Privacy Act of 1974; System of Records, 27587-27591 [2018-12700]
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Federal Register / Vol. 83, No. 114 / Wednesday, June 13, 2018 / Notices
Dated: June 8, 2018.
Johnny W. Collett,
Assistant Secretary for Special Education and
Rehabilitative Services.
[FR Doc. 2018–12718 Filed 6–12–18; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4000–01–P
DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION
[Docket ID ED–2018–FSA–0053]
Privacy Act of 1974; System of
Records
Federal Student Aid,
Department of Education.
ACTION: Notice of a Modified System of
Records.
AGENCY:
In accordance with the
Privacy Act of 1974, as amended
(Privacy Act), the Department of
Education (Department) publishes this
notice of a modified system of records
for the ‘‘Customer Engagement
Management System (CEMS)’’ (18–11–
11) to expand the CEMS system to cover
records that the Department previously
maintained in the Department’s system
of records entitled ‘‘Common Services
for Borrowers (CSB)’’ (18–11–16) to
carry out the responsibilities of the
Department to receive, review, evaluate,
process, and render decisions on the
eligibility of individuals for relief under
the borrower defense regulations and,
where requests for borrower defense to
repayment are successful, to determine
the relief that is appropriate to
borrowers under the circumstances as
well as to initiate appropriate
proceedings to require schools whose
acts or omissions resulted in the
successful defenses against repayment
to pay the Department the amounts of
the loans to which the defenses apply.
This modification also renames the
system of records, which was formerly
entitled the ‘‘Office of the Student Loan
Ombudsman Records.’’ The Department
previously created the system of records
entitled the ‘‘Office of the Student Loan
Ombudsman Records’’ for a number of
purposes related to the duties and
responsibilities of the Ombudsman,
including verifying the identities of
individuals; recording complaints and
comments; tracking individual cases
through final resolution; reporting
trends; analyzing the data to
recommend improvements in the
Student Financial Assistance Programs;
and assisting in the resolution of
disputes.
DATES: Submit your comments on this
modified system of records notice on or
before July 13, 2018.
This modified system of records will
become applicable upon publication in
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SUMMARY:
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the Federal Register on June 13, 2018,
unless the modified system of records
notice needs to be changed as a result
of public comment.
Modified routine uses (1), (3), (5), (7),
and (10) and new routine uses (8) and
(11) listed under ‘‘ROUTINE USES OF
RECORDS MAINTAINED IN THE
SYSTEM, INCLUDING CATEGORIES
OF USERS AND PURPOSES OF SUCH
USES’’ will become applicable on July
13, 2018, unless the modified system of
records notice needs to be changed as a
result of public comment. The
Department will publish any significant
changes resulting from public comment.
ADDRESSES: Submit your comments
through the Federal eRulemaking Portal
or via postal mail, commercial delivery,
or hand delivery. We will not accept
comments submitted by fax or by email
or those submitted after the comment
period. To ensure that we do 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 ‘‘help’’ tab.
• Postal Mail, Commercial Delivery,
or Hand Delivery: If you mail or deliver
your comments about this modified
system of records, address them to:
Ombudsman/Director, Ombudsman
Group, Customer Experience, FSA, U.S.
Department of Education, 830 First
Street NE, 4th Floor/MC–5144, Union
Center Plaza (UCP), Washington, DC
20202–5144.
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.
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FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Joyce DeMoss, Ombudsman/Director,
Ombudsman Group, Customer
Experience, FSA, U.S. Department of
Education, 830 First Street NE, 4th
Floor/MC–5144, Union Center Plaza
(UCP), Washington, DC 20202–5144.
Telephone: (202) 377–3992.
If you use a telecommunications
device for the deaf (TDD) or text
telephone (TTY), you may call the
Federal Information Relay Service
(FIRS) at 1–800–877–8339.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The
Department is renaming the system of
records from the ‘‘Office of the Student
Loan Ombudsman Records’’ to the
‘‘Customer Engagement Management
System (CEMS).’’ The system of records
described in this notice maintains
records on individuals who are, were, or
may be participants in any of the
Student Financial Assistance Programs
authorized under title IV of the Higher
Education Act of 1965, as amended
(HEA) who request assistance, directly
or through a designated third party,
from the Department. The CEMS
maintains the information for a number
of purposes related to the duties and
responsibilities of the Ombudsman and
the FSA Enforcement Office, including:
Verifying the identities of individuals;
recording complaints and comments;
tracking individual cases through final
resolution; reporting trends; analyzing
the data to recommend improvements in
student financial assistance programs;
and assisting in the informal resolution
of disputes. In addition, the system of
records described in this notice
maintains records on individuals who
have asserted defenses to the repayment
of their Federal student loans, also
known as ‘‘borrower defenses,’’
pursuant to the Department’s
regulations at 34 CFR 685.206. These
records are maintained to carry out the
responsibilities of the Department to
receive, review, evaluate, process, and
render decisions on the eligibility of
individuals for relief under the borrower
defense regulations, which may include
the discharge of a William D. Ford
Federal Direct Loan (Direct Loan)
Program loan and further relief as
determined by the Secretary, as well as
the initiation of appropriate proceedings
to require schools whose acts or
omissions resulted in successful
defenses against repayment to pay the
Department the amounts of the loans to
which the defenses apply.
The CEMS consists of a variety of
records that identify individuals’
complaints, requests for assistance, or
other inquiries. Records include, but are
not limited to: Written documentation
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of an individual’s complaint, request for
assistance, or other comment or inquiry;
and information pertaining to a
student’s or parent’s student financial
assistance program account(s) under
title IV of the HEA, such as the
individual’s name, Social Security
number, date of birth, address,
telephone number(s), and FSA ID.
Additionally, records may include the
name, address, and phone numbers of
school(s), lender(s), secondary holder(s)
or lender(s), guaranty agency(ies),
servicer(s), and private collection
agency(ies), if applicable. The system of
records also contains loan level
information, and data submitted by
individuals who have requested relief
from Federal student loan repayment
under the borrower defense to
repayment regulations, as well as data
that may be submitted by schools or
other entities in connection with
individuals’ discharge requests.
The Department is modifying the
section of the notice entitled
‘‘AUTHORITY FOR MAINTENANCE
OF THE SYSTEM’’ to include 20 U.S.C.
