[Federal Register Volume 89, Number 177 (Thursday, September 12, 2024)]
[Notices]
[Pages 74264-74265]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2024-20644]


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DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION

[Docket No.: ED-2024-SCC-0063]


Agency Information Collection Activities; Submission to the 
Office of Management and Budget for Review and Approval; Comment 
Request; Early Childhood Longitudinal Study, Kindergarten Class of 
2023-24 (ECLS-K:2024) August 2024 Materials Revision Request

AGENCY: Institute of Education Sciences (IES), Department of Education 
(ED).

ACTION: Notice

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SUMMARY: In accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA) of 1995, 
the Department is proposing a revision of a currently approved 
information collection request (ICR).

DATES: Interested persons are invited to submit comments on or before 
October 15, 2024.

ADDRESSES: Written comments and recommendations for proposed 
information collection requests should be submitted within 30 days of 
publication of this notice. Click on this link www.reginfo.gov/public/do/PRAMain to access the site. Find this information collection request 
(ICR) by selecting ``Department of Education'' under ``Currently Under 
Review,'' then check the ``Only Show ICR for Public Comment'' checkbox. 
Reginfo.gov provides two links to view documents related to this 
information collection request. Information collection forms and 
instructions may be found by clicking on the ``View Information 
Collection (IC) List'' link. Supporting statements and other supporting 
documentation may be found by clicking on the ``View Supporting 
Statement and Other Documents'' link.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For specific questions related to 
collection activities, please contact Carrie Clarady, (202) 245-6347.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Department 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: Early Childhood Longitudinal Study, 
Kindergarten Class of 2023-24 (ECLS-K:2024) August 2024 Materials 
Revision Request.
    OMB Control Number: 1850-0750.
    Type of Review: Revision of a currently approved ICR.
    Respondents/Affected Public: Individuals or Households.
    Total Estimated Number of Annual Responses: 157,586.
    Total Estimated Number of Annual Burden Hours: 84,093.
    Abstract: The Early Childhood Longitudinal Study (ECLS) program, 
conducted by the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) within 
the Institute of Education Sciences (IES) of the U.S. Department of 
Education (ED), draws together information from multiple sources to 
provide rich, descriptive data on child development, early learning, 
and school progress. The ECLS program studies deliver national data on 
children's status at birth and at various points thereafter; children's 
transitions to nonparental care, early care and education programs, and 
school; and children's experiences and growth through the elementary 
grades. The Early Childhood Longitudinal Study, Kindergarten Class of 
2023-24 (ECLS-K:2024) is the fourth cohort in the series of early 
childhood longitudinal studies. The study will advance research in 
child development and early learning by providing a detailed and 
comprehensive source of current information on children's early 
learning and development, transitions

[[Page 74265]]

into kindergarten and beyond, and progress through school. The ECLS-
K:2024 will provide data about the population of children in 
kindergarten during the 2023-24 school year.
    The request to conduct the first three national data collection 
rounds for the ECLS-K:2024 was approved in April 2023 (OMB# 1850-0750 
v26). Revisions to procedures and materials for the first two rounds of 
data collection were submitted and approved in three subsequent 
revisions requests (OMB# 1850-0750 v27 was approved in July 2023; OMB# 
1850-0750 v29 was approved in February 2024; and OMB#1850-0750 v30 was 
approved in July 2024). The ECLS-K:2024 fall kindergarten data 
collection was conducted August 2023-January 2024 and the spring 
kindergarten round was conducted March-July 2024. These two 
kindergarten data collections will be followed by a spring (March-July 
2025) first-grade round. Each of these rounds of data collection 
involves advance school contacts, for example to conduct student 
sampling activities, collect teacher and school information, and locate 
families whose children may have moved schools. Future OMB packages are 
planned for the third-grade pilot test (March-July 2026), as well as 
for the future currently-planned round, that is the national spring 
(March-July 2027) third-grade round.
    This current revision request (accompanied by 30 days of public 
comment) is to update study respondent materials, surveys, and website 
designs that will be used in the spring 2025 first-grade data 
collection activities. Many of the revisions in this package were based 
on analyses of the fall 2022 field test data (OMB# 1850-0750 v25) and 
experiences in the field from the national kindergarten rounds of 
collection, as well as additional discussions with design experts, all 
of which informed changes to the design of the surveys and assessments. 
Changes have been made to respondent materials to remove references to 
the fifth-grade round, as this collection is no longer planned. 
Revisions to the study instruments, the respondent materials, and 
websites are limited to changes to the spring first-grade materials. 
The current revision request contains updates to the school staff and 
parent survey instruments made as the specifications were programmed.
    This revision request also contains the specifications for the 
Spanish and Mandarin translations of some parent materials. Finally, 
this request revises the race/ethnicity items in the web and hard-copy 
first-grade survey instruments in line with the new federal statistical 
standard released on 3/28/24 (Statistical Policy Directive No. 15: 
Standards for Maintaining, Collecting, and Presenting Federal Data on 
Race and Ethnicity (SPD 15)). The requested changes in this revision 
request reflect a slight increase in the cost to the federal 
government, but do not change the estimated respondent burden for 
conducting this study.

    Dated: September 6, 2024.
Juliana Pearson,
PRA Coordinator, Strategic Collections and Clearance, Governance and 
Strategy Division, Office of Chief Data Officer, Office of Planning, 
Evaluation and Policy Development.
[FR Doc. 2024-20644 Filed 9-11-24; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4000-01-P