[Federal Register Volume 79, Number 11 (Thursday, January 16, 2014)]
[Notices]
[Page 2822]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2014-00685]


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DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION

[Docket No.: ED-2013-ICCD-0139]


Agency Information Collection Activities; Submission to the 
Office of Management and Budget for Review and Approval; Comment 
Request; Evaluation of a District Wide Implementation of a Professional 
Learning Community Initiative

AGENCY: Department of Education (ED), Institute of Education Sciences/
National Center for Education Statistics (IES).

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: In accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (44 
U.S.C. chapter 3501 et seq.), ED is proposing a new information 
collection.

DATES: Interested persons are invited to submit comments on or before 
February 18, 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-
0139 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, 
Mailstop L-OM-2-2E319, Room 2E107, Washington, DC 20202.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For questions related to collection 
activities or burden, please call Katrina Ingalls, 703-620-3655 or 
electronically mail [email protected]. Please do not send comments 
here. We will ONLY accept comments in this mailbox when the 
regulations.gov site is not available to the public for any reason.

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: Evaluation of a District Wide Implementation 
of a Professional Learning Community Initiative.
    OMB Control Number: 1850-NEW.
    Type of Review: A new information collection.
    Respondents/Affected Public: Individuals or households.
    Total Estimated Number of Annual Responses: 403.
    Total Estimated Number of Annual Burden Hours: 214.
    Abstract: This study aims to address the need for systematic 
information about district-wide implementation of professional learning 
communities (PLCs) as a critical element in improving teacher quality 
and instruction, thereby contributing to increased student achievement. 
The study will survey (online) a population of teacher participants in 
school-based PLCs and interview principals face to face about the 
context and their perceptions of the initiative, pre- and post-
implementation. Data collection from teachers will focus on what the 
PLCs do, how they operate, and to what extent they produce the outcomes 
expected of them as framed by six conceptual attributes of PLCs and 
five specific tasks. Data collection from principals will focus on 
contextual information about school culture and conditions such as 
resources that support implementation. Teachers and principals will 
also provide their reflections on the challenges of implementing PLCs 
and their suggestions for improvement. The analysis will enable 
comparisons among PLCs within and across schools. Study findings are 
expected to inform both theory and practice related to implementation 
of professional learning communities.

    Dated: January 10, 2014.
Stephanie Valentine,
Acting Director, Information Collection Clearance Division, Privacy, 
Information and Records Management Services, Office of Management.
[FR Doc. 2014-00685 Filed 1-15-14; 8:45 am]
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