1087e(h), which is the Department’s
authority to collect records on
individuals who have requested relief
under the borrower defense regulations.
The Department is modifying the
section of the notice entitled
‘‘PURPOSE(S) OF THE SYSTEM’’ to
include the duties and responsibilities
of FSA to provide relief under the
borrower defense regulations, including
the receipt, review, evaluation, and
processing of requests for relief under
the borrower defense to repayment
regulations, the rendering of decisions
on the merits of such requests, and,
where requests for borrower defense to
repayment are successful, the
determination of the relief that is
appropriate to borrowers under the
circumstances as well as the initiation
of appropriate proceedings to require
schools whose acts or omissions
resulted in the successful defenses
against repayment to pay the
Department the amounts of the loans to
which the defenses apply.
The Department is modifying the
section of the notice entitled
‘‘CATEGORIES OF INDIVIDUALS
COVERED BY THE SYSTEM’’ to
include individuals who request relief
under borrower defense to repayment
regulations from the Department.
The Department is modifying the
section of the notice entitled
‘‘CATEGORIES OF RECORDS IN THE
SYSTEM’’ to include individuals’
requests for relief and related records
under the borrower defense to
repayment regulations and to indicate
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that records may contain other loan
level data.
The Department is modifying the
section of the notice entitled ‘‘RECORD
SOURCE CATEGORIES’’ to include as
record source categories third parties
who provide data to the Department
under the routine uses set forth below.
The Department is also modifying this
section to clarify that in addition to
obtaining information from the
individuals (e.g., borrowers), the
Department also may obtain information
from the individuals’ counsel or
representatives, or from students or
their parents (if the individual is a
borrower and depending on whether the
individual is a parent or student). This
Section also has been revised by adding
that the Department may obtain
information from accreditors in addition
to the sources previously listed, which
were Federal agencies, State agencies,
schools, lenders, private collection
agencies, and guaranty agencies.
The Department is making several
modifications to routine use (1) entitled
‘‘Program Disclosure.’’ First, the
Department is including requests for
relief under the borrower defense
regulations as one of the types of
requests for which the Department may
disclose records and clarifying that the
Department may disclose records where
a request for borrower defense to
repayment is successful in order to
determine the relief that is appropriate
under the circumstances as well as to
initiate the appropriate proceeding to
require the school whose acts or
omissions resulted in the successful
defense against repayment to pay the
Department the amount of the loan to
which the defense applies. Disclosing
records where a request for borrower
defense to repayment is successful in
order to determine the relief that is
appropriate under the circumstances
was previously authorized by ‘‘routine
uses’’ published in the ‘‘Common
Services for Borrowers (CSB)’’ system of
records notice, see 81 FR 60,683–60,691
(Sep. 2, 2016), and the Department is
making this more explicit now. Second,
the Department is revising this routine
use to permit the Department to make
disclosures when further information
‘‘is relevant’’ to, rather than ‘‘is
necessary to,’’ the Department’s
resolution of the complaint, request, or
other inquiry. Third, the Department is
adding accreditors.
The Department is removing former
routine use (2) entitled ‘‘Disclosure for
Use by Other Law Enforcement
Agencies’’ because the Department no
longer intends to disclose any records
under this routine use.
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The Department is modifying routine
use (3) entitled ‘‘Litigation and
Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR)
Disclosure’’ to insert the word ‘‘person’’
in place of the word ‘‘individual’’ to
avoid any confusion to the public
because we did not intend the word
‘‘individual’’ to have the meaning of this
term as defined in the Privacy Act.
The Department is also modifying
routine use (5) entitled ‘‘Contract
Disclosure’’ to remove the reference to
‘‘Privacy Act safeguards as required
under 5 U.S.C. 552a(m)’’ to now require
that all contractors agree to maintain
safeguards to protect the security and
confidentiality of the records in the
system. The Department also has
clarified that such safeguards will be
agreed to as part of the contract, rather
than before the contract is entered into.
The Department is removing former
routine use (7) entitled ‘‘Research
Disclosure.’’ Consistent with our
commitment to protect personal data,
we do not anticipate releasing student,
borrower, or applicant-level data for
purposes other than program
administration.
The Department is modifying routine
use (7) entitled ‘‘Borrower Complaint
Disclosure’’ to include ‘‘processing’’ and
‘‘reviewing’’ of a complaint as a course
through which the Department may
disclose a record to better align with the
language of routine use (8) entitled
‘‘Borrower Defense to Repayment
Disclosure’’.
The Department is adding routine use
(8) entitled ‘‘Borrower Defense to
Repayment Disclosure’’ to clarify that
disclosure of a record from this system
of records is allowed in the course of
reviewing, processing, investigating,
fact-finding, or adjudicating a request
for relief under the borrower defense
regulations or in the course of the
Department’s enforcement activity to:
Federal agencies, the student (if the
student is not the borrower), the counsel
or representative of the borrower or the
student, or the school whose conduct is
subject of the request for relief or the
school’s counsel or representative; a
witness; or a designated fact-finder,
mediator, or other person designated to
resolve issues or decide the matter. The
disclosure may only be made during the
course of the review, processing,
investigation, fact-finding, or
adjudication of the request for relief.
Pursuant to the requirements in Office
of Management and Budget
Memorandum M–17–12 entitled
‘‘Preparing for and Responding to a
Breach of Personally Identifiable
Information,’’ the Department is also
adding an additional routine use (11) in
order to permit the Department to
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disclose records from this system of
records in the course of assisting
another Federal agency or entity in
responding to a breach of data. Lastly,
the Department is modifying routine use
(10) (previously routine use (11)) so that
the routine use conforms with the
requirements set forth in OMB
Memorandum M–17–12 entitled
‘‘Preparing for and Responding to a
Breach of Personally Identifiable
Information.’’
The Department is updating the
section entitled ‘‘POLICIES AND
PRACTICES FOR RETENTION AND
DISPOSAL OF RECORDS’’ to explain
that the applicable Department records
schedule is being amended, pending
approval by the National Archives and
Records Administration (NARA).
The sections entitled ‘‘RECORD
ACCESS PROCEDURES,’’
‘‘CONTESTING RECORD
PROCEDURES,’’ and ‘‘NOTIFICATION
PROCEDURES’’ are modified to define
the ‘‘necessary particulars’’ needed to
access, contest, or be notified of a
record.
