83-C Change Memo

U NITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION

National Center for Education Statistics

July 1, 2021

MEMORANDUM

To: Bob Sivinski, OMB

From: Rachel Hansen, NCES

Through: Carrie Clarady, NCES

Re: School Pulse Panel Preliminary Activities Change Request (OMB# 1850-0963 v.2)

The requested Emergency Clearance for the School Pulse Panel Preliminary Activities (OMB# 1850-0963) was approved by OMB in June 2021 and is currently posted on the Federal Register for public review (the 30D public comment period will expire on July 12, 2021). The purpose of this Change Request is to add to the current package an addition email that the program may use as part of their recruitment strategies in the summer of 2021. The following email was added:

• Alternate E-mail to School, Summer (Appendix A, pp. 27-32)

NCES previously requested an 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.” The National Center for Education Statistics (NCES), in the Institute of Education Sciences of the U.S. Department of Education, will oversee the survey collection, which is designed to collect vital data with the least possible burden on schools. With the voluntary participation of educators and school leaders across the country, NCES will be able to report the percentages of students who received instruction remotely, in-person, or in a hybrid instructional mode for selected districts, states, and the nation. NCES will provide these data for various student groups, in addition to information about attendance rates, in an online dashboard.

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. The first step of this data collection effort is gaining compliance from sampled districts and schools, and this emergency request package will allow researchers to immediately begin contacting districts and schools to construct the panel of respondents and collect preliminary information.

This change request adds an additional contact letter that can be used in the recruitment process during the summer of 2021, as well as appropriate follow-up reminder emails. We plan to use this email as the first contact with school principals. Its format is structured to have headings and an immediate call to action. We expect to use this email and similar reminder emails in place of the already approved materials as the overall flow of the information has improved and is easier to read.

The burden and costs to the government have not changed as a result of this amendment. In addition to the changes mentioned above, detailed summaries of the changes to the supporting documents are on next page.

Additions to the Appendices (pp. 27-32)

Alternate E-mail to School, Summer

(Note: this contact email has been added as another cleared option for contacting schools to decrease repetition in our recruiting and messaging. This email may be exchanged with some of the other advance letters already included and may be repeated in the summer if schools have not responded.)

Subject: Action requested: 2021-22 school reopening plans, please complete by [MM/DD/YY]

<insert name>:

Every student in America deserves a high-quality education in a safe environment. This promise, which was already out of reach for too many, has been further threatened by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Your school has been selected to participate in a study sponsored by the U.S. Department of Education. The study is the School Pulse Panel, and the information you provide is essential to understanding the continued impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on K-12 education. We have communicated with your district about your school’s opportunity to participate.

The School Pulse Panel is distinct from other studies in that it will provide information every month during the 2021-22 school year on the status of the reopening and operating of schools within the United States. This monthly collection will build a real-time picture of reopening progress across the United States. Every month, information will be provided on a data dashboard posted on the U.S. Department of Education’s National Center for Education Statistics website.

What Is Involved

You will begin by completing a brief 10-minute summer survey, providing information about your school.

September 2021 continuing through August 2022 you will be asked to provide information about school reopening efforts, virus spread mitigation strategies, services offered for students and staff, and technology use. Total time to complete the survey is expected to be 4-5 hours each month. The time to complete the survey can be shared. School staff are encouraged to work with district staff to complete the survey. Instructions will be provided as part of the survey.

Participating schools will be compensated up to $5,000 for the year.

To get started with the brief 10-minute summer survey, click the link below.

Please complete by [MM/DD/YY].

Respond now at https://respond.census.gov/spp

Log in using this User ID: <USERID>

Additional Information About the School Pulse Panel

To learn more about the School Pulse Panel, visit http://www.nces.ed.gov/surveys/XXX.

This study is in support of the recent Executive Order on Supporting the Reopening and Continuing Operation of Schools and Early Childhood Education Providers. The School Pulse Panel is sponsored by the U.S. Department of Education’s National Center for Education Statistics (NCES). NCES is a division within the Institute of Education Sciences.

