[Federal Register Volume 88, Number 245 (Friday, December 22, 2023)]
[Notices]
[Pages 88596-88599]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2023-28161]


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DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION

[Docket ID ED-2023-OPE-0164]


Privacy Act of 1974; System of Records

AGENCY: Office of Postsecondary Education, U.S. Department of 
Education.

ACTION: Notice of a modified system of records.

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SUMMARY: In accordance with the Privacy Act of 1974, as amended 
(Privacy Act), the U.S Department of Education (Department) publishes 
this notice of a modified system of records entitled and numbered 
``Fulbright-Hays--Doctoral Dissertation Research Abroad (DDRA), Faculty 
Research Abroad (FRA), and Seminars Abroad (SA)'' (18-12-02), which was 
formerly entitled and numbered ``Fulbright-Hays--Doctoral Dissertation 
Research Abroad (DDRA) and Seminars Abroad (SA)'' (18-12-02). The 
information contained in this system is used to determine applicants' 
qualifications, eligibility, suitability, and feasibility to receive a 
fellowship under the DDRA, FRA, and SA programs; to award benefits for 
overseas research; to monitor the progress of the projects funded under 
these programs, including their accomplishments; and, to demonstrate 
the programs' effectiveness. This system of records notice is being 
modified to cover the FRA program records. In fiscal year 2011, funding 
for the Department's International and Foreign Language Education 
(IFLE) office, which administers the Fulbright-Hays programs, was cut 
significantly, and the FRA program was discontinued as a result. The 
Department therefore removed the FRA program from this system of 
records notice. Recently, funding for IFLE has increased. As such, IFLE 
now wishes to reinstate the FRA program, and it is therefore necessary 
for the Department to modify this system of records notice to again 
cover FRA program records.

DATES: Submit your comments on this modified system of records notice 
on or before January 22, 2024.
    This modified system of records notice will become applicable upon 
publication in the Federal Register on December 22, 2023, except for 
new and modified routine uses (3), (11), and (15) that are outlined in 
the section entitled ``ROUTINE USES OF RECORDS MAINTAINED IN THE 
SYSTEM, INCLUDING CATEGORIES OF USERS AND PURPOSES OF SUCH USES,'' 
which will be applicable on January 22, 2024, unless they need to be 
changed as a result of public comment. The Department will publish any 
changes to the modified system of records notice resulting from public 
comment.

ADDRESSES: Comments must be submitted via the Federal eRulemaking 
Portal at regulations.gov. However, if you require an accommodation or 
cannot otherwise submit your comments via regulations.gov, please 
contact the program contact person listed under FOR FURTHER INFORMATION 
CONTACT. The Department will not accept comments after the comment 
period closes. To ensure that the Department does not receive duplicate 
copies, please submit your comments only once. In addition, please 
include the Docket ID at the top of your comments.
     Federal eRulemaking Portal: Go to www.regulations.gov to 
submit your comments electronically. Information on using 
Regulations.gov, including instructions for accessing agency documents, 
submitting comments, and viewing the docket, is available on the site 
under the ``FAQ'' tab.
    Privacy Note: The Department's policy is to make all comments 
received from members of the public available for public viewing in 
their entirety on the Federal eRulemaking Portal at 
www.regulations.gov. Therefore, commenters should be careful to include 
in their comments only information that they wish to make publicly 
available.
    Assistance to Individuals with Disabilities in Reviewing the 
Rulemaking Record: On request, we will provide an appropriate 
accommodation or auxiliary aid to an individual with a disability who 
needs assistance to review the comments or other documents in the 
public rulemaking record for this notice. If you want to schedule an 
appointment for this type of accommodation or auxiliary aid, please 
contact the person listed under FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Amy Marrion, International and Foreign 
Language Education, Office of Postsecondary Education. Telephone: (202) 
987-1083. Email: [email protected].
    If you are deaf, hard of hearing, or have a speech disability and 
wish to access telecommunications relay services, please dial 7-1-1.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: In accordance with the Privacy Act, the 
Department is modifying the system of records entitled and numbered 
``Fulbright-Hays--Doctoral Dissertation Research Abroad (DDRA), Faculty 
Research Abroad (FRA), and Seminars Abroad (SA)'' (18-12-02), which was 
formerly entitled and numbered ``Fulbright-Hays--Doctoral Dissertation 
Research Abroad (DDRA) and Seminars Abroad (SA)'' (18-12-02) when the 
system of records notice was last published in full in the Federal 
Register on August 13, 2019 (84 FR 40033).
    The Department is modifying the section entitled ``SYSTEM NAME AND 
NUMBER'' to include ``Faculty Research Abroad (FRA)'' in the system 
name.
    The Department is modifying the section entitled ``SYSTEM 
LOCATION'' to remove the name and location of AppNet.
    The Department is modifying the section entitled ``SYSTEM 
MANAGER(S)'' to replace the name of the system manager with the title 
of the system manager and to make minor updates to the contact 
information of the system manager within the Office of Postsecondary 
Education.
    The Department is modifying the section entitled ``CATEGORIES OF 
RECORDS IN THE SYSTEM'' to cover FRA, including information about 
individual fellowship applications, performance reports, overseas 
travel requests, and grant activation requests.
    The Department is modifying the section entitled ``ROUTINE USES OF 
RECORDS MAINTAINED IN THE SYSTEM, INCLUDING CATEGORIES OF USERS AND 
PURPOSES OF SUCH USES'' as follows:
    (i) Routine use (3) is being modified to clarify that it applies to 
``judicial or administrative'' litigation, rather than just 
``litigation,'' in order to make the routine use more specific and 
clearer;
    (ii) Routine use (11) is being modified to clarify that the 
Department may disclose the records of an individual to a Member of 
Congress or their staff when necessary to respond to an inquiry from 
the Member and that the Member's

