[Federal Register Volume 86, Number 86 (Thursday, May 6, 2021)]
[Notices]
[Pages 24394-24395]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2021-09544]



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DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION

[Docket ID ED-2021-FSA-0005]


Privacy Act of 1974; Matching Program

AGENCY: Department of Education.

ACTION: Notice of a New Matching Program.

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SUMMARY: This provides notice of the re-establishment of the matching 
program between the U.S. Department of Education (Department or ED) 
(recipient agency) and the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) 
(source agency). The purpose of the matching program is to assist the 
Department with verification of a veteran's status during the 
processing of applications for financial assistance under title IV of 
the Higher Education Act of 1965, as amended (HEA).

DATES: Submit your comments on the proposed matching program on or 
before June 7, 2021.
    The matching program will go into effect at the later of the 
following two dates: (1) July 3, 2021, or (2) 30 days after the 
publication of this notice, on May 6, 2021, unless comments have been 
received from interested members of the public requiring modification 
and replication of the notice. The matching program will continue for 
18 months after the effective date and may be extended for an 
additional 12 months, if the respective Data Integrity Boards (DIBs) of 
ED and VA determine that the conditions specified in 5 U.S.C. 
552a(o)(2)(D) have been met.

ADDRESSES: Submit your comments through the Federal eRulemaking Portal 
or via postal mail, commercial delivery, or hand delivery. We will not 
accept comments submitted by fax or by email or those submitted after 
the comment period. To ensure that we do not receive duplicate copies, 
please submit your comments only once. In addition, please include the 
Docket ID at the top of your comments.
     Federal eRulemaking Portal: Go to www.regulations.gov to 
submit your comments electronically. Information on using 
Regulations.gov, including instructions for accessing agency documents, 
submitting comments, and viewing the docket, is available on the site 
under the ``help'' tab.
     Postal Mail, Commercial Delivery, or Hand Delivery: If you 
mail or deliver your comments about this proposed matching program, 
address them to: Gerard Duffey, Management and Program Analyst, 
Wanamaker Building, U.S. Department of Education, Federal Student Aid, 
100 Penn Square East, Suite 509.B10, Philadelphia, PA 19107. Telephone: 
(215) 656-3249.
    Privacy Note: The Department's policy is to make all comments 
received from members of the public available for public viewing in 
their entirety on the Federal eRulemaking Portal at 
www.regulations.gov. Therefore, commenters should be careful to include 
in their comments only information that they wish to make publicly 
available.
    Assistance to Individuals with Disabilities in Reviewing the 
Rulemaking Record: On request we will provide an appropriate 
accommodation or auxiliary aid to an individual with a disability who 
needs assistance to review the comments or other documents in the 
public record for this notice. If you want to schedule an appointment 
for this type of accommodation or auxiliary aid, please contact the 
person listed under FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Gerard Duffey, Management and Program 
Analyst, Wanamaker Building, U.S. Department of Education, Federal 
Student Aid, 100 Penn Square East, Suite 509.B10, Philadelphia, PA 
19107. Telephone: (215) 656-3249.
    If you use a telecommunications device for the deaf (TDD) or a text 
telephone (TTY), call the Federal Relay Service (FRS), toll free at 1-
800-877-8339.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: We provide this notice in accordance with 
the Privacy Act of 1974, as amended (5 U.S.C. 552a); Office of 
Management and Budget (OMB) Final Guidance Interpreting the Provisions 
of Public Law 100-503, the Computer Matching and Privacy Protection Act 
of 1988, 54 FR 25818 (June 19, 1989); and OMB Circular No. A-108, 81 FR 
94424 (December 23, 2016).
    The prior notice of a new matching program was published in the 
Federal Register on December 4, 2018 (83 FR 62568). Under the 
provisions of the Computer Matching and Privacy Protection Act of 1988, 
Public Law 100-503, 102 Stat. 2507, the Computer Matching Agreement 
(CMA) became effective on January 3, 2019, and was renewed for an 
additional 12 months to make it effective through July 2, 2021, 
because: (1) The matching program was conducted without change; and (2) 
each Data Integrity Board Chairperson certified in writing that the 
matching program was conducted in compliance with the CMA. ED and VA 
are now re-establishing the matching program through this notice.

Participating Agencies

    ED and VA.

Authority for Conducting the Matching Program

    ED is authorized to participate in the matching program under 
sections 480(c)(1) and 480(d)(1)(D) of the HEA (20 U.S.C. 1087vv(c)(1) 
and (d)(1)(D)). VA is authorized to participate in the matching program 
under 38 U.S.C. 523.

Purpose(s)

    The purpose of this matching program is to assist the Secretary of 
Education with verification of a veteran's status during the processing 
and review of applications for financial assistance under title IV of 
the HEA.
    The Secretary of Education is authorized by the HEA to administer 
the title IV programs and to enforce the terms and conditions of the 
HEA.
    Section 480(c)(1) of the HEA defines the term ``veteran'' to mean 
``any individual who--(A) has engaged in the active duty in the United 
States Army, Navy, Air Force, Marines, or Coast Guard; and (B) was 
released under a condition other than dishonorable.'' (20 U.S.C. 
1087vv(c)(1)). Under section 480(d)(1)(D) of the HEA, an applicant who 
is a veteran (as defined in section 480(c)(1)) is considered an 
independent student for purposes of title IV, HEA program assistance 
eligibility, and, therefore, does not have to provide parental income 
and asset information to apply for title IV, HEA program assistance. 
(20 U.S.C. 1087vv(d)(1)(D)).

Categories of Individuals

    Individuals who have completed the Free Application for Federal 
Student Aid (FAFSA[supreg]) and have indicated that they are a veteran.

Categories of Records

    ED will provide to the VA the Social Security number, first and 
last name, and date of birth of each applicant for financial assistance 
under title IV of the HEA who indicates veteran status in his or her 
application.

System(s) of Records

    ED system of records: Federal Student Aid Application File (18-11-
01), which was most recently published in the Federal Register at 84 FR 
57856 (October 29, 2019).
    VA system of records: Compensation, Pension, Education, and 
Vocational Rehabilitation and Employment Records--VA (58VA21/22/28), 
which was most recently published in the Federal Register at 84 FR 4138 
(February 14, 2019).
    Accessible Format: On request to the program contact person listed 
under FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT, individuals with disabilities 
can obtain

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this document in an accessible format. The Department will provide the 
requestor with an accessible format that may include Rich Text Format 
(RTF) or text format (txt), a thumb drive, an MP3 file, braille, large 
print, audiotape, or compact disc, or other accessible format.
    Electronic Access to This Document: The official version of this 
document is the document published in the Federal Register. You may 
access the official edition of the Federal Register and the Code of 
Federal Regulations at www.govinfo.gov. At this site you can view this 
document, as well as all other documents of this Department published 
in the Federal Register, in text or Portable Document Format (PDF). To 
use PDF you must have Adobe Acrobat Reader, which is available free at 
the site.
    You may also access documents of the Department published in the 
Federal Register by using the article search feature at 
www.federalregister.gov. Specifically, through the advanced search 
feature at this site, you can limit your search to documents published 
by the Department.

Mark Brown,
Chief Operating Officer, Federal Student Aid.
[FR Doc. 2021-09544 Filed 5-5-21; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4000-01-P