[Federal Register Volume 88, Number 66 (Thursday, April 6, 2023)]
[Notices]
[Pages 20503-20504]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2023-07239]


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DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION

[Docket No.: ED-2023-SCC-0060]


Agency Information Collection Activities; Comment Request; School 
Pulse Panel 2023-24 Data Collection

AGENCY: National Center for Education Statistics (NCES), 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 revision of a currently approved 
information collection request (ICR).

DATES: Interested persons are invited to submit comments on or before 
June 5, 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-2023-SCC-0060. 
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 Carrie Clarady, 202-245-6347.

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. 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: School Pulse Panel 2023-24 Data Collection.
    OMB Control Number: 1850-0975.
    Type of Review: A revision of a currently approved ICR.
    Respondents/Affected Public: State, local, and Tribal governments.
    Total Estimated Number of Annual Responses: 70,455.
    Total Estimated Number of Annual Burden Hours: 9,647.
    Abstract: The School Pulse Panel (SPP) is a data collection 
originally designed to collect voluntary responses from a nationally 
representative sample of public schools to better understand how 
schools, students, and educators are responding to the ongoing 
stressors of the coronavirus pandemic. It is conducted by the National 
Center for Education Statistics (NCES), part of the Institute of 
Education Sciences (IES), within the United States Department of 
Education, in cooperation with the U.S. Census Bureau. Due to the 
immediate need to collect information from schools during the pandemic 
to satisfy the requirement of Executive Order 14000, an emergency 
clearance was issued to develop and field the first several monthly 
collections of the SPP in 2021, and a full review of the SPP data 
collection was completed in 2022 (OMB #1850-0969). SPP's innovative 
design and timely dissemination of findings have been used and cited 
frequently among Department of Education senior leadership, the White 
House Domestic Policy Counsel, the USDA's Food and Nutrition Service, 
the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Congressional 
deliberations, and the media. The ongoing, growing interest by 
stakeholders has resulted in the request for dedicated funding to 
create an established NCES quick-turnaround data collection vehicle, 
with the goal of standing up a post-pandemic panel to begin with the 
2023-24 school year.
    One notable difference for the next SPP study will be the potential 
addition of a district-level survey. The purpose of the district 
component is two-fold: (1) to collect data on topics that schools 
cannot report about such as facilities, supply chain issues and 
finances; and (2) to reduce burden on schools by allowing district 
staff to report on district policies and school level data tracked at 
the district. The district component will enhance the breadth of data 
that can be collected in SPP. For the 23-24 school year, the survey may 
ask school and district staff about a range of topics, including but 
not limited to instructional mode offered; enrollment counts of 
subgroups of students for various subject interests; strategies to 
address learning recovery; safe and healthy school mitigation 
strategies; mental health services; use of technology; information on 
staffing, nutrition services, absenteeism, usage of federal funds, 
facilities, and overall principal and district staff experiences.

[[Page 20504]]

Some new content will be rotated in and out monthly.
    As in previous waves, for SPP 2023-24 roughly 5,000 (4,000 in an 
initial sample and 1,000 in a reserve sample) public elementary, 
middle, high, and combined-grade schools will be randomly selected to 
participate in a panel. It is expected these schools will come from 
roughly 3,000 districts with a reserve sample of 300 districts to 
replace district refusals. The goal is national representation from 
1,000 responding schools and districts to report national estimates. 
School and district staff will be asked to provide requested data as 
frequently as monthly during the 23-24 school year. This approach 
provides the ability to collect detailed information on various topics 
while also assessing changes over time for items that are repeated. 
Given the high demand for data collection, the content of the survey 
will change monthly.
    This request is to conduct the SPP 2023-24 main study data 
collection activities, including instruments for the first quarter of 
monthly collections, for 60-day and 30-day public comment. Some 
documents will be revised for the 30-day public comment period. 
Subsequent quarterly content submissions will be submitted for 30-day 
public comment periods.

    Dated: April 3, 2023.
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. 2023-07239 Filed 4-5-23; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4000-01-P