[Federal Register Volume 85, Number 246 (Tuesday, December 22, 2020)]
[Notices]
[Pages 83511-83513]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2020-28143]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

Census Bureau


Agency Information Collection Activities; Submission to the 
Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for Review and Approval; Comment 
Request; School District Review Program

AGENCY: U.S. Census Bureau, Commerce.

ACTION: Notice of information collection, request for comment.

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SUMMARY: The Department of Commerce, in accordance with the Paperwork 
Reduction Act (PRA) of 1995, invites the general public and other 
Federal agencies to comment on proposed, and continuing information 
collections, which helps us assess the impact of our information 
collection requirements and minimize the public's reporting burden. The 
purpose of this notice is to allow for 60 days of public comment on the 
proposed extension of the School District Review Program prior to the 
submission of the information collection request (ICR) to OMB for 
approval.

DATES: To ensure consideration, comments regarding this proposed 
information collection must be received on or before February 22, 2021.

ADDRESSES: Interested persons are invited to submit written comments by 
email to [email protected]. Please reference ``School 
District Review Program'' in the subject line of your comments. You may 
also submit comments, identified by Docket Number USBC-2020-0033, to 
the Federal e-Rulemaking Portal: http://www.regulations.gov. All 
comments received are part of the public record. No comments will be 
posted to http://www.regulations.gov for public viewing until after the 
comment period has closed. Comments will generally be posted without 
change. All Personally Identifiable Information (for example, name and 
address) voluntarily submitted by the commenter may be publicly 
accessible. Do not submit Confidential Business Information or 
otherwise sensitive or protected information. You may submit 
attachments to electronic comments in Microsoft Word, Excel, or Adobe 
PDF file formats.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Requests for additional information or 
specific questions related to collection activities should be directed 
to Robin A. Pennington, Decennial Census Management Division, Program 
Management Office, by phone 301-763-8132 or by email 
[email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Abstract

    The School District Review Program (SDRP) is one of many voluntary 
geographic partnership programs. The SDRP collects school district 
information and boundaries to update the U.S. Census Bureau's 
geographic database of addresses, streets, and boundaries. The Census 
Bureau uses its geographic database to tie demographic data from 
surveys and the decennial census to locations and areas, such as 
cities, school districts, and counties. To tabulate statistics by 
localities, the Census Bureau must have accurate addresses and 
boundaries.
    While the geographic programs differ in requirements, timeframe, 
and participants, SDRP and the other geographic programs all follow the 
same basic process:
     The Census Bureau invites eligible participants to the 
program. For SDRP, the sponsor, the National Center for Education 
Statistics invites the state departments of education/state Title I

[[Page 83512]]

coordinators to designate mapping coordinators.
     If they elect to participate in the program, participants 
receive a copy of the boundaries the Census Bureau has on file. SDRP 
participants receive free customized mapping software.
     Participants review the boundaries in the Census Bureau 
provided digital maps and update them if needed. For SDRP, participants 
reach out to contacts in their state to collect updates.
     Participants return their updates to the Census Bureau.
     The Census Bureau updates its geographic database with 
boundary updates from participants.
     The Census Bureau uses the newly updated boundaries to 
tabulate statistics.
    The Census Bureau requests state officials to review and update the 
school district information the Census Bureau has on file, through the 
SDRP. The school district information obtained through this program 
will assist in forming the Census Bureau's estimates of the number of 
children age five through seventeen, in families and living in poverty, 
for each school district.
    State officials will provide the Census Bureau with updates and 
corrections to the federal School District Local Education Agency 
(SDLEA) identification numbers, school district boundaries, school 
names, grade ranges, and levels for which each school district is 
financially responsible.
    These Census Bureau estimates are the basis of the Title I 
allocation for each school district. The SDRP is of vital importance 
for each state's allocation under Title I of the Elementary and 
Secondary Education Act (ESEA) as amended by Every Student Succeeds Act 
of 2015, Public Law 114-95. The U.S. Department of Education uses these 
estimates to allocate more than $14 billion in Title I funding 
annually.
    The National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) sponsors the 
SDRP. The NCES invites the state departments of education/Title I 
coordinators to designate a mapping coordinator for each state and the 
District of Columbia. The mapping coordinator collects updates from 
local school districts, state education officials, county planners, and 
state data centers, and ensures completion of submissions within the 
SDRP's timeframe. The respondents for the SDRP are the Title I 
coordinators and mapping coordinators from the fifty states and the 
District of Columbia.
    The SDRP encompasses Type 1 and Type 2 school districts as defined 
by the NCES. Type 1 is a local school district that is not a component 
of a supervisory union. Type 2 is a local school district component of 
a supervisory union sharing a superintendent and administrative 
services with other local school districts.
    The SDRP consists of two phases--the Annotation and Verification 
Phases. In the Annotation Phase, the Census Bureau provides mapping 
coordinators with materials containing the most current school district 
boundaries and information the Census Bureau has on file for their 
state. Mapping coordinators review the data and submit changes to the 
school district boundaries or associated information to the Census 
Bureau. The Census Bureau reviews and processes the information 
submitted by mapping coordinators, and the Census Bureau updates all 
verified changes into the Master Address File/Topologically Integrated 
Geographic Encoding and Referencing (MAF/TIGER) database. In the 
Verification Phase, mapping coordinators verify that the Census Bureau 
accurately and completely updated the MAF/TIGER database with updates 
submitted during the Annotation Phase.

