50994 Federal Register / Vol. 62, No. 188 / Monday, September 29, 1997 / Notices

DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION

Privacy Act of 1974; Computer

Matching Program; Notice

AGENCY: Department of Education.

ACTION: Notice—Computer matching

between the Department of Education

and the Immigration and Naturalization

Service (INS), Department of Justice.

SUMMARY: Pursuant to the Computer

Matching and Privacy Protection Act of

1988, Pub. L. 100–503, and the Office of

Management and Budget (OMB)

Guidelines on the Conduct of Matching

Programs, notice is hereby given of the

computer matching program between

the Department of Education (ED) (the

recipient agency), and the Immigration

and Naturalization Service (INS),

Department of Justice (the source

agency).

Notice of the matching program was

originally published in the Federal

Register on March 23, 1995 (60 FR

15428); the program became effective on

April 26, 1995. Duration was 18 months

plus a one-year extension permitted by

the Privacy Act of 1974, as amended by

the Computer Matching and Privacy

Protection Act of 1988 (5 U.S.C.

552a(o)(2)(D)). The one-year extension

will expire on October 26, 1997. The

following notice represents the approval

of a new agreement by the Department

of Justice and Department of Education

Data Integrity Boards to continue the

matching program (on the effective date

as indicated below).

In accordance with the Privacy Act of

1974 (5 U.S.C. 552a), as amended by the

Computer Matching and Privacy

Protection Act of 1988 (Pub. L. 100–

503), and the Office of Management and

Budget (OMB) Final Guidance on

Interpreting the Provisions of Pub. L.

100–503, Computer Matching and

Privacy Act of 1988 (54 FR 25818, June

19, 1989), and OMB Bulletin 89–22, the

following information is provided:

1. Name of Participating Agencies

The Department of Education (ED)

and the Department of Justice (DOJ).

2. Purpose of the Match

The matching program entitled

‘‘Systematic Alien Verification for

Entitlement (SAVE) INS/ED’’ will

permit ED to confirm the immigration

status of alien applicants for, or

recipients of, assistance as authorized

by Title IV, section 484(a)(5), of the

Higher Education Act of 1965, as

amended (HEA). The Title IV programs

include: the Federal Pell Grant, Federal

Supplemental Educational Opportunity

Grant, Federal Work-Study, Federal

Perkins Loan, State Student Incentive

Grant, Federal Family Education Loan,

and William D. Ford Direct Loan

Programs.

3. Authority for Conducting the

Matching Program

The information contained in the INS

data base is referred to as the Alien

Status Verification Index (ASVI), and is

authorized under the Immigration

Reform and Control Act of 1986 (IRCA),

Pub. L. 99–603. ED seeks access to this

data base under the Higher Education

Act of 1965, as amended (section

484(g)). The INS is authorized to

confirm immigration status under

authority of section 103 of the

Immigration and Nationality Act.

4. Categories of Records and

Individuals Covered

The records to be used in the match

and the roles of the matching

participants are described as follows:

Through the use of user identification

codes and passwords, authorized

persons from ED will transmit

electronically to INS data from its

Privacy Act system of records entitled,

‘‘Federal Student Aid Application File

(18–40–0014).’’ The data will include

the alien registration number and date

of birth of the alien applicant for, or

recipient of, Title IV assistance. This

action will initiate a search for

corresponding data elements in an INS

Privacy Act system of records entitled

‘‘Alien Status Verification Index

(JUSTICE/INS–009).’’ Where there is a

match of records, the system will

provide to ED the immigration status

code of the alien applicant or recipient.

In accordance with 5 U.S.C. 552a(p), ED

will verify any adverse finding

(independently or through the alien

applicant or recipient) and provide the

alien applicant or recipient with 30 days

notice and opportunity to contest such

finding.

5. Effective Dates of the Matching

Program

The matching program will become

effective 40 days after a copy of the

agreement, as approved by the Data

Integrity Board of each agency, is sent

to Congress and the Office of

Management and Budget, or 30 days

after publication of this notice in the

Federal Register, whichever date is

later. The matching program will

continue for 18 months after the

effective date and may be extended for

an additional 12 months, if the

conditions specified in 5 U.S.C.

552a(o)(2)(D) have been met.

6. Address for Receipt of Public

Comments or Inquiries

Claude Denton, Program Specialist,

Student Eligibility and Verification

Section, Policy Development Division,

U.S. Department of Education, 600

Independence Avenue, SW, (Room

3045, ROB–3), Washington, DC 20202,

Telephone: (202) 708–8242. Individuals

who use a telecommunications device

for the deaf (TTD) may call the Federal

Information Relay Service (FIRS) at 1–

800–877–8339 between 8 a.m. and 8

p.m., Eastern time, Monday through

Friday. Individuals with disabilities

may obtain this document in an

alternate format (e.g., Braille, large print,

audiotape, or computer diskette) on

request to the contact person listed in

the preceding paragraph.

Electronic Access to This Document

Anyone may view this document, as

well as all other Department of

Education documents in the Federal

Register, in text or portable document

format (pdf) on the World Wide Web at

either of the following sites:

http://ocfo.ed.gov/fedreg.htm

http://www.ed.gov/news.html

To use the pdf you must have the Adobe

Acrobat Reader Program with Search,

which is available free at either of the

previous sites. If you have questions

about using the pdf, call the U.S.

Government Printing Office toll free at

1–888–293–6498. Anyone may also

view these documents in text copy only

on an electronic bulletin board of the

Department. Telephone: (202) 219–1511

or, toll free, 1–800–222–4922. The

documents are located under Option

G—Files/Announcements, Bulletins and

Press Releases.

Note: The official version of this document

is the document published in the Federal

Register.

Dated: September 19, 1997.

David A. Longanecker,

Assistant Secretary for Postsecondary

Education.

[FR Doc. 97–25744 Filed 9–24–97; 8:45 am]

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