
development, implementation, and expansion of K12 and P-20W (early 
learning through the workforce) longitudinal data systems. These 
systems are intended to enhance the ability of States to efficiently 
and accurately manage, analyze, and use education data, including 
individual student records. The SLDSs should help states, districts, 
schools, educators, and other stakeholders to make data-informed 
decisions to improve student learning and outcomes; as well as to 
facilitate research to increase student achievement and close 
achievement gaps. The SLDS grants extend for three to five years for up 
to twenty million dollars per grantee, and grantees are obligated to 
submit annual reports and a final report on the development and 
implementation of their systems. All 50 states, five territories, and 
the District of Columbia are eligible to apply, and each state can 
apply multiple times to develop different aspects of their data system. 
Since November 2005, 97 grants have been awarded. In addition to the 
grants, the program offers many services and resources to assist 
education agencies with SLDS-related work. Best practices, lessons 
learned, and non-proprietary products/solutions developed by recipients 
of these grants and other states are disseminated to aid all state and 
local education agencies. The request to formalize the annual SLDS 
Interim Progress Report (IPR) as the SLDS Survey, intended to provide 
insight on state and U.S. territory SLDS capacity for automated linking 
of K-12, teacher, postsecondary, workforce, career and technical 
education (CTE), adult education, and early childhood data, and to 
conduct the annual SLDS Survey from 2017 through 2019 was approved in 
February 2017 with the latest change request approved in September 2017 
(1850-0933 v.1-4). The SLDS Survey will help inform ongoing evaluation 
and targeted technical assistance efforts to enhance the quality of the 
SLDS Program's support to states. This request is to update the survey 
instrument to reflect feedback received from respondents during the 
SLDS survey's first administration in 2017.

    Dated: April 12, 2018.
Stephanie Valentine,
Acting Director, Information Collection Clearance Division, Office of 
the Chief Privacy Officer, Office of Management.
[FR Doc. 2018-08068 Filed 4-17-18; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 4000-01-P