Notices. Notice to add a systems of records

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BILLING CODE 3410-02-M DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE Office of Secretary [DOD-2006-OS-0228] Privacy Act of 1974; System of Records AGENCY: Office of the Inspector General, DoD. ACTION: Notice to add a systems of records. SUMMARY: The Office of the Inspector General

(OIG)proposes to add a system of records to its inventory of record systems subject to the Privacy Act of 1974 (5 U.S.C. 552a), as amended. DATES: The proposed action will be effective on February 7, 2007 unless comments are received that would result in a contrary determination. ADDRESSES: Send comments to Chief, FOIA/PA Office, Inspector General, Department of Defense, 400 Army Navy Drive, Room 201, Arlington, VA 22202-4704. FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mr. Darryl R. Aaron at

(703)604-9785. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Office of the Inspector General

(OIG)systems of records notices subject to the Privacy Act of 1974, (5 U.S.C. 552a), as amended, have been published in the **Federal Register** and are available from the address above. The proposed systems reports, as required by 5 U.S.C. 552a(r) of the Privacy Act, were submitted on December 28, 2006, to the House Committee on Government Reform, the Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs, and the Office of Management and Budget

(OMB)pursuant to paragraph 4c of Appendix I to OMB Circular No. A-130, “Federal Agency Responsibilities for Maintaining Records About Individuals,” dated February 8, 1996, (February 20, 1996, 61 FR 6427). Dated: December 29, 2006. L.M. Bynum, Alternate OSD Federal Register Liaison Officer, Department of Defense. CIG-25 System name: Alternate Worksite Records System location: Primary location: Human Capital Advisory Service (Workforce Relations Division), Department of Defense Office of the Inspector General, 400 Army Navy Drive, Suite 115, Arlington, VA 22202-4704. Secondary locations: Defense Criminal Investigative Service Field Offices, Resident Agencies, and Posts of Duty. Official mailing addresses are published as an appendix to the OIG's compilation of systems of records notices. Categories of individuals covered by the system: Civilian employees who participate in the Telework program operated by OIG. Categories of records in the system: Records in the system include participant name; position title; series and grade, performance evaluation rating; official duty station address and telephone numbers; type of telework; date telework agreement received and approved; alternative worksite address and telephone numbers; telework eligibility forms; telework agreement forms; telework home and security checklists; whether government equipment is assigned; telework arrangement checkout checklists; telework centers reimbursement sheets; and regular and recurring telework memorandums; and any other miscellaneous documents supporting telework. Authority for maintenance of the system: Public Law 106-346, Section 359 of October 23, 2000; Under Secretary of Defense (Personnel and Readiness) Memorandum dated October 22, 2001, “Department of Defense Telework Policy and Guide for Civilian Employees,” and DoD Directive 1035.1 Telework Policy for Department of Defense. Purpose(s): Records are used by supervisor and program coordinators for purposes of managing, evaluating, and reporting OIG telework program activity. Portions of the files may be used by Information Systems Directorate for determining equipment and software needs; for ensuring appropriate technical safeguards are in use at alternative work sites; and for evaluating and mitigating vulnerabilities associated with connecting to OIG computer systems from remote locations and to validate and reimburse participants for costs associated with telephone use. Routine uses of records maintained in the system, including categories of users and the purpose of such uses: In addition to those disclosures generally permitted under 5 U.S.C. 552a(b) of the Privacy Act, these records or information contained therein may specifically be disclosed outside the DoD as a routine use pursuant to 5 U.S.C. 552(b)(3) as follows: To the Department of Labor when an employee is injured while working at the alternative worksite. The alternative worksite address, alternative worksite telephone number and home security and safety checklist may be disclosed. The DoD Blanket Routine Uses set forth at the beginning of OIG's compilation of systems of records notices apply to this system. Policies and practices for storing, retrieving, accessing, retaining, and disposing of records in the system: Storage: Paper records and electronic storage media Retrievability: Records are retrieved by name. Safeguards: Records are maintained in areas accessible only to DoD OIG personnel and is limited to those who require the records in the performance of their official duties. Paper Records are secured in locked cabinets during non-duty hours and access to electronic records is restricted by the use of passwords. Retention and disposal: Records are destroyed (shredded) within 1 year after employee's participation in the program ends. System manager(s) and address: Assistant Director, Human Capital Advisory Service (Workforce Relations), 400 Army Navy Drive, Suite 115, Arlington, VA 22202-4704. Notification procedures: Individuals seeking to determine whether records about themselves is contained in this system of records should address written inquiries to the Freedom of Information Act Requester Service Center/Privacy Act Office, Department of Defense, Office of the Inspector General, 400 Army Navy Dr., Arlington, VA 22202-4704. The request should contain the individual's full name, address, and telephone number. These items are necessary for the retrieval of information. Requests submitted on behalf of other persons must include their written authorization. Record access procedures: Individuals seeking access to records about themselves contained in this system of records should address written inquiries to the Freedom of Information Act Requester Service Center/Privacy Act Office, Department of Defense, Office of the Inspector General, 400 Army Navy Dr., Arlington, VA 22202-4704. The request should contain the individual's full name, address, and telephone number. These items are necessary for the retrieval of information. Requests submitted on behalf of other persons must include their written authorization. Contesting record procedures: The OIG's rules for accessing records and for contesting contents and appealing initial agency determinations are published in 32 CFR part 312 or may be obtained from the system manager. Record source categories: By participants and supervisors. Exemptions claimed for the system: None. [FR Doc. E7-8 Filed 1-5-07; 8:45 am] BILLING CODE 5001-06-P DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE Office of the Secretary [DOD-2006-OS-0229] Privacy Act of 1974; Systems of Records AGENCY: Defense Threat Reduction Agency. ACTION: Notice to add a system of records. SUMMARY: The Defense Threat Reduction Agency proposes to add a system of records notice to its inventory of record systems subject to the Privacy Act of 1974 (5 U.S.C. 552a), as amended. DATES: This action will be effective without further notice on February 7, 2007 unless comments are received that would result in a contrary determination. ADDRESSES: Send comments to the Freedom of Information and Privacy Office, Defense Threat Reduction Agency, 8725 John J. Kingman Road, Fort Belvoir, VA 22060-6201. FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Ms. Brenda Carter at

(703)767-1771. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Defense Threat Reduction Agency notices for systems of records subject to the Privacy Act of 1974 (5 U.S.C. 552a), as amended, have been published in the **Federal Register** and are available from the address above. The proposed system report, as required by 5 U.S.C. 552a(r) of the Privacy Act of 1974, as amended, was submitted on December 28, 2006, to the House Committee on Government Reform, the Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs, and the Office of Management and Budget

(DTRA)employees and contractor personnel receiving training funded or sponsored by DTRA. Department of Defense military personnel and non-appropriated fund personnel may be included in the system. Categories of records in the system: Name, social security number, occupational series, grade, and supervisory status; registration, student development curricula, and training data, including start and completion dates, course descriptions, and related data. Where training is required for professional licenses, certification, or recertification, the file may include proficiency data in one or more skill areas. Electronic records may contain computer logon data. Authority for maintenance of the system: 5 U.S.C. Chapter 41, The Government Employees Training Act; 10 U.S.C. 1701 *et seq.* , Defense Acquisition Workforce Improvement Act; E.O. 11348, Providing for the further training of Government employees, as amended by E.O. 12107, Relating to the Civil Service Commission and labor-management in the Federal Service; 5 CFR part 410, Office of Personnel Management—Training; and E.O. 9397. Purpose(s): Information is used to manage and administer training and development programs; to identify individual training needs; to screen and select candidates for training; and for reporting, forecasting, tracking, monitoring, and assessment purposes. Statistical data, with all personal identifiers removed, are used to compare training completion data among different DTRA activities. Routine uses of records maintained in the system, including categories of users and the purposes of such uses: In addition to those disclosures generally permitted under 5 U.S.C. 552a

(b)of the Privacy Act, these records or information contained therein may specifically be disclosed outside the DoD as a routine use pursuant to 5 U.S.C. 552a (b)(3) as follows: To the Department of Veterans Affairs for inspecting, surveying, auditing, or evaluating apprentice or on-the-job training programs. To the Department of Labor for inspecting, surveying, auditing, or evaluating apprentice training programs and other programs under its jurisdiction. To Federal, state, and local agencies and oversight entities to track, manage, and report on mandatory training requirements and certifications. To public and private sector educational, training, and conferencing entities for participant enrollment, tracking, evaluation, and payment reconciliation purposes. To Federal agencies for screening and selecting candidates for training or developmental programs sponsored by the agency. To Federal oversight agencies for investigating, reviewing, resolving, negotiating, settling, or hearing complaints, grievances, or other matters under its cognizance. The DoD “Blanket Routine Uses” set forth at the beginning of DTRA's compilation of systems of records notices apply to this system. Policies and practices for storing, retrieving, accessing, retaining, and disposing of records in the system: Storage: Records are stored in paper and electronic form. Retrievability: Automated records may be retrieved by Social Security Number, name, logon identification, or by a combination of these data elements. Manual records are retrieved by employee last name. Safeguards: Records are maintained in physical and electronic areas accessible only to DTRA personnel who must use the records to perform assigned duties. Physical access is limited through the use of locks, guards, card swipe, and other administrative procedures. The electronic records are deployed on accredited systems with access restricted by the use of login, password, and/or card swipe protocols. The web-based files are accessible only via the Agency's intranet, which is protected in accordance with approved information assurance protocols. Employees are warned through screen log-on protocols and periodic briefings of the consequences of improper access or use of the data on the Agency intranet. In addition, users are trained to lock or shutdown their workstations when leaving the work area. During non-duty hours, records are secured in access-controlled buildings, offices, cabinets or computer systems. Retention and disposal: Training files are destroyed when 5 years old or when superseded, whichever is sooner. Employee agreements, individual training plans, progress reports, and similar records used in intern, upward mobility, career management, and similar developmental training programs are destroyed 1 year after employee has completed the program. System manager(s) and address: Learning Technology Specialist, Defense Threat Reduction Agency, Policy & Program Development Division, 8725 John J. Kingman Road, Stop 6201, Fort Belvoir, VA 22060-6201. Notification procedures: Individuals seeking to determine whether records about themselves is contained in this system of records should address written inquiries to the Defense Threat Reduction Agency, Policy & Program Development Division, 8725 John J. Kingman Road, Stop 6201, Fort Belvoir, VA 22060-6201. Current DTRA employees may determine whether information about themselves is contained in subsets to the master file by accessing the system through their assigned DTRA computer or by contacting their immediate supervisor. Record access procedures: Individuals seeking access to records about themselves contained in this system of records should address written inquiries to the Defense Threat Reduction Agency, Policy & Program Development Division, 8725 John J. Kingman Road, Stop 6201, Fort Belvoir, VA 22060-6201. Current DTRA employees may gain access to data contained in subsets to the master file by accessing the system through their assigned DTRA computer or by contacting their immediate supervisor. Contesting record procedures: The DTRA rules for accessing records, for contesting contents, and appealing initial agency determinations are contained in 32 CFR part 318, or may be obtained from the Defense Threat Reduction Agency, Policy & Program Development Division, 8725 John J. Kingman Road, Stop 6201, Fort Belvoir, VA 22060. Record source categories: Information is obtained from the record subject. Exemptions claimed for the system: None. [FR Doc. E7-9 Filed 1-5-07; 8:45 am] BILLING CODE 5001-06-P DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE Office of the Secretary [DOD-2006-OS-0226] Privacy Act of 1974; Systems of Records AGENCY: Defense Logistics Agency, DoD. ACTION: Notice to alter a system of records. SUMMARY: The Defense Logistics Agency proposes to alter a system of records notice in its existing inventory of records systems subject to the Privacy Act of 1974, (5 U.S.C. 552a), as amended. DATES: This proposed action will be effective without further notice on February 7, 2007 unless comments are received which result in a contrary determination. ADDRESSES: Send comments to the Privacy Act Officer, Headquarters, Defense Logistics Agency, ATTN: DP, 8725 John J. Kingman Road, Stop 2533, Fort Belvoir, VA 22060-6221. FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Ms. Jody Sinkler at

(703)767-5045. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Defense Logistics Agency systems of records notices subject to the Privacy Act of 1974, (5 U.S.C. 552a), as amended, have been published in the **Federal Register** and are available from the address above. The proposed system reports, as required by 5 U.S.C. 552a(r), of the Privacy Act of 1974, as amended, were submitted on December 28, 2006, to the House Committee on Government Reform, the Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs, and the Office of Management and Budget

(OMB)pursuant to paragraph 4c of Appendix I to OMB Circular No. A-130, “Federal Agency Responsibilities for Maintaining Records About Individuals,” dated February 8, 1996 (February 20, 1996, 61 FR 6427). Dated: December 29, 2006. L.M. Bynum, Alternate OSD Federal Register Liaison Officer, Department of Defense. S322.50 DMDC System name: Defense Eligibility Records (June 15, 2004, 69 FR 33376). Changes: System location: Delete entry and replace with “EDS—Service Management Center, 1075 West Entrance Drive, Auburn Hills, MI 48326-2723.” Categories of individuals covered by the system: Add the following new categories of individuals covered to the system “all appropriated, non-appropriated, and foreign national DoD employees; all Federal (non-postal) civilian employees and all Federal civilian retirees; Congressional Medal of Honor awardees; dependants of active and retired members of the Uniformed Services; selective service registrants; DoD affiliated personnel (e.g. contractors); emergency contact data for DoD affiliated personnel (e.g. contractors); foreign military and families who used DoD medical facilities; former enlisted and officer personnel of the military services who separated from active duty since 1971; DoD civilian retirees who are receiving ID cards as authorized by OUSD (P&R) memo, subject: Issuance of Identification Cards to Retired Department of Defense Civilian Employees (December 30, 2005); general population treated for medical emergency in a DoD medical facility; individuals receiving security background investigations as identified in the Defense Central Index of Investigations; individuals who participated in educational programs sponsored by U.S. Armed Forces Institute and participants of Armed Forces Aptitude testing program at the High School level since September 1969; individuals who were or may have been subjects of tests involving chemical or biological human subject testing, and individuals who have inquired or provided information to the DoD concerning such testing; other Federal agency employees and applicants who have registered to take the Defense Language Proficiency Tests

(DLPT)5; participants in the Department of Health and Human Services National Longitudinal Survey; and veterans who have used GI Bill education/training employment services office since January 1, 1971.” Categories of records in the system: Add the following new records to the categories of records being maintained “Catastrophic Cap and Deductible

(CCD)transactions, including monetary amounts; CHAMPUS/TRICARE claim records containing enrollee, participant and health care facility, provider data such as cause of treatment, amount of payment, name and Social Security or tax identification number of providers or potential providers of care; citizenship data/country of birth; civil service employee employment information (agency and bureau, pay plan and grade, nature of action code and nature of action effective date, occupation series, dates of promotion and expected return from overseas, service computation date); claims data; compensation data; contractor fee payment data; date of separation of former enlisted and officer personnel; demographic data (kept on others beyond beneficiaries) date of birth, home of record state, sex, race, education level; Department of Veterans Affairs disability payment records; digital signatures where appropriate to assert validity of data; email (home/work); emergency contact information; immunization data; Information Assurance

(IA)Work Force information; language data; military personnel information (rank, assignment/deployment, length of service, military occupation, education, and benefit usage); pharmacy benefits; reason leaving military service or DoD civilian service; Reserve member's civilian occupation and employment information; education benefit eligibility and usage; special military pay information; SGLI/FGLI; stored documents for proofing identity and association; workforces information (e.g. Acquisition, First Responders); Privacy Act audit logs.” Authority for maintenance of the system: Add the following new authorities to the system of records notice “5 U.S.C. App. 3 (Pub. L. 95-452, as amended (Inspector General Act of 1978)); Pub. L. 106-265, Federal Long-Term Care Insurance; and 10 U.S.C. 2358, Research and Development Projects; 42 U.S.C., Chapter 20, Subchapter I-G, Registration and Voting by Absent Uniformed Services Voters and Overseas Voters in Elections for Federal Office, Sec. 1973ff, Federal responsibilities and DoD Directive 1000.4, Federal Voting Assistance Program (FVAP); Homeland Security Presidential Directive 12, Policy for a common Identification Standard for Federal Employees and Contractors; 38 CFR part 9.20, Traumatic Injury Protection, Servicemembers' Group Life Insurance and Veterans' Group Life Insurance.” Purpose(s): Add these additional purposes as follows “To authenticate and identify DoD affiliated personnel (e.g., contractors); to assess manpower, support personnel and readiness functions; to perform statistical analyses; identify current DoD civilian and military personnel for purposes of detecting fraud and abuse of benefit programs; to register current DoD civilian and military personnel and their authorized dependents for purposes of obtaining medical examination, treatment or other benefits to which they are qualified; to ensure benefit eligibility is retained after separation from the military; information will be used by agency officials and employees, or authorized contractors, and other DoD Components for personnel and manpower studies; and to assist in recruiting prior-service personnel.” Routine uses of records maintained in the system, including categories of users and the purposes of such uses: Because of the number of new routine uses being added to this system of records, we are renumbering all routine uses for ease of recognition and identification. The entry will read as follows: “In addition to those disclosures generally permitted under 5 U.S.C. 552a(b) of the Privacy Act, these records or information contained therein may specifically be disclosed outside the DoD as a routine use pursuant to 5 U.S.C. 552a(b)(3) as follows: 1. To the Social Security Administration

(SSA)to perform computer data matching against the SSA Wage and Earnings Record file for the purpose of identifying employers of Department of Defense

(DoD)beneficiaries eligible for health care. This employer data will in turn be used to identify those employed beneficiaries who have employment-related group health insurance, to coordinate insurance benefits provided by DoD with those provided by the other insurance. This information will also be used to perform computer data matching against the SSA Master Beneficiary Record file for the purpose of identifying DoD beneficiaries eligible for health care who are enrolled in the Medicare Program, to coordinate insurance benefits provided by DoD with those provided by Medicare. 2. To other Federal agencies and state, local and territorial governments to identify fraud and abuse of the Federal agency's programs and to identify debtors and collect debts and overpayment in the DoD health care programs. 3. To each of the fifty states and the District of Columbia for the purpose of conducting an on going computer matching program with state Medicaid agencies to determine the extent to which state Medicaid beneficiaries may be eligible for Uniformed Services health care benefits, including CHAMPUS, TRICARE, and to recover Medicaid monies from the CHAMPUS program. 4. To provide dental care providers assurance of treatment eligibility. 5. To Federal agencies and/or their contractors, in response to their requests, for purposes of authenticating the identity of individuals who, incident to the conduct of official DoD business, present the Common Access Card or similar identification as proof of identity to gain physical or logical access to government and contractor facilities, locations, networks, or systems. 6. To State and local child support enforcement agencies for purposes of providing information, consistent with the requirements of 29 U.S.C. 1169(a), 42 U.S.C. 666(a)(19), and E.O. 12953 and in response to a National Medical Support Notice

(NMSN)(or equivalent notice if based upon the statutory authority for the NMSN), regarding the military status of identified individuals and whether, and for what period of time, the children of such individuals are or were eligible for DoD health care coverage. **Note:** Information requested by the States is not disclosed when it would contravene U.S. national policy or security interests (42 U.S.C. 653(e)). 7. To the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS): a. For purposes of providing information, consistent with the requirements of 42 U.S.C. 653 and in response to an HHS request, regarding the military status of identified individuals and whether, and for what period of time, the children of such individuals are or were eligible for DoD healthcare coverage. **Note:** Information requested by HHS is not disclosed when it would contravene U.S. national policy or security interests (42 U.S.C. 653(e)). b. For purposes of providing information so that specified Medicare determinations, specifically late enrollment and waiver of penalty, can be made for eligible

(1)DoD military retirees and

(2)spouses (or former spouses) and/or dependents of either military retirees or active duty military personnel, pursuant to section 625 of the Medicare Prescription Drug, Improvement, and Modernization Act of 2002 (as codified at 42 U.S.C. 1395p and 1395r). c. To the Office of Child Support Enforcement, Federal Parent Locator Service, pursuant to 42 U.S.C. 653 and 653a; to assist in locating individuals for the purpose of establishing parentage; establishing, setting the amount of, modifying, or enforcing child support obligations; or enforcing child custody or visitation orders; the relationship to a child receiving benefits provided by a third party and the name and SSN of those third party providers who have a legal responsibility. Identifying delinquent obligors will allow State Child Support Enforcement agencies to commence wage withholding or other enforcement actions against the obligors. 8. To the American Red Cross for purposes of providing emergency notification and assistance to members of the Armed Forces, retirees, family members or survivors. 9. To the Department of Veterans Affairs (DVA): a. To provide military personnel and pay data for present and former military personnel for the purpose of evaluating use of veterans' benefits, validating benefit eligibility and maintaining the health and well being of veterans and their family members. b. To provide identifying military personnel data to the DVA and its insurance program contractor for the purpose of notifying separating eligible Reservists of their right to apply for Veteran's Group Life Insurance coverage under the Veterans Benefits Improvement Act of 1996 (38 U.S.C. 1968) and for DVA to administer the Traumatic Servicemember's Group Life Insurance (TSGLI) (Traumatic Injury Protection Rider to Servicemember's Group Life Insurance (TSGLI), 38 CFR part 9.20). c. To register eligible veterans and their dependents for DVA programs. d. Providing identification of former military personnel and survivor's financial benefit data to DVA for the purpose of identifying military retired pay and survivor benefit payments for use in the administration of the DVA's Compensation and Pension Program (38 U.S.C. 5106). The information is to be used to process all DVA award actions more efficiently, reduce subsequent overpayment collection actions, and minimize erroneous payments. e. To conduct computer matching programs regulated by the Privacy Act of 1974, as amended (5 U.S.C. 552a), for the purposes of:

(1)Providing full identification of active duty military personnel, including full time National Guard/Reserve support personnel, for use in the administration of DVA's Compensation and Pension benefit program. The information is used to determine continued eligibility for DVA disability compensation to recipients who have returned to active duty so that benefits can be adjusted or terminated as required and steps taken by DVA to collect any resulting over payment (38 U.S.C. 5304(c)).