The survey was designed by NCES in coordination with several agencies, including the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and is an information collection effort conducted at the federal level to understand the impact of COVID-19 on education. Please be assured that reports of the survey findings will not identify schools or districts by name. Individual responses will be combined with those from other participants to produce summary statistics and reports. Data collected will be used for statistical purposes only.

Compensation will be sent to the school district in the form of a debit card, which is to be distributed to the school. The card will be credited with $1,250 after the first three monthly survey submissions, and the same amount will be added every 3 months thereafter, through the end of the study. School participation is voluntary.

If you have any questions about the study, contact the U.S. Census Bureau at 1-888-XXX-XXXX or via e-mail at [email protected]. The Census Bureau is collecting the data for NCES.

Thank you for your participation.

Sincerely,

XXX

NCES is authorized to conduct this survey by the Education Sciences Reform Act of 2002 (ESRA 2002, 20 U.S.C. §9543). All of the information schools provide may be used only for statistical purposes and may not be disclosed, or used, in identifiable form for any other purpose except as required by law (20 U.S.C. §9573 and 6 U.S.C. §151). Reports of the findings from the survey will not identify participating Local Education Agencies (LEAs), schools, or staff. Individual responses will be combined with those from other participants to produce summary statistics and reports.

E-mail to School, Summer Reminder 1

Subject: Action requested: 2021-22 school reopening plans; please complete the summer survey

<insert name>:

This is a gentle reminder to please complete the School Pulse Panel summer survey by MM/DD/YY.

The initial invitation was sent by email on MM/DD/YY.

To get started, click the link below.

Respond now at [INSERT LINK]

Log in using this User ID: <USERID>

Additional Information About the School Pulse Panel

As a reminder, your school was selected to participate in the School Pulse Panel, sponsored by the U.S. Department of Education. The information you provide is essential to understanding the continued impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on K-12 education. We have communicated with your district about your school’s opportunity to participate.

To learn more about the School Pulse Panel, visit http://www.nces.ed.gov/surveys/XXX.

Participating schools will be compensated up to $5,000 for the year. School participation is voluntary.

The School Pulse Panel is sponsored by the U.S. Department of Education’s National Center for Education Statistics (NCES). NCES is a division within the Institute of Education Sciences. If you have any questions about the study, contact the U.S. Census Bureau at 1-888-595-1332 or via e-mail at [email protected]. The Census Bureau is collecting the data for NCES.

Thank you for your participation.

Sincerely,

XXX

NCES is authorized to conduct this survey by the Education Sciences Reform Act of 2002 (ESRA 2002, 20 U.S.C. §9543). All of the information schools provide may be used only for statistical purposes and may not be disclosed, or used, in identifiable form for any other purpose except as required by law (20 U.S.C. §9573 and 6 U.S.C. §151). Reports of the findings from the survey will not identify participating Local Education Agencies (LEAs), schools, or staff. Individual responses will be combined with those from other participants to produce summary statistics and reports.

E-mail to School, Summer Reminder 2

Subject: Action requested: 2021-22 school reopening plans; please complete the summer survey

<insert name>:

This is a reminder to complete the School Pulse Panel summer survey by MM/DD/YY.

The information you provide is essential to understanding the continued impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on K-12 education.

The initial invitation was sent by email on MM/DD/YY.

To get started, click the link below.

Respond now at [INSERT LINK]

Log in using this User ID: <USERID>

Additional Information About the School Pulse Panel

Your school was selected to participate in the School Pulse Panel, sponsored by the U.S. Department of Education. We have communicated with your district about your school’s opportunity to participate.

To learn more about the School Pulse Panel, visit http://www.nces.ed.gov/surveys/XXX.

Participating schools will be compensated up to $5,000 for the year. School participation is voluntary.

The School Pulse Panel is sponsored by the U.S. Department of Education’s National Center for Education Statistics (NCES). NCES is a division within the Institute of Education Sciences. If you have any questions about the study, contact the U.S. Census Bureau at 1-888-595-1332 or via e-mail at [email protected]. The Census Bureau is collecting the data for NCES.

