1

EDICS Tracking and OMB Number: (XXXX) XXXX
- XXXX Revised: XX/XX/XXXX RI N Number: XXXX
- XXXX (if applicable) **SUPPORTING STATEMENT FOR PAPERWORK REDUCTION ACT SUBMISSION**  

# Annual Mandatory Collection of Elementary and **Secondary Education Data through ED Facts**  EDICS Tracking and OMB Number: (XXXX) XXXX - XXXX

Revised XX/XX/XXXX RIN Number: XXXX - XXXX (if applicable) **A. Justification 1.**  **Explain the**  **circumstances that**  **make the**  **collection of**  **information necessary.**  **Identify any**  **legal or**  **administrative requirements**  **that necessitate**  **the collection.**  **Attach a**  **hard copy**  **of the**  **appropriate section**  **of each**  **statute and**  **regulation mandating**  **or authorizing**  **the collection**  **of information,**  **or you**  **may provide**  **a valid**  **URL link**  **or paste**  **the applicable**  **section. Specify**  **the review**  **type of**  **the collection**  **(new, revision, ext ension, reinstatement with change, reinstatement without change).**  **If revised,**  **briefly specify**  **the changes.**  **I f**  **a rulemaking**  **is involved,**  **ma ke**  **note of**  **the sections or changed sections, if applicable.**  The collection, use , and reporting of education data is an integral component of the mission of the U.S. Department of Education (ED). EDFacts , an ED initiative to put performance data at the center of ED’s policy, management, and budget decision
- making processes for all K
- 12 educational programs , has transfor med the way in which ED collects and uses data
. EDFacts provides an electronic submission system for SEAs , and centralizes within ED the availability of the performance data supplied by state education agencies ( SEAs ) to enable better anal ys is and use in policy development, planning, and management. ED has designed this collection to obtain the most commonly collected data elements so that states need onl y report these data once, through a centralized, electronic proces s. ED ’s goal in requiring electronic submission of information is to reduce SEA reporting burden and streamline and consolidate data collections required by ED
. In order to facilitate the use of ED ’s electronic EDFacts data management system for submiss ion of certain data and allow ED to provide more timely and accessible data for accountability

and decision
- making, the Secretary of Education amended the regulations in 34 CFR part 76 governing State reporting requirements. In Final Regulations published in the Federal Register on January 25, 2007, the Secretary

required that States submit their performance reports, financial reports, and any other required reports, in the manner prescribed b y the Secretary, including through electronic submission, if the Secretary has obtained approval from the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) under the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (PRA) . The regulations provide that: (1) failure to submit these reports in the manner prescribed by the Secretary constitutes a failure, under section 454 of the General Education Provisions Act,2

EDICS Tracking and OMB Number: (XXXX) XXXX
- XXXX Revised: XX/XX/XXXX RI N Number: XXXX
- XXXX (if applicable)

20 U.S.C. 1234c, to comply substantially

with a requirement of law applicable to the funds made avai lable under the program for which the reports are submitted; and (2) if the Secretary

chooses to require submission of information electronically, the Secretary may establish a transition period during which a state would not be required to submit such information electronicall y in the format prescribed by the Secretary, if the State meets certain requirements. The Secretary

made these changes to the regulations in 34 CFR part 76 to highlight that ED may require, through the PRA clearance process, that states report certain information electronically ; and to establish that ED may take administrative action against a state for failure to submit reports in the manner prescribed by the Secretary
. ED is currentl y in the process of collecting data for the 2010
- 11 , 2011
- 12, and 2012
- 13 school years as approved by OMB (1875
- 0240). ED seeks another three
- year approval for this collection. This proposed collection includes the 2013
- 14, 2014
- 15, and 2015
- 16 school years. ED encourages the public to review , at a minimum, all proposed changes outlined in Attachment C
. To the extent that any of these proposed data are not available in the coming school ye ar, ED seeks to know if those data will be available in future ye ars. As part of this approval, it needs to be understood that ED is authorized to collect the data about these school years over whatever time is required to secure these data from each state, district, or school. ED seeks OMB approval under the Paperwork Reduction Act to collect the elementary and secondary

education data on schools, school districts, and SEAs as described in the five sections of Attachment B. In this attachment, ED documents all of the data groups it intends to collect. In Attachment C, ED explains the changes between the data groups ED intends to collect and those data groups currently cleared for collection in 1875
- 0240
. Those persons who are familiar with the current E DFacts collections may want to start by first reviewing Attachment C. 2. **Indicate how, by whom, and for what purpose t he information is to be used. Except**  **for a new collection, indicate the actual use the agency has made of the information received from the current collection** 
. The primary

customers for these education data will be the program managers and policy anal ys ts at ED. These data will be used to evaluate in an integrated way the effectiveness and efficiency

o f f ederal education programs, with the intent to improve program management and focus our budget on those f ederal education programs that provide the best educational outcomes for the nation’s students and their families. We believe these data may also be useful in future reauthorizations of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act. W e believe that SEAs and districts use many o f the data collected through EDFacts in managing education programs at those levels.3

