42338 Federal Register / Vol. 82, No. 172 / Thursday, September 7, 2017 / Notices 

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: Generic 

Application Package for Departmental 

Generic Grant Programs. 

OMB Control Number: 1894–0006. 

Type of Review: An extension of an 

existing information collection. 

Respondents/Affected Public: 

Individuals or Households. 

Total Estimated Number of Annual 

Responses: 9,861. 

Total Estimated Number of Annual 

Burden Hours: 447,089. 

Abstract: The Department is 

requesting an extension of the approval 

for the Generic Application Package that 

numerous ED discretionary grant 

programs use to provide to applicants 

the forms and information needed to 

apply for new grants under those grant 

program competitions. The Department 

will use this Generic Application 

package for discretionary grant 

programs that: (1) Use the standard ED 

or Federal-wide grant applications 

forms that have been cleared separately 

through OMB under the terms of this 

generic clearance as approved by OMB 

and (2) use selection criteria from the 

Education Department General 

Administrative Regulations (EDGAR); 

selection criteria that reflect statutory or 

regulatory provisions that have been 

developed under 34 CFR 75.209, or a 

combination of EDGAR, statutory or 

regulatory criteria or other provisions, 

as authorized under 34 CFR 75.200 and 

75.209. The use of the standard ED grant 

application forms and the use of EDGAR 

and/or criteria developed under 

§§ 75.200 and 75.209 promotes the 

standardization and streamlining of ED 

discretionary grant application 

packages. 

Dated: September 1, 2017. 

Stephanie Valentine, 

Acting Director, Information Collection 

Clearance Division, Office of the Chief Privacy 

Officer, Office of Management. 

[FR Doc. 2017–18967 Filed 9–6–17; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4000–01–P 

DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION 

[Docket No.: ED–2017–ICCD–0113] 

Agency Information Collection 

Activities; Comment Request; 

Experimental Sites Initiative Reporting 

Tool 2017 

AGENCY: Department of Education (ED), 

Federal Student Aid (FSA). 

ACTION: Notice. 

SUMMARY: In accordance with the 

Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, ED is 

proposing a new information collection. 

DATES: Interested persons are invited to 

submit comments on or before 

November 6, 2017. 

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– 

2017–ICCD–0113. 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. 

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 

216–32, Washington, DC 20202–4537. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For 

specific questions related to collection 

activities, please contact Warren Farr, 

202–377–4380. 

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: Experimental Sites 

Initiative Reporting Tool 2017. 

OMB Control Number: 1845–NEW. 

Type of Review: A new information 

collection. 

Respondents/Affected Public: Private 

Sector; State, Local, and Tribal 

Governments. 

Total Estimated Number of Annual 

Responses: 300. 

Total Estimated Number of Annual 

Burden Hours: 5,100. 

Abstract: The Secretary of the US 

Department of Education is authorized 

under Sec. 487A(b) to periodically 

select a limited number of institutions 

for voluntary participation as 

experimental sites under the 

Experimental Sites Initiatives (ESI) to 

provide recommendations on the impact 

and effectiveness of proposed 

regulations or new management 

initiatives. The Department approved 

nine experiments to test ways to address 

federal objectives and meet the needs of 

financial aid administrators and federal 

financial aid recipients. Under the 

experiments, institutions are given the 

flexibility to test alternatives to existing 

requirements so that the Department can 

analyze the data obtained from 

participating institutions to validate 

current practices or to obtain 

information supportive of regulatory 

changes or recommendations for 

legislative change. The collection of this 

data and the results of these 

experiments will help the Department 

in its continuing efforts to improve Title 

IV program administration. 

mstockstill on DSK30JT082PROD with NOTICES

Federal Register / Vol. 82, No. 172 / Thursday, September 7, 2017 / Notices 42339 

Dated: September 1, 2017. 

Stephanie Valentine, 

Acting Director, Information Collection 

Clearance Division, Office of the Chief Privacy 

Officer, Office of Management. 

[FR Doc. 2017–18964 Filed 9–6–17; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4000–01–P 

DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION 

Tests Determined To Be Suitable for 

Use in the National Reporting System 

for Adult Education 

AGENCY: Office of Career, Technical, and 

Adult Education, Department of 

Education. 

ACTION: Notice. 

SUMMARY: The Secretary announces 

tests, test forms, and delivery formats 

that the Secretary determines to be 

suitable for use in the National 

Reporting System for Adult Education 

(NRS). 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Jay 

LeMaster, Department of Education, 400 

Maryland Avenue SW., Room 11–152, 

Potomac Center Plaza, Washington, DC 

20202–7240. Telephone: (202) 245–6218 

or by email: John.LeMaster@ed.gov. 

If you use a telecommunications 

device for the deaf (TDD) or a text 

telephone (TTY), call the Federal Relay 

Service (FRS), toll free, at 1–800–877– 

8339. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: On 

January 14, 2008, we published in the 

Federal Register final regulations for 34 

CFR part 462, Measuring Educational 

Gain in the National Reporting System 

for Adult Education (NRS regulations) 

(73 FR 2306). The NRS regulations 

established the process the Secretary 

uses to determine the suitability of tests 

for use in the NRS by States and local 

eligible providers. We annually publish 

in the Federal Register and post on the 

internet at www.nrsweb.org a list of the 

names of tests and the educational 

functioning levels the tests are suitable 

to measure in the NRS as required by 

§ 462.12(c)(2). 

