Proposed Agency Information Collection Activities; Comment

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Bureau of Indian Affairs

Proposed Agency Information Collection Activities; Comment

AGENCY: Bureau of Indian Affairs--Office of Indian Education Programs.

ACTION: Notice.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

SUMMARY: This notice announces that the Information Collection Request

for Student Transportation Mileage Form OMB # 1076-0134 requires

renewal. The proposed information collection requirement, with no

appreciable changes, described below will be submitted to the Office of

Management and Budget (OMB) for review, as required by the Paperwork

Reduction Act of 1995, Public Law 104-13, 44 U.S.C. 350 (c) (2) (A).

The Bureau is soliciting public comments on the subject proposal.

DATES: Written comments must be submitted on or before January 6, 1998.

ADDRESSES: Comments are to be mailed to Director, Office of Indian

Education Programs, Department of the Interior, Bureau of Indian

Affairs, 1849 C St. NW, Mail Stop 3512-MIB, Washington, DC 20240, or

hand delivered to room 3512 at the above address.

All written comments will be available for public inspection in

Room 3543 of the Main Interior Building, 1849 C Street, NW, Washington,

D.C. from 9:00 a.m. until 3:00 p.m., Monday through Friday, excluding

legal holidays.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Dalton J. Henry or Keener Cobb, Bureau

of Indian Affairs, Department of the Interior, 1849 C Street, NW, MS

3512, Washington, D.C. 20240, 202-208-3550.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Abstract

The information collection is needed to collect transportation

mileage for Bureau funded schools for the purpose of allocating

transportation funds.

II. Method of Collection

The Student Transportation regulations under 25 CFR Subpart H

contain the program eligibility and criteria which govern the

allocation of transportation funds. Information collected from the

schools will be used to determine rate per mile.

III. Data

(1) Title of the Collection of Information: Office of Indian

Education Programs Indian School Equalization Program--Student

Transportation. OMB Number: 1076-0134; Expiration Date: September 31,

1997; Type of Review: Renewal of a currently approved information

collection.

(2) Summary of the Collection of Information: The collection of

information provides pertinent data concerning the schools' bus

transportation mileage to determine funding for school transportation.

(3) Affected Entities: Contract and Grant Schools and Bureau

operated schools.

(4) Description of the need for the information and proposed use of

the information: Submission of this information is required in order to

receive funds for student transportation. The information is collected

to determine rate per mile from 185 schools and to allocate funds.

(5) Description of likely respondents, including the estimated

number of likely respondents, and proposed frequency of response to the

collection of information: Description of likely respondents: Tribal

schools administrators; Estimated number of respondents: 105; Proposed

frequency of responses: Annually, during student count week.

(6) Estimate of total annual reporting and record keeping burden

that will result from the collection of information: 263 hours;

Reporting 2.5 hours/response x 105 respondents=263 hours.

Estimated Total Annual Burden Hours=263 hours.

Estimated Annual Costs: $5,450.00 (2.5 hours x 105 x $20.00).

[[Page 60256]]

IV. Request for Comments

The Department of the Interior invites comments on: (a) Whether the

collection of information is necessary for the proper performance of

the functions of the agency, including whether the information will

have practical utility; (b) the accuracy of the agencies' estimate of

the burden (including the hours and cost) of the proposed collection of

information, including the validity of the methodology and assumption

used; (c) ways to enhance the quality, utility, and clarity of the

information to be collected; and (d) ways to minimize the burden of the

collection of information on those who are to respond, including

through the use of appropriate automated, electronic, mechanical, or

other collection techniques or other forms of information technology.

Burden means the total time, effort, or financial resources expended by

persons to generate, maintain, retain, or disclose or provide

information to or for a Federal agency. This includes the time needed

to review instructions; to develop, acquire, install and utilize

technology and systems for the purpose of collecting, validating, and

verifying information, processing and maintaining information, and

disclosing and providing information, to search data sources, to

complete and review the collection of information; and to transmit or

otherwise disclose the information.

Comments submitted in response to this notice will be summarized

and/or included in the request for OMB approval of this information

collection; they also will become a matter of public record.

An agency may not conduct or sponsor, and a person is not required

to respond to a collection of information, unless it displays a

currently valid Office of Management and Budget control number.

Dated: October 17, 1997.

Ada E. Deer,

Assistant Secretary, Indian Affairs.

OMB # 1076-0134

Expiration Date ( )

Office of Indian Education Programs Indian School Equalization Program

(ISEP) Student Transportation

Transportation forms must be certified (signed and dated) by the

school principal and education line officer. Do not forward to

Washington, DC, without the two required signatures. All transportation

forms are due in Washington, DC, on or before the first week in

November after the count week.

