II 

118TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 3392 

To reauthorize the Education Sciences Reform Act of 2002, the Educational 

Technical Assistance Act of 2002, and the National Assessment of Educational Progress Authorization Act, and for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

DECEMBER 4, 2023 

Mr. SANDERS (for himself and Mr. CASSIDY) introduced the following bill; 

which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions 

A BILL 

To reauthorize the Education Sciences Reform Act of 2002, 

the Educational Technical Assistance Act of 2002, and 

the National Assessment of Educational Progress Authorization Act, and for other purposes. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Advancing Research 

5 in Education Act’’ or the ‘‘AREA Act’’. 

6 SEC. 2. TABLE OF CONTENTS. 

7 The table of contents for this Act is as follows: 

Sec. 1. Short title. 

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Sec. 2. Table of contents. 

Sec. 3. Short title; table of contents for public law. 

TITLE I—EDUCATION SCIENCES REFORM 

Sec. 101. References. 

Sec. 102. Redesignations. 

Sec. 103. Definitions. 

PART A—THE INSTITUTE OF EDUCATION SCIENCES

Sec. 111. Establishment. 

Sec. 112. Functions. 

Sec. 113. Office of the Director. 

Sec. 114. Priorities. 

Sec. 115. Plans; education researcher pipeline. 

Sec. 116. National Board for Education Sciences. 

Sec. 117. Commissioners of the National Education Centers. 

Sec. 118. Agreements. 

Sec. 119. Director biennial report. 

Sec. 120. Transparency. 

PART B—NATIONAL CENTER FOR EDUCATION RESEARCH

Sec. 131. Establishment. 

Sec. 132. Commissioner for Education Research. 

Sec. 133. Duties. 

Sec. 134. Standards for conduct and evaluation of research. 

PART C—NATIONAL CENTER FOR EDUCATION STATISTICS

Sec. 141. Establishment. 

Sec. 142. Commissioner for Education Statistics. 

Sec. 143. Duties. 

Sec. 144. Performance of duties. 

Sec. 145. Reports. 

Sec. 146. Dissemination. 

Sec. 147. Cooperative education statistics partnerships. 

Sec. 148. Statewide longitudinal data systems. 

Sec. 149. Data innovation grants. 

PART D—NATIONAL CENTER FOR EDUCATION EVALUATION AND EVIDENCE

USE

Sec. 151. National Center for Education Evaluation and Evidence Use. 

PART E—NATIONAL CENTER FOR SPECIAL EDUCATION RESEARCH

Sec. 161. Establishment. 

Sec. 162. Commissioner for Special Education Research. 

Sec. 163. Duties. 

Sec. 164. Standards for conduct and evaluation of research. 

PART F—GENERAL PROVISIONS

Sec. 171. Repeals and redesignation. 

Sec. 172. Interagency data sources and formats. 

Sec. 173. Prohibitions. 

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Sec. 174. Confidentiality. 

Sec. 175. Availability of data. 

Sec. 176. Performance management. 

Sec. 177. Vacancies. 

Sec. 178. Scientific or technical employees. 

Sec. 179. Authorization of appropriations. 

Sec. 180. Conforming amendments. 

TITLE II—EDUCATIONAL TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE 

Sec. 201. Educational technical assistance. 

TITLE III—NATIONAL ASSESSMENT OF EDUCATIONAL PROGRESS 

Sec. 301. References. 

Sec. 302. National Assessment Governing Board. 

Sec. 303. National Assessment of Educational Progress. 

Sec. 304. Definitions. 

Sec. 305. Authorization of appropriations. 

1 SEC. 3. SHORT TITLE; TABLE OF CONTENTS FOR PUBLIC 

2 LAW. 

3 Section 1 of the Act of November 5, 2002 (Public 

4 Law 107–279; 116 Stat. 1940) is amended to read as fol5 lows: 

6 ‘‘SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE; TABLE OF CONTENTS. 

7 ‘‘(a) SHORT TITLE.—This Act may be cited as the 

8 ‘Education Sciences and Technical Assistance Act of 

9 2002’. 

10 ‘‘(b) TABLE OF CONTENTS.—The table of contents 

11 for this Act is as follows: 

‘‘Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents. 

‘‘TITLE I—EDUCATION SCIENCES REFORM 

‘‘Sec. 101. Short title. 

‘‘Sec. 102. Definitions. 

‘‘PART A—THE INSTITUTE OF EDUCATION SCIENCES

‘‘Sec. 111. Establishment. 

‘‘Sec. 112. Functions. 

‘‘Sec. 113. Delegation. 

‘‘Sec. 114. Office of the Director. 

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‘‘Sec. 115. Priorities. 

‘‘Sec. 115A. Plans. 

‘‘Sec. 115B. Education researcher pipeline. 

‘‘Sec. 116. National Board for Education Sciences. 

‘‘Sec. 117. Commissioners of the National Education Centers. 

‘‘Sec. 118. Agreements. 

‘‘Sec. 119. Director biennial report. 

‘‘Sec. 120. Competitive awards. 

‘‘Sec. 121. Transparency. 

‘‘PART B—NATIONAL CENTER FOR EDUCATION RESEARCH

‘‘Sec. 131. Establishment. 

‘‘Sec. 132. Commissioner for Education Research. 

‘‘Sec. 133. Duties. 

‘‘Sec. 134. Standards for conduct and evaluation of research. 

‘‘PART C—NATIONAL CENTER FOR EDUCATION STATISTICS

‘‘Sec. 141. Establishment. 

‘‘Sec. 142. Commissioner for Education Statistics. 

‘‘Sec. 143. Duties. 

‘‘Sec. 144. Performance of duties. 

‘‘Sec. 145. Reports. 

‘‘Sec. 146. Dissemination. 

‘‘Sec. 147. Cooperative education statistics partnerships. 

‘‘Sec. 148. State defined. 

‘‘Sec. 149. Grant program for statewide longitudinal data systems. 

‘‘Sec. 150. Data innovation grants. 

‘‘PART D—NATIONAL CENTER FOR EDUCATION EVALUATION AND EVIDENCE

USE

‘‘Sec. 151. Establishment. 

‘‘Sec. 152. Commissioner for Education Evaluation and Evidence Use. 

‘‘Sec. 153. Duties. 

‘‘Sec. 154. Evaluations. 

‘‘Sec. 155. What Works Clearinghouse and related functions. 

‘‘Sec. 156. Evidence use activities. 

‘‘Sec. 157. Regional educational laboratories for applied research, development, 

and evidence use. 

‘‘PART E—NATIONAL CENTER FOR SPECIAL EDUCATION RESEARCH

‘‘Sec. 161. Establishment. 

‘‘Sec. 162. Commissioner for Special Education Research. 

‘‘Sec. 163. Duties. 

‘‘Sec. 164. Standards for conduct and evaluation of research. 

‘‘PART F—GENERAL PROVISIONS

‘‘Sec. 171. Interagency data sources and formats. 

‘‘Sec. 172. Prohibitions. 

‘‘Sec. 173. Confidentiality. 

‘‘Sec. 174. Availability of data. 

‘‘Sec. 175. Performance management. 

‘‘Sec. 176. Authority to publish. 

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‘‘Sec. 177. Vacancies. 

‘‘Sec. 178. Scientific or technical employees. 

‘‘Sec. 179. Voluntary service. 

‘‘Sec. 180. Rulemaking. 

‘‘Sec. 181. Copyright. 

‘‘Sec. 182. Authorization of appropriations. 

‘‘TITLE II—EDUCATIONAL TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE 

‘‘Sec. 201. Short title. 

‘‘Sec. 202. Definitions. 

‘‘Sec. 203. Coordination of technical assistance. 

‘‘Sec. 204. Coordination between comprehensive centers and regional educational laboratories. 

‘‘Sec. 205. Priorities. 

‘‘Sec. 206. Governing boards. 

‘‘Sec. 207. Comprehensive centers. 

‘‘Sec. 208. Focus centers. 

‘‘Sec. 209. Evaluations. 

‘‘Sec. 210. Authorization of appropriations 

‘‘TITLE III—NATIONAL ASSESSMENT OF EDUCATIONAL 

PROGRESS 

‘‘Sec. 301. Short title. 

‘‘Sec. 302. National Assessment Governing Board. 

‘‘Sec. 303. National Assessment of Educational Progress. 

‘‘Sec. 304. Definitions. 

‘‘Sec. 305. Authorization of appropriations. 

‘‘TITLE IV—AMENDATORY PROVISIONS 

‘‘Sec. 401. Redesignations. 

‘‘Sec. 402. Amendments to Department of Education Organization Act. 

‘‘Sec. 403. Repeals. 

‘‘Sec. 404. Conforming and technical amendments. 

‘‘Sec. 405. Orderly transition. 

‘‘Sec. 406. Impact aid.’’. 

1 TITLE I—EDUCATION SCIENCES 

2 REFORM 

3 SEC. 101. REFERENCES. 

4 Except as otherwise expressly provided, whenever in 

5 this title an amendment or repeal is expressed in terms 

6 of an amendment to, or repeal of, a section or other provi7 sion, the reference shall be considered to be made to a 

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1 section or other provision of the Education Sciences Re2 form Act of 2002 (20 U.S.C. 9501 et seq.). 

3 SEC. 102. REDESIGNATIONS. 

4 The Act (20 U.S.C. 9501 et seq.) is amended by re5 designating sections 151 through 158, 171 through 174, 

6 175 through 177, and 181 through 194, as sections 141 

7 through 148, 151 through 154, 161 through 163, and 171 

8 through 184, respectively. 

9 SEC. 103. DEFINITIONS. 

10 Section 102 (20 U.S.C. 9501) is amended— 

11 (1) by striking paragraph (1), and inserting the 

12 following: 

13 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.— 

14 ‘‘(A) ESEA TERMS.— 

15 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—The terms ‘dual 

16 or concurrent enrollment program’, ‘early 

17 college high school’, ‘elementary school’, 

18 ‘English learner’, ‘local educational agen19 cy’, ‘multi-tier system of supports’, ‘other 

20 staff’, ‘paraprofessional’, ‘school leader’, 

21 ‘secondary school’, ‘Secretary’, ‘specialized 

22 instructional support personnel’, ‘State 

23 educational agency’, and ‘universal design 

24 for learning’ have the meanings given 

25 those terms in section 8101 of the ElemenVerDate Sep 11 2014 23:38 Dec 11, 2023 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3392.IS S3392
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1 tary and Secondary Education Act of 

2 1965. 

3 ‘‘(ii) SUBGROUP OF STUDENTS.—The 

4 term ‘subgroup of students’— 

5 ‘‘(I) means each subgroup of stu6 dents described in section 

7 1111(h)(1)(C)(ii) of the Elementary 

8 and Secondary Education Act of 

9 1965; and 

10 ‘‘(II) includes first generation 

11 college students, as defined in section 

12 402A(h) of the Higher Education Act 

13 of 1965. 

14 ‘‘(iii) CHARTER SCHOOL.—The term 

15 ‘charter school’ has the meaning given the 

16 term in section 4310(2) of the Elementary 

17 and Secondary Education Act of 1965. 

18 ‘‘(B) IDEA TERMS.— 

19 ‘‘(i) CHILD WITH A DISABILITY.—The 

20 term ‘child with a disability’ has the mean21 ing given the term in section 602 of the 

22 Individuals with Disabilities Education 

23 Act. 

24 ‘‘(ii) INFANT OR TODDLER WITH A

25 DISABILITY.—The term ‘infant or toddler 

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1 with a disability’ has the meaning given 

2 the term in section 632 of the Individuals 

3 with Disabilities Education Act. 

4 ‘‘(C) ADULT EDUCATION AND FAMILY LIT5 ERACY ACT TERMS.—The terms ‘adult edu6 cation’ and ‘adult education and literacy activi7 ties’ have the meanings given the terms in sec8 tion 203 of the Adult Education and Family 

9 Literacy Act (29 U.S.C. 3272).’’; 

10 (2) in paragraph (2)(B), by inserting ‘‘or the 

11 identification of evidence-based practices’’ after 

12 ‘‘field of education’’; 

13 (3) in paragraph (5), by striking ‘‘Affairs’’ and 

14 inserting ‘‘Education’’; 

15 (4) by striking paragraphs (17) and (21); 

16 (5) by redesignating paragraphs (6), (7), (8), 

17 (9), (10), (11), (12), (13), (14), (15), (16), (18), 

18 (19), (20), (22), and (23), as paragraphs (8), (9), 

19 (10), (11), (12), (14), (17), (19), (21), (22), (24), 

20 (25), (28), (29), (30), and (31), respectively; 

21 (6) by inserting after paragraph (5) the fol22 lowing: 

23 ‘‘(6) BUREAU-FUNDED SCHOOL.—The term 

24 ‘Bureau-funded school’ has the meaning given the 

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1 term in section 1141 of the Education Amendments 

2 of 1978 (25 U.S.C. 2021). 

3 ‘‘(7) CAREER AND TECHNICAL EDUCATION.— 

4 The term ‘career and technical education’ has the 

5 meaning given the term in section 3 of the Carl D. 

6 Perkins Career and Technical Education Act of 

7 2006.’’; 

8 (7) in paragraph (8), as redesignated by para9 graph (5), by striking ‘‘means an entity established 

10 under section 203 of the Educational Technical As11 sistance Act of 2002’’ and inserting ‘‘has the mean12 ing given the term in section 202’’; 

13 (8) in paragraph (10), as redesignated by para14 graph (5)— 

15 (A) by inserting ‘‘evidence-based’’ before 

16 ‘‘products or processes’’; and 

17 (B) by striking ‘‘teaching’’ and all that fol18 lows through the period at the end and insert19 ing ‘‘teaching and learning, that lead to the im20 provement of student outcomes, including the 

21 academic skills of students, and that may be 

22 replicable in heterogeneous local educational 

23 contexts.’’; 

24 (9) in paragraph (12), as redesignated by para25 graph (5)— 

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1 (A) by inserting ‘‘principals, other school 

2 leaders,’’ after ‘‘teachers,’’; and 

3 (B) by inserting ‘‘specialized instructional 

4 support personnel, other staff, early childhood 

5 educators, administrators of early childhood 

6 education programs, faculty, student support 

7 staff, paraprofessionals,’’ after ‘‘other practi8 tioners,’’; 

9 (10) by inserting after paragraph (12) the fol10 lowing: 

11 ‘‘(13) EARLY CHILDHOOD EDUCATION PRO12 GRAM.—The term ‘early childhood education pro13 gram’ has the meaning given the term in section 103 

14 of the Higher Education Act of 1965.’’; 

15 (11) in paragraph (14), as redesignated by 

16 paragraph (5), by striking ‘‘providing,’’ and all that 

17 follows through the period at the end and inserting 

18 ‘‘providing services to children in an early childhood 

19 education program.’’; 

20 (12) by inserting after paragraph (14), as re21 designated by paragraph (5), the following: 

22 ‘‘(15) EVIDENCE-BASED.—The term ‘evidence23 based’ means any educational activity, strategy, 

24 intervention, or policy design that demonstrates a 

25 statistically significant effect on improving relevant 

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1 outcomes for intended beneficiaries at the individual, 

2 classroom, program, school, institutional, education, 

3 or workforce system level based on evidence from at 

4 least 1 well-designed and well-implemented study ca5 pable of causal inference, particularly randomized6 control trials. 

7 ‘‘(16) EVIDENCE USE.—The term ‘evidence use’ 

8 means activities that build the capacity of practi9 tioners to effectively understand evidence-based 

10 practices and scientifically valid research— 

11 ‘‘(A) to comprehend the design principles 

12 of evidence-based practices and identify, select, 

13 implement, and adapt such practices in hetero14 geneous local educational contexts; 

15 ‘‘(B) to support high-quality teaching and 

16 learning and the continuous improvement of 

17 education systems; and 

18 ‘‘(C) which may be informed by the syn19 thesis of an evidence base related to a specific 

20 activity, strategy, intervention, or policy design, 

21 based on consistent findings across multiple 

22 studies or sites to support the generality of re23 sults and conclusions.’’; 

24 (13) in paragraph (17), as redesignated by 

25 paragraph (5), by striking ‘‘(including teachers and 

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1 other practitioners) and that conforms to standards’’ 

2 and inserting ‘‘in collaboration with practitioners or 

3 education system leaders and that conforms to the 

4 principles’’; 

5 (14) by inserting after paragraph (17), as re6 designated by paragraph (5), the following: 

7 ‘‘(18) GEOGRAPHIC REGION.—The term ‘geo8 graphic region’ means each of the 10 geographic re9 gions served by the regional educational labora10 tories.’’; 

11 (15) by inserting after paragraph (19), as re12 designated by paragraph (5), the following: 

13 ‘‘(20) INDIAN TRIBE.—The term ‘Indian Tribe’ 

14 has the meaning given the term in section 4 of the 

15 Indian Self-Determination and Education Assistance 

16 Act (25 U.S.C. 5304).’’; 

17 (16) by inserting after paragraph (22), as re18 designated by paragraph (5), the following: 

19 ‘‘(23) MINORITY-SERVING INSTITUTION.—The 

20 term ‘minority-serving institution’ means an institu21 tion of higher education described in section 371(a) 

22 of the Higher Education Act of 1965.’’; 

23 (17) in paragraph (24), as redesignated by 

24 paragraph (5), by striking ‘‘section 133(c)’’ and in25 serting ‘‘section 133(g)’’; 

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1 (18) by striking paragraph (25), as redesig2 nated by paragraph (5), and inserting the following: 

3 ‘‘(25) PRINCIPLES OF SCIENTIFICALLY VALID

4 RESEARCH.—The term ‘principles of scientifically 

5 valid research’ means research standards that— 

6 ‘‘(A) apply rigorous, systematic, and objec7 tive methodology to obtain reliable and valid 

8 knowledge relevant to the needs of students, 

9 families, practitioners, education system lead10 ers, and policymakers; 

11 ‘‘(B) present findings and make claims 

12 that are appropriate to, and supported by, the 

13 methods that have been employed; and 

14 ‘‘(C) include, appropriate to the research 

15 being conducted— 

16 ‘‘(i) use of research designs and meth17 ods appropriate to the research question 

18 posed; 

19 ‘‘(ii) use of systematic, empirical 

20 methods that draw on observation or ex21 periment; 

22 ‘‘(iii) use of data analyses that are 

23 adequate to support the general findings; 

24 ‘‘(iv) making claims of causal relation25 ships only in random assignment experiVerDate Sep 11 2014 23:38 Dec 11, 2023 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00013 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3392.IS S3392
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1 ments or other designs (to the extent such 

2 designs substantially eliminate plausible 

3 competing explanations for the obtained re4 sults); 

5 ‘‘(v) consistency of findings across 

6 multiple studies or sites to support the 

7 generality of results and conclusions; 

8 ‘‘(vi) presentation of studies and 

9 methods in sufficient detail and clarity to 

10 allow for replication or, at a minimum, to 

11 offer the opportunity to build systemati12 cally on the findings of the research; and 

13 ‘‘(vii) acceptance by a peer-reviewed 

14 journal or critique by a panel of inde15 pendent experts through a comparably rig16 orous, objective, and scientific review.’’; 

17 (19) by inserting after paragraph (25), as re18 designated by paragraph (5), the following: 

19 ‘‘(26) PRIORITIES.—The term ‘priorities’ means 

20 the priorities proposed by the Director and approved 

21 by the Board under section 115. 