On December 13, 2016, the Secretary 

published in the Federal Register (81 

FR 89920) an annual notice of tests 

determined to be suitable for use in the 

NRS (December 2016 notice). The 

Secretary announced a list of tests and 

test forms determined to be suitable for 

use in the NRS, including: (1) Eight tests 

previously approved for a seven-year 

period from February 2, 2010 through 

February 2, 2017, and approved for an 

extended period through February 2, 

2019; (2) three tests previously 

approved for an extended period 

through February 2, 2017, and approved 

for an extended period through 

February 2, 2019; and (3) one test—a 

revised version of a test previously 

approved for an extended period 

through February 2, 2017—for which 

the Secretary extended approval 

through February 2, 2019. The Secretary 

took this action to extend the approved 

periods for all 12 of these tests through 

February 2, 2019, in light of the 

following intervening factors: (1) The 

Department of Education’s 

(Department’s) plan to implement new 

descriptors for the NRS educational 

functioning levels and implement new 

regulations in 34 CFR part 462 

(published in the Federal Register on 

August 19, 2016 (81 FR 55526) and 

effective as of September 19, 2016) that 

would govern the assessment review 

process; (2) the Department’s desire to 

minimize disruption for its grantees in 

the transition to the Adult Education 

and Family Literacy Act (AEFLA) as 

authorized by the Workforce Innovation 

and Opportunity Act of 2014 (WIOA), 

including with respect to measuring 

educational functioning level gain 

under the NRS; and (3) the attendant 

transition authority in section 503(c) of 

WIOA, which authorizes the Secretary 

of Education to ‘‘take such actions as the 

Secretary determines to be appropriate 

to provide for the orderly transition’’ 

from AEFLA as authorized by the 

Workforce Investment Act of 1998 

(WIA) to AEFLA as authorized by 

WIOA. The Secretary also clarified that, 

to provide for the transition from the 

performance accountability system for 

AEFLA under WIA to the performance 

accountability system for AEFLA as 

authorized by WIOA, the December 

2016 notice remains effective until June 

30, 2019. 

In addition to the tests identified in 

the December 2016 notice as determined 

to be suitable for use in the NRS through 

February 2, 2019, the Secretary now 

announces an additional test and test 

forms that have been determined to be 

suitable for use in the NRS, in 

accordance with § 462.13. This test 

measures the new NRS educational 

functioning levels for Literacy/English 

Language Arts and Mathematics at all 

Adult Basic Education (ABE) levels, as 

described in Appendix E of 

Implementation Guidelines: Measures 

and Methods for the National Reporting 

System for Adult Education (OMB 

Control Number: 1830–0027). 

Approved Tests, Forms, and Approved 

Periods 

Adult education programs must use 

only the approved forms and computerbased delivery formats for the tests 

published in this document. If a 

particular test form or computer 

delivery format is not explicitly 

specified for a test in the December 2016 

notice or in this notice, it is not 

approved for use in the NRS. 

Test Determined To Be Suitable for Use 

in the NRS for a Seven-Year Period 

From the Date of Publication of This 

Notice 

The Secretary has determined that the 

following test is suitable for use in 

Literacy/English Language Arts and 

Mathematics at all ABE levels of the 

NRS for a period of seven years from the 

date of publication of this notice: 

Tests of Adult Basic Education (TABE 

11/12). Forms 11 and 12 are approved 

for use on paper and through a 

computer-based delivery format. 

Publisher: Data Recognition 

Corporation—CTB, 13490 Bass Lake 

Road, Maple Grove, MN 55311. 

Telephone: 800–538–9547. Internet: 

www.ctb.com/. 

Revocation of Tests 

Under certain circumstances, the 

Secretary may revoke the determination 

that a test is suitable (see § 462.12(e)). If 

the Secretary revokes the determination 

of suitability, the Secretary announces 

through the Federal Register and posts 

on the internet at www.nrsweb.org a 

notice of that revocation, along with the 

date by which States and local eligible 

providers must stop using the revoked 

test. 

Accessible Format: Individuals with 

disabilities can obtain this document in 

an accessible format (such as Braille, 

large print, audiotape, or compact disc) 

on request to the contact person listed 

under FOR FURTHER INFORMATION

CONTACT in this notice. 

Electronic Access to This Document: 

The official version of this document is 

the document published in the Federal 

Register. Free internet access to the 

official edition of the Federal Register 

and the Code of Federal Regulations is 

available via the Federal Digital System 

at: www.gpo.gov/fdsys. At this site you 

can view this document, as well as all 

other documents of this Department 

published in the Federal Register, in 

text or Adobe Portable Document 

Format (PDF). To use PDF you must 

have Adobe Acrobat Reader, which is 

available free at the site. 

You may also access documents of the 

Department published in the Federal 

Register by using the article search 

feature at: www.federalregister.gov. 

Specifically, through the advanced 

search feature at this site, you can limit 

your search to documents published by 

the Department. 

Program Authority: 20 U.S.C. 9212. 

mstockstill on DSK30JT082PROD with NOTICES