Virtual Meetings, 27213-27214 [2020-09718]

Agencies

• DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION
• National Assessment Governing Board

[Federal Register Volume 85, Number 89 (Thursday, May 7, 2020)]
[Notices]
[Pages 27213-27214]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2020-09718]


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DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION

National Assessment Governing Board


Virtual Meetings

AGENCY: National Assessment Governing Board, U.S. Department of 
Education.

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: The National Assessment Governing Board (hereafter referred to 
as Governing Board) announces two meetings that will be conducted via 
videoconference. The first videoconference will be held by the 
Governing Board's Executive Committee on May 14, 2020 and will be 
closed to the public. The second videoconference will be a meeting of 
the full Board scheduled on May 15, 2020. This meeting will be open to 
the public, with visual and audio access. This notice sets forth the 
agenda for the two meetings and meeting participation guidelines. 
Notice of the full Board meeting is required under Sec.  10(a)(2) of 
the Federal Advisory Committee Act (FACA). This notice is published 
less than 15 days prior to the meetings due to scheduling delays 
resulting from the pandemic. The COVID-19 impact has required a change 
in rescheduling the meeting from an in-person meeting to a virtual 
meeting.

DATES:  May 14, 2020 Executive Committee Meeting: Closed Session from 
3:15 p.m. to 4:30 p.m. Eastern Time (ET).
    May 15, 2020 Governing Board Meeting: Open Meeting from 11:00 a.m. 
to 2:45 p.m. (ET).

ADDRESSES: Virtual Meetings.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Munira Mwalimu, Executive Officer/
Designated Federal Official for the Governing Board, 800 North Capitol 
Street NW, Suite 825, Washington, DC 20002, telephone: (202) 357-6938, 
fax: (202) 357-6945, email: [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Statutory Authority and Function: The 
Governing Board is established under the National Assessment of 
Educational Progress Authorization Act, Title III of Public Law 107-
279. The Governing Board is established to formulate policy for NAEP, 
which is administered by the National Center for Education Statistics 
(NCES). The Governing Board's responsibilities include the following: 
selecting subject areas to be assessed, developing assessment 
frameworks and specifications, developing appropriate student 
achievement levels for each grade and subject tested, developing 
standards and procedures for state and national comparisons, improving 
the form and use of NAEP, developing guidelines for reporting and 
disseminating results, and releasing initial NAEP results to the 
public. Governing Board members serve 4-year terms, subject to renewal 
for another 4 years, at the discretion of the Secretary of Education.

Meeting Agenda

    On Thursday, May 14, 2020, the Governing Board's Executive 
Committee will convene via videoconference in closed session to discuss 
independent cost estimates related to the impact of the COVID-19 
pandemic on NAEP operations and subsequent potential impacts on the 
NAEP budget and NAEP assessment schedule. The Executive Committee will 
also receive a briefing from Peggy Carr, Associate Commissioner, NCES, 
on cost implications which will involve reviewing the government's 
independent cost estimates for possibly revising the national 
assessment activities. These discussions may impact current and future 
NAEP contracts and budgets and must be kept confidential. Public 
disclosure of this confidential information would significantly impede 
implementation of the NAEP assessment program if conducted in open 
session. Such matters are protected by exemption 9(B) of Sec.  552b(c) 
of Title 5 of the United States Code.
    On Friday, May 15, 2020, the Governing Board will convene for an 
open video conference meeting from 11:00 a.m. to 2:45 p.m. ET. The 
meeting will begin with Governing Board Chair Haley Barbour's review of 
the May 15, 2020 quarterly Board meeting agenda, approval of the May 
meeting agenda, and approval of minutes from the March 5-7, 2020 
quarterly meeting. The Governing Board will then discuss and take 
action on a delegation of authority to the Assessment Development 
Committee to review and approve the 2025 NAEP Mathematics Item 
Specifications.
    From 11:15 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. ET Peggy Carr, Associate 
Commissioner, NCES, and Lesley Muldoon, Governing Board Executive 
Director, will provide a briefing on potential policy implications as a 
result of the impacts of COVID-19 on NAEP, followed by Governing Board 
discussion. The Governing Board will recess from 12:30 p.m. to 1:00 
p.m. ET.
    The meeting will reconvene at 1:00 p.m. ET. Chair Haley Barbour 
will facilitate discussion on the Board's Strategic Vision 2025. 
Updates will be provided by four Governing Board member group leaders 
on work performed to date. This session will end

[[Page 27214]]

at 2:30 p.m. ET. The Chair then will provide closing remarks and 
highlight next steps in the Governing Board's Strategic Vision work. 
The meeting will adjourn at 2:45 p.m. ET.
    Public Participation: The May 15, 2020 meeting of the Governing 
Board is open to the public through advance registration. Public 
participation is available for the videoconference with view access, 
along with an audio option for listening. The Governing Board is 
empowered to conduct the videoconference in a manner that will 
facilitate the orderly conduct of business and accomplish meeting 
objectives in a timely manner. A link to the registration page will be 
posted on the Governing Board' website https://www.nagb.gov on May 1, 
2020. Members of the public who need additional information on the 
meeting may contact Munira Mwalimu at the address or telephone number 
listed above.
    Access to Records of the Meeting: Pursuant to FACA requirements, 
the public may inspect the meeting materials for the May 15, 2020 
teleconference on the Governing Board's website at https://www.nagb.gov 
three business days prior to May 15, 2020.
    Reasonable Accommodations: The NAGB website is accessible to 
individuals with disabilities. If you will need an auxiliary aid or 
service to participate in the meeting (e.g., interpreting service, 
assistive listening device, or materials in an alternate format), 
please notify the contact person listed in this notice no later than 
May 4, 2020. Written comments related to the work of the Governing 
Board may be submitted electronically or in hard copy to the attention 
of the Executive Officer/Designated Federal Official (see contact 
information noted above). Information on the Governing Board and its 
work can be found at www.nagb.gov.
    Electronic Access to this Document: The official version of this 
document is the document published in the Federal Register. 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. This site allows the public to 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 Adobe website. You may also access documents of the Department 
published in the Federal Register by using the article search feature 
at: www.federalregister.gov. Specifically, the advanced search feature 
at this site allow searches to documents published by the Department.

    Authority:  Pub. L. 107-279, Title III--National Assessment of 
Educational Progress Sec.  301.

Lesley Muldoon,
Executive Director, National Assessment Governing Board (NAGB), U.S. 
Department of Education.
[FR Doc. 2020-09718 Filed 5-6-20; 8:45 am]
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