[Federal Register Volume 87, Number 224 (Tuesday, November 22, 2022)]
[Notices]
[Pages 71315-71316]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2022-25434]


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DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION

[Docket No.: ED-2022-SCC-0136]


Agency Information Collection Activities; Comment Request; 
Evaluating the Impact of the Professional Learning Community: 
Evaluating the Impact of the Professional Learning Community: Emergent 
Literacy (PLC-EL)

AGENCY: Institute of Education Sciences (IES), Department of Education 
(ED).

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: In accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA) of 1995, 
the Department is proposing a new information collection request (ICR).

DATES: Interested persons are invited to submit comments on or before 
January 23, 2023.

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-2022-SCC-0136. 
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, the Department 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 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 Manager of the Strategic 
Collections and Clearance Governance and Strategy Division, U.S. 
Department of Education, 400 Maryland Ave. SW, LBJ, Room 6W203, 
Washington, DC 20202-8240.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For specific questions related to 
collection activities, please contact Janelle Sands, 202-245-6786.

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

[[Page 71316]]

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. The Department is 
soliciting comments on the proposed information collection request 
(ICR) that is described below. The Department 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: Evaluating the Impact of the Professional 
Learning Community: Emergent Literacy (PLC-EL).
    OMB Control Number: 1850-NEW.
    Type of Review: A new ICR.
    Respondents/Affected Public: Individuals and Households.
    Total Estimated Number of Annual Responses: 1,726.
    Total Estimated Number of Annual Burden Hours: 3,156.
    Abstract: The current authorization for the Regional Educational 
Laboratories (REL) program is under the Education Sciences Reform Act 
of 2002, Part D, Section 174, (20 U.S.C. 9564), administered by the 
Department of Education, Institute of Education Sciences (IES), 
National Center for Education Evaluation and Regional Assistance 
(NCEE). The goal of the REL program is to partner with educators and 
policymakers to conduct work that is change-oriented and supports 
meaningful local, regional, or state decisions about education 
policies, programs, and practices to improve outcomes for students.
    School readiness, particularly language and literacy readiness, in 
South Carolina (SC) remains a high-leverage need. This need is 
reflected in the state's Kindergarten Readiness Assessment (KRA). The 
KRA measures four domains of learning and development, including 
language and literacy. Demonstrating readiness occurs when students 
show the foundational skills and behaviors that prepare them for 
instruction based on kindergarten standards. In 2020/21 Modified KRA 
scores in SC revealed that only 27 percent of incoming kindergartners 
demonstrated readiness (South Carolina Education Oversight Committee, 
2021). Achievement gaps were also observed, with 17 percent of African 
American kindergarteners and 13 percent of Hispanic kindergarteners 
meeting the demonstrating readiness mark, compared to 35 percent of 
White students. There is a clear need to improve equity in learning 
opportunities and in school readiness outcomes among SC children. 
Members of the SC research partnership have identified teacher 
professional development (PD) in language and literacy as a critical 
component to improving the quality of early learning and are 
specifically interested in understanding the effectiveness of and the 
facilitators and barriers to implementation of the Professional 
Learning Community: Emergent Literacy (PLC-EL; Kosanovich et al., 
2020).
    The purpose of this study is to understand the impact of the PLC-EL 
program on preschool teachers' knowledge, practice, and student 
achievement in print knowledge, phonological awareness, oral language, 
and vocabulary. In addition, this study will identify factors that 
influence program effectiveness and the facilitators and barriers of 
effective implementation that inform scale-up initiatives across the 
state. This study will using a randomized controlled trial design to 
help ensure that--all else equal--this study will yield the strongest, 
most reliable evidence possible on which to base policy and practice. 
The study sample will include approximately 100 preschool centers 
across SC, 2,940 students, 226 preschool teachers, 25 PLC-EL 
Facilitators, center leaders, and a subset of district and state 
education leaders.
    The study findings will help the Office of Early Learning & 
Literacy (OELL) at SCDE meet its goals of improving equitable access to 
high-quality PD for educators and equitable access to high-quality 
instruction for students by training facilitators to implement the PLC-
EL in a large sample of preschool centers in four separate regions of 
the state. In addition, the study findings will provide the OELL at 
SCDE with actionable information about facilitators and barriers to 
implementation that can be used to inform scale-up initiatives across 
the state.

    Dated: November 17, 2022.
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. 2022-25434 Filed 11-21-22; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4000-01-P