Submission for OMB Review; Comment Request

AGENCY:

Department of Education.

SUMMARY:

The Leader, Regulatory Information Management Group, Office of the Chief Information Officer invites comments on the submission for OMB review as required by the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995.

DATES:

Interested persons are invited to submit comments on or before October 9, 2002.

ADDRESSES:

Written comments should be addressed to the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs, Attention: Karen Lee, Desk Officer, Department of Education, Office of Management and Budget, 725 17th Street, NW., Room 10235, New Executive Office Building, Washington, DC 20503 or should be electronically mailed to the Internet address Karen_F._Lee@omb.eop.gov.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Section 3506 of the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (44 U.S.C. chapter 35) requires that the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) provide interested Federal agencies and the public an early opportunity to comment on information collection requests. OMB may amend or waive the requirement for public consultation to the extent that public participation in the approval process would defeat the purpose of the information collection, violate State or Federal law, or substantially interfere with any agency's ability to perform its statutory obligations. The Leader, Regulatory Information Management Group, Office of the Chief Information Officer, publishes that notice containing proposed information collection requests prior to submission of these requests to OMB. Each proposed information collection, grouped by office, contains the following: (1) Type of review requested, e.g. new, revision, extension, existing or reinstatement; (2) Title; (3) Summary of the collection; (4) Description of the need for, and proposed use of, the information; (5) Respondents and frequency of collection; and (6) Reporting and/or Recordkeeping burden. OMB invites public comment.

Office of Educational Research and Improvement

Type of Review: New.

Title: Preschool Curricula Evaluation Research (PCER) Program.

Frequency: Semi-Annually.

Affected Public: Individuals or household.

Reporting and Recordkeeping Hour Burden:

Responses: 7,217.

Burden Hours: 5,281.

Abstract: The primary objective of the PCER Program is to evaluate the effectiveness of selected preschool curricula on child development outcomes such as language skill, pre-reading and pre-math abilities, cognition, general knowledge, and social competence. Although there is a need for preschool programs to enhance their instructional content, there is weak evidence regarding the effectiveness of classroom curricula. These data will provide critical data to allow government agencies to recommend and preschool providers to choose among the array of available curricula. The respondents include children, teachers and parents.

Requests for copies of the submission for OMB review; comment request may be accessed from http://edicsweb.ed.gov,, by selecting the “Browse Pending Collections” link and by clicking on link number 2078. When you access the information collection, click on “Download Attachments “ to view. Written requests for information should be addressed to Vivian Reese, Department of Education, 400 Maryland Avenue, SW, Room 4050, Regional Office Building 3, Washington, D.C. 20202-4651 or to the e-mail address vivan.reese@ed.gov. Requests may also be electronically mailed to the e-mail address OCIO_RIMG@ed.gov or faxed to 202-708-9346. Please specify the complete title of the information collection when making your request.

Comments regarding burden and/or the collection activity requirements should be directed to Katrina Ingalls at Katrina.Ingalls@ed.gov. Individuals who use a telecommunications device for the deaf (TDD) may call the Federal Information Relay Service (FIRS) at 1-800-877-8339.