[Federal Register Volume 88, Number 118 (Wednesday, June 21, 2023)]
[Notices]
[Pages 40231-40232]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2023-13180]


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DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION

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


Agency Information Collection Activities; Submission to the 
Office of Management and Budget for Review and Approval; 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 
July 21, 2023.

ADDRESSES: Written comments and recommendations for proposed 
information collection requests should be submitted within 30 days of 
publication of this notice. Click on this link www.reginfo.gov/public/do/PRAMain to access the site. 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 Carrie Clarady, 202-245-6347.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 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: 53,955.
    Total Estimated Number of Annual Burden Hours: 10,175.
    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

[[Page 40232]]

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.
    The initial proposal for the next SPP study extended the collection 
to also collect data from school districts, but this has been canceled 
due to lack of funding. For the 23-24 school year, the survey may ask 
school 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 school staff experiences. Some new content will be rotated in and 
out monthly.
    As in previous waves, for SPP 2023-24 roughly 8,000 (4,000 in an 
initial sample and 4,000 in a reserve sample) public elementary, 
middle, high, and combined-grade schools will be randomly selected to 
participate in a panel. The goal is national representation from 1,200 
responding schools to report national estimates. School 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. These materials completed a 60-day public comment 
period in June 2023. They are now being published for 30 additional 
days of public comment. Some documents have been revised for the 30-day 
public comment period. Subsequent quarterly content submissions will be 
submitted for 30-day public comment periods.

    Dated: June 15, 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. 2023-13180 Filed 6-20-23; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4000-01-P