Privacy Act of 1974; System of Records: National Title I Study of Implementation and Outcomes; Early Childhood Language Development, 66906-66909 [2013-26748]

Agencies

• DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION

[Federal Register Volume 78, Number 216 (Thursday, November 7, 2013)]
[Notices]
[Pages 66906-66909]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2013-26748]


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DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION


Privacy Act of 1974; System of Records: National Title I Study of 
Implementation and Outcomes; Early Childhood Language Development

AGENCY: Institute of Education Sciences, Department of Education.

ACTION: Notice of a new system of records.

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[[Page 66907]]

SUMMARY: In accordance with the Privacy Act of 1974, as amended 
(Privacy Act), the Department of Education (Department) publishes this 
notice of a new system of records entitled ``National Title I Study of 
Implementation and Outcomes: Early Childhood Language Development'' 
(18-13-28). The National Center for Education Evaluation and Regional 
Assistance at the Department's Institute of Education Sciences (IES) 
awarded a contract in September 2009 to Mathematica Policy Research to 
conduct the Title I study.
    The system of records will contain information on approximately 
1,000 teachers, 5,000 students, and 5,000 parents from 100 Title I 
schools with prekindergarten programs in 11 school districts.

DATES: We must receive your comments on the system of records in this 
notice on or before December 9, 2013.
    The Department filed a report describing the new system of records 
covered by this notice with the Chair of the Senate Committee on 
Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs, the Chair of the House 
Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, and the Administrator of 
the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs, Office of Management 
and Budget (OMB) on October 23, 2013. This system of records will 
become effective at the later date of: (1) The expiration of the 40-day 
period for OMB review on December 2, 2013, unless OMB waives 10 days of 
the 40-day review period for compelling reasons shown by the 
Department, or (2) December 9, 2013, unless the system of records needs 
to be changed as a result of public comment or OMB review. The 
Department will publish any changes to the system of records or routine 
uses that result from public comment or OMB review.

ADDRESSES: Address all comments about the proposed system of records to 
Dr. Audrey Pendleton, Associate Commissioner, Evaluation Division, 
National Center for Education Evaluation and Regional Assistance, 
Institute of Education Sciences, U.S. Department of Education, 555 New 
Jersey Avenue NW., Room 502D, Washington, DC 20208-0001. Telephone: 
(202) 208-7078. If you prefer to send your comments through the 
Internet, use the following address: comments@ed.gov.
    You must include the term ``National Title I Study of 
Implementation and Outcomes: Early Childhood Language Development'' in 
the subject line of the electronic message.
    During and after the comment period, you may inspect all public 
comments about this notice at the U.S. Department of Education in Room 
502D, 555 New Jersey Avenue NW., Washington, DC, between the hours of 
8:00 a.m. and 4:30 p.m., Washington DC time, Monday through Friday of 
each week except Federal holidays.

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: Dr. Audrey Pendleton. Telephone: (202) 
208-7078. If you use a telecommunications device for the deaf (TDD) or 
a text telephone (TTY), you may call the Federal Relay Service (FRS), 
toll free, at 1-800-877-8339.
    Individuals with disabilities can obtain this document in an 
accessible format (e.g., braille, large print, audiotape, or compact 
disc) on request to the contact person listed in this section.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Privacy Act (5 U.S.C. 552a) requires the 
Department to publish in the Federal Register this notice of a new 
system of records (5 U.S.C. 552a(e)(4) and (e)(11)). The Department's 
regulations implementing the Privacy Act are contained in part 5b of 
title 34 of the Code of Federal Regulations (CFR).
    The Privacy Act applies to records about individuals that contain 
individually identifying information that are retrieved by a unique 
identifier associated with each individual, such as a name or social 
security number. The information about each individual is called a 
``record,'' and the system, whether manual or computer-based, is called 
a ``system of records.''
    The Privacy Act requires the Department to publish a system of 
records notice in the Federal Register and to prepare and send a report 
to OMB whenever the Department publishes a new system of records or 
makes a significant change to an established system of records. The 
Department is also required to submit reports to the Administrator of 
the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs at OMB, the Chair of 
the Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs, and 
the Chair of the House of Representatives Committee on Oversight and 
Government Reform. These reports are intended to permit an evaluation 
of the probable effect of the proposal on the privacy rights of 
individuals.
    Electronic Access to This Document: The official version of this 
document is the document published in the Federal Register. Free 
Internet access to the official edition of the Federal Register and the 
Code of Federal Regulations is available via the Federal Digital System 
at: www.gpo.gov/fdsys. 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 Adobe 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.

