[Federal Register Volume 86, Number 60 (Wednesday, March 31, 2021)]
[Notices]
[Page 16712]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2021-06556]


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DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION

[Docket No.: ED-2021-SCC-0050]


Agency Information Collection Activities; Comment Request; Impact 
Evaluation of Departmentalized Instruction in Elementary Schools

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 an extension without change of a currently approved 
collection.

DATES: Interested persons are invited to submit comments on or before 
June 1, 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-0050. 
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 208C Washington, DC 20202-8240.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For specific questions related to 
collection activities, please contact Thomas Wei, 646-428-3892.

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: Impact Evaluation of Departmentalized 
Instruction in Elementary Schools.
    OMB Control Number: 1850-0942.
    Type of Review: An extension without change of a currently approved 
collection.
    Respondents/Affected Public: Individuals and Households.
    Total Estimated Number of Annual Responses: 12.
    Total Estimated Number of Annual Burden Hours: 80.
    Abstract: This study is authorized by Section 8601 of the Every 
Student Succeeds Act (ESSA), which tasks the U.S. Department of 
Education with conducting evaluations to build the evidence base in 
education. Finding creative ways to redeploy existing teachers in the 
classroom may yield academic benefits to students at little cost. One 
such strategy is departmentalized instruction, where each teacher 
specializes in teaching certain subjects to multiple classes of 
students instead of teaching all subjects to a single class of students 
(self-contained instruction). While nearly ubiquitous in secondary 
schools, departmentalization has only recently become more popular in 
upper elementary grades. This evaluation is examining the 
implementation and outcomes of teachers and students as they 
departmentalize in fourth and fifth grades. In doing so, it will 
generate valuable evidence on an improvement strategy that low-
performing elementary schools identified under ESSA may consider 
adopting.

    Dated: March 25, 2021.
Juliana Pearson,
PRA Coordinator, Strategic Collections and Clearance, Governance and 
Strategy Division, Office of Chief Data Officer, Office of Planning, 
Evaluation and Policy Development.
[FR Doc. 2021-06556 Filed 3-30-21; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4000-01-P