(2)Providing military personnel and financial data to the Veterans Benefits Administration, DVA for the purpose of determining initial eligibility and any changes in eligibility status to insure proper payment of benefits for GI Bill education and training benefits by the DVA under the Montgomery GI Bill (Title 10 U.S.C., Chapter 1606—Selected Reserve and Title 38 U.S.C., Chapter 30—Active Duty), the REAP educational benefit (Title 10 U.S.C, Chapter 1607), and the National Call to Service enlistment educational benefit (Title 10, Chapter 510). The administrative responsibilities designated to both agencies by the law require that data be exchanged in administering the programs.

(3)Providing identification of reserve duty, including full time support National Guard/Reserve military personnel, to the DVA, for the purpose of deducting reserve time served from any DVA disability compensation paid or waiver of VA benefit. The law (10 U.S.C. 12316) prohibits receipt of reserve pay and DVA compensation for the same time period, however, it does permit waiver of DVA compensation to draw reserve pay.

(4)Providing identification of former active duty military personnel who received separation payments to the DVA for the purpose of deducting such repayment from any DVA disability compensation paid. The law requires recoupment of severance payments before DVA disability compensation can be paid (10 U.S.C. 1174). f. To provide identifying military personnel data to the DVA for the purpose of notifying such personnel of information relating to educational assistance as required by the Veterans Programs Enhancement Act of 1998 (38 U.S.C. 3011 and 3034). 10. To DoD Civilian Contractors and grantees for the purpose of performing research on manpower problems for statistical analyses. 11. To consumer reporting agencies to obtain current addresses of separated military personnel to notify them of potential benefits eligibility. 12. To Defense contractors to monitor the employment of former DoD employees and military members subject to the provisions of 41 U.S.C. 423. 13. To Federal and Quasi Federal agencies, territorial, state, and local governments to support personnel functions requiring data on prior military service credit for their employees or for job applications. To determine continued eligibility and help eliminate fraud and abuse in benefit programs and to collect debts and over payments owed to these programs. Information released includes name, Social Security Number, and military or civilian address of individuals. To detect fraud, waste and abuse pursuant to the authority contained in the Inspector General Act of 1978, as amended (Pub. L. 95-452) for the purpose of determining eligibility for, and/or continued compliance with, any Federal benefit program requirements. 14. To Federal and Quasi Federal agencies, territorial, state and local governments, and contractors and grantees for the purpose of supporting research studies concerned with the health and well being of active duty, reserve, and retired personnel or veterans, to include family members. DMDC will disclose information from this system of records for research purposes when DMDC: a. Has determined that the use or disclosure does not violate legal or policy limitations under which the record was provided, collected, or obtained; b. Has determined that the research purpose

(1)cannot be reasonably accomplished unless the record is provided in individually identifiable form, and

(2)warrants the risk to the privacy of the individual that additional exposure of the record might bring; c. Has required the recipient to

(1)establish reasonable administrative, technical, and physical safeguards to prevent unauthorized use or disclosure of the record, and

(2)remove or destroy the information that identifies the individual at the earliest time at which removal or destruction can be accomplished consistent with the purpose of the research project, unless the recipient has presented adequate justification of a research or health nature for retaining such information, and

(3)make no further use or disclosure of the record except

(A)in emergency circumstances affecting the health or safety of any individual,

(B)for use in another research project, under these same conditions, and with written authorization of the Department,

(C)for disclosure to a properly identified person for the purpose of an audit related to the research project, if information that would enable research subjects to be identified is removed or destroyed at the earliest opportunity consistent with the purpose of the audit, or

(D)when required by law; d. has secured a written statement attesting to the recipients' understanding of, and willingness to abide by these provisions. 15. To Federal and State agencies for purposes of obtaining socioeconomic information on Armed Forces personnel so that analytical studies can be conducted with a view to assessing the present needs and future requirements of such personnel. 16. To Federal and State agencies to validate demographic data ( *e.g.* , Social Security Number, citizenship status, date and place of birth, etc.) for individuals in DoD personnel and pay files so that accurate information is available in support of DoD requirements. 17. To the Bureau of Citizenship and Immigration Services, Department of Homeland Security, for purposes of facilitating the verification of individuals who may be eligible for expedited naturalization (Pub. L. 108-136, Section 1701, and E.O. 13269, Expedited Naturalization). 18. To the Federal voting program to provide unit and email addresses for the purpose of notifying the military members where to obtain absentee ballots. 19. To the Department of Homeland Security for the conduct of studies related to the health and well-being of Coast Guard members and to authenticate and identify Coast Guard personnel. 20. To Coast Guard recruiters in the performance of their assigned duties. The DoD ‘ Blanket Routine Uses’ published at the beginning of DLA's compilation of systems of records notices apply to this system.” S322.50 DMDC System name: Defense Eligibility Records. System location: EDS—Service Management Center, 1075 West Entrance Drive, Auburn Hills, MI 48326-2723. Categories of individuals covered by the system: Active duty Armed Forces and reserve personnel and their family members; retired Armed Forces personnel and their family members; 100 percent disabled veterans and their dependents or survivors; surviving family members of deceased active duty or retired personnel; active duty and retired Coast Guard personnel and their family members; active duty and retired Public Health Service personnel (Commissioned Corps) and their family members; active duty and retired National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration employees (Commissioned Corps) and their family members; and State Department employees employed in a foreign country and their family members; civilian employees of the Department of Defense; contractors; and any other individuals entitled to care under the health care program or to other DoD benefits and privileges; providers and potential providers of health care; and any individual who submits a health care claim; all appropriated, non-appropriated, and foreign national DoD employees; all Federal (non-postal) civilian employees and all Federal civilian retirees; Congressional Medal of Honor awardees; dependants of active and retired members of the Uniformed Services; selective service registrants; DoD affiliated personnel ( *e.g.* contractors); emergency contact data for DoD affiliated personnel ( *e.g.* contractors); foreign military and families who used DoD medical facilities; former enlisted and officer personnel of the military services who separated from active duty since 1971; DoD civilian retirees who are receiving ID cards as authorized by OUSD(P&R) memo, subject: Issuance of Identification Cards to Retired Department of Defense Civilian Employees (December 30, 2005); general population treated for medical emergency in a DoD medical facility; individuals receiving security background investigations as identified in the Defense Central Index of Investigations; individuals who participated in educational programs sponsored by U.S. Armed Forces Institute and participants of Armed Forces Aptitude testing program at the High School level since September 1969; individuals who were or may have been subjects of tests involving chemical or biological human subject testing, and individuals who have inquired or provided information to the DoD concerning such testing; other Federal agency employees and applicants who have registered to take the Defense Language Proficiency Tests

(DLPT)5; participants in the Department of Health and Human Services National Longitudinal Survey; and veterans who have used GI Bill education/training employment services office since January 1, 1971. Categories of records in the system: Computer files containing beneficiary's name, Service or Social Security Number, enrollment number, relationship of beneficiary to sponsor, residence address of beneficiary or sponsor, date of birth of beneficiary, sex of beneficiary, branch of Service of sponsor, dates of beginning and ending eligibility, number of family members of sponsor, primary unit duty location of sponsor, race and ethnic origin of beneficiary, occupation of sponsor, rank/pay grade of sponsor, disability documentation, Medicare eligibility and enrollment data, index fingerprints and photographs of beneficiaries, blood test results, dental care eligibility codes and dental x-rays. Catastrophic Cap and Deductible

(IA)Work Force information; language data; military personnel information (rank, asignment/deployment, length of service, military occupation, education, and benefit usage); pharmacy benefits; reason leaving military service or DoD civilian service; Reserve member's civilian occupation and employment information; education benefit eligibility and usage; special military pay information; SGLI/FGLI; stored documents for proofing identity and association; workforces information ( *e.g.* Acquisition, First Responders); Privacy Act audit logs. Authority for maintenance of the system: 5 U.S.C. 301, Departmental Regulations; 10 U.S.C. Chapters 53, 54, 55, 58, and 75; 10 U.S.C. 136; 31 U.S.C. 3512(c); 50 U.S.C. Chapter 23, Internal Security; DoD Directive 1341.1, Defense Enrollment/Eligibility Reporting System; DoD Instruction 1341.2, DEERS Procedures; 5 U.S.C. App. 3 (Pub. L. 95-452, as amended (Inspector General Act of 1978)); Pub.L. 106-265, Federal Long-Term Care Insurance; and 10 U.S.C. 2358, Research and Development Projects; 42 U.S.C., Chapter 20, Subchapter I-G, Registration and Voting by Absent Uniformed Services Voters and Overseas Voters in Elections for Federal Office, Sec. 1973ff, Federal responsibilities and DoD Directive 1000.4, Federal Voting Assistance Program (FVAP); Homeland Security Presidential Directive 12, Policy for a common Identification Standard for Federal Employees and Contractors; 38 CFR part 9.20, Traumatic injury protection, Servicemembers' Group Life Insurance and Veterans' Group Life Insurance; and E.O. 9397 (SSN). Purpose(s): The purpose of the system is to provide a database for determining eligibility to DoD entitlements and privileges; to support DoD health care management programs; to provide identification of deceased members; to record the issuance of DoD badges and identification cards; and to detect fraud and abuse of the benefit programs by claimants and providers to include appropriate collection actions arising out of any debts incurred as a consequence of such programs. To authenticate and identify DoD affiliated personnel ( *e.g.* , contractors); to assess manpower, support personnel and readiness functions; to perform statistical analyses; identify current DoD civilian and military personnel for purposes of detecting fraud and abuse of benefit programs; to register current DoD civilian and military personnel and their authorized dependents for purposes of obtaining medical examination, treatment or other benefits to which they are qualified; to ensure benefit eligibility is retained after separation from the military; information will be used by agency officials and employees, or authorized contractors, and other DoD Components for personnel and manpower studies; and to assist in recruiting prior-service personnel. Routine uses of records maintained in the system, including categories of users and the purposes of such uses: In addition to those disclosures generally permitted under 5 U.S.C. 552a(b) of the Privacy Act, these records or information contained therein may specifically be disclosed outside the DoD as a routine use pursuant to 5 U.S.C. 552a(b)(3) as follows: 1. To the Social Security Administration

(SSA)to perform computer data matching against the SSA Wage and Earnings Record file for the purpose of identifying employers of Department of Defense

(DoD)beneficiaries eligible for health care. This employer data will in turn be used to identify those employed beneficiaries who have employment-related group health insurance, to coordinate insurance benefits provided by DoD with those provided by the other insurance. This information will also be used to perform computer data matching against the SSA Master Beneficiary Record file for the purpose of identifying DoD beneficiaries eligible for health care who are enrolled in the Medicare Program, to coordinate insurance benefits provided by DoD with those provided by Medicare. 2. To other Federal agencies and state, local and territorial governments to identify fraud and abuse of the Federal agency's programs and to identify debtors and collect debts and overpayment in the DoD health care programs. 3. To each of the fifty states and the District of Columbia for the purpose of conducting an ongoing computer matching program with state Medicaid agencies to determine the extent to which state Medicaid beneficiaries may be eligible for Uniformed Services health care benefits, including CHAMPUS, TRICARE, and to recover Medicaid monies from the CHAMPUS program. 4. To provide dental care providers assurance of treatment eligibility. 5. To Federal agencies and/or their contractors, in response to their requests, for purposes of authenticating the identity of individuals who, incident to the conduct of official DoD business, present the Common Access Card or similar identification as proof of identity to gain physical or logical access to government and contractor facilities, locations, networks, or systems. 6. To State and local child support enforcement agencies for purposes of providing information, consistent with the requirements of 29 U.S.C. 1169(a), 42 U.S.C. 666(a)(19), and E.O. 12953 and in response to a National Medical Support Notice

(1)DoD military retirees and

(1)cannot be reasonably accomplished unless the record is provided in individually identifiable form, and

(2)warrants the risk to the privacy of the individual that additional exposure of the record might bring; c. Has required the recipient to

(1)establish reasonable administrative, technical, and physical safeguards to prevent unauthorized use or disclosure of the record, and

(3)make no further use or disclosure of the record except

(A)in emergency circumstances affecting the health or safety of any individual,

(B)for use in another research project, under these same conditions, and with written authorization of the Department,

(D)when required by law; d. Has secured a written statement attesting to the recipients' understanding of, and willingness to abide by these provisions. 15. To Federal and State agencies for purposes of obtaining socioeconomic information on Armed Forces personnel so that analytical studies can be conducted with a view to assessing the present needs and future requirements of such personnel. 16. To Federal and state agencies to validate demographic data (e.g., Social Security Number, citizenship status, date and place of birth, etc.) for individuals in DoD personnel and pay files so that accurate information is available in support of DoD requirements. 17. To the Bureau of Citizenship and Immigration Services, Department of Homeland Security, for purposes of facilitating the verification of individuals who may be eligible for expedited naturalization (Pub. L. 108-136, Section 1701, and E.O. 13269, Expedited Naturalization). 18. To the Federal voting program to provide unit and email addresses for the purpose of notifying the military members where to obtain absentee ballots. 19. To the Department of Homeland Security for the conduct of studies related to the health and well-being of Coast Guard members and to authenticate and identify Coast Guard personnel. 20. To Coast Guard recruiters in the performance of their assigned duties. The DoD “Blanket Routine Uses” published at the beginning of DLA's compilation of systems of records notices apply to this system. Policies and practices for storing, retrieving, accessing, retaining, and disposing of records in the system: Storage: Records are maintained on magnetic tapes and disks, and are housed in a controlled computer media library. Retrievability: Records about individuals are retrieved by an algorithm which uses name, Social Security Number, date of birth, rank, and duty location as possible inputs. Retrievals are made on summary basis by geographic characteristics and location and demographic characteristics. Information about individuals will not be distinguishable in summary retrievals. Retrievals for the purposes of generating address lists for direct mail distribution may be made using selection criteria based on geographic and demographic keys. Safeguards: Computerized records are maintained in a controlled area accessible only to authorized personnel. Entry to these areas is restricted to those personnel with a valid requirement and authorization to enter. Physical entry is restricted by the use of locks, guards, and administrative procedures (e.g., fire protection regulations). Access to personal information is restricted to those who require the records in the performance of their official duties, and to the individuals who are the subjects of the record or their authorized representatives. Access to personal information is further restricted by the use of passwords, which are changed periodically. All individuals granted access to this system of records are to have received Information Assurance and Privacy Act training. Retention and disposal: Data is destroyed when superseded or when no longer needed for operational purposes, whichever is later. System manager(s) and address: Deputy Director, Defense Manpower Data Center, DoD Center Monterey Bay, 400 Gigling Road, Seaside, CA 93955-6771. Notification procedure: Individuals seeking to determine whether information about themselves is contained in this system of records should address written inquiries to the Privacy Act Officer, Headquarters, Defense Logistics Agency, ATTN: DP, 8725 John J. Kingman Road, Stop 2533, Fort Belvoir, VA 22060-6221. Written requests for the information should contain full name and Social Security Number of individual and sponsor, date of birth, rank, and duty location. Record access procedures: Individuals seeking access to information about themselves contained in this system of records should address written inquiries to the Privacy Act Officer, Headquarters, Defense Logistics Agency, ATTN: DP, 8725 John J. Kingman Road, Stop 2533, Fort Belvoir, VA 22060-6221. Written requests for the information should contain full name and Social Security Number of individual and sponsor, date of birth, rank, and duty location. Contesting record procedures: The DLA rules for accessing records, for contesting contents, and appealing initial agency determinations are contained in 32 CFR part 323, or may be obtained from the Privacy Act Officer, Headquarters, Defense Logistics Agency, ATTN: DP, 8725 John J. Kingman Road, Stop 2533, Fort Belvoir, VA 22060-6221. Record source categories: Individuals, personnel pay, and benefit systems of the military and civilian departments and agencies of the Defense Department, the Coast Guard, the Public Health Service, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Veterans Affairs, and other Federal agencies. Exemptions claimed for the system: None. [FR Doc. E7-10 Filed 1-5-07; 8:45 am] BILLING CODE 5001-06-P DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE Secretary of Defense [DOD-2006-OS-0227] Privacy Act of 1974; Systems of Records AGENCY: Defense Logistics Agency. ACTION: Notice to alter a system of records. SUMMARY: The Defense Logistics Agency proposes to alter a system of records notice in its existing inventory of records systems subject to the Privacy Act of 1974, (5 U.S.C. 552a), as amended. DATES: This proposed action will be effective without further notice on February 7, 2007 unless comments are received which result in a contrary determination. ADDRESSES: Send comments to the Privacy Act Officer, Headquarters, Defense Logistics Agency, ATTN: DP, 8725 John J. Kingman Road, Stop 2533, Fort Belvoir, VA 22060-6221. FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Ms. Jody Sinkler at

(OMB)pursuant to paragraph 4c of Appendix I to OMB Circular No. A-130, ‘Federal Agency Responsibilities for Maintaining Records About Individuals,’ dated February 8, 1996 (February 20, 1996, 61 FR 6427). Dated: December 29, 2006. L.M. Bynum, Alternate OSD Federal Register Liaison Officer, Department of Defense. S322.10 DMDC System name: Defense Manpower Data Center Data Base (June 8, 2004, 70 FR 31974). Changes: System location: Delete second paragraph. Categories of individuals covered by the system: Delete from entry “Individuals who responded to various paid advertising campaigns seeking enlistment information since July 1, 1973,” “Individuals responding to recruiting advertisements since January 1987,” and “All Federal (non-postal) civilian employees and.” Categories of records in the system: Add two new paragraphs to the entry: “Index fingerprints of Military Entrance Processing Command (MEPCOM) applicants” and “Privacy Act audit logs.” Purpose(s): Last paraphrase in the first paragraph should be a new paragraph. In the newly renumbered third paragraph replace “the histories of human chemical or biological testing or exposure; to conduct scientific studies or medical follow up programs” with “studies and policy as related to the health and well-being of current and past military and DOD affiliated personnel;” Delete the former third paragraph in its entirety. Routine uses of records maintained in the system, including categories of users and the purposes of such uses: Add a new paragraph 1.d. as follows: “d. Providing identification of former military personnel and survivor's financial benefit data to DVA for the purpose of identifying military retired pay and survivor benefit payments for use in the administration of the DVA's Compensation and Pension program (38 U.S.C. 5106). The information is to be used to process all DVA award actions more efficiently, reduce subsequent overpayment collection actions, and minimize erroneous payments.” Renumber/reletter paragraphs accordingly. In the newly renumbered paragraph 1.e. delete paragraph