EDICS Tracking and OMB Number: (XXXX) XXXX
- XXXX Revised: XX/XX/XXXX RI N Number: XXXX
- XXXX (if applicable) **3. Describe whether, and to what extent, the collection of information involves the use**  **of automated, elec tronic, mechanical, or other technological collection techniques or**  **forms of information technology, e.g. permitting electronic submission of responses, and the basis for the decision of adopting this means of collection. Also describe any**  **consideration g iven to using technology to reduce burden.**  SEAs will submit the data electronically through the EDFacts Submission System, which is an established submission system that SEAs have been using for several years. The EDFacts Submission System allows each SEA to provide the EDFacts data in the non proprietary, electronic format s that could be generated through automated processes within the SEA
. Provisions were made to receive data in multiple formats to ensure the least possible burden on each of the respondent s. Over the ye ars covered by this clearance ED will be working to clarify d ata requirements and possibly s treamline technical reporting process by l inking EDFacts data groups to elements within the Common Education Data Standards (CEDS). E arlier in 20 12 ED published version 2.0 of CEDS enabling states to now incorporate these standards into their data systems. **4. Describe ef** 

**forts to identify duplication. Show specifically why any similar**  **information already available cannot be used or modified for use for the purposes**  **described in Item 2 above.**  EDFacts continues to reduce duplication in data collection efforts within ED. Attachment B1 explains how legacy data collections have been discontinued or transformed with the increasing use of EDFacts data and/or the EDFacts submissions systems. The new data groups proposed for collection are not currentl y collected within ED. The EDFacts Data Governance Board , consisting of representatives from each K
12 program office, reviews new and existing data requests from all program office data stewards to prevent duplicative collections. **5. If the collection of information impacts small businesses or other small entities,**  **describe any methods used to minimize burden. A small entity may be (1) a small busine**  **ss which is deemed to be one that is independently owned and operated and that is not dominant in its field of operation; (2) a small organization that is any not** **** **for -** **profit enterprise that is independently owned and operated and is not dominant in its fie** **ld; or (3) a small government jurisdiction, which is a government of a city, county, town, township, school district, or special district with a population of less**  **than 50,000.** This collection will not impact small business es or other small entities as def ined above. **6. Describe the consequences to Federal program or policy activities if the collection is**  **not conducted or is conducted less frequently, as well as any technical or legal obstacles to reducing burden.** 4

EDICS Tracking and OMB Number: (XXXX) XXXX
- XXXX Revised: XX/XX/XXXX RI N Number: XXXX
- XXXX (if applicable) Public e ducation accountability is on an annu al cycle where success and failure are measured and reported annually
. I f ED collected this information less frequentl y than annually, it would greatly diminish the ability o f program managers and anal ys ts to use the information to measure education progress in support of f ederal legislation. **7. Explain any special circumstances that would cause an information collection to be**  **conducted in a manner:**
 **requiring respondents to report information to the agency more often than quarterly;** 
 **requiring respondents t o prepare a written response to a collection of**  **information in fewer than 30 days after receipt of it;**
 **requiring respondents to submit more than an original and two copies of any document;** 
 **requiring respondents to retain records, other than health, medical , government**  **contract, grant -** **in -**  **aid, or tax records for more than three years;**
 **in connection with a statistical survey, that is not designed to produce valid and reliable results than can be generalized to the universe of study;** 
 **requiring the use of a stat istical data classification that has not been reviewed**  **and approved by OMB;**
 **that includes a pledge of confidentiality that is not supported by authority established in statute or regulation, that is not supported by disclosure and data**  **security policies th at are consistent with the pledge, or that unnecessarily**  **impedes sharing of data with other agencies for compatible confidential use; or**
 **requiring respondents to submit proprietary trade secrets, or other confidential information unless the agency can demo**  **nstrate that it has instituted procedures to protect the information’s confidentiality to the extent permitted by law.**  This information collection activity does not have special circumstances that would include any of the requirements listed above. **8. As**  **applicable, state that the Department has published the 60 and 30 Federal**  **Register notices as required by 5 CFR 1320.8(d), soliciting comments on the**  **information collection prior to submission to OMB. Summarize public comments received in response to that**  **notice and describe actions taken by the agency in response to these comments. Specifically address comments received on cost and**  **hour burden. Describe efforts to consult with persons outside the agency to obtain their views on**  **the availability of data, frequency of collection, the clarity of instruction and record**  **keeping, disclosure, or reporting format (if any), and on the data elements to be recorded, disclosed, or reported.** 5