II. Method of Collection

Annotation Phase

    In the Annotation Phase, mapping coordinators gather school 
district updates from school district superintendents and other state 
officials and use Census Bureau-provided materials to review and update 
school district boundaries, names, codes, and geographic relationships. 
The Census Bureau provides mapping coordinators with school district 
listings, spatial data in Esri shapefile format, blank submission logs, 
and Geographic Update Partnership Software (GUPS). The school district 
listings consist of school district inventories, school names, levels, 
grade ranges, and other data about school districts within their state. 
If the mapping coordinator has non-spatial updates (e.g., name changes, 
simple consolidations, simple dissolutions, and others), the mapping 
coordinator updates the Census Bureau provided submission log with 
those changes. If a mapping coordinator needs to perform spatial 
updates to a school district boundary, the mapping coordinator uses 
Census Bureau provided GUPS and spatial data to make updates. GUPS, 
SDRP version, is a Census Bureau-created, user-friendly, free digital 
mapping tool for mapping coordinators. It contains all the 
functionality necessary for mapping coordinators to spatially make and 
validate their school district updates. Once mapping coordinators have 
reviewed and updated the school district information for their state, 
the mapping coordinator sends it to the Census Bureau, using Secure Web 
Incoming Module (SWIM), a web portal for uploading SDRP submissions. 
The Census Bureau will update the MAF/TIGER database with the updates 
sent by the mapping coordinator.
Schedule
     Annotation Phase begins for the SDRP--August/September of 
each year.
     Deadline to submit SDRP Annotation Phase to Census 
Bureau--last workday in December of each year.

Verification Phase

    In the Verification Phase, the Census Bureau sends mapping 
coordinators newly created listings and digital files, and mapping 
coordinators use the SDRP verification module in GUPS to review these 
files and verify that the Census Bureau correctly captured their 
submitted information. The mapping coordinator can tag the area of 
issue and send the information to the Census Bureau to make corrections 
if the Census Bureau did not incorporate their boundary changes or 
other updates correctly.
Schedule
     Verification Phase begins and ends for the SDRP--March/
April of each year.

III. Data

    OMB Control Number: 0607-0987.
    Form Number(s): None.
    Type of Review: Regular submission, Request for an Extension, 
without change of a currently approved collection.
    Affected Public: All fifty states and the District of Columbia.
    Estimated Number of Respondents:
     Annotation Phase: 51.
     Verification Phase: 51.
    Estimated Time per Response:
     Annotation Phase: 30 hours.
     Verification Phase: 10 hours.
    Estimated Total Annual Burden Hours: 2,040.
     Annotation Phase: 1,530 hours.
     Verification Phase: 510 hours.
    Estimated Total Annual Cost to Public: $0. (This is not the cost of 
respondents' time, but the indirect costs respondents may incur for 
such things as purchases of specialized software or hardware needed to 
report, or expenditures for accounting or records maintenance services 
required specifically by the collection.).
    Respondent's Obligation: Voluntary.
    Legal Authority: Title 13 U.S.C. Section 16, 141, and 193.

[[Page 83513]]

    NCES Legal Authority: Title I, Part A of the Elementary and 
Secondary Education Act as amended by the Every Student Succeeds Act of 
2015, Public Law (Pub. L.) 114-95.

IV. Request for Comments

    Comments are invited on: (a) Whether the proposed collection of 
information is necessary for the proper performance of the functions of 
the agency, including whether the information shall have practical 
utility; (b) the accuracy of the agency's estimate of the burden 
(including hours and cost) of the proposed collection of information; 
(c) ways to enhance the quality, utility, and clarity of the 
information to be collected; and (d) ways to minimize the burden of the 
collection of information on respondents, including through the use of 
automated collection techniques or other forms of information 
technology.
    Comments that you submit in response to this notice are a matter of 
public record. Summarization of comments submitted in response to this 
notice will be included in our request to OMB to approve this ICR. 
Before including your address, phone number, email address, or other 
personal identifying information in your comment, you should be aware 
that your entire comment--including your personal identifying 
information--may be made publicly available at any time. While you may 
ask us in your comment to withhold your personal identifying 
information from public review, we cannot guarantee that we will be 
able to do so.

Sheleen Dumas,
Department PRA Clearance Officer, Office of the Chief Information 
Officer, Commerce Department.
[FR Doc. 2020-28143 Filed 12-21-20; 8:45 am]
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