(5)in its entirety. Delete former paragraphs 2.b.(1) and

(2)in their entirety, renumbering paragraphs accordingly. Add a new paragraph 2.c. as follows: “Matching for administrative purposes to include updated employer addresses of Federal civil service employees who are reservists and demographic data on civil service employees who are reservists.” Add a new paragraph 4.e. as follows: “To conduct computer matching programs regulated by the Privacy Act of 1974, as amended (5 U.S.C. 552a) for the purpose of determining continued eligibility and help eliminate fraud and abuse in benefit programs by identifying individuals who are receiving Federal compensation or pension payments and also are receiving payments pursuant to Federal benefit programs being administered by the States.” Delete former paragraphs 7, 9, 10, 12, 14, 15, 16, 18, and 19. Renumber paragraphs accordingly. Safeguards: Delete entry and replace with “Access to personal information is restricted to those who require the records in the performance of their official duties. Access to personal information is further restricted by the use of Common Access Cards (CAC). Physical entry is restricted by the use of locks, guards, and administrative procedures. All individuals granted access to this system of records are to have taken Information Assurance and Privacy Act training; all have been through the vetting process and have ADP ratings.” Record source categories: Delete entry and replace with “Record sources are individuals via survey questionnaires, the military services, the Department of Veteran Affairs, the U. S. Coast Guard, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, the Public Health Service, the Office of Personnel Management, Environmental Protection Agency, Department of Health and Human Services, Department of Energy, Executive Office of the President, and the Selective Service System.” S322.10 DMDC System name: Defense Manpower Data Center Data Base. System location: Naval Postgraduate School Computer Center, Naval Postgraduate School, Monterey, CA 93943-5000. Categories of individuals covered by the system: All Army, Navy, Air Force and Marine Corps officer and enlisted personnel who served on active duty from July 1, 1968, and after or who have been a member of a reserve component since July 1975; retired Army, Navy, Air Force, and Marine Corps officer and enlisted personnel; active and retired Coast Guard personnel; active and retired members of the commissioned corps of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration; active and retired members of the commissioned corps of the Public Health Service; participants in Project 100,000 and Project Transition, and the evaluation control groups for these programs. All individuals examined to determine eligibility for military service at an Armed Forces Entrance and Examining Station from July 1, 1970, and later. Current and former DOD civilian employees since January 1, 1972. All veterans who have used the GI Bill education and training employment services office since January 1, 1971. All veterans who have used GI Bill education and training entitlements, who visited a state employment service office since January 1, 1971, or who participated in a Department of Labor special program since July 1, 1971. All individuals who ever participated in an educational program sponsored by the U.S. Armed Forces Institute and all individuals who ever participated in the Armed Forces Vocational Aptitude Testing Programs at the high school level since September 1969. Participants in the Department of Health and Human Services National Longitudinal Survey. Survivors of retired military personnel who are eligible for or currently receiving disability payments or disability income compensation from the Department of Veterans Affairs; surviving spouses of active or retired deceased military personnel; 100% disabled veterans and their survivors; survivors of retired Coast Guard personnel; and survivors of retired officers of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and the Public Health Service who are eligible for or are currently receiving Federal payments due to the death of the retiree. Individuals receiving disability compensation from the Department of Veterans Affairs or who are covered by a Department of Veterans Affairs insurance or benefit program; dependents of active and retired members of the Uniformed Services, selective service registrants. Individuals receiving a security background investigation as identified in the Defense Central Index of Investigation. Former military and civilian personnel who are employed by DOD contractors and are subject to the provisions of 10 U.S.C. 2397. All Federal civilian retirees. All non appropriated funded individuals who are employed by the Department of Defense. Individuals who were or may have been the subject of tests involving chemical or biological human subject testing; and individuals who have inquired or provided information to the Department of Defense concerning such testing. Individuals who are authorized web access to DMDC computer systems and databases. Categories of records in the system: Computerized personnel/employment/pay records consisting of name, Service Number, Selective Service Number, Social Security Number, citizenship data, compensation data, demographic information such as home town, age, sex, race, and educational level; civilian occupational information; performance ratings of DOD civilian employees and military members; reasons given for leaving military service or DOD civilian service; civilian and military acquisition work force warrant location, training and job specialty information; military personnel information such as rank, assignment/deployment, length of service, military occupation, aptitude scores, post service education, training, and employment information for veterans; participation in various in-service education and training programs; date of award of certification of military experience and training; military hospitalization and medical treatment, immunization, and pharmaceutical dosage records; home and work addresses; and identities of individuals involved in incidents of child and spouse abuse, and information about the nature of the abuse and services provided. CHAMPUS claim records containing enrollee, patient and health care facility, provided data such as cause of treatment, amount of payment, name and Social Security or tax identification number of providers or potential providers of care. Selective Service System registration data. Index fingerprints of Military Entrance Processing Command (MEPCOM) applicants. Privacy Act audit logs. Department of Veterans Affairs disability payment records. Credit or financial data as required for security background investigations. Criminal history information on individuals who subsequently enter the military. Office of Personnel Management

(OPM)Central Personnel Data File (CPDF), an extract from OPM/GOVT-1, General Personnel Records, containing employment/personnel data on all Federal employees consisting of name, Social Security Number, date of birth, sex, work schedule (full time, part time, intermittent), annual salary rate (but not actual earnings), occupational series, position occupied, agency identifier, geographic location of duty station, metropolitan statistical area, and personnel office identifier. Extract from Office of Personnel Management

(OPM)OPM/CENTRAL-1, Civil Service Retirement and Insurance Records, including postal workers covered by Civil Service Retirement, containing Civil Service Claim number, date of birth, name, provision of law retired under, gross annuity, length of service, annuity commencing date, former employing agency and home address. These records provided by OPM for approved computer matching. Non appropriated fund employment/personnel records consist of Social Security Number, name, and work address. Military drug test records containing the Social Security Number, date of specimen collection, date test results reported, reason for test, test results, base/area code, unit, service, status (active/reserve), and location code of testing laboratory. Names of individuals, as well as DMDC assigned identification numbers, and other user-identifying data, such as organization, Social Security Number, email address, phone number, of those having web access to DMDC computer systems and databases, to include dates and times of access. Authority for maintenance of the system: 5 U.S.C. 301, Departmental Regulations; 5 U.S.C. App. 3 (Pub. L. 95-452, as amended (Inspector General Act of 1978)); 10 U.S.C. 136, Under Secretary of Defense for Personnel and Readiness; 10 U.S.C. 1562, Database on Domestic Violence Incidents; Pub. L. 106-265, Federal Long-Term Care Insurance; 10 U.S.C. 2358, Research and Development Projects; and E.O. 9397 (SSN). Purpose(s): The purpose of the system of records is to provide a single central facility within the Department of Defense to assess manpower trends, support personnel and readiness functions, to perform longitudinal statistical analyses, identify current and former DOD civilian and military personnel for purposes of detecting fraud and abuse of pay and benefit programs, to register current and former DOD civilian and military personnel and their authorized dependents for purposes of obtaining medical examination, treatment or other benefits to which they are qualified. To collect debts owed to the United States Government and state and local governments. Information will be used by agency officials and employees, or authorized contractors, and other DOD Components in the preparation of studies and policy as related to the health and well-being of current and past military and DOD affiliated personnel; to respond to Congressional and Executive branch inquiries; and to provide data or documentation relevant to the testing or exposure of individuals. Military drug test records will be maintained and used to conduct longitudinal, statistical, and analytical studies and computing demographic reports on military personnel. No personal identifiers will be included in the demographic data reports. All requests for Service specific drug testing demographic data will be approved by the Service designated drug testing program office. All requests for DOD wide drug testing demographic data will be approved by the DOD Coordinator for Drug Enforcement Policy and Support, 1510 Defense Pentagon, Washington, DC 20301-1510. DMDC web usage data will be used to validate continued need for user access to DMDC computer systems and databases, to address problems associated with web access, and to ensure that access is only for official purposes. Routine uses of records maintained in the system, including categories of users and the purposes of such uses: In addition to those disclosures generally permitted under 5 U.S.C. 552a(b) of the Privacy Act, these records or information contained therein may specifically be disclosed outside the DOD as a routine use pursuant to 5 U.S.C. 552a(b)(3) as follows: 1. To the Department of Veterans Affairs (DVA): a. To provide military personnel and pay data for present and former military personnel for the purpose of evaluating use of veterans benefits, validating benefit eligibility and maintaining the health and well being of veterans and their family members. b. To provide identifying military personnel data to the DVA and its insurance program contractor for the purpose of notifying separating eligible Reservists of their right to apply for Veteran's Group Life Insurance coverage under the Veterans Benefits Improvement Act of 1996 (38 U.S.C. 1968). c. To register eligible veterans and their dependents for DVA programs. d. Providing identification of former military personnel and survivor's financial benefit data to DVA for the purpose of identifying military retired pay and survivor benefit payments for use in the administration of the DVA's Compensation and Pension program (38 U.S.C. 5106). The information is to be used to process all DVA award actions more efficiently, reduce subsequent overpayment collection actions, and minimize erroneous payments. e. To conduct computer matching programs regulated by the Privacy Act of 1974, as amended (5 U.S.C. 552a), for the purpose of:

(2)Providing military personnel and financial data to the Veterans Benefits Administration, DVA for the purpose of determining initial eligibility and any changes in eligibility status to insure proper payment of benefits for GI Bill education and training benefits by the DVA under the Montgomery GI Bill (Title 10 U.S.C., Chapter 1606—Selected Reserve and Title 38 U.S.C., Chapter 30—Active Duty). The administrative responsibilities designated to both agencies by the law require that data be exchanged in administering the programs.

(1)Exchanging personnel and financial data to identify individuals who are improperly receiving military retired pay and credit for military service in their civil service annuities, or annuities based on the ‘guaranteed minimum' disability formula. The match will identify and/or prevent erroneous payments under the Civil Service Retirement Act

(CSRA)5 U.S.C. 8331 and the Federal Employees' Retirement System Act (FERSA) 5 U.S.C. 8411. DOD's legal authority for monitoring retired pay is 10 U.S.C. 1401.

(2)Exchanging civil service and Reserve military personnel data to identify those individuals of the Reserve forces who are employed by the Federal government in a civilian position. The purpose of the match is to identify those particular individuals occupying critical positions as civilians and cannot be released for extended active duty in the event of mobilization. Employing Federal agencies are informed of the reserve status of those affected personnel so that a choice of terminating the position or the reserve assignment can be made by the individual concerned. The authority for conducting the computer match is contained in E.O. 11190, Providing for the Screening of the Ready Reserve of the Armed Services. c. Matching for administrative purposes to include updated employer addresses of Federal civil service employees who are reservists and demographic data on civil service employees who are reservists. 3. To the Internal Revenue Service

(IRS)for the purpose of obtaining home addresses to contact Reserve component members for mobilization purposes and for tax administration. For the purpose of conducting aggregate statistical analyses on the impact of DOD personnel of actual changes in the tax laws and to conduct aggregate statistical analyses to lifestream earnings of current and former military personnel to be used in studying the comparability of civilian and military pay benefits. To aid in administration of Federal Income Tax laws and regulations, to identify non compliance and delinquent filers. 4. To the Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS): a. To the Office of the Inspector General, DHHS, for the purpose of identification and investigation of DOD employees and military members who may be improperly receiving funds under the Aid to Families of Dependent Children Program. b. To the Office of Child Support Enforcement, Federal Parent Locator Service, DHHS, pursuant to 42 U.S.C. 653 and 653a; to assist in locating individuals for the purpose of establishing parentage; establishing, setting the amount of, modifying, or enforcing child support obligations; or enforcing child custody or visitation orders; and for conducting computer matching as authorized by E.O. 12953 to facilitate the enforcement of child support owed by delinquent obligors within the entire civilian Federal government and the Uniformed Services work force (active and retired). Identifying delinquent obligors will allow State Child Support Enforcement agencies to commence wage withholding or other enforcement actions against the obligors. Note 1: Information requested by DHHS is not disclosed when it would contravene U.S. national policy or security interests (42 U.S.C. 653(e)). Note 2: Quarterly wage information is not disclosed for those individuals performing intelligence or counter intelligence functions and a determination is made that disclosure could endanger the safety of the individual or compromise an ongoing investigation or intelligence mission (42 U.S.C. 653(n)). c. To the Health Care Financing Administration (HCFA), DHHS for the purpose of monitoring HCFA reimbursement to civilian hospitals for Medicare patient treatment. The data will ensure no Department of Defense physicians, interns, or residents are counted for HCFA reimbursement to hospitals. d. To the Center for Disease Control and the National Institutes of Mental Health, DHHS, for the purpose of conducting studies concerned with the health and well being of active duty, reserve, and retired personnel or veterans, to include family members. e. To conduct computer matching programs regulated by the Privacy Act of 1974, as amended (5 U.S.C. 552a), for the purpose of determining continued eligibility and help eliminate fraud and abuse in benefit programs by identifying individuals who are receiving Federal compensation or pension payments and also are receiving payments pursuant to Federal benefit programs being administered by the States. 5. To the Social Security Administration (SSA): a. To the Office of Research and Statistics for the purpose of

(1)conducting statistical analyses of impact of military service and use of GI Bill benefits on long term earnings, and

(2)obtaining current earnings data on individuals who have voluntarily left military service or DOD civil employment so that analytical personnel studies regarding pay, retention and benefits may be conducted. Note 3: Earnings data obtained from the SSA and used by DOD does not contain any information that identifies the individual about whom the earnings data pertains. b. To the Bureau of Supplemental Security Income for the purpose of verifying information provided to the SSA by applicants and recipients/beneficiaries, who are retired members of the Uniformed Services or their survivors, for Supplemental Security Income

(SSI)or Special Veterans' Benefits (SVB). By law (42 U.S.C. 1006 and 1383), the SSA is required to verify eligibility factors and other relevant information provided by the SSI or SVB applicant from independent or collateral sources and obtain additional information as necessary before making SSI or SVB determinations of eligibility, payment amounts, or adjustments thereto. c. To the Client Identification Branch for the purpose of validating the assigned Social Security Number for individuals in DOD personnel and pay files, using the SSA Enumeration Verification System (EVS). 6. To the Selective Service System

(SSS)for the purpose of facilitating compliance of members and former members of the Armed Forces, both active and reserve, with the provisions of the Selective Service registration regulations (50 U.S.C. App. 451 and E.O. 11623). 7. To the Department of Labor

(DOL)to reconcile the accuracy of unemployment compensation payments made to former DOD civilian employees and military members by the states. To the Department of Labor to survey military separations to determine the effectiveness of programs assisting veterans to obtain employment. 8. To Federal and Quasi Federal agencies, territorial, state, and local governments to support personnel functions requiring data on prior military service credit for their employees or for job applications. Information released includes name, Social Security Number, and military or civilian address of individuals. To detect fraud, waste and abuse pursuant to the authority contained in the Inspector General Act of 1978, as amended (Pub. L. 95-452) for the purpose of determining eligibility for, and/or continued compliance with, any Federal benefit program requirements. 9. To consumer reporting agencies to obtain current addresses of separated military personnel to notify them of potential benefits eligibility. 10. To state and local law enforcement investigative agencies to obtain criminal history information for the purpose of evaluating military service performance and security clearance procedures (10 U.S.C. 2358). 11. To Federal and Quasi Federal agencies, territorial, state and local governments, and contractors and grantees for the purpose of supporting research studies concerned with the health and well being of active duty, reserve, and retired personnel or veterans, to include family members. DMDC will disclose information from this system of records for research purposes when DMDC: a. has determined that the use or disclosure does not violate legal or policy limitations under which the record was provided, collected, or obtained; b. has determined that the research purpose

(1)cannot be reasonably accomplished unless the record is provided in individually identifiable form, and

(2)warrants the risk to the privacy of the individual that additional exposure of the record might bring; c. has required the recipient to

(1)establish reasonable administrative, technical, and physical safeguards to prevent unauthorized use or disclosure of the record, and

(3)make no further use or disclosure of the record except

(A)in emergency circumstances affecting the health or safety of any individual,

(B)for use in another research project, under these same conditions, and with written authorization of the Department,

(D)when required by law; d. has secured a written statement attesting to the recipient's understanding of, and willingness to abide by these provisions. 12. To the Educational Testing Service, American College Testing, and like organizations for purposes of obtaining testing, academic, socioeconomic, and related demographic data so that analytical personnel studies of the Department of Defense civilian and military workforce can be conducted. Note 4: Data obtained from such organizations and used by DOD does not contain any information that identifies the individual about whom the data pertains. 13. To Federal and State agencies for purposes of obtaining socioeconomic information on Armed Forces personnel so that analytical studies can be conducted with a view to assessing the present needs and future requirements of such personnel. 14. To Federal and state agencies for purposes of validating demographic data (e.g., Social Security Number, citizenship status, date and place of birth, etc.) for individuals in DOD personnel and pay files so that accurate information is available in support of DOD requirements. 15. To the Bureau of Citizenship and Immigration Services, Department of Homeland Security, for purposes of facilitating the verification of individuals who may be eligible for expedited naturalization (Pub. L. 108-136, Section 1701, and E.O. 13269, Expedited Naturalization). 16. To Federal and State agencies, as well as their contractors and grantees, for purposes of providing military wage, training, and educational information so that Federal-reporting requirements, as mandated by statute, such as the Workforce Investment Act (29 U.S.C. 2801, et seq.) and the Carl D. Perkins Vocational and Applied Technology Act (20 U.S.C. 2301, et seq.) can be satisfied. The DOD ‘Blanket Routine Uses’ set forth at the beginning of the DLA compilation of record system notices apply to this record system. Note 5: Military drug test information involving individuals participating in a drug abuse rehabilitation program shall be confidential and be disclosed only for the purposes and under the circumstances expressly authorized in 42 U.S.C. 290dd-2. This statute takes precedence over the Privacy Act of 1974, in regard to accessibility of such records except to the individual to whom the record pertains. The DOD ‘Blanket Routine Uses’ do not apply to these types records. Policies and practices for storing, retrieving, accessing, retaining, and disposing of records in the system: Storage: Electronic storage media. Retrievability: Retrieved by name, Social Security Number, occupation, or any other data element contained in system. Safeguards: Access to personal information is restricted to those who require the records in the performance of their official duties. Access to personal information is further restricted by the use of Common Access Cards (CAC). Physical entry is restricted by the use of locks, guards, and administrative procedures. All individuals granted access to this system of records are to have taken Information Assurance and Privacy Act training; all have been through the vetting process and have ADP ratings. Retention and disposal: The records are used to provide a centralized system within the Department of Defense to assess manpower trends, support personnel functions, perform longitudinal statistical analyses, conduct scientific studies or medical follow-up programs and other related studies/analyses. Records are retained as follows:

(1)Input/source records are deleted or destroyed after data have been entered into the master file or when no longer needed for operational purposes, whichever is later. Exception: Apply NARA-approved disposition instructions to the data files residing in other DMDC data bases.

(2)The Master File is retained permanently. At the end of the fiscal year, a snapshot is taken and transferred to the National Archives in accordance with 36 CFR part 1228.270 and 36 CFR part 1234.

(3)Output records (electronic or paper summary reports) are deleted or destroyed when no longer needed for operational purposes. Note: This disposition instruction applies only to recordkeeping copies of the reports retained by DMDC. The DOD office requiring creation of the report should maintain its recordkeeping copy in accordance with NARA approved disposition instructions for such reports.

(4)System documentation (codebooks, record layouts, and other system documentation) are retained permanently and transferred to the National Archives along with the master file in accordance with 36 CFR part 1228.270 and 36 CFR part 1234. System manager(s) and address: Deputy Director, Defense Manpower Data Center, DOD Center Monterey Bay, 400 Gigling Road, Seaside, CA 93955-6771. Notification procedure: Individuals seeking to determine whether information about themselves is contained in this system should address written inquiries to the Privacy Act Officer, Headquarters, Defense Logistics Agency, ATTN: DP, 8725 John J. Kingman Road, Stop 2533, Fort Belvoir, VA 22060-6221. Written requests should contain the full name, Social Security Number, date of birth, and current address and telephone number of the individual. Record access procedures: Individuals seeking access to information about themselves contained in this system should address written inquiries to the Privacy Act Officer, Headquarters, Defense Logistics Agency, ATTN: DP, 8725 John J. Kingman Road, Stop 2533, Fort Belvoir, VA 22060-6221. Written requests should contain the full name, Social Security Number, date of birth, and current address and telephone number of the individual. Contesting record procedures: The DLA rules for accessing records, for contesting contents, and appealing initial agency determinations are contained in 32 CFR part 323, or may be obtained from the Privacy Act Officer, Headquarters, Defense Logistics Agency, ATTN: DP, 8725 John J. Kingman Road, Stop 2533, Fort Belvoir, VA 22060-6221. Record source categories: Record sources are individuals via survey questionnaires, the military services, the Department of Veteran Affairs, the U. S. Coast Guard, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, the Public Health Service, the Office of Personnel Management, Environmental Protection Agency, Department of Health and Human Services, Department of Energy, Executive Office of the President, and the Selective Service System. Exemptions claimed for the system: None. [FR Doc. E7-11 Filed 1-5-07; 8:45 am] BILLING CODE 5001-06-P DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE Department of the Army [USA-006-0042] Privacy Act of 1974; System of Records AGENCY: Department of the Army, DoD. ACTION: Notice to alter a system of records. SUMMARY: The Department of the Army proposes to alter a system of records notice in its inventory of records systems subject to the Privacy Act of 1974 (5 U.S.C. 552a), as amended. DATES: This proposed action will be effective without further notice on February 7, 2007 unless comments are received which result in a contrary determination. ADDRESSES: Send comments to Department of the Army, Freedom of Information/Privacy Division, U.S. Army Records Management and Declassification Agency, ATTN: AHRC-PDD-FPZ, 7701 Telegraph Road, Casey Building, Suite 144, Alexandria, VA 22325-3905. FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mr. Robert Dickerson at

(703)428-6513. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The notice was published on October 25, 2005 at 70 FR 61607. There were numerous comments, but many were virtually identical in format and content. We agree, in part, with some of the comments, and where so, we have made changes to the system notice. The commenter's observe that the system violates victims' (and offender's) privacy rights. We disagree. The inclusion of personal information in the SADMS does not violate law or contravene public policy. The personal identifying information

(PII)that will be incorporated into the Sexual Assault Data Management System (SADMS) already exists in other Army information systems that are identified in the system notice. SADMS simply consolidates data for the purposes set forth in the notice. The commenter's remark that use of PII would deter victims from reporting sexual assaults. We disagree. The Army Sexual Assault Prevention and Response

(SAPR)Program is designed to foster the confidence of Soldiers and increase their likelihood of reporting. It is widely recognized that sexual assault is the most underreported crime in the United States. SADMS, as a consolidation of data reported and captured in other Army information systems, will enable Army SAPR Program officials to assess the effectiveness of the Army's response and prevention program and to make necessary and appropriate changes to policy and procedure to correct any identified weaknesses or failings in the program. Incident to analyzing the data in the system, great care is taken, both technically and procedurally, to ensure that the privacy and confidentiality of victim data is preserved and protected. Fewer than ten individuals in or supporting the Headquarters Department of the Army

