The final regulations will revise
Subsection J of the General Provisions Regulations (CFR 668.144,
.150, .151 and .152) otherwise known as the ability to benefit
(ATB) rules. Among the final changes included are a requirement
that test publishers and States describe its process to determine
how a test administrator would have the necessary training,
knowledge, skills, and integrity to test ATB students. The final
changes would require a test publisher and a State to describe how
it would determine that a test administrator has the ability and
facilities to keep its ATB tests secure against disclosure or
improper release. The final changes would require a test
administrator or State to describe how it would identify test
irregularities, describe proposed corrective actions, and its
decertification process. The final regulations would require that
the Agreement between the Department and the test publisher or
State, as applicable, would be updated with the proposed changes in
this Subpart.
The burden increase of 616,877
respondents and 59,050 hours is due to programmatic changes. The
program regulations had not been revised and updated since their
initial inclusion in the regulations 1995. The Department had
received and reviewed the Government Accountability Office report
GAO-09-600 urging increased oversight in establishing eligibility
for federal student aid. As determination of ability to benefit is
one of the alternate methods to gaining eligibility to participate
in Title IV, Higher Education Act (HEA) funding programs, it was
determined that Ability To Benefit (ATB) would be in the negotiated
rulemaking process planned for the fall 2009. This was the most
robust way of ensuring all participants could participate in the
review and changes to applicable regulations.
$0
No
No
No
No
No
Uncollected
Dan Klock 202 377-4026
No
On behalf of this Federal agency, I certify that
the collection of information encompassed by this request complies
with 5 CFR 1320.9 and the related provisions of 5 CFR
1320.8(b)(3).
The following is a summary of the topics, regarding
the proposed collection of information, that the certification
covers:
(i) Why the information is being collected;
(ii) Use of information;
(iii) Burden estimate;
(iv) Nature of response (voluntary, required for a
benefit, or mandatory);
(v) Nature and extent of confidentiality; and
(vi) Need to display currently valid OMB control
number;
If you are unable to certify compliance with any of
these provisions, identify the item by leaving the box unchecked
and explain the reason in the Supporting Statement.
Att_Final SUPPORTING STATEMENT OMB 1845 0049 V 7 10 20 10 CLEAN.docx
Att_Final ATB TABLE.OMB.1845.0049.V.6.10.21.10.xlsx
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