Notice2023-25999
Privacy Act of 1974; Matching Program
Primary source
Metadata and text below are from the Federal Register, a public-domain U.S. government work. Always verify the official published version before relying on it for any legal matter.
Published
November 24, 2023
Issuing agencies
Education Department
Abstract
Pursuant to the Privacy Act of 1974, as amended by the Computer Matching and Privacy Protection Act of 1988 and the Computer Matching and Privacy Protection Amendments of 1990 (Privacy Act), and Office of Management and Budget (OMB) guidance on the conduct of matching programs, notice is hereby given of the re-establishment of the matching program between the U.S. Department of Education (Department or ED) (recipient agency) and the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) (source agency). The current 18-month Computer Matching Agreement (CMA) between ED and VA was recertified for an additional 12 months on January 3, 2023, and will automatically expire on January 2, 2024.
Full Text
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<title>Federal Register, Volume 88 Issue 225 (Friday, November 24, 2023)</title>
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[Federal Register Volume 88, Number 225 (Friday, November 24, 2023)]
[Notices]
[Pages 82342-82343]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2023-25999]
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DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION
[Docket ID ED-2023-FSA-0094]
Privacy Act of 1974; Matching Program
AGENCY: Federal Student Aid (FSA), Department of Education.
ACTION: Notice of a new matching program.
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SUMMARY: Pursuant to the Privacy Act of 1974, as amended by the
Computer Matching and Privacy Protection Act of 1988 and the Computer
Matching and Privacy Protection Amendments of 1990 (Privacy Act), and
Office of Management and Budget (OMB) guidance on the conduct of
matching programs, notice is hereby given of the re-establishment of
the matching program between the U.S. Department of Education
(Department or ED) (recipient agency) and the U.S. Department of
Veterans Affairs (VA) (source agency). The current 18-month Computer
Matching Agreement (CMA) between ED and VA was recertified for an
additional 12 months on January 3, 2023, and will automatically expire
on January 2, 2024.
DATES: This CMA will supersede the current matching program between the
parties. The period of this matching program is estimated to cover the
18-month period from December 27, 2023, through June 26, 2025. However,
the matching program will become applicable at the later of the
following two dates: December 27, 2023, or 30 days after the
publication of this notice, on November 24, 2023, unless comments have
been received from interested members of the public requiring revision
to and republication of the notice. The matching program will continue
for 18 months after the applicable date and may be extended for up to
an additional 12 months if the respective agency Data Integrity Boards
(DIBs) determine that the conditions specified in 5 U.S.C.
552a(o)(2)(D) have been met.
ADDRESSES: Comments must be submitted via the Federal eRulemaking
Portal at <a href="http://regulations.gov">regulations.gov</a>. However, if you require an accommodation or
cannot otherwise submit your comments via <a href="http://regulations.gov">regulations.gov</a>, please
contact the program contact person listed under FOR FURTHER INFORMATION
CONTACT. The Department will not accept comments submitted by fax or by
email, or comments submitted after the comment period. To ensure that
the Department does not receive duplicate copies, please submit your
comments only once. In addition, please include the Docket ID at the
top of your comments.
Federal eRulemaking Portal: Go to <a href="http://www.regulations.gov">www.regulations.gov</a> to submit
your comments electronically. Information on using Regulations.gov,
including instructions for accessing agency documents, submitting
comments, and viewing the docket, is available on the site under the
``FAQ'' tab.
Privacy Note: FSA's policy is generally to make comments received
from members of the public available for public viewing in their
entirety on the Federal eRulemaking Portal at <a href="http://www.regulations.gov">www.regulations.gov</a>.
Therefore, commenters should be careful to include in their comments
only information that they wish to make publicly available. FSA's
policy is that commenters should not include in their comments any
information that identifies other individuals or that permits readers
to identify other individuals. If, for example, your comment describes
an experience of someone other than yourself, please do not identify
that individual or include information that would allow readers to
identify that individual. FSA reserves the right to redact at any time
any information in comments that identifies other individuals, includes
information that would allow readers to identify other individuals, or
includes threats of harm to another person.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Gerard Duffey, Management and Program
Analyst, U.S. Department of Education, Federal Student Aid,
Philadelphia, PA 19107. Telephone: (215) 656-3249.
If you are deaf, hard of hearing, or have a speech disability and
wish to access telecommunications relay services, please dial 7-1-1.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: In accordance with the Privacy Act; OMB
``Final Guidance Interpreting the Provisions of Public Law 100-503, the
Computer Matching and Privacy Protection Act of 1988,'' published in
the Federal Register on June 19, 1989 (54 FR 25818); and OMB Circular
No. A-108, ``Federal Agency Responsibilities for Review, Reporting, and
Publication Under the Privacy Act,'' published in the Federal Register
on
[[Page 82343]]
December 23, 2016 (81 FR 94424), notice is hereby provided of the re-
establishment of the matching program between ED and VA.