For each School Year, student transportation funds will be

allocated to schools based on the following guidelines. Although, all

transportation forms are due in Washington, DC, during the first week

in November, after the count week, schools are to forward

transportation forms to their respective Education Line Officer by

Friday the first week in October after the count week. The Education

Line Officer will certify the Transportation Program during the

certification of the student membership count.

Rates Per Mile

A single rate will be used for all ground transportation miles.

Since we are limited by the amount reflected in the Budget Fiscal Year

(BFY) budget request, the rate per mile cannot be ascertained until we

know the actual total miles reported for the School Year after the

count week. The rate in BFY 1996-97 was $1.60 per mile.

Mileage for after school programs such as athletics, band,

detention and/or study hall, and extra curricular activities, such as

arts and crafts programs, are considered part of the instructional

program and not eligible for ISEP transportation funding.

Mileage for all day and boarding students to attend instructional

programs less than full time at locations other than the school

reporting the transportation mileage are considered part of the

instructional program and are not eligible for ISEP transportation

funding.

Day School Students

Do not use transportation time as instruction time to meet the

minimum required hours for academic funding.

For each vehicle, report the following:

1. The total mileage separately by vehicle number.

2. Mileage from point of origin (school, home of bus driver, etc.)

to students' homes or pick up points and return to school.

3. Mileage for vehicles that are used for several routes during one

morning or afternoon, with no break in service, by recording only the

beginning and ending odometer reading.

4. Mileage for each of the five days of count week, rounded to one

decimal point. Funding will be based on the average of the Tuesday,

Wednesday, and Thursday mileage.

Funds shall be allocated to each school which provides daily

transportation of students between the students' residences (or other

traditional pick up points on the reservation) and the school site. The

following formula was used for the computation of funds in BFY 1996-97

and will apply for BFY 1997-98 funding computation.

Average number of miles traveled by all buses on one day (including

pick up and return, excluding field trips and extra curricular

activities).

x 180 days of school

=Annual student transportation miles.

x Rate per mile

=Transportation funding for day school students

A route, is from point of origin (school, home of bus driver, etc.)

to students' homes or pick up points and return to school.

A run is one or more routes by a vehicle in the morning or the

afternoon when there is no break in the transportation of students to

and from school. Vehicle transportation size means the number of

passengers the bus holds.

Boarding School Students

Funds shall be allocated to each boarding school to provide for

students' arrival at school in the Fall, round trip home at Christmas,

and their return home at the end of the school year, using the

following formula:

Actual number of miles traveled by all buses or other vehicles to

get students to school at the beginning of the year.

x 4 one way trips per year

= Annual student transportation miles

x Rate per mile

= Transportation funding for boarding school students.

Note that the rate is calculated against vehicle miles rather than

miles per student. DO NOT REPORT ONE-WAY MILEAGE BY FOUR. To receive

funding, a school must transport students.

Peripheral Dormitory Students

If OIEP provides transportation to the public school, the day

school student calculation may be used. Additionally, the boarding

school student calculation shall be used to provide the student's

transportation between home and peripheral dormitory, but the dormitory

must transport students to receive funding.

Air Miles

A student may be flown to and from school, at the discretion of the

Education Line Officer, and the school will be reimbursed on the

following formula:

Actual one way air fare at the most economical rate to the

Government

x Actual one way trips per year (not to exceed four)

= Transportation funding for air miles

[[Page 60257]]

Ground mileage from airport arrival to school may be added to

boarding school student mileage.

Schools may be reimbursed for actual chaperon expenses, excluding

salaries, during the transportation of students to and from home at the

beginning of school year, Christmas, and end of the school year.

Unimproved Roads

Because of road conditions, annual student transportation miles on

unimproved roads reported by schools are weighted by a factor of 1.2

before multiplying by the standard rate per mile.

For ISEP funding, unimproved roads are dirt roads that have not had

sand, gravel, shale, or other materials applied, and do not have

drainage ditches and/or shoulders.

Paper Reduction Act: The Student Transportation information is

being collected to obtain a benefit, and will be used to determine

funding. Response to this request is required to obtain a benefit in

accordance with Public Law 95-531. Public reporting burden for this

collection is estimated to average 2.5 hours per response, including

the time for reviewing instructions, gathering and maintaining data,

and completing and reviewing the form.

Billing Code 4310-02-P

[[Page 60258]]

[GRAPHIC] [TIFF OMITTED] TN07NO97.004

[[Page 60259]]

[GRAPHIC] [TIFF OMITTED] TN07NO97.005

[[Page 60260]]

[GRAPHIC] [TIFF OMITTED] TN07NO97.006

[[Page 60261]]

[GRAPHIC] [TIFF OMITTED] TN07NO97.007

[[Page 60262]]

[FR Doc. 97-29401 Filed 11-6-97; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 4310-02-C