### 72873 Federal Register / Vol. 78, No. 233 / Wednesday, December 4, 2013 / Notices

**SUMMARY :**  In accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act, ED is proposing a new information collection.

**DATES :**  Interested persons are invited to submit comments on or before January

3, 2014.

**ADDRESSES :**  Comments submitted in response to this notice should be submitted electronically through the Federal eRulemaking Portal at http:// www.regulations.gov by selecting
Docket ID number ED–2013–ICCD–0079 or via postal mail, commercial delivery, or hand delivery. Please note that comments submitted by fax or email and those submitted after the comment period will not be accepted. Written requests for information or comments submitted by postal mail or delivery
should be addressed to the Director of
the Information Collection Clearance Division, U.S. Department of Education, 400 Maryland Avenue SW., LBJ, Room 2E105, Washington, DC 20202–4537.

**FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT :**  Stephanie Valentine, 202–401–0526, or
email ICDocketMgr@ed.gov. Please do
not send comments here.

**SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION :**  The Department of Education (ED), in accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (PRA) (44 U.S.C. 3506(c)(2)(A)), provides the general public and Federal agencies with an opportunity to comment on proposed, revised, and continuing collections of information. This helps the Department assess the impact of its information collection requirements and minimize the public’s reporting burden. It also helps the public understand the Department’s information collection requirements and provide the requested
data in the desired format. ED is soliciting comments on the proposed information collection request (ICR) that is described below. 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 the respondents, including through the use of information technology. Please note
that written comments received in response to this notice will be considered public records.

Title of Collection: Mandatory Civil Rights Data Collection.

OMB Control Number: 1870–NEW. Type of Review: A new information
collection.

Respondents/Affected Public: State, Local, or Tribal Governments.

Total Estimated Number of Annual Responses: 17,620.

Total Estimated Number of Annual
Burden Hours: 1,510,075.

Abstract: 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 decisionmaking processes for all K–12 education programs, has transformed the way in
which ED collects and uses data. For school years 2009–10 and 2011–12, the Civil Rights Data Collection (CRDC) was approved by OMB as part of the EDFacts information collection (1875–0240). For school years 2013–14 and 2015–16, the Office for Civil Rights (OCR) is clearing the CRDC as a separate collection from
EDFacts. ED’s CRDC information
collection is modeled after the most
current EDFacts information collection approved by OMB (1875–0240). As with previous CRDC collections, the purpose
of the 2013–14 and 2015–16 CRDC is to
obtain vital data related to the civil rights laws requirement that public local educational agencies (LEAs) and elementary and secondary schools provide equal educational opportunity. ED has extensively analyzed the uses of every data element collected in the 2011–12 CRDC and sought advice from experts across ED to refine, improve, and where appropriate, add or remove
data elements from the collection. The 2013–14 and 2015–16 CRDC redesign effort ensured that, while several new indicators were added to the collection,
data elements also were removed where appropriate. ED also made the CRDC
data definitions and metrics consistent with other mandatory collections across ED wherever possible. The proposed additions and changes to the 2013–14
and 2015–16 CRDC reflect the need for a deeper understanding of and accurate data about the educational opportunities
and school context for our nation’s students. ED seeks OMB approval under the Paperwork Reduction Act to collect from LEAs, the elementary and secondary education data described in
the sections of Attachment A. In addition, ED requests that LEAs and other stakeholders respond to the directed questions found in Attachment

A–5.

Stephanie Valentine, Acting Director, Information Collection Clearance Division, Privacy, Information and Records Management Services, Office of Management.

[FR Doc. 2013–28904 Filed 12–3–13; 8:45 am]

**BILLING CODE 4000–01–P**

**DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY**

**Availability of 2014–2018 Draft Strategic Plan and Request for Public** 
**Comment**

**AGENCY :**  Department of Energy (DOE).

**ACTION :**  Notice of availability of DOE’s Draft Strategic Plan and request for

comment.

**SUMMARY :**  The Department of Energy (DOE) invites the public to comment on the draft DOE 2014–2018 Strategic Plan.
The Government Performance and Results Act (GPRA) Modernization Act of 2010 requires that federal agencies revise and update their strategic plan at least every four years and, in doing so,
solicit the views of interested members of the public during this process.

**DATES :**  Submit comments on or before noon, December 17, 2013.

**ADDRESSES :**  Electronic mail comments may be submitted to: strategicplan@ hq.doe.gov. Please include ‘‘DOE Strategic Plan’’ in the subject line. Please put the full body of your
comments in the text of the electronic message and as an attachment. Please include your name, title, organization, postal address, telephone number, and email address in the text of the message.

Comments may also be submitted by surface mail to: Department of Energy, Office of the Chief Financial Officer, 1000 Independence Ave. SW., Washington, DC 20585.

Respondents are encouraged to submit comments electronically to ensure timely receipt.

The draft DOE 2014–2018 Strategic
Plan can be accessed at http://energy.gov/about-us/budgetperformance.

**FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT :**  Chris Johns, DOE Office of the Chief Financial Officer, at (202) 586–4180, or
email christopher.johns@hq.doe.gov.

**SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION :**  The DOE
was established in October 1977. The DOE is responsible for advancing the energy, environmental, and nuclear security of the United States; promoting scientific and technological innovation in support of that mission; sponsoring basic research in the physical sciences;


### 72874 Federal Register / Vol. 78, No. 233 / Wednesday, December 4, 2013 / Notices

and ensuring the environmental cleanup of the nation’s nuclear weapons complex. The workforce is comprised of approximately 14,000 federal employees and over 90,000 contractor employees at the 17 national laboratories that provide world-class scientific, technological, and engineering capabilities to support the DOE science, energy, and national security missions.

