1845-0097 Supporting Statement 30D 2019

ICRAS Tracking and OMB Number: ( ) 1845-0097 Revised: 1/8/2019

RIN Number: XXXX-XXXX (if applicable)

SUPPORTING STATEMENT

FOR PAPERWORK REDUCTION ACT SUBMISSION

Student Assistance General Provisions – Annual Fire Safety Report

A. Justification

1. Explain the circumstances that make the collection of information necessary. Identify any legal or administrative requirements that necessitate the collection. Attach a hard copy of the appropriate section of each statute and regulation mandating or authorizing the collection of information, or you may provide a valid URL link or paste the applicable section¹. Specify the review type of the collection (new, revision, extension, reinstatement with change, reinstatement without change). If revised, briefly specify the changes. If a rulemaking is involved, make note of the sections or changed sections, if applicable.

As provided by Section 485(i) of the Higher Education Act of 1965, as amended (HEA), the Department of Education regulations at 34 CFR 668.49 require institutions to collect statistics on fires occurring in on-campus student housing facilities, including the number and cause of each fire, the number of injuries related to each fire that required treatment at a medical facility, the number of deaths related to each fire, and the value of property damage caused by each fire. Institutions must also publish an annual fire safety report containing the institution’s policies regarding fire safety and the fire statistics information. Further institutions are required to maintain a fire log that records the date, time, nature, and general location of each fire in on-campus student housing facilities.

This request is to extend the current approval of reporting requirements contained in the regulations. The collection requirements in the regulations are necessary to meet institutional information reporting to students and staff as well as for reporting to Congress through the Secretary.

Section 668.49(b) – Annual fire safety report

The regulations identify the minimum information that must be included in the annual fire safety report for institutions that have on-campus housing.

Section 668.49(c) – Fire statistics

The regulations identify the required statistics and the time frame that must be reported for the specified data.

Section 668.49(d) – Fire log

The regulations specify the information that must be included in the fire log, how it must be maintained and provides for its accessibility to the public.

2. Indicate how, by whom, and for what purpose the information is to be used. Except for a new collection, indicate the actual use the agency has made of the information received from the current collection.

Under the regulations, institutions that maintain on-campus housing are required to gather the required fire safety information and distribute it to inform both current and prospective students and employees of incidences meeting the fire reporting criteria. This can be achieved through mailing, providing the publication directly or posting to the Internet or an Intranet web site. This annual fire safety reporting information will inform the campus community and be provided to the Secretary to be disseminated to the public as well as being reported to Congress.

3. Describe whether, and to what extent, the collection of information involves the use of automated, electronic, mechanical, or other technological collection techniques or forms of information technology, e.g. permitting electronic submission of responses, and the basis for the decision of adopting this means of collection. Also describe any consideration given to using technology to reduce burden.

The institution may provide this information to the general public via an Internet or Intranet web site. The Secretary must make this information available to the general public as well as providing an annual report to Congress.

4. Describe efforts to identify duplication. Show specifically why any similar information already available cannot be used or modified for use for the purposes described in Item 2 above.

There is no duplication of data as a result of the collection of this information.

5. If the collection of information impacts small businesses or other small entities, describe any methods used to minimize burden. A small entity may be (1) a small business which is deemed to be one that is independently owned and operated and that is not dominant in its field of operation; (2) a small organization that is any not-for-profit enterprise that is independently owned and operated and is not dominant in its field; or (3) a small government jurisdiction, which is a government of a city, county, town, township, school district, or special district with a population of less than 50,000.

No small businesses are impacted by this collection.

6. Describe the consequences to Federal program or policy activities if the collection is not conducted or is conducted less frequently, as well as any technical or legal obstacles to reducing burden.

Per statute, the information must be collected annually.

7. Explain any special circumstances that would cause an information collection to be conducted in a manner:

• requiring respondents to report information to the agency more often than quarterly;

• requiring respondents to prepare a written response to a collection of information in fewer than 30 days after receipt of it;

• requiring respondents to submit more than an original and two copies of any document;

• requiring respondents to retain records, other than health, medical, government contract, grant-in-aid, or tax records for more than three years;

• in connection with a statistical survey, that is not designed to produce valid and reliable results than can be generalized to the universe of study;

• requiring the use of a statistical data classification that has not been reviewed and approved by OMB;

• that includes a pledge of confidentiality that is not supported by authority established in statute or regulation, that is not supported by disclosure and data security policies that are consistent with the pledge, or that unnecessarily impedes sharing of data with other agencies for compatible confidential use; or

• requiring respondents to submit proprietary trade secrets, or other confidential information unless the agency can demonstrate that it has instituted procedures to protect the information’s confidentiality to the extent permitted by law.