22 ‘‘(27) REGIONAL EDUCATIONAL LABORA23 TORY.—The term ‘regional educational laboratory’ 

24 means a regional educational laboratory established 

25 under section 157.’’; 

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1 (20) in paragraph (28), as redesignated by 

2 paragraph (5), by striking subparagraph (B) and in3 serting the following: 

4 ‘‘(B) provides an adequate description of 

5 the programs evaluated, the study sample, the 

6 individual or multiple sites in which a program 

7 was evaluated, and, to the extent possible, ex8 amines the relationship between program imple9 mentation and program impacts, including why 

10 or why not such impact occurred, and the con11 textual factors that may influence program im12 pact;’’; 

13 (21) in paragraph (29), as redesignated by 

14 paragraph (5), by striking ‘‘scientifically based re15 search standards’’ and inserting ‘‘principles of sci16 entifically valid research’’; 

17 (22) by striking paragraph (30), as redesig18 nated by paragraph (5), and inserting the following: 

19 ‘‘(30) STATE.— 

20 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘State’ in21 cludes (except as provided in section 148) each 

22 of the 50 States, the District of Columbia, the 

23 Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, the freely asso24 ciated states, and the outlying areas. 

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1 ‘‘(B) OUTLYING AREA.—The term ‘out2 lying area’ has the meaning given such term in 

3 section 1121(c) of the Elementary and Sec4 ondary Education Act of 1965. 

5 ‘‘(C) FREELY ASSOCIATED STATES.—The 

6 term ‘freely associated states’ means the Re7 public of the Marshall Islands, the Federated 

8 States of Micronesia, and the Republic of 

9 Palau.’’; 

10 (23) by striking paragraph (31), as redesig11 nated by paragraph (5), and inserting the following: 

12 ‘‘(31) TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE.—The term 

13 ‘technical assistance’ means— 

14 ‘‘(A) assistance in evidence use, including 

15 professional development, high-quality training, 

16 and other supports to implement evidence-based 

17 practices and strategies leading to— 

18 ‘‘(i) improved educational opportuni19 ties and approaches to teaching and learn20 ing that are based on scientifically valid re21 search; and 

22 ‘‘(ii) improved planning, design, adap23 tation, and implementation of programs; 

24 ‘‘(B) assistance in interpreting, analyzing, 

25 and utilizing data, statistics, and evaluations; 

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1 ‘‘(C) assistance in identifying and applying 

2 to research funding opportunities provided by 

3 the Institute; or 

4 ‘‘(D) other assistance necessary to encour5 age the improvement of teaching and learning 

6 through the applications of techniques sup7 ported by scientifically valid research.’’; and 

8 (24) by adding at the end the following: 

9 ‘‘(32) TRIBAL COLLEGE OR UNIVERSITY.—The 

10 term ‘Tribal College or University’ has the meaning 

11 given the term in section 316 of the Higher Edu12 cation Act of 1965. 

13 ‘‘(33) TRIBAL ORGANIZATION.—The term ‘Trib14 al organization’ has the meaning given the term in 

15 section 4 of the Indian Self-Determination and Edu16 cation Assistance Act (25 U.S.C. 5304). 

17 ‘‘(34) YOUTH WITH A DISABILITY.—The term 

18 ‘youth with a disability’ has the meaning given the 

19 term in section 7 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 

20 (29 U.S.C. 705).’’. 

21 PART A—THE INSTITUTE OF EDUCATION 

22 SCIENCES 

23 SEC. 111. ESTABLISHMENT. 

24 Section 111 (20 U.S.C. 9511) is amended— 

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1 (1) by striking subsection (b) and inserting the 

2 following: 

3 ‘‘(b) MISSION.— 

4 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The mission of the Insti5 tute is to provide national leadership in expanding 

6 fundamental knowledge and understanding of edu7 cation from early childhood through postsecondary 

8 study (including special education, adult education, 

9 and labor market outcomes), in order to provide stu10 dents, families, practitioners, education system lead11 ers, researchers, policymakers, and the general pub12 lic with reliable information and research about— 

13 ‘‘(A) the condition and progress of edu14 cation in the United States; 

15 ‘‘(B) educational practices that support 

16 learning to improve student outcomes, including 

17 academic achievement and access to high-qual18 ity educational opportunities for all students, 

19 particularly for each subgroup of students; and 

20 ‘‘(C) the effectiveness of Federal and other 

21 education programs. 

22 ‘‘(2) CARRYING OUT MISSION.—In carrying out 

23 the mission described in paragraph (1), the Institute 

24 shall— 

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1 ‘‘(A) compile statistics, develop evidence2 based products, promote evidence use, and con3 duct research, evaluations, and wide dissemina4 tion in a manner that is responsive to the edu5 cational challenges facing students, families, 

6 practitioners, and education system leaders; and 

7 ‘‘(B) ensure that such activities— 

8 ‘‘(i) conform to high standards of 

9 quality, integrity, and accuracy; and 

10 ‘‘(ii) are objective, secular, neutral, 

11 and nonideological and are free of partisan 

12 political influence and bias on the basis of 

13 race, religion, color, national origin, sex, or 

14 disability.’’; and 

15 (2) in subsection (c)(3)(C), by striking ‘‘the 

16 National Center for Education Evaluation and Re17 gional Assistance’’ and inserting ‘‘the National Cen18 ter for Education Evaluation and Evidence Use’’. 

19 SEC. 112. FUNCTIONS. 

20 Section 112 (20 U.S.C. 9512) is amended— 

21 (1) by striking ‘‘section 194’’ and inserting 

22 ‘‘section 182’’; and 

23 (2) by striking paragraphs (1) through (4) and 

24 inserting the following: 

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1 ‘‘(1) conduct and support scientifically valid re2 search activities, including basic research, applied 

3 research, and field-initiated research, statistics ac4 tivities, scientifically valid education evaluation, de5 velopment, wide dissemination, and evidence use; 

6 ‘‘(2) support collaborative identification and de7 velopment of research questions, designs, and meth8 ods among researchers, students, families, practi9 tioners, education system leaders, and policymakers, 

10 and widely disseminate the findings and results of 

11 scientifically valid research in education to such indi12 viduals and within the Department and the Federal 

13 Government; 

14 ‘‘(3) promote the use, development, and applica15 tion of knowledge gained from scientifically valid re16 search activities to improve student outcomes, in17 cluding academic achievement, particularly for each 

18 subgroup of students; 

19 ‘‘(4) strengthen the national, State, regional, 

20 and local capacity to conduct, develop, and widely 

21 disseminate activities described in paragraph (1), in22 cluding by increasing the participation of researchers 

23 and institutions that have been historically under24 represented in Federal education research activities 

25 of the Institute, including historically Black colleges 

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1 and universities, Tribal Colleges and Universities, 

2 and other minority-serving institutions;’’. 

3 SEC. 113. OFFICE OF THE DIRECTOR. 

4 Section 114 (20 U.S.C. 9514) is amended— 

5 (1) in subsection (a), by striking ‘‘Except as 

6 provided in subsection (b)(2), the’’ and inserting 

7 ‘‘The’’; 

8 (2) by striking subsection (b) and inserting the 

9 following: 

10 ‘‘(b) TERM.— 

11 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.— 

12 ‘‘(A) 6-YEAR TERM.—Except as provided 

13 in subparagraph (B), the Director shall serve 

14 for a term of 6 years, beginning on the date of 

15 appointment of the Director. 

16 ‘‘(B) EXCEPTION.—If a successor to the 

17 Director has not been named as of the date of 

18 expiration of the Director’s term, the Director 

19 may serve for not more than an additional 1- 

20 year period, beginning on the day after the date 

21 of expiration of the Director’s term, or until a 

22 successor has been appointed under subsection 

23 (a), whichever occurs first. 

24 ‘‘(2) RECOMMENDATIONS.—The Board shall 

25 make recommendations to the President with respect 

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1 to the appointment of a Director under subsection 

2 (a).’’; 

3 (3) in subsection (d), by striking ‘‘productivity 

4 and leadership’’ and inserting ‘‘productivity, leader5 ship, and support for wide dissemination and evi6 dence use’’; 

7 (4) in subsection (f)— 

8 (A) in paragraph (2), by inserting ‘‘prin9 ciples of scientifically valid research and appli10 cable’’ before ‘‘standards’’; 

11 (B) by striking paragraph (3) and insert12 ing the following: 

13 ‘‘(3) To coordinate education research and re14 lated activities carried out by the Institute with such 

15 research and activities carried out by other agencies 

16 within the Department and the Federal Government 

17 in order ensure such activities— 

18 ‘‘(A) support high-quality teaching and 

19 learning for students, particularly for each sub20 group of students; and 

21 ‘‘(B) are responsive to the educational 

22 challenges facing students, families, practi23 tioners, and education system leaders.’’; 

24 (C) in paragraph (4), by inserting ‘‘and 

25 evidence use’’ after ‘‘statistics activities’’; 

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1 (D) in paragraph (5)— 

2 (i) by striking ‘‘necessary’’ and insert3 ing ‘‘and maintain high-quality and time4 ly’’; and 

5 (ii) by striking ‘‘section 116(b)(3)’’ 

6 and inserting ‘‘section 116(b)(4)’’; 

7 (E) in paragraph (6), by striking ‘‘section 

8 183 of this title’’ and inserting ‘‘section 173’’; 

9 (F) in paragraph (7), by striking ‘‘racial, 

10 cultural, gender, or regional bias’’ and inserting 

11 ‘‘bias on the basis of race, religion, color, na12 tional origin, sex, or disability’’; 

13 (G) by striking paragraph (8) and insert14 ing the following: 

15 ‘‘(8) To undertake initiatives and programs to 

16 increase the participation of researchers and institu17 tions that have been historically underrepresented in 

18 Federal education research activities of the Institute, 

19 including historically Black colleges or universities, 

20 Tribal Colleges and Universities, or other minority21 serving institutions.’’; 

22 (H) in paragraph (9), by striking ‘‘and 

23 comprehensive centers’’ and inserting ‘‘, tech24 nical assistance centers supported by the De25 partment, and comprehensive centers, to inVerDate Sep 11 2014 23:38 Dec 11, 2023 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00023 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3392.IS S3392
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1 crease evidence use among practitioners, edu2 cation system leaders, and policymakers’’; 

3 (I) in paragraph (10), by striking ‘‘input 

4 from’’ and inserting ‘‘engagement with’’; and 

5 (J) by adding at the end the following: 

6 ‘‘(13) To ensure that information, statistics, 

7 products, and publications of the Institute are pre8 pared in a timely manner and are widely dissemi9 nated to practitioners, education system leaders, and 

10 policymakers in formats that are high quality, easily 

11 accessible, understandable, and actionable.’’; and 

12 (5) in subsection (h), by striking ‘‘by the Sec13 retary’’ and all that follows through the period at 

14 the end and inserting ‘‘by the Secretary— 

15 ‘‘(1) review the products and publications of 

16 other offices of the Department to certify that evi17 dence-based claims about those products and publi18 cations are scientifically valid; and 

19 ‘‘(2) accurately synthesize and effectively com20 municate the research base of evidence-based prac21 tices that address educational challenges facing stu22 dents, families, practitioners, and education system 

23 leaders.’’. 

25 

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1 SEC. 114. PRIORITIES. 

2 Section 115 (20 U.S.C. 9515) is amended to read as 

3 follows: 

4 ‘‘SEC. 115. PRIORITIES. 

5 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The Director shall, not less often 

6 than every 6 years, propose to the Board priorities for the 

7 Institute after— 

8 ‘‘(1) first engaging with the Committee on 

9 Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions of the Sen10 ate and the Committee on Education and the Work11 force of the House of Representatives, and engaging 

12 with practitioners, education system leaders, and 

13 policymakers; 

14 ‘‘(2) subsequent to the consultation and engage15 ment under paragraph (1), reviewing public com16 ments submitted in accordance with subsection (b); 

17 and 

18 ‘‘(3) subsequent to reviewing public comments 

19 under paragraph (2), identifying priority topics 

20 under subsection (c). 

21 ‘‘(b) PUBLIC COMMENT.—Before submitting to the 

22 Board proposed priorities for the Institute, the Director 

23 shall— 

24 ‘‘(1) make such priorities available to the public 

25 for comment for not less than 60 days (including by 

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26 

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1 sible manner on the Institute’s website and through 

2 publishing such priorities in the Federal Register); 

3 ‘‘(2) ensure that the public comments were con4 sidered in developing the priorities submitted by the 

5 Director to the Board; and 

6 ‘‘(3) provide to the Board a copy of each such 

7 public comment submitted. 

8 ‘‘(c) PRIORITY TOPICS.—After reviewing public com9 ments submitted in accordance with subsection (b), the 

10 Director shall identify priority topics that may require 

11 long-term research or that are focused on understanding 

12 and solving particular education problems and issues, in13 cluding those associated with the goals and requirements 

14 of the Head Start Act (42 U.S.C. 9831 et seq.), the Child 

15 Care and Development Block Grant Act of 1990 (42 

16 U.S.C. 9857 et seq.), the Elementary and Secondary Edu17 cation Act of 1965, the Individuals with Disabilities Edu18 cation Act, the Carl D. Perkins Career and Technical 

19 Education Act of 2006, the Higher Education Act of 

20 1965, and the Adult Education and Family Literacy Act 

21 (29 U.S.C. 3271 et seq.), which may include— 

22 ‘‘(1) supporting high-quality teaching and 

23 learning, including through school and system design 

24 and instructional strategies, in order to provide stu25 dents, particularly each subgroup of students, access 

27 

•S 3392 IS

1 to high-quality educational opportunities and to im2 prove educational outcomes, particularly student 

3 academic achievement; and 

4 ‘‘(2) increasing the identification and develop5 ment of evidence-based practices or policies, includ6 ing the use of science of learning and human devel7 opment for meeting students’ needs and supporting 

8 improved outcomes. 

9 ‘‘(d) APPROVAL.— 

10 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 90 days, to 

11 the greatest extent practicable, after the date the 

12 Board receives proposed priorities under subsection 

13 (a), the Board shall, under a majority vote of a 

14 quorum of the Board, approve or disapprove the pri15 orities, including any necessary revision of those pri16 orities. 

17 ‘‘(2) CONSISTENCY.—The Board shall ensure 

18 that priorities of the Institute and the National 

19 Education Centers are consistent with the mission of 

20 the Institute. 

21 ‘‘(e) FINAL PRIORITIES.—The Director shall make 

22 the final priorities approved by the Board under sub23 section (d) widely available to the public, including by elec24 tronic means such as posting in an easily accessible man25 ner on the Department’s website.’’. 

28 

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1 SEC. 115. PLANS; EDUCATION RESEARCHER PIPELINE. 

2 Part A (20 U.S.C. 9511 et seq.) is amended by in3 serting after section 115 the following: 

4 ‘‘SEC. 115A. PLANS. 

5 ‘‘(a) APPROVAL OF COMMISSIONERS’ PLANS.— 

6 ‘‘(1) APPROVAL.—Not later than 30 days after 

7 the date the Director receives a plan submitted 

8 under section 133(b), 143(b), 153(b), or 163(b), the 

9 Director shall approve such plan, including requiring 

10 any necessary revision of such plan. 

11 ‘‘(2) CONSISTENCY.—The Director shall ensure 

12 that each plan approved under paragraph (1) is con13 sistent with the mission of the corresponding Na14 tional Education Center. 

15 ‘‘(b) INSTITUTE’S PLAN AND REPORT.—Not later 

16 than 90 days after the date the Board approves priorities 

17 under section 115, the Director shall— 

18 ‘‘(1) in consultation with each Commissioner of 

19 a National Education Center and the Board— 

20 ‘‘(A) develop a plan for addressing such 

21 priorities across the Institute’s activities and 

22 functions, in accordance with the requirements 

23 of this title; and 

24 ‘‘(B) incorporate in such plan each plan 

25 approved by the Director in accordance with 

26 subsection (a); 

29 

•S 3392 IS

1 ‘‘(2) submit a report containing the Institute’s 

2 plan described in paragraph (1) to the Committee on 

3 Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions and the 

4 Committee on Appropriations of the Senate and the 

5 Committee on Education and the Workforce and the 

6 Committee on Appropriations of the House of Rep7 resentatives; and 

8 ‘‘(3) make such report widely available to the 

9 public (including by electronic means such as post10 ing in an easily accessible manner on the Depart11 ment’s website). 

12 ‘‘(c) BRIEFING.—At the time of submission of a re13 port required under subsection (b)(2), the Director shall 

14 provide a briefing to the Committee on Health, Education, 

15 Labor, and Pensions and the Committee on Appropria16 tions of the Senate and the Committee on Education and 

17 the Workforce and the Committee on Appropriations of 

18 the House of Representatives on the contents of the re19 port. 

20 ‘‘SEC. 115B. EDUCATION RESEARCHER PIPELINE. 

21 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—In accordance with section 

22 112(4), the Institute shall carry out initiatives and pro23 grams— 

24 ‘‘(1) to strengthen the national capacity to 

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•S 3392 IS

1 tistics related to education by expanding the edu2 cation researcher pipeline; and 

3 ‘‘(2) to increase the participation of researchers 

4 and institutions that have been historically under5 represented in Federal education research activities 

6 of the Institute, including historically Black colleges 

7 and universities, Tribal Colleges and Universities, 

8 and other minority-serving institutions. 

9 ‘‘(b) FELLOWSHIPS.— 

10 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Director shall establish 

11 and maintain— 

12 ‘‘(A) research, evaluation, and statistics 

13 fellowships in institutions of higher education 

14 (which may include the establishment of such 

15 fellowships in historically Black colleges and 

16 universities, Tribal Colleges and Universities, 

17 and other minority-serving institutions) that 

18 support— 

19 ‘‘(i) graduate and postdoctoral study 

20 onsite at the Institute or at the institution 

21 of higher education; and 

22 ‘‘(ii) early career researchers; and 

23 ‘‘(B) fellowships in new and emerging 

24 areas of study. 

