A r c h i v e d  I n f o r m a t i o n

Key Policy Letters Signed by the Education Secretary or Deputy Secretary
THE SECRETARY OF EDUCATION
WASHINGTON, D.C. 20202

July 15, 1999

Mr. Gordon M. Ambach
Executive Director
Council of Chief State School Officers
One Massachusetts Avenue, NW, Suite 700
Washington, DC 20001-1431

Dear Gordon:

Thank you for your letter expressing concern about the timely notice of federal requirements for data collection. You enclosed a copy of the resolution approved by the Education Information Advisory Committee (EIAC) of the Council of Chief State School Officers (CCSSO) that would require us to notify State Education Agencies of new or revised data collection requirements at least one year prior to the data collection period.

Representatives of the Department's Data Coordination Committee (DCC) are currently reviewing the EIAC resolution. I understand that on June 1, several representatives of the DCC spoke about the EIAC resolution with Julia MacMillian of the CCSSO and state representatives, which included the Chairperson of EIAC, the Chair-elect, and the author of the resolution. Results of that meeting included the following: 1) an agreement to work together on potential pilot projects, and 2) a need for the Department to examine legislative requirements of programs as they pertain to collecting data.

While I can assure you that the Department will work with you to address the purpose of your resolution, a July 1 deadline was not practical given the need for a more thorough assessment. We certainly take seriously the goal to reduce the paperwork burden on our education partners. In fact, we have reduced the total annual paperwork burden on the public by 37.6 percent over the last four years. We look forward to working with the EIAC and the states to continue to reduce paperwork burden.

Yours sincerely,

Dick Riley

Richard W. Riley

Our mission is to ensure equal access to education and to promote educational excellence throughout the Nation.


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This page last updated July 27, 1999 (pjk)