The information collection requirements require no special circumstances.

8. As applicable, state that the Department has published the 60 and 30 Federal Register notices as required by 5 CFR 1320.8(d), soliciting comments on the information collection prior to submission to OMB. Summarize public comments received in response to that notice and describe actions taken by the agency in response to these comments. Specifically address comments received on cost and hour burden.

Describe efforts to consult with persons outside the agency to obtain their views on the availability of data, frequency of collection, the clarity of instruction and record keeping, disclosure, or reporting format (if any), and on the data elements to be recorded, disclosed, or reported.

Consultation with representatives of those from whom information is to be obtained or those who must compile records should occur at least once every 3 years – even if the collection of information activity is the same as in prior periods. There may be circumstances that may preclude consultation in a specific situation. These circumstances should be explained.

There was a 60 day comment period requesting public comment on the burden identified filed in the Federal Register on November 7, 2018 (Vol. 83, No. 216, page 55704-55075). One anonymous comment was received in support of the regulations. No change has been made to the burden estimate based on this comment. There has been no change to the regulations since 2009. This is the 30 day public comment period request.

8. Explain any decision to provide any payment or gift to respondents, other than remuneration of contractors or grantees with meaningful justification.

There are no payments or gifts to respondents.

10. Describe any assurance of confidentiality provided to respondents and the basis for the assurance in statute, regulation, or agency policy. If personally identifiable information (PII) is being collected, a Privacy Act statement should be included on the instrument. Please provide a citation for the Systems of Record Notice and the date a Privacy Impact Assessment was completed as indicated on the IC Data Form. A confidentiality statement with a legal citation that authorizes the pledge of confidentiality should be provided.² If the collection is subject to the Privacy Act, the Privacy Act statement is deemed sufficient with respect to confidentiality. If there is no expectation of confidentiality, simply state that the Department makes no pledge about the confidentially of the data.

The Department requirements do not cover any confidential information.

11. Provide additional justification for any questions of a sensitive nature, such as sexual behavior and attitudes, religious beliefs, and other matters that are commonly considered private. The justification should include the reasons why the agency considers the questions necessary, the specific uses to be made of the information, the explanation to be given to persons from whom the information is requested, and any steps to be taken to obtain their consent.

The Department is not requesting any sensitive data.

12. Provide estimates of the hour burden of the collection of information. The statement should:

• Indicate the number of respondents by affected public type (federal government, individuals or households, private sector – businesses or other for-profit, private sector – not-for-profit institutions, farms, state, local or tribal governments), frequency of response, annual hour burden, and an explanation of how the burden was estimated, including identification of burden type: recordkeeping, reporting or third party disclosure. All narrative should be included in item 12. Unless directed to do so, agencies should not conduct special surveys to obtain information on which to base hour burden estimates. Consultation with a sample (fewer than 10) of potential respondents is desirable. If the hour burden on respondents is expected to vary widely because of differences in activity, size, or complexity, show the range of estimated hour burden, and explain the reasons for the variance. Generally, estimates should not include burden hours for customary and usual business practices.

• If this request for approval covers more than one form, provide separate hour burden estimates for each form and aggregate the hour burdens in the ROCIS IC Burden Analysis Table. (The table should at minimum include Respondent types, IC activity, Respondent and Responses, Hours/Response, and Total Hours)

• Provide estimates of annualized cost to respondents of the hour burdens for collections of information, identifying and using appropriate wage rate categories. The cost of contracting out or paying outside parties for information collection activities should not be included here. Instead, this cost should be included in Item 14.

We estimate the hours required for institutions with on-campus housing to meet the regulatory requirements to report this fire safety information will be approximately 2 hours per institution annually.

Affected Entities and Burden:

Establishing/maintaining required fire log –

# of # of # of

Respondents Responses Burden Hours

Institutions:

Public 841 841 X .5 hours = 421 hours

Private 1,237 1,237 X .5 hours = 619 hours

Proprietary 77 77 X .5 hours = 39 hours

SUBTOTAL 2,155 2,155 1,079 hours

Gathering data for and creating annual fire safety report –

# of # of # of

Respondents Responses Burden Hours

Institutions:

Public * 841 X 1.5 hours = 1,262 hours

Private * 1,237 X 1.5 hours = 1,856 hours

Proprietary * 77 X 1.5 hours = 116 hours

SUBTOTAL * 2,155 3,234 hours

TOTAL 2,155 4,310 4,313hours

*-The asterisk is used to avoid double counting the institutions in the universe of respondents.