(HQDA)SAPR Program Office will be authorized direct system access to PII contained in the SADMS, but only on an as needed basis for purposes of discharging their SAPR Program management responsibilities. Additionally, the Assistant Deputy Chief of Staff, G-1 (Personnel) must explicitly approve such access prior to personnel being granted system privileges (or permissions), to access PII within the SADMS. No other Department of the Army personnel will be authorized direct access to PII in SADMS. Victims can be assured that their PII is not disseminated throughout the Army, but is only disclosed in accordance with authorized program management purposes. The commenter's observe that personally identifying information should not be included in the system. We disagree. As indicated above, SADMS is a consolidation of sexual assault incident and response data previously reported and captured in other Army information systems. It is designed to provide Army SAPR program leaders a holistic view of these incidents, to measure the effectiveness of the Army's SAPR Program, to support the management of the program as recommended by the Acting Secretary of the Army's Task Force Report on Sexual Assault Policies published in May 2004, and to respond to queries by Congress and/or Senior Army Leaders. To ensure it fulfills these purposes, it is critically important that data contained in the system be accurate. Analysis of sexual assault incident and response data across all the SADMS feeder systems identified in the systems notice demonstrates that the most effective way to accurately synthesize these separate information systems is to correlate data by common data fields—the personal identifying information. Inclusion of this information is the most efficient means of assuring that accurate information is received and correlated from these feeder systems. The commenter's question the rationale for developing a separate data management system in addition to the Defense Incident-Based Reporting System (DIBRS). The Army elected to develop and implement the SADMS because the Defense Incident Based Reporting System (DIBRS) did not provide the information necessary to manage and measure the effectiveness of the different components of the Army's SAPR Program. DIBRS, while containing incident, investigative and offender accountability information, does not address support services being made available to and/or received by victims. The Acting Secretary of the Army's Task Force Report on Sexual Assault Policies found that the Army lacked a centralized system to document all relevant data regarding sexual assault cases, including care provided to the victim. The Task Force recognized that critical information is not available at a single location, information that could provide greater understanding about how well the Army's sexual assault prevention and response policies and procedures are working. At the time when the report was issued, all available Army data on sexual assaults, victims, and alleged perpetrators resided in different systems across several Army organizations. This decentralization made it difficult to follow victims, alleged perpetrators, and cases between services, components, and organizations. SADMS is designed to specifically address this shortcoming and to provide Army SAPR Program leaders the capability to manage and measure the effectiveness of the Army's SAPR Program. The commenters point out that it is unclear who will have access to the SADMS. As indicated above, the SADMS will only operate in support of HQDA (Army G-1) Sexual Assault Prevention and Response

(SAPR)Program requirements. As discussed above, fewer than ten individuals in or supporting the HQDA SAPR Program Office will be authorized direct system access to personal identifying information

(PII)contained in the SADMS and only then for authorized SADMS purposes. Moreover, as stated above, no PII in SADMS will be disclosed in response to internal Army requests for information unless specifically approved for release first by the functional system owner(s) of the data and then by either the Assistant Deputy Chief of Staff, G-1 or the Deputy Assistant Secretary of the Army for Human Resources, either of whom must personally determine that the requester's need to know is at least equal to, if not greater than, the potential impact of divulging the PII and that disclosure is otherwise consistent with law and regulation. Limiting SADMS access and disclosure authority will ensure that information management processes are firmly established across this small population of users. And finally, but most importantly, commanders or others will not have access to PII contained within SADMS. SADMS information will not be used to inform or influence command or legal process decisions with respect to either victims or offenders. Other than as described above, SADMS data is neither accessible by nor releasable to the general public except to the extent mandated by law, e.g., the Freedom of Information Act. As indicated above, great care is being taken, both technically and procedurally, to ensure that the privacy and confidentiality of the PII is preserved and protected. The commenters remark that persons accused of sexual assault may be exempt from being included in SADMS based upon rank or security clearance. We disagree. The term “exemptions” refers to statutory exemptions that an agency may claim for its record systems. As stated in the notice and exemption rule for the SADMS, an exemption has been claimed but only to the extent that the SADMS record is obtained from an Army information system for which an exemption has been previously claimed. In effect, SADMS will claim the same exemptions as claimed for the original system, but only if the purpose underlying the exemption for the original record still pertains to the record which is now contained in SADMS. Moreover, sexual assault incident reporting is not predicated on or affected by rank or security clearance. No one in the Army is exempt from inclusion in the SADMS if their information is captured and reported by one of the Army information systems identified in the SADMS systems notice. All reported incidents will be captured and where the investigative process determines an allegation to be founded, offender information will be maintained within the SADMS. Upon completion of actions by an offender's chain of command, information on disposition of all judicial or nonjudicial and administrative actions adjudged and/or ordered will be maintained within the SADMS as well. The commenters observe that the system will infringe upon due process rights of victims and alleged offenders. We disagree. PII on alleged offenders will be added to the system after an allegation is determined to be “founded” as reflected in the final report of investigation by the lead investigating agency. Final disposition of these charges, once completed, will also be maintained within SADMS records. As discussed above, no PII contained within SADMS will be disclosed in response to any request for information unless specifically approved for release first by SAPR program office and then by either the Assistant Deputy Chief of Staff, G-1 or the Deputy Assistant Secretary of the Army for Human Resources or otherwise required by law. As with the source systems, PII will remain protected under the Privacy Act. Administrative, physical and technical safeguards have been established to prevent unauthorized access to the information maintained in SADMS. Limitations on the number of personnel with direct system access to PII in SADMS support efforts to minimize/eliminate unauthorized disclosure of this information. As discussed above, fewer than ten individuals in the Army will have direct system access to the personal identifying information in the system. This direct access to PII will be restricted to those individuals at the Army headquarters level who have an official need for this information in order to discharge their Army SAPR Program management responsibilities. If, and when, a decision is made to extend SADMS access beyond the Army SAPR Program Office, other Army users of the SADMS will not have access to personal identifying information contained within the system. Their access will be limited to aggregated, non-personal identifying information. Moreover, as stated above, commanders or others will not have access to PII contained in SADMS. SADMS information will not be used to inform or influence command or legal process decisions with respect to either victims or offenders. Additionally, ongoing education efforts will continually sensitize personnel authorized to view PII within SADMS that the privacy and confidentiality of the data must be preserved and protected, thereby ensuring that the data is only used as authorized. The commenters remark that the system is inconsistent with DoD confidentiality policy. We disagree. Sexual assault victims have two options for reporting incidents in accordance with the DoD Confidentiality policy: “Unrestricted” or “Restricted” reporting. “Unrestricted” reporting allows a victim who is sexually assaulted and desires medical treatment, counseling, and an official investigation of his/her allegation to use current reporting channels. “Restricted” reporting means a victim can, on a confidential basis, disclose the details of his/her assault to the Sexual Assault Response Coordinator, victim advocate, chaplain or a healthcare provider and receive medical treatment and counseling, without triggering the official investigative process. Where victims choose restricted reporting, no PII will be contained within SADMS, nor will any combination of other potentially identifying information be maintained that could reasonably lead to the discovery of a victim's identity. SADMS supports the DoD confidentiality policy and its intent of fostering the confidence of victims to report incidents of sexual assault. The commenters observe that SADMS will include detailed medical treatment information. We disagree. There will be no information provided to or maintained in SADMS concerning the substance or nature of medical care provided. Medical information is provided to the SADMS only when victims are Army servicemembers and elect unrestricted reporting. As indicated in the system notice, the data provided is limited to start and end dates of medical treatment resulting from sexual assault and the aggregate number of episodes of care received. In view of the foregoing discussion, we have made changes to the system notice in an effort to eliminate any potential ambiguity or lack of clarity that now exists. The changes do not substantively change the design of SADMS design or its present reliance on the use of personal identifying information to accurately correlate the data it will receive from the functional, Army data sources identified. Among the more significant changes are: We have simplified the description of the individuals covered by the system to make clear that the individual must be a uniformed member of the Army, as either a victim or an alleged perpetrator of a sexual assault, in order for his or her name, and data related to the sexual assault, to be included in the system of records. We have expanded the safeguards to explain in greater detail the protections afforded the system and to identify who will have access to the system. We have deleted the “Blanket Routine Uses” from the notice, finding that, in general, their inclusion is inconsistent with the objectives sought by the Army for this system. The Department of the Army systems of records notices subject to the Privacy Act of 1974, (5 U.S.C. 552a), as amended, have been published in the **Federal Register** and are available from the address above. The proposed system report, as required by 5 U.S.C. 552a(r) of the Privacy Act of 1974, as amended, was submitted on December 28, 2006, to the House Committee on Government Reform, the Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs, and the Office of Management and Budget

(OMB)pursuant to paragraph 4c of Appendix I to OMB Circular No. A-130, ‘Federal Agency Responsibilities for Maintaining Records About Individuals,’ dated February 8, 1996 (February 20, 1996, 61 FR 6427). December 29, 2006. L.M. Bynum, Alternate Federal Register Liaison Officer, Department of Defense. A0600-20 DCS, G-1 System name: Sexual Assault Data Management System (SADMS) Files (October 25, 2005, 70 FR 61607). Changes: System location: Delete entry and replace with: “Headquarters, Department of the Army. Official mailing addresses are published as an appendix to the Army's compilation of systems of records notices.” Categories of individuals covered by the system: Delete entry and replace with: “Any uniformed member of the Army who has been identified as the victim of a sexual assault. Any person who has been identified as the victim of a sexual assault allegedly committed by a uniformed member of the Army. Any person who has been identified as the perpetrator of an alleged sexual assault against a uniformed member of the Army. Any uniformed member of the Army who has been identified as the perpetrator of an alleged sexual assault.” Categories of records in the system: Delete entry and replace with: “Name; Social Security Number; date of birth; rank; demographic information; investigative or related information pertaining to a sexual assault incident; initial and final treatment dates and aggregate count of intermediate medical treatment contacts with the victim (only for those victims that are uniformed members of the Army and elect unrestricted reporting); information from records/reports relating to victim support extended by installation and/or unit advocates; and actions taken by commanders against offenders. Where a victim elects confidential or “restricted” reporting pursuant to the DoD confidentiality policy that went into effect June 14, 2005, neither personal identifying information concerning the victim nor investigative information or action taken against the alleged offender will be maintained in the system.” Authority for maintenance of the system: Add the following to the entry: “DoD Directive 6495.01, Sexual Assault Prevention and Response

(SAPR)Program” Purpose(s): Delete entry and replace with: “To provide a centralized repository of relevant data regarding the entire lifecycle of sexual assault cases, involving victims and/or alleged offenders who are members of the Army (either the victim and/or alleged offender(s) must be a uniformed member of the Army) and to provide aggregate statistical data and management reports to enable Army SAPR Program leaders to assess the effectiveness of both response and prevention and to make necessary and appropriate changes to policy and procedures to correct any identified weaknesses or failings in the system.” Routine uses of records maintained in the system, including categories of users and the purposes of such uses: Change the last sentence of the entry to read “The DoD ‘Blanket Routine Uses’ set forth at the beginning of the Army's compilation of systems of records do not apply to this system.” Safeguards: Delete entry and replace with: “Appropriate administrative, technical and physical safeguards have been established to ensure that records in the Sexual Assault Data Management System are protected from unauthorized alteration or disclosure and that privacy and confidentiality is preserved and protected. All records are maintained in areas accessible only to authorized personnel who have an official need for access in order to perform their assigned responsibilities and duties. Automated records are further protected by assignment of user identification and passwords, which are changed at random times, to protect the system from unauthorized access. The system employs a Secure Socket Layer

(SSL)certificate and encryption process to provide further protection from unauthorized access. Direct system access to personal identifying information

(PII)is restricted to only those individuals in or supporting the Headquarters Department of the Army

(HQDA)Sexual Assault Prevention and Response

(SAPR)Program Office as needed to discharge their SAPR Program management responsibilities. Personnel with direct system access to personal identifying data within SADMS will receive detailed and continuous training on proper handling and safeguarding of this information. Likewise, no PII contained in SADMS will be disclosed in response to any internal request for information unless specifically approved for release first by the functional system owner(s) of the data and then by either the Assistant Deputy Chief of Staff, G-1 or the Deputy Assistant Secretary of the Army for Human Resources, either of whom must personally determine that the requester's need to know is at least equal to, if not greater than, the potential impact of divulging the PII, and that disclosure is otherwise consistent with law and regulation. Limiting SADMS access and disclosure authority will ensure that information management processes are firmly established across this small population of users. SADMS information will not be used to inform or influence command or legal process decisions with respect to either victims or offenders. Unauthorized disclosure of personal identifying information will not be tolerated and personnel responsible for this disclosure may be subject to criminal prosecution under federal law or the Uniform Code of Military Justice. During non-duty hours, military police or contract guard patrols ensure protection against unauthorized access. Except as required by law, such as the Privacy Act, PII within the system is not accessible by members of the general public.” Record Source Categories: Delete entry and replace with: “Records in this system are derived from data originally maintained in the following official Army systems: Army Criminal Investigation Intelligence System (ACI2); Central Operations Police Suite (COPS); Sexual Assault Response Program Tracking Application (SARPTA); Defense Case Record Management System (DCRMS) (Army module); and Army Court Martial Information System (ACMIS).” A0600-20 DCS, G-1 System name: Sexual Assault Data Management System (SADMS) Files. System location: Headquarters, Department of the Army. Official mailing addresses are published as an appendix to the Army's compilation of systems of records notices. Categories of individuals covered by the system: Any uniformed member of the Army who has been identified as the victim of a sexual assault. Any person who has been identified as the victim of a sexual assault allegedly committed by a uniformed member of the Army. Any person who has been identified as the perpetrator of an alleged sexual assault against a uniformed member of the Army. Any uniformed member of the Army who has been identified as the perpetrator of an alleged sexual assault. Categories of records in the system: Name; Social Security Number; date of birth; rank; demographic information; investigative or related information pertaining to a sexual assault incident; initial and final treatment dates and aggregate count of intermediate medical treatment contacts with the victim (only for those victims that are uniformed members of the Army and elect unrestricted reporting); information from records/reports relating to victim support extended by installation and/or unit advocates; and actions taken by commanders against offenders. Where a victim elects confidential or “restricted” reporting pursuant to the DoD confidentiality policy that went into effect June 14, 2005, neither personal identifying information concerning the victim nor investigative information or action taken against the alleged offender will be maintained in the system. Authority for maintenance of the system: Public Law 108-375, Section 577; 10 U.S.C. 3013, Secretary of the Army; DoD Directive 1030.1, Victim and Witness Assistance; DoD Directive 6495.01, Sexual Assault Prevention and Response

(SAPR)Program; AR 27-10 Military Justice; AR 40-66 Medical Record Administration and Health Care Documentation; AR 195-2 Criminal Investigation Activities; AR 608-18, Family Advocacy Program; AR 600-20, Army Command Policy; and EO 9397(SSN). Purpose(s): To provide a centralized repository of relevant data regarding the entire lifecycle of sexual assault cases, involving victims and/or alleged offenders who are members of the Army (either the victim and/or alleged offender(s) must be a uniformed member of the Army) and to provide aggregate statistical data and management reports to enable Army SAPR Program leaders to assess the effectiveness of both response and prevention and to make necessary and appropriate changes to policy and procedures to correct any identified weaknesses or failings in the system. Routine uses of records maintained in the system, including categories of users and the purposes of such uses: In addition to those disclosures generally permitted under 5 U.S.C. 552a(b) of the Privacy Act, these records or information contained therein may specifically be disclosed outside the DoD as a routine use pursuant to 5 U.S.C. 552a(b)(3) as follows: To Congress and other agencies, as appropriate, to further the goals of Public Law 108-375. The DoD “Blanket Routine Uses” set forth at the beginning of the Army's compilation of systems of records do not apply to this system. Policies and practices for storing, retrieving, accessing, retaining, and disposing of records in the system: Storage: Electronic storage media. Retrievability: Name and Social Security Number (SSN). Safeguards: Appropriate administrative, technical and physical safeguards have been established to ensure that records in the Sexual Assault Data Management System are protected from unauthorized alteration or disclosure and that privacy and confidentiality is preserved and protected. All records are maintained in areas accessible only to authorized personnel who have an official need for access in order to perform their assigned responsibilities and duties. Automated records are further protected by assignment of user identification and passwords, which are changed at random times, to protect the system from unauthorized access. The system employs a Secure Socket Layer

(SSL)certificate and encryption process to provide further protection from unauthorized access. Direct system access to personal identifying information

(PII)is restricted to only those individuals in or supporting the Headquarters Department of the Army

(HQDA)Sexual Assault Prevention and Response

(SAPR)Program Office as needed to discharge their SAPR Program management responsibilities. Personnel with direct system access to personal identifying data within SADMS will receive detailed and continuous training on proper handling and safeguarding of this information. Likewise, no PII contained in SADMS will be disclosed in response to any internal request for information unless specifically approved for release first by the functional system owner(s) of the data and then by either the Assistant Deputy Chief of Staff, G-1 or the Deputy Assistant Secretary of the Army for Human Resources, either of whom must personally determine that the requester's need to know is at least equal to, if not greater than, the potential impact of divulging the PII, and that disclosure is otherwise consistent with law and regulation. Limiting SADMS access and disclosure authority will ensure that information management processes are firmly established across this small population of users. SADMS information will not be used to inform or influence command or legal process decisions with respect to either victims or offenders. Unauthorized disclosure of personal identifying information will not be tolerated and personnel responsible for this disclosure may be subject to criminal prosecution under federal law or the Uniform Code of Military Justice. During non-duty hours, military police or contract guard patrols ensure protection against unauthorized access. Except as required by law, such as the Privacy Act, PII within the system is not accessible by members of the general public. Retention and disposal: Disposition pending (until the National Archives and Records Administration has approved retention and disposition of these records, treat as permanent). System manager(s) and address: Chief, Human Factors Division, Deputy Chief of Staff, Army G-1, ATTN: DAPE-HRH, 300 Army Pentagon, Washington, DC 20310-0300. Notification procedure: Individuals seeking to determine whether information about themselves is contained in this system should address written inquiries to Deputy Chief of Staff, Army G-1, ATTN: DAPE-HRH, 300 Army Pentagon, Washington, DC 20310-0300. Individual should provide his/her full name, current address, telephone number, and other personal identifying data that would assist in locating the records. The inquiry must be signed. Records access procedure: Individuals seeking access to information about themselves contained in this system should address written inquiries to the Deputy Chief of Staff, Army G-1, ATTN: DAPE-HRH, 300 Army Pentagon, Washington, DC 20310-0300. Individual should provide his/her full name, current address, telephone number, and other personal identifying data that would assist in locating the records. The inquiry must be signed. Contesting records procedures: The Army's rules for accessing records, and for contesting contents and appealing initial agency determinations are contained in Army Regulation 340-21; 32 CFR part 505; or may be obtained from the system manager. Record source categories: Records in this system are derived from data originally maintained in the following official Army systems: Army Criminal Investigation Intelligence System (ACI2); Central Operations Police Suite (COPS); Sexual Assault Response Program Tracking Application (SARPTA); Defense Case Record Management System (DCRMS) (Army module); and Army Court Martial Information System (ACMIS). Exemptions claimed for the system: This system of records is a compilation of information from other Department of Army systems of records. To the extent that copies of exempt records from those other systems of records are entered into SADMS, the Army G-1 hereby claims the same exemptions for the records from those other systems that are entered into this system, as claimed for the original primary system of which they are a part. An exemption rule for this system has been promulgated in accordance with requirements of 5 U.S.C. 553(b)(1), (2), and (3),

(c)and

(e)and published in 32 CFR part 505. For additional information contact the system manager. [FR Doc. E7-7 Filed 1-5-07; 8:45 am] BILLING CODE 5001-06-P DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE Department of the Navy [USN-2006-0070] Privacy Act of 1974; System of Records AGENCY: Department of the Navy. ACTION: Notice to alter a system of records. SUMMARY: The Department of the Navy proposes to alter a system of records notice in its existing inventory of records systems subject to the Privacy Act of 1974, (5 U.S.C. 552a), as amended. DATES: This proposed action will be effective without further notice on February 7, 2007, unless comments are received which result in a contrary determination. ADDRESSES: Send comments to the Department of the Navy, PA/FOIA Policy Branch, Chief of Naval Operations (DNS-36), 2000 Navy Pentagon, Washington, DC 20350-2000. FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mrs. Doris Lama at

(202)685-325-6545. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Department of the Navy's systems of records notices subject to the Privacy Act of 1974, (5 U.S.C. 552a), as amended, have been published in the **Federal Register** and are available from the address above. The proposed system reports, as required by 5 U.S.C. 552a (r), of the Privacy Act of 1974, as amended, were submitted on December 28, 2006, to the House Committee on Government Reform, the Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs, and the Office of Management and Budget

