Privacy Act of 1974; System of Records--Impact Evaluation of the U.S. Department of Education's Student Mentoring Program; Notice of a new system of records [IES]

FR Doc E6-7345
[Federal Register: May 15, 2006 (Volume 71, Number 93)]
[Notices]               
[Page 28021-28023]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr15my06-40]                         
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DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION

 
Privacy Act of 1974; System of Records--Impact Evaluation of the 
U.S. Department of Education's Student Mentoring Program

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 (the Department) publishes 
this notice of a new system of records entitled ``Impact Evaluation of 
the U.S. Department of Education's Student Mentoring Program'', 18-13-
14. The purpose of the impact evaluation is to determine the 
effectiveness of the Department's student mentoring program using a 
rigorous research design. The system will contain information about 
students and their mentors participating in mentoring programs funded 
by the Department. The sample of approximately 1,400 students will be 
drawn from approximately 30 of these mentoring programs. In order to 
assure that students can be randomly assigned to either treatment or 
control conditions for the study without denying available mentoring 
services, the mentoring programs that have been selected for inclusion 
in the study are likely to recruit more students for mentoring services 
than could possibly be served by the program. Within each mentoring 
program, students for the study will be selected from a pool of 
students who have been nominated by their schools to receive mentoring 
services and whose parents have enrolled them in the mentoring program. 
Through random assignment, approximately half of the students in the 
study will work with a mentor and approximately half will not.
    The system will include the students' demographic information, such 
as date of birth and race/ethnicity, as well as self-reported attitudes 
about school, delinquent behaviors, personal responsibility, and the 
quality of their relationships with peers and adults. In addition, the 
system will include information about students gathered from school 
records (e.g., grades, standardized test scores, and disciplinary 
actions taken by the school). For the students in the study who are 
paired with mentors, the system will also include the mentors' 
demographic information, their self-reported experiences with the 
training and support provided by the mentoring program, and the 
activities in which mentors and students engaged.

DATES: The Department seeks comment on this new system of records 
described in this notice, in accordance with the requirements of the 
Privacy Act. We must receive your comments on the proposed routine uses 
for the system of records described in this notice on or before June 
14, 2006.
    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 Government Reform, and the Administrator of the Office of 
Information and Regulatory Affairs, Office of Management and Budget 
(OMB), on May 10, 2006. This system of records will become effective at 
the later date of: (1) The expiration of the 40 day period for OMB 
review on June 19, 2006, or (2) June 14, 2006, unless the system of 
records needs to be changed as a result of public comment or OMB 
review.

ADDRESSES: Address all comments about the proposed routine uses of this 
system of records to Dr. Ricky Takai, 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) 208-7083. If you prefer to send comments 
through the Internet, use the following address: 
comments@ed.gov.
    You must include the term ``Student Mentoring'' in the subject line 
of the electronic message.
    During and after the comment period, you may inspect all comments 
about this notice in room 502D, 555 New Jersey Avenue, NW., Washington, 
DC, between the hours of 8 a.m. and 4:30 p.m., Eastern time, Monday 
through Friday of each week except Federal holidays.

Assistance to Individuals With Disabilities in Reviewing the Rulemaking 
Record

    On request, we will supply an appropriate aid, such as a reader or 
print magnifier, 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 aid, please contact the person listed 
under FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Dr. Ricky Takai. Telephone: (202) 208-
7083. If you use a telecommunications device for the deaf (TDD), you 
may call the Federal Relay Service (FRS) at 1-800-877-8339.
    Individuals with disabilities may obtain this document in an 
alternative format (e.g., Braille, large print, audiotape, or computer 
diskette) on request to the contact person listed under this section.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Introduction

    The Privacy Act (5 U.S.C. 552a) 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 information about individuals that 
contains individually identifiable information that is retrieved by a 
unique identifier associated with each individual, such as a name or 
social security number. 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 notices of new or altered systems of records in the Federal 
Register and to submit reports to the Administrator of the Office of 
Information and Regulatory Affairs, OMB, the Chair of the Senate 
Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs, and the Chair 
of the House Committee on Government Reform, whenever the agency 
publishes a new or altered system of records.

Electronic Access to This Document

    You may view this document, as well as all other documents of this 
Department that are published in the Federal Register, in text or Adobe 
Portable Document Format (PDF) on the Internet at the following site: 
http://www.ed.gov/news/fedregister.

    To use PDF you must have Adobe Acrobat Reader, which is available 
free at this site. If you have questions about using PDF, call the U.S. 
Government Printing Office (GPO), toll free, at 1-

[[Page 28022]]

888-293-6498, or in the Washington, DC, area at (202) 512-1530.

    Note: 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 CFR is available on 
GPO Access at: 
http://www.gpoaccess.gov/nara/index.html.



    Dated: May 5, 2006.
Grover Whitehurst,
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, 
publishes a notice of a new system of records to read as follows:
18-13-14

SYSTEM NAME:
    Impact Evaluation of the U.S. Department of Education's Student 
Mentoring Program.

SECURITY CLASSIFICATION:
    None.

SYSTEM LOCATION:
    (1) 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.
    (2) Abt Associates, Inc., 55 Wheeler Street, Cambridge, MA 02138.

CATEGORIES OF INDIVIDUALS COVERED BY THE SYSTEM:
    This system contains records on students who obtain mentoring 
services through mentoring programs funded by the Department of 
Education and who are participating in the Impact Evaluation of the 
U.S. Department of Education's Student Mentoring Program. The purpose 
of the impact evaluation is to determine the effectiveness of the 
Department's student mentoring program using a rigorous research 
design. The study sample consists of approximately 1,400 students at 30 
of the mentoring programs funded by the Department. Approximately half 
of these students will be paired with a mentor and the other half of 
the students will not be paired with a mentor. Data will also be 
collected from these students' mentors. Participation of students and 
their mentors in the evaluation is voluntary.