Current Burden Inventory:

# of # of # of

Respondents Responses Burden Hours

3,982 7,964 7,964

Change to Burden Inventory:

# of # of # of

Respondents Responses Burden Hours

-1,827 -3,654 -3,651

The Department estimates that the cost to the institutional respondents will be:

# of Est. $/ Est. $ of

Respondents Hour Burden

Institutions:

Public 841 X $44.41 X 2 hours = $ 37,348.81

Private 1,237 X $44.41 X 2 hours = $ 54,935.17

Proprietary 77 X $44.41 X 2 hours = $ 3,419.57

TOTAL 2,155 $ 95,703.55

13. Provide an estimate of the total annual cost burden to respondents or record keepers resulting from the collection of information. (Do not include the cost of any hour burden shown in Items 12 and 14.)

• The cost estimate should be split into two components: (a) a total capital and start-up cost component (annualized over its expected useful life); and (b) a total operation and maintenance and purchase of services component. The estimates should take into account costs associated with generating, maintaining, and disclosing or providing the information. Include descriptions of methods used to estimate major cost factors including system and technology acquisition, expected useful life of capital equipment, the discount rate(s), and the time period over which costs will be incurred. Capital and start-up costs include, among other items, preparations for collecting information such as purchasing computers and software; monitoring, sampling, drilling and testing equipment; and acquiring and maintaining record storage facilities.

• If cost estimates are expected to vary widely, agencies should present ranges of cost burdens and explain the reasons for the variance. The cost of contracting out information collection services should be a part of this cost burden estimate. In developing cost burden estimates, agencies may consult with a sample of respondents (fewer than 10), utilize the 60-day pre-OMB submission public comment process and use existing economic or regulatory impact analysis associated with the rulemaking containing the information collection, as appropriate.

• Generally, estimates should not include purchases of equipment or services, or portions thereof, made: (1) prior to October 1, 1995, (2) to achieve regulatory compliance with requirements not associated with the information collection, (3) for reasons other than to provide information or keep records for the government or (4) as part of customary and usual business or private practices. Also, these estimates should not include the hourly costs (i.e., the monetization of the hours) captured above in Item 12

Total Annualized Capital/Startup Cost :      

Total Annual Costs (O&M) :      

____________________

Total Annualized Costs Requested :      

There are no additional cost burdens associated with this collection other than those listed at the end of item 12.

14. Provide estimates of annualized cost to the Federal government. Also, provide a description of the method used to estimate cost, which should include quantification of hours, operational expenses (such as equipment, overhead, printing, and support staff), and any other expense that would not have been incurred without this collection of information. Agencies also may aggregate cost estimates from Items 12, 13, and 14 in a single table.

There is no system start-up costs associated with these proposed regulations.

15. Explain the reasons for any program changes or adjustments. Generally, adjustments in burden result from re-estimating burden and/or from economic phenomenon outside of an agency’s control (e.g., correcting a burden estimate or an organic increase in the size of the reporting universe). Program changes result from a deliberate action that materially changes a collection of information and generally are result of new statute or an agency action (e.g., changing a form, revising regulations, redefining the respondent universe, etc.). Burden changes should be disaggregated by type of change (i.e., adjustment, program change due to new statute, and/or program change due to agency discretion), type of collection (new, revision, extension, reinstatement with change, reinstatement without change) and include totals for changes in burden hours, responses and costs (if applicable).

This request is to extend the current information collection. There has been no revision to the regulations regarding the specific fire safety reports. The change to the burden hours is due to the decrease in the number of institutions and associated hours (-1,827 institutions and -3,651 hours) reporting such information to the Department in 2016.

16. For collections of information whose results will be published, outline plans for tabulation and publication. Address any complex analytical techniques that will be used. Provide the time schedule for the entire project, including beginning and ending dates of the collection of information, completion of report, publication dates, and other actions.

This information is required under statute and regulation to be reported to the general public and Congressional committees or subcommittees.

17. If seeking approval to not display the expiration date for OMB approval of the information collection, explain the reasons that display would be inappropriate.

The Department is not seeking this approval.

18. Explain each exception to the certification statement identified in the Certification of Paperwork Reduction Act.

The Department is not requesting any exceptions to the “Certification for Paperwork Reduction Act Submissions” of OMB Form 83-1.

1 Please limit pasted text to no longer than 3 paragraphs.

2 Requests for this information are in accordance with the following ED and OMB policies: Privacy Act of 1974, OMB Circular A-108 – Privacy Act Implementation – Guidelines and Responsibilities, OMB Circular A-130 Appendix I – Federal Agency Responsibilities for Maintaining Records About Individuals, OMB M-03-22 – OMB Guidance for Implementing the Privacy Provisions of the E-Government Act of 2002, OMB M-06-15 – Safeguarding Personally Identifiable Information, OM:6-104 – Privacy Act of 1974 (Collection, Use and Protection of Personally Identifiable Information)

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