[Federal Register Volume 80, Number 60 (Monday, March 30, 2015)]
[Notices]
[Pages 16645-16648]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2015-07321]
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DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION
Privacy Act of 1974; System of Records; Impact Evaluation of
Training in Multi-Tiered Systems of Support for Behavior
AGENCY: Institute of Education Sciences, Department of Education.
ACTION: Notice of a new system of records.
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SUMMARY: In accordance with the Privacy Act of 1974, as amended
(Privacy Act), the Department of Education (Department) publishes this
notice of a new system of records entitled ``Impact Evaluation of
Training in Multi-Tiered Systems of Support for Behavior'' (18-13-38).
The National Center for Education Evaluation and Regional Assistance at
the Department's Institute of Education Sciences (IES) awarded a
contract in November 2013 to MDRC to provide evidence on the
effectiveness of training teachers and school staff in multi-tiered
systems of supports for behavior (MTSS-B).
DATES: Submit your comments on this proposed new system of records on
or before April 29, 2015.
The Department filed a report describing the new system of records
covered by this notice with the Chair of the Senate Committee on
Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs, the Chair of the House
Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, and the Administrator of
the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs, Office of Management
and Budget (OMB) on March 18, 2015. This system of records will become
effective on the later date of: (1) The expiration of the 40-day period
for OMB review on April 27, 2015, unless OMB waives 10 days of the 40-
day review period for compelling reasons shown by the Department, or
(2) April 29, 2015, unless the system of records needs to be changed as
a result of public comment or OMB review. The Department will publish
any changes to the system of records or routine uses that result from
public comment or OMB review.
ADDRESSES: Address all comments about the new system of records to Dr.
Audrey Pendleton, Associate Commissioner, Evaluation Division, National
Center for Education Evaluation and Regional Assistance, Institute of
Education Sciences, U.S. Department of Education, 555 New Jersey Avenue
NW., Room 502D, Washington, DC 20208-0001. Telephone: (202) 208-7078.
If you prefer to send your comments via email, use the following
address: [email protected].
You must include the phrase ``Impact Evaluation of Training in
Multi-Tiered Systems of Support for Behavior'' in the subject line of
the email.
During and after the comment period, you may inspect all public
comments about this notice at the Department in Room 502D, 555 New
Jersey Avenue NW., Washington, DC, between the hours of 8:00 a.m. and
4:30 p.m., Washington, DC time, Monday through
[[Page 16646]]
Friday of each week except Federal holidays.
Assistance to Individuals With Disabilities in Reviewing the Rulemaking
Record
On request we will provide an appropriate accommodation or
auxiliary aid to an individual with a disability who needs assistance
to review the comments or other documents in the public rulemaking
record for this notice. If you want to schedule an appointment for this
type of accommodation or aid, please contact the person listed under
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Dr. Audrey Pendleton, Associate
Commissioner, Evaluation Division, National Center for Education
Evaluation and Regional Assistance, Institute of Education Sciences,
U.S. Department of Education, 555 New Jersey Avenue NW., Room 502D,
Washington, DC 20208-0001. Telephone: (202) 208-7078. If you use a
telecommunications device for the deaf (TDD) or a text telephone (TTY),
you may call the Federal Relay Service (FRS), toll free, at 1-800-877-
8339.
Individuals with disabilities can obtain this document in an
accessible format (e.g., Braille, large print, audiotape, or compact
disc) on request to the contact person listed in this section.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Introduction
The Privacy Act (5 U.S.C. 552a (e)(4) and (e)(11)) requires the
Department to publish in the Federal Register this notice of a new
system of records maintained by the Department. The Department's
regulations implementing the Privacy Act are contained in part 5b of
title 34 of the Code of Federal Regulations (CFR).
The Privacy Act applies to any record about an individual that is
maintained in a system of records from which individually identifying
information is retrieved by a unique identifier associated with each
individual, such as a name or Social Security number (SSN). The
information about each individual is called a ``record,'' and the
system, whether manual or computer-based, is called a ``system of
records.''
The Privacy Act requires each agency to publish a notice of a
system of records in the Federal Register and to prepare and send a
report to OMB whenever the agency publishes a new system of records or
makes a significant change to an established system of records. Each
agency is also required to send copies of the report to the Chair of
the Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs and
the Chair of the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform.
These reports are intended to permit an evaluation of the probable
effect of the proposal on the privacy rights of individuals.
