[Federal Register Volume 87, Number 163 (Wednesday, August 24, 2022)]
[Notices]
[Page 51971]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2022-18165]


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DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION

[Docket No.: ED-2022-SCC-0082]


Agency Information Collection Activities; Submission to the 
Office of Management and Budget for Review and Approval; Comment 
Request; FAFSA Form Demographic Survey

AGENCY: Federal Student Aid (FSA), Department of Education (ED).

ACTION: Notice

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SUMMARY: In accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, ED is 
proposing a new collection.

DATES: Interested persons are invited to submit comments on or before 
September 23, 2022.

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 (ICR) by selecting ``Department of 
Education'' under ``Currently Under Review,'' then check the ``Only 
Show ICR for Public Comment'' checkbox. Reginfo.gov provides two links 
to view documents related to this information collection request. 
Information collection forms and instructions may be found by clicking 
on the ``View Information Collection (IC) List'' link. Supporting 
statements and other supporting documentation may be found by clicking 
on the ``View Supporting Statement and Other Documents'' link.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For specific questions related to 
collection activities, please contact Beth Grebeldinger, (202) 377-
4018.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Department, 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 ICR that 
is described below. The Department is especially interested in public 
comments 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 record.
    Title of Collection: FAFSA Form Demographic Survey.
    OMB Control Number: 1845-NEW.
    Type of Review: New collection.
    Respondents/Affected Public: Individuals or Households.
    Total Estimated Number of Annual Responses: 19,727,003.
    Total Estimated Number of Annual Burden Hours: 650,991.
    Abstract: The U.S. Department of Education (the Department) is 
requesting a new information collection to gather demographic 
information in conjunction with the Free Application for Federal 
Student Aid (FAFSA) form. The FAFSA Simplification Act (FSAct) passed 
as part of the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2021 (Pub. L. 116-260) 
amends the Higher Education Act of 1965, Title IV, Sec 483 (B)(ii)(VII) 
to add sex and race or ethnicity as information required to be provided 
by the applicant on the Free Application for Federal Student Aid 
(FAFSA) form. For the launch of the 2023-24 FAFSA on October 1, 2022, 
FSA will ask the demographic questions in a pilot, voluntary survey 
format in order to collect specific feedback on the new questions. This 
feedback will inform the development of the questions for full 
implementation within the FAFSA form for the 2024-2025 award year.

    Dated: August 18, 2022.
Kun Mullan,
PRA Coordinator, Strategic Collections and Clearance, Governance and 
Strategy Division, Office of Chief Data Officer, Office of Planning, 
Evaluation and Policy Development.
[FR Doc. 2022-18165 Filed 8-23-22; 8:45 am]
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