31 

•S 3392 IS

1 ‘‘(2) RECRUITMENT.—In establishing the fel2 lowships under paragraph (1), the Director shall en3 sure that women and minorities are actively re4 cruited for participation. 

5 ‘‘(c) COORDINATION.—In carrying out this section, 

6 the Director shall ensure that the activities of the National 

7 Education Centers are coordinated effectively.’’. 

8 SEC. 116. NATIONAL BOARD FOR EDUCATION SCIENCES. 

9 Section 116 (20 U.S.C. 9516) is amended to read as 

10 follows: 

11 ‘‘SEC. 116. NATIONAL BOARD FOR EDUCATION SCIENCES. 

12 ‘‘(a) ESTABLISHMENT.— 

13 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Institute shall have a 

14 board of directors, which shall be known as the Na15 tional Board for Education Sciences. 

16 ‘‘(2) TRANSITION.— 

17 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 1 year 

18 after the date of enactment of the Advancing 

19 Research in Education Act, the Secretary shall 

20 appoint a Board in accordance with this section 

21 as in effect on the date of enactment of the Ad22 vancing Research in Education Act. 

23 ‘‘(B) TRANSITION AUTHORITY.—The Sec24 retary shall take such steps as may be nec25 essary to ensure an orderly transition to the 

32 

•S 3392 IS

1 Board, as authorized under subparagraph (A), 

2 from the Board, as in effect on the day before 

3 the date of enactment of the Advancing Re4 search in Education Act, which may include ad5 justing term limits of members on the Board. 

6 ‘‘(C) EXISTING BOARD MEMBERS.—In car7 rying out subparagraph (A), the Secretary 

8 may— 

9 ‘‘(i) remove members who served on 

10 the Board on the day before the date of 

11 enactment of the Advancing Research in 

12 Education Act who were appointed in ac13 cordance with this title prior to such date 

14 of enactment; and 

15 ‘‘(ii) appoint members who served on 

16 the Board on the day before the date of 

17 enactment of the Advancing Research in 

18 Education Act. 

19 ‘‘(b) DUTIES.—The duties of the Board are the fol20 lowing: 

21 ‘‘(1) To advise and consult with the Director on 

22 the policies of the Institute on an ongoing basis. 

23 ‘‘(2) To advise on the research, evaluation, sta24 tistics, development, and evidence use dissemination 

25 activities planned or carried out by the Director and 

33 

•S 3392 IS

1 the Institute and make recommendations to ensure 

2 such activities are responsive to the educational chal3 lenges facing students, families, practitioners, and 

4 education system leaders. 

5 ‘‘(3) To consider and approve priorities pro6 posed by the Director under section 115 to guide the 

7 work of the Institute in accordance with the 

8 timelines specified in such section. 

9 ‘‘(4) To advise the Director on high-quality and 

10 timely procedures for technical and scientific peer 

11 review of the activities of the Institute. 

12 ‘‘(5) To advise the Director on improving or 

13 promoting the use, usefulness, and impact of activi14 ties to be supported by the Institute, including the 

15 general areas of research to be carried out by the 

16 National Center for Education Research and the 

17 National Center for Special Education Research. 

18 ‘‘(6) To present to the Director such rec19 ommendations as it may find appropriate for— 

20 ‘‘(A) strengthening education research 

21 from early childhood through postsecondary 

22 study; 

23 ‘‘(B) improving evidence use and dissemi24 nation; and 

34 

•S 3392 IS

1 ‘‘(C) the staffing and funding of the Insti2 tute. 

3 ‘‘(7) To advise the Director on the funding of 

4 applications for grants, contracts, and cooperative 

5 agreements for research and the process for high6 quality and timely peer review. 

7 ‘‘(8) To advise and regularly evaluate the work 

8 of the Institute on the basis that— 

9 ‘‘(A) scientifically valid research, develop10 ment, evaluation, and statistical analysis are 

11 consistent with principles of scientifically valid 

12 research or the applicable standards for such 

13 activities under this title; and 

14 ‘‘(B) activities related to the development 

15 of practices, wide dissemination, and evidence 

16 use are effectively carried out. 

17 ‘‘(9) To advise the Director on ensuring that 

18 activities conducted or supported by the Institute are 

19 objective, secular, neutral, and nonideological and 

20 are free of partisan political influence and bias on 

21 the basis of race, religion, color, national origin, sex, 

22 or disability. 

23 ‘‘(10) To solicit advice and information from 

24 those in the education field, particularly practi25 tioners, education system leaders, policymakers, and 

35 

•S 3392 IS

1 researchers, to recommend to the Director topics 

2 that require long-term, sustained, systematic, pro3 grammatic, and integrated research efforts, con4 sistent with the priorities and mission of the Insti5 tute. 

6 ‘‘(11) To advise the Director on opportunities 

7 for the participation in, and the advancement of, 

8 women, minorities, and persons with disabilities, and 

9 institutions that have been historically underrep10 resented in Federal education research activities of 

11 the Institute, including community colleges, histori12 cally Black colleges and universities, Tribal Colleges 

13 and Universities, and other minority-serving institu14 tions. 

15 ‘‘(12) To recommend to the Director ways to 

16 enhance strategic partnerships and collaborative ef17 forts among other Federal and State research agen18 cies. 

19 ‘‘(13) To recommend to the Director individuals 

20 to serve as Commissioners of the National Edu21 cation Centers. 

22 ‘‘(c) COMPOSITION.— 

23 ‘‘(1) VOTING MEMBERS.—The Board shall have 

24 9 voting members appointed by the Secretary. 

36 

•S 3392 IS

1 ‘‘(2) ADVICE.—The Secretary shall solicit ad2 vice regarding individuals to serve on the Board 

3 from the members of the Board serving on the date 

4 of the solicitation, the National Academies of 

5 Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, and organiza6 tions that have knowledge of individuals who are 

7 highly-qualified to appraise scientifically valid re8 search, statistics, evaluation, development, dissemi9 nation, and evidence use. 

10 ‘‘(3) NONVOTING EX OFFICIO MEMBERS.—The 

11 Board may have the following nonvoting ex officio 

12 members: 

13 ‘‘(A) The Director of the Institute of Edu14 cation Sciences. 

15 ‘‘(B) Each of the Commissioners of the 

16 National Education Centers. 

17 ‘‘(C) The Director of the National Insti18 tute of Child Health and Human Development. 

19 ‘‘(D) The Director of the Census. 

20 ‘‘(E) The Commissioner of Labor Statis21 tics. 

22 ‘‘(F) The Director of the National Science 

23 Foundation. 

24 ‘‘(4) APPOINTED MEMBERSHIP.— 

37 

•S 3392 IS

1 ‘‘(A) QUALIFICATIONS.—Members ap2 pointed under paragraph (1) shall be highly 

3 qualified to appraise education research, statis4 tics, evaluations, or development, and shall in5 clude the following individuals: 

6 ‘‘(i) Not fewer than 4 researchers in 

7 the field of statistics, evaluation, social 

8 sciences, or physical and biological 

9 sciences, with demonstrated experience in 

10 carrying out and effectively communicating 

11 scientifically valid research on education 

12 matters. 

13 ‘‘(ii) At least 1 practitioner who is a 

14 school-based professional educator, teacher, 

15 principal, other school leader, local edu16 cational agency superintendent, or member 

17 of a local board of education or Bureau18 funded school board. 

19 ‘‘(iii) At least 1 State leader who is 

20 knowledgeable about the educational chal21 lenges facing students, families, practi22 tioners, and education system leaders, who 

23 may be a chief State school officer, State 

24 postsecondary education executive, or 

25 member of a State board of education. 

38 

•S 3392 IS

1 ‘‘(iv) At least 1 individual with exper2 tise in special education research and re3 search on children with disabilities in edu4 cational settings. 

5 ‘‘(B) TERMS.—Each member shall serve 

6 for a term of 6 years, except that— 

7 ‘‘(i) the terms of members appointed 

8 in accordance with subsection (a)(2) shall 

9 be— 

10 ‘‘(I) 6 years for each of 3 mem11 bers; 

12 ‘‘(II) 4 years for each of 3 mem13 bers; and 

14 ‘‘(III) 2 years for each of 3 mem15 bers; 

16 ‘‘(ii) no member shall serve for more 

17 than 2 consecutive terms; and 

18 ‘‘(iii) in a case in which a successor to 

19 a member has not been appointed as of the 

20 date of expiration of the member’s term, 

21 the member may serve for an additional 1- 

22 year period, beginning on the day after the 

23 date of expiration of the member’s term, or 

24 until a successor has been appointed under 

25 paragraph (1), whichever occurs first. 

39 

•S 3392 IS

1 ‘‘(C) VACANCIES.—The Secretary shall fill 

2 any vacancy to the Board in the manner in 

3 which the original appointment was made. Any 

4 member appointed to fill a vacancy on the 

5 Board occurring before the expiration of the 

6 term for which the member’s predecessor was 

7 appointed shall be appointed only for the re8 mainder of that term. 

9 ‘‘(D) CONFLICT OF INTEREST.—A voting 

10 member of the Board shall be considered a spe11 cial Government employee for the purposes of 

12 chapter 131 of title 5, United States Code. 

13 ‘‘(5) CHAIR.— 

14 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The Board shall elect 

15 a chair from among the members of the Board 

16 through a majority vote of a quorum. 

17 ‘‘(B) TERMS.—The chair shall serve in 

18 such role for a term of 2 years, and may be re19 elected in accordance with subparagraph (A). 

20 ‘‘(C) CHAIR VACANCY.—If the chair has 

21 been vacant for more than 3 months, at the 

22 written request of a quorum of the Board, the 

23 Director shall convene a meeting of the Board 

24 to, at a minimum, elect a chair. 

40 

•S 3392 IS

1 ‘‘(6) COMPENSATION.—Members of the Board 

2 shall serve without pay for such service. Members of 

3 the Board who are officers or employees of the 

4 United States may not receive additional pay, allow5 ances, or benefits by reason of their service on the 

6 Board. 

7 ‘‘(7) TRAVEL EXPENSES.—The members of the 

8 Board shall receive travel expenses, including per 

9 diem in lieu of subsistence, in accordance with sub10 chapter I of chapter 57 of title 5, United States 

11 Code. 

12 ‘‘(8) POWERS OF THE BOARD.— 

13 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—In the exercise of its 

14 duties under subsection (b) and in accordance 

15 with chapter 10 of title 5, United States Code, 

16 the Board shall be independent of the Director 

17 and the other offices and officers of the Insti18 tute. 

19 ‘‘(B) EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR.—The Board 

20 shall have an Executive Director who shall be 

21 appointed by the Board and hired by the Direc22 tor not later than 90 days after such appoint23 ment, to the greatest extent practicable. 

24 ‘‘(C) ADMINISTRATIVE SUPPORT.—The 

25 Board shall receive administrative support from 

41 

•S 3392 IS

1 the Director and may use additional staff as 

2 may be appointed or assigned by the Director, 

3 in consultation with the Chair and the Execu4 tive Director. 

5 ‘‘(D) DETAIL OF PERSONNEL.—The Board 

6 may use the services and facilities of any de7 partment or agency of the Federal Government. 

8 Upon the request of the Board, the head of any 

9 Federal agency may detail any of the personnel 

10 of such agency to the Board to assist the Board 

11 in carrying out this title. 

12 ‘‘(E) CONTRACTS.—The Board may enter 

13 into contracts or make other arrangements as 

14 may be necessary to carry out its functions. 

15 ‘‘(F) INFORMATION.—The Board may, to 

16 the extent otherwise permitted by law, obtain 

17 directly from any executive Federal agency such 

18 information as the Board determines necessary 

19 to carry out its functions. 

20 ‘‘(G) SUBCOMMITTEES.—The Board may 

21 establish standing or temporary subcommittees 

22 to make recommendations to the Board for car23 rying out activities authorized under this title. 

24 ‘‘(9) MEETINGS.—The Board shall meet not 

25 less often than 3 times each year. The Board shall 

42 

•S 3392 IS

1 hold additional meetings at the call of the Chair or 

2 upon the written request of not less than a quorum 

3 of the Board. Meetings of the Board are subject to 

4 section 552b of title 5, United States Code (com5 monly referred to as the Government in the Sun6 shine Act). 

7 ‘‘(10) QUORUM.—A majority of the voting 

8 members of the Board serving at the time of the 

9 meeting shall constitute a quorum. 

10 ‘‘(d) BOARD BIENNIAL REPORTS.—Not later than 

11 September 30, 2024, and biennially thereafter, the Board 

12 shall submit a report to the Director, the Secretary, the 

13 Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions 

14 and the Committee on Appropriations of the Senate, and 

15 the Committee on Education and the Workforce and the 

16 Committee on Appropriations of the House of Representa17 tives and make such report widely available to the public 

18 (including by electronic means such as posting in an easily 

19 accessible manner on the Department’s website). Each re20 port shall include— 

21 ‘‘(1) an evaluation of the Institute’s activities to 

22 ensure that research, evaluation, statistics, develop23 ment, and evidence use and dissemination activities 

24 are— 

43 

•S 3392 IS

1 ‘‘(A) consistent with principles of scientif2 ically valid research or the applicable standards 

3 for such activities under this title; and 

4 ‘‘(B) responsive to the educational chal5 lenges facing students, families, practitioners, 

6 and education system leaders; 

7 ‘‘(2) an assessment of the effectiveness of the 

8 Institute in— 

9 ‘‘(A) carrying out the Institute’s priorities 

10 and mission; 

11 ‘‘(B) engaging with practitioners, edu12 cation system leaders, and policymakers to pro13 mote the use, usefulness, and impact of scientif14 ically valid research activities and supporting 

15 the development of evidence-based practices, 

16 wide dissemination, evidence use, and contin17 uous improvement; and 

18 ‘‘(C) increasing the participation of re19 searchers and institutions that have been his20 torically underrepresented in Federal education 

21 research activities of the Institute, including 

22 community colleges, historically Black colleges 

23 and universities, Tribal Colleges and Univer24 sities, and other minority-serving institutions; 

44 

•S 3392 IS

1 ‘‘(3) a description of any recommendations re2 garding actions that may be taken to enhance the 

3 ability of the Institute and the National Education 

4 Centers to carry out their missions and priorities, 

5 and to improve governance within the Institute; 

6 ‘‘(4) a description of the number of staff serv7 ing the Board, in accordance with subsection (c)(8), 

8 the activities carried out by the Board, and any 

9 challenges faced by the Board in carrying out the 

10 Board’s duties described in subsection (b); and 

11 ‘‘(5) a list of members who have served at some 

12 point during the preceding 2 fiscal years, their affili13 ations, and their term expiration dates. 

14 ‘‘(e) BOARD BRIEFING.—At the time of submission 

15 of a report required under subsection (d), the Board shall 

16 provide a briefing to the Committee on Health, Education, 

17 Labor, and Pensions and the Committee on Appropria18 tions of the Senate and the Committee on Education and 

19 the Workforce and the Committee on Appropriations of 

20 the House of Representatives on the contents of the re21 port.’’. 

22 SEC. 117. COMMISSIONERS OF THE NATIONAL EDUCATION 

23 CENTERS. 

24 Section 117 (20 U.S.C. 9517) is amended— 

25 (1) in subsection (a)— 

45 

•S 3392 IS

1 (A) in paragraph (1), by striking ‘‘Except 

2 as provided in subsection (b), each’’ and insert3 ing ‘‘Each’’; 

4 (B) in paragraph (2), by striking ‘‘Except 

5 as provided in subsection (b), each’’ and insert6 ing ‘‘Each’’; and 

7 (C) in paragraph (3), by striking ‘‘Except 

8 as provided in subsection (b), each’’ and insert9 ing ‘‘Each’’; 

10 (2) by striking subsection (b); 

11 (3) by redesignating subsections (c) and (d) as 

12 subsections (b) and (c), respectively; and 

13 (4) in subsection (c), as redesignated by para14 graph (3)— 

15 (A) by striking ‘‘Each Commissioner, ex16 cept the Commissioner for Education Statistics, 

17 shall’’ and inserting the following: 

18 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Each Commissioner shall’’; 

19 and 

20 (B) by adding at the end the following: 

21 ‘‘(2) TIMELINESS.—In carrying out supervision 

22 and approval as described under subparagraph (A), 

23 the Director shall ensure that each Commissioner 

24 carries out the Commissioner’s duties in a manner 

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1 able, and timely information, consistent with the 

2 mission of the Institute.’’. 

3 SEC. 118. AGREEMENTS. 

4 Section 118 (20 U.S.C. 9518) is amended to read as 

5 follows: 

6 ‘‘SEC. 118. AGREEMENTS. 

7 ‘‘(a) RESEARCH COORDINATION.—The Institute may 

8 carry out research projects of common interest with Fed9 eral agencies through agreements with such agencies that 

10 are in accordance with section 173 and section 430 of the 

11 General Education Provisions Act (20 U.S.C. 1231). 

12 ‘‘(b) STATISTICAL DATA COORDINATION.—The Insti13 tute may carry out, for the purpose of research, statistical 

14 data projects of common interest or coordinate with Fed15 eral agencies to ensure that statistical data reported by 

16 the National Center for Education Statistics is high-qual17 ity, actionable, timely, and easily accessible, in accordance 

18 with section 173 and section 430 of the General Education 

19 Provisions Act (20 U.S.C. 1231).’’. 

20 SEC. 119. DIRECTOR BIENNIAL REPORT. 

21 Section 119 (20 U.S.C. 9519) is amended to read as 

22 follows: 

23 ‘‘SEC. 119. DIRECTOR BIENNIAL REPORT. 

24 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The Director shall, on a biennial 

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•S 3392 IS

1 mittee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions and the 

2 Committee on Appropriations of the Senate and the Com3 mittee on Education and the Workforce and the Com4 mittee on Appropriations of the House of Representatives, 

5 a report and make such report widely available to the pub6 lic (including by electronic means such as posting in an 

7 easily accessible manner on the Department’s website), 

8 containing the following: 

9 ‘‘(1) A description of the research, evaluation, 

10 statistics, development, and evidence use and dis11 semination activities carried out by and through the 

12 National Education Centers during the 2 fiscal years 

13 prior to the date of the transmission, including how 

14 such activities were— 

15 ‘‘(A) consistent with principles of scientif16 ically valid research or the applicable standards 

17 for such activities under this title, and the pri18 orities and mission of the Institute; and 

19 ‘‘(B) responsive to the educational chal20 lenges facing students, families, practitioners, 

21 and education system leaders, including how the 

22 Institute regularly solicited, engaged with, and 

23 considered the recommendations of researchers, 

24 practitioners, education system leaders, and the 

48 

•S 3392 IS

1 Board in the planning and carrying out of the 

2 Institute’s activities. 

3 ‘‘(2) A description of how the Director is car4 rying out the requirements to increase the participa5 tion of researchers and institutions that have been 

6 historically underrepresented in Federal education 

7 research activities of the Institute. 