(OMB)pursuant to paragraph 4c of Appendix I to OMB Circular No. A-130, Federal Agency Responsibilities for Maintaining Records About Individuals,’ dated February 8, 1996 (February 20, 1996, 61 FR 6427). Dated: December 29, 2006. L.M. Bynum, Alternate OSD Federal Register Liaison Officer, Department of Defense. N12771-1 System name: Employee Grievances, Discrimination Complaints, and Adverse Action Appeals. (August 9, 1993, 58 FR 42303) Changes: System identifier: Delete “N12771-1” and replace with “NM12771-1.” System name: Delete entry and replace with “Discrimination Complaints.” System location: Delete entry and replace with “Naval Office of EEO Complaints and Adjudication (NAVOECMA), 614 Sicard Street, SE, Suite 100, Washington Navy Yard, DC 20374-5072; field activities employing civilians and servicing Human Resources Offices (HROs). Official mailing addresses are published in the Standard Navy Distribution List that is available at *http://doni.daps.dla.mil/sndl.aspx.”* Categories of individuals covered by the system: Before the word “applicants” add “civilian.” Categories of records in the system: Delete entry and replace with “The case files contain background material on the act or situation complained of; the results of any investigation including affidavits and depositions; records of personnel actions involved; transcripts of hearings held; administrative judges' reports of findings and recommended actions; advisory memoranda from the Chief of Naval Operations, Chief of Naval Personnel, Department of Defense, Systems Commands; Secretary of the Navy decisions; reports of actions taken by local activities; comments by NAVOECMA or local activities on appeals made to the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC); EEOC decisions, Court decisions, Comptroller General decisions. Brief summaries of case files are maintained in a computer data base.” Authority for maintenance of the system: Delete entry and replace with “5 U.S.C. 1301, 3301, 3302, 7201-7204, 7301, 7701; 10 U.S.C. 5013, Secretary of the Navy; and 10 U.S.C. 5041, Headquarters, Marine Corps.” Purpose(s): Delete entry and replace with “This information is used by NAVOECMA to adjudicate cases. Systems Commands, the Chief of Naval Operations, and the Office of Civilian Resources

(OCHR)are internal users for informational/ implementational purposes. Individual members acting on behalf of the individual involved are supplied with copies of decisions and other appropriate background material. Grievants and appellants are furnished Secretary of the Navy decisions, with copies to their representatives, EEO complainants are furnished Secretary of the Navy (SECNAV) decisions, with copies of the hearing transcripts and administrative judges' reports; complainants' representatives are provided copies of SECNAV decisions on grievances and appeals. Activities involved in EEO complaints are provided copies of SECNAV decisions, hearing transcripts, and administrative judges' reports.” Storage: Delete entry and replace with “Records are stored on paper and on electronic storage media.” Safeguards: Delete entry and replace with “Materials are kept in file cabinets within NAVOECMA's office or in a secured computer data base. Access to the office during business hours is controlled by NAVOECMA personnel and by identification card. The office is locked at the close of business; the building in which the office is located employs security guards.” Retention and disposal: Delete entry and replace with “Case files are destroyed four years after being closed.” System manager(s) and address: Delete entry and replace with “Director, Naval Office of EEO Complaints and Adjudication (NAVOECMA), 614 Sicard Street, SE, Suite 100, Washington Navy Yard, DC 20374-5072.” Notification procedure: Delete entry and replace with “Individuals seeking to determine whether this system contains information about themselves should address written inquiries to the Director, Naval Office of EEO Complaints and Adjudication (NAVOECMA), 614 Sicard Street, SE, Suite 100, Washington Navy Yard, DC 20374-5072. The requester must provide full name, employing office, and sign the request.” Record access procedures: Delete entry and replace with “Individuals seeking access to information about themselves contained in this system should address written inquiries to the Director, Naval Office of EEO Complaints and Adjudication (NAVOECMA), 614 Sicard Street, SE, Suite 100, Washington Navy Yard, DC 20374-5072. The requester must provide full name, employing office, and sign the request.” Record source categories: Delete entry and replace with “Information in the file is obtained from former and present civilian employees of the DON, applicants for employment with the DON, employing activities, EEOC, and NAVOECMA.” NM12771-1 System name: Discrimination Complaints. System location: Naval Office of EEO Complaints and Adjudication (NAVOECMA), 614 Sicard Street, SE., Suite 100, Washington Navy Yard, DC 20374-5072; field activities employing civilians and servicing Human Resources Offices (HROs). Official mailing addresses are published in the Standard Navy Distribution List that is available at *http://doni.daps.dla.mil/sndl.aspx.* Categories of individuals covered by the system: Former and present civilian employees of the Department of the Navy, and civilian applicants for employment with the Department of the Navy. Categories of records in the system: The case files contain background material on the act or situation complained of; the results of any investigation including affidavits and depositions; records of personnel actions involved; transcripts of hearings held; administrative judges' reports of findings and recommended actions; advisory memoranda from the Chief of Naval Operations, Chief of Naval Personnel, Department of Defense, Systems Commands; Secretary of the Navy decisions; reports of actions taken by local activities; comments by NAVOECMA or local activities on appeals made to the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC); EEOC decisions, Court decisions, Comptroller General decisions. Brief summaries of case files are maintained in a computer data base. Authority for maintenance of the system: 5 U.S.C. 1301, 3301, 3302, 7201-7204, 7301, 7701; 10 U.S.C. 5013, Secretary of the Navy; and 10 U.S.C. 5041, Headquarters, Marine Corps. Purpose(s): This information is used by NAVOECMA to adjudicate cases. Systems Commands, the Chief of Naval Operations, and the Office of Civilian Resources

(OCHR)are internal users for informational/implementational purposes. Individual members acting on behalf of the individual involved are supplied with copies of decisions and other appropriate background material. EEO complainants are furnished Secretary of the Navy (SECNAV) decisions, with copies of the hearing transcripts and administrative judges' reports; complainants' representatives are provided copies of SECNAV decisions on grievances and appeals. Activities involved in EEO complaints are provided copies of SECNAV decisions, hearing transcripts, and administrative judges' reports. Routine uses of records maintained in the system, including categories of users and the purposes of such uses: In addition to those disclosures generally permitted under 5 U.S.C. 552a(b) of the Privacy Act, these records or information contained therein may specifically be disclosed outside the DoD as a routine use pursuant to 5 U.S.C. 552a(b)(3) as follows: To officials and employees of the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission to adjudicate cases. The DoD ‘Blanket Routine Uses’ that appear at the beginning of the Navy's compilation of systems of records notices apply to this system. **Note:** Records of identity, diagnosis, prognosis or treatment of any client/patient, irrespective of whether or when he/she ceases to be a client/patient, maintained in connection with the performance of any alcohol or drug abuse prevention and treatment function conducted, requested, or directly or indirectly assisted by any department or agency of the United States, shall, except as provided herein, be confidential and be disclosed only for the purposes and under the circumstances expressly authorized in 42 U.S.C. 290dd-2. These statutes take precedence over the Privacy Act of 1974 in regard to accessibility of such records except to the individual to whom the report pertains. The DoD ‘Blanket Routine Uses’ that appear at the beginning of the Navy's compilation of systems of records notices do not apply to these records. Policies and practices for storing, retrieving, accessing, retaining, and disposing of records in the system: Storage: Records are stored on paper and on electronic storage media. Retrievability: Name. Safeguards: Materials are kept in file cabinets within NAVOECMA's office or in a secured computer data base. Access to the office during business hours is controlled by NAVOECMA personnel and by identification card. The office is locked at the close of business; the building in which the office is located employs security guards. Retention and disposal: Case files are destroyed four years after being closed. System manager(s) and address: Director, Naval Office of EEO Complaints and Adjudication (NAVOECMA), 614 Sicard Street, SE., Suite 100, Washington Navy Yard, DC 20374-5072. Notification procedure: Individuals seeking to determine whether this system contains information about themselves should address written inquiries to the Director, Naval Office of EEO Complaints and Adjudication (NAVOECMA), 614 Sicard Street, SE., Suite 100, Washington Navy Yard, DC 20374-5072. The requester must provide full name, employing office, and sign the request. Record access procedures: Individuals seeking access to records about themselves should address written inquiries from former and present civilian employees of the DON, applicants for employment with the DON, employing activities, EEOC, and NAVOECMA. The requester must provide full name, employing office, and sign the request. Contesting record procedures: The Navy's rules for accessing records, and for contesting contents and appealing initial agency determinations are published in Secretary of the Navy Instruction 5211.5; 32 CFR part 701; or may be obtained from the system manager. Record source categories: Information in the file is obtained from former and present civilian employees of the DON, applicants for employment with the DON, employing activities, EEOC, and NAVOECMA. Exemptions claimed for the system: None. [FR Doc. E7-12 Filed 1-5-07; 8:45 am] BILLING CODE 5001-06-P DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION Office of Innovation and Improvement; Overview Information; Teaching American History Grant Program; Notice Inviting Applications for New Awards for Fiscal Year

(FY)2007 *Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance

(CFDA)Number:* 84.215X. *Dates:* *Applications Available:* January 8, 2007. *Deadline for Notice of Intent to Apply:* February 7, 2007. *Pre-Application Meeting:* A pre-application meeting for prospective applicants will be held in January 2007 in Washington, DC. Further information on the date, time, and location will be made available through a notice published in the **Federal Register** and through the Teaching American History Web site at *http://www.ed.gov/programs/teachinghistory.* *Deadline for Transmittal of Applications:* March 9, 2007. *Deadline for Intergovernmental Review:* May 8, 2007. *Eligible Applicants:* Local educational agencies (LEAs), including charter schools that are considered LEAs under State law and regulations, that must work in partnership with one or more of the following entities: • An institution of higher education. • A non-profit history or humanities organization. • A library or museum. *Estimated Available Funds:* The Administration has requested $50,000,000 for this program for FY 2007. The actual level of funding, if any, depends on final Congressional action. However, we are inviting applications to allow enough time to complete the grant process if Congress appropriates funds for this program. *Maximum Award:* The following maximum award amounts are from the notice of final selection criteria and other application requirements for this program, published in the **Federal Register** on April 15, 2005 (70 FR 19939).

(1)Total funding for a three-year project period is a maximum of $500,000 for LEAs with enrollments of less than 20,000 students; $1,000,000 for LEAs with enrollments of 20,000-300,000 students; and $2,000,000 for LEAs with enrollments above 300,000 students. LEAs may form consortia and combine their enrollments in order to receive a grant reflective of their combined enrollment. For districts applying jointly as a consortium, the maximum award is based on the combined enrollment of the individual districts in the consortium. If more than one LEA wishes to form a consortium, they must follow the procedures for group applications described in 34 CFR 75.127 through 34 CFR 75.129 of the Education Department General Administrative Regulations.

(2)A maximum of one grant will be awarded per applicant per competition. *Estimated Number of Awards:* 120-135. Note: The Department is not bound by any estimates in this notice. *Project Period:* Up to 36 months. Full Text of Announcement I. Funding Opportunity Description *Purpose of Program:* Teaching American History grants support projects to raise student achievement by improving teachers' knowledge, understanding, and appreciation of traditional American history. Grant awards assist LEAs, in partnership with entities that have extensive content expertise, to develop, document, evaluate, and disseminate innovative, cohesive models of professional development. By helping teachers to develop a deeper understanding and appreciation of traditional American history as a separate subject within the core curriculum, these programs improve instruction and raise student achievement. *Priorities:* This competition includes one absolute priority and two competitive preference priorities that are explained in the following paragraphs. *Absolute Priority:* This priority is from the statute for this program (20 U.S.C. 6721(b)). Under 34 CFR 75.105(c)(3) we consider only applications that meet this priority. This priority is: *Partnerships with Other Agencies or Institutions.* Each applicant LEA must propose to work in collaboration with one or more of the following: • An institution of higher education. • A non-profit history or humanities organization. • A library or museum. *Competitive Preference Priorities:* These priorities are from the notice of final priorities for discretionary grant programs published in the **Federal Register** on October 11, 2006 (71 FR 60046). Under 34 CFR 75.105(c)(2)(i), we award up to an additional 25 points to an application, depending on how well the application meets these priorities. These points are in addition to any points the application earns under the selection criteria. These priorities are: *Priority 1—School Districts with Schools in Need of Improvement, Corrective Action, or Restructuring* (up to 15 additional points). Projects that help school districts implement academic and structural interventions in schools that have been identified for improvement, corrective action, or restructuring under the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965, as amended by the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001. Note: In response to this priority, applicants are encouraged to describe how they will assess the district's or consortium of districts' needs and focus on recruiting U.S. history teachers from schools identified as in need of improvement, corrective action, or restructuring within the district or consortium of districts. *Priority 2—Student Achievement Data* (up to 10 additional points). Projects that collect pre- and post-intervention test data to assess the effects of the projects on the academic achievement of student participants relative to appropriate comparison or control groups. Note: In response to this priority, applicants are encouraged to submit a plan describing how they propose to collect test data on students of teachers trained in the Teaching American History program and compare those data to test data from students of teachers who are not trained in the Teaching American History program. Program Authority: 20 U.S.C. 6721. *Applicable Regulations:*

(a)The Education Department General Administrative Regulations (EDGAR) in 34 CFR parts 75, 77, 79, 80, 81, 82, 84, 85, 86, 97, 98, and 99.

(b)The notice of final selection criteria and other application requirements for this program published in the **Federal Register** on April 15, 2005 (70 FR 19939).

(c)The notice of final priorities for discretionary grant programs published in the **Federal Register** on October 11, 2006 (71 FR 60046). Note: The regulations in 34 CFR part 79 apply to all applicants except federally recognized Indian tribes. Note: The regulations in 34 CFR part 86 apply to institutions of higher education only. II. Award Information *Type of Award:* Discretionary grants. *Estimated Available Funds:* The Administration has requested $50,000,000 for this program for FY 2007. The actual level of funding, if any, depends on final congressional action. However, we are inviting applications to allow enough time to complete the grant process if Congress appropriates funds for this program. *Maximum Award:* The following maximum award amounts are from the notice of final selection criteria and other application requirements for this program published in the **Federal Register** on April 15, 2005 (70 FR 19939).

(2)A maximum of one grant will be awarded per applicant per competition. *Estimated Number of Awards:* 120-135. Note: The Department is not bound by any estimates in this notice. *Project Period:* Up to 36 months. III. Eligibility Information 1. *Eligible Applicants:* LEAs, including charter schools that are considered LEAs under State law and regulations, that must work in partnership with one or more of the following entities: • An institution of higher education. • A non-profit history or humanities organization. • A library or museum. 2. *Cost Sharing or Matching:* This program does not involve cost sharing or matching. IV. Application and Submission Information *Address to Request Application Package:* Education Publications Center (ED Pubs), P.O. Box 1398, Jessup, MD 20794-1398. Telephone (toll free): 1-877-433-7827. Fax:

(301)470-1244. If you use a telecommunications device for the deaf (TDD), you may call (toll free): 1-877-576-7734. You may also contact ED Pubs at its Web site: *http://www.ed.gov/pubs/edpubs.html* or you may contact ED Pubs at its e-mail address: *edpubs@inet.ed.gov.* If you request an application from ED Pubs, be sure to identify this competition as follows: CFDA number 84.215X. You may also obtain the application package for this program via the Internet at the following address: *http//www.ed.gov/programs/teachinghistory/applicant.html.* Individuals with disabilities may obtain a copy of the application package in an alternative format (e.g., Braille, large print, audiotape, or computer diskette) by contacting one of the program contact persons listed in section VII of this notice. 2. *Content and Form of Application Submission:* Requirements concerning the content of an application, together with the forms you must submit, are in the application package and instructions for this program. *Notice of Intent to Apply:* The Department will be able to develop a more efficient process for reviewing grant applications if it has a better understanding of the number of LEAs that intend to apply for funding under this competition. Therefore, the Secretary strongly encourages each potential applicant to notify the Department with a short e-mail indicating the applicant's intent to submit an application for funding. The e-mail need not include information regarding the content of the proposed application, only the applicant's intent to submit it. This e-mail notification should be sent to Alex Stein at: *TeachingAmericanHistory@ed.gov.* Applicants who do not provide this e-mail notification may still apply for funding. *Page Limit:* The application narrative (Part III of the application) is where you, the applicant, address the selection criteria that reviewers use to evaluate your application. Applicants are strongly encouraged to limit the application narrative to the equivalent of no more than 25 pages, using the following standards: • A “page” is 8.5″ × 11″, on one side only, with 1″ margins at the top, bottom, and both sides. • Double space (no more than three lines per vertical inch) all text in the application narrative, including titles, headings, footnotes, quotations, references, and captions, as well as all text in charts, tables, figures, and graphs. • Use a font not less than 12-point font. The page limit does not apply to Part I, the cover sheet; Part II, the budget section, including the narrative budget justification; Part IV, the assurances and certifications; or the one-page abstract, the resumes, or letters of support. However, you must include all of the application narrative in Part III. Our reviewers will not read any pages of your application that— • Exceed the page limit if you apply these standards; or • Exceed the equivalent of the page limit if you apply other standards. 3. *Submission Dates and Times:* *Applications Available:* January 8, 2007. *Deadline for Notice of Intent to Apply:* February 7, 2007. *Pre-Application Meeting:* A pre-application meeting for prospective applicants will be held in January 2007 in Washington, DC. Further information on the date, time, and location will be made available through a notice published in the **Federal Register** and through the Teaching American History Web site at *http://www.ed.gov/programs/teachinghistory.* *Deadline for Transmittal of Applications:* March 9, 2007. Applications for grants under this program must be submitted electronically using the Grants.gov Apply site ( *Grants.gov* ). For information (including dates and times) about how to submit your application electronically, or by mail or hand delivery if you qualify for an exception to the electronic submission requirement, please refer to section IV. 6. *Other Submission Requirements* in this notice. We do not consider an application that does not comply with the deadline requirements. Individuals with disabilities who need an accommodation or auxiliary aid in connection with the application process should contact the person listed under FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT . *Deadline for Intergovernmental Review:* May 8, 2007. 4. Intergovernmental Review: This competition is subject to Executive Order 12372 and the regulations in 34 CFR part 79. Information about Intergovernmental Review of Federal Programs under Executive Order 12372 is in the application package for this competition. 5. *Funding Restrictions:* We reference regulations outlining funding restrictions in the *Applicable Regulations* section of this notice. 6. *Other Submission Requirements.* Applications for grants under this program must be submitted electronically unless you qualify for an exception to this requirement in accordance with the instructions in this section. a. *Electronic Submission of Applications.* Applications for grants under the Teaching American History Program—CFDA Number 84.215X must be submitted electronically using the Governmentwide Grants.gov Apply site at *http://www.Grants.gov.* Through this site, you will be able to download a copy of the application package, complete it offline, and then upload and submit your application. You may not e-mail an electronic copy of a grant application to us. We will reject your application if you submit it in paper format unless, as described elsewhere in this section, you qualify for one of the exceptions to the electronic submission requirement and submit, no later than two weeks before the application deadline date, a written statement to the Department that you qualify for one of these exceptions. Further information regarding calculation of the date that is two weeks before the application deadline date is provided later in this section under *Exception to Electronic Submission Requirement.* You may access the electronic grant application for Teaching American History Grant Program at *http://www.Grants.gov.* You must search for the downloadable application package for this program or competition by the CFDA number. Do not include the CFDA number's alpha suffix in your search (e.g., search for 84.215, not 84.215X). Please note the following: • When you enter the *Grants.gov* site, you will find information about submitting an application electronically through the site, as well as the hours of operation. • Applications received by *Grants.gov* are date and time stamped. Your application must be fully uploaded and submitted, and must be date and time stamped by the *Grants.gov* system no later than 4:30 p.m., Washington, DC time, on the application deadline date. Except as otherwise noted in this section, we will not consider your application if it is date and time stamped by the *Grants.gov* system later than 4:30 p.m., Washington, DC time, on the application deadline date. When we retrieve your application from *Grants.gov,* we will notify you if we are rejecting your application because it was date and time stamped by the *Grants.gov* system after 4:30 p.m., Washington, DC time, on the application deadline date. • The amount of time it can take to upload an application will vary depending on a variety of factors including the size of the application and the speed of your Internet connection. Therefore, we strongly recommend that you do not wait until the application deadline date to begin the submission process through *Grants.gov.* • You should review and follow the Education Submission Procedures for submitting an application through Grants.gov that are included in the application package for this program to ensure that you submit your application in a timely manner to the *Grants.gov* system. You can also find the Education Submission Procedures pertaining to *Grants.gov* at *http://e-grants.ed.gov/help/GrantsgovSubmissionProcedures.pdf.* • To submit your application via *Grants.gov,* you must complete all steps in the *Grants.gov* registration process (see *http://www.grants.gov/applicants/get_registered.jsp* ). These steps include

(1)registering your organization, a multi-part process that includes registration with the Central Contractor Registry (CCR);

