[Federal Register Volume 89, Number 84 (Tuesday, April 30, 2024)]
[Notices]
[Pages 34223-34224]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2024-09312]


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DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION

[Docket No.: ED-2023-SCC-0063]


Agency Information Collection Activities; Submission to the 
Office of Management and Budget for Review and Approval; Comment 
Request; Early Childhood Longitudinal Study, Kindergarten Class of 
2023-24 (ECLS-K:2024) April 2024 Materials Revision Request

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 
May 30, 2024.

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

[[Page 34224]]

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: Early Childhood Longitudinal Study, 
Kindergarten Class of 2023-24 (ECLS-K:2024) April 2024 Materials 
Revision Request.
    OMB Control Number: 1850-0750.
    Type of Review: A revision of a currently approved ICR.
    Respondents/Affected Public: Individuals and Households.
    Total Estimated Number of Annual Responses: 157,586.
    Total Estimated Number of Annual Burden Hours: 84,093.
    Abstract: The Early Childhood Longitudinal Study (ECLS) program, 
conducted by the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) within 
the Institute of Education Sciences (IES) of the U.S. Department of 
Education (ED), draws together information from multiple sources to 
provide rich, descriptive data on child development, early learning, 
and school progress. The ECLS program studies deliver national data on 
children's status at birth and at various points thereafter; children's 
transitions to nonparental care, early care and education programs, and 
school; and children's experiences and growth through the elementary 
grades. The Early Childhood Longitudinal Study, Kindergarten Class of 
2023-24 (ECLS-K:2024) is the fourth cohort in the series of early 
childhood longitudinal studies. The study will advance research in 
child development and early learning by providing a detailed and 
comprehensive source of current information on children's early 
learning and development, transitions into kindergarten and beyond, and 
progress through school. The ECLS-K:2024 will provide data about the 
population of children who will be kindergartners in the 2023-24 school 
year. The ECLS-K:2024 will focus on children's early school experiences 
continuing through the fifth grade, and will include collection of data 
from children, parents, teachers, and school administrators.
    The request to conduct the first three national data collection 
rounds for the ECLS-K:2024 was approved in April 2023 (OMB# 1850-0750 
v.26). Revisions to procedures and materials for the first two rounds 
of data collection were approved in subsequent revisions (OMB# 1850-
0750 v.27-29). The ECLS-K:2024 fall kindergarten data collection was 
conducted August 2023 to January 2024. It will be followed by the 
spring (March-July 2024) kindergarten round, and the spring (March-July 
2025) first-grade round. Each of these rounds of data collection will 
involve advance school contacts, for example to conduct student 
sampling activities, collect teacher and school information, and locate 
families whose children may have moved schools. Future OMB packages are 
planned for the third-and fifth-grade field test (to be conducted in 
March-July 2026), as well as for all future currently-planned rounds.
    This current revision request (accompanied by 30 days of public 
comment) is to update study respondent materials, web surveys, and 
website designs that will be used in the spring 2025 first-grade data 
collection activities. Many of the revisions in this package were made 
based on analyses of the fall 2022 field test data (OMB# 1850-0750 
v.25), as well as additional discussions with design experts. Other 
changes occurred after further discussion on operational procedures. An 
additional revision request will be submitted to OMB in August 2024 for 
revisions to the spring first-grade materials as the surveys and study 
website move into programming. Additionally, this August 2024 revision 
request will address the new federal statistical standard for race/
ethnicity items (Statistical Policy Directive No. 15: Standards for 
Maintaining, Collecting, and Presenting Federal Data on Race and 
Ethnicity (SPD 15)). NCES is at work on its action plan for compliance 
with the new SPD15 standards, and early discussions suggest that 
implementation of these standards will be particularly complex and 
delicate in data collections where race and ethnicity data is reported 
both by individuals about themselves and also provided by third 
parties. Compliance for ECLS involves revising multiple race/ethnicity 
items e.g., adult self-reports, adult reports of others, school reports 
of the school composition, teacher reports of the classroom 
composition, field staff collection of school reports of sampled 
children.
    The requested changes in this revision request do not affect the 
approved total cost to the federal government for conducting this study 
but do result in a small increase in respondent burden.

    Dated: April 25, 2024.
Juliana Pearson,
PRA Coordinator, Strategic Collections and Clearance, Governance and 
Strategy Division, Office of Chief Data Officer, Office of Planning, 
Evaluation and Policy Development.
[FR Doc. 2024-09312 Filed 4-29-24; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4000-01-P