The Department has also added a
section entitled ‘‘HISTORY.’’
Accessible Format: Individuals with
disabilities can obtain this document in
an accessible format (e.g., Braille, large
print, audiotape, or compact disc) on
request to the person listed under FOR
FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT.
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 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 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: June 8, 2018.
James F. Manning,
Acting Chief Operating Officer, Federal
Student Aid.
For the reasons discussed in the
preamble, the Acting Chief Operating
Officer of Federal Student Aid (FSA) of
the U.S. Department of Education
(Department) publishes a notice of a
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modified system of records to read as
follows:
SYSTEM NAME AND NUMBER:
Customer Engagement Management
System (CEMS) (18–11–11).
SECURITY CLASSIFICATION:
Unclassified.
Salesforce Data Center, primary data
center in 44521 Hastings Drive Ashburn,
VA 20147. The system is accessible via
the internet to different categories of
users, including Department personnel,
customers, and designated agents of the
Department at any location where they
have internet access.
SYSTEM MANAGER(S):
Ombudsman, Federal Student Aid,
U.S. Department of Education, 830 First
Street NE, Room 4111, Washington, DC
20202.
AUTHORITY FOR MAINTENANCE OF THE SYSTEM:
20 U.S.C. 1018(f) and 1087e(h).
PURPOSE(S) OF THE SYSTEM:
The information maintained in this
system will be used for a number of
purposes related to the duties and
responsibilities of the FSA Ombudsman;
and, separately, to perform the duties
and responsibilities of the Department
to provide Federal student loan
repayment relief, and certain further
relief, under the borrower defense to
repayment regulations at 34 CFR
685.206. The information will be used
to: Verify the identities of individuals;
record complaints and comments; track
individual cases through final
resolution; report trends; and analyze
the data to recommend improvements in
student financial assistance programs;
and assist in the informal resolution of
disputes. The information will also be
used by the Department to receive,
review, evaluate, and process requests
for relief under the borrower defense to
repayment regulations, to render
decisions on the merits of such requests
for relief, and, where requests for
borrower defense to repayment are
successful, to determine the relief that is
appropriate to borrowers under the
circumstances as well as to initiate
appropriate proceedings to require
schools whose acts or omissions
resulted in the successful defenses
against repayment to pay the
Department the amounts of the loans to
which the defenses apply.
CATEGORIES OF INDIVIDUALS COVERED BY THE
SYSTEM:
This system maintains records on
individuals who are, were, or may be
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participants in any of the Student
Financial Assistance Programs under
title IV of the Higher Education Act of
1965, as amended (HEA) who request
assistance, directly or through a
designated third party, from Federal
Student Aid Enforcement Office or the
FSA Ombudsman.
CATEGORIES OF RECORDS IN THE SYSTEM:
SYSTEM LOCATION:
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This system consists of a variety of
records that identify the individuals’
complaints, requests for assistance,
requests for borrower defense relief, or
other inquiries. Records include, but are
not limited to: Written documentation
of an individual’s complaint, request for
assistance, request for relief under the
borrower defense regulations, or other
comment or inquiry; and information
pertaining to the individual’s or the
individual’s parent’s student financial
assistance program account(s) under
title IV of the HEA, such as the
individual’s name, Social Security
number (SSN), date of birth, address,
telephone number(s), and Federal
Student Aid ID (FSA ID). Records may
include the name, address, and phone
numbers of the individual’s counsel or
representative, school(s), lender(s),
secondary holder(s) or lender(s),
guaranty agency(ies), servicer(s), and
private collection agency(ies), if
applicable, and, may contain other loan
level data.
RECORD SOURCE CATEGORIES:
Information is obtained from
individuals (e.g., borrowers), their
counsel or representatives, or students
or their parents (when the individual is
a borrower and depending on whether
the individual is a parent or student),
Federal agencies, State agencies,
schools, lenders, private collection
agencies, guaranty agencies, accreditors,
and 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), under a computer
matching agreement.
(1) Program Disclosure. The
Department may disclose records to
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Federal agencies, State agencies,
accreditors, schools, lenders, guaranty
agencies, servicers, and private
collection agencies when further
information about the complaint,
request for assistance, request for
Federal student loan repayment relief
and other further relief under the
borrower defense to repayment
regulations, or other inquiry is relevant
to the Department’s resolution of the
complaint, request, or other inquiry,
and, where a request for borrower
defense to repayment is successful, to
determine the relief that is appropriate
under the circumstances as well as to
initiate the appropriate proceeding to
require the school whose acts or
omissions resulted in the successful
defense against repayment to pay the
Department the amount of the loan to
which the defense applies.
(2) Enforcement Disclosure. In the
event that information in this system of
records indicates, either on its face or in
connection with other information, a
violation or potential violation of any
applicable statute, regulation, or order
of a competent authority, the
Department may disclose the relevant
records to the appropriate agency,
whether foreign, Federal, State, Tribal,
or local, charged with the responsibility
of investigating or prosecuting that
violation or charged with enforcing or
implementing the statute, Executive
Order, rule, regulation, or order issued
pursuant thereto.
(3) Litigation and Alternative Dispute
Resolution (ADR) Disclosure.
(a) Introduction. In the event that one
of the parties listed in sub-paragraphs (i)
through (v) 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 component
of the Department;
(ii) Any Department employee in his
or her official capacity;
(iii) Any Department employee in his
or her individual capacity if the U.S.
Department of Justice (DOJ) has been
requested to or has agreed to provide or
arrange for representation for the
employee;
(iv) Any Department employee in his
or her individual capacity where the
Department has agreed to represent the
employee; or
(v) The United States where the
Department determines that the
litigation is likely to affect the
Department or any of its components.
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(b) Disclosure to the DOJ. If the
Department determines that disclosure
of certain records to the DOJ is relevant
and necessary to litigation or ADR, the
Department may disclose those records
as a routine use to the DOJ.
(c) Adjudicative Disclosure. If the
Department determines that it is
relevant and necessary to the litigation
or ADR to disclose certain records to an
adjudicative body before which the
Department is authorized to appear, to
a person, or an entity designated by the
Department or otherwise empowered to
resolve or mediate disputes, the
Department may disclose those records
as a routine use to the adjudicative
body, person, or entity.