8 ‘‘(3) Such additional comments, recommenda9 tions, and materials as the Director considers appro10 priate. 

11 ‘‘(b) DIRECTOR BRIEFING.—At the time of trans12 mission of the report required under subsection (a), the 

13 Director shall provide a briefing to the Committee on 

14 Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions and the Com15 mittee on Appropriations of the Senate and the Committee 

16 on Education and the Workforce and the Committee on 

17 Appropriations of the House of Representatives on the 

18 contents of the report.’’. 

19 SEC. 120. TRANSPARENCY. 

20 Part A (20 U.S.C. 9511 et seq.) is amended by add21 ing at the end the following: 

22 ‘‘SEC. 121. TRANSPARENCY. 

23 ‘‘Not later than 1 year after the date of enactment 

24 of the Advancing Research in Education Act, the Director 

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49 

•S 3392 IS

1 sible manner, such as through electronic means and post2 ing on the Institute’s website, to store and update infor3 mation regarding— 

4 ‘‘(1) individuals or entities that received a 

5 grant, contract, or cooperative agreement under this 

6 title; 

7 ‘‘(2) the amount of such a grant, contract, or 

8 cooperative agreement, including the award period 

9 and amount received in each fiscal year; and 

10 ‘‘(3) the activities supported or carried out by 

11 such award, including applicable research area and 

12 methodology.’’. 

13 PART B—NATIONAL CENTER FOR EDUCATION 

14 RESEARCH 

15 SEC. 131. ESTABLISHMENT. 

16 Section 131(b) (20 U.S.C. 9531(b)) is amended— 

17 (1) by striking paragraph (1) and inserting the 

18 following: 

19 ‘‘(1) to sponsor sustained research that will 

20 lead to the accumulation of knowledge and under21 standing of education to ensure that all students, 

22 particularly subgroups of students, have access to 

23 high-quality educational opportunities, including 

24 by— 

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1 ‘‘(A) improving educational outcomes, par2 ticularly student academic achievement, and 

3 closing the opportunity and achievement gap 

4 between students, particularly each subgroup of 

5 students; 

6 ‘‘(B) supporting high-quality teaching and 

7 learning; 

8 ‘‘(C) increasing the identification and de9 velopment of evidence-based practices or poli10 cies, such as use of science of learning and 

11 human development; 

12 ‘‘(D) improving evidence use by practi13 tioners, education system leaders, and policy14 makers; and 

15 ‘‘(E) improving access to, and completion 

16 of, postsecondary education;’’; and 

17 (2) by striking paragraphs (2) through (4) and 

18 inserting the following: 

19 ‘‘(2) to promote quality and integrity through 

20 the use of accepted practices of scientific inquiry to 

21 obtain knowledge and understanding of the validity 

22 of education theories, practices, or conditions; and 

23 ‘‘(3) to promote engagement, the synthesis of 

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1 based practices, wide dissemination of research, and 

2 evidence use— 

3 ‘‘(A) in a manner that is responsive to the 

4 educational challenges facing students, families, 

5 practitioners, and education system leaders; and 

6 ‘‘(B) that can provide the basis for improv7 ing academic instruction and lifelong learning.’’. 

8 SEC. 132. COMMISSIONER FOR EDUCATION RESEARCH. 

9 Section 132 (20 U.S.C. 9532) is amended by insert10 ing ‘‘scientifically valid’’ before ‘‘research and research 

11 management’’. 

12 SEC. 133. DUTIES. 

13 Section 133 (20 U.S.C. 9533) is amended— 

14 (1) by redesignating subsections (b) and (c) as 

15 subsections (c) and (g), respectively; 

16 (2) by striking subsection (a) and inserting the 

17 following: 

18 ‘‘(a) GENERAL DUTIES.—The Research Commis19 sioner shall— 

20 ‘‘(1) maintain published peer-review standards 

21 and standards for the conduct and evaluation of all 

22 research and development carried out under the aus23 pices of the Research Center, aligned with the prin24 ciples of scientifically valid research and in accord25 ance with this part; 

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1 ‘‘(2) propose to the Director a research plan in 

2 accordance with subsection (b), and implement the 

3 research plan approved as part of the Institute’s 

4 plan under section 115A; 

5 ‘‘(3) carry out specific, long-term research ac6 tivities that are consistent with the priorities and 

7 mission of the Institute and the mission of the Re8 search Center, and are approved by the Director; 

9 ‘‘(4) support scientifically valid research that 

10 seeks to improve educational opportunities and out11 comes at the individual, classroom, program, school, 

12 institutional, education system, or other relevant re13 search level; 

14 ‘‘(5) support the use of scientifically valid re15 search within the Department and across the Fed16 eral Government; 

17 ‘‘(6) ensure that research conducted under the 

18 direction of the Research Center— 

19 ‘‘(A) supports the collaborative identifica20 tion and development of research questions, de21 signs, measurements, and methods among re22 searchers, students, families, practitioners, edu23 cation system leaders, and policymakers; 

24 ‘‘(B) is relevant to improving education 

25 practice and policy; and 

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1 ‘‘(C) informs decision-making by education 

2 system leaders and policymakers; 

3 ‘‘(7) support evidence use, the development of 

4 evidence-based practices, and wide dissemination and 

5 the synthesis of education research, including— 

6 ‘‘(A) carrying out research to promote evi7 dence use among practitioners, education sys8 tem leaders, and policymakers; and 

9 ‘‘(B) synthesizing and disseminating, 

10 through the National Center for Education 

11 Evaluation and Evidence Use, the findings and 

12 results of education research conducted or sup13 ported by the Research Center; 

14 ‘‘(8) assist the Director in the preparation of a 

15 biennial report, as described in section 119; 

16 ‘‘(9) conduct and foster scientifically valid re17 search that analyzes Federal data, in accordance 

18 with section 173, including supporting the timely 

19 publication and dissemination of these data to sup20 port external research and data analysis; and 

21 ‘‘(10) coordinate with the Commissioner for 

22 Education Evaluation and Evidence Use to ensure 

23 that research conducted under the direction of the 

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1 tional Education Research Database described in 

2 section 155. 

3 ‘‘(b) RESEARCH PLAN.—Not later than 60 days after 

4 the date the Board approves priorities under section 115, 

5 the Research Commissioner shall develop and submit a re6 search plan to the Director that— 

7 ‘‘(1) is consistent with the mission of the Insti8 tute and the mission of the Research Center and 

9 specifies how the Research Center will carry out re10 search initiatives, including rigorous, peer-reviewed, 

11 large-scale, long-term, and broadly applicable empir12 ical research, to ensure high-quality educational op13 portunities for all students in accordance with the 

14 areas described in section 131(b)(1); 

15 ‘‘(2) uses objective and measurable indicators, 

16 including timelines, to assess the progress and re17 sults of such research; 

18 ‘‘(3) ensures that research conducted under the 

19 direction of the Research Center meets the proce20 dures for peer review established by the Director 

21 under section 114(f)(5) and the standards of re22 search described in section 134; and 

23 ‘‘(4) includes both basic research and applied 

24 research, which shall include research conducted 

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1 through field-initiated research and ongoing research 

2 initiatives.’’; 

3 (3) by inserting after subsection (c), as redesig4 nated by paragraph (1), the following: 

5 ‘‘(d) GRANT CYCLE.— 

6 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Research Commis7 sioner shall, for research to be conducted through 

8 contracts, grants, or cooperative agreements under 

9 this section, conduct, to the greatest extent prac10 ticable, not less than 2 separate application periods 

11 in a given fiscal year. 

12 ‘‘(2) IMPLEMENTATION.—The Secretary and 

13 the Director shall take steps to implement para14 graph (1) not later than the beginning of the third 

15 fiscal year after the date of enactment of the Ad16 vancing Research in Education Act. 

17 ‘‘(3) TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE.—In carrying out 

18 the grant cycle described in this subsection, the Re19 search Commissioner shall provide technical assist20 ance to prospective applicants, with a focus on in21 creasing the participation of researchers and institu22 tions that have been historically underrepresented in 

23 Federal education research activities of the Institute, 

24 including historically Black colleges and universities, 

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1 Tribal Colleges or Universities, and other minority2 serving institutions. 

3 ‘‘(e) RESEARCH-PRACTICE PARTNERSHIPS.— 

4 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—In carrying out activities 

5 under subsection (a), the Research Commissioner 

6 may award grants to, or enter into contracts or co7 operative agreements with, eligible entities to carry 

8 out research-practice partnerships that— 

9 ‘‘(A) are responsive to the needs of stu10 dents, families, practitioners, education system 

11 leaders, and policymakers; and 

12 ‘‘(B) may focus on an area of education in 

13 early childhood through postsecondary study. 

14 ‘‘(2) DEFINITIONS.—In this subsection: 

15 ‘‘(A) ELIGIBLE ENTITY.—The term ‘eligi16 ble entity’ means a public agency or private en17 tity that— 

18 ‘‘(i) has demonstrated the ability and 

19 capacity to conduct scientifically valid re20 search; and 

21 ‘‘(ii) proposes to partner with one or 

22 more of the following entities: 

23 ‘‘(I) An early childhood education 

24 program, Head Start agency, or lead 

25 agency designated under section 658D 

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1 of the Child Care and Development 

2 Block Grant Act of 1990 (42 U.S.C. 

3 9858b). 

4 ‘‘(II) A public elementary school 

5 or secondary school (including a char6 ter school), local educational agency, 

7 or State educational agency. 

8 ‘‘(III) An institution of higher 

9 education, including a community col10 lege, a historically Black college or 

11 university, a Tribal College or Univer12 sity, or other minority-serving institu13 tion. 

14 ‘‘(B) RESEARCH-PRACTICE PARTNER15 SHIP.—The term ‘research-practice partnership’ 

16 means mutually beneficial and ongoing collabo17 rations between researchers, practitioners, and 

18 education system leaders— 

19 ‘‘(i) to identify and develop research 

20 questions, designs, measurements, and 

21 methods that address educational chal22 lenges in early childhood through postsec23 ondary study, as applicable; 

24 ‘‘(ii) to conduct and support field-ini25 tiated research, including evaluations; and 

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1 ‘‘(iii) to engage in activities that sup2 port researchers, practitioners, and edu3 cation system leaders in understanding and 

4 using scientifically-valid research, statis5 tics, and evaluations, including the find6 ings, research base, and implications of 

7 such work, in order to support evidence 

8 use and continuous improvement. 

9 ‘‘(f) STATE CAPACITY R&D GRANTS.— 

10 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Director may award 

11 grants to, or enter into contracts or cooperative 

12 agreements with, State educational agencies and the 

13 Bureau of Indian Education to increase such enti14 ties’ capacity to carry out scientifically valid re15 search, data collection, statistical analysis, evalua16 tion, research-practice partnerships (as such term is 

17 defined in subsection (e)(2)(B)), or planning for 

18 such activities— 

19 ‘‘(A) in a manner that is responsive to the 

20 needs of students, families, practitioners, edu21 cation system leaders, and policymakers in the 

22 State; and 

23 ‘‘(B) in accordance with section 173. 

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1 ‘‘(2) PRIORITY.—The Director shall give pri2 ority to applications that propose to, in accordance 

3 with paragraph (1)— 

4 ‘‘(A) address research questions developed 

5 by practitioners in consultation with research6 ers; and 

7 ‘‘(B) produce actionable information or evi8 dence-based practices to improve teaching and 

9 learning in the State.’’; and 

10 (4) in subsection (g), as redesignated by para11 graph (1)— 

12 (A) by striking paragraph (2) and insert13 ing the following: 

14 ‘‘(2) TOPICS OF RESEARCH.— 

15 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The Research Com16 missioner may support, as described in subpara17 graph (B), the following topics of research: 

18 ‘‘(i) Science of learning and develop19 ment. 

20 ‘‘(ii) School improvement, including 

21 standards, systems of assessment, and ac22 countability research to support teaching 

23 and learning. 

24 ‘‘(iii) Early childhood development 

25 and education. 

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1 ‘‘(iv) English learners research. 

2 ‘‘(v) Improving teaching and learning. 

3 ‘‘(vi) Innovative and promising prac4 tices in State and local educational policy. 

5 ‘‘(vii) Student well-being, including 

6 mental health. 

7 ‘‘(viii) Postsecondary education and 

8 workforce development. 

9 ‘‘(ix) Rural education. 

10 ‘‘(x) Teacher, principal, and school 

11 leader quality. 

12 ‘‘(xi) Reading and literacy, including 

13 adult literacy. 

14 ‘‘(xii) Supporting infants and toddlers 

15 with disabilities, children with disabilities, 

16 and youth with disabilities, particularly in17 clusive educational practices to serve such 

18 populations. 

19 ‘‘(xiii) Educational technology, includ20 ing artificial intelligence. 

21 ‘‘(B) FIELD ADVANCEMENT.—The Sec22 retary shall support the topics of research de23 scribed in subparagraph (A) through national 

24 research and development centers or through 

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1 other means, including convening experts to ad2 vance the field of such topics. 

3 ‘‘(C) COORDINATION.—The Research Com4 missioner shall coordinate with the Special 

5 Education Research Commissioner in carrying 

6 out subparagraph (A)(xii).’’; 

7 (B) in paragraph (3)— 

8 (i) in the first sentence, by striking 

9 ‘‘including in educational technology 

10 areas’’ and inserting ‘‘and be responsive to 

11 the challenges facing students, practi12 tioners, and education system leaders’’; 

13 and 

14 (ii) by striking the third sentence; and 

15 (C) by striking paragraph (7) and insert16 ing the following: 

17 ‘‘(7) DISAGGREGATION.—To the extent feasible 

18 when aligned with the principles of scientifically 

19 valid research, research conducted under this sub20 section shall be disaggregated and made available to 

21 the public in an easily accessible and user-friendly 

22 manner that— 

23 ‘‘(A) can be cross-tabulated by, at a min24 imum, age, race, sex, English proficiency sta25 tus, disability status (including by disability 

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1 category under the Individuals with Disabilities 

2 Education Act, as appropriate), and socio3 economic background; 

4 ‘‘(B) ensures that any reported informa5 tion does not reveal personally identifiable in6 formation; and 

7 ‘‘(C) is in accordance with section 173.’’. 

8 SEC. 134. STANDARDS FOR CONDUCT AND EVALUATION OF 

9 RESEARCH. 

10 Section 134 (20 U.S.C. 9534) is amended— 

11 (1) in subsection (a)— 

12 (A) in paragraph (1), by striking ‘‘scientif13 ically based research standards’’ and inserting 

14 ‘‘principles of scientifically valid research’’; 

15 (B) in paragraph (2), by striking ‘‘and 

16 wide dissemination activities’’ and inserting 

17 ‘‘engagement, wide dissemination, and evidence 

18 use activities’’; 

19 (C) in paragraph (3), by striking ‘‘and’’ 

20 after the semicolon; 

21 (D) by redesignating paragraph (4) as 

22 paragraph (5); 

23 (E) by inserting after paragraph (3) the 

24 following: 

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1 ‘‘(4) ensure that data resulting from research 

2 conducted under the direction of the Research Cen3 ter be made available in public, restricted-use, and 

4 easily accessible formats for further analyses, repro5 ducibility studies, and replication of research, as 

6 long as any reported information does not reveal 

7 personally identifiable information; and’’; and 

8 (F) in paragraph (5), as redesignated by 

9 subparagraph (D), by inserting ‘‘, confiden10 tiality, and privacy’’ after ‘‘misconduct’’; and 

11 (2) in subsection (b)— 

12 (A) by redesignating paragraph (2) as 

13 paragraph (3); and 

14 (B) by inserting after paragraph (1) the 

15 following: 

16 ‘‘(2) REQUIREMENTS.—The Director shall en17 sure that the system established under paragraph 

18 (1)— 

19 ‘‘(A) ensures that research funded by the 

20 Institute is high-quality; 

21 ‘‘(B) utilized high-quality and timely proce22 dures, in a manner that does not take longer 

23 than is necessary to ensure quality; and 

24 ‘‘(C) is conducted with fair review proc25 esses to ensure that applications and products 

64 

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1 are evaluated on their merit, which may include 

2 consulting with other Federal research agencies 

3 to promote fair merit-based peer review.’’. 

4 PART C—NATIONAL CENTER FOR EDUCATION 

5 STATISTICS 

6 SEC. 141. ESTABLISHMENT. 

7 Section 141(b) (20 U.S.C. 9541(b)), as redesignated 

8 by section 102, is amended— 

9 (1) in paragraph (1), by striking ‘‘in a manner 

10 that meets the highest methodological standards’’ 

11 and inserting ‘‘from early childhood through postsec12 ondary study in a manner that meets the highest 

13 methodological and data usability standards’’; 

14 (2) by striking paragraph (2) and inserting the 

15 following: 

16 ‘‘(2) to report valid and reliable education infor17 mation and statistics in a manner that is high-qual18 ity, actionable, timely, and easily accessible to the 

19 public; and’’; and 

20 (3) in paragraph (3)— 

21 (A) in subparagraph (A), by striking ‘‘ra22 cial, cultural, gender, or regional bias’’ and in23 serting ‘‘bias on the basis of race, religion, 

24 color, national origin, sex, or disability’’; and 

65 

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1 (B) in subparagraph (B), by inserting 

2 ‘‘education system leaders,’’ after ‘‘practi3 tioners,’’. 

4 SEC. 142. COMMISSIONER FOR EDUCATION STATISTICS. 

5 Section 142 (20 U.S.C. 9542), as redesignated by 

6 section 102, is amended by striking ‘‘shall be highly’’ and 

7 all that follows through the period at the end and inserting 

8 the following: ‘‘shall— 

9 ‘‘(1) be highly qualified; 

10 ‘‘(2) have substantial knowledge of— 

11 ‘‘(A) statistical methodologies and activi12 ties undertaken by the Statistics Center; and 

13 ‘‘(B) Federal privacy and data confiden14 tiality laws, guidance, and regulations; and 

15 ‘‘(3) serve as the statistical official designated 

16 for the Department in accordance with section 314 

17 of title 5, United States Code.’’. 

