[Federal Register: June 26, 2002 (Volume 67, Number 123)]
[Notices]               
[Page 43139-43141]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr26jn02-101]                         

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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Bureau of Indian Affairs

 
Submission of Information Collection to the Office of Management 
and Budget for Review Under the Paperwork Reduction Act

AGENCY: Bureau of Indian Affairs, Interior.

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: In compliance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, the 
Bureau of Indian Affairs, Office of Indian Education Programs is 
submitting to the Office of Management and Budget an information 
collection request which requires renewal. The information collection, 
Data Elements for Student Enrollment in Bureau-funded Schools, is 
cleared under OMB Control Number 1076-0122 through June 30, 2002.

DATES: Comments must be received on or before July 26, 2002.

ADDRESSES: Send comments or suggestions directly to the Office of 
Management and Budget, Office of Regulatory Affairs, Attention: Desk 
Officer for the Department of the Interior, 725 17th Street NW, 
Washington, DC 20503.
    Send a copy of your comments to William Mehojah, Director, Office 
of Indian Education Programs, Bureau of Indian Affairs, 1849 C Street, 
NW., Mail Stop 3512-MIB, Washington, DC 20240. Facsimile is 202-208-
3312.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Glenn Allison, 202-208-3628 (This is 
not a toll-free number). Copies of this information collection document 
will be sent to you, free of charge, when you call and request them.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Secretary of the Interior, through the 
Bureau of Indian Affairs, is required to provide educational services 
to federally recognized Indians and Alaska Natives. Beginning with the 
Snyder Act and continuing with Public Laws 93-638, 95-561, 100-297, 
103-382, and 107-110, Congress has passed legislation to ensure Indians 
receive educational opportunities.

I. Abstract

    This collection is used to determine a Native American and Alaska 
Native individual's educational and/or residential service eligibility 
for enrollment in Bureau-funded schools. The data elements for 
enrollment information collection is for attendance in elementary and 
secondary schools operated and funded by the Bureau of Indian Affairs 
and to address the criteria for attendance that was changed by the 
passage of Public Law 99-228. This act allows for the tuition free 
attendance for any Indian student who is a member of a federally 
recognized tribe or is \1/4\ degree blood quantum descendant of a 
member of such tribes, as well as for dependents of Bureau, Indian 
Health Service, or tribal government employees who live on or near the 
school site.
    On February 7, 2002, a notice of emergency clearance and request 
for comments to begin the renewal process was published in the Federal 
Register (67 FR 5847), regarding the information collection entitled 
Data Elements for Student Enrollment in Bureau-funded Schools. The 
comment period closed on April 8, 2002. The Bureau of Indian Affairs, 
Office of Indian Education Programs will now process the information 
collection as a regular clearance request, taking into consideration 
all comments received.

[[Page 43140]]