[[Page 88597]]

request must be made not only at the written request of, but also on 
behalf of, the individual whose records are being disclosed; and
    (iii) Newly numbered routine use (15) entitled ``Disclosure to the 
National Archives and Records Administration (NARA)'' is being added to 
permit disclosures to NARA for the purpose of records management 
inspections conducted under the authority of 44 U.S.C. 2904 and 2906.
    The Department is modifying the section entitled ``POLICIES AND 
PRACTICES FOR STORAGE OF RECORDS'' to remove the reference to hard copy 
records, and to identify the electronic system that houses IFLE fellow 
award records.
    The Department is modifying the section entitled ``POLICIES AND 
PRACTICES FOR RETRIEVAL OF RECORDS'' to delete and replace ``[h]ardcopy 
and electronic files'' with ``records.''
    The Department is modifying the section entitled ``ADMINISTRATIVE, 
TECHNICAL, AND PHYSICAL SAFEGUARDS'' to remove all references to AppNet 
and hard copy files, and replace with language referencing electronic 
program files in the G5 and the International Resource Information 
System (IRIS) systems; and include the Federal Information Security 
Management Act of 2002 (FISMA), as amended by the Federal Information 
Security Modernization Act of 2014, requirements of a signed 
Authorization to Operate (ATO) and its assessment of security controls.
    Accessible Format: On request to the program contact person listed 
under FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT, individuals with disabilities 
can obtain this document in an accessible format. The Department will 
provide the requestor with an accessible format that may include Rich 
Text Format (RTF) or text format (txt), a thumb drive, an MP3 file, 
braille, large print, audiotape, or compact disc, or other accessible 
format.
    Electronic Access to This Document: The official version of this 
document is the document published in the Federal Register. You may 
access the official edition of the Federal Register and the Code of 
Federal Regulations at www.govinfo.gov. At this site you can view this 
document, as well as all other documents of this Department published 
in the Federal Register, in text or Portable Document Format (PDF). To 
use PDF, you must have Adobe Acrobat Reader, which is available free at 
the site.
    You may also access documents of the Department published in the 
Federal Register by using the article search feature at 
www.federalregister.gov. Specifically, through the advanced search 
feature at this site, you can limit your search to documents published 
by the Department.

Nasser Paydar,
Assistant Secretary, Office for Postsecondary Education.

    For the reasons discussed in the preamble, the Assistant Secretary 
for Postsecondary Education of the U.S. Department of Education 
(Department), publishes a notice of a modified system of records to 
read as follows:

SYSTEM NAME AND NUMBER:
    Fulbright-Hays-Doctoral Dissertation Research Abroad (DDRA), 
Faculty Research Abroad (FRA), and Seminars Abroad (SA) (18-12-02).

SECURITY CLASSIFICATION:
    Unclassified.

SYSTEM LOCATION:
    International and Foreign Language Education (IFLE), Office of 
Postsecondary Education, U.S. Department of Education, 400 Maryland 
Avenue SW, Washington, DC 20202-6110.

SYSTEM MANAGER(S):
    Program Officer, Fulbright-Hays Programs, International and Foreign 
Language Education (IFLE), Office of Postsecondary Education, U.S. 
Department of Education, 400 Maryland Avenue SW, Washington, DC 20202-
6110.

AUTHORITY FOR MAINTENANCE OF THE SYSTEM:
    The Mutual Educational and Cultural Exchange Act of 1961, as 
amended (22 U.S.C. 2451-2458).

