[Federal Register Volume 86, Number 179 (Monday, September 20, 2021)]
[Notices]
[Page 52140]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2021-20209]



[[Page 52140]]

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DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION

[Docket No. ED-2021-SCC-0078]


Agency Information Collection Activities; Submission to the 
Office of Management and Budget for Review and Approval; Comment 
Request; Statewide Longitudinal Data System (SLDS) Survey 2021-2023

AGENCY: Institute of Educational Science (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 
October 20, 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: Statewide Longitudinal Data System (SLDS) 
Survey 2021-2023.
    OMB Control Number: 1850-0933.
    Type of Review: A revision of a currently approved collection.
    Respondents/Affected Public: State, Local, and Tribal Governments.
    Total Estimated Number of Annual Responses: 112.
    Total Estimated Number of Annual Burden Hours: 140.
    Abstract: The National Center for Education Statistics (NCES), of 
the Institute of Education Sciences (IES), within the U.S. Department 
of Education, is requesting clearance to continue the Statewide 
Longitudinal Data System (SLDS) Survey collection, which is intended to 
provide insight on State and U.S. territory SLDS capacity for automated 
linking of K-12, teacher, postsecondary, workforce, career and 
technical education (CTE), adult education, and early childhood data. 
The SLDS Survey will continue to be collected annually from State 
Education Agencies (SEAs), and will help inform NCES ongoing evaluation 
and targeted technical assistance efforts to enhance the quality of the 
SLDS Program's support to States regarding systems development, 
enhancement, and use. The request to conduct all activities related to 
SLDS 2020-22, including materials and procedures, was approved by OMB 
in May 2020 (OMB #1859-0933v.8), with a nonsubstantive change request 
(OMB #1859-0933v.9) approved in August 2020. The SLDS 2020-22 package 
included a new data collection tool, a Google Form developed for an 
electronic data collection. That tool was not as successful in the 2020 
data collection as NCES would like (see section A.3 for a richer 
discussion of this). This new request is to conduct all activities 
related to SLDS 2021-23. It submits enhancements to the OMB-approved 
Survey, intended to bring consistency to questions across sectors, 
provide greater definition and clarity to terminology and questions 
used within the SLDS Survey, and address pandemic-related response 
across states. In addition, this request submits screenshots of the new 
Qualtrics information collection tool that will replace the Google Form 
introduced for SLDS 2020 and which will be used in the 2021 SLDS Data 
Collection (for proposed changes, see Appendix E) and is planned for 
use in subsequent collections. Finally, this request submits 
screenshots of the updated webinar, as the SLDS Program proposes the 
option to host one or two SLDS Survey webinars to familiarize 
respondents with the collection tool and completion process. All 
proposed changes are captured within these documents, including 
accompanying appendices.

    Dated: September 14, 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. 2021-20209 Filed 9-17-21; 8:45 am]
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