(d) Disclosure to Parties, Counsel,
Representatives, and Witnesses. If the
Department determines that disclosure
of certain records to a party, counsel,
representative, or witness is relevant
and necessary to the litigation or ADR,
the Department may disclose those
records as a routine use to the party,
counsel, representative, or witness.
(4) 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.
(5) 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 shall
require the contractor to agree to
maintain safeguards to protect the
security and confidentiality of the
records in the system.
(6) Congressional Member Disclosure.
The Department may disclose records to
a member of Congress from the record
of an individual in response to an
inquiry from the member made at the
written request of that individual. The
member’s right to the information is no
greater than the right of the individual
who requested it.
(7) Borrower Complaint Disclosure. If
a record is relevant and necessary to a
borrower complaint regarding
participants in any of Student Financial
Assistance Programs under title IV of
the HEA, the Department may disclose
a record from this system of records in
the course of processing, reviewing,
investigating, fact-finding, or
adjudicating the complaint to: Any
party to the complaint; the party’s
counsel or representative; a witness; or
a designated fact-finder, mediator, or
other person designated to resolve
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issues or decide the matter. The
disclosure may only be made during the
course of the review, processing,
investigation, fact-finding, or
adjudication.
(8) Borrower Defense to Repayment
Disclosure. If a record is relevant and
necessary to an individual’s request for
relief from repayment of a Federal
student loan or other relief under the
borrower defense to repayment
regulations, or the potential provision of
such relief in connection with the
Department’s enforcement activities on
any of the Student Financial Assistance
Programs under title IV of the HEA, the
Department may disclose a record from
this system of records in the course of
processing, reviewing, investigating,
fact-finding, or adjudicating the request
or in the course of the Department’s
enforcement activity to: Federal agency,
the student (if the student is not the
borrower), the counsel or representative
of the borrower or the student, or the
school whose conduct is subject of the
request for relief or the school’s counsel
or representative; a witness; or a
designated fact-finder, mediator, or
other person designated to resolve
issues or decide the matter. The
disclosure may only be made during the
course of the review, processing,
investigation, fact-finding, or
adjudication.
(9) Freedom of Information Act
(FOIA) and Privacy Act Advice
Disclosure. The Department may
disclose records from this system of
records to the DOJ or Office of
Management and Budget (OMB) if the
Department concludes that disclosure is
desirable or necessary in determining
whether particular records are required
to be disclosed under the FOIA or the
Privacy Act.
(10) Disclosure in the Course of
Responding to a Breach of Data. The
Department may disclose records from
this system of records 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
operation), the Federal Government, or
national security; and (c) the disclosure
made to such agencies, entities, and
persons is reasonably necessary to assist
the Department’s efforts to respond to
the suspected or confirmed breach or to
prevent, minimize, or remedy such
harm.
(11) Disclosure in Assisting another
Agency in Responding to a Breach of
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Federal Register / Vol. 83, No. 114 / Wednesday, June 13, 2018 / Notices
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.
POLICIES AND PRACTICES FOR STORAGE OF
RECORDS:
These records will be maintained in
an electronic database.
POLICIES AND PRACTICES FOR RETRIEVAL OF
RECORDS:
RECORD ACCESS PROCEDURES:
If you wish to gain access to a record
regarding you in the system of records,
contact the system manager at the
address listed above. You must provide
necessary particulars such as your
name, SSN, and any other identifying
information requested by the
Department while processing the
request to distinguish between
individuals with the same name. Your
request must meet the requirements of
34 CFR 5b.5, including proof of identity.
CONTESTING RECORD PROCEDURES:
If you wish to contest the content of
a record regarding you in the system of
records, contact the system manager
with the information described in the
record access procedures. Your request
must meet the requirements of 34 CFR
5b.7.
NOTIFICATION PROCEDURES:
Records are indexed by Social
Security number, name, date of birth,
and case tracking number.
POLICIES AND PRACTICES FOR RETENTION AND
DISPOSAL OF RECORDS:
All records are retained and disposed
of in accordance with Department
Records Schedule 052: Ombudsman
Case Files (N1–441–09–21) (ED 052). ED
052 is being amended, pending approval
by the National Archives and Records
Administration (NARA). Records will
not be destroyed until NARA-approved
amendments to ED 052 are in effect, as
applicable.
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.
You must provide necessary particulars
such as your name, SSN, and any other
identifying information requested by the
Department while processing the
request to distinguish between
individuals of with the same name.
Your request must meet the
requirements of 34 CFR 5b.5, including
proof of identity.
EXEMPTIONS PROMULGATED FOR THE SYSTEM:
None.
amozie on DSK3GDR082PROD with NOTICES1
ADMINISTRATIVE, TECHNICAL, AND PHYSICAL
SAFEGUARDS:
HISTORY:
Access to and use of these records by
Department employees and agents shall
be limited to those persons whose
official duties require access. This
includes staff members of the Office of
the Student Loan Ombudsman,
Enforcement Office staff members, and
other Department employees and agents.
All physical access to the site where this
system of records is maintained, is
controlled and monitored by security
personnel who check each individual
entering the building for his or her
employee or visitor badge.
The computer system offers a high
degree of resistance to tampering and
circumvention. This security system
limits data access to staff on a ‘‘need to
know’’ basis, and controls individual
users’ ability to access and alter records
within the system. All users of this
system of records are given unique user
IDs with personal identifiers. All
interactions by individual users with
the system are recorded.
The system of records notice entitled
‘‘Office of the Student Loan
Ombudsman Records’’ (18–11–11) was
published in the Federal Register on
December 27, 1999 (64 FR 72384,
72399–72400). The ‘‘Office of the
Student Loan Ombudsman Records’’
system of records notice was most
recently altered and republished in full
in the Federal Register on March 8,
2016 (81 FR 12081).
The records that will be maintained in
the CEMS system of records that are
about individuals who have asserted
defenses to the repayment of their
Federal student loans, also known as
‘‘borrower defenses,’’ pursuant to the
Department’s regulations at 34 CFR
685.206, previously were covered by the
system of records notice entitled
‘‘Common Services for Borrowers
(CSB)’’ (18–11–16), which was first
published in the Federal Register on
January 23, 2006 (71 FR 3503),
subsequently updated on September 12,
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2014 (79 FR 54685), and last altered on
September 2, 2016 (81 FR 60683).