EDICS Tracking and OMB Number: (XXXX) XXXX
- XXXX Revised: XX/XX/XXXX RI N Number: XXXX
- XXXX (if applicable) **Consultation with representatives of those from whom information is to be obt ained**  **or those who must compile records should occur at least once every 3 years**

**– even if**  **the collection of information activity is the same as in prior periods. There may be circumstances that may preclude consultation in a specific situation. These**  **ci rcumstances should be explained.**  A 60
- day and 30
- day

c omment period will be provided for this collection. The majority of the data included in Attachment s B1, B3, B4, and B5 reflect data that have been collected through EDFacts for several ye ars. N ew item s proposed for collection are outlined in Attachment C. Extensive discussions were held with the U.S. Department of Agriculture about avai lable data for Free and Reduced
- Price Lunch. ED, as well as the education research community, has long used Free and Reduced
- Price Lunch eligibility data as a proxy for poverty . With changes in the National School Lunch Program, additional data groups are needed to better understand the eligibility data currentl y being collected. **9. Explain**  **any decision**  **to provide**  **any p**  **ayment or**  **gift to**  **respondents, other**  **than remuneration of contractors or grantees**  **with meaningful justification .**  These data are collected from grantee SEAs
. N o remuneration, outside of grant funds allocated to the SEA s by

formula , is made. **10. Describe**  **any a**  **ssurance of**  **confidentiality provided**  **to respondents**  **and the**  **basis for**  **the assurance**  **in statute,**  **regulation, or**  **agency policy.**  **If personally**  **identifiable information**  **(PII) is**  **being collected,**  **a Privacy**  **Act statement**  **should be**  **included on**  **the instrument.**  **Ple ase**  **provide a**  **citation for**  **the Systems**  **of Record**  **Notice and**  **the date a Privacy Impact Assessment was completed**  **as indicated on the IC Data Form .**  **A confidentiality**  **statement with**  **a legal**  **citation that**  **authorizes the**  **pledge of**  **confidentiality should**  **be provided.**  **Requests for**  **this information**  **are in**  **accordance with the following ED and OMB policies: Privacy Act of 1974, OMB Circular A** **- 108** 

**– Privacy**  **Act Im** **plementation**

**– Guidelines**  **and Responsibilities,**  **OMB Circular**  **A****** **130 Appendix**  **I**
**– Federal**  **Agency Respons**  **ibilities for**  **Maintaining Records**  **About Individuals,**  **OMB M** **- 03**  **- 22** 

**– OMB**  **Guidance for**  **Implementing the**  **Privacy Provisions**  **of the**  **E -**  **Government Act**  **of 2002,**  **OMB M** **- 06**  **- 15** 

**– Safeguarding**  **Personally Identifiable**  **Information, OM:6**  **- 104** 

**– Privacy**  **Act of**  **1974 (Collect** **ion, Use**  **and Protection**  **of Personally**  **Identifiable Information)**  **. If**  **the collection**  **is subject**  **to the**  **Privacy Act,**  **the Privacy**  **Act statement**  **is deemed**  **sufficient with**  **respect to**  **confidentiality. If**  **there is**  **no expectation**  **of confidentiality,**  **simply state**  **th at the Department make**  **s no pledge about the confidentially of the data.**  There has been no assurance of confidentiality p rovided to the respondents beyond the agreement to protect personally i dentifiable information in students’ education records under the Federal Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA)
. The data collected are aggregate, and not at a level that contains direct PII about individual students or teachers. ED is committed to protecting individual student privacy and will apply disclosure avoidance techniques prior to publishing any data, in accordance with FERPA
.6

EDICS Tracking and OMB Number: (XXXX) XXXX
- XXXX Revised: XX/XX/XXXX RI N Number: XXXX
- XXXX (if applicable) **11. Provide**  **additional justification**  **for any**  **questions of**  **a sensitive**  **nature, such**  **as sexual**  **behavior and**  **attitudes, religious**  **beliefs, and**  **other matters**  **that are**  **commonly considered**  **private. T**  **he justification**  **should include**  **the reasons**  **why the**  **agency considers**  **the questions**  **necessary, the**  **specific uses**  **to be**  **made of**  **the information,**  **the explanation**  **to be**  **given to**  **persons from**  **whom the**  **information is**  **requested, and any steps to be ta ken to obtain their consent.**  There are no questions of a sensitive nature, such as sexual behavior and attitudes, religious beliefs, and other matters that are commonly considered private. **12. Provide estimates of the hour burden of the collection of inf**  **ormation. The statement should:** 
 **Indicate the number of respondents by affected public type (federal government, individuals or households, private sector** 

