1. The DATA Act, FERPA, and Other Data Requirements
Steven Spillan, Esq.
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2. Agenda DATA Act President’s Management Agenda FERPA
Other Data Concerns
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3. What is it and what does it mean for my federal programs?
DATA Act
What is it and what does it mean for my federal programs?
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4. DATA Act Digital Accountability and Transparency Act Passed in 2014
Passed unanimously by both the House and the Senate
Statute lays out clear timeline…
Changes are coming….
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5. DATA Act: Purpose
Establishes government-wide financial data standards and increases the availability, accuracy, and usefulness of Federal spending information
‌ Goals include:
Establishing Government-wide data standards
Simplifying reporting
Improving the quality of data
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6. DATA Act: What Happened
May 2015 – Initial DATA Act pilot announced
Open for public comment
Ongoing for two years
May 2016
DATA Act Information Model Schema (DAIMS) finalized
OMB publishes memo on DATA Act guidance
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7. DATA Act: What Happened (cont.)
April 2017 – Federal agencies submitted data to Treasury using DAIMS v.1
May 2017 – Treasury revised
August 2017 – OMB report to Congress on pilot
September 2018 – OMB Memo on DATA Act
October 2018 – OMB Memo on Federal Data Strategy
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8. DATA Act: Pilot To develop recommendations for:
standardized reporting elements across the Federal Government;
the elimination of unnecessary duplication in financial reporting; and
the reduction of compliance costs for recipients of Federal awards
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9. DATA Act: September 2018 memo
Lessons learned from DATA Act pilot
Also references President’s Management Agenda
Lays out specific requirements for the federal awarding agencies
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10. September 2018 OMB memo Federal agencies must: Review data standards
Align all agency grant-related reform initiatives with PMA and CAP 8
Use government-wide data standards to modify/design new systems
Work with other agencies
Assess existing policies and processes to identify further opportunities to reduce reporting burden
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11. OMB Guidance
Government-wide core grants management data standards are expected to be finalized by the Grants Management Federal Integrated Business Framework (FIBF) by September 30, 2018.
Still not completed: gm/#business_use_cases
By April 30, 2019, each agency must submit a plan to OMB that describes its strategy for integrating the new data standards into current and/or future grant systems, to include plans to migrate to shared services. Plans must also reflect the agency's projected implementation timelines.
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12. President’s Management Agenda
“[L]ays the foundation needed to address the critical challenges where government as a whole still operates in the past.”
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13. 3 Sections
Modern information technology (IT) will function as the backbone of how Government serves the public in ways that meet their expectations and keep sensitive data and systems secure.
Data, accountability, and transparency will provide the tools to deliver visibly better results to the public and hold agencies accountable to taxpayers.
A modern workforce that builds on the Administration’s proposed civil service reforms to empower senior leaders and front-line managers to align staff skills with evolving mission needs.
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14. 4 Data Strategies Enterprise Data Governance
Access, Use, and Augmentation
Decision-Making and Accountability
Commercialization, Innovation, and Public Use
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15. PMA: Data Strategy 2 Access, Use, and Augmentation
“Build on work like the DAIMS open data standard that powers websites like USAspending.gov and private sector sites like InsideGov.com and OpenTheBooks.com that show how the Government spends taxpayers’ money. “
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16. PMA: Data Strategy 3 Decision-Making and Accountability
Improve use of data for decision-making process, including:
Providing high quality and timely info to inform evidence-based decisions
Facilitating external research on program effectiveness
Foster public accountability through accurate and timely spending info, performance metrics, and other data
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17. PMA: CAP Goal 8 Result-Oriented Accountability for Grants
Rebalance compliance efforts with focus on results
Standardize grant reporting data and improve collection
Measure progress and share lessons/best practices
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18. Protecting data is not just an issue for Facebook
FERPA
Protecting data is not just an issue for Facebook
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19. Family Education Rights & Privacy Act
Regulations: 34 CFR Part 99
Protecting personal identifiable information in student records
Annual notifications:
Consent to disclosures of PII contained in the student's education records, except to the extent that the Act and § authorize disclosure without consent
Data studies and third parties
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20. 3rd Party Disclosures
Prior consent not required when disclosure is to organizations conducting studies for, or on behalf of, educational agencies or institutions to:
Develop, validate, or administer predictive tests;
Administer student aid programs; or
Improve instruction.
The study must be conducted in a manner that does not permit PII of parents and students to individuals other than those with legitimate interests in the information.
Info must be destroyed when no longer needed for the purposes for which the study was conducted.
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21. 3rd Party disclosures (cont.)
Written agreement must—
Specify purpose, scope, and duration of the study and the info to be disclosed;
Require the organization to use PII from education records only to meet the purpose or purposes of the study in the written agreement;
Require the organization to conduct the study in a manner that does not permit PII to anyone other than representatives of the organization with legitimate interests; and
Require the organization to destroy all PII when no longer needed for the purposes for which the study was conducted and specifies the time period in which the information must be destroyed.
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22. Other Data Issues
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23. GREAT Act
Grant Reporting Efficiency and Agreements Transparency Act of 2018
Creates data structure covering all data elements reported by recipients of federal awards
Within one year: Establish government-wide data standards for information related to federal awards reported by recipients of federal awards
Within two years: Issue guidance to grantmaking agencies on how to leverage new technologies and implement the new data standards into existing reporting practices with minimum disruption
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24. GONE ACt
Grants Oversight and New Efficiency (GONE) Act – passed in 2016
OMB instructs each agency to submit to Congress and HHS by December 31, 2017 a report that:
Lists each federal grant award held by such agency
Provides the total number of federal grant awards, including the number of grants by time period of expiration, the number with zero dollar balances, and the number with undisbursed balances
Describes the challenges leading to delays in grant closeout
Explains, for the 30 oldest federal grant awards, why each has not been closed out
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25. Legal Disclaimer
This presentation is intended solely to provide general information and does not constitute legal advice or a legal service.  This presentation does not create a client-lawyer relationship with Brustein & Manasevit, PLLC and, therefore, carries none of the protections under the D.C. Rules of Professional Conduct.  Attendance at this presentation, a later review of any printed or electronic materials, or any follow-up questions or communications arising out of this presentation with any attorney at Brustein & Manasevit, PLLC does not create an attorney-client relationship with Brustein & Manasevit, PLLC.  You should not take any action based upon any information in this presentation without first consulting legal counsel familiar with your particular circumstances.
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