The School Pulse Panel (SPP) is a monthly data collection originally designed to collect voluntary responses from a nationally representative sample of public schools to better understand how schools, students, and educators are responding to the ongoing stressors of the coronavirus pandemic, along with other priority items for the White House, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and Department of Education program offices. This collection allows NCES to comply with the January 21, 2021 EO 14000 Executive Order on Supporting the Reopening and Continuing Operation of Schools and Early Childhood Education Providers. The SPP study is extremely important particularly now that COVID-19 has not waned, and the pulse model is one that the agency will need after the pandemic subsides for other quick-turnaround data needs. It is one of the nationâs 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. Initially cleared as an emergency (OMB# 1850-0963), the SPP monthly data collection (OMB #1850-0969) was formally cleared in April 2022, with change requests (OMB# 1850-0969 v.2-3) clearing the May and June 2022 Questionnaires in April and May. A revision (complete with 30D public comment period; v.4) containing projected questionnaire items for August and September 2022 as well as further change requests (v. 5-7) were cleared in July and August 2022.
The purpose of this submission is to propose and seek 30-day public comment on new items (within the scope of research domains both previously established and minimally revised in this request; see Part A changes detailed below) to be collected on the October, November, and December instruments (Appendix B.6). These items are considered very close to final and will go through minimal testing with school personnel to examine any comprehension concerns with item wording. Feedback from this testing, as well as additional input from SPP stakeholders, will result in modifications and additions that will be reflected in future change requests. Some previously approved items that are considered core content will be collected in during these months. Specifically, items on learning modes, quarantine, and possibly items on after-school programs will be repeated to maintain trend over time. In addition to the changes in Appendix B (new items) and Part A (overall description of the study), updated screenshots were also added to Appendix A (communication materials) in order to keep the materials current, and additional details were added to the descriptions of our cognitive testing process in Part B. The costs to the government have not changed as a result of this revision nor has the projected respondent burden.
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.
SPP 2022 Quarter 4 Revision Memo 0969 v8.docx
School Pulse Panel Data Collections