Participating Agencies
ED and VA.
Authority for Conducting the Matching Program
ED is authorized to participate in the matching program under
sections 480(c)(1) and 480(d)(1)(D) of the Higher Education Act of
1965, as amended (HEA) (20 U.S.C. 1087vv(c)(1) and (d)(1)(D)). VA is
authorized to participate in the matching program under 38 U.S.C. 523.
Purpose(s)
The purpose of this matching program is to assist the Secretary of
Education (the Secretary) with verification of a veteran's status
during the processing and review of applications for financial
assistance under title IV of the HEA.
The Secretary is authorized by the HEA to administer programs under
title IV of the HEA and to enforce the terms and conditions of the HEA.
Section 480(c)(1) of the HEA defines the term ``veteran'' to mean
``any individual who--(A) has engaged in the active duty in the United
States Army, Navy, Air Force, Marines, or Coast Guard; and (B) was
released under a condition other than dishonorable.'' (20 U.S.C.
1087vv(c)(1)). Under section 480(d)(1)(D) of the HEA, an applicant who
is a veteran (as defined in section 480(c)(1) of the HEA) is considered
an independent student for purposes of title IV, HEA program assistance
eligibility, and, therefore, does not have to provide parental income
and asset information to apply for title IV, HEA program assistance.
(20 U.S.C. 1087vv(d)(1)(D)).
Categories of Individuals
Individuals who have completed the Free Application for Federal
Student Aid (FAFSA[supreg]) and have indicated that they are veterans.
Categories of Records
ED will disclose to the VA the Social Security number (SSN), first
and last name, and date of birth (DOB) of each applicant for financial
assistance under title IV of the HEA who indicates veteran status in
their application.
VA will compare these data elements against the first and last
name, SSN, and DOB of veterans. As a result of the match, VA will
assign one of four values to the applicant records: (1) veteran status
confirmed; (2) record found on database, but not a qualifying veteran;
(3) record not found on database; or (4) record found on database, but
applicant on active duty. VA then will transmit applicant records back
to ED.
System(s) of Records
ED systems of records: (1) Aid Awareness and Application Processing
(AAAP) (18-11-21), last fully published in the Federal Register on June
15, 2023 (88 FR 39233); and (2) Common Origination and Disbursement
(COD) System (18-11-02) last fully published in the Federal Register on
June 28, 2023 (88 FR 41942). (Note: the ED Central Processing System
(CPS) and Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) Processing
System (FPS) are the ED information systems that process FAFSA data
from the Aid Awareness and Application Processing system of records.
CPS will process this data through September 30, 2024, for Award Year
(AY) 2023-24. FPS will become operational on or after December 1, 2023,
and begin processing FAFSA data for AY 2024-25. After September 30,
2024, CPS will be decommissioned and will be fully replaced by FPS
within AAAP. FPS will process data for all AYs thereafter. ED uses the
COD System to determine the amounts and types of Title IV, HEA program
assistance that an applicant for Title IV, HEA benefits will receive.)
VA system of records: ``Compensation, Pension, Education, and
Vocational Rehabilitation and Employment Records--VA'' (58VA21/22/28),
last fully published in the Federal Register at 86 FR 61858 (November
8, 2021).
Accessible Format: On request to the program contact person listed
under FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT, individuals with disabilities
can obtain this document in an accessible format. The Department will
provide the requestor with an accessible format that may include Rich
Text Format (RTF) or text format (txt), a thumb drive, an MP3 file,
braille, large print, audiotape, or compact disc, or other accessible
format.
Electronic Access to This Document: The official version of this
document is the document published in the Federal Register. You may
access the official edition of the Federal Register and the Code of
Federal Regulations at <a href="http://www.govinfo.gov">www.govinfo.gov</a>. At this site you can view this
document, as well as all other documents of this Department published
in the Federal Register, in text or Portable Document Format (PDF). To
use PDF you must have Adobe Acrobat Reader, which is available free at
the site.
You may also access documents of the Department published in the
Federal Register by using the article search feature at
<a href="http://www.federalregister.gov">www.federalregister.gov</a>. Specifically, through the advanced search
feature at this site, you can limit your search to documents published
by the Department.
Richard Cordray,
Chief Operating Officer, Federal Student Aid.
[FR Doc. 2023-25999 Filed 11-22-23; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4000-01-P
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</html>Indexed from Federal Register on November 24, 2023.
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