In violation of
the Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA), ED solicited participation from
districts and schools for this study in 2000 and 2001, before any
OMB clearance was granted. With regards to research, the PRA
requires that departments receive explicit OMB approval for study
design, sampling plans, incentive payments, methodology, and
information collection instruments for studies soliciting
participation from 10 or more entities. ED will ensure that no such
violations will occur in the future. This study is Approved under
the following terms of clearance:1) ED will report to OMB on the
results of the non-response study and the response rates and sample
size achieved in the first phase of implementation; 2) ED will
submit to OMB an analysis plan for the non-response study prior to
analysis of the data and will confer with OMB about additional
analyses; 3) Upon resubmission, ED will report on the extent to
which initial results conform with information quality standards as
required by OMB and ED's information quality guidelines; and 4)
Upon resubmission, ED will make appropriate changes to the study
based upon these initial results to ensure that non-response bias
is minimized. OMB is very concerned with the poor response rates
achieved in districts or schools in the initial years of several
OSEP longitudinal studies. By October 2003,ED/OSEP will convene
other ED programs conducting research in schools including the
Office of Innovation and Improvement, National Center for Education
Statistics and OMB to discuss ways to improve district and school
response rates for all OSEP studies so that information from these
research studies are of high quality and are generalizable to the
population. OSEP and its contractor Westat should continue to work
cooperatively with HHS' Administration for Children and Families to
share information about assessment instruments, study methodologies
and other common issues which could help evaluate the performance
of this early childhood education program in special education.
OSEP should report update OMB by October 2003 on the progress of
study implementation.
Inventory as of this Action
Requested
Previously Approved
01/31/2005
01/31/2005
17,741
0
0
4,986
0
0
0
0
0
PEELS will provide the first national
picture of experiences and outcomes of three to five year old
children in early childhood special education. The study will
inform special education policy development and support GPRA
measurement and IDEA reauthorization with data from parents,
service providers, and teachers.
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.
Pre-Elementary Education Longitudinal Study (PEELS) Phase 1