(2)registering yourself as an Authorized Organization Representative (AOR); and

(3)getting authorized as an AOR by your organization. Details on these steps are outlined in the *Grants.gov* 3-Step Registration Guide (see *http://www.grants.gov/section910/Grants.govRegistrationBrochure.pdf.* You also must provide on your application the same D-U-N-S Number used with this registration. Please note that the registration process may take five or more business days to complete, and you must have completed all registration steps to allow you to submit successfully an application via *Grants.gov.* In addition you will need to update your CCR registration on an annual basis. This may take three or more business days to complete. • You will not receive additional point value because you submit your application in electronic format, nor will we penalize you if you qualify for an exception to the electronic submission requirement, as described elsewhere in this section, and submit your application in paper format. • You must submit all documents electronically, including all information you typically provide on the following forms: Application for Federal Assistance (SF 424), the Department of Education Supplemental Information for SF 424, Budget Information—Non-Construction Programs (ED 524), and all necessary assurances and certifications. Please note that two of these forms—the SF 424 and the Department of Education Supplemental Information for SF 424—have replaced the ED 424 (Application for Federal Education Assistance). • You must attach any narrative sections of your application as files in a .DOC (document), .RTF (rich text), or .PDF (Portable Document) format. If you upload a file type other than the three file types specified in this paragraph or submit a password-protected file, we will not review that material. • Your electronic application must comply with any page-limit requirements described in this notice. • After you electronically submit your application, you will receive from *Grants.gov* an automatic notification of receipt that contains a *Grants.gov* tracking number. (This notification indicates receipt by *Grants.gov* only, not receipt by the Department.) The Department then will retrieve your application from *Grants.gov* and send a second notification to you by e-mail. This second notification indicates that the Department has received your application and has assigned your application a PR/Award number (an ED-specified identifying number unique to your application). • We may request that you provide us original signatures on forms at a later date. *Application Deadline Date Extension in Case of Technical Issues with the Grants.gov System:* If you are experiencing problems submitting your application through *Grants.gov,* please contact the *Grants.gov* Support Desk at 1-800-518-4726. You must obtain a *Grants.gov* Support Desk Case Number and must keep a record of it. If you are prevented from electronically submitting your application on the application deadline date because of technical problems with the Grants.gov system, we will grant you an extension until 4:30 p.m., Washington, DC time, the following business day to enable you to transmit your application electronically or by hand delivery. You also may mail your application by following the mailing instructions described elsewhere in this notice. If you submit an application after 4:30 p.m., Washington, DC time, on the application deadline date, please contact the person listed elsewhere in this notice under FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT and provide an explanation of the technical problem you experienced with Grants.gov, along with the Grants.gov Support Desk Case Number. We will accept your application if we can confirm that a technical problem occurred with the Grants.gov system and that that problem affected your ability to submit your application by 4:30 p.m., Washington, DC time, on the application deadline date. The Department will contact you after a determination is made on whether your application will be accepted. Note: The extensions to which we refer in this section apply only to the unavailability of, or technical problems with, the Grants.gov system. We will not grant you an extension if you failed to fully register to submit your application to Grants.gov before the application deadline date and time or if the technical problem you experienced is unrelated to the Grants.gov system. *Exception to Electronic Submission Requirement:* You qualify for an exception to the electronic submission requirement, and may submit your application in paper format, if you are unable to submit an application through the Grants.gov system because— • You do not have access to the Internet; or • You do not have the capacity to upload large documents to the Grants.gov system; and • No later than two weeks before the application deadline date (14 calendar days or, if the fourteenth calendar day before the application deadline date falls on a Federal holiday, the next business day following the Federal holiday), you mail or fax a written statement to the Department, explaining which of the two grounds for an exception prevent you from using the Internet to submit your application. If you mail your written statement to the Department, it must be postmarked no later than two weeks before the application deadline date. If you fax your written statement to the Department, we must receive the faxed statement no later than two weeks before the application deadline date. Address and mail or fax your statement to: Alex Stein, U.S. Department of Education, 400 Maryland Avenue, SW., room 4W206, Washington, DC 20202-5960. FAX:

(202)401-8466. Your paper application must be submitted in accordance with the mail or hand delivery instructions described in this notice. b. *Submission of Paper Applications by Mail.* If you qualify for an exception to the electronic submission requirement, you may mail (through the U.S. Postal Service or a commercial carrier) your application to the Department. You must mail the original and two copies of your application, on or before the application deadline date, to the Department at the applicable following address: *By mail through the U.S. Postal Service:* U.S. Department of Education, Application Control Center, Attention: (CFDA Number 84.215X), 400 Maryland Avenue, SW., Washington, DC 20202-5960; or *By mail through a commercial carrier:* U.S. Department of Education, Application Control Center, Stop 4260, Attention: (CFDA Number 84.215X), 7100 Old Landover Road, Landover, MD 20785-1506. Regardless of which address you use, you must show proof of mailing consisting of one of the following:

(1)A legibly dated U.S. Postal Service postmark.

(2)A legible mail receipt with the date of mailing stamped by the U.S. Postal Service.

(3)A dated shipping label, invoice, or receipt from a commercial carrier.

(4)Any other proof of mailing acceptable to the Secretary of the U.S. Department of Education. If you mail your application through the U.S. Postal Service, we do not accept either of the following as proof of mailing:

(1)A private metered postmark.

(2)A mail receipt that is not dated by the U.S. Postal Service. If your application is postmarked after the application deadline date, we will not consider your application. Note: The U.S. Postal Service does not uniformly provide a dated postmark. Before relying on this method, you should check with your local post office. c. *Submission of Paper Applications by Hand Delivery.* If you qualify for an exception to the electronic submission requirement, you (or a courier service) may deliver your paper application to the Department by hand. You must deliver the original and two copies of your application by hand, on or before the application deadline date, to the Department at the following address: U.S. Department of Education, Application Control Center, Attention: (CFDA Number 84.215X), 550 12th Street, SW., Room 7041, Potomac Center Plaza, Washington, DC 20202-4260. The Application Control Center accepts hand deliveries daily between 8 a.m. and 4:30 p.m., Washington, DC time, except Saturdays, Sundays, and Federal holidays. *Note for Mail or Hand Delivery of Paper Applications:* If you mail or hand deliver your application to the Department—

(1)You must indicate on the envelope and—if not provided by the Department—in Item 11 of the SF 424 the CFDA number, including suffix letter, if any, of the competition under which you are submitting your application; and

(2)The Application Control Center will mail to you a notification of receipt of your grant application. If you do not receive this notification within 15 business days from the application deadline date, you should call the U.S. Department of Education Application Control Center at

(202)245-6288. V. Application Review Information 1. *Selection Criteria:* The selection criteria for this competition are from the notice of final selection criteria and other application requirements published in the **Federal Register** on April 15, 2005 (70 FR 19939). The Secretary uses the following selection criteria to evaluate applications under this program. The maximum score for all of these criteria is 100 points.

(1)*Project Quality* (50 points). The Secretary considers the quality of the proposed project by considering—

(a)The likelihood that the proposed project will develop, implement, and strengthen programs to teach traditional American history as a separate academic subject (not as a component of social studies) within elementary school and secondary school curricula.

(b)How specific traditional American history content will be covered by the grant (including the significant issues, episodes, and turning points in the history of the United States; how the words and deeds of individuals have determined the course of our Nation; and how the principles of freedom and democracy articulated in the founding documents of this Nation have shaped America's struggles and achievements and its social, political, and legal institutions and relations); the format in which the project will deliver the history content; and the quality of the staff and consultants responsible for delivering these content-based professional development activities, emphasizing, where relevant, their postsecondary teaching experience and scholarship in subject areas relevant to the teaching of traditional American history. The applicant may also attach curriculum vitae for individuals who will provide the content training to the teachers.

(c)How well the applicant describes a plan that meets the statutory requirement to carry out activities under the grant in partnership with one or more of the following:

(i)An institution of higher education.

(ii)A nonprofit history or humanities organization.

(iii)A library or museum.

(d)The applicant's rationale for selecting the partner(s) and its description of specific activities that the partner(s) will contribute to the grant during each year of the project. The applicant should include a memorandum of understanding or detailed letters of commitment from the partner(s) in an appendix to the application narrative. Note: The Secretary encourages applicants to address this criterion by providing a detailed description of the actual history subject content of the professional development and teacher education activities to be carried out under this grant. The Secretary also encourages applicants to include a discussion of the research base for the professional development strategies and how this research can be used to assist the applicant in designing a project that ensures successful achievement of project objectives. Finally, the Secretary encourages applicants to describe their efforts to conduct a needs assessment of teachers' content needs and describe how that needs assessment is part of a comprehensive, long-term strategy to upgrade teacher quality throughout the school districts.

(2)*Significance* (20 points). The Secretary considers the significance of the proposed project. In determining the significance of the project, the Secretary considers—

(a)The extent to which the proposed project is likely to build local capacity to improve or expand the LEA's ability to provide American history teachers professional development in traditional American history subject content and content-related teaching strategies.

(b)The importance or magnitude of the results or outcomes likely to be attained by the proposed project, especially improvements in teaching and student achievement.

(c)How teachers will use the knowledge acquired from project activities to improve the quality of instruction. This description may include plans for reviewing how teachers' lesson planning and classroom teaching are affected by their participation in project activities. Note: In meeting this criterion, the Secretary encourages the applicant to include a description of its commitment to build local capacity by primarily serving teachers in its LEA or consortium of LEAs. The Secretary also encourages the applicant to include background and statistical information to explain the project's significance. For example, the applicant could include information on: The extent to which teachers in the LEA are not certified in history or social studies; student achievement data in American history; and rates of student participation in courses such as Advanced Placement U.S. History.

(3)*Quality of the management plan* (15 points). The Secretary considers the quality of the management plan for the proposed project. In determining the quality of the management plan for the proposed project, the Secretary considers the following factors:

(a)The adequacy of the management plan to achieve the objectives of the proposed project on time and within budget, including clearly defined responsibilities, timelines, and milestones for accomplishing project tasks.

(b)The extent to which the time commitments of the project director and other key project personnel are appropriate and adequate to meet the objectives of the proposed project. Note: The Secretary encourages applicants to address this criterion by including in the narrative the roles of partners in each phase of the project. In addition, applicants are encouraged to consider how they might demonstrate (e.g., through narrative discussion, letters of support, or formal memoranda of understanding) the commitment of partners to the project and the partners' understanding of responsibilities they have agreed to assume in service delivery. Finally, applicants may include in this narrative a schedule of activities with sufficient time for developing an adequate implementation plan.

(4)*Quality of the project evaluation* (15 points). The Secretary considers the quality of the evaluation to be conducted on the proposed project. In determining the quality of the evaluation, the Secretary considers:

(a)The extent to which the methods of evaluation include the use of objective performance measures that are clearly related to the intended outcomes of the project and will produce quantitative and qualitative data to the extent possible.

(b)How well the evaluation plans are aligned with the project design explained under the *Project Quality* criterion.

(c)Whether the evaluation includes benchmarks to monitor progress toward specific project objectives, and outcome measures to assess the impact on teaching and learning or other important outcomes for project participants.

(d)Whether the applicant identifies the individual and/or organization that has agreed to serve as evaluator for the project and includes a description of the qualifications of that evaluator.

(e)The extent to which the applicant indicates the following:

(i)What types of data will be collected.

(ii)When various types of data will be collected.

(iii)What methods will be used to collect data.

(iv)What data collection instruments will be developed.

(v)How the data will be analyzed.

(vi)When reports of results and outcomes will be available.

(vii)How the applicant will use the information collected through the evaluation to monitor the progress of the funded project and to provide accountability information both about success at the initial site and about effective strategies for replication in other settings.

(viii)How the applicant will devote an appropriate level of resources to project evaluation. Note: The Secretary encourages applicants to describe the project's capability to address the Teaching American History performance indicators (see section entitled “Performance Measures”). Further, applicants are encouraged to describe how their evaluation plans will be designed to collect both output data (number of teacher participants, number of workshops held, etc.) and outcome data (improvements in teacher classroom practice, increases in student history achievement, etc.). Finally, applicants are encouraged to select an independent, objective evaluator who has experience in evaluating educational programs and who will play an active role in the design and development of the project. VI. Award Administration Information 1. *Award Notices:* If your application is successful, we notify your U.S. Representative and U.S. Senators and send you a Grant Award Notification (GAN). We may also notify you informally. If your application is not evaluated or not selected for funding, we notify you. 2. *Administrative and National Policy Requirements:* We identify administrative and national policy requirements in the application package and reference these and other requirements in the *Applicable Regulations* section of this notice. We reference the regulations outlining the terms and conditions of an award in the *Applicable Regulations* section of this notice and include these and other specific conditions in the GAN. The GAN also incorporates your approved application as part of your binding commitments under the grant. Budgets should include funds for at least two project staff members to attend a two-day annual meeting of the Teaching American History Grant program in Washington, DC, each year of the project. Applicants also should include in their budgets' funds to cover the travel and lodging expenses for these training activities during each year of the project. 3. *Reporting:* At the end of your project period, you must submit a final performance report, including financial information, as directed by the Secretary. If you receive a multi-year award, you must submit an annual performance report that provides the most current performance and financial expenditure information as specified by the Secretary in 34 CFR 75.118. For specific requirements on grantee reporting, please go to *http://www.ed.gov/fund/grant/apply/appforms/appforms.html.* 4. *Performance Measures:* We have established two performance measures for the Teaching American History program. The measures are:

(1)Students in experimental and quasi-experimental studies of educational effectiveness of Teaching American History projects will demonstrate higher achievement on course content measures and/or statewide U.S. history assessments than students in control and comparison groups, and

(2)Teachers will demonstrate an increased understanding of American history through the use of nationally validated tests of American history that can be directly linked to their participation in the Teaching American History program. VII. Agency Contact *For Further Information Contact:* Alex Stein or Emily Fitzpatrick, U.S. Department of Education, 400 Maryland Avenue, SW., room 4W206, Washington, DC 20202-6200. Telephone: Alex Stein

(202)205-9085 or Emily Fitzpatrick

(202)260-1498 or by e-mail: *TeachingAmericanHistory@ed.gov.* If you use a telecommunications device for the deaf (TDD), you may call the Federal Relay Service

(FRS)at 1-800-877-8339. Individuals with disabilities may obtain this document in an alternative format (e.g., Braille, large print, audiotape, or computer diskette) on request to the program contact persons listed in this section. VIII. Other Information *Electronic Access to This Document:* You may view this document, as well as all other documents of this Department published in the **Federal Register** , in text or Adobe Portable Document Format

(PDF)on the Internet at the following site: *http://www.ed.gov/news/fedregister.* To use PDF you must have Adobe Acrobat Reader, which is available free at this site. If you have questions about using PDF, call the U.S. Government Printing Office (GPO), toll free, at 1-888-293-6498; or in the Washington, DC, area at

(202)512-1530. Note: The official version of this document is the document published in the **Federal Register** . Free Internet access to the official edition of the **Federal Register** and the Code of Federal Regulations is available on GPO Access at: *http://www.gpoaccess.gov/nara/index.html.* Dated: January 3, 2007. Morgan S. Brown, Assistant Deputy Secretary for Innovation and Improvement. [FR Doc. E7-33 Filed 1-5-07; 8:45 am] BILLING CODE 4000-01-P DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION Office of Innovation and Improvement; Overview Information; Transition to Teaching Grant Program; Notice Inviting Applications for New Awards for Fiscal Year

(FY)2007 *Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance

(CFDA)Number:* 84.350A, 84.350B, and 84.350. *Dates: Applications Available:* January 8, 2007. *Deadline for Notice of Intent to Apply:* February 7, 2007. *Pre-Application Meeting:* A pre-application meeting for prospective applicants will be held in January 2007 in Washington, DC. Further information on the date, time, and location will be made available through a notice published in the **Federal Register** and through the Transition to Teaching Web site at *http://www.ed.gov/programs/transitionteach.* *Deadline for Transmittal of Applications:* March 26, 2007. *Deadline for Intergovernmental Review:* May 23, 2007. *Eligible Applicants:* A State educational agency (SEA); a high-need local educational agency (LEA); a for-profit or nonprofit organization that has a proven record of effectively recruiting and retaining highly qualified teachers, in a partnership with a high-need LEA or an SEA; an institution of higher education

(IHE)in a partnership with a high-need LEA or an SEA; a regional consortium of SEAs; or a consortium of high-need LEAs. For further information on whether an LEA qualifies as a “high-need LEA,” see section III. 1. *Eligible Applicants* in this notice. *Estimated Available Funds:* The Administration has requested $44,484,000 for this program for FY 2007, of which we intend to use an estimated $19,000,000 for this competition. The actual level of funding, if any, depends on final Congressional action. However, we are inviting applications to allow enough time to complete the grant process if Congress appropriates funds for this program. The Department has established separate funding categories for projects of different scope. These categories are:

(1)National/regional projects (84.350C) that serve eligible high-need LEAs in more than one State;

(2)Statewide projects (84.350B) that serve eligible high-need LEAs statewide or eligible high-need LEAs in more than one area of a State; and

(1)the development and expansion of alternative routes to full State teacher certification, as well as

(2)the recruitment and retention of highly qualified mid-career professionals, recent college graduates who have not majored in education, and highly qualified paraprofessionals as teachers in high-need schools operated by high-need LEAs, including charter schools that operate as high-need LEAs. *Priorities:* The Department has established two competitive preference priorities that are explained in the following paragraphs. In accordance with 34 CFR 75.105(b)(2)(iv), Competitive Preference Priority 1 is from section 2313(c) of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965, as amended

(ESEA)(20 U.S.C. 6683(c)). Competitive Preference Priority 2 is from the notice of final priorities and requirements for this program, published in the **Federal Register** on April 30, 2004 (69 FR 24002) (NFP). *Competitive Preference Priorities:* For FY 2007, these priorities are competitive preference priorities. Under 34 CFR 75.105(c)(2)(i), we award an additional 5 points to an application that meets Competitive Preference Priority 1, and up to an additional 10 points to an application, depending on how well the application meets Competitive Preference Priority 2. These points are in addition to any points the application earns under the program's selection criteria. The priorities are: *Competitive Preference Priority 1—Partnerships or Consortia that Include a High-need LEA or a High-need SEA.* This priority supports projects that are designed and implemented in active partnerships or consortia that include at least one high-need LEA or high-need SEA. *Competitive Preference Priority 2—District Projects to Streamline Teacher Hiring Systems, Timelines, and Processes.* This priority supports projects by one or more high-need LEAs to streamline their hiring systems, timelines, and processes. The project period is up to five years. A participating high-need LEA will need to conduct both of the following activities:

(a)*Examine its current hiring system, processes, and policies to identify the critical barriers to hiring highly qualified teachers.* The lack of highly qualified teachers in most urban and rural LEAs has often been attributed to their difficulty in recruiting interested and qualified individuals. However, recent research indicates that the problem may not be one of recruitment but may stem from inefficient and untimely LEA hiring systems and processes. This is especially true in high-poverty LEAs and schools—the very LEAs and schools the Transition to Teaching program is targeted to serve. Accordingly, each participating LEA will need to examine its current hiring processes and policies and, based upon that examination, identify the critical barriers to hiring highly qualified teachers.

(b)*Design and implement efforts to remove the identified barriers and put in place systems that streamline and revamp the hiring process.* In conducting this activity, LEAs are encouraged to create an efficient and timely applicant hiring process with a strong data tracking system and clear hiring goals. These efforts also should involve negotiating policy reforms that remove critical barriers, such as delayed notification of vacancies and seniority and retirement rules. Participating LEAs also will carry out the requirements of the Transition to Teaching program by recruiting nontraditional candidates, using the streamlined hiring system to hire these individuals for teaching in high-need schools, working with them to achieve full State certification, and retaining them for at least three years. Note: Applicants that choose to respond to Competitive Preference Priority 2 may do so however they choose. Those that respond to this priority may want to consider addressing such key factors as:

(1)The existing barriers to early notification and hiring of new teachers;

(2)the active engagement of LEA officials, teacher unions, and other stakeholders in developing a plan to remove existing barriers and implementing changes;

(3)the actions each participating LEA intends to undertake to implement policies and systems for early notification and hiring of new teachers; and

(4)a timeline for major action steps that each participating LEA intends to implement to develop the new hiring policies and systems. Program Authority: 20 U.S.C. 6681-6684. *Applicable Regulations:*

(a)The Education Department General Administrative Regulations (EDGAR) in 34 CFR parts 74, 75, 77, 79, 80, 81, 82, 84, 85, 86, 97, 98 and 99.