Thank you for your participation.

Sincerely,

XXX

NCES is authorized to conduct this survey by the Education Sciences Reform Act of 2002 (ESRA 2002, 20 U.S.C. §9543). All of the information schools provide may be used only for statistical purposes and may not be disclosed, or used, in identifiable form for any other purpose except as required by law (20 U.S.C. §9573 and 6 U.S.C. §151). Reports of the findings from the survey will not identify participating Local Education Agencies (LEAs), schools, or staff. Individual responses will be combined with those from other participants to produce summary statistics and reports.

E-mail to School, Summer Reminder 3

Subject: Action requested: 2021-22 school reopening plans; please complete the summer survey

<insert name>:

This is a reminder to complete the School Pulse Panel summer survey by MM/DD/YY.

Every student in America deserves a high-quality education in a safe environment. This promise, which was already out of reach for too many, has been further threatened by the COVID-19 pandemic. The information you provide is essential to understanding the continued impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on K-12 education.

The initial invitation was sent by email on MM/DD/YY.

To get started, click the link below.

Respond now at [INSERT LINK]

Log in using this User ID: <USERID>

Additional Information About the School Pulse Panel

Your school was selected to participate in the School Pulse Panel, sponsored by the U.S. Department of Education. We have communicated with your district about your school’s opportunity to participate.

To learn more about the School Pulse Panel, visit http://www.nces.ed.gov/surveys/XXX.

Participating schools will be compensated up to $5,000 for the year. School participation is voluntary.

The School Pulse Panel is sponsored by the U.S. Department of Education’s National Center for Education Statistics (NCES). NCES is a division within the Institute of Education Sciences. If you have any questions about the study, contact the U.S. Census Bureau at 1-888-595-1332 or via e-mail at [email protected]. The Census Bureau is collecting the data for NCES.

Thank you for your participation.

Sincerely,

XXX

NCES is authorized to conduct this survey by the Education Sciences Reform Act of 2002 (ESRA 2002, 20 U.S.C. §9543). All of the information schools provide may be used only for statistical purposes and may not be disclosed, or used, in identifiable form for any other purpose except as required by law (20 U.S.C. §9573 and 6 U.S.C. §151). Reports of the findings from the survey will not identify participating Local Education Agencies (LEAs), schools, or staff. Individual responses will be combined with those from other participants to produce summary statistics and reports.

E-mail to School, Summer Reminder 4

Subject: Action requested: 2021-22 school reopening plans; please complete the summer survey

<insert name>:

This is our final reminder to complete the School Pulse Panel summer survey by MM/DD/YY.

We deeply appreciate your time and effort.

The initial invitation was sent by email on MM/DD/YY.

To get started, click the link below.

Respond now at [INSERT LINK]

Log in using this User ID: <USERID>

Additional Information About the School Pulse Panel

Your school was selected to participate in the School Pulse Panel, sponsored by the U.S. Department of Education. We have communicated with your district about your school’s opportunity to participate.

To learn more about the School Pulse Panel, visit http://www.nces.ed.gov/surveys/XXX.

Participating schools will be compensated up to $5,000 for the year. School participation is voluntary.

The School Pulse Panel is sponsored by the U.S. Department of Education’s National Center for Education Statistics (NCES). NCES is a division within the Institute of Education Sciences. If you have any questions about the study, contact the U.S. Census Bureau at 1-888-595-1332 or via e-mail at [email protected]. The Census Bureau is collecting the data for NCES.

Thank you for your participation.

Sincerely,

XXX

NCES is authorized to conduct this survey by the Education Sciences Reform Act of 2002 (ESRA 2002, 20 U.S.C. §9543). All of the information schools provide may be used only for statistical purposes and may not be disclosed, or used, in identifiable form for any other purpose except as required by law (20 U.S.C. §9573 and 6 U.S.C. §151). Reports of the findings from the survey will not identify participating Local Education Agencies (LEAs), schools, or staff. Individual responses will be combined with those from other participants to produce summary statistics and reports.

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