Since taking office, President Obama and DOE Secretary Moniz have articulated clear goals for DOE in the areas of energy, science, national security, environmental clean-up, and management. The Department’s first strategic goal, for energy and science, is to advance foundational science, innovate energy technologies, and inform data driven policies that enhance U.S. economic growth and job creation, energy security, and environmental quality, with emphasis on implementation of the President’s Climate Action Plan to mitigate the risks of and enhance resilience against climate change. DOE’s strategic goal for national security is to enhance national security by maintaining and modernizing the nuclear deterrent, reducing global nuclear and cyber security threats, providing for nuclear propulsion, and stewarding key science, technology, and engineering capabilities and supporting infrastructure. The Department’s strategic goal for management and performance is to position the Department of Energy to meet the challenges of the 21st century and the nation’s Cold War legacy responsibilities by improving the effectiveness, efficiency and responsiveness of Departmental management and operations, enhanced stewardship of environmental management and legacy issues, modernization of Departmental facilities
and infrastructure and more efficient and responsive mission support.

The strategy behind these goals is explained in the draft DOE Strategic Plan. The plan outlines how the DOE will focus its world leading science and research and development programs on the nation’s most pressing energy and security challenges. It is important to note that the draft strategic plan is not a national energy plan, since that is an inherently multi-agency effort.

The draft DOE Strategic Plan outlines the strategies the DOE intends to employ for best utilizing these resources. Once completed, the DOE Strategic Plan shall be a matter of public record and will be published on the
DOE Web site at http://energy.gov/ about-us/budget-performance.

While comments are invited on all aspects of the DOE Strategic Plan, DOE is particularly interested in: (a) Whether the plan is easy to read and understand; (b) whether the plan is complete, sufficiently covering topics of interest to the public; and (c) ways to enhance the quality of the information in the plan.

Public Participation Policy

It is the policy of the Department to ensure that public participation is an integral and effective part of DOE activities, and that decisions are made with the benefit of significant public perspectives.

The Department recognizes the many benefits to be derived from public participation for both stakeholders and DOE. Public participation provides a means for DOE to gather a diverse collection of opinions, perspectives, and values from the broadest spectrum of the public, enabling the Department to
make more informed decisions. Public participation benefits stakeholders by creating an opportunity to provide input
on decisions that affect their
communities and our nation.

Issued in Washington, DC, on November

27, 2013. Alison L. Doone, Deputy Chief Financial Officer, Department of Energy.

[FR Doc. 2013–28959 Filed 12–3–13; 8:45 am]

**BILLING CODE 6450–01–P**

**DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY**

**Revision of a Currently Approved Information Collection for the Energy**  **Efficiency and Conservation Block Grant Program Status Report** 

**AGENCY :**  U.S. Department of Energy.

**ACTION :**  Amended Notice and request for

comments.

**SUMMARY :**  A 60-day notice and request for comments was published in the Federal Register on July 6, 2013 (78 FR 34089). No comments were received in response to this Notice. A 30-day notice and request for comments was published in the Federal Register on August 15, 2013 (78 FR 49736). No comments were received in response to this Notice. This subsequent 30-day notice represents a further reduction in
the burden estimation to reflect the ongoing collection of information from only a more limited number of awardees; and allows public comment
on the final version of the information collection request.

The Department of Energy (DOE) invites public comment on a revision of a currently approved collection of information that DOE is developing for submission to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) pursuant to the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995. Comments are invited on: (a) Whether the revision of the currently approved collection of information is necessary for the proper performance of the functions of the agency, including
whether the information shall have practical utility; (b) the accuracy of the agency’s estimate of the reduced burden pertaining to the approved collection of information, including the validity of the methodology and assumptions used; (c) ways to further enhance the quality, utility, and clarity of the information being collected; and (d) ways to further minimize the burden regarding the
collection of information on respondents, including through the use of automated collection techniques or other forms of information technology.

**DATES :**  Comments regarding this revision to an approved information
collection must be received on or before January 3, 2014. If you anticipate difficulty in submitting comments within that period, contact the person
listed in **ADDRESSES** as soon as possible.

**ADDRESSES :**  Written comments may be sent to Christine Platt Patrick, EE–2K, U.S. Department of Energy, 1000 Independence Ave. SW., Washington,
DC 20585 Email: Christine.Platt@ ee.doe.gov.

**FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT :**  Requests for additional information or copies of the information collection
instrument and instructions should be directed to: Pam Bloch Mendelson, EE–2K, U.S. Department of Energy, 1000 Independence Ave. SW., Washington, DC 20585–1290, Phone: (202) 287–1857, Fax: (202) 287–1745, Email: Pam.Mendelson@ee.doe.gov.

Additional information and reporting guidance concerning the Energy Efficiency and Conservation Block Grant (EECBG) Program is available for review at the following Web sites: http:// www1.eere.energy.gov/wip/recovery

_ act

_

guidance.html and http:// www1.eere.energy.gov/wip/ guidance.html.

**SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION :**  This information collection request contains: (1) OMB No. 1910–5150; (2) Information Collection Request Title: ‘‘Energy Efficiency and Conservation Block Grant (EECBG) Program Status Report’’; (3) Type of Review: Revision of currently approved collection; (4) Purpose: To collect information on the status of grantee activities, expenditures, and results, to ensure that program funds are being used appropriately, effectively and expeditiously (especially important for Recovery Act funds); (5) Annual