PURPOSE(S) OF THE SYSTEM:
    The information contained in this system is used for the following 
purposes: (1) to determine an applicant's qualifications, eligibility, 
suitability, and feasibility to receive a fellowship under the DDRA, 
FRA, and SA programs; (2) to award benefits for overseas research; (3) 
to monitor the progress of the projects funded under these programs, 
including their accomplishments; and (4) to demonstrate these programs' 
effectiveness.

CATEGORIES OF INDIVIDUALS COVERED BY THE SYSTEM:
    This system contains records on teachers, prospective teachers, or 
doctoral candidates who apply for or are selected to be recipients for 
Fulbright-Hays awards to enable them to engage in foreign language and 
area studies projects overseas.

CATEGORIES OF RECORDS IN THE SYSTEM:
    The system of records consists of a variety of records relating to 
an individual's application for, and participation in, the Fulbright-
Hays DDRA, FRA, or SA programs. In addition to the individual's name, 
the system contains the individual's address, telephone number, email 
address, educational institution, date and place of birth, citizenship, 
veteran status, accompanying dependents' names, previous overseas 
travel, educational and employment background, student loan default 
status, health statement, transcripts, references, project description 
and project cost based on either the cost of living in the host country 
or the annualized salary of a faculty member, field reader and U.S. 
Embassy comments, award documents, individual fellowship applications, 
overseas travel requests, grant activation requests and final 
individual fellowship project reports.

RECORD SOURCE CATEGORIES:
    Information is obtained from the individual on approved application 
forms and from field readers and may be secured from the U.S. 
Department of State, U.S. embassies, binational commissions, the J. 
William Fulbright Foreign Scholarship Board, and foreign educators and 
officials. Information in this system also may be obtained from other 
persons or entities from which data is obtained under routine uses set 
forth below.

ROUTINE USES OF RECORDS MAINTAINED IN THE SYSTEM, INCLUDING CATEGORIES 
OF USERS AND PURPOSES OF SUCH USES:
    The Department may disclose information contained in a record in 
this system of records under the routine uses listed in this system of 
records without the consent of the individual if the disclosure is 
compatible with the purposes for which the record was collected. These 
disclosures may be made on a case-by-case basis or, if the Department 
has complied with the computer matching requirements of the Privacy Act 
of 1974, as amended (Privacy Act) (5 U.S.C. 552a), under a computer 
matching agreement (CMA).
    (1) Program Disclosure. The Department may disclose information to 
field readers, the U.S. Department of State, U.S. embassies, binational 
commissions, the J. William Fulbright Foreign Scholarship Board, or to 
foreign educators or officials so that the information can be used to 
determine the qualifications, eligibility, suitability, feasibility, 
and award benefits for overseas research.

[[Page 88598]]

