[Federal Register Volume 88, Number 99 (Tuesday, May 23, 2023)]
[Notices]
[Page 33116]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2023-10943]


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DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION

[Docket No.: ED-2023-SCC-0091]


Agency Information Collection Activities; Comment Request; 
Statewide Longitudinal Data System (SLDS) Survey 2023-2025

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 
July 24, 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-0091. 
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 4C210, 
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: Statewide Longitudinal Data System (SLDS) 
Survey 2023-2025.
    OMB Control Number: 1850-0933.
    Type of Review: A revision of a currently approved ICR.
    Respondents/Affected Public: State, local, and Tribal governments.
    Total Estimated Number of Annual Responses: 75.
    Total Estimated Number of Annual Burden Hours: 94.
    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. 
Historically, SLDS has collected information annually from State 
Education Agencies (SEAs) and has helped 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 2021-2023, including materials and procedures, was approved by OMB 
in October 2021 (OMB#1859-0933 v.10).
    This new request is to conduct all activities related to SLDS 2023-
25, continuing usage of the Qualtrics information collection tool 
initiated in the 2023 collection. The appendices include updated 
communications, webinars, and Qualtrics instrument screenshots related 
to the SLDS 2023-25 collection. While minor adjustments were made to 
questions and language, the primary change proposed in this package is 
a shift from an annual to a biennial collection. Nationwide, SLDS 
system capacity changes frequently (ex. Infrastructure enhancements, 
evolving P20W agency collaborations, State legislation impacts, etc.), 
but analysis demonstrates that the COVID-19 pandemic stagnated the work 
to some extent. The 2019-20 Statistics in Brief and accompanying data 
file (anticipated May 2023 publication release) indicate very little 
change in results over the two-year period, indicating that shifting to 
an every-other-year collection would allow for more timely releases of 
data, with no adverse effect on the integrity of the information.

    Dated: May 18, 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. 2023-10943 Filed 5-22-23; 8:45 am]
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