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[Federal Register: January 22, 2010 (Volume 75, Number 14)]
[Notices]               
[Page 3716-3717]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr22ja10-36]                         

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DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION

 
Notice of Proposed Information Collection Requests

AGENCY: Department of Education.

ACTION: Notice of Proposed Information Collection Requests.

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SUMMARY: The Acting Director, Information Collection Clearance 
Division, Regulatory Information Management Services, Office of 
Management, invites comments on the proposed information collection 
requests as required by the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995.

DATES: An emergency review has been requested in accordance with the 
Act (44 U.S.C. Chapter 3507 (j)), since public harm is reasonably 
likely to result if normal clearance procedures are followed. Approval 
by the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) has been requested by 
February 5, 2010. A regular clearance process is also beginning. 
Interested persons are invited to submit comments on or before March 
23, 2010.

ADDRESSES: Written comments regarding the emergency review should be 
addressed to the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs, 
Attention: Education Desk Officer, Office of Management and Budget; 725 
17th Street, NW., Room 10222, New Executive Office Building, 
Washington, DC 20503, or by e-mail to oira_submission@omb.eop.gov or 
faxed to (202) 395-5806.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Section 3506 of the Paperwork Reduction Act 
of 1995 (44 U.S.C. Chapter 35) requires that the Director of OMB 
provide interested Federal agencies and the public an early opportunity 
to comment on information collection requests. The Office of Management 
and Budget (OMB) may amend or waive the requirement for public 
consultation to the extent that public participation in the approval 
process would defeat the purpose of the information collection, violate 
State or Federal law, or substantially interfere with any agency's 
ability to perform its statutory obligations. The Acting Director, 
Information Collection Clearance Division, Regulatory Information 
Management Services, Office of Management, publishes this notice 
containing proposed information collection requests at the beginning of 
the Departmental review of the information collection. Each proposed 
information collection, grouped by office, contains the following: (1) 
Type of review requested, e.g., new, revision, extension, existing or 
reinstatement; (2) Title; (3) Summary of the collection; (4) 
Description of the need for, and proposed use of, the information; (5) 
Respondents and frequency of collection; and (6) Reporting and/or 
Recordkeeping burden. ED invites public comment.
    The Department of Education is especially interested in public 
comment addressing the following issues: (1) Is this collection 
necessary to the proper functions of the Department; (2) will this 
information be processed and used in a timely manner; (3) is the 
estimate of burden accurate; (4) how might the Department enhance the 
quality, utility, and clarity of the information to be collected; and 
(5) how might the Department minimize the burden of this collection on 
respondents, including through the use of information technology.

    Dated: January 15, 2010.
Angela C. Arrington,
Acting Director, Information Collection Clearance Division, Regulatory 
Information Management Services, Office of Management.

Office of Innovation and Improvement

    Type of Review: Emergency.
    Title: Open Innovation Web Portal.
    Abstract: The U.S. Department of Education's (ED) Office of 
Innovation and Improvement (OII) has developed a web-based platform, 
the Open Innovation Web Portal (Portal), to support communication and 
collaboration among a wide range of key education stakeholders, 
including practitioners, funders, and the general public. Once this 
platform goes on-line, it will allow geographically dispersed but like-
minded entities to discover each other and work together to address 
some of the most intractable challenges in education.
    OII plans to promote this platform as a tool for use with the 
Investing in Innovation grant program (i3), which was established as 
the ``Innovation Fund'' in the ``American Recovery and Reinvestment Act 
of 2009'' (ARRA), signed into law by the President on February 17, 
2009. Since passage of ARRA, the Department has worked with all 
possible speed to develop the i3 program, which will conduct three 
separate competitions. This new program will provide $650,000,000 in 
competitive grants to Local Education Agencies (LEAs), non-profit 
organizations working in collaboration with LEAs, or non-profit 
organizations working in collaboration with a consortium of schools. 
The Department must obligate funds to i3 grantees before the end of 
fiscal year 2010, September 30, 2010. The Department requests emergency 
approval under the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (PRA) of the 
information collection request (ICR) for the Portal so that prospective 
applicants to the i3 competitions may use the Portal to identify 
partners, find matching funding, and improve the quality of their 
applications.
    Additional Information: Part of our intent in implementing the i3 
program is to identify innovative new approaches proposed by 
individuals and organizations that have previously had limited 
experience in obtaining grants in the education sector yet have 
promising evidence-based ideas for improving American education. These 
applicants in particular face challenges in identifying schools or LEAs 
with which to partner given their limited experience in the field. 
Further, organizations without existing relationships in education may 
find it difficult to secure the private sector matching funds required 
of all grantees under ARRA. Receiving OMB's approval on an emergency 
basis is thus essential to launching the Portal and supporting improved 
student achievement through school improvement and reform, one of the 
primary objectives of ARRA. Failure to approve this emergency request

[[Page 3717]]

would cause substantial harm to precisely the applicants that the i3 
program hopes to entice and as a direct result would negatively impact 
the schools and students who would benefit most from new and improved 
approaches to education.
    Frequency: On Occasion.
    Affected Public: Business or other for-profits; Federal Government; 
Individuals or households; Not-for-profit-institutions; Private Sector; 
State, Local or Tribal Governments.
    Reporting and Recordkeeping Hour Burden:
    Responses: 4,850.
    Burden Hours: 63,050.
    Requests for copies of the proposed information collection request 
may be accessed from http://edicsweb.ed.gov, by selecting the ``Browse 
Pending Collections'' link and by clicking on link number 4204. When 
you access the information collection, click on ``Download 
Attachments'' to view. Written requests for information should be 
addressed to U.S. Department of Education, 400 Maryland Avenue, SW., 
LBJ, Washington, DC 20202-4537. Requests may also be electronically 
mailed to the Internet address ICDocketMgr@ed.gov or faxed to 202-401-
0920. Please specify the complete title of the information collection 
when making your request.
    Comments regarding burden and/or the collection activity 
requirements should be electronically mailed to ICDocketMgr@ed.gov. 
Individuals who use a telecommunications device for the deaf (TDD) may 
call the Federal Information Relay Service (FIRS) at 1-800-877-8339.

[FR Doc. 2010-1199 Filed 1-21-10; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4000-01-P
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