Six verbal and four written comments were received. A number of 
individuals verbally requested clarification of the Federal Register 
notice, but did not submit a comment.
    Comment: All comments received addressed item 18 Physical Exam. One 
individual favored and all others opposed this item as a requirement 
for ISEP funding. The one individual who favored this item stated a 
physical exam is a State accreditation requirement and should be 
required by all Bureau-funded schools. All other individuals stated 
physical exams will create a severe and unrealistic burden on families, 
students, schools, and the Indian Health Service, specifically during 
the ISEP student count time period, resulting in the non-certification 
of a significant number of eligible students for ISEP funding due to no 
physical exam documentation. All individuals stated their school does 
require physical exams for students participating in athletic 
activities.
    Response: The Bureau recognizes a significant number of Bureau-
funded schools are located on or near federal Indian reservations 
serving Indian communities who rely on the Indian Health Service for 
medical purposes, including physical exams. Because of the number of 
individuals who commented that requiring physical exams for ISEP 
funding would create a difficult burden on families, schools, and the 
Indian Health Service, the Bureau will delete this as a required/
mandatory core element. However, if a Bureau-funded school's 
accreditation agency requires physical exams for all students, the 
Bureau-funded school must adhere to the accreditation agency. In these 
instances, the Bureau-funded school will work with their Education Line 
Officer to establish a time line to accomplish this activity so as not 
to jeopardize ISEP funding.
    Comment: Several individuals commented on item 17, Immunization 
Records, and all favored this item. Two individuals expressed a concern 
of how and who would be responsible for maintaining student health 
records: The school registrar, nurse, health coordinator, or public 
health nurse.
    Response: The Bureau will maintain Immunization Records as a 
required/mandatory core element for ISEP funding. The issue of whom 
will maintain a student's immunization record will be left to the 
discretion of the school board and/or chief school administrator.
    Comment: Several individuals commented on item 2, Type of School 
(Day/Boarding/Dormitory). All comments favored this item. One 
individual requested that the school's funding identification of Grant, 
Contract, or Bureau-operated be added. One individual inquired whether 
the type of school should appear on their letterhead.
    Response: The Bureau will maintain Type of School as a required/
mandatory core element. The issue of whether the school is grant, 
contract, or bureau-operated does not need to be on the school 
enrollment application form, nor on its letterhead.
    Comment: Three individuals commented on item 10, Student's Bureau 
of Indian Affairs Home Agency. The three individuals questioned the 
need for this item and whether it was redundant with item 16, Out of 
Boundary Waiver, and item 11, Home Address. The three individuals 
stated a majority of their students are from their school's established 
attendance area and therefore they do not see a need for item 10.
    Response: The Bureau will maintain Student's Bureau of Indian 
Affairs Home Agency as a required/mandatory core element. Although the 
Bureau recognizes a majority of eligible students enrolled in day 
schools are from that school's home BIA agency, a significant number of 
boarding schools and peripheral dormitories do enroll students from 
outside their BIA agency and/or established attendance area. It is very 
critical boarding schools and peripheral dormitories have this core 
element on file, primarily for medical and/or emergency purposes and 
appropriate follow-up with governmental entities/agencies for students 
placed in a residential setting. Additionally, a number of tribal 
governing bodies have passed resolutions waiving, eliminating, and/or 
establishing an open attendance area for all or selected Bureau-funded 
schools on their reservation. In these instances, this core element 
will assist schools in identifying where the student resides. The 
Bureau does not believe a student's BIA home agency is redundant with 
the out of boundary and home address core elements. In many cases a 
student's BIA home agency and home address are different. The 
collection of the three core elements is for separate purposes, but may 
support one another.
    Comment: Several individuals commented on items 12, Telephone for 
Contact in an Emergency, and 13, Signatures b, c, and d. The 
individuals combined the two items into their comment. Two individuals 
stated Indian Health Service has an emergency/medical consent form 
which they are using and prefer. Item 12 was seen as a duplication to 
the Indian Health Service form. Both individuals requested the Bureau 
to use the Indian Health Service form as a required supplemental 
documentation. One individual stated the difficulty of obtaining a 
school supervisor's signature and recommended only the Education Line 
Officer's signature be required and obtained during ISEP student count 
certification.
    Response: The Bureau will maintain Telephone for Contact in an 
Emergency and Signatures as required/mandatory core elements. Not all 
Bureau-funded schools use the Indian Health Service form and there is a 
definite need for schools to contact a designated individual for an 
emergency purpose. The Bureau firmly believes the school supervisor, as 
the local instructional leader, must render a decision accepting or 
declining a student's enrollment application form. An Education Line 
Officer's signature for release and acceptance will continue to be 
required on all Off Reservation Boarding School (ORBS) enrollment 
application forms.
    Comment: Two individuals commented on item 16, Out of Boundary 
Waiver. One individual stated this item be deleted due to his school's 
established attendance area being reservation-wide. One individual 
stated this is a difficult annual issue which her tribe needs to 
appropriately address.
    Response: The Bureau will maintain the Out of Boundary Waiver as a 
required/mandatory core element. Congress mandated all Bureau-funded 
schools establish attendance areas for effective instructional and 
financial planning purposes. The Bureau recognizes situations will 
occur requiring a student's enrollment in a school other than the 
student's established attendance area. The out of boundary waiver 
process addresses these unique situations. For ISEP funding purposes, 
the Bureau must have assurances the required documentation and 
approvals for students enrolled in Bureau-funded schools outside their 
established attendance area have been obtained and on file. For on-
reservation schools, the out of boundary matter is the responsibility 
of the tribal governing body or its designee through an appropriate 
resolution. For off-reservation boarding schools, the out of boundary 
matter is the responsibility of the respective releasing and accepting 
Education Line Officers through their approval or denial signatures. 
On-reservation schools that have an approved reservation-wide 
attendance area are not required to have this core element on file.
    Comment: One individual stated her tribal school system currently 
maintains two separate enrollment applications,

[[Page 43141]]

one for day schools and one for a dormitory.
    Response: The Bureau acknowledges this situation and will assist 
the tribe in determining whether one enrollment application form can 
address both instructional and residential purposes. The current 
practice of retrieving two enrollment application forms appears to be 
redundant, but does not jeopardize ISEP funding, providing the core 
elements are addressed appropriately.
    Comment: One individual inquired what is ORBS?
    Response: We will identify ORBS as Off-Reservation Boarding School.

II. Request for Comments

    The Office of Management and Budget has up to 60 days to either 
renew or deny renewal of this application. However, a decision may be 
made after 30 days; therefore, your comments have a better chance of 
consideration the closer they are sent to the beginning of the comment 
period.
    We specifically request your comments on the following:
    (1) Whether the collection of information is necessary for the 
proper performance of the functions of the BIA, including whether the 
information will have practical utility;
    (2) The accuracy of the BIA's estimate of the burden of the 
information collection, including the validity of the methodology and 
assumptions used;
    (3) The quality, utility and clarity of the information to be 
collected; and,
    (4) How to minimize the burden of the information collection on 
those who are to respond, including the use of appropriate automated 
electronic, mechanical or other forms of information technology.
    Please note that an agency may not conduct or sponsor, and a person 
is not required to respond, to a collection of information unless it 
displays a currently valid OMB control number. All comments received 
from the 60-day Federal Register notice and copies of those submitted 
during this 30-day notice period will be available for public 
inspection at 1849 C Street NW., Room 3512 of the Main Interior 
Building, during the hours of 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. except weekends and 
Federal holidays. If you wish your name and address withheld from the 
public view, you must state so prominently at the beginning of your 
comments. We will honor your request to the extent of law.

III. Data

    Title: Data Elements for Bureau-funded Schools, 25 CFR 39.
    OMB Control Number: 1076-0122.
    Affected Entities: Bureau-funded schools, students, tribes who 
operate under Federal funding.
    Frequency of Response: Annually.
    Estimated Number of Biennial Responses: 48,000.
    Estimated Time per Response: 15 minutes.
    Estimated Total Annual Burden Hours: 12,000 hours.

    Dated: May 24, 2002.
Neal A. McCaleb,
Assistant Secretary--Indian Affairs.
[FR Doc. 02-16058 Filed 6-25-02; 8:45 am]
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