[Federal Register Volume 86, Number 95 (Wednesday, May 19, 2021)]
[Notices]
[Pages 27074-27075]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2021-10500]


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DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION

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


Agency Information Collection Activities; Submission to the 
Office of Management and Budget for Review and Approval; Comment 
Request; 2022 School Survey on Crime and Safety (SSOCS:2022)

AGENCY: Institute of Educational 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 
June 18, 2021.

ADDRESSES: Written comments and recommendations for proposed 
information collection requests should be sent within 30 days of 
publication of this notice to www.reginfo.gov/public/do/PRAMain. Find 
this information collection request by selecting ``Department of 
Education'' under ``Currently Under Review,'' then check ``Only Show 
ICR for Public Comment'' checkbox. Comments may also be sent to 
[email protected].

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: A revision of a currently approved collection.
    Respondents/Affected Public: Individuals and 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.''

[[Page 27075]]

    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 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: May 13, 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. 2021-10500 Filed 5-18-21; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4000-01-P