[Federal Register Volume 89, Number 209 (Tuesday, October 29, 2024)]
[Notices]
[Pages 85962-85963]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2024-25047]


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DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION

[Docket No.: ED-2024-SCC-0132]


Agency Information Collection Activities; Comment Request; 
National Evaluation of the Pathways to Partnerships Program (84.421E)

AGENCY: Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services 
(OSERS), 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 new information collection request (ICR).

DATES: Interested persons are invited to submit comments on or before 
December 30, 2024.

ADDRESSES: To access and review all the documents related to the 
information collection listed in this notice, please use http://www.regulations.gov by searching the Docket ID number ED-2024-SCC-0132. 
Comments submitted in response to this notice should be submitted 
electronically through the Federal eRulemaking Portal at http://www.regulations.gov by selecting the Docket ID number or via postal 
mail, commercial delivery, or hand delivery. If the regulations.gov 
site is not available to the public for any reason, the Department will 
temporarily accept comments at <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#88c1cbcce7ebe3edfcc5effac8edeca6efe7fe"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="1a53595e7579717f6e577d685a7f7e347d756c">[email protected]</span></a>. Please include the 
docket ID number and the title of the information collection request 
when requesting documents or submitting comments. Please note that 
comments 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 Manager of the Strategic 
Collections and Clearance Governance and Strategy Division, U.S. 
Department of Education, 400 Maryland Ave SW, LBJ, Room 4C210, 
Washington, DC 20202-1200.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For specific questions related to 
collection activities, please contact Diandrea Bailey, (202) 987-0126.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Department, 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

[[Page 85963]]

Department's information collection requirements and provide the 
requested data in the desired format. The Department is soliciting 
comments on the proposed information collection request (ICR) that is 
described below. 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: National Evaluation of the Pathways to 
Partnerships Program (84.421E).
    OMB Control Number: 1820-NEW.
    Type of Review: New ICR.
    Respondents/Affected Public: Individuals or Households.
    Total Estimated Number of Annual Responses: 17,137.
    Total Estimated Number of Annual Burden Hours: 4,760.
    Abstract: The U.S. Department of Education's Rehabilitation 
Services Administration (RSA) requests clearance for new data 
collection activities to support the evaluation of the 84.421E Federal 
fiscal year (FFY) 2023 Disability Innovation Fund (DIF), Pathways to 
Partnerships Innovative Model Demonstration Project. The purpose of the 
DIF, as provided by the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2022 (Pub. L. 
117-103), is to support innovative activities aimed at increasing 
competitive integrated employment as defined in section 7 of the 
Rehabilitation Act of 1973 (Rehabilitation Act) (29 U.S.C. 705(5)) for 
children, youth, and other individuals with disabilities. The program 
aims to create systematic and seamless approaches to offering 
transition services to children with disabilities, ages 10-13 and youth 
with disabilities ages 14 to 24 through collaborations among State 
vocational rehabilitation (VR) agencies, State education agencies 
(SEAs), local education agencies (LEAs), Federally funded Centers for 
Independent Living (CILs), and other organizations offering services to 
this population. RSA is investing a total of $198,975,322 in grant 
funding to the 20 States through the FFY 2023 DIF.
    This request covers primary data collection activities for the 
National Evaluation of the Pathways to Partnerships Program. These 
activities include the following:

[cir] Surveys and interviews with program participants or their parent 
or guardian
[cir] Surveys with State VR, SEA, and CIL directors
[cir] Surveys and interviews with project staff
[cir] Collecting project administrative data (staff rosters, cost 
worksheets, and web analytics) from project directors

    In September 2023, RSA awarded five-year cooperative agreements for 
the 84.421E FFY 2023 DIF model demonstration projects. The awards 
provide 20 State VR agencies or SEAs with funding to implement Pathways 
to Partnerships model demonstration projects. The Pathways to 
Partnerships models vary across the 20 projects, but the projects' 
purpose is to create and implement systematic approaches to delivering 
transition services to children and youth with disabilities. The 
approaches must entail establishing close partnerships across key 
agencies to deliver these services in ways likely to improve the 
education and employment outcomes of children and youth with 
disabilities.

    Dated: October 23, 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. 2024-25047 Filed 10-28-24; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4000-01-P


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