[FR Doc. 2018–12700 Filed 6–12–18; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4000–01–P
DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY
Notice of Request for Information (RFI)
on Identifying Priorities for Reducing
Barriers to Deployment of Hydrogen
Infrastructure
Office of Energy Efficiency and
Renewable Energy, Department of
Energy (DOE).
ACTION: Request for information (RFI).
AGENCY:
The U.S. Department of
Energy (DOE) published a Request for
Information (RFI) on Identifying
Priorities for Reducing Barriers to
Deployment of Hydrogen Infrastructure
on EERE Exchange to gather information
on priority areas for reducing barriers to
deployment of hydrogen technologies,
with a particular focus on hydrogen
infrastructure.
DATES: Responses to the RFI must be
received no later than 5:00 p.m. (ET) on
August 10, 2018.
ADDRESSES: Interested parties are to
submit comments electronically to
FY18FCTOBARRIERSRFI@
EE.DOE.GOV. Responses must be
provided as attachments to an email.
Include ‘‘Deployment Barriers RFI’’ as
the subject of the email. It is
recommended that attachments with file
sizes exceeding 25MB be compressed
(i.e., zipped) to ensure message delivery.
Responses must be provided as a
Microsoft Word (.docx) attachment to
the email, and 12 point font, 1 inch
margins. Only electronic responses will
be accepted. The complete RFI
document is located at https://eereexchange.energy.gov/.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Questions may be addressed to
FY18FCTOBARRIERSRFI@
EE.DOE.GOV. Further instruction can be
found in the RFI document posted on
EERE Exchange.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: DOE
posted on its website an RFI to solicit
feedback from industry, academia,
research laboratories, government
agencies, and other stakeholders on
critical barriers to deployment of
hydrogen infrastructure. The goal of the
RFI is to identify these barriers and
potential courses-of-action to address
them to reduce deployment time and
cost in implementing hydrogen
technologies and to support the
implementation of large-scale
applications. Deployment of hydrogen
SUMMARY:
E:\FR\FM\13JNN1.SGM
13JNN1
Agencies
[Federal Register Volume 83, Number 114 (Wednesday, June 13, 2018)]
[Notices]
[Pages 27587-27591]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2018-12700]
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION
[Docket ID ED-2018-FSA-0053]
Privacy Act of 1974; System of Records
AGENCY: Federal Student Aid, Department of Education.
ACTION: Notice of a Modified System of Records.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
SUMMARY: In accordance with the Privacy Act of 1974, as amended
(Privacy Act), the Department of Education (Department) publishes this
notice of a modified system of records for the ``Customer Engagement
Management System (CEMS)'' (18-11-11) to expand the CEMS system to
cover records that the Department previously maintained in the
Department's system of records entitled ``Common Services for Borrowers
(CSB)'' (18-11-16) to carry out the responsibilities of the Department
to receive, review, evaluate, process, and render decisions on the
eligibility of individuals for relief under the borrower defense
regulations and, where requests for borrower defense to repayment are
successful, to determine the relief that is appropriate to borrowers
under the circumstances as well as to initiate appropriate proceedings
to require schools whose acts or omissions resulted in the successful
defenses against repayment to pay the Department the amounts of the
loans to which the defenses apply. This modification also renames the
system of records, which was formerly entitled the ``Office of the
Student Loan Ombudsman Records.'' The Department previously created the
system of records entitled the ``Office of the Student Loan Ombudsman
Records'' for a number of purposes related to the duties and
responsibilities of the Ombudsman, including verifying the identities
of individuals; recording complaints and comments; tracking individual
cases through final resolution; reporting trends; analyzing the data to
recommend improvements in the Student Financial Assistance Programs;
and assisting in the resolution of disputes.
DATES: Submit your comments on this modified system of records notice
on or before July 13, 2018.
This modified system of records will become applicable upon
publication in the Federal Register on June 13, 2018, unless the
modified system of records notice needs to be changed as a result of
public comment.
Modified routine uses (1), (3), (5), (7), and (10) and new routine
uses (8) and (11) listed under ``ROUTINE USES OF RECORDS MAINTAINED IN
THE SYSTEM, INCLUDING CATEGORIES OF USERS AND PURPOSES OF SUCH USES''
will become applicable on July 13, 2018, unless the modified system of
records notice needs to be changed as a result of public comment. The
Department will publish any significant changes resulting from public
comment.
ADDRESSES: Submit your comments through the Federal eRulemaking Portal
or via postal mail, commercial delivery, or hand delivery. We will not
accept comments submitted by fax or by email or those submitted after
the comment period. To ensure that we do 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 ``help'' tab.
Postal Mail, Commercial Delivery, or Hand Delivery: If you
mail or deliver your comments about this modified system of records,
address them to: Ombudsman/Director, Ombudsman Group, Customer
Experience, FSA, U.S. Department of Education, 830 First Street NE, 4th
Floor/MC-5144, Union Center Plaza (UCP), Washington, DC 20202-5144.
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: Joyce DeMoss, Ombudsman/Director,
Ombudsman Group, Customer Experience, FSA, U.S. Department of
Education, 830 First Street NE, 4th Floor/MC-5144, Union Center Plaza
(UCP), Washington, DC 20202-5144. Telephone: (202) 377-3992.
If you use a telecommunications device for the deaf (TDD) or text
telephone (TTY), you may call the Federal Information Relay Service
(FIRS) at 1-800-877-8339.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Department is renaming the system of
records from the ``Office of the Student Loan Ombudsman Records'' to
the ``Customer Engagement Management System (CEMS).'' The system of
records described in this notice maintains records on individuals who
are, were, or may be participants in any of the Student Financial
Assistance Programs authorized under title IV of the Higher Education
Act of 1965, as amended (HEA) who request assistance, directly or
through a designated third party, from the Department. The CEMS
maintains the information for a number of purposes related to the
duties and responsibilities of the Ombudsman and the FSA Enforcement
Office, including: Verifying the identities of individuals; recording
complaints and comments; tracking individual cases through final
resolution; reporting trends; analyzing the data to recommend
improvements in student financial assistance programs; and assisting in
the informal resolution of disputes. In addition, the system of records
described in this notice maintains records on individuals who have
asserted defenses to the repayment of their Federal student loans, also
known as ``borrower defenses,'' pursuant to the Department's
regulations at 34 CFR 685.206. These records are maintained to carry
out the responsibilities of the Department to receive, review,
evaluate, process, and render decisions on the eligibility of
individuals for relief under the borrower defense regulations, which
may include the discharge of a William D. Ford Federal Direct Loan
(Direct Loan) Program loan and further relief as determined by the
Secretary, as well as the initiation of appropriate proceedings to
require schools whose acts or omissions resulted in successful defenses
against repayment to pay the Department the amounts of the loans to
which the defenses apply.