    (2) Enforcement Disclosure. If information in this system of 
records, either alone or in connection with other information, 
indicates a violation or potential violation of any applicable 
statutory, regulatory, or legally binding requirement, the Department 
may disclose records to an entity charged with investigating or 
prosecuting those violations or potential violations.
    (3) Litigation and Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) Disclosure.
    (a) Introduction. In the event that one of the parties listed below 
is involved in judicial or administrative litigation or ADR, or has an 
interest in such litigation or ADR, the Department may disclose certain 
records to the parties described in paragraphs (b), (c) and (d) of this 
routine use under the conditions specified in those paragraphs:
    (i) The Department, or any of its components;
    (ii) Any Department employee in their official capacity;
    (iii) Any Department employee in their individual capacity where 
the Department of Justice (DOJ) agrees to or has been requested to 
provide or arrange for representation for the employee;
    (iv) Any Department employee in their individual capacity where the 
agency has agreed to represent the employee;
    (v) The United States, where the Department determines that the 
litigation is likely to affect the Department or any of its components.
    (b) Disclosure to the DOJ. If the Department determines that 
disclosure of certain records to the DOJ is relevant and necessary to 
the judicial or administrative litigation or ADR, the Department may 
disclose those records as a routine use to the DOJ.
    (c) Adjudicative Disclosure. If the Department determines that 
disclosure of certain records to an adjudicative body before which the 
Department is authorized to appear, or to a person or entity designated 
by the Department or otherwise empowered to resolve or mediate 
disputes, is relevant and necessary to the judicial or administrative 
litigation or ADR, the Department may disclose those records as a 
routine use to the adjudicative body, individual, or entity.
    (d) Disclosure to Parties, Counsels, Representatives, and 
Witnesses. If the Department determines that disclosure of certain 
records is relevant and necessary to the judicial or administrative 
litigation or ADR, the Department may disclose those records as a 
routine use to the party, counsel, representative, or witness.
    (4) Employment, Benefit, and Contracting Disclosure.
    (a) For Decisions by the Department. The Department may disclose a 
record to a Federal, State, or local agency maintaining civil, 
criminal, or other relevant enforcement or other pertinent records, or 
to another public authority or professional organization, if necessary 
to obtain information relevant to a Department decision concerning the 
hiring or retention of an employee or other personnel action, the 
issuance of a security clearance, the letting of a contract, or the 
issuance of a license, grant, or other benefit.
    (b) For Decisions by Other Public Agencies and Professional 
Organizations. The Department may disclose a record to a Federal, 
State, local, or foreign agency, or other public authority or 
professional organization, in connection with the hiring or retention 
of an employee or other personnel action, the issuance of a security 
clearance, the reporting of an investigation of an employee, the 
letting of a contract, or the issuance of a license, grant, or other 
benefit, to the extent that the record is relevant and necessary to the 
receiving entity's decision on the matter.
    (5) Employee Grievance, Complaint or Conduct Disclosure. If a 
record is relevant and necessary to an employee grievance, complaint, 
or disciplinary action involving a present or former employee of the 
Department, the Department may disclose a record in this system of 
records in the course of investigation, fact-finding, or adjudication, 
to any party to the grievance, complaint, or action; to the party's 
counsel or representative; to a witness; or, to a designated fact-
finder, mediator, or other person designated to resolve issues or 
decide the matter.
    (6) Labor Organization Disclosure. The Department may disclose a 
record from this system of records to an arbitrator to resolve disputes 
under a negotiated grievance procedure or to officials of a labor 
organization recognized under 5 U.S.C. chapter 71 when relevant and 
necessary to their duties of exclusive representation.
    (7) Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) or Privacy Act Advice 
Disclosure. The Department may disclose records to the DOJ or to the 
Office of Management and Budget (OMB) if the Department determines that 
disclosure is desirable or necessary in determining whether particular 
records are required to be disclosed under the FOIA or the Privacy Act.
    (8) Disclosure to the DOJ. The Department may disclose records to 
the DOJ to the extent necessary for obtaining DOJ advice on any matter 
relevant to an audit, inspection, or other inquiry related to the 
programs covered by this system.
    (9) Contract Disclosure. If the Department contracts with an entity 
for the purposes of performing any function that requires disclosure of 
records in this system to employees of the contractor, the Department 
may disclose the records to those employees. As part of such a 
contract, the Department will require the contractor to agree to 
establish and maintain safeguards to protect the security and 
confidentiality of the disclosed records.
    (10) Research Disclosure. The Department may disclose records to a 
researcher if the Department determines that the individual or 
organization to which the disclosure would be made is qualified to 
carry out specific research related to functions or purposes of this 
system of records. The Department may disclose records from this system 
of records to that researcher solely for the purpose of carrying out 
that research related to the functions or purposes of this system of 
records. The researcher shall be required to agree to establish and 
maintain safeguards to protect the security and confidentiality of the 
disclosed records.
    (11) Congressional Member Disclosure. The Department may disclose 
the records of an individual to a Member of Congress or the Member's 
staff when necessary to respond to an inquiry from the Member made at 
the written request of that individual and on behalf of that 
individual. The Member's right to the information is no greater than 
the right of the individual who requested it.
    (12) Disclosure to OMB and the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) 
for Federal Credit Reform Act (CRA) Support. The Department may 
disclose records to OMB and CBO as necessary to fulfill CRA 
requirements in accordance with 2 U.S.C. 661b.
    (13) Disclosure in the Course of Responding to Breach of Data. The 
Department may disclose records from this system to appropriate 
agencies, entities, and persons when (a) the Department suspects or has 
confirmed that there has been a breach of the system of records; (b) 
the Department has determined that as a result of the suspected or 
confirmed breach there is a risk of harm to individuals, the Department 
(including its information systems, programs, and operations), the 
Federal Government, or national security; and (c) the disclosure made 
to such agencies, entities, and persons is reasonably necessary to 
assist in connection with the Department's efforts to respond to the 
suspected or

[[Page 88599]]

confirmed breach or to prevent, minimize, or remedy such harm.
    (14) Disclosure in Assisting another Agency in Responding to a 
Breach of Data. The Department may disclose records from this system to 
another Federal agency or Federal entity, when the Department 
determines that information from this system of records is reasonably 
necessary to assist the recipient agency or entity in (a) responding to 
a suspected or confirmed breach or (b) preventing, minimizing, or 
remedying the risk of harm to individuals, the recipient agency or 
entity (including its information systems, programs, and operations), 
the Federal Government, or national security, resulting from a 
suspected or confirmed breach.
    (15) Disclosure to the National Archives and Records Administration 
(NARA). The Department may disclose records from this system of records 
to NARA for the purpose of records management inspections conducted 
under authority of 44 U.S.C. 2904 and 2906.