CATEGORIES OF RECORDS IN THE SYSTEM:
    The system will include the students' names, demographic 
information, such as date of birth and race/ethnicity, as well as self-
reported attitudes about school, delinquent behaviors, personal 
responsibility, and the quality of their relationships with peers and 
adults. The system will also include information gathered from school 
records (e.g., grades, standardized test scores, and disciplinary 
actions taken by the school). The system will include mentors' 
demographic information, their self-reported experiences with the 
training and support provided by the mentoring program, and activities 
in which mentors and students are engaged.

AUTHORITY FOR MAINTENANCE OF THE SYSTEM:
    The evaluation being conducted 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 Title IV, Part A, sections 4121(a)(2) and 4130 of 
the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965, as amended by the 
No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 (ESEA) (20 U.S.C. 7131(a)(2) and 
7140).

PURPOSE(S):
    The information in this system will be used for the following 
purposes: (1) to support an impact evaluation of the Department's 
student mentoring program as requested by the Office of Management and 
Budget (OMB); and (2) to provide information for improvement of the 
Department's student mentoring program.

ROUTINE USES OF RECORDS MAINTAINED IN THE SYSTEM, INCLUDING CATEGORIES 
OF USERS AND THE PURPOSE 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. These 
disclosures may be made on a case-by-case basis or, if the Department 
has complied with the computer matching requirements of the 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 
collections, reporting and publication of data by the Institute of 
Education Sciences.
    (1) Contract Disclosure. If the Department contracts with an entity 
for the purposes 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. Before entering into such 
a contract, the Department shall 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.
    (2) Research Disclosure. The Department may disclose records to a 
researcher if an appropriate official of the Department determines that 
the individual or organization to which the disclosure would be made is 
qualified to carry out specific research related to functions or 
purposes of this system of records. The official may disclose records 
from this system of records to that researcher solely for the purpose 
of carrying out that research related to the functions or purposes of 
this system of records. The researcher must maintain Privacy Act 
safeguards with respect to the disclosed records.
    (3) Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) Advice Disclosure. The 
Department may disclose records to the U.S. Department of Justice and 
OMB if the Department concludes that disclosure is desirable or 
necessary in determining whether particular records are required to be 
disclosed under the FOIA.

DISCLOSURE TO CONSUMER REPORTING AGENCIES:
    Not applicable to this system notice.

POLICIES AND PRACTICES FOR STORING, RETRIEVING, ACCESSING, RETAINING, 
AND DISPOSING OF RECORDS IN THE SYSTEM:
STORAGE:
    The Department maintains records on CD-ROM, and the contractor 
maintains data for this system on computers and in hard copy.

RETRIEVABILITY:
    Records in this system are indexed by a number assigned to each 
student that is cross referenced by the student's name on a separate 
list. After students are randomly assigned to the treatment (mentoring) 
group, a list of those students will be sent to each mentoring program 
participating in the study, asking for the name of the mentor for each 
student, along with the contact information for each mentor. This 
information is entered into a Microsoft Access data base for purposes 
of tracking. In addition, on the survey form sent out to mentors in the 
spring, mentors will be asked to update their contact information if 
necessary.

SAFEGUARDS:
    All physical access to the Department's site, and the site of the 
Department's contractor where this system of records is maintained, is 
controlled and monitored by security personnel. The computer system

[[Page 28023]]

employed by the Department offers a high degree of resistance to 
tampering and circumvention. This computer system permits data access 
to Department and contract staff only on a ``need to know'' basis, and 
controls individual users ability to access and alter records within 
the system.
    The contractor, Abt Associates, Inc. (Abt), has established a set 
of procedures to ensure confidentiality of data. Abt's system ensures 
that information identifying individuals is in files physically 
separated from other research data. Abt will maintain security of the 
complete set of all master data files and documentation. Access to 
individually identifiable data will be strictly controlled. All data 
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 will also be maintained. 
Security features that protect project data include: password-protected 
accounts that authorize users to use the Abt 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; e-mail 
passwords that authorize the user to access mail services; and 
additional security features that the network administrator establishes 
for projects as needed. The contractor employees who maintain (collect, 
maintain, use, or disseminate) data in this system must comply with the 
requirements of 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 in Part 3 (Research Projects 
and Management Study Records) and Part 14 (Electronic Records).

SYSTEM MANAGER AND ADDRESS:
    Ricky Takai, 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 systems manager. Your request must 
meet the requirements of regulations in 34 CFR 5b.5, including proof of 
identity.

RECORD ACCESS PROCEDURE:
    If you wish to gain access to your record in the system of records, 
contact the system manager. Your request must meet the requirements of 
regulations in 34 CFR 5b.5, including proof of identity.

CONTESTING RECORD PROCEDURES:
    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 regulations in 34 CFR 5b.7, including proof of 
identity.

RECORD SOURCE CATEGORIES:
    The system will include the students' names, demographic 
information, such as date of birth and race/ethnicity, as well as self-
reported attitudes about school, delinquent behaviors, personal 
responsibility, and the quality of their relationships with peers and 
adults. The system will also include information gathered from school 
records (e.g., grades, standardized test scores, and disciplinary 
actions taken by the school). The system will also include mentors' 
demographic information, their self-reported experiences with the 
training and support provided by the mentoring program, and activities 
in which mentors and students are engaged.

EXEMPTIONS CLAIMED FOR THE SYSTEM:
    None.

 [FR Doc. E6-7345 Filed 5-12-06; 8:45 am]

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