The CEMS consists of a variety of records that identify
individuals' complaints, requests for assistance, or other inquiries.
Records include, but are not limited to: Written documentation
[[Page 27588]]
of an individual's complaint, request for assistance, or other comment
or inquiry; and information pertaining to a student's or parent's
student financial assistance program account(s) under title IV of the
HEA, such as the individual's name, Social Security number, date of
birth, address, telephone number(s), and FSA ID. Additionally, records
may include the name, address, and phone numbers of school(s),
lender(s), secondary holder(s) or lender(s), guaranty agency(ies),
servicer(s), and private collection agency(ies), if applicable. The
system of records also contains loan level information, and data
submitted by individuals who have requested relief from Federal student
loan repayment under the borrower defense to repayment regulations, as
well as data that may be submitted by schools or other entities in
connection with individuals' discharge requests.
The Department is modifying the section of the notice entitled
``AUTHORITY FOR MAINTENANCE OF THE SYSTEM'' to include 20 U.S.C.
1087e(h), which is the Department's authority to collect records on
individuals who have requested relief under the borrower defense
regulations.
The Department is modifying the section of the notice entitled
``PURPOSE(S) OF THE SYSTEM'' to include the duties and responsibilities
of FSA to provide relief under the borrower defense regulations,
including the receipt, review, evaluation, and processing of requests
for relief under the borrower defense to repayment regulations, the
rendering of decisions on the merits of such requests, and, where
requests for borrower defense to repayment are successful, the
determination of the relief that is appropriate to borrowers under the
circumstances as well as the initiation of appropriate proceedings to
require schools whose acts or omissions resulted in the successful
defenses against repayment to pay the Department the amounts of the
loans to which the defenses apply.
The Department is modifying the section of the notice entitled
``CATEGORIES OF INDIVIDUALS COVERED BY THE SYSTEM'' to include
individuals who request relief under borrower defense to repayment
regulations from the Department.
The Department is modifying the section of the notice entitled
``CATEGORIES OF RECORDS IN THE SYSTEM'' to include individuals'
requests for relief and related records under the borrower defense to
repayment regulations and to indicate that records may contain other
loan level data.
The Department is modifying the section of the notice entitled
``RECORD SOURCE CATEGORIES'' to include as record source categories
third parties who provide data to the Department under the routine uses
set forth below. The Department is also modifying this section to
clarify that in addition to obtaining information from the individuals
(e.g., borrowers), the Department also may obtain information from the
individuals' counsel or representatives, or from students or their
parents (if the individual is a borrower and depending on whether the
individual is a parent or student). This Section also has been revised
by adding that the Department may obtain information from accreditors
in addition to the sources previously listed, which were Federal
agencies, State agencies, schools, lenders, private collection
agencies, and guaranty agencies.
The Department is making several modifications to routine use (1)
entitled ``Program Disclosure.'' First, the Department is including
requests for relief under the borrower defense regulations as one of
the types of requests for which the Department may disclose records and
clarifying that the Department may disclose records where a request for
borrower defense to repayment is successful in order to determine the
relief that is appropriate under the circumstances as well as to
initiate the appropriate proceeding to require the school whose acts or
omissions resulted in the successful defense against repayment to pay
the Department the amount of the loan to which the defense applies.
Disclosing records where a request for borrower defense to repayment is
successful in order to determine the relief that is appropriate under
the circumstances was previously authorized by ``routine uses''
published in the ``Common Services for Borrowers (CSB)'' system of
records notice, see 81 FR 60,683-60,691 (Sep. 2, 2016), and the
Department is making this more explicit now. Second, the Department is
revising this routine use to permit the Department to make disclosures
when further information ``is relevant'' to, rather than ``is necessary
to,'' the Department's resolution of the complaint, request, or other
inquiry. Third, the Department is adding accreditors.
The Department is removing former routine use (2) entitled
``Disclosure for Use by Other Law Enforcement Agencies'' because the
Department no longer intends to disclose any records under this routine
use.
The Department is modifying routine use (3) entitled ``Litigation
and Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) Disclosure'' to insert the
word ``person'' in place of the word ``individual'' to avoid any
confusion to the public because we did not intend the word
``individual'' to have the meaning of this term as defined in the
Privacy Act.
The Department is also modifying routine use (5) entitled
``Contract Disclosure'' to remove the reference to ``Privacy Act
safeguards as required under 5 U.S.C. 552a(m)'' to now require that all
contractors agree to maintain safeguards to protect the security and
confidentiality of the records in the system. The Department also has
clarified that such safeguards will be agreed to as part of the
contract, rather than before the contract is entered into.
The Department is removing former routine use (7) entitled
``Research Disclosure.'' Consistent with our commitment to protect
personal data, we do not anticipate releasing student, borrower, or
applicant-level data for purposes other than program administration.
The Department is modifying routine use (7) entitled ``Borrower
Complaint Disclosure'' to include ``processing'' and ``reviewing'' of a
complaint as a course through which the Department may disclose a
record to better align with the language of routine use (8) entitled
``Borrower Defense to Repayment Disclosure''.
The Department is adding routine use (8) entitled ``Borrower
Defense to Repayment Disclosure'' to clarify that disclosure of a
record from this system of records is allowed in the course of
reviewing, processing, investigating, fact-finding, or adjudicating a
request for relief under the borrower defense regulations or in the
course of the Department's enforcement activity to: Federal agencies,
the student (if the student is not the borrower), the counsel or
representative of the borrower or the student, or the school whose
conduct is subject of the request for relief or the school's counsel or
representative; a witness; or a designated fact-finder, mediator, or
other person designated to resolve issues or decide the matter. The
disclosure may only be made during the course of the review,
processing, investigation, fact-finding, or adjudication of the request
for relief.
