FR Doc 2010-1199[Federal Register: January 22, 2010 (Volume 75, Number 14)]
[Notices]
[Page 3716-3717]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr22ja10-36]
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DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION
Notice of Proposed Information Collection Requests
AGENCY: Department of Education.
ACTION: Notice of Proposed Information Collection Requests.
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SUMMARY: The Acting Director, Information Collection Clearance
Division, Regulatory Information Management Services, Office of
Management, invites comments on the proposed information collection
requests as required by the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995.
DATES: An emergency review has been requested in accordance with the
Act (44 U.S.C. Chapter 3507 (j)), since public harm is reasonably
likely to result if normal clearance procedures are followed. Approval
by the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) has been requested by
February 5, 2010. A regular clearance process is also beginning.
Interested persons are invited to submit comments on or before March
23, 2010.
ADDRESSES: Written comments regarding the emergency review should be
addressed to the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs,
Attention: Education Desk Officer, Office of Management and Budget; 725
17th Street, NW., Room 10222, New Executive Office Building,
Washington, DC 20503, or by e-mail to oira_submission@omb.eop.gov or
faxed to (202) 395-5806.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Section 3506 of the Paperwork Reduction Act
of 1995 (44 U.S.C. Chapter 35) requires that the Director of OMB
provide interested Federal agencies and the public an early opportunity
to comment on information collection requests. The Office of Management
and Budget (OMB) may amend or waive the requirement for public
consultation to the extent that public participation in the approval
process would defeat the purpose of the information collection, violate
State or Federal law, or substantially interfere with any agency's
ability to perform its statutory obligations. The Acting Director,
Information Collection Clearance Division, Regulatory Information
Management Services, Office of Management, publishes this notice
containing proposed information collection requests at the beginning of
the Departmental review of the information collection. Each proposed
information collection, grouped by office, contains the following: (1)
Type of review requested, e.g., new, revision, extension, existing or
reinstatement; (2) Title; (3) Summary of the collection; (4)
Description of the need for, and proposed use of, the information; (5)
Respondents and frequency of collection; and (6) Reporting and/or
Recordkeeping burden. ED invites public comment.
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
respondents, including through the use of information technology.
Dated: January 15, 2010.
Angela C. Arrington,
Acting Director, Information Collection Clearance Division, Regulatory
Information Management Services, Office of Management.
Office of Innovation and Improvement
Type of Review: Emergency.
Title: Open Innovation Web Portal.
Abstract: The U.S. Department of Education's (ED) Office of
Innovation and Improvement (OII) has developed a web-based platform,
the Open Innovation Web Portal (Portal), to support communication and
collaboration among a wide range of key education stakeholders,
including practitioners, funders, and the general public. Once this
platform goes on-line, it will allow geographically dispersed but like-
minded entities to discover each other and work together to address
some of the most intractable challenges in education.
OII plans to promote this platform as a tool for use with the
Investing in Innovation grant program (i3), which was established as
the ``Innovation Fund'' in the ``American Recovery and Reinvestment Act
of 2009'' (ARRA), signed into law by the President on February 17,
2009. Since passage of ARRA, the Department has worked with all
possible speed to develop the i3 program, which will conduct three
separate competitions. This new program will provide $650,000,000 in
competitive grants to Local Education Agencies (LEAs), non-profit
organizations working in collaboration with LEAs, or non-profit
organizations working in collaboration with a consortium of schools.
The Department must obligate funds to i3 grantees before the end of
fiscal year 2010, September 30, 2010. The Department requests emergency
approval under the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (PRA) of the
information collection request (ICR) for the Portal so that prospective
applicants to the i3 competitions may use the Portal to identify
partners, find matching funding, and improve the quality of their
applications.
Additional Information: Part of our intent in implementing the i3
program is to identify innovative new approaches proposed by
individuals and organizations that have previously had limited
experience in obtaining grants in the education sector yet have
promising evidence-based ideas for improving American education. These
applicants in particular face challenges in identifying schools or LEAs
with which to partner given their limited experience in the field.
Further, organizations without existing relationships in education may
find it difficult to secure the private sector matching funds required
of all grantees under ARRA. Receiving OMB's approval on an emergency
basis is thus essential to launching the Portal and supporting improved
student achievement through school improvement and reform, one of the
primary objectives of ARRA. Failure to approve this emergency request
[[Page 3717]]
would cause substantial harm to precisely the applicants that the i3
program hopes to entice and as a direct result would negatively impact
the schools and students who would benefit most from new and improved
approaches to education.
Frequency: On Occasion.
Affected Public: Business or other for-profits; Federal Government;
Individuals or households; Not-for-profit-institutions; Private Sector;
State, Local or Tribal Governments.
Reporting and Recordkeeping Hour Burden:
Responses: 4,850.
Burden Hours: 63,050.
Requests for copies of the proposed information collection request
may be accessed from http://edicsweb.ed.gov, by selecting the ``Browse
Pending Collections'' link and by clicking on link number 4204. When
you access the information collection, click on ``Download
Attachments'' to view. Written requests for information should be
addressed to U.S. Department of Education, 400 Maryland Avenue, SW.,
LBJ, Washington, DC 20202-4537. Requests may also be electronically
mailed to the Internet address ICDocketMgr@ed.gov or faxed to 202-401-
0920. Please specify the complete title of the information collection
when making your request.
Comments regarding burden and/or the collection activity
requirements should be electronically mailed to ICDocketMgr@ed.gov.
Individuals who use a telecommunications device for the deaf (TDD) may
call the Federal Information Relay Service (FIRS) at 1-800-877-8339.
[FR Doc. 2010-1199 Filed 1-21-10; 8:45 am]
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