The system will contain personally identifying information on
approximately 38,000 students and 3,600 teachers and other school staff
from 12 school districts and will include, but not necessarily be
limited to, data on: (1) For students, standardized math and English/
Language Arts test scores, age, sex, race/ethnicity, grade, eligibility
for free/reduced-price lunches, English Learner status, individualized
education program status, school enrollment dates, attendance,
discipline records, school engagement, and student behavior, and (2)
for teachers and other school staff, school assignments, positions,
grades and subjects taught, any available teacher and staff background
characteristics, including age, sex, race/ethnicity, certifications,
and years of teaching experience, and classroom management and behavior
support practices.
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.
Dated: March 19, 2015.
Sue Betka,
Acting Director, Institute of Education Sciences.
For the reasons discussed in the preamble, the Director of the
Institute of Education Sciences, U.S. Department of Education
(Department) publishes a notice of a new system of records to read as
follows:
SYSTEM NUMBER:
18-13-38
SYSTEM NAME:
Impact Evaluation of Training in Multi-Tiered Systems of Support
for Behavior.
SECURITY CLASSIFICATION:
None.
SYSTEM LOCATIONS:
(1) Evaluation Division, National Center for Education Evaluation
and Regional Assistance, Institute of Education Sciences (IES), U.S.
Department of Education, 555 New Jersey Avenue NW., Room 502D,
Washington, DC 20208-0001.
(2) MDRC, 16 East 34 Street, 19th Floor, New York, NY 10016-4326
(contractor).
(3) American Institutes for Research (AIR), 1000 Thomas Jefferson
Street NW., Washington, DC 20007-3835 (subcontractor).
(4) Decision Information Resources (DIR), Inc., 2600 Southwest
Freeway, Suite 900, Houston, TX 77098-4610 (subcontractor).
CATEGORIES OF INDIVIDUALS COVERED BY THE SYSTEM:
The system of records will include personally identifying
information about the students as well as teachers and other school
staff who participate in the study. The system will contain records on
approximately 38,000 students and 3,600 teachers and other school staff
from 12 school districts.
CATEGORIES OF RECORDS IN THE SYSTEM:
For students, this information will include, but will not
necessarily be limited to, standardized math and English/Language Arts
test scores, age, sex, race/ethnicity, grade, eligibility for free/
reduced-price lunches, English Learner status, individualized education
program status, school enrollment dates, attendance, discipline
records, school engagement, and student behavior. For teachers and
other school staff, this information will include, but will not
necessarily be limited to, school assignments, positions, grades and
subjects taught, any available teacher and staff background
characteristics, including age, sex, race/ethnicity, certifications,
and years of teaching experience, and classroom management and behavior
support practices.
AUTHORITY FOR MAINTENANCE OF THE SYSTEM:
The system of records is authorized under sections 171(b) and 173
of the Education Sciences Reform Act of 2002 (ESRA) (20 U.S.C. 9561(b)
and 9563) and section 664 of the Individuals with Disabilities
Education Improvement Act of 2004 (20 U.S.C. 1464).
[[Page 16647]]
PURPOSE(S):
The information contained in the records maintained in this system
will be used to conduct a rigorous study of the effectiveness of
providing school staff with training in multi-tiered systems of
supports for behavior.
The study will address the following central research questions:
What are the impacts on school climate, school staff practice, and
student outcomes of providing training in MTSS-B that includes
universal supports (Tier I)? What are the impacts on school climate,
school staff practice, and student outcomes of providing training in
MTSS-B that includes universal supports (Tier I) plus targeted
interventions for at-risk students (Tier II)? What is the impact of
additional training in targeted interventions for at-risk students
(Tier II) for schools already trained in MTSS-B that includes universal
supports (Tier I)? What are the impacts for relevant subgroups
including students with at-risk behavior, students with disabilities,
and teachers with less experience? Which strategies are correlated with
improvement in student outcomes?
ROUTINE USES OF RECORDS MAINTAINED IN THE SYSTEM, INCLUDING CATEGORIES
OF USERS AND THE PURPOSES OF SUCH USES:
The Department may disclose information contained in a record in
this system of records under the routine uses listed in this system of
records without the consent of the individual if the disclosure is
compatible with the purposes for which the record was collected. The
Department may make these disclosures on a case-by-case basis or, if
the Department has complied with the computer matching requirements of
the Privacy Act of 1974, as amended (Privacy Act), under a computer
matching agreement. Any disclosure of individually identifiable
information from a record in this system must also comply with the
requirements of section 183 of the ESRA (20 U.S.C. 9573) providing for
confidentiality standards that apply to all collection, reporting, and
publication of data by the Institute of Education Sciences. It must
also comply with the requirements of the Family Educational Rights and
Privacy Act (20 U.S.C. 1232g; 34 CFR part 99), which protects the
privacy of student education records.