Pursuant to the requirements in Office of Management and Budget
Memorandum M-17-12 entitled ``Preparing for and Responding to a Breach
of Personally Identifiable Information,'' the Department is also adding
an additional routine use (11) in order to permit the Department to
[[Page 27589]]
disclose records from this system of records in the course of assisting
another Federal agency or entity in responding to a breach of data.
Lastly, the Department is modifying routine use (10) (previously
routine use (11)) so that the routine use conforms with the
requirements set forth in OMB Memorandum M-17-12 entitled ``Preparing
for and Responding to a Breach of Personally Identifiable
Information.''
The Department is updating the section entitled ``POLICIES AND
PRACTICES FOR RETENTION AND DISPOSAL OF RECORDS'' to explain that the
applicable Department records schedule is being amended, pending
approval by the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA).
The sections entitled ``RECORD ACCESS PROCEDURES,'' ``CONTESTING
RECORD PROCEDURES,'' and ``NOTIFICATION PROCEDURES'' are modified to
define the ``necessary particulars'' needed to access, contest, or be
notified of a record.
The Department has also added a section entitled ``HISTORY.''
Accessible Format: Individuals with disabilities can obtain this
document in an accessible format (e.g., Braille, large print,
audiotape, or compact disc) on request to the person listed under FOR
FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT.
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 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 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: June 8, 2018.
James F. Manning,
Acting Chief Operating Officer, Federal Student Aid.
For the reasons discussed in the preamble, the Acting Chief
Operating Officer of Federal Student Aid (FSA) 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:
Customer Engagement Management System (CEMS) (18-11-11).
SECURITY CLASSIFICATION:
Unclassified.
SYSTEM LOCATION:
Salesforce Data Center, primary data center in 44521 Hastings Drive
Ashburn, VA 20147. The system is accessible via the internet to
different categories of users, including Department personnel,
customers, and designated agents of the Department at any location
where they have internet access.
SYSTEM MANAGER(S):
Ombudsman, Federal Student Aid, U.S. Department of Education, 830
First Street NE, Room 4111, Washington, DC 20202.
AUTHORITY FOR MAINTENANCE OF THE SYSTEM:
20 U.S.C. 1018(f) and 1087e(h).
PURPOSE(S) OF THE SYSTEM:
The information maintained in this system will be used for a number
of purposes related to the duties and responsibilities of the FSA
Ombudsman; and, separately, to perform the duties and responsibilities
of the Department to provide Federal student loan repayment relief, and
certain further relief, under the borrower defense to repayment
regulations at 34 CFR 685.206. The information will be used to: Verify
the identities of individuals; record complaints and comments; track
individual cases through final resolution; report trends; and analyze
the data to recommend improvements in student financial assistance
programs; and assist in the informal resolution of disputes. The
information will also be used by the Department to receive, review,
evaluate, and process requests for relief under the borrower defense to
repayment regulations, to render decisions on the merits of such
requests for relief, and, where requests for borrower defense to
repayment are successful, to determine the relief that is appropriate
to borrowers under the circumstances as well as to initiate appropriate
proceedings to require schools whose acts or omissions resulted in the
successful defenses against repayment to pay the Department the amounts
of the loans to which the defenses apply.
CATEGORIES OF INDIVIDUALS COVERED BY THE SYSTEM:
This system maintains records on individuals who are, were, or may
be participants in any of the Student Financial Assistance Programs
under title IV of the Higher Education Act of 1965, as amended (HEA)
who request assistance, directly or through a designated third party,
from Federal Student Aid Enforcement Office or the FSA Ombudsman.
CATEGORIES OF RECORDS IN THE SYSTEM:
This system consists of a variety of records that identify the
individuals' complaints, requests for assistance, requests for borrower
defense relief, or other inquiries. Records include, but are not
limited to: Written documentation of an individual's complaint, request
for assistance, request for relief under the borrower defense
regulations, or other comment or inquiry; and information pertaining to
the individual's or the individual's parent's student financial
assistance program account(s) under title IV of the HEA, such as the
individual's name, Social Security number (SSN), date of birth,
address, telephone number(s), and Federal Student Aid ID (FSA ID).
Records may include the name, address, and phone numbers of the
individual's counsel or representative, school(s), lender(s), secondary
holder(s) or lender(s), guaranty agency(ies), servicer(s), and private
collection agency(ies), if applicable, and, may contain other loan
level data.
RECORD SOURCE CATEGORIES:
Information is obtained from individuals (e.g., borrowers), their
counsel or representatives, or students or their parents (when the
individual is a borrower and depending on whether the individual is a
parent or student), Federal agencies, State agencies, schools, lenders,
private collection agencies, guaranty agencies, accreditors, and 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), under a computer matching agreement.
(1) Program Disclosure. The Department may disclose records to
[[Page 27590]]
Federal agencies, State agencies, accreditors, schools, lenders,
guaranty agencies, servicers, and private collection agencies when
further information about the complaint, request for assistance,
request for Federal student loan repayment relief and other further
relief under the borrower defense to repayment regulations, or other
inquiry is relevant to the Department's resolution of the complaint,
request, or other inquiry, and, where a request for borrower defense to
repayment is successful, to determine the relief that is appropriate
under the circumstances as well as to initiate the appropriate
proceeding to require the school whose acts or omissions resulted in
the successful defense against repayment to pay the Department the
amount of the loan to which the defense applies.
(2) Enforcement Disclosure. In the event that information in this
system of records indicates, either on its face or in connection with
other information, a violation or potential violation of any applicable
statute, regulation, or order of a competent authority, the Department
may disclose the relevant records to the appropriate agency, whether
foreign, Federal, State, Tribal, or local, charged with the
responsibility of investigating or prosecuting that violation or
charged with enforcing or implementing the statute, Executive Order,
rule, regulation, or order issued pursuant thereto.
(3) Litigation and Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) Disclosure.
(a) Introduction. In the event that one of the parties listed in
sub-paragraphs (i) through (v) 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 component of the Department;
(ii) Any Department employee in his or her official capacity;
(iii) Any Department employee in his or her individual capacity if
the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) has been requested to or has
agreed to provide or arrange for representation for the employee;
(iv) Any Department employee in his or her individual capacity
where the Department has agreed to represent the employee; or
(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
litigation or ADR, the Department may disclose those records as a
routine use to the DOJ.
