School Pulse Panel Preliminary Activities

Forms and Documents

Document Name	Status
School Pulse Panel February 2022 Questionnaire Change Sheet 0963 v8.pdf Justification for No Material/Nonsubstantive Change	2022-01-20
SPP Feb 2022 Questionnaire Change Request Memo 0963 v8.docx Supplementary Document	2022-01-20
Part B School Pulse Panel.docx Supporting Statement B	2021-12-14
Part A School Pulse Panel Monthly Data Collections.docx Supporting Statement A	2021-12-14

IC Document Collections

IC ID	Document Title	Status
247801	School Pulse Panel Data Collection Fall 2021 Study Delay Revision Other-School Pulse Panel Activities Comms and Screener	Modified

ICR Details

OMB Control No: 1850-0963	ICR Reference No: 202201-1850-001
Status: Received in OIRA	Previous ICR Reference No: 202112-1850-003
Agency/Subagency: ED/IES	Agency Tracking No: ED-2021-SCC-0169
Title: School Pulse Panel Preliminary Activities
Type of Information Collection: No material or nonsubstantive change to a currently approved collection	Common Form ICR:  No
Type of Review Request: Emergency	Approval Requested By: 06/30/2022
Date Submitted to OIRA: 01/20/2022

	Requested	Previously Approved
Expiration Date	06/30/2022	06/30/2022
Responses	17,280	17,280
Time Burden (Hours)	4,752	4,752
Cost Burden (Dollars)	0	0

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Abstract: 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. NCES is also submitting a parallel ICR package to undergo the usual 60-day and 30-day clearance processes so that data collection can continue beyond the expiration of the emergency clearance. 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. This program was previously cleared for data collection, but response rates were initially lower than anticipated, jeopardizing the statistical reliability of the collection, and so in a previous request (OMB# 1850-0963 v.6) NCES froze the data collection to revise some key components, particularly the requested burden. In this request NCES is submitting planned communication materials and data items to be collected in January, February and March of 2022.

Emergency Justfication: 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. 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. NCES has also submitted a parallel ICR package to undergo the usual 60-day and 30-day clearance processes so that data collection can continue beyond the expiration of the emergency clearance. 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. In October 2021, the SPP was suspended for the months of October, November, and December due to low response rates for the first month of the collection (OMB 1850-0963 v6). During that pause, the Institute of Education Sciences redesigned the study to improve response rates. A primary strategy for that was to reduce burden in each month’s collection and to rotate content to address data needs of the agencies across months. Additionally, we are actively recruiting schools in a more comprehensive manner in order to start the January collection with a more robust, committed panel of schools. This submission includes planned communication materials and items to be collected in January, February, and March. The SPP study itself 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.

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Authorizing Statute(s): US Code: 20 USC 9573 Name of Law: Education Sciences Reform Act of 2002
  

Citations for New Statutory Requirements: None

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Associated Rulemaking Information
RIN:	Stage of Rulemaking:	Federal Register Citation:	Date:
	Not associated with rulemaking

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Federal Register Notices & Comments

Did the Agency receive public comments on this ICR? Yes

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Number of Information Collection (IC) in this ICR: 1

IC Title	Form No.	Form Name
School Pulse Panel Data Collection Fall 2021 Study Delay Revision

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ICR Summary of Burden

	Total Request	Previously Approved	Change Due to New Statute	Change Due to Agency Discretion	Change Due to Adjustment in Estimate	Change Due to Potential Violation of the PRA
Annual Number of Responses	17,280	17,280	0	0	0	0
Annual Time Burden (Hours)	4,752	4,752	0	0	0	0
Annual Cost Burden (Dollars)	0	0	0	0	0	0

Burden increases because of Program Change due to Agency Discretion: No

Burden Increase Due to:

Burden decreases because of Program Change due to Agency Discretion: No

Burden Reduction Due to:

Short Statement:

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Annual Cost to Federal Government: $12,014,100

Does this IC contain surveys, censuses, or employ statistical methods? Yes Part B of Supporting Statement

Does this ICR request any personally identifiable information (see OMB Circular No. A-130 for an explanation of this term)? Please consult with your agency's privacy program when making this determination.     Yes

Does this ICR include a form that requires a Privacy Act Statement (see 5 U.S.C. §552a(e)(3))? Please consult with your agency's privacy program when making this determination.     No

Is this ICR related to the Affordable Care Act [Pub. L. 111-148 & 111-152]? No

Is this ICR related to the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act, [Pub. L. 111-203]? No

Is this ICR related to the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA)? No

Is this ICR related to the Pandemic Response? No

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Common Form ICR:  No

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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:

(a) It is necessary for the proper performance of agency functions;

(b) It avoids unnecessary duplication;

(c) It reduces burden on small entities;

(d) It uses plain, coherent, and unambiguous language that is understandable to respondents;

(e) Its implementation will be consistent and compatible with current reporting and recordkeeping practices;

(f) It indicates the retention periods for recordkeeping requirements;

(g) It informs respondents of the information called for under 5 CFR 1320.8 (b)(3) about:

(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;

(h) It was developed by an office that has planned and allocated resources for the efficient and effective management and use of the information to be collected.

(i) It uses effective and efficient statistical survey methodology (if applicable); and

(j) It makes appropriate use of information technology.

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.

Certification Date: 01/20/2022

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