[Federal Register Volume 88, Number 166 (Tuesday, August 29, 2023)]
[Notices]
[Pages 59514-59515]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2023-18538]


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DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION

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


Agency Information Collection Activities; Submission to the 
Office of Management and Budget for Review and Approval; Comment 
Request; Statewide Longitudinal Data System (SLDS) Survey 2023-2025

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 revision of a currently approved 
information collection request (ICR).

DATES: Interested persons are invited to submit comments on or before 
September 28, 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: 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

[[Page 59515]]

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: August 23, 2023.
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. 2023-18538 Filed 8-28-23; 8:45 am]
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