    Dated: October 23, 2013.
John Q. Easton,
Director, Institute of Education Sciences.
    For the reasons discussed in the preamble, the Director of the 
Institute of Education Sciences, U.S. Department of Education, 
publishes a notice of a new system of records to read as follows:
18-13-28

SYSTEM NAME:
    National Title I Study of Implementation and Outcomes: Early 
Childhood Language Development.

SECURITY CLASSIFICATION:
    None.

SYSTEM LOCATIONS:
    (1) Evaluation Division, National Center for Education Evaluation 
and Regional Assistance, Institute of Education Sciences (IES), U.S. 
Department of Education, 555 New Jersey Avenue NW., Room 502D, 
Washington, DC 20208-0001.
    (2) Mathematica Policy Research, Inc., 600 Alexander Park, Suite 
100, Princeton, NJ 08540 (contractor).

CATEGORIES OF INDIVIDUALS COVERED BY THE SYSTEM:
    The system will contain information on approximately 1,000 
teachers, 5,000 students, and 5,000 parents from 100 Title I schools 
with prekindergarten programs in 11 school districts.

[[Page 66908]]

CATEGORIES OF RECORDS IN THE SYSTEM:
    The system of records will include personally identifying 
information about the sampled students in participating schools, 
including name; demographic information such as race, ethnicity, 
gender, and age; information on attendance; receipt of special 
education services; grade repetition; and scores on reading and 
language assessments. The system of records will also include 
personally identifying information about the parents of participating 
students, including names. The system of records will also include 
personally identifying information about the teachers participating in 
the evaluation, including name; demographic information, such as race, 
ethnicity, and gender; educational background; and teaching experience.

AUTHORITY FOR MAINTENANCE OF THE SYSTEM:
    The evaluation is authorized under sections 171(b) and 173 of the 
Education Sciences Reform Act of 2002 (ESRA) (20 U.S.C. 9561(b) and 
9563), and section 1501 of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act 
(ESEA), as reauthorized by the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 (20 
U.S.C. 6491). The grant programs that are the subject of this 
evaluation are authorized under sections 1111-1127 of Part A of Title I 
of the ESEA (20 U.S.C. 6311-6339).

PURPOSE(S):
    The information contained in the records maintained in this system 
is used for the following purpose:
    To identify and describe school supports and instructional 
practices associated with improved language development, background 
knowledge, and comprehension outcomes for children in prekindergarten 
through third grade. The study will address the following research 
questions:
    (1) What practices do Title I schools use to support children's 
language development, background knowledge, and comprehension in 
prekindergarten through 3rd grade?
    (2) What classroom instructional practices do teachers in Title I 
schools use to support children's language development, background 
knowledge, and comprehension in prekindergarten through 3rd grade?
    (3) How do students' language skills, background knowledge, and 
comprehension develop in Title I schools between prekindergarten and 
3rd grade?
    (4) What school supports and classroom practices are associated 
with children's development of language skills, background knowledge, 
and comprehension in prekindergarten through 3rd grade in Title I 
schools?

ROUTINE USES OF RECORDS MAINTAINED IN THE SYSTEM, INCLUDING CATEGORIES 
OF USERS AND THE PURPOSES OF SUCH USES:
    The Department of Education (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), 
under a computer matching agreement. Any disclosure of individually 
identifiable information from a record in this system must also comply 
with the requirements of section 183 of the ESRA (20 U.S.C. 9573) 
providing for confidentiality standards that apply to all collections, 
reporting, and publication of data by IES.
    (1) Research Disclosure. The Director of IES may disclose 
information from this system of records to qualified researchers solely 
for the purpose of carrying out specific research that is compatible 
with the purpose of this system of records. The researcher shall be 
required to maintain safeguards with respect to such records under the 
Privacy Act and the ESRA. When personally identifiable information from 
a student's education record, which is protected pursuant to the Family 
Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA), 20 U.S.C. 1232g, will be 
disclosed to the researcher, the researcher also must comply with the 
requirements in the applicable FERPA exception to consent.
    (2) Contract Disclosure. If the Department contracts with an entity 
to perform any function that requires disclosing records in this system 
to the contractor's employees, the Department may disclose the records 
to those employees who have received the appropriate level of security 
clearance from the Department. Before entering into such a contract, 
the Department will require the contractor to establish and maintain 
the safeguards required under the Privacy Act (5 U.S.C. 552a(m)) with 
respect to the records in the system.