18 SEC. 143. DUTIES. 

19 Section 143 (20 U.S.C. 9543), as redesignated by 

20 section 102, is amended— 

21 (1) in subsection (a)— 

22 (A) in the matter preceding paragraph (1), 

23 by striking ‘‘The Statistics Center’’ and all that 

24 follows through ‘‘nations’’ and inserting ‘‘The 

25 Statistics Commissioner shall collect, report, 

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1 analyze, and disseminate valid and reliable sta2 tistical data related to education from early 

3 childhood through postsecondary study in the 

4 United States and in other countries’’; 

5 (B) in paragraph (1)— 

6 (i) in the matter preceding subpara7 graph (A)— 

8 (I) by inserting ‘‘(where appro9 priate, using universal or sampling 

10 methodologies or analysis of adminis11 trative data)’’ after ‘‘collecting’’; and 

12 (II) by striking ‘‘preschool, ele13 mentary, secondary, postsecondary, 

14 and adult’’ and inserting ‘‘early child15 hood, elementary, secondary, postsec16 ondary, workforce, and adult edu17 cation’’; 

18 (ii) in subparagraph (A), by striking 

19 ‘‘reform activities’’ and inserting ‘‘activities 

20 to ensure all children, and particularly 

21 each subgroup of students, have access to 

22 high-quality educational opportunities’’; 

23 (iii) by redesignating subparagraphs 

24 (H) through (O) as subparagraphs (L) 

25 through (S), respectively; 

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1 (iv) by striking subparagraphs (D) 

2 through (G) and inserting the following: 

3 ‘‘(D) special education services and sup4 ports; 

5 ‘‘(E)(i) secondary school completions 

6 (disaggregated by attainment of a regular high 

7 school diploma or a recognized equivalent of a 

8 diploma); 

9 ‘‘(ii) secondary school graduation and com10 pletion rates, including the four-year adjusted 

11 cohort graduation rate (as defined in section 

12 8101 of the Elementary and Secondary Edu13 cation Act of 1965) and the extended-year ad14 justed cohort graduation rate (as defined in 

15 such section); and 

16 ‘‘(iii) secondary school dropouts; 

17 ‘‘(F) postsecondary education enrollment, 

18 retention, transfer, and completion rates 

19 (disaggregated by programs of study, enroll20 ment status, status as a recipient of a Federal 

21 Pell Grant under section 401 of the Higher 

22 Education Act of 1965, and subgroups of stu23 dents), and labor market outcomes, including in 

24 early college high school or dual or concurrent 

25 enrollment programs; 

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1 ‘‘(G) cost of attendance, net price, and rev2 enue of, and expenditures in, postsecondary 

3 education, including data on Federal, State, 

4 and local financial aid to postsecondary stu5 dents; 

6 ‘‘(H) access to, and opportunity for, adult 

7 literacy and education; 

8 ‘‘(I) teaching, including— 

9 ‘‘(i) data on the availability of teacher 

10 and school leader preparation programs, 

11 including— 

12 ‘‘(I) requirements related to 

13 courses taken in the core academic 

14 content areas of the program; and 

15 ‘‘(II) requirements related to evi16 denced-based clinical experiences; 

17 ‘‘(ii) data on teacher and school leader 

18 demographics and qualifications, including 

19 the percentage of teachers who— 

20 ‘‘(I) meet the applicable State 

21 certification and licensure require22 ments, including requirements for cer23 tification obtained through alternative 

24 routes to certification; and 

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1 ‘‘(II) fully meet applicable State 

2 certification and licensure require3 ments in the area such teachers are 

4 assigned to teach, including, with re5 gard to special education teachers, the 

6 qualifications described in section 

7 612(a)(14)(C) of the Individuals with 

8 Disabilities Education Act; and 

9 ‘‘(iii) data on teacher and school lead10 er professional development; and 

11 ‘‘(J) the conditions of the education work12 place, including annual base salaries and total 

13 compensation of full-time teachers, and the sup14 ply of, and demand for, teachers, including edu15 cator shortages related to specific subject areas 

16 and regions; 

17 ‘‘(K) indicators of school climate and stu18 dent mental health;’’; 

19 (v) in subparagraph (M), as redesig20 nated by clause (iii), by inserting ‘‘(includ21 ing Federal, State, and local per-pupil ex22 penditures), and the condition of school fa23 cilities’’ before the semicolon at the end; 

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1 (vi) in subparagraph (N), as so redes2 ignated, by striking ‘‘social and economic’’ 

3 and inserting ‘‘socioeconomic’’; 

4 (vii) by striking subparagraph (O), as 

5 so redesignated, and inserting the fol6 lowing: 

7 ‘‘(O) access to, and use of, technology (in8 cluding assistive and adaptive technology) and 

9 Internet connectivity;’’; 

10 (viii) in subparagraph (Q), as so re11 designated, by striking ‘‘and after-school 

12 programs’’ and inserting ‘‘, after-school, 

13 and summer learning and enrichment pro14 grams’’; and 

15 (ix) by striking subparagraph (R), as 

16 so redesignated, and inserting the fol17 lowing: 

18 ‘‘(R) the availability of, and access to, ca19 reer and technical education programs, 

20 disaggregated by career cluster; and’’; 

21 (C) by striking paragraph (3) and insert22 ing the following: 

23 ‘‘(3) collecting, analyzing, cross-tabulating, and 

24 reporting, where available and in a manner that does 

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•S 3392 IS

1 cordance with section 173), information 

2 disaggregated by— 

3 ‘‘(A) sex, race, ethnicity, socioeconomic 

4 status, English learner status, disability status 

5 (including by disability category under the Indi6 viduals with Disabilities Education Act as ap7 propriate), homeless status, status as a child in 

8 foster care, and status as a student with a par9 ent who is a member of the Armed Forces (as 

10 defined in section 101(a)(4) of title 10, United 

11 States Code); and 

12 ‘‘(B) urban, rural, and suburban local edu13 cational agencies;’’; 

14 (D) by redesignating paragraphs (7), (8), 

15 and (9) as paragraphs (8), (9), and (10), re16 spectively; 

17 (E) by striking paragraphs (4) through (6) 

18 and inserting the following: 

19 ‘‘(4) collecting and compiling data required to 

20 be accessible to the public from annual State report 

21 cards described in section 1111(h)(1)(C) of the Ele22 mentary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 and 

23 from annual local educational agency report cards 

24 described in section 1111(h)(2)(C) of such Act; 

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1 ‘‘(5) assisting public and private educational 

2 agencies, organizations, and institutions in— 

3 ‘‘(A) improving and automating statistical 

4 and data collection activities; 

5 ‘‘(B) promoting privacy, security, and con6 fidentiality of student data, and 

7 ‘‘(C) developing and improving statewide 

8 longitudinal data systems that integrate data 

9 from early childhood education, elementary and 

10 secondary education, postsecondary education, 

11 adult education, workforce development, and 

12 labor market outcomes, as applicable; 

13 ‘‘(6) supporting State public agencies in devel14 oping and operating statewide longitudinal data sys15 tems to improve student academic achievement and 

16 close achievement gaps by— 

17 ‘‘(A) developing voluntary standards to 

18 promote data interoperability, modernization, 

19 analysis, and security; and 

20 ‘‘(B) providing technical assistance to— 

21 ‘‘(i) improve data sharing and pro22 mote linkages across early childhood edu23 cation, elementary, secondary, and postsec24 ondary education, workforce, and the labor 

25 market; 

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1 ‘‘(ii) build capacity and tools to sup2 port public analysis of such systems to in3 form decision-making by education system 

4 leaders and policymakers; and 

5 ‘‘(iii) protect student confidentiality 

6 consistent with section 173; 

7 ‘‘(7) acquiring and disseminating data on edu8 cational activities and student achievement (such as 

9 the Trends in International Math and Science Study 

10 and the Program for International Student Assess11 ment) in the United States compared with foreign 

12 countries;’’; and 

13 (F) by striking paragraph (10), as redesig14 nated by subparagraph (D), and inserting the 

15 following: 

16 ‘‘(10) developing, in coordination with the Di17 rector of the Census Bureau, a valid and accurate 

18 alternative student poverty measurement to improve 

19 the identification of students from low-income back20 grounds and schools and local educational agencies 

21 that serve a high number or percentage of such stu22 dents.’’; 

23 (2) by redesignating subsection (b) as sub24 section (d); and 

74 

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1 (3) by inserting after subsection (a) the fol2 lowing: 

3 ‘‘(b) STATISTICAL PLAN.—Not later than 60 days 

4 after the date on which the Board approves priorities of 

5 the Institute, the Statistics Commissioner shall develop 

6 and submit a statistics plan to the Director that is con7 sistent with the mission of the Statistics Center and speci8 fies the Statistics Center’s plan to— 

9 ‘‘(1) carry out the duties described in sub10 section (a) and issue reports described in section 

11 145, consistent with the requirements of section 

12 173; 

13 ‘‘(2) continuously improve aspects of statistical 

14 operations, testing, and implementation of new 

15 methods to enhance the usability and cost-effective16 ness of data collections, processing, and dissemina17 tion carried out by the Statistics Center; and 

18 ‘‘(3) improve the efficiency, timeliness, rel19 evance, usage, and impact of the education informa20 tion, statistics, and products issued by the Statistics 

21 Center. 

22 ‘‘(c) REPORT ON ALTERNATIVE POVERTY MEAS23 URES.—Not later than 2 years after the date of enactment 

24 of the Advancing Research in Education Act, and every 

25 3 fiscal years thereafter, the Director, in consultation with 

75 

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1 the Statistics Commissioner and the Director of the Cen2 sus Bureau, shall submit, to the Committee on Health, 

3 Education, Labor, and Pensions and the Committee on 

4 Appropriations of the Senate and the Committee on Edu5 cation and the Workforce and the Committee on Appro6 priations of the House of Representatives, a report de7 scribing— 

8 ‘‘(1) activities carried out by the Statistics Cen9 ter as required under subsection (a)(10) and section 

10 144(d) to support the development of a valid and ac11 curate alternative student poverty measurement, in12 cluding for students who reside in rural commu13 nities; 

14 ‘‘(2) an assessment of State efforts to improve 

15 the identification of students from low-income back16 grounds, and Federal, State, and local recommenda17 tions to support effective approaches; and 

18 ‘‘(3) the number of staff and amount of funding 

19 allocated by the Institute to support the development 

20 of alternative poverty measurements.’’. 

21 SEC. 144. PERFORMANCE OF DUTIES. 

22 Section 144 (20 U.S.C. 9544), as redesignated by 

23 section 102, is amended— 

24 (1) in subsection (a)— 

76 

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1 (A) by striking ‘‘AGREEMENTS.—In car2 rying out’’ and inserting the following: ‘‘AGREE3 MENTS— 

4 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—In carrying out’’; and 

5 (B) by adding at the end the following: 

6 ‘‘(2) DATA MANAGEMENT PLANS.—A recipient 

7 of a grant, contract, or cooperative agreement under 

8 this part shall submit to the Statistics Commissioner 

9 a plan describing how such recipient will address 

10 and demonstrate progress on the requirements of 

11 the performance management system described in 

12 section 175 with respect to the activities that will be 

13 carried out under the grant, contract, or cooperative 

14 agreement.’’; 

15 (2) in subsection (b)— 

16 (A) in paragraph (2)(A), by striking 

17 ‘‘preschools’’ and all that follows through ‘‘stu18 dents’’ and inserting ‘‘early childhood education 

19 programs, institutions of higher education, ca20 reer and technical education programs, adult 

21 education and literacy activities, libraries, ad22 ministrators, teachers, principals, other school 

23 leaders, paraprofessionals, students,’’; and 

24 (B) in paragraph (4)— 

77 

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1 (i) in the matter preceding subpara2 graph (A), by striking ‘‘to serve the edu3 cational needs of children and youth’’ and 

4 inserting ‘‘to be responsive to the edu5 cational challenges facing students, fami6 lies, practitioners, and education system 

7 leaders’’; and 

8 (ii) in subparagraph (B), by inserting 

9 ‘‘, including data reported to the Depart10 ment in accordance with the Elementary 

11 and Secondary Education Act of 1965, the 

12 Carl D. Perkins Career and Technical 

13 Education Act of 2006, the Individuals 

14 with Disabilities Education Act, and the 

15 Higher Education Act of 1965’’ before the 

16 period at the end; and 

17 (3) by adding at the end the following: 

18 ‘‘(d) ALTERNATIVE POVERTY MEASUREMENT.—Con19 sistent with the requirements of section 143(a)(10), the 

20 Statistics Commissioner shall dedicate sufficient staffing 

21 and financial resources to support the development, in co22 ordination with the Director of the Census Bureau, of a 

23 valid and accurate alternative student poverty measure24 ment, which may support the purpose of title I of the EleVerDate Sep 11 2014 23:38 Dec 11, 2023 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00077 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3392.IS S3392
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1 mentary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 and other 

2 applicable Federal education laws.’’. 

3 SEC. 145. REPORTS. 

4 Section 145 (20 U.S.C. 9545), as redesignated by 

5 section 102, is amended— 

6 (1) in subsection (a), by striking ‘‘section 186,’’ 

7 and all that follows through the period at the end 

8 and inserting the following: ‘‘section 176, to ensure 

9 that the reports issued under this section are— 

10 ‘‘(1) of high quality and subject to rigorous 

11 peer review; and 

12 ‘‘(2) produced in a timely fashion and in a 

13 manner that is— 

14 ‘‘(A) objective, secular, neutral, nonideolog15 ical, and free of partisan political influence and 

16 bias on the basis of race, religion, color, na17 tional origin, sex, or disability; and 

18 ‘‘(B) relevant and useful to practitioners, 

19 education system leaders, researchers, policy20 makers, and the public.’’; 

21 (2) in subsection (b), by striking the comma 

22 after ‘‘Statistics Commissioner’’; 

23 (3) in subsection (c), by striking ‘‘priorities and 

24 the mission of the Statistics Center’’ and inserting 

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1 ‘‘priorities and mission of the Institute and the mis2 sion of the Statistics Center’’; and 

3 (4) by adding at the end the following: 

4 ‘‘(d) EXPEDITED SURVEYS.—The Statistics Commis5 sioner shall— 

6 ‘‘(1) develop and maintain the ability to create 

7 and administer expedited surveys on emerging and 

8 time-sensitive education topics; and 

9 ‘‘(2) report data gathered from such surveys in 

10 a way that is of high quality, actionable, timely, and 

11 easily accessible. 

12 ‘‘(e) TIMELINESS.— 

13 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Statistics Commis14 sioner shall attempt, to the greatest extent prac15 ticable, to publicly report statistical data collected 

16 under this part in an accelerated manner to inform 

17 educational and policy decision-making in response 

18 to an emerging and time-sensitive education topic, 

19 consistent with applicable procedures or standards 

20 under this title. 

21 ‘‘(2) PUBLIC NOTICE.—If the Statistics Com22 missioner cannot publicly report statistical data 

23 under paragraph (1) from a data collection under 

24 this part by the date that is 2 years after the date 

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1 rector shall publish a notice in the Federal Register 

2 that describes the reasons for a delay and a plan to 

3 report some or part of such statistical data as soon 

4 as possible, consistent with applicable procedures or 

5 standards under this title.’’. 

6 SEC. 146. DISSEMINATION. 

7 Section 146 (20 U.S.C. 9546), as redesignated by 

8 section 102, is amended— 

9 (1) in subsection (a), by striking ‘‘State and 

10 local officials,’’ and inserting ‘‘Federal officials (in11 cluding the Bureau), State and local officials, Indian 

12 Tribes, Tribal organizations,’’; 

13 (2) in subsection (c), by adding at the end the 

14 following: ‘‘Such projects shall adhere to the student 

15 confidentiality requirements under section 173.’’; 

16 and 

17 (3) in subsection (e)(1), by striking ‘‘section 

18 183’’ and inserting ‘‘section 173’’. 

19 SEC. 147. COOPERATIVE EDUCATION STATISTICS PARTNER20 SHIPS. 

21 Section 147 (20 U.S.C. 9547), as redesignated by 

22 section 102, is amended to read as follows: 

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1 ‘‘SEC. 147. COOPERATIVE EDUCATION STATISTICS PART2 NERSHIPS. 

3 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The Statistics Center may estab4 lish 1 or more cooperative education statistics partner5 ships for the purpose of producing and maintaining, with 

6 the voluntary participation and cooperation of the States, 

7 comparable, interoperable, and uniform data quality 

8 standards and systems that— 

9 ‘‘(1) are useful for policymaking at the Federal, 

10 State, and local levels; and 

11 ‘‘(2) may include voluntary guidelines to stand12 ardize information and data on early childhood edu13 cation, elementary and secondary education, postsec14 ondary education, adult education, workforce devel15 opment, and labor market outcomes, including to 

16 support implementation of State longitudinal data 

17 systems. 

18 ‘‘(b) PROHIBITION.—No partnership established 

19 under this section shall establish a national student data 

20 system.’’. 

21 SEC. 148. STATEWIDE LONGITUDINAL DATA SYSTEMS. 

22 Part C of title I, as redesignated by section 102, is 

23 amended by adding after section 148 the following: 

24 ‘‘SEC. 149. GRANT PROGRAM FOR STATEWIDE LONGITU25 DINAL DATA SYSTEMS. 

26 ‘‘(a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

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1 ‘‘(1) ELIGIBLE AGENCY.—The term ‘eligible 

2 agency’ means— 

3 ‘‘(A) a State educational agency; 

4 ‘‘(B) the office of the Governor; 

5 ‘‘(C) a State agency, data governance 

6 body, or public sector organization, as deter7 mined and designated by the Governor; 

8 ‘‘(D) an outlying area; or 

9 ‘‘(E) a consortium of entities described in 

10 subparagraphs (A) through (C) located in a sin11 gle State or a consortium of such entities lo12 cated in 2 or more States. 

13 ‘‘(2) STATEWIDE LONGITUDINAL DATA SYS14 TEM.—The term ‘statewide longitudinal data system’ 

15 means a data system operated at the State level by 

16 an eligible agency that connects individual level data 

17 from early childhood education, elementary and sec18 ondary education, postsecondary education, work19 force development, labor market outcomes, and other 

20 data sources, as determined by the State, in a man21 ner that— 

22 ‘‘(A) protects and promotes individual pri23 vacy and data security, in accordance with ap24 plicable Federal, State, and local privacy laws, 

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1 increases data transparency, and minimizes re2 porting burden; and 

3 ‘‘(B) enhances the ability of the public, re4 searchers, policymakers, practitioners, and 

5 States to efficiently and accurately access, man6 age, analyze, and use data to inform decision7 making and improve educational opportunities 

8 and outcomes, including academic achievement, 

9 postsecondary education access and completion, 

10 and labor market outcomes. 

