2022 School Survey on Crime and Safety (SSOCS:2022)

OMB Control No: 1850-0761	ICR Reference No: 202102-1850-002
Status: Received in OIRA	Previous ICR Reference No: 202006-1850-004
Agency/Subagency: ED/IES	Agency Tracking No: ED-2021-SCC-0019
Title: 2022 School Survey on Crime and Safety (SSOCS:2022)
Type of Information Collection: Revision of a currently approved collection	Common Form ICR:  No
Type of Review Request: Regular	Date Submitted to OIRA: 05/19/2021

	Requested	Previously Approved
Expiration Date	36 Months From Approved	05/31/2022
Responses	11,623	7,721
Time Burden (Hours)	4,907	2,883
Cost Burden (Dollars)	0	0

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Abstract: The School Survey on Crime and Safety (SSOCS) is a nationally representative survey of elementary and secondary school principals that serves as the primary source of school-level data on crime and safety in public schools, and was conducted in 2000, 2004, 2006, 2008, 2010, 2016, 2018, and 2020 (OMB# 1850-0761). Four years separated the first two collections of SSOCS to allow for sufficient time to study the results of the first survey and to allow for necessary redesign work; the next three collections were conducted at 2-year intervals. Due to a reorganization of the sponsoring agency (the Office of Safe and Drug-Free Schools) and funding issues, the 2012 administration of SSOCS, although approved by OMB, was not fielded. With new funding available through the National Institute of Justice (NIJ), SSOCS was conducted again in the spring of the 2015–16 school year. With continued dedicated funding, SSOCS has resumed collection on a biennial basis, with collections during the spring of the 2017–18 and the 2019–20 school years, and the next planned collection during the spring of the 2021–22 school year. SSOCS is a survey of public schools covering the topic of school crime and violence and is designed to produce nationally representative data on public schools. Historically, it has been conducted by mail, with telephone and e-mail follow-up; however, as an experiment, an Internet version was fielded during the SSOCS:2018 administration. For SSOCS:2020, the Internet version was initially offered to all respondents, with the paper version sent via mail as a follow-up, and the same methodology will be used for SSOCS:2022. The respondent is the school principal, or a member of the school staff designated by the principal as the person “the most knowledgeable about school crime and policies to provide a safe environment.” The 2022 survey is being funded by the U.S. Department of Education’s Office of Safe and Supportive Schools (previously known as the Office of Safe and Healthy Students) and conducted by the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) of the Institute of Education Sciences (IES), within the U.S. Department of Education. As with prior SSOCS collections, NCES has entered into an interagency agreement with the Census Bureau to administer the 2022 collection. This request is to conduct the 2022 administration of the School Survey on Crime and Safety (SSOCS). As part of SSOCS:2022 development, cognitive testing on new COVID-19 pandemic items will be conducted during the winter and spring of 2021, scheduled to be completed in late-spring 2021. The wording and design of these items may be modified in response to the findings of this testing and, as such, will be updated in a change request, tentatively scheduled for October 2021.

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

Citations for New Statutory Requirements: None

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

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Federal Register Notices & Comments
60-day Notice:	Federal Register Citation:	Citation Date:
	86 FR 8895	02/10/2021
30-day Notice:	Federal Register Citation:	Citation Date:
	86 FR 27074	05/19/2021
Did the Agency receive public comments on this ICR? Yes

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

IC Title Form No. Form Name 2022 School Survey on Crime and Safety (SSOCS:2022)

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ICR Summary of Burden

	Total Request	Previously Approved	Change Due to New Statute	Change Due to Agency Discretion	Change Due to Adjustment in Estimate	Change Due to Potential Violation of the PRA
Annual Number of Responses	11,623	7,721	0	3,902	0	0
Annual Time Burden (Hours)	4,907	2,883	0	2,024	0	0
Annual Cost Burden (Dollars)	0	0	0	0	0	0

Burden increases because of Program Change due to Agency Discretion: Yes

Burden Increase Due to: Miscellaneous Actions

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

Burden Reduction Due to:

Short Statement: This is the first submission for the SSOCS:2022 data collection cycle. The previous packages for this program annualized burden for two administrations of the study, SSOCS:2018 and SSOCS:2020 increase, which is why there seems to be a large increase in burden between different submissions of this package. Further, the increase in burden from SSOCS:2020 to SSOCS:2022 is due to the addition of COVID-19 pandemic items to the SSOCS questionnaire. The questions are expected to add approximately 4 minutes to the length of average questionnaire completion, therefore increasing the overall burden hours from 4,187 in SSOCS:2020 to 4,907 hours in SSOCS:2022.

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Annual Cost to Federal Government: $231,856

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

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

Does this ICR include a form that requires a Privacy Act Statement (see 5 U.S.C. §552a(e)(3))? Please consult with your agency's privacy program when making this determination.     Yes

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

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

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

Is this ICR related to the Pandemic Response? No

Agency Contact: Carrie Clarady 202 245-6347

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Common Form ICR:  No

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On behalf of this Federal agency, I certify that the collection of information encompassed by this request complies with 5 CFR 1320.9 and the related provisions of 5 CFR 1320.8(b)(3).
The following is a summary of the topics, regarding the proposed collection of information, that the certification covers:
		(a) It is necessary for the proper performance of agency functions;
		(b) It avoids unnecessary duplication;
		(c) It reduces burden on small entities;
		(d) It uses plain, coherent, and unambiguous language that is understandable to respondents;
		(e) Its implementation will be consistent and compatible with current reporting and recordkeeping practices;
		(f) It indicates the retention periods for recordkeeping requirements;
		(g) It informs respondents of the information called for under 5 CFR 1320.8 (b)(3) about:
			(i) Why the information is being collected;
			(ii) Use of information;
			(iii) Burden estimate;
			(iv) Nature of response (voluntary, required for a benefit, or mandatory);
			(v) Nature and extent of confidentiality; and
			(vi) Need to display currently valid OMB control number;
		(h) It was developed by an office that has planned and allocated resources for the efficient and effective management and use of the information to be collected.
		(i) It uses effective and efficient statistical survey methodology (if applicable); and
		(j) It makes appropriate use of information technology.
If you are unable to certify compliance with any of these provisions, identify the item by leaving the box unchecked and explain the reason in the Supporting Statement.
Certification Date: 05/19/2021

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