DISCLOSURE TO CONSUMER REPORTING AGENCIES:
    None.

POLICIES AND PRACTICES FOR STORING, RETRIEVING, ACCESSING, RETAINING, 
AND DISPOSING OF RECORDS IN THE SYSTEM:
STORAGE:
    The Department maintains records on CD-ROM, and the contractor 
(Mathematica Policy Research, Inc.) maintains data for this system on 
computers and in hard copy.

RETRIEVABILITY:
    Records in this system are indexed and retrieved by a number 
assigned to each individual that is cross-referenced by the 
individual's name on a separate list.

SAFEGUARDS:
    All physical access to the Department's site and to the sites of 
the Department's contractor, where this system of records is 
maintained, is controlled and monitored by security personnel. The 
computer system employed by the Department offers a high degree of 
resistance to tampering and circumvention. This security system limits 
data access to Department and contract staff on a need-to-know basis, 
and controls individual users' ability to access and alter records 
within the system. The contractor will establish a similar set of 
procedures at its site to ensure confidentiality of data. The 
contractor is required to ensure that information identifying 
individuals is in files physically separated from other research data. 
The contractor will maintain security of the complete set of all master 
data files and documentation. Access to individually identifying data 
will be strictly controlled. All data will be kept in locked file 
cabinets during nonworking hours, and work on hardcopy data will take 
place in a single room, except for data entry. Physical security of 
electronic data will also be maintained. Security features that protect 
project data include: Password-protected accounts that authorize users 
to use the contractor's systems but to access only specific network 
directories and network software; user rights and directory and file 
attributes that limit those who can use particular directories and 
files and determine how they can use them; and additional security 
features that the network administrators will establish for projects as 
needed. The contractor's employees who ``maintain'' (collect, maintain, 
use, or disseminate) data in this system shall comply with the 
requirements of the confidentiality standards in section 183 of the 
ESRA (20 U.S.C. 9573).

RETENTION AND DISPOSAL:
    Records are maintained and disposed of in accordance with the 
Department's

[[Page 66909]]

Records Disposition Schedules ED 068.a (NARA Job Number: N1-441-08-18).

SYSTEM MANAGER AND ADDRESS:
    Associate Commissioner, Evaluation Division, National Center for 
Education Evaluation and Regional Assistance, Institute of Education 
Sciences, U.S. Department of Education, 555 New Jersey Avenue NW., Room 
502D, Washington, DC 20208.

NOTIFICATION PROCEDURE:
    If you wish to determine whether a record exists regarding you in 
the system of records, contact the systems manager. Your request must 
meet the requirements of regulations at 34 CFR 5b.5, including proof of 
identity.

RECORD ACCESS PROCEDURE:
    If you wish to gain access to your record in the system of records, 
contact the system manager. Your request must meet the requirements of 
regulations at 34 CFR 5b.5, including proof of identity.

CONTESTING RECORD PROCEDURE:
    If you wish to contest the content of a record regarding you in the 
system of records, contact the system manager. Your request must meet 
the requirements of the regulations at 34 CFR 5b.7, including proof of 
identity.

RECORD SOURCE CATEGORIES:
    This system contains records on parents, teachers, and students 
participating in a study of early childhood language development in 
Title I schools. Data will be obtained from assessments administered to 
students and surveys of teachers.

EXEMPTIONS CLAIMED FOR THE SYSTEM:
    None.

[FR Doc. 2013-26748 Filed 11-6-13; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4000-01-P