The Department may disclose records under the ``contract
disclosure'' proposed routine use. If the Department contracts with an
entity for the purpose of performing any function that requires
disclosure of records in this system to employees of the contractor,
the Department may disclose the records to those employees who have
received the appropriate level of security clearance from the
Department. Before entering into such a contract, the Department will
require the contractor to maintain Privacy Act safeguards, as required
under 5 U.S.C. 552a(m), with respect to the records in the system.
DISCLOSURE TO CONSUMER REPORTING AGENCIES:
None.
POLICIES AND PRACTICES FOR STORING, RETRIEVING, ACCESSING, RETAINING,
AND DISPOSING OF RECORDS IN THE SYSTEM:
STORAGE:
The Department will maintain records on CD-ROM, and the contractor
(MDRC) and subcontractors (AIR and DIR) will maintain data for this
system on computers and in hard copy.
RETRIEVABILITY:
Records in this system will be indexed and retrieved by a unique
number assigned to each individual that is cross-referenced by the
individual's name on a separate list.
SAFEGUARDS:
All physical access to the Department's site and to the sites of
the Department's contractor and subcontractors, where this system of
records will be maintained, is controlled and monitored by security
personnel. The computer system employed by the Department offers a high
degree of resistance to tampering and circumvention. This security
system limits data access to Department and contract staff on a need-
to-know basis and controls individual users' ability to access and
alter records within the system.
The contractor and subcontractors will establish a similar set of
procedures at their sites to ensure confidentiality of data. The
contractor and subcontractors are required to ensure that information
identifying individuals is in files physically separated from other
research data and electronic files identifying individuals are
separated from other electronic research data files. The contractor
will maintain security of the complete set of all master data files and
documentation. Access to individually identifiable data will be
strictly controlled. All information will be kept in locked file
cabinets during nonworking hours, and work on hardcopy data will take
place in a single room, except for data entry.
Physical security of electronic data also will be maintained.
Security features that protect project data will include: Password-
protected accounts that authorize users to use the contractor's system
but to access only specific network directories and network software;
user rights and directory and file attributes that limit those who can
use particular directories and files and determine how they can use
them; and additional security features that the network administrators
will establish for projects as needed. The Department's, the
contractor's, and the subcontractor's employees who ``maintain''
(collect, maintain, use, or disseminate) data in this system must
comply with the requirements of the Privacy Act and the confidentiality
standards in section 183 of the ESRA (20 U.S.C. 9573).
RETENTION AND DISPOSAL:
Records are maintained and disposed of in accordance with the
Department's Records Disposition Schedules (GRS 23, Item 8).
SYSTEM MANAGER AND ADDRESS:
Associate Commissioner, Evaluation Division, National Center for
Education Evaluation and Regional Assistance, Institute of Education
Sciences, U.S. Department of Education, 555 New Jersey Avenue NW., Room
502D, Washington, DC 20208-0001.
NOTIFICATION PROCEDURE:
If you wish to determine whether a record exists regarding you in
the system of records, contact the system manager. Your request must
meet the requirements of the Department's Privacy Act regulations at 34
CFR 5b.5, including proof of identity.
RECORD ACCESS PROCEDURE:
If you wish to gain access to a record about you in this system of
records, contact the system manager. Your request must meet the
requirements of the Department's Privacy Act regulations at 34 CFR
5b.5, including proof of identity.
CONTESTING RECORD PROCEDURE:
If you wish to contest the content of a record regarding you in the
system of records, contact the system manager. Your request must meet
the requirements of the Department's Privacy Act regulations at 34 CFR
5b.7, including proof of identity.
RECORD SOURCE CATEGORIES:
This system will contain records on students as well as teachers
and other school staff in an impact evaluation of training in multi-
tiered systems of supports for behavior. Data will be obtained through
human resource and student administrative records maintained by the
school districts,
[[Page 16648]]
surveys of students as well as teachers and other school staff,
observations of classrooms, ratings of student behavior, and individual
student testing.
EXEMPTIONS CLAIMED FOR THE SYSTEM:
None.
[FR Doc. 2015-07321 Filed 3-27-15; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4000-01-P