(b)The notice of final priorities and requirements for this program published in the **Federal Register** on April 30, 2004 (69 FR 24002) (NFP). Note: The regulations in 34 CFR part 79 apply to all applicants except federally recognized Indian tribes. Note: The regulations in 34 CFR part 86 apply to IHEs only. II. Award Information *Type of Award:* Discretionary grants. *Estimated Available Funds* : The Administration has requested $44,484,000 for this program for FY 2007, of which we intend to use an estimated $19,000,000 for this competition. The actual level of funding, if any, depends on final Congressional action. However, we are inviting applications to allow enough time to complete the grant process if Congress appropriates funds for this program. The Department has established separate funding categories for projects of different scope. These categories are:

(1)National/regional projects (84.350C) that serve eligible high-need LEAs in more than one State;

(2)Statewide projects (84.350B) that serve eligible high-need LEAs statewide or eligible high-need LEAs in more than one area of a State; and

(3)Local projects (84.350A) that serve one eligible high-need LEA or two or more eligible high-need LEAs in a single area of a State. *Estimated Range of Awards:* National/regional projects—$350,000-$750,000 per year; Statewide projects—$250,000-$650,000 per year; and Local projects—$150,000-$450,000 per year. *Estimated Average Size of Awards:* National/regional projects—$600,000 per year; Statewide projects—$375,000 per year; and Local projects—$225,000 per year. *Estimated Number of Awards:* National/regional projects—5; Statewide projects—20; and Local projects—40. Note: The Department is not bound by any estimates in this notice. *Project Period:* Up to 60 months. III. Eligibility Information 1. * Eligible Applicants:* An SEA; a high-need LEA; a for-profit or nonprofit organization that has a proven record of effectively recruiting and retaining highly qualified teachers, in a partnership with a high-need LEA or an SEA; an IHE in a partnership with a high-need LEA or an SEA; a regional consortium of SEAs; or a consortium of high-need LEAs. Each application must identify participating LEAs that meet the definition of “high-need LEA” in section 2102(3) of the ESEA. Note: Section 2102(3) of the ESEA defines a high-need LEA as an LEA—

(a)That serves not fewer than 10,000 children from families with incomes below the poverty line (as that term is defined in section 9101(33) of the ESEA), or for which not less than 20 percent of the children served by the LEA are from families with incomes below the poverty line; and

(b)For which there is

(1)a high percentage of teachers not teaching in the academic subjects or grade levels that the teachers were trained to teach, or

(2)a high percentage of teachers with emergency, provisional, or temporary certification or licensing. The NFP describes how applicants must demonstrate that a participating LEA meets this statutory definition of “high-need LEA.” (69 FR 24002, 24006) Pursuant to the NFP, we provide the following supplementary information regarding the data an applicant uses to demonstrate eligibility as a “high-need LEA” under this competition: As described in the NFP, absent a showing of alternative LEA data that reliably show the number of children from families with incomes below the poverty line that are served by the LEA, the eligibility of an LEA as a “high-need LEA” under component

(a)of the definition must be determined on the basis of the most recent U.S. Census Bureau data. The most recent U.S. Census Bureau data can be found in the charts on the Internet at: *http://www.census.gov/hhes/www/saipe/downloads/sd04/.* The Department examines the eligibility of any LEA not listed on these charts on a case-by-case basis. As discussed in the NFP, with respect to component (b)(1) of the definition of “high-need LEA,” whether an LEA has a “high percentage of teachers not teaching in the academic subjects or grade levels that the teachers were trained to teach” is determined on a case-by-case basis. In addition, as noted in the NFP, with respect to component (b)(2) of the definition of “high-need LEA,” an LEA has a “high percentage” of teachers with emergency, provisional, or temporary certification or licensing if the percentage of teachers on waivers, as the LEA reported to the State for purposes of the State's latest report to the Secretary under section 207 of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (HEA), was at least the national average percentage of teachers on waivers of State certification for all LEAs. As outlined in the NFP, the Secretary determines the national average percentage of teachers on waivers based on data contained in the most currently available HEA section 207 State reports. At the time of publication of this notice, the Department has received all 2006 State HEA section 207 reports and those reports reflect a national percentage of teachers on waivers of State certification in all LEAs of 1.8 percent. Because the Department is in the process of certifying all data received in the 2006 State HEA section 207 reports, the data in these reports, including the national average of teachers on waivers of State certification, are still provisional. However, to provide adequate time for the preparation and review of project applications and award of new grants before FY 2007 program funds lapse on September 30, 2007, the Department will use the 1.8 percent national average for purposes of this competition. Accordingly, an LEA will be considered to have met component (b)(2) of the definition if the data that it provided to the State for purposes of the State's October 2006 HEA section 207 report demonstrate that at least 1.8 percent of its teachers were on waivers of State certification requirements. 2. *Cost Sharing or Matching:* This program does not involve cost sharing or matching but does involve supplement-not-supplant funding provisions. In accordance with section 2313(h)(2) of the ESEA, funds made available under this section shall be used to supplement, and not supplant, State and local public funds expended for teacher recruitment and retention programs, including programs to recruit teachers through alternative routes to certification. 3. *Other:* The NFP describes eligibility restrictions for individuals participating in this program. IV. Application and Submission Information 1. *Address to Request Application Package:* Education Publications Center (ED Pubs), P.O. Box 1398, Jessup, MD 20794-1398. Telephone (toll free): 1-877-433-7827. FAX:

(301)470-1244. If you use a telecommunications device for the deaf (TDD), you may call (toll free): 1-877-576-7734. You may also contact ED Pubs at its Web site: *http://www.ed.gov/pubs/edpubs.html* or you may contact ED Pubs at its e-mail address: *edpubs@inet.ed.gov.* If you request an application from ED Pubs, be sure to identify this competition as follows: CFDA number 84.350A, 84.350B, or 84.350C. Individuals with disabilities may obtain a copy of the application package in an alternative format (e.g., Braille, large print, audiotape, or computer diskette) by contacting the program contact person listed under FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT in section VII of this notice. 2. *Content and Form of Application Submission:* Requirements concerning the content of an application, together with the forms you must submit, are in the application package for this competition. Additional information concerning application content requirements is in the NFP. *Notice of Intent to Apply:* February 7, 2007. The Department will be able to develop a more efficient process for reviewing grant applications if it has a better understanding of the number of entities that intend to apply for funding under this competition. Therefore, the Secretary strongly encourages each potential applicant to notify the Department by sending a short e-mail message indicating the applicant's intent to submit an application for funding. The e-mail need not include information regarding the content of the proposed application, only the applicant's intent to submit it. The Secretary requests that this e-mail notification be sent to Thelma Leenhouts at: *transitiontoteaching@ed.gov.* Applicants that fail to provide this e-mail notification may still apply for funding. *Page Limit:* The application narrative (Part III of the application) is where you, the applicant, address the selection criteria that reviewers use to evaluate your application. Applicants must limit Part III to the equivalent of no more than 50 pages, using the following standards: • A “page” is 8.5″ × 11″, on one side only, with 1″ margins at the top, bottom, and both sides. • Double space (no more than three lines per vertical inch) all text in the application narrative, except titles, headings, footnotes, quotations, references, and captions, as well as all text in charts, tables, figures and graphs. • Use a font that is either 12 point or larger or no smaller than 10 pitch (characters per inch). The page limit does not apply to Part I, the cover sheet; Part II, the budget section, including the narrative budget justification; Part IV, the assurances and certifications; or the one-page abstract, the resumes, or letters of support. However, you must include all of the application narrative in Part III. Our reviewers will not read any pages of your application that— • Exceed the page limit if you apply these standards; or • Exceed the equivalent of the page limit if you apply other standards. 3. *Submission Dates and Times:* *Applications Available:* January 8, 2007. *Deadline for Notice of Intent to Apply:* February 7, 2007. *Pre-Application Meeting:* A pre-application meeting for prospective applicants will be held in January 2007 in Washington, DC. Further information on the date, time, and location will be made available through a notice published in the **Federal Register** and through the Transition to Teaching Web site at *http://www.ed.gov/programs/transitionteach.* *Deadline for Transmittal of Applications:* March 26, 2007. Applications for grants under this program competition must be submitted electronically using the Grants.gov Apply site (Grants.gov). For information (including dates and times) about how to submit your application electronically, or by mail or hand delivery if you qualify for an exception to the electronic submission requirement, please refer to section IV.6. *Other Submission Requirements* in this notice. We do not consider an application that does not comply with the deadline requirements. Individuals with disabilities who need an accommodation or auxiliary aid in connection with the application process should contact the person listed under FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT . *Deadline for Intergovernmental Review:* May 23, 2007. 4. *Intergovernmental Review:* This competition is subject to Executive Order 12372 and the regulations in 34 CFR part 79. Information about Intergovernmental Review of Federal Programs under Executive Order 12372 is in the application package for this competition. 5. *Funding Restrictions:* We reference regulations outlining funding restrictions in the *Applicable Regulations* section of this notice and in the NFP. 6. *Other Submission Requirements.* Applications for grants under this program must be submitted electronically unless you qualify for an exception to this requirement in accordance with the instructions in this section. a. *Electronic Submission of Applications.* Applications for grants under the Transition to Teaching Competition—CFDA Number 84.350A, 84.350B, and 84.350C must be submitted electronically using the Governmentwide Grants.gov Apply site at *http://www.Grants.gov* . Through this site, you will be able to download a copy of the application package, complete it offline, and then upload and submit your application. You may not e-mail an electronic copy of a grant application to us. We will reject your application if you submit it in paper format unless, as described elsewhere in this section, you qualify for one of the exceptions to the electronic submission requirement and submit, no later than two weeks before the application deadline date, a written statement to the Department that you qualify for one of these exceptions. Further information regarding calculation of the date that is two weeks before the application deadline date is provided later in this section under *Exception to Electronic Submission Requirement* . You may access the electronic grant application for Transition to Teaching at *http://www.Grants.gov* . You must search for the downloadable application package for this program or competition by the CFDA number. Do not include the CFDA number's alpha suffix in your search (e.g., search for 84.350, not 84.350A). Please note the following: • When you enter the Grants.gov site, you will find information about submitting an application electronically through the site, as well as the hours of operation. • Applications received by Grants.gov are date and time stamped. Your application must be fully uploaded and submitted, and must be date and time stamped by the Grants.gov system no later than 4:30 p.m., Washington, DC time, on the application deadline date. Except as otherwise noted in this section, we will not consider your application if it is date and time stamped by the Grants.gov system later than 4:30 p.m., Washington, DC time, on the application deadline date. When we retrieve your application from Grants.gov, we will notify you if we are rejecting your application because it was date and time stamped by the Grants.gov system after 4:30 p.m., Washington, DC time, on the application deadline date. • The amount of time it can take to upload an application will vary depending on a variety of factors including the size of the application and the speed of your Internet connection. Therefore, we strongly recommend that you do not wait until the application deadline date to begin the submission process through Grants.gov. • You should review and follow the Education Submission Procedures for submitting an application through Grants.gov that are included in the application package for this program to ensure that you submit your application in a timely manner to the Grants.gov system. You can also find the Education Submission Procedures pertaining to Grants.gov at *http://e-Grants.ed.gov/help/GrantsgovSubmissionProcedures.pdf* . • To submit your application via Grants.gov, you must complete all steps in the Grants.gov registration process (see *http://www.grants.gov/applicants/get_registered.jsp* ). These steps include

(1)registering your organization, a multi-part process that includes registration with the Central Contractor Registry (CCR);

(2)registering yourself as an Authorized Organization Representative (AOR); and

(3)getting authorized as an AOR by your organization. Details on these steps are outlined in the Grants.gov 3-Step Registration Guide (see *http://www.grants.gov/section910/Grants.govRegistrationBrochure.pdf* ). You also must provide on your application the same D-U-N-S Number used with this registration. Please note that the registration process may take five or more business days to complete, and you must have completed all registration steps to allow you to submit successfully an application via Grants.gov. In addition you will need to update your CCR registration on an annual basis. This may take three or more business days to complete. • You will not receive additional point value because you submit your application in electronic format, nor will we penalize you if you qualify for an exception to the electronic submission requirement, as described elsewhere in this section, and submit your application in paper format. • You must submit all documents electronically, including all information you typically provide on the following forms: Application for Federal Assistance (SF 424), the Department of Education Supplemental Information for SF 424, Budget Information—Non- Construction Programs (ED 524), and all necessary assurances and certifications. Please note that two of these forms—the SF 424 and the Department of Education Supplemental Information for SF 424—have replaced the ED 424 (Application for Federal Education Assistance). • You must attach any narrative sections of your application as files in a .DOC (document), .RTF (rich text), or .PDF (Portable Document) format. If you upload a file type other than the three file types specified in this paragraph or submit a password-protected file, we will not review that material. • Your electronic application must comply with any page-limit requirements described in this notice. • After you electronically submit your application, you will receive from Grants.gov an automatic notification of receipt that contains a Grants.gov tracking number. (This notification indicates receipt by Grants.gov only, not receipt by the Department.) The Department then will retrieve your application from Grants.gov and send a second notification to you by e-mail. This second notification indicates that the Department has received your application and has assigned your application a PR/Award number (an ED-specified identifying number unique to your application). • We may request that you provide us original signatures on forms at a later date. *Application Deadline Date Extension in Case of Technical Issues with the Grants.gov System:* If you are experiencing problems submitting your application through Grants.gov, please contact the Grants.gov Support Desk at 1-800-518-4726. You must obtain a Grants.gov Support Desk Case Number and must keep a record of it. If you are prevented from electronically submitting your application on the application deadline date because of technical problems with the Grants.gov system, we will grant you an extension until 4:30 p.m., Washington, DC time, the following business day to enable you to transmit your application electronically or by hand delivery. You also may mail your application by following the mailing instructions described elsewhere in this notice. If you submit an application after 4:30 p.m., Washington, DC time, on the application deadline date, please contact the person listed elsewhere in this notice under FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT and provide an explanation of the technical problem you experienced with Grants.gov, along with the Grants.gov Support Desk Case Number. We will accept your application if we can confirm that a technical problem occurred with the Grants.gov system and that that problem affected your ability to submit your application by 4:30 p.m., Washington, DC time, on the application deadline date. The Department will contact you after a determination is made on whether your application will be accepted. Note: The extensions to which we refer in this section apply only to the unavailability of, or technical problems with, the Grants.gov system. We will not grant you an extension if you failed to fully register to submit your application to Grants.gov before the application deadline date and time or if the technical problem you experienced is unrelated to the Grants.gov system. *Exception to Electronic Submission Requirement:* You qualify for an exception to the electronic submission requirement, and may submit your application in paper format, if you are unable to submit an application through the Grants.gov system because— • You do not have access to the Internet; or • You do not have the capacity to upload large documents to the Grants.gov system; and • No later than two weeks before the application deadline date (14 calendar days or, if the fourteenth calendar day before the application deadline date falls on a Federal holiday, the next business day following the Federal holiday), you mail or fax a written statement to the Department, explaining which of the two grounds for an exception prevent you from using the Internet to submit your application. If you mail your written statement to the Department, it must be postmarked no later than two weeks before the application deadline date. If you fax your written statement to the Department, we must receive the faxed statement no later than two weeks before the application deadline date. Address and mail or fax your statement to: Thelma Leenhouts, U.S. Department of Education, 400 Maryland Avenue, SW., room 4W302, Washington, DC 20202-5960. FAX:

(202)401-8466. Your paper application must be submitted in accordance with the mail or hand delivery instructions described in this notice. b. *Submission of Paper Applications by Mail.* If you qualify for an exception to the electronic submission requirement, you may mail (through the U.S. Postal Service or a commercial carrier) your application to the Department. You must mail the original and two copies of your application, on or before the application deadline date, to the Department at the applicable following address: *By mail through the U.S. Postal Service:* U.S. Department of Education, Application Control Center, Attention: (CFDA Numbers: 84.350A, 84.350B, or 84.350C), 400 Maryland Avenue, SW., Washington, DC 20202-4260; or *By mail through a commercial carrier:* U.S. Department of Education, Application Control Center, Stop 4260, Attention: (CFDA Numbers: 84.350A, 84.350B, or 84.350C), 7100 Old Landover Road, Landover, MD 20785-1506. Regardless of which address you use, you must show proof of mailing consisting of one of the following:

(1)A legibly dated U.S. Postal Service postmark.

(2)A legible mail receipt with the date of mailing stamped by the U.S. Postal Service.

(3)A dated shipping label, invoice, or receipt from a commercial carrier.

(1)A private metered postmark.

(2)A mail receipt that is not dated by the U.S. Postal Service. If your application is postmarked after the application deadline date, we will not consider your application. Note: The U.S. Postal Service does not uniformly provide a dated postmark. Before relying on this method, you should check with your local post office. c. *Submission of Paper Applications by Hand Delivery* . If you qualify for an exception to the electronic submission requirement, you (or a courier service) may deliver your paper application to the Department by hand. You must deliver the original and two copies of your application by hand, on or before the application deadline date, to the Department at the following address: U.S. Department of Education, Application Control Center, Attention: (CFDA Numbers: 84.350A, 84.350B, or 84.350C), 550 12th Street, SW., Room 7041, Potomac Center Plaza, Washington, DC 20202-4260. The Application Control Center accepts hand deliveries daily between 8 a.m. and 4:30 p.m., Washington, DC time, except Saturdays, Sundays, and Federal holidays. *Note for Mail or Hand Delivery of Paper Applications:* If you mail or hand deliver your application to the Department—

(202)245-6288. V. Application Review Information 1. *Selection Criteria:* The selection criteria for this competition are from the statute for this program and § 75.210 of EDGAR and are listed in this section. The maximum score for all the selection criteria is 100 points. The maximum score for each criterion is indicated in parentheses. Each criterion also includes the factors that the reviewers will consider in determining how well an application meets the criterion. In addressing each criterion, applicants are encouraged to make explicit connections to relevant aspects of responses to other selection criteria. The *Notes* we have included after each criterion are guidance to assist applicants in understanding the criterion as they prepare their applications and are not required by statute or regulation. A. *Significance of the Project* (20 points). The Secretary considers the significance of the proposed project. In determining the significance of the proposed project, the Secretary considers the following factors:

(1)The significance of the problem or issue to be addressed by the proposed project.

(2)The likelihood that the proposed project will result in system change or improvement.

(3)The extent to which the proposed project involves the development or demonstration of promising new strategies that build on, or are alternatives to, existing strategies.

(4)The extent to which the proposed project is likely to build local capacity to provide, improve, or expand services that address the needs of the target population. Note: The Secretary encourages applicants to address this criterion by identifying specific gaps and weaknesses in the services and infrastructure currently in place for the recruitment, selection, preparation, placement, and retention of teachers and by stating how the proposed project will address these gaps and weaknesses. The Secretary encourages applicants to identify

(1)current barriers that the high-need LEAs to be served by the project face in meeting their teacher recruitment needs, including, if relevant, barriers caused by existing State certification or licensure requirements,

(2)why these barriers exist, and

(3)how the project would significantly help those LEAs overcome these barriers. Applicants are also encouraged to address this criterion by connecting the project design to the needs of the partner districts and identifying the specific teacher-shortage areas faced by the participating high-need LEAs on which their proposed projects would focus. These may include such high-need subject areas as mathematics, science, special education, and English as a second language, and particular grade levels, including middle and high schools. Applicants should understand that a project's strategy for helping participating high-need LEAs to identify and hire highly qualified individuals to fill teaching positions in high-need subjects may rely on existing alternative routes to certification, the expansion of alternative routes to certification into new areas, or the creation of wholly new alternative routes. B. *Quality of the Project Design* (30 points). The Secretary considers the quality of the project design for the proposed project by considering how well the applicant describes a plan—

(1)To develop a program to recruit and retain highly qualified mid-career professionals (including highly qualified paraprofessionals) and recent graduates of an IHE as teachers in high-need schools operated by high-need LEAs; and

(2)To enable individuals to become eligible for teacher certification under State-approved alternative routes to certification programs within a reduced period of time, relying on such factors as experience, expertise, and academic qualifications in lieu of traditional course-work in education. In considering the quality of the project design and the applicant's plan, the Secretary considers the following factors:

(a)The extent to which the goals, objectives, and outcomes to be achieved by the proposed project are clearly specified and measurable.

(b)The extent to which the design of the proposed project reflects up-to-date knowledge from research and effective practice.

(c)The extent to which the design of the proposed project is appropriate to, and will successfully address, the needs of the target population or other identified needs.

(d)The extent to which the proposed project is designed to build capacity and yield results that will extend beyond the period of Federal financial assistance. Note: The Secretary encourages applicants to address this criterion by discussing the overall project model and its key components, and the degree to which the model's key components are based on sound research and practice, as well as the extent to which the proposed services address the identified needs of the participating high-need LEAs. Applicants may want to address such key components of project design as:

(1)Recruitment and selection, including identifying the target group(s) on which the program will focus and why and how the program is designed to rigorously select participants with the requisite content knowledge, skills, and commitment to teach in high-need LEAs and schools.

(2)Training and preparation, including how the project provides a route to certification that is accelerated, integrates coursework and field experience, and is adapted to participants' learning needs.

(3)Support services, including mentoring, that are designed to retain participants and meet their needs in terms of length, content, and means of delivery in order to be successful in high-needs schools and LEAs.

(4)Teacher placement, including evidence that the proposed project will meet the needs of high-need LEAs and is developed in coordination with appropriate partners, and that the project includes a system of tracking to meet statutory requirements.

(5)Certification, including consideration of how the timeline for achieving certification will meet the needs of participants, LEAs, and partners, as well as the “Highly Qualified Teacher” requirements established in section 9101(23) of the ESEA. In addition, applicants are encouraged to clarify the means by which the project's specified outcomes and benefits may be sustained once Federal funding has ended. C. *Quality of Project Services* (20 points). In determining the quality of the services to be provided by the proposed project, the Secretary considers the following factors:

(1)The extent to which the services to be provided by the proposed project are appropriate to the needs of the intended recipients or beneficiaries of those services.

(2)The extent to which the training or professional development services to be provided by the proposed project are of sufficient quality, intensity, and duration to lead to improvements in practice among the recipients of those services.

(3)The extent to which the training or professional development services to be provided by the proposed project are likely to alleviate the personnel shortages that have been identified or are the focus of the proposed project.

(4)The extent to which the services to be provided by the proposed project involve the collaboration of appropriate partners for maximizing the effectiveness of project services. Note: The Secretary encourages applicants to address this criterion by discussing how the proposed project services will meet the needs both of the high-need LEAs identified in the application and of the program participants they would recruit to become teachers. Applicants are encouraged to consult the list of authorized activities in section 2313(g) of the ESEA in describing the specific services to be delivered to recruit, prepare, and retain participants that will increase the number of highly qualified teachers in high-need schools in high-need LEAs. In addition, the Secretary encourages applicants to consider carefully the breadth of activities that section 2313(g) of the ESEA authorizes and then to address how the project will:

(1)Provide training that meets the learning needs of the participants and makes use of appropriate media (such as face-to-face instruction, Web-based instruction, and distance learning) to provide them with the skills needed to be highly qualified and effective teachers in the identified high-need subject areas and high-need schools and LEAs.

(2)Support project participants' success in high-need schools and LEAs, during the period of their service obligation, through individual mentoring, support of participants as a group, use of technology, or other appropriate means.

