[Federal Register Volume 85, Number 10 (Wednesday, January 15, 2020)]
[Notices]
[Pages 2411-2412]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2020-00460]


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DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION

[Docket No.: ED-2020-SCC-0010]


Agency Information Collection Activities; Comment Request; 
Statewide Longitudinal Data System (SLDS) Survey 2020-2022

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 
March 16, 2020.

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-2020-SCC-0010. 
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. If the regulations.gov 
site is not available to the public for any reason, ED will temporarily 
accept comments at [email protected]. Please include the docket ID 
number and the title of the information collection request when 
requesting documents or submitting comments. 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 Strategic Collections and Clearance Governance and 
Strategy Division, U.S. Department of Education, 400 Maryland Ave. SW, 
LBJ, Room 6W-208B, Washington, DC 20202-4537.

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

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

[[Page 2412]]

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 2020-2022.
    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 August 2019 
(1850-0933 v.1-7). The SLDS Survey helps inform ongoing evaluation and 
targeted technical assistance efforts to enhance the quality of the 
SLDS Program's support to states. This request is to conduct the annual 
SLDS Survey from 2020 through 2022, and introduces a new online form 
for data collection.

    Dated: January 9, 2020.
Stephanie Valentine,
PRA Coordinator, Strategic Collections and Clearance, Governance and 
Strategy Division, Office of Chief Data Officer.
[FR Doc. 2020-00460 Filed 1-14-20; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 4000-01-P