11 ‘‘(b) GRANTS AUTHORIZED.— 

12 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Subject to paragraph (2) 

13 the Secretary shall award grants, on a competitive 

14 basis, to eligible agencies to enable such agencies to 

15 design, develop, implement, and improve statewide 

16 longitudinal data systems. Eligible agencies receiving 

17 a grant under this section may provide subgrants to 

18 public agencies or institutions of higher education to 

19 improve the capacity of such agencies or institutions 

20 to participate in statewide longitudinal data systems. 

21 ‘‘(2) PLANNING GRANTS.— 

22 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Of amounts made 

23 available to carry out this section, the Secretary 

24 may reserve not more than 10 percent of such 

25 amounts to award planning grants to eligible 

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1 agencies to support planning related to the de2 sign, development, implementation, improve3 ment, and sustainability of statewide longitu4 dinal data systems, which may include planning 

5 to support— 

6 ‘‘(i) the integration or coordination of 

7 additional Federal, State, or local data 

8 sources in the statewide longitudinal data 

9 system, which may include facilitating 

10 interoperability across such data sources, 

11 including from across Federal, State, or 

12 local agencies; 

13 ‘‘(ii) alignment with the voluntary 

14 standards and guidelines described in sec15 tion 143(a)(6); 

16 ‘‘(iii) the development of products, 

17 tools, or interfaces that provide appro18 priate access to data insights produced by 

19 the statewide longitudinal data system; or 

20 ‘‘(iv) upgrading data infrastructure or 

21 reporting systems. 

22 ‘‘(B) DURATION.—Awards made under 

23 subparagraph (A) shall be for a duration of not 

24 longer than 18 months. 

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1 ‘‘(C) ENGAGEMENT.—In carrying out 

2 planning activities under this paragraph, an eli3 gible agency that receives an award under this 

4 paragraph shall, to the greatest extent prac5 ticable, engage students, families, practitioners, 

6 education system leaders, policymakers, commu7 nity organizations, and State and local public 

8 agencies to inform such planning. 

9 ‘‘(c) AWARDING OF GRANTS.— 

10 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—In making awards under 

11 subsection (b)(1), the Secretary shall use a peer re12 view process that— 

13 ‘‘(A) ensures technical quality (including 

14 validity and reliability), promotes data linkages 

15 within the State, and ensures the protection of 

16 individual privacy consistent with section 173; 

17 and 

18 ‘‘(B) promotes the generation and accurate 

19 and timely use of data that is needed— 

20 ‘‘(i) to support implementation of— 

21 ‘‘(I) the Elementary and Sec22 ondary Education Act of 1965; 

23 ‘‘(II) the Higher Education Act 

24 of 1965; 

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1 ‘‘(III) the Individuals with Dis2 abilities Education Act; 

3 ‘‘(IV) the Carl D. Perkins Career 

4 and Technical Education Act of 2006; 

5 ‘‘(V) the Workforce Innovation 

6 and Opportunity Act (29 U.S.C. 3101 

7 et seq.); 

8 ‘‘(VI) the Child Care and Devel9 opmental Block Grant Act of 1990 

10 (42 U.S.C. 9857 et seq.); and 

11 ‘‘(VII) other relevant Federal 

12 laws; and 

13 ‘‘(ii) to facilitate research to improve 

14 educational and employment opportunities 

15 and outcomes, including student academic 

16 achievement, postsecondary education ac17 cess and completion, labor market out18 comes, and closing opportunity and 

19 achievement gaps between subgroups of 

20 students. 

21 ‘‘(2) PRIORITIES.—In making awards under 

22 subsection (b)(1), the Secretary shall give priority to 

23 applications submitted by eligible agencies that— 

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1 ‘‘(A) received a planning grant under sub2 section (b)(2) and propose to carry out activi3 ties informed by such planning; 

4 ‘‘(B) propose to develop products, tools, or 

5 interfaces that provide appropriate access to 

6 data insights produced by the statewide longitu7 dinal data system; or 

8 ‘‘(C) require the use of the voluntary 

9 standards and guidelines described in section 

10 143(a)(6). 

11 ‘‘(3) DURATION.— 

12 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall 

13 award grants under subsection (b)(1) for a pe14 riod of not longer than 4 years. 

15 ‘‘(B) RENEWAL.—The Secretary may 

16 renew grants under subsection (b)(1) for 2 ad17 ditional years if the eligible agency dem18 onstrates significant progress in meeting its 

19 goals. 

20 ‘‘(d) APPLICATIONS.—Each eligible agency desiring a 

21 grant under subsection (b)(1) shall submit an application 

22 to the Secretary at such time, in such manner, and accom23 panied by such information as the Secretary may reason24 ably require, including each of the following: 

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1 ‘‘(1) A description of how the eligible agency 

2 will design, develop, implement, or improve a state3 wide longitudinal data system that will integrate 

4 data in accordance with the individual privacy and 

5 data security requirements specified in section 173, 

6 from the following data sources, to the greatest ex7 tent practicable: 

8 ‘‘(A) Early childhood education, in accord9 ance with practices identified in subsection (i). 

10 ‘‘(B) Elementary and secondary education, 

11 including data reported from local educational 

12 agencies and the State educational agency. 

13 ‘‘(C) Career and technical education, to the 

14 greatest extent practicable. 

15 ‘‘(D) Postsecondary education, including 

16 data reported from, at a minimum, public insti17 tutions of higher education and public systems 

18 of institutions of higher education. 

19 ‘‘(E) Workforce development programs. 

20 ‘‘(F) Unemployment insurance or other 

21 statewide data sources with access to labor 

22 market outcomes or wage record data and in 

23 accordance with privacy and data security re24 quirements of the State. 

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1 ‘‘(2) A description of how the eligible agency 

2 will design, develop, implement, or improve a state3 wide longitudinal data system that may integrate 

4 data from other Federal, State, or local public or 

5 private agencies or organizations, in accordance with 

6 Federal and State privacy laws. 

7 ‘‘(3) A description of how the eligible agency 

8 will ensure that the statewide longitudinal data sys9 tem will— 

10 ‘‘(A) be able to publicly disaggregate stu11 dent data by each subgroup of students; 

12 ‘‘(B) ensure technical quality, including va13 lidity and reliability, of the data managed by 

14 the statewide longitudinal data system; and 

15 ‘‘(C) enable the development of tools, prod16 ucts or interfaces that ensure the statewide lon17 gitudinal data system will provide publicly ac18 cessible and useful information to students, 

19 families, practitioners, education system lead20 ers, policymakers, community organizations, 

21 State and local public agencies, and the public 

22 in a manner that protects and promotes indi23 vidual privacy and data security. 

24 ‘‘(4) A description of how the statewide longitu25 dinal data system will, to the extent practicable, proVerDate Sep 11 2014 23:38 Dec 11, 2023 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00089 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3392.IS S3392
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1 mote standardized data definitions, open data for2 mats, other standards, and linkages utilized in mul3 tiple States, and be aligned with the subchapter I of 

4 chapter 35 of title 44, United States Code. 

5 ‘‘(5) A description of the eligible agency’s plan 

6 to protect and promote individual privacy and data 

7 security in implementing the State longitudinal data 

8 system, including— 

9 ‘‘(A) defining policies, guidelines, or proto10 cols, as appropriate for data collection, storage, 

11 data sharing, use, data destruction, and disclo12 sure avoidance to secure any personally identifi13 able information; 

14 ‘‘(B) reviewing how State agencies, local 

15 agencies, and other entities that will have ac16 cess to the statewide longitudinal data systems 

17 under this section will adhere to Federal or 

18 State privacy laws and protections in the build19 ing, maintenance, and use of such data sys20 tems; and 

21 ‘‘(C) providing training or professional de22 velopment to any employee or contractor of 

23 such system to ensure compliance with section 

24 444 of the General Education Provisions Act 

25 (commonly known as the ‘‘Family Educational 

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1 Rights and Privacy Act of 1974’’), section 445 

2 of that Act (commonly known as the ‘Protection 

3 of Pupil Rights Amendment’), the Children’s 

4 Online Privacy Protection Act of 1998 (15 

5 U.S.C. 6501 et seq.), the Health Insurance 

6 Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 

7 (Public Law 104–191), and any other relevant 

8 Federal or State privacy law. 

9 ‘‘(6) A description of the data governance struc10 ture for the statewide longitudinal data system, 

11 which shall, to the greatest extent practicable, sup12 port the implementation of statewide data govern13 ance structures that involve all relevant State agen14 cies, which may include establishing a State chief 

15 privacy officer or a data governance coordinator. 

16 ‘‘(7) A description of the eligible agency’s plan 

17 to promote long-term sustainability of the statewide 

18 longitudinal data system, including identifying State 

19 and local funding that will be used to support the 

20 operation, maintenance, and upgrades of such sys21 tem. 

22 ‘‘(e) USE OF FUNDS.—An eligible agency receiving 

23 an award under subsection (c)(1)— 

24 ‘‘(1) shall use funds to enhance or modernize 

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1 grate data across early childhood education through 

2 postsecondary study and labor market outcomes into 

3 the State longitudinal data system, including the 

4 data sources required, to the greatest extent prac5 ticable, in subsection (d)(1)(A); and 

6 ‘‘(2) may carry out 1 or more of the following 

7 activities: 

8 ‘‘(A) Integrate additional local, State, or 

9 Federal data sources in the statewide longitu10 dinal data system or facilitate interoperability 

11 between such data sources. 

12 ‘‘(B) Develop or increase the public’s ac13 cess to products, tools, or interfaces and that 

14 provide appropriate access to data insights pro15 duced by the statewide longitudinal data sys16 tem. 

17 ‘‘(C) Implement policies to protect and 

18 promote student privacy and data security. 

19 ‘‘(D) Provide professional development to 

20 individuals, practitioners, and education system 

21 leaders to better understand, use, and analyze 

22 data from the statewide longitudinal data sys23 tem. 

24 ‘‘(f) SUPPLEMENT NOT SUPPLANT.—Funds made 

25 available under this section shall be used to supplement, 

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1 and not supplant, other State or local funds used for de2 veloping State data systems. 

3 ‘‘(g) REPORT.—Not later than 1 year after the date 

4 of enactment of the Advancing Research in Education Act, 

5 and again 3 years after such date of enactment, the Sec6 retary, in consultation with the National Academies Com7 mittee on National Statistics, shall make publicly available 

8 a report on the implementation and effectiveness of Fed9 eral, State, and local efforts related to the goals of this 

10 section, including— 

11 ‘‘(1) identifying and analyzing State practices 

12 regarding the development and use of statewide lon13 gitudinal data systems; 

14 ‘‘(2) evaluating the ability of such systems to 

15 manage individual student data, promote linkages 

16 across States, and protect student privacy consistent 

17 with section 173; and 

18 ‘‘(3) identifying best practices and areas for im19 provement. 

20 ‘‘(h) GUIDANCE.—Not later than 1 year after the 

21 date of enactment of the Advancing Research in Edu22 cation Act, and on an ongoing basis, the Secretary shall 

23 issue guidance and provide technical assistance on— 

24 ‘‘(1) protecting and promoting individual pri25 vacy and data security in implementing statewide 

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1 longitudinal data systems in accordance with appli2 cable Federal, State, and local privacy laws; 

3 ‘‘(2) developing or increasing the public’s access 

4 to products, tools, or interfaces that provide appro5 priate access to data insights produced by statewide 

6 longitudinal data systems, which may support the 

7 public, researchers, policymakers, practitioners, and 

8 States in efficiently and accurately accessing, man9 aging, analyzing, and using data to inform decision10 making and improve educational opportunities and 

11 outcomes, including academic achievement, postsec12 ondary education access and completion, and labor 

13 market outcomes; and 

14 ‘‘(3) supporting data linkages between a state15 wide longitudinal data system and data from post16 secondary education, workforce programs, unemploy17 ment insurance, or other statewide data sources with 

18 access to wage record data, which shall include the 

19 use of different unique identifiers and may include 

20 the use of Social Security numbers, in accordance 

21 with applicable Federal, State, and local privacy 

22 laws. 

23 ‘‘(i) EARLY CHILDHOOD EDUCATION DATA.—The 

24 Secretary of Health and Human Services, in coordination 

25 with the Statistics Commissioner, shall develop guidance 

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1 for eligible agencies on integrating data voluntarily re2 ported under the Head Start Act (42 U.S.C. 9831 et seq.) 

3 and other early childhood education data in the statewide 

4 longitudinal data system. 

5 ‘‘(j) EARLY COLLEGE HIGH SCHOOL OR DUAL OR

6 CONCURRENT ENROLLMENT PROGRAMS.—The Statistics 

7 Commissioner shall provide technical assistance to eligible 

8 agencies to efficiently collect and report data related to 

9 enrollment, retention, transfer, and completion rates in 

10 early college high school or dual or concurrent enrollment 

11 programs.’’. 

12 SEC. 149. DATA INNOVATION GRANTS. 

13 Part C of title I, as amended by section 148, is fur14 ther amended by adding after section 149 the following: 

15 ‘‘SEC. 150. DATA INNOVATION GRANTS. 

16 ‘‘(a) GRANTS AUTHORIZED.— 

17 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Director may award 

18 grants to, or enter into contracts or cooperative 

19 agreements with, public agencies (including the Bu20 reau of Indian Education) to increase the capacity 

21 of public agencies to accurately manage, analyze, 

22 and use data collected by such agencies to inform 

23 decisionmaking and improve educational opportuni24 ties and outcomes, including academic achievement, 

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1 postsecondary education access and completion, and 

2 labor market outcomes. 

3 ‘‘(2) RESERVATION.—From amounts appro4 priated to carry out this section, the Director may 

5 reserve not more than 2 percent of such amounts for 

6 program administration, technical assistance, and 

7 carrying out the evaluation described in subsection 

8 (f). 

9 ‘‘(b) DURATION.—Awards made under subsection (a) 

10 shall be for a period of not longer than 4 years. 

11 ‘‘(c) APPLICATION.—A public agency desiring a 

12 grant, contract, or cooperative agreement under this sec13 tion shall submit an application to the Director at such 

14 time and in such manner as the Director may reasonably 

15 require, including— 

16 ‘‘(1) a description of such agency’s plan to ac17 curately manage, analyze, and use data collected by 

18 public agencies to inform decisionmaking and im19 prove educational opportunities and outcomes, as de20 scribed in subsection (a)(1), including a description 

21 of the specific data challenges the award will help 

22 address; and 

23 ‘‘(2) a description of such agency’s data infra24 structure, staffing, data analytics, reporting, and 

25 sharing capabilities, and such agency’s efforts to 

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1 protect and promote individual privacy and data se2 curity, in accordance with applicable Federal, State, 

3 and local privacy laws, increase data transparency, 

4 and minimize reporting burden. 

5 ‘‘(d) USES OF FUNDS.—A public agency that receives 

6 a grant, contract, or cooperative agreement under this sec7 tion shall use such award to increase the agency’s capacity 

8 to, in accordance with applicable Federal, State, and local 

9 privacy laws, accurately manage, analyze, and use data to 

10 inform decisionmaking and improve educational opportu11 nities and outcomes, as described in subsection (a)(1), 

12 which may include the following activities: 

13 ‘‘(1) Improving data quality, standardization, 

14 and such agency’s capabilities related to data infra15 structure, staffing, data analytics, reporting, and 

16 data sharing, including among a consortium of pub17 lic agencies located in a single State or a consortium 

18 of public agencies located in 2 or more States. 

19 ‘‘(2) Supporting the development of tools, prod20 ucts, or interfaces to make data more transparent, 

21 accessible, and useful to students, families, practi22 tioners, education system leaders, policymakers, 

23 community organizations, State and local public 

24 agencies, and the public in a manner that protects 

25 and promotes individual privacy and data security. 

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1 ‘‘(3) Developing and implementing privacy and 

2 security techniques, platforms, protocols, or tech3 nology for using and securing personally identifiable 

4 information and data managed by public agencies. 

5 ‘‘(4) Developing and evaluating the validity and 

6 accuracy of an alternative student poverty measure7 ment, which may include 1 or more of the following 

8 approaches: 

9 ‘‘(A) Improving the quality of data used to 

10 identify students directly certified or categori11 cally eligible for free meals under the Richard 

12 B. Russell National School Lunch Act (42 

13 U.S.C. 1751 et seq.) and linking such data with 

14 other individual-level measures, including from 

15 the Medicaid program under title XIX of the 

16 Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 1396 et seq.), 

17 the Children’s Health Insurance Program under 

18 title XXI of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 

19 1397aa et seq.), and other public agencies. 

20 ‘‘(B) Utilizing data from Federal or State 

21 tax records. 

22 ‘‘(C) Developing and utilizing local data, 

23 such as student neighborhood characteristics, 

24 which may include utilizing data published by 

25 the United States Census Bureau. 

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1 ‘‘(e) EVALUATION.—The Director shall carry out an 

2 independent evaluation of activities carried out under this 

3 section.’’. 

4 PART D—NATIONAL CENTER FOR EDUCATION 

5 EVALUATION AND EVIDENCE USE 

6 SEC. 151. NATIONAL CENTER FOR EDUCATION EVALUA7 TION AND EVIDENCE USE. 

8 Part D (20 U.S.C. 9561 et seq.) is amended to read 

9 as follows: 

10 ‘‘PART D—NATIONAL CENTER FOR EDUCATION 

11 EVALUATION AND EVIDENCE USE 

12 ‘‘SEC. 151. ESTABLISHMENT. 

13 ‘‘(a) ESTABLISHMENT.—There is established in the 

14 Institute a National Center for Education Evaluation and 

15 Evidence Use (in this part referred to as the ‘Evaluation 

16 and Evidence Use Center’). 

17 ‘‘(b) MISSION.—The mission of the Evaluation and 

18 Evidence Use Center shall be— 

19 ‘‘(1) to increase evidence use among practi20 tioners, education system leaders, and policymakers, 

21 support innovation responsive to the challenges fac22 ing students and practitioners, and promote contin23 uous improvement across early childhood through 

24 postsecondary study; 

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1 ‘‘(2) to conduct evaluations of Federal edu2 cation programs administered by the Secretary (and 

3 as time and resources allow, other education pro4 grams) in order to— 

5 ‘‘(A) determine the impact of the pro6 grams, such as in improving— 

7 ‘‘(i) educational outcomes, particularly 

8 student academic achievement, for all stu9 dents, particularly each subgroup of stu10 dents; or 

11 ‘‘(ii) access to high-quality educational 

12 opportunities; and 

13 ‘‘(B) support the identification of evidence14 based practices that may be adapted and imple15 mented in heterogeneous local educational con16 texts; 

17 ‘‘(3) to support synthesis and wide dissemina18 tion of results of evaluation, research, and products 

19 to support continuous improvement, including the 

20 development of products or tools to increase the im21 pact of the activities of the Institute; and 

22 ‘‘(4) to oversee regional educational laboratories 

23 to serve the educational needs of the geographic re24 gions served by such laboratories. 