(3)Encourage the participation of all project partners, including school leaders, in providing services related to the recruitment, preparation, and retention of project participants and ensuring lasting benefits or outcomes. Applicants are encouraged to clarify the roles of partners in each phase of the project and the extent of coordination that will occur with similar efforts at the State and district levels. In addition, applicants are encouraged to consider how they might demonstrate (e.g., through narrative discussion, letters of support, or formal memoranda of understanding) the commitment of partners to the project, and the partners' understanding of responsibilities they have agreed to assume in service delivery. D. *Quality of the Management Plan* (15 points). In determining the quality of the management plan for the proposed project, the Secretary considers the adequacy of the management plan to achieve the objectives of the proposed project on time and within budget, including clearly defined responsibilities, timelines, and milestones for accomplishing project tasks. Note: Section 75.112 of EDGAR requires an applicant for a multi-year grant to include a narrative that describes how and when, in each budget period of the project, the applicant plans to meet each project objective. The Secretary encourages applicants to address this criterion by including in this narrative a clear, well thought-out implementation plan that includes annual timelines, key project milestones, and a schedule of activities with sufficient time for developing an adequate implementation plan, as well as timelines for providing program participants the support they need in their initial years as teachers. E. *Quality of the Project Evaluation* (15 points). The Secretary considers the quality of the evaluation to be conducted of the proposed project. In determining the quality of the evaluation to be conducted, the Secretary considers the following factors:

(1)The extent to which the methods of evaluation include the use of objective performance measures that are clearly related to the intended outcomes of the project and will produce quantitative and qualitative data to the extent possible.

(2)The extent to which the methods of evaluation will provide performance feedback and permit periodic assessment of progress toward achieving intended outcomes. Note: The Secretary encourages applicants to address this criterion by including benchmarks to monitor progress toward specific and measurable project objectives, as well as outcome measures to assess the impact on teaching and learning or other important outcomes for project participants. (The specific performance measures established for the overall Transition to Teaching program are discussed under *Performance Measures* in section VI of this notice. Section 2314 of the ESEA also requires grantees to submit both an interim evaluation of the first three years of the grant and a final evaluation at the end of the grant.) The Secretary also encourages applicants to identify the individual or organization that has agreed to serve as evaluator for the project and describe the qualifications of that evaluator. Finally, with respect to the implementation of the program and monitoring progress toward achieving project objectives, applicants are encouraged to describe the following:

(1)What types of data will be collected;

(2)when various types of data will be collected;

(3)what methods will be used;

(4)what instruments will be developed and when;

(5)how the data will be analyzed;

(6)when reports of results and outcomes will be available; and

(7)how the applicant will use the information collected through the evaluation to monitor progress and improve implementation of the funded project and to provide accountability information about project success. Applicants are encouraged to design an evaluation that provides data for annual as well as midpoint and final reporting. Applicants are encouraged to devote an appropriate level of resources to project evaluation. 2. *Review and Selection Process:* Additional information concerning our review and selection of grant applications in this competition are contained in the NFP. VI. Award Administration Information 1. *Award Notices:* If your application is successful, we notify your U.S. Representative and U.S. Senators and send you a Grant Award Notification (GAN). We may also notify you informally. If your application is not evaluated or not selected for funding, we notify you. 2. *Administrative and National Policy Requirements:* We identify administrative and national policy requirements in the application package and reference these and other requirements in the *Applicable Regulations* section of this notice. We reference the regulations outlining the terms and conditions of an award in the *Applicable Regulations* section of this notice and include these and other specific conditions in the GAN. The GAN also incorporates your approved application as part of your binding commitments under the grant. 3. *Reporting:* The Secretary requires successful applicants to submit annual performance reports and, after the last year of the project, a final report. The annual performance report documents the grantee's yearly progress toward meeting expected programmatic and project specific outcomes. These outcomes must be based on measurable performance objectives including, but not limited to, the performance measures described in paragraph 4 of this section. These reports must evaluate—

(1)The grantee's progress in meeting the application's objectives;

(2)The project's effectiveness in meeting the purposes of the Transition to Teaching program; and

(3)The project's effect on the specific LEAs the project serves. Among other things, the Department uses the annual performance reports to determine whether a grantee has demonstrated substantial progress in meeting the goals and objectives (as described in its approved application), and thereby merits a continuation award (for years 2-5). See § 75.118 of EDGAR. Grantees also will be required to submit a final performance report, due no later than 90 days after the end of the project period. In addition, section 2314 of the ESEA requires grantees to submit to the Department and to the Congress interim and final evaluations at the end of the third and fifth years of the grant period, respectively. These evaluations must describe the extent to which high-need LEAs that received funds through the grant have met their goals relating to teacher recruitment and retention as described in the project application. Additional requirements pertaining to these reports are in the NFP. For specific requirements on grantee reporting, please go to *http://www/ed/gov/fund/grant/apply/appforms.html* . 4. *Performance Measures:* The Secretary has established one performance indicator for assessing the effectiveness of the Transition to Teaching program: the percentage of new, highly qualified Transition to Teaching teachers who teach in high-need schools in high-need LEAs for at least three years. We will track this indicator through the use of the following three performance measures. We will gather the data for these measures from the grantees. *Measure One:* The percentage of all Transition to Teaching participants who become teachers of record in high-need schools in high-need LEAs. For this measure we will collect data on the number of participants and the number of teachers of record in high-need schools in high-need LEAs. *Measure Two:* The percentage of Transition to Teaching participants receiving certification/licensure within three years. For this measure, we will collect data on the number of participants who become certified within three years. *Measure Three:* The percentage of Transition to Teaching teachers of record who teach in high-need schools in high-need LEAs for at least three years. For this measure, we will collect data on the number of participants who become teachers of record who have been teaching in high-need schools in high-need LEAs for at least three years. VII. Agency Contacts *For Further Information Contact:* Thelma Leenhouts or Anthony Sepulveda Taber, U.S. Department of Education, 400 Maryland Avenue, SW., room 4W320, Washington, DC 20202. Telephone:

(202)260-0223 (Thelma Leenhouts) or

(202)260-0464 (Anthony Sepulveda). By e-mail: *transitiontoteaching@ed.gov.* If you use a telecommunications device for the deaf (TDD), you may call the Federal Relay Service

(PDF)on the Internet at the following site: *http://www.ed.gov/news/fedregister* . To use PDF you must have Adobe Acrobat Reader, which is available free at this site. If you have questions about using PDF, call the U.S. Government Printing Office (GPO), toll free, at 1-888-293-6498 or in the Washington, DC, area at

(202)512-1530. Note: The official version of this document is the document published in the **Federal Register** . Free Internet access to the official edition of the **Federal Register** and the Code of Federal Regulations is available on GPO Access at: *http://www.gpoaccess.gov/nara/index.html.* Dated: January 3, 2007. Morgan S. Brown, Assistant Deputy Secretary for Innovation and Improvement. [FR Doc. E7-34 Filed 1-5-07; 8:45 am] BILLING CODE 4000-01-P DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION [CFDA No. 84.031H] Office of Postsecondary Education; Strengthening Institutions (SIP), American Indian Tribally Controlled Colleges and Universities (TCCU), Alaska Native and Native Hawaiian-Serving Institutions

(ANNH)and Developing Hispanic-Serving Institutions

(HSI)Programs Notice Inviting Applications for Designation as Eligible Institutions To Apply for New Awards Under Title III and Title V for Fiscal Year

(FY)2007 *Purpose of Programs:* Under the SIP, TCCU, and ANNH programs, (Title III, Part A programs) authorized under Part A of Title III of the Higher Education Act of 1965, as amended (HEA), institutions of higher education (IHEs or institutions) are eligible to apply for grants if they meet specific statutory and regulatory eligibility requirements. Similarly, IHEs are eligible to apply for grants under the HSI program, authorized under Title V of the HEA, if they meet specific statutory and regulatory requirements. In addition, an institution that is designated as an eligible institution under those programs may also receive a waiver of certain non-Federal cost-share requirements under the Federal Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grant (FSEOG), the Federal Work Study (FWS), the Student Support Services

(SSS)and the Undergraduate International Studies and Foreign Language (UISFL) programs. The FSEOG, FWS, and SSS programs are authorized under Title IV of the HEA; the UISFL program is authorized under Title VI of the HEA. Qualified institutions may receive these waivers even if they are not recipients of grant funds under the Title III, Part A programs or the HSI program. Special Note: To qualify as an eligible institution under the Title III, Part A programs or the HSI program, your institution must satisfy several criteria, including one related to needy student enrollment and one related to average educational and general (E&G) expenditures for a particular base year. The most recent data available for E&G expenditures are for base year 2004-2005. In order to award FY 2007 grants in a timely manner, we will use the most recent data available. Therefore, we use E&G expenditure threshold data from the base year 2004-2005. In completing your eligibility application, please use E&G expenditure data from the base year 2004-2005. If you are designated as an eligible institution and you do not receive a new Title III or Title V award in FY 2007, your eligibility for the non-Federal cost-share waiver under the FSEOG, the FWS, the SSS, and the UISFL programs is valid for five consecutive years. You will not need to reapply for eligibility until 2012, unless you wish to apply for a new Title III or Title V grant. All institutions (including those designated as TCCU and ANNH institutions) that are not designated as eligible institutions and are interested in applying for a FY 2007 new grant or requesting a waiver of the non-Federal cost share, must apply for eligibility designation in FY 2007. *Eligible Applicants:* To qualify as an eligible institution under the Title III, Part A programs or the HSI program, an accredited institution must, among other requirements, have an enrollment of needy students, and its average E&G expenditures per full-time equivalent

(FTE)undergraduate student must be low in comparison with the average E&G expenditures per FTE undergraduate student of institutions that offer similar instruction. The complete eligibility requirements for the Title III, Part A programs are found in 34 CFR 607.2 through 607.5. These regulations may be accessed at the following Web site: *http://www.access.gpo.gov/nara/cfr/waisidx_02/34cfr607_02.html* . The complete eligibility requirements for the HSI program are found in 34 CFR 606.2 through 34 CFR 606.5. These regulations may be accessed at the following Web site: *http://www.access.gpo.gov/nara/cfr/waisidx_01/34cfr606_01.html* . *Enrollment of Needy Students:* Under 34 CFR 606.3(a) and 607.3(a), an institution is considered to have an enrollment of needy students if

(1)At least 50 percent of its degree students received financial assistance under one or more of the following programs: Federal Pell Grant, FSEOG, FWS, and Federal Perkins Loan programs; or

(2)the percentage of its undergraduate degree students who were enrolled on at least a half-time basis and received Federal Pell Grants exceeded the median percentage of undergraduate degree students who were enrolled on at least a half-time basis and received Federal Pell Grants at comparable institutions that offered similar instruction. To qualify under this latter criterion, an institution's Federal Pell Grant percentage for base year 2004-2005 must be more than the median for its category of comparable institutions provided in the table in this notice. *Educational and General Expenditures Per FTE Student:* An institution should compare its 2004-2005 average E&G expenditures per FTE student to the average E&G expenditure per FTE student for its category of comparable institutions contained in the table in this notice. If the institution's average E&G expenditures for the 2004-2005 base year are less than the average for its category of comparable institutions, the institution meets this eligibility requirement. An institution's average E&G expenditures are the total amount it expended during the base year for instruction, research, public service, academic support, student services, institutional support including library expenditures, operation and maintenance, scholarships and fellowships, and mandatory transfers. The following table identifies the relevant median Federal Pell Grant percentages for the base year 2004-2005 and the relevant average E&G expenditures per FTE student for the base year 2004-2005 for the four categories of comparable institutions: Type of institution 2004-2005 Median Pell Grant percentage 2004-2005 Average E&G expenditures per FTE student 2-year Public Institutions 25.6 $9,320 2-year Non-profit Private Institutions 39.7 20,782 4-year Public Institutions 25.8 23,553 4-year Non-profit Private Institutions 26.9 37,105 *Waiver Information:* IHEs that are unable to meet the needy student enrollment requirement or the average E&G expenditures requirement may apply to the Secretary for waivers of these requirements, as described in 34 CFR 606.3(b), 606.4(c) and (d), 607.3(b), and 607.4(c) and (d). Institutions requesting a waiver of the needy student enrollment requirement or the average E&G expenditures requirement must include in their application detailed information supporting the waiver request, as described in the instructions for completing the application. The regulations governing the Secretary's authority to waive the needy student requirement, 34 CFR 606.3(b)(2) and

(3)and 607.3(b)(2) and (3), refer to “low-income” students or families. The regulations define “low-income” as an amount that does not exceed 150 percent of the amount equal to the poverty level, as established by the U.S. Bureau of the Census, 34 CFR 606.3(c) and 607.3(c). For the purposes of this waiver provision, the following table sets forth the low-income levels for the various sizes of families: 2004 Annual Low-Income Levels Size of family unit Family income for the 48 contiguous states, DC, and outlying jurisdictions Family income for Alaska Family income for Hawaii 1 $13,965 $17,445 $16,050 2 18,735 23,415 21,540 3 23,505 29,385 27,030 4 28,275 35,355 32,520 5 33,045 41,325 38,010 6 37,815 47,295 43,500 7 42,585 53,265 48,990 8 47,355 59,235 54,480 Note: The 2004 annual low-income levels are being used because those are the amounts that apply to the family income reported by students enrolled for the Fall 2004 semester. For family units with more than eight members, add the following amount for each additional family member: $4,770 for the contiguous 48 States, the District of Columbia and outlying jurisdictions; $5,970 for Alaska; and $5,490 for Hawaii. The figures shown under family income represent amounts equal to 150 percent of the family income levels established by the U.S. Bureau of the Census for determining poverty status. The poverty guidelines were published by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services in the **Federal Register** on February 13, 2004 (69 FR 7336). The information about “metropolitan statistical areas” referenced in 34 CFR 606.3(b)(4) and 607.3(b)(4) may be obtained by requesting the Metropolitan Statistical Areas, 1999 publication, order number PB99-501538, from the National Technical Information Service, Document Sales, 5285 Port Royal Road, Springfield, Virginia 22161, telephone number 1-800-553-6847. There is a charge for this publication. *Applications Available:* January 8, 2007. *Deadline for Transmittal of Applications:* March 9, 2007 for an applicant institution that wishes to be designated as eligible to apply for a FY 2007 new grant under the Title III, Part A programs or the HSI program; and April 30, 2007 for an applicant institution that wishes to apply only for cost-sharing waivers under the FSEOG, FWS, SSS, or UISFL programs. *Electronic Submission of Applications:* Applications for designation of eligibility must be submitted electronically using the following Web site: *http://webprod.cbmiweb.com/Title3and5/index.html.* To enter the Web site, you must use your institution's unique 8-digit identifier, *i.e.* , your Office of Postsecondary Education Identification Number (OPE ID number). Your business office or student financial aid office should have the OPE ID Number. If they do not, contact the Department, using the e-mail addresses of the contact persons listed in this notice under *For Applications and Further Information Contact.* You will find detailed instructions for completing the application form electronically under the “eligibility 2007” link at either of the following Web sites: *http://www.ed.gov/programs/iduestitle3a.index.html or http://www.ed.gov/hsi.* If your institution is unable to meet the needy student enrollment requirement or the average E&G expenditure requirement and wishes to request a waiver of one or both of those requirements, you must complete your designation application form electronically and transmit your waiver request narrative document from the following Web site: *http://webprod.cbmiweb.com/Title3and5/index.html.* *Exception to Electronic Submission Requirement:* You may qualify for an exception to the electronic submission requirement, and may submit your application in paper format, if you are unable to submit an application electronically because— • You do not have access to the Internet; or • You do not have the capacity to upload documents to the Web site; and • No later than two weeks before the application deadline date (14 calendar days or, if the fourteenth calendar day before the application deadline date falls on a Federal holiday, the next business day following the Federal holiday), you mail or fax a written statement to the Department, explaining which of the two grounds for an exception prevent you from using the Internet to submit your application. If you mail your written statement to the Department, it must be postmarked no later than two weeks before the application deadline date. If you fax your written statement to the Department, we must receive the faxed statement no later than two weeks before the application deadline date. Address and mail or fax your statement to: Dr. Maria Carrington, U.S. Department of Education, 1990 K Street, NW., room 6033, Washington, DC 20006-8513. Fax:

(202)502-7861. Your paper application must be submitted in accordance with the mail or hand delivery instructions described in this notice. *Submission of Paper Applications by Mail.* If you qualify for an exception to the electronic submission requirement, you may mail (through the U.S. Postal Service or a commercial carrier), your application to the Department. You must mail the application, on or before the application deadline date, to the Department at the following address: *By mail through the U.S. Postal Service or commercial carrier:* Dr. Maria Carrington, U.S. Department of Education, 1990 K Street, NW., Room 6033, Washington, DC 20006-8513. You must show proof of mailing consisting of one of the following:

(1)A legibly dated U.S. Postal Service postmark,

(2)A legible mail receipt with the date of mailing stamped by the U.S. Postal Service,

(3)A dated shipping label, invoice, or receipt from a commercial carrier, or

(1)A private metered postmark, or

(2)A mail receipt that is not dated by the U.S. Postal Service. If your application is postmarked after the application deadline date, we will not consider your application. Note: The U.S. Postal Service does not uniformly provide a dated postmark. Before relying on this method, you should check with your local post office. *Submission of Paper Applications by Hand Delivery.* If you qualify for an exception to the electronic submission requirement, you (or a courier service) may deliver your paper application to the Department by hand. You must deliver the application, on or before the application deadline date, to the Department at the following address: Dr. Maria Carrington, U.S. Department of Education, 1990 K Street, NW., Room 6033, Washington, DC 20006-8513. Hand delivered applications will be accepted daily between 8 a.m. and 4:30 p.m., Washington, DC time, except Saturdays, Sundays and Federal holidays. *Applicable Regulations:*

(a)The Education Department General Administrative Regulations in 34 CFR parts 74, 75, 77, 79, 82, 84, 85, 86, 97, 98, and 99.

(b)The regulations for the Title III, Part A programs in 34 CFR part 607, and for the HSI program in 34 CFR part 606. *For Applications And Further Information Contact:* Imogene Byers, Kelley Harris, or Carnisia Proctor, Institutional Development and Undergraduate Education Service, U.S. Department of Education, 1990 K Street, NW., room 6033, Request for Eligibility Designation, Washington, DC 20202-8513. You may contact these individuals at the following e-mail addresses or phone numbers: *Imogene.Byers@ed.gov* —202-502-7672. *Kelley.Harris@ed.gov* —202-219-7083. *Carnisia.Proctor@ed.gov* —202-502-7606. If you use a telecommunications device for the deaf (TDD), you may call the Federal Relay Service

(FRS)at 1-800-877-8339. Individuals with disabilities may obtain this document in an alternative format ( *e.g.* , Braille, large print, audio tape, or computer diskette) on request to the contact persons listed in this section. Individuals with disabilities may obtain a copy of the application package in an alternative format by contacting the persons listed in this section. *Electronic Access to This Document:* You may view this document, as well as all other documents of this Department published in the **Federal Register** , in text or Adobe Portable Document Format

(PDF)on the Internet at the following site: *http://www.ed.gov/news/fedregister.* To use PDF, you must have Adobe Acrobat Reader, which is available free at this site. If you have questions about using PDF, call the U.S. Government Printing Office

(GPO)toll free, at 1-888-293-6498; or in the Washington, DC area at

(202)512-1530. Note: The official version of this document is the document published in the **Federal Register** . Free Internet access to the official edition of the **Federal Register** and the Code of Federal Regulations is available on GPO Access at: *http://www.gpoaccess.gov/nara/index.html.* *Program Authority:* 20 U.S.C. 1057-1059d, 1101-1103g. Dated: December 29, 2006. James F. Manning, Delegated the Authority of Assistant Secretary for Postsecondary Education. [FR Doc. E6-22626 Filed 1-5-07; 8:45 am] BILLING CODE 4000-01-P ELECTION ASSISTANCE COMMISSION Sunshine Act Notice AGENCY: United States Election Assistance Commission. ACTION: Notice of public meeting for EAC Board of Advisors. DATE AND TIME: Monday, January 22, 2007, 9 a.m.-5 p.m. and Tuesday, January 23, 2007, 8:30 a.m.-3 p.m. PLACE: Four Points Sheraton, 1201 K Street, NW., (12th & K Streets, NW.), Washington, DC 20005,

(202)289-7600. PURPOSE: The U.S. Election Assistance Commission

(EAC)Board of Advisors, as required by the Help America Vote Act of 2002 (HAVA), will meet and receive updates on EAC projects and activiteis and discuss other relevant matters pertaining to the administration of Federal elections. The Board will receive updates on the following subjects: EAC's voting system certification and laboratory accreditation program; activities of the Technical Guidelines Development Committee

(TGDC)regarding the voluntary voting system guidelines; HAVA financial reporting schedules; EAC's audit process; EAC's Election Duty survey and EAC's Uniformed and Overseas Citizens Absentee Voting Act (UOCAVA) survey. The Board will also discuss other election administration and administrative matters. This meeting will be open to the public. PERSON TO CONTACT OUR INFORMATION: Bryan Whitener, Telephone:

(202)566-3100. Thomas R. Wilkey, Executive Director, U.S. Election Assistance Commission. [FR Doc. 07-21 Filed 1-3-07; 4:23 am]

Connectionstraces to 40

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