(c) Adjudicative Disclosure. If the Department determines that it
is relevant and necessary to the litigation or ADR to disclose certain
records to an adjudicative body before which the Department is
authorized to appear, to a person, or an entity designated by the
Department or otherwise empowered to resolve or mediate disputes, the
Department may disclose those records as a routine use to the
adjudicative body, person, or entity.
(d) Disclosure to Parties, Counsel, Representatives, and Witnesses.
If the Department determines that disclosure of certain records to a
party, counsel, representative, or witness is relevant and necessary to
the litigation or ADR, the Department may disclose those records as a
routine use to the party, counsel, representative, or witness.
(4) 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.
(5) 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 shall require the contractor to agree to
maintain safeguards to protect the security and confidentiality of the
records in the system.
(6) Congressional Member Disclosure. The Department may disclose
records to a member of Congress from the record of an individual in
response to an inquiry from the member made at the written request of
that individual. The member's right to the information is no greater
than the right of the individual who requested it.
(7) Borrower Complaint Disclosure. If a record is relevant and
necessary to a borrower complaint regarding participants in any of
Student Financial Assistance Programs under title IV of the HEA, the
Department may disclose a record from this system of records in the
course of processing, reviewing, investigating, fact-finding, or
adjudicating the complaint to: Any party to the complaint; the party's
counsel or representative; a witness; or a designated fact-finder,
mediator, or other person designated to resolve issues or decide the
matter. The disclosure may only be made during the course of the
review, processing, investigation, fact-finding, or adjudication.
(8) Borrower Defense to Repayment Disclosure. If a record is
relevant and necessary to an individual's request for relief from
repayment of a Federal student loan or other relief under the borrower
defense to repayment regulations, or the potential provision of such
relief in connection with the Department's enforcement activities on
any of the Student Financial Assistance Programs under title IV of the
HEA, the Department may disclose a record from this system of records
in the course of processing, reviewing, investigating, fact-finding, or
adjudicating the request or in the course of the Department's
enforcement activity to: Federal agency, the student (if the student is
not the borrower), the counsel or representative of the borrower or the
student, or the school whose conduct is subject of the request for
relief or the school's counsel or representative; a witness; or a
designated fact-finder, mediator, or other person designated to resolve
issues or decide the matter. The disclosure may only be made during the
course of the review, processing, investigation, fact-finding, or
adjudication.
(9) Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) and Privacy Act Advice
Disclosure. The Department may disclose records from this system of
records to the DOJ or Office of Management and Budget (OMB) if the
Department concludes that disclosure is desirable or necessary in
determining whether particular records are required to be disclosed
under the FOIA or the Privacy Act.
(10) Disclosure in the Course of Responding to a Breach of Data.
The Department may disclose records from this system of records 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
operation), the Federal Government, or national security; and (c) the
disclosure made to such agencies, entities, and persons is reasonably
necessary to assist the Department's efforts to respond to the
suspected or confirmed breach or to prevent, minimize, or remedy such
harm.
(11) Disclosure in Assisting another Agency in Responding to a
Breach of
[[Page 27591]]
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.
POLICIES AND PRACTICES FOR STORAGE OF RECORDS:
These records will be maintained in an electronic database.
POLICIES AND PRACTICES FOR RETRIEVAL OF RECORDS:
Records are indexed by Social Security number, name, date of birth,
and case tracking number.
POLICIES AND PRACTICES FOR RETENTION AND DISPOSAL OF RECORDS:
All records are retained and disposed of in accordance with
Department Records Schedule 052: Ombudsman Case Files (N1-441-09-21)
(ED 052). ED 052 is being amended, pending approval by the National
Archives and Records Administration (NARA). Records will not be
destroyed until NARA-approved amendments to ED 052 are in effect, as
applicable.
ADMINISTRATIVE, TECHNICAL, AND PHYSICAL SAFEGUARDS:
Access to and use of these records by Department employees and
agents shall be limited to those persons whose official duties require
access. This includes staff members of the Office of the Student Loan
Ombudsman, Enforcement Office staff members, and other Department
employees and agents. All physical access to the site where this system
of records is maintained, is controlled and monitored by security
personnel who check each individual entering the building for his or
her employee or visitor badge.
The computer system offers a high degree of resistance to tampering
and circumvention. This security system limits data access to staff on
a ``need to know'' basis, and controls individual users' ability to
access and alter records within the system. All users of this system of
records are given unique user IDs with personal identifiers. All
interactions by individual users with the system are recorded.
RECORD ACCESS PROCEDURES:
If you wish to gain access to a record regarding you in the system
of records, contact the system manager at the address listed above. You
must provide necessary particulars such as your name, SSN, and any
other identifying information requested by the Department while
processing the request to distinguish between individuals with the same
name. Your request must meet the requirements of 34 CFR 5b.5, including
proof of identity.
CONTESTING RECORD PROCEDURES:
If you wish to contest the content of a record regarding you in the
system of records, contact the system manager with the information
described in the record access procedures. Your request must meet the
requirements of 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. You must provide necessary particulars such as your name, SSN,
and any other identifying information requested by the Department while
processing the request to distinguish between individuals of with the
same name. Your request must meet the requirements of 34 CFR 5b.5,
including proof of identity.
EXEMPTIONS PROMULGATED FOR THE SYSTEM:
None.
HISTORY:
The system of records notice entitled ``Office of the Student Loan
Ombudsman Records'' (18-11-11) was published in the Federal Register on
December 27, 1999 (64 FR 72384, 72399-72400). The ``Office of the
Student Loan Ombudsman Records'' system of records notice was most
recently altered and republished in full in the Federal Register on
March 8, 2016 (81 FR 12081).
The records that will be maintained in the CEMS system of records
that are about individuals who have asserted defenses to the repayment
of their Federal student loans, also known as ``borrower defenses,''
pursuant to the Department's regulations at 34 CFR 685.206, previously
were covered by the system of records notice entitled ``Common Services
for Borrowers (CSB)'' (18-11-16), which was first published in the
Federal Register on January 23, 2006 (71 FR 3503), subsequently updated
on September 12, 2014 (79 FR 54685), and last altered on September 2,
2016 (81 FR 60683).
[FR Doc. 2018-12700 Filed 6-12-18; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4000-01-P