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1 ‘‘SEC. 152. COMMISSIONER FOR EDUCATION EVALUATION 

2 AND EVIDENCE USE. 

3 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The Evaluation and Evidence 

4 Use Center shall be headed by a Commissioner for Edu5 cation Evaluation and Evidence Use (in this part referred 

6 to as the ‘Evaluation and Evidence Use Commissioner’) 

7 who— 

8 ‘‘(1) is highly qualified in carrying out scientif9 ically valid education evaluation; and 

10 ‘‘(2) has demonstrated a capacity to support 

11 engagement between researchers, practitioners, edu12 cation system leaders, and policymakers to effec13 tively communicate the implications of scientifically 

14 valid research, statistics, and evaluations to support 

15 evidence use and continuous improvement. 

16 ‘‘(b) CHIEF EVALUATION OFFICER.—The Evaluation 

17 and Evidence Use Commissioner shall serve as the evalua18 tion officer designated for the Department in accordance 

19 with section 313 of title 5, United States Code. 

20 ‘‘SEC. 153. DUTIES. 

21 ‘‘(a) GENERAL DUTIES.—The Evaluation and Evi22 dence Use Commissioner shall— 

23 ‘‘(1) conduct evaluations under section 154; 

24 ‘‘(2) promote evidence use among practitioners, 

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1 mote continuous improvement across early childhood 

2 through postsecondary study; 

3 ‘‘(3) manage the What Works Clearinghouse 

4 and related functions described in section 155; 

5 ‘‘(4) support engagement between the Institute 

6 and practitioners, education system leaders, and pol7 icymakers, which may include— 

8 ‘‘(A) analyzing the evidence bases of re9 search areas related to challenges facing stu10 dents and practitioners across early childhood 

11 through postsecondary study, and identifying 

12 such areas that require additional study; 

13 ‘‘(B) supporting practitioners in under14 standing research processes in order to maxi15 mize the participation and engagement of such 

16 practitioners in developing research questions, 

17 designs, measurements, and methods; and 

18 ‘‘(C) communicating research areas identi19 fied under subparagraph (A) to the Commis20 sioner for Education Research, the Commis21 sioner for Special Education Research, and re22 searchers in order to help increase and build 

23 the evidence bases of research areas related to 

24 challenges facing students and practitioners, 

25 which may be carried out through the functions 

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1 of the National Education Research Database 

2 developed under section 155(b); 

3 ‘‘(5) support the regional educational labora4 tories in serving the educational needs of the geo5 graphic regions of such laboratories; 

6 ‘‘(6) manage the Educational Resources Infor7 mation Center clearinghouse; 

8 ‘‘(7) manage the National Library of Education 

9 described in section 156(b) and other sources of dig10 ital information on education research; 

11 ‘‘(8) ensure that evidence-based products or 

12 tools developed by the Evaluation and Evidence Use 

13 Center are prepared in a timely manner and are 

14 widely disseminated to practitioners, education sys15 tem leaders, and policymakers in formats that are 

16 high quality, easily accessible, understandable, and 

17 actionable; 

18 ‘‘(9) respond, as appropriate, to inquiries from 

19 practitioners, education system leaders, policy20 makers, researchers, public and private entities, and 

21 entities responsible for carrying out technical assist22 ance related to evaluation and evidence use; 

23 ‘‘(10) ensure that information disseminated 

24 under this part is provided in a cost-effective, non25 duplicative manner that includes the most current 

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1 research findings, as of the date of the dissemina2 tion; and 

3 ‘‘(11) assist the Director in the preparation of 

4 a biennial report, as described in section 119. 

5 ‘‘(b) EVALUATION AND EVIDENCE USE PLAN.—Not 

6 later than 60 days after the date on which the Board ap7 proves the priorities under section 115, the Evaluation 

8 and Evidence Use Commissioner shall develop and submit 

9 an evaluation and evidence use plan to the Director that— 

10 ‘‘(1) is consistent with the mission of the Insti11 tute and the mission of the Evaluation and Evidence 

12 Use Center and specifies how the Evaluation and 

13 Evidence Use Center will carry out— 

14 ‘‘(A) evaluations described in section 154; 

15 and 

16 ‘‘(B) activities that promote— 

17 ‘‘(i) evidence use among practitioners, 

18 education system leaders, and policy19 makers; and 

20 ‘‘(ii) continuous improvement across 

21 early childhood through postsecondary 

22 study, such as the development and pro23 motion of practice guides to improve teach24 ing and learning; 

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1 ‘‘(2) uses objective and measurable indicators, 

2 including timelines, to assess the progress and re3 sults of such evaluations or activities; 

4 ‘‘(3) describes the efforts of the Evaluation and 

5 Evidence Use Commissioner to manage the What 

6 Works Clearinghouse and related functions described 

7 in section 155 and promote engagement between the 

8 Institute and practitioners, education system lead9 ers, and policymakers to increase the impact of the 

10 Institute’s activities; and 

11 ‘‘(4) describes how the regional educational lab12 oratories will effectively coordinate with comprehen13 sive centers established under section 207 to in14 crease the impact of such laboratories’ activities. 

15 ‘‘(c) GRANTS, CONTRACTS, AND COOPERATIVE

16 AGREEMENTS.—In carrying out the duties under this 

17 part, the Director may award grants, enter into contracts 

18 and cooperative agreements, and provide technical assist19 ance. 

20 ‘‘SEC. 154. EVALUATIONS. 

21 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.— 

22 ‘‘(1) REQUIREMENTS.—In carrying out the mis23 sion of the Evaluation and Evidence Use Center, the 

24 Evaluation and Evidence Use Commissioner shall— 

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1 ‘‘(A) conduct or support evaluations con2 sistent with the mission of the Evaluation and 

3 Evidence Use Center, as described in section 

4 151(b); 

5 ‘‘(B) evaluate programs administered, in 

6 whole or in part, by the Secretary; 

7 ‘‘(C) to the extent such Commissioner de8 termines practicable, examine evaluations con9 ducted or supported by others in order to deter10 mine the quality and relevance of the evidence 

11 of effectiveness generated by such evaluations; 

12 ‘‘(D) coordinate the activities of the Eval13 uation and Evidence Use Center with other 

14 evaluation activities in the Department; 

15 ‘‘(E) review and, where feasible, supple16 ment Federal education program evaluations, 

17 particularly those by the Department, to deter18 mine or enhance the quality and relevance of 

19 the evidence generated by those evaluations; 

20 ‘‘(F) establish evaluation policies and 

21 methodology; and 

22 ‘‘(G) support the identification of evidence23 based practices that may be adapted and imple24 mented in heterogeneous local educational con25 texts. 

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1 ‘‘(2) ADDITIONAL REQUIREMENTS.—Each eval2 uation conducted under paragraph (1) shall— 

3 ‘‘(A) adhere to the highest possible stand4 ards of quality for conducting scientifically valid 

5 education evaluation; and 

6 ‘‘(B) be subject to high-quality, timely, and 

7 rigorous peer review. 

8 ‘‘(b) ADMINISTRATION OF EVALUATIONS UNDER

9 THE ELEMENTARY AND SECONDARY EDUCATION ACT OF

10 1965.—The Evaluation and Evidence Use Commissioner, 

11 consistent with the mission of the Evaluation and Evi12 dence Use Center, shall administer all operations and con13 tracts associated with evaluations authorized by section 

14 8601 of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 

15 1965 and administered by the Department. 

16 ‘‘SEC. 155. WHAT WORKS CLEARINGHOUSE AND RELATED 

17 FUNCTIONS. 

18 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—In carrying out the mission of 

19 the Evaluation and Evidence Use Center, the Evaluation 

20 and Evidence Use Commissioner shall develop and main21 tain each of the following: 

22 ‘‘(1) The National Education Research Data23 base consisting of scientifically valid research, statis24 tics, and evaluations on education reviewed by the 

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1 Evaluation and Evidence Use Center, as authorized 

2 under subsection (b). 

3 ‘‘(2) The What Works Clearinghouse consisting 

4 of evidence-based practices designed for practi5 tioners, education system leaders, and policymakers, 

6 as authorized under subsection (c). 

7 ‘‘(b) NATIONAL EDUCATION RESEARCH DATA8 BASE.— 

9 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Evaluation and Evi10 dence Use Commissioner shall develop, maintain, 

11 and regularly update the National Education Re12 search Database to support researchers. 

13 ‘‘(2) STANDARDS.—The Evaluation and Evi14 dence Use Commissioner shall establish a system for 

15 technical and peer review to ensure that scientifically 

16 valid research, statistics, and evaluations reviewed 

17 and included in the National Education Research 

18 Database are consistent with the high-quality re19 search standards described in section 134 and the 

20 evaluation standards adhered to under section 

21 154(a)(2)(A). 

22 ‘‘(3) REVIEW.—In reviewing scientifically valid 

23 research, statistics, and evaluations under this sub24 section, including individual studies, the Evaluation 

25 and Evidence Use Commissioner shall— 

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1 ‘‘(A) describe prominently the type of sci2 entific evidence that is used to support the evi3 dence-based findings; and 

4 ‘‘(B) explain clearly the scientifically ap5 propriate and inappropriate uses of— 

6 ‘‘(i) the findings that are dissemi7 nated; and 

8 ‘‘(ii) the types of evidence used to 

9 support such findings. 

10 ‘‘(c) WHAT WORKS CLEARINGHOUSE.— 

11 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Evaluation and Evi12 dence Use Commissioner shall develop, maintain, 

13 and regularly update the What Works Clearinghouse 

14 to support practitioners, education system leaders, 

15 and policymakers in easily accessing actionable in16 formation. 

17 ‘‘(2) REQUIREMENTS.—In carrying out para18 graph (1), the Evaluation and Evidence Use Com19 missioner shall— 

20 ‘‘(A) develop evidence-based recommenda21 tions for practitioners to promote evidence use 

22 and improve student outcomes by— 

23 ‘‘(i) synthesizing findings in research 

24 areas related to challenges facing students 

25 and practitioners; and 

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1 ‘‘(ii) analyzing and summarizing the 

2 findings of high-quality research reviewed 

3 and included in the National Education 

4 Research Database developed under sub5 section (b); and 

6 ‘‘(B) develop and disseminate evidence7 based products or tools designed to improve 

8 teaching and learning in order to provide all 

9 students, particularly each subgroup of stu10 dents, access to high-quality educational oppor11 tunities and to improve educational outcomes, 

12 particularly student academic achievement. 

13 ‘‘(3) COORDINATION WITH REGIONAL EDU14 CATIONAL LABORATORIES.—The Evaluation and 

15 Evidence Use Commissioner shall ensure that the 

16 evidence-based practices, products, and tools of the 

17 What Works Clearinghouse are disseminated 

18 through the regional educational laboratories. 

19 ‘‘SEC. 156. EVIDENCE USE ACTIVITIES. 

20 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—In carrying out the mission of 

21 the Evaluation and Evidence Use Center, the Evaluation 

22 and Evidence Use Commissioner shall— 

23 ‘‘(1) promote engagement between researchers, 

24 practitioners, education system leaders, and policy25 makers to effectively communicate the implications 

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1 of scientifically valid research, statistics, and evalua2 tions to support evidence use and continuous im3 provement; and 

4 ‘‘(2) develop resources or train practitioners 

5 and education system leaders in early childhood edu6 cation through postsecondary study in identifying, 

7 selecting, implementing, and adapting evidence8 based practices in heterogeneous local educational 

9 contexts, such as through (as applicable)— 

10 ‘‘(A) the activities of the regional edu11 cational laboratories; 

12 ‘‘(B) the What Works Clearinghouse estab13 lished under section 155; 

14 ‘‘(C) the provision of technical assistance 

15 to— 

16 ‘‘(i) an early childhood education pro17 gram, Head Start agency, or lead agency 

18 designated under section 658D of the 

19 Child Care and Development Block Grant 

20 Act of 1990 (42 U.S.C. 9858b); 

21 ‘‘(ii) a public elementary school or 

22 secondary school (including a charter 

23 school), local educational agency, or State 

24 educational agency; or 

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1 ‘‘(iii) an institution of higher edu2 cation, including a community college, a 

3 historically Black college or university, a 

4 Tribal College or University, or another 

5 minority-serving institution; and 

6 ‘‘(D) partnerships with public agencies or 

7 private entities that have demonstrated the abil8 ity and capacity to scale activities related to evi9 dence use supported by such Center. 

10 ‘‘(b) NATIONAL LIBRARY OF EDUCATION.— 

11 ‘‘(1) ESTABLISHMENT.—There is established, 

12 within the Evaluation and Evidence Use Center, a 

13 National Library of Education that shall— 

14 ‘‘(A) be headed by an individual who is 

15 highly qualified in library science; 

16 ‘‘(B) collect and archive information; 

17 ‘‘(C) provide a central location within the 

18 Federal Government for information about edu19 cation; 

20 ‘‘(D) provide comprehensive reference serv21 ices on matters related to education to employ22 ees, contractors, and grantees of the Depart23 ment, other Federal employees, and members of 

24 the public; and 

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1 ‘‘(E) promote greater cooperation and re2 source sharing among providers and reposi3 tories of education information in the United 

4 States. 

5 ‘‘(2) INFORMATION.—The information collected 

6 and archived by the National Library of Education 

7 shall include— 

8 ‘‘(A) products and publications developed 

9 through, or supported by, the Institute; and 

10 ‘‘(B) other relevant and useful education11 related research, statistics, and evaluation ma12 terials, and other information, projects, and 

13 publications, that are— 

14 ‘‘(i) consistent with— 

15 ‘‘(I) scientifically valid research; 

16 or 

17 ‘‘(II) the priorities and mission of 

18 the Institute; and 

19 ‘‘(ii) developed by the Department, 

20 other Federal agencies, or other entities. 

21 ‘‘SEC. 157. REGIONAL EDUCATIONAL LABORATORIES FOR 

22 APPLIED RESEARCH, DEVELOPMENT, AND 

23 EVIDENCE USE. 

24 ‘‘(a) AUTHORIZATION.— 

25 ‘‘(1) PROGRAM AUTHORIZED.— 

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1 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The Evaluation and 

2 Evidence Use Commissioner shall enter into 

3 contracts with entities to establish a networked 

4 system of 10 regional educational laboratories 

5 that serve the needs of each geographic region 

6 of the United States in accordance with the 

7 provisions of this section. 

8 ‘‘(B) DURATION.—A contract under this 

9 subsection shall be for a period of not less than 

10 5 years and not more than 7 years. 

11 ‘‘(2) GEOGRAPHIC REGIONS.—The regions 

12 served by the regional educational laboratories shall 

13 be the 10 geographic regions served by the regional 

14 educational laboratories established under section 

15 941(h) of the Educational Research, Development, 

16 Dissemination, and Improvement Act of 1994 (as 

17 such provision existed on the day before the date of 

18 enactment of this Act). 

19 ‘‘(3) ALLOCATION.—The amount of assistance 

20 allocated to each regional educational laboratory by 

21 the Evaluation and Evidence Use Commissioner 

22 shall reflect the number of local educational agencies 

23 and the number of school-age children within the re24 gion served by such laboratory, as well as the cost 

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1 of providing services within the geographic area en2 compassed by the region. 

3 ‘‘(4) REQUIREMENTS.—In entering into con4 tracts under this section for regional educational 

5 laboratories, the Evaluation and Evidence Use Com6 missioner shall ensure that the regional educational 

7 laboratories established under this section have 

8 strong and effective governance, organization, man9 agement, and administration, and employ qualified 

10 staff. 

11 ‘‘(5) COORDINATION.—In order to ensure co12 ordination and prevent unnecessary duplication of 

13 activities among the regions, the Evaluation and 

14 Evidence Use Commissioner shall— 

15 ‘‘(A) share information about the activities 

16 of each regional educational laboratory awarded 

17 a contract under this section with— 

18 ‘‘(i) each other regional educational 

19 laboratory awarded a contract under this 

20 section; and 

21 ‘‘(ii) the Department, including the 

22 Director and the Board; 

23 ‘‘(B) oversee a strategic plan for ensuring 

24 that each regional educational laboratory 

25 awarded a contract under this section increases 

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1 collaboration and resource-sharing in such ac2 tivities; 

3 ‘‘(C) ensure, where appropriate, that the 

4 activities of each regional educational laboratory 

5 awarded a contract under this section also serve 

6 national interests; and 

7 ‘‘(D) ensure that each regional educational 

8 laboratory awarded a contract under this sec9 tion coordinates such laboratory’s activities with 

10 the activities of other technical assistance cen11 ters, particularly the comprehensive center es12 tablished under section 207 that serves such re13 gion. 

14 ‘‘(6) OBJECTIVES AND INDICATORS.—Before 

15 entering into a contract under this section, the Eval16 uation and Evidence Use Commissioner shall design 

17 specific objectives and measurable indicators to be 

18 used to assess the particular programs or initiatives, 

19 and ongoing progress and performance, of the re20 gional educational laboratories, in order to ensure 

21 that— 

22 ‘‘(A) the educational needs of the region 

23 are being met; and 

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1 ‘‘(B) the latest and best research and prov2 en practices are being carried out as part of 

3 school improvement efforts. 

4 ‘‘(7) CONTRACT CYCLE.—The Evaluation and 

5 Evidence Use Commissioner, in consultation with 

6 the Secretary or designated official who oversees the 

7 comprehensive center program authorized under title 

8 II, shall, to the greatest extent practicable, ensure 

9 that the duration of contracts for regional edu10 cational laboratories under this subsection is con11 sistent with the duration of grants, contacts, or co12 operative agreements awarded by the Secretary or 

13 such designated official under the comprehensive 

14 center program, subject to paragraph (1)(B). 

15 ‘‘(b) ELIGIBLE ENTITIES.— 

16 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Evaluation and Evi17 dence Use Commissioner may enter into contracts 

18 under this section with research organizations, insti19 tutions, agencies, institutions of higher education, or 

20 partnerships among such entities, or individuals, 

21 with the demonstrated ability or capacity to carry 

22 out the activities described in this section. 