**– businesses or other for** **- profit, private**  **sector**
**– not** **- for** **- profit institutions, farms, state, local o**  **r tribal governments), frequency of response, annual hour burden, and an explanation of how the**  **burden was estimated, including identification of burden type: recordkeeping, reporting or third party disclosure. All narrative should be included in item 12.**  **Unless directed to do so, agencies should not conduct special surveys to obtain information on which to base hour burden estimates. Consultation with a**  **sample (fewer than 10) of potential respondents is desirable. If the hour burden on respondents is ex** **pected to vary widely because of differences in activity, size, or complexity, show the range of estimated hour burden, and explain the reasons**  **for the variance. Generally, estimates should not include burden hours for customary and usual business practic**  **es.**  **If this request for approval covers more than one form, provide separate hour burden estimates for each form and aggregate the hour burdens in the**  **ROCIS IC Burden Analysis Table.**  **(The table should at minimum**  **include Respondent types, IC activity, Resp**  **ondent and Responses, Hours/Response, and Total Hours)** 
 **Provide estimates of annualized cost to respondents of the hour burdens for collections of information, identifying and using appropriate wage rate**  **categories. The cost of contracting out or paying outside parties for information**  **collection activities should not be included here. Instead, this cost should be included in Item 14.**  Fifty
- two state education agencies (SEAs) will submit EDFacts data annually over the three
- ye ar clearance period. Inaddition, seven outlying areas and freely a ssociated states submit a limited amount of data through EDFacts. Based on conversations with SEAs through the ye ars that EDFacts has been utilized as a collection system for ED, we believe that a reasonable estimate of the average burden for SEAs is the equivalent of one FTE for the equivalent of 55 SEAs (the additional three SEAs represents the cumulative relative effort of the seven outlying areas and freel y associated states). The initial ye ar7

EDICS Tracking and OMB Number: (XXXX) XXXX
- XXXX Revised: XX/XX/XXXX RI N Number: XXXX
- XXXX (if applicable) may p ose more burden for data submitters, as they will need to program new routines for submission of the new data groups. Thereafter, the burden should be slightly less. Thus, the estimated burden on SEAs for the first ye ar of reporting would be an average of 2180 hours per respondent to develop routines for preparing the necessary files and data groups that would appl y to their SEAs , as well as submitting the files. F or subsequent years of reporting , ED expects the average to be reduced to 2080 hours per respondent. The annualized response time over three years is 2115 hours. Respondents Hours/Response Total Hours EDFacts Annual Data Collection 5 5 2115 116,325
The annualized cost is estimated to be $ 5,816,250 ( 116,325 hours multiplied by an average wage of $50 per hour). There is a wide range of hourl y salaries associated with the prof essionals that will provide the data , making this estimation approximate
. **13. Provide an estimate of the total annual cost burden to respondents or record**  **keepers resulting from the collection of information. (Do not include the cost of any**  **hour burden shown in Items 12 and 14.)**
 **The cost estimate should be split into two components: (a) a total capital and start** **- up cost component (annualized over its expected useful life); and (b**  **) a total operation and maintenance and purchase of services component. The estimates**  **should take into account costs associated with generating, maintaining, and disclosing or providing the information. Include descriptions of methods used to**  **estimate ma**

**jor cost factors including system and technology acquisition, expected useful life of capital equipment, the discount rate(s), and the time**  **period over which costs will be incurred. Capital and start -**  **up costs include, among other items, preparations for c**  **ollecting information such as purchasing computers and software; monitoring, sampling, drilling and testing equipment;**  **and acquiring and maintaining record storage facilities.**
 **If cost estimates are expected to vary widely, agencies should present ranges of cost burdens and explain the reasons for the variance. The cost of contracting**  **out information collection services should be a part of this cost burden estimate. In developing cost burden estimates, agencies may consult with a sample of**  **respondents (few er than 10), utilize the 60**  **- day pre**  **- OMB submission public**  **comment process and use existing economic or regulatory impact analysis associated with the rulemaking containing the information collection, as**  **appropriate.**
 **Generally, estimates should not include purchases of equipment or services, or**  **portions thereof, made: (1) prior to October 1, 1995, (2) to achieve regulatory compliance with requirements not associated with the information collection, (3)**  **for reasons other than to provide information or keep re cords for the**  **government or (4) as part of customary and usual business or private practices.** 8

