[Federal Register Volume 86, Number 26 (Wednesday, February 10, 2021)]
[Notices]
[Pages 8895-8896]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2021-02686]


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DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION

[Docket No.: ED-2021-SCC-0019]


Agency Information Collection Activities; Comment Request; 2022 
School Survey on Crime and Safety (SSOCS:2022)

AGENCY: Institute of Education Sciences (IES), 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 a currently approved collection.

DATES: Interested persons are invited to submit comments on or before 
April 12, 2021.

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-2021-SCC-0019. 
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 PRA 
Coordinator of the Strategic Collections and Clearance Governance and 
Strategy Division, U.S. Department of Education, 400 Maryland Ave. SW, 
LBJ, Room 6W208B, Washington, DC 20202-8240.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For specific questions related to 
collection activities, please contact Carrie Clarady, 202-245-6347.

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: 2022 School Survey on Crime and Safety 
(SSOCS:2022).
    OMB Control Number: 1850-0761.
    Type of Review: Revision of a currently approved collection.
    Respondents/Affected Public: Individuals or Households.
    Total Estimated Number of Annual Responses: 11,623.
    Total Estimated Number of Annual Burden Hours: 4,907.
    Abstract: The School Survey on Crime and Safety (SSOCS) is a 
nationally representative survey of elementary and secondary school 
principals that serves as the primary source of school-level data on 
crime and safety in public schools, and was conducted in 2000, 2004, 
2006, 2008, 2010, 2016, 2018, and 2020 (OMB #1850-0761). Four years 
separated the first two collections of SSOCS to allow for sufficient 
time to study the results of the first survey and to allow for 
necessary redesign work; the next three collections were conducted at 
2-year intervals. Due to a reorganization of the sponsoring agency (the 
Office of Safe and Drug-Free Schools) and funding issues, the 2012 
administration of SSOCS, although approved by OMB, was not fielded. 
With new funding available through the National Institute of Justice 
(NIJ), SSOCS was conducted again in the spring of the 2015-16 school 
year. With continued dedicated funding, SSOCS has resumed collection on 
a biennial basis, with collections during the spring of the 2017-18 and 
the 2019-20 school years, and the next planned collection during the 
spring of the 2021-22 school year. SSOCS is a survey of public schools 
covering the topic of school crime and violence and is designed to 
produce nationally representative data on public schools. Historically, 
it has been conducted by mail, with telephone and email follow-up; 
however, as an experiment, an internet version was fielded during the 
SSOCS:2018 administration. For SSOCS:2020, the internet version was 
initially offered to all respondents, with the paper version sent via 
mail as a follow-up, and the same methodology will be used for 
SSOCS:2022. The respondent is the school principal, or a member of the 
school staff designated by the principal as the person ``the most 
knowledgeable about school crime and policies to provide a safe 
environment.''
    The 2022 survey is being funded by the U.S. Department of 
Education's Office of Safe and Supportive Schools (previously known as 
the Office of Safe and Healthy Students) and conducted

[[Page 8896]]

by the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) of the Institute 
of Education Sciences (IES), within the U.S. Department of Education. 
As with prior SSOCS collections, NCES has entered into an interagency 
agreement with the Census Bureau to administer the 2022 collection.
    This request is to conduct the 2022 administration of the School 
Survey on Crime and Safety (SSOCS). As part of SSOCS:2022 development, 
cognitive testing on new COVID-19 pandemic items will be conducted 
during the winter and spring of 2021, scheduled to be completed in 
late-spring 2021. The wording and design of these items may be modified 
in response to the findings of this testing and, as such, will be 
updated in a change request, tentatively scheduled for October 2021.

    Dated: February 4, 2021.
Stephanie Valentine,
PRA Coordinator, Strategic Collections and Clearance Governance and 
Strategy Division, Office of Chief Data Officer, Office of Planning, 
Evaluation and Policy Development.
[FR Doc. 2021-02686 Filed 2-9-21; 8:45 am]
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