POLICIES AND PRACTICES FOR STORAGE OF RECORDS:
    The performance reporting records are stored in IRIS, IFLE's online 
annual performance reporting system, and are accessible to individual 
participants, participants' institutions, and Department personnel.

POLICIES AND PRACTICES FOR RETRIEVAL OF RECORDS:
    Records are retrieved by individual names, award number, and name 
of educational institution.

POLICIES AND PRACTICES FOR RETENTION AND DISPOSAL OF RECORDS:
    All records are retained and disposed of in accordance with General 
Records Schedule 1.2: Grant and Cooperative Agreement Records (GRS 
1.2), Items 020 and 021. Records of successful applications are 
destroyed, in accordance with GRS 1.2, Item 020, 10 years after final 
action is taken on the applicant's case file, but longer retention is 
authorized if required for business use. Records of unsuccessful 
applications are destroyed, in accordance with GRS 1.2, Item 021, 3 
years after final action is taken on the applicant's case file, but 
longer retention is authorized if required for business use.

ADMINISTRATIVE, TECHNICAL AND PHYSICAL SAFEGUARDS:
    Grantee applications and financial records are stored in the 
Department's G5 system, which is covered by the system of records 
notice entitled ``Education's Central Automated Processing System 
(EDCAPS)'' (18-04-04) that was last modified and published in full in 
the Federal Register on December 24, 2015 (80 FR 80331-80339). All 
individual fellow performance report files are stored in IFLE's IRIS 
system. In IRIS, fellowship files are accessible to grantee 
institutions that distribute funds to the fellows, fellows, and IFLE 
program staff through the use of usernames and passwords. In accordance 
with the Federal Information Security Management Act of 2002 (FISMA), 
as amended by the Federal Information Security Modernization Act of 
2014, every Department system must receive a signed Authorization to 
Operate (ATO) from a designated Department official. The ATO process 
includes a rigorous assessment of security and privacy controls, a plan 
of actions and milestones to remediate any identified deficiencies, and 
a continuous monitoring program.
    FISMA controls implemented are comprised of a combination of 
management, operational, and technical controls, and include the 
following control families: access control, awareness and training, 
audit and accountability, security assessment and authorization, 
configuration management, contingency planning, identification and 
authentication, incident response, maintenance, media protection, 
physical and environmental protection, planning, personnel security, 
privacy, risk assessment, system and services acquisition, system and 
communications protection, system and information integrity, and 
program management.

RECORD ACCESS PROCEDURES:
    If you wish to gain access to records regarding you in this system 
of records, contact the system manager at the address listed above. 
Requests must contain the necessary particulars, such as your full 
name, date of birth, the year of the award, the name of the grantee 
institution, major country in which you conducted your educational 
activity, and any other identifying information requested by the 
Department while processing the request in order to distinguish between 
individuals with the same name. Your request must meet the requirements 
of the regulations at 34 CFR 5b.5.

CONTESTING RECORD PROCEDURES:
    If you wish to contest the content of a record regarding you in 
this system of records, contact the system manager at the address 
listed above. Requests should contain your full name, date of birth, 
the year of the award, the name of the grantee institution, major 
country in which you conducted your educational activity, and any other 
identifying information requested by the Department while processing 
the request in order to distinguish between individuals with the same 
name. Your request must meet the requirements of the regulations at 34 
CFR 5b.7.

NOTIFICATION PROCEDURES:
    If you wish to determine whether a record exists regarding you in 
the system of records, contact the system manager at the address listed 
above. Requests must contain the necessary particulars, such as your 
full name, date of birth, the year of the award, the name of the 
grantee institution, major country in which you conducted your 
educational activity, and any other identifying information requested 
by the Department while processing the request in order to distinguish 
between individuals with the same name. Your request must meet the 
requirements of the regulations at 34 CFR 5b.5.

EXEMPTIONS PROMULGATED FOR THE SYSTEM:
    None.

HISTORY:
    The system of records entitled ``Fulbright-Hays--Doctoral 
Dissertation Research Abroad (DDRA), Faculty Research Abroad (FRA), and 
Seminars Abroad (SA)'' (18-12-02), was last modified and published in 
full in the Federal Register on August 13, 2019 (84 FR 40033-40037).

[FR Doc. 2023-28161 Filed 12-21-23; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4000-01-P