EDICS Tracking and OMB Number: (XXXX) XXXX
- XXXX Revised: XX/XX/XXXX RI N Number: XXXX
- XXXX (if applicable) **Also, these estimates should not include the hourly costs (i.e., the monetization of the hours) captured above in Item 12**  The collection of EDFacts data for the foreseeable future will require no additional systems development efforts by SEAs
. SEAs are currently s eriousl y involved in the development of S tate education information systems for their own use and for reports in response to education legi slation. The guidance, standards, and best practices developed by E DFacts have been noted by the SEAs as helping them reduce the total costs associated with those systems development activities by providing cost effective common education information management solutions to SEAs and LEAs
. S ome of this work is being done under the In stitute of Education Sciences (IES) discretionary grants made available to help SEAs devel op longitudinal s tatewide education data s ys tems. **14. Provide estimates of annualized**  **cost to the Federal government. Also, provide a description of the method used to estimate cost, which should include quantification**  **of hours, operational expenses (such as equipment, overhead, printing, and support staff), and any other expense that woul** **d not have been incurred without this collection of information. Agencies also may aggregate cost estimates from Items**  **12, 13, and 14 in a single table.** EDFacts collects data through the use of either the EDFacts Submission System or the EDFacts Metadata and Process System, and is made available to licensed users through the EDFacts Reporting System. The current budget to support the collection of EDFacts data for FY 2013 is $10.543 million. **15. Explain the reasons for any program changes or adjustments. Ge**  **nerally, adjustments in burden result from re**  **- estimating burden and/or from economic**  **phenomenon outside of an agency’s control (e.g., correcting a burden estimate or an organic increase in the size of the reporting universe). Program changes result from**  **a deliberate action that materially changes a collection of information and generally**  **are result of new statute or an agency action (e.g., changing a form, revising regulations, redefining the respondent universe, etc.). Burden changes should be**  **disaggregate d by type of change (i.e., adjustment, program change due to new**  **statute, and/or program change due to agency discretion), type of collection (new, revision, extension, reinstatement with change, reinstatement without change) and**  **include totals for**  **changes in burden hours**  **, responses and cost**  **s (if applicable)**  **.** This is a request for clearance for a currentl y approved collection with revisions
. We are proposing for collection 11 new data groups, and eliminating 10 previously cleared data groups. SY 2013
- 14 will be the second ye ar in which EDFacts will be collecting for the Office of Special Education Programs the ID EA, Part B, Section 618 Table 8 through E MAPS
. One new data item and one new metadata item are proposed in that table (See Attachment B
- 5). It should be noted that the Civil Rights Data Collection (CRDC) is no longer a part of the EDFacts clearance (this collection will be cleared separately)
. Therefore, the burden hours directl y associated with EDFacts reporting are significantly reduced.9

EDICS Tracking and OMB Number: (XXXX) XXXX
- XXXX Revised: XX/XX/XXXX RI N Number: XXXX
- XXXX (if applicable) **16. For collections of information whose results will be published, outline plans for**  **tabulation and publication. Address any complex analytical techniques that will be used. Provide the time schedule for the entire project, including beginning and**  **ending da tes of the collection of information, completion of report, publication**  **dates, and other actions.** Data collected through EDFacts are published in a number of places, including various reports to Congress, the Consolidated Annual Performance Report, the Annual Report to Congress on the Implementation of ID EA, the Common Core of Data (non
- fiscal), and EDDataExpress.ed.gov. P erformance data are generall y published at the SEA level. Beginning in 2012 ED is preparing to publish school and district level data f iles on data.gov. This work will begin with data about student achievement results on statewide assessments in reading/language arts and mathematics. ED is planning to expand to publish information sets of additional data groups from EDFacts after that. Prior to publishing any

d ata, ED will apply

disclosure avoidance techniques approved by ED’s Disclosure Review Board and in accordance with FERPA. **17. If seeking approval to not display the expiration date for OMB approval of the**  **information collection, expl ain the reasons that display would be inappropriate.**  There will be no paper EDFacts form for the general collection upon which to display the OMB number. The OMB number will be properly displayed on any

W eb form used by EDFacts
. **18. Explain each exception to**  **the certification statement identified in the Certification of Paperwork Reduction Act.**  ED is requesting no exemptions from the Certification.