New
collection (Request for a new OMB Control Number)
No
Emergency
06/11/2021
06/08/2021
Requested
Previously Approved
6 Months From Approved
4,120
0
3,086
0
0
0
The School Pulse Panel is a new study
conducted by the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES),
part of the Institute of Education Sciences (IES), within the
United States Department of Education, to collect extensive data on
issues concerning the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on students
and staff in U.S. public primary, middle, high, and combined-grade
schools. The survey will ask school district staff and sampled
school principals about topics such as instructional mode offered;
enrollment counts of subgroups of students using various
instructional modes; learning loss mitigation strategies; safe and
healthy school mitigation strategies; special education services;
use of technology; use of federal relief funds; and information on
staffing. Because this data collection is extremely high priority
and time sensitive, it will undergo Emergency Clearance. It will
not go through a 60-day public comment period and will only undergo
a 30-day public comment period after clearance has been granted.
The administration of the School Pulse Panel study is in direct
response to President Biden’s Executive Order 14000: Supporting the
Reopening and Continuing Operation of Schools and Early Childhood
Education Providers. It will be one of the nation’s few sources of
reliable data on a wealth of information focused on school
reopening efforts, virus spread mitigation strategies, services
offered for students and staff, and technology use, as reported by
school district staff and principals in U.S. public schools. About
1200 public elementary, middle, high, and combined-grade schools
will be selected to participate in a panel where school and
district staff will be asked to provide requested data monthly
during the 2021-22 school years. This approach provides the ability
to collect detailed information on various topics while also
assessing changes in reopening efforts over time. Given the high
demand for data collection during this time, the content of the
survey may change on a quarterly basis.
NCES requests emergency
clearance to allow us to comply with the January 21, 2021 Executive
Order on Supporting the Reopening and Continuing Operation of
Schools and Early Childhood Education Providers which states that
the Department of Education must “coordinate with the Director of
the Institute of Education Sciences to facilitate, consistent with
applicable law, the collection of data necessary to fully
understand the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on students and
educators, including data on the status of in-person learning.
These data shall be disaggregated by student demographics,
including race, ethnicity, disability, English-language-learner
status, and free or reduced lunch status or other appropriate
indicators of family income.” Normal clearance procedures would not
allow IES to comply with the intent of this EO. NCES will publish a
Federal Register Notice soliciting 30 days of public comment on
this collection concurrent with district and school
recruitment.
US Code:
20
USC 9573 Name of Law: Education Sciences Reform Act of 2002
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.