23 ‘‘(2) OUTREACH.—In conducting competitions 

24 for any contract under this section, the Director 

25 shall— 

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1 ‘‘(A) actively encourage eligible entities to 

2 compete for such award by making information 

3 and technical assistance relating to the competi4 tion widely available; and 

5 ‘‘(B) seek input from the chief executive 

6 officers of States, chief State school officers, 

7 educators, and parents regarding— 

8 ‘‘(i) the need for applied research, de9 velopment, innovation responsive to the 

10 challenges facing students and practi11 tioners, research-practice partnerships (as 

12 defined in section 133(e)(2)), training, 

13 coaching, evidence use activities, and other 

14 activities to serve the educational needs of 

15 the geographic regions of the regional edu16 cational laboratory; and 

17 ‘‘(ii) how those educational needs 

18 could be addressed most effectively. 

19 ‘‘(3) REQUIREMENTS.—In determining whether 

20 to award a contract under this section to an eligible 

21 entity, the Evaluation and Evidence Use Commis22 sioner shall ensure that an eligible entity has a his23 tory of effectiveness in carrying out applied research, 

24 development, and evidence use activities, including 

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1 tion required under this part or title II if such entity 

2 previously received a grant, contract, or cooperative 

3 agreement under such part or title. 

4 ‘‘(c) APPLICATIONS.— 

5 ‘‘(1) SUBMISSION.—Each eligible entity desiring 

6 a contract under this section shall submit an appli7 cation at such time, in such manner, and containing 

8 such information as the Evaluation and Evidence 

9 Use Commissioner may reasonably require. 

10 ‘‘(2) PLAN.—Each application submitted under 

11 paragraph (1) shall contain— 

12 ‘‘(A) a 5-year plan for carrying out the ac13 tivities described in this section in a manner 

14 that addresses— 

15 ‘‘(i) the priorities established under 

16 section 205; 

17 ‘‘(ii) the needs of all States (and to 

18 the extent practicable, of local educational 

19 agencies) within the region to be served by 

20 the regional educational laboratory, on an 

21 ongoing basis; and 

22 ‘‘(iii) how the eligible entity will sup23 port the development and operation of one 

24 or more high-quality research-practice 

25 partnerships (as defined in section 

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1 133(e)(2)) to serve the applicable geo2 graphic region that will be self-sustaining 

3 by the end of the eligible entity’s contract 

4 under this section; and 

5 ‘‘(B) an assurance that the eligible entity 

6 will regularly update the plan under subpara7 graph (A) during the period of the grant. 

8 ‘‘(3) STANDARDS.— 

9 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The Evaluation and 

10 Evidence Use Commissioner shall establish a 

11 system for technical review to ensure that ap12 plied research activities, evidence-based reports, 

13 and products of the regional educational labora14 tories are consistent with— 

15 ‘‘(i) the high-quality research stand16 ards developed and maintained by such 

17 Commissioner, which shall require peer re18 view for resources developed by the re19 gional educational laboratory before such 

20 resources are made available in public, re21 stricted-use, and easily accessible formats, 

22 in accordance with subparagraph (B); and 

23 ‘‘(ii) the evaluation standards adhered 

24 to under section 154(a)(2)(A). 

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1 ‘‘(B) ACCESS.—In developing and main2 taining standards under this paragraph, the 

3 Evaluation and Evidence Use Commissioner 

4 shall ensure that research or data resulting 

5 from regional educational laboratories shall be 

6 made available in public, restricted-use, and 

7 easily accessible formats for further analyses, 

8 reproducibility studies, and replication of re9 search, as long as any reported information 

10 does not reveal personally identifiable informa11 tion. 

12 ‘‘(d) ACTIVITIES.—Each regional educational labora13 tory awarded a contract under this section shall support 

14 applied research, development, and evidence use activities 

15 by— 

16 ‘‘(1) developing a plan for identifying and serv17 ing the needs of the geographic region, in consulta18 tion with the corresponding comprehensive center 

19 that serves such region, by conducting a continuing 

20 survey of the educational needs, strengths, and 

21 weaknesses within the region, including a process of 

22 open hearings to solicit the views of schools, teach23 ers, principals, other school leaders, administrators, 

24 paraprofessionals, other staff, parents, librarians, 

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1 local educational agencies, and State educational 

2 agencies within the region; 

3 ‘‘(2)(A) carrying out applied research projects 

4 (including data analysis or evaluation) that are de5 signed to serve the particular educational needs of 

6 the geographic region and that result in actionable 

7 information; or 

8 ‘‘(B) supporting teams of researchers, practi9 tioners, education system leaders, and policymakers, 

10 as applicable, in carrying out field-initiated research; 

11 ‘‘(3) assisting in solving site-specific problems 

12 and in development activities; 

13 ‘‘(4) identifying, in a manner that is responsive 

14 to the challenges facing students and practitioners, 

15 exemplary and promising practices, supporting re16 search and evaluation of such practices, and piloting 

17 or scaling relevant evidence-based practices; 

18 ‘‘(5) assisting in gathering information on— 

19 ‘‘(A) school finance systems to promote im20 proved access to educational opportunities and 

21 to better serve all public school students; and 

22 ‘‘(B) alternative administrative structures 

23 that are more conducive to planning, imple24 menting, and sustaining school improvement 

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1 and improved educational outcomes, particu2 larly student academic achievement; 

3 ‘‘(6) providing training or professional learning 

4 (which may include supporting internships and fel5 lowships and providing stipends) to practitioners, 

6 education system leaders, State educational agencies, 

7 local educational agencies, Bureau-funded school 

8 boards, and State boards of education, regarding 

9 evidence use and resources developed by the What 

10 Works Clearinghouse established under section 155; 

11 and 

12 ‘‘(7) developing and widely disseminating, in 

13 formats that are high quality, easily accessible, un14 derstandable, and actionable, scientifically valid re15 search, information, reports, and publications, to— 

16 ‘‘(A) student, parents, practitioners, edu17 cation system leaders, and policymakers, as ap18 propriate, within the region in which the re19 gional educational laboratory is located; and 

20 ‘‘(B) the Evaluation and Evidence Use 

21 Center. 

22 ‘‘(e) REQUIREMENTS.—In carrying out the activities 

23 described in subsection (d), each regional educational lab24 oratory awarded a contract under this section shall— 

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1 ‘‘(1) collaborate with the National Education 

2 Centers in order to— 

3 ‘‘(A) maximize the use of research con4 ducted through the National Education Centers 

5 in the work of such laboratory; 

6 ‘‘(B) keep the National Education Centers 

7 apprised of the work of the regional educational 

8 laboratory in the field; and 

9 ‘‘(C) inform the National Education Cen10 ters about additional research needs identified 

11 in the field; 

12 ‘‘(2) collaborate with the corresponding com13 prehensive center serving the same geographic re14 gion in order to minimize duplication and increase 

15 client satisfaction, as required under section 204; 

16 ‘‘(3) support the development and operation of 

17 one or more high-quality research-practice partner18 ships (as such term is defined in section 133(e)(2)) 

19 to serve the applicable geographic region that are 

20 self-sustaining at the end of such laboratory’s con21 tract period; and 

22 ‘‘(4)(A) identify successful educational pro23 grams that have been developed by such laboratory 

24 in carrying out such laboratory’s functions or that 

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1 have been developed or used by others within the re2 gion served by the laboratory; and 

3 ‘‘(B) make such information available to the 

4 Secretary and the network of regional educational 

5 laboratories so that such programs may be evalu6 ated, replicated, or scaled. 

7 ‘‘(f) EVALUATIONS.—The Evaluation and Evidence 

8 Use Commissioner shall— 

9 ‘‘(1) provide for independent evaluations of 

10 each of the regional educational laboratories in car11 rying out the duties described in this section in the 

12 third year that such laboratory receives assistance 

13 under this section, in accordance with the standards 

14 developed by the Evaluation and Evidence Use Com15 missioner; and 

16 ‘‘(2) transmit the results of such evaluations to 

17 the corresponding regional governing board estab18 lished under section 206, the relevant committees of 

19 Congress, and the Board. 

20 ‘‘(g) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.—No regional edu21 cational laboratory receiving assistance under this section 

22 shall, by reason of the receipt of that assistance, be ineli23 gible to receive any other assistance from the Department 

24 as authorized by law or be prohibited from engaging in 

25 activities involving international projects or endeavors. 

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1 ‘‘(h) ADVANCE PAYMENT SYSTEM.—Each regional 

2 educational laboratory awarded a contract under this sec3 tion shall participate in the advance payment system at 

4 the Department. 

5 ‘‘(i) ADDITIONAL PROJECTS.—In addition to activi6 ties authorized under this section, the Director is author7 ized to enter into contracts or agreements with a regional 

8 educational laboratory for the purpose of carrying out ad9 ditional projects to enable such regional educational lab10 oratory to assist in efforts to achieve State education goals 

11 and for other purposes. 

12 ‘‘(j) ANNUAL REPORT AND PLAN.—Not later than 

13 July 1 of each year, each regional educational laboratory 

14 awarded a contract under this section shall submit to the 

15 Evaluation and Evidence Use Commissioner— 

16 ‘‘(1) a plan covering the succeeding fiscal year, 

17 in which such laboratory’s mission, activities, and 

18 scope of work are described, including a general de19 scription of the plans such laboratory expects to sub20 mit in the remaining years of such laboratory’s con21 tract; and 

22 ‘‘(2) a report of how well such laboratory is 

23 meeting the needs of the region, including— 

24 ‘‘(A) a summary of activities during the 

25 preceding year; 

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1 ‘‘(B) a list of entities served; 

2 ‘‘(C) a list of the products of the regional 

3 educational laboratory; and 

4 ‘‘(D) any other information that the re5 gional educational laboratory may consider rel6 evant or the Evaluation and Evidence Use 

7 Commissioner may require. 

8 ‘‘(k) EXEMPTION FOR REGIONAL EDUCATIONAL

9 LABORATORIES FROM THE PAPERWORK REDUCTION

10 ACT.—Subchapter I of chapter 35 of title 44, United 

11 States Code, shall not apply to the voluntary collection of 

12 information during the conduct of research by regional 

13 educational laboratories.’’. 

14 PART E—NATIONAL CENTER FOR SPECIAL 

15 EDUCATION RESEARCH 

16 SEC. 161. ESTABLISHMENT. 

17 Section 161 (20 U.S.C. 9567), as redesignated by 

18 section 102, is amended— 

19 (1) in subsection (b)— 

20 (A) in paragraph (1)— 

21 (i) by inserting ‘‘sustained’’ before 

22 ‘‘research’’; and 

23 (ii) by striking ‘‘infants’’ and all that 

24 follows through ‘‘disabilities’’ and inserting 

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1 dren with disabilities, and youth with dis2 abilities, particularly in each subgroup of 

3 students,’’; 

4 (B) in paragraph (2), by striking ‘‘; and’’ 

5 and inserting ‘‘and to increase the identification 

6 and development of evidence-based practices or 

7 policies related to special education;’’; 

8 (C) in paragraph (3)— 

9 (i) by striking ‘‘National Center for 

10 Education Evaluation and Regional Assist11 ance’’ and inserting ‘‘National Center for 

12 Education Evaluation and Evidence Use’’; 

13 and 

14 (ii) by striking the period and insert15 ing ‘‘; and’’; and 

16 (D) by adding at the end the following: 

17 ‘‘(4) to improve evidence use by practitioners, 

18 education system leaders, and policymakers to effec19 tively support infants and toddlers with disabilities, 

20 children with disabilities, and youth with disabil21 ities.’’; and 

22 (2) by striking subsection (c). 

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1 SEC. 162. COMMISSIONER FOR SPECIAL EDUCATION RE2 SEARCH. 

3 Section 162 (20 U.S.C. 9567a), as redesignated by 

4 section 102, is amended— 

5 (1) by inserting ‘‘scientifically valid’’ before ‘‘re6 search,’’; and 

7 (2) by striking ‘‘children with disabilities’’ and 

8 inserting ‘‘infants and toddlers with disabilities, chil9 dren with disabilities, and youth with disabilities’’. 

10 SEC. 163. DUTIES. 

11 Section 163 (29 U.S.C. 9567b), as redesignated by 

12 section 102, is amended— 

13 (1) by redesignating subsection (f) as sub14 section (g); 

15 (2) by striking subsections (a) through (e) and 

16 inserting the following: 

17 ‘‘(a) GENERAL DUTIES.—The Special Education Re18 search Commissioner shall— 

19 ‘‘(1) maintain published peer-review standards 

20 and standards for the conduct and evaluation of all 

21 research and development carried out under the aus22 pices of the Special Education Research Center, 

23 aligned with the principles of scientifically valid re24 search, in accordance with this part; 

25 ‘‘(2) propose to the Director a special education 

26 research plan in accordance with subsection (b), and 

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1 implement the research plan approved as part of the 

2 Institute’s plan under section 115A; and 

3 ‘‘(3) carry out research activities under this 

4 part consistent with the priorities and mission of the 

5 Institute and the mission of the Special Education 

6 Research Center described in section 161(b), and 

7 that are approved by the Director, such as activities 

8 that— 

9 ‘‘(A) improve services provided under the 

10 Individuals with Disabilities Education Act in 

11 order to improve— 

12 ‘‘(i) student outcomes, including aca13 demic achievement, functional outcomes, 

14 and educational results for children with 

15 disabilities and youth with disabilities; and 

16 ‘‘(ii) developmental outcomes for in17 fants and toddlers with disabilities; 

18 ‘‘(B) identify and support the development 

19 of evidence-based services, strategies, interven20 tions, or policies, including multi-tier systems of 

21 supports and positive behavioral interventions 

22 and supports, that— 

23 ‘‘(i) support learning and improve stu24 dent outcomes, including academic achieve25 ment, functional outcomes, and educational 

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1 results for all children with disabilities and 

2 youth with disabilities; 

3 ‘‘(ii) promote participation and 

4 progress in the general education cur5 riculum and general education settings; 

6 and 

7 ‘‘(iii) improve reading, literacy, math8 ematics, and science skills of children with 

9 disabilities and youth with disabilities; 

10 ‘‘(C) ensure that research conducted under 

11 the direction of the Special Education Research 

12 Center— 

13 ‘‘(i) supports the collaborative identi14 fication and development of research ques15 tions, designs, measurements, and methods 

16 among researchers, students, families, 

17 practitioners, education system leaders, 

18 and policymakers; 

19 ‘‘(ii) improves evidence use by practi20 tioners, education system leaders, and pol21 icymakers; 

22 ‘‘(iii) is relevant to improving edu23 cation practice and policy; and 

24 ‘‘(iv) informs decisionmaking by edu25 cation system leaders and policymakers; 

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1 ‘‘(D) examine the needs of infants and tod2 dlers with disabilities, including factors that 

3 may result in developmental delays; 

4 ‘‘(E) improve the alignment, compatibility, 

5 and development of valid and reliable assess6 ments, including alternate assessments, as re7 quired by section 1111(b)(2) of the Elementary 

8 and Secondary Education Act of 1965; 

9 ‘‘(F) examine challenging State academic 

10 standards and alternate assessments for stu11 dents with the most significant cognitive dis12 abilities in terms of academic achievement, indi13 vidualized instructional need, appropriate edu14 cation settings, and improved educational out15 comes; 

16 ‘‘(G) examine the educational, develop17 mental, and transitional needs of children with 

18 high-incidence and low-incidence disabilities; 

19 ‘‘(H) examine the extent to which over20 identification and underidentification of infants 

21 and toddlers with disabilities, children with dis22 abilities, and youth with disabilities occurs, and 

23 the causes thereof; 

24 ‘‘(I) examine and improve secondary and 

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1 ployment outcomes and results for children with 

2 disabilities and youth with disabilities, including 

3 such individuals’ access to or completion of— 

4 ‘‘(i) a regular high school diploma; 

5 ‘‘(ii) career and technical education; 

6 ‘‘(iii) postsecondary education; and 

7 ‘‘(iv) vocational rehabilitation and 

8 competitive integrated employment; 

9 ‘‘(J) examine methods of early intervention 

10 for infants and toddlers with disabilities and 

11 children with disabilities, including children 

12 with multiple or complex developmental delays; 

13 ‘‘(K) examine and incorporate principles of 

14 universal design for learning in the development 

15 of standards, assessments, curricula, and in16 structional methods to improve educational and 

17 transitional results for children with disabilities 

18 and youth with disabilities; 

19 ‘‘(L)(i) improve the preparation of per20 sonnel, including early intervention personnel, 

21 who provide educational and related services to 

22 infants or toddlers with disabilities, children 

23 with disabilities, or youth with disabilities, in24 cluding methods to support evidence use among 

25 such personnel and increase the academic 

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1 achievement and functional performance of such 

2 infants, toddlers, children, or youth; and 

3 ‘‘(ii) examine the requirements related to 

4 the professional qualifications of such personnel 

5 in regard to sections 612(a)(14) and 635(a)(9) 

6 of the Individuals with Disabilities Education 

7 Act; 

8 ‘‘(M) examine the excess costs of educating 

9 a child with a disability and expenses associated 

10 with high-cost special education and related 

11 services; 

12 ‘‘(N) help parents improve educational and 

13 transitional results for infants and toddlers 

14 with disabilities, children with disabilities, and 

15 youth with disabilities; 

16 ‘‘(O) examine the unique needs of infants 

17 and toddlers with disabilities, children with dis18 abilities, and youth with disabilities, including 

19 who also— 

20 ‘‘(i) are English learners or gifted and 

21 talented; 

22 ‘‘(ii) reside in rural communities; or 

23 ‘‘(iii) have the most significant cog24 nitive disabilities; and 

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1 ‘‘(P) examine existing and emerging assist2 ive, adaptive, accessible, and instructional tech3 nologies, including— 

4 ‘‘(i) online delivery of services; 

5 ‘‘(ii) use of such technologies in gen6 eral education settings; 

7 ‘‘(iii) factors that support or limit the 

8 use of such technologies; and 

9 ‘‘(iv) the impact of such technologies 

10 on infants or toddlers with disabilities, 

11 children with disabilities, or youth with 

12 disabilities. 

13 ‘‘(b) SPECIAL EDUCATION RESEARCH PLAN.—Not 

14 later than 60 days after the date on which the Board ap15 proves the priorities under section 115, the Special Edu16 cation Research Commissioner shall develop, in collabora17 tion with the Assistant Secretary for Special Education 

18 and Rehabilitative Services, and submit a special edu19 cation research plan to the Director that— 

20 ‘‘(1) is consistent with the priorities and mis21 sion of the Institute and the mission of the Special 

22 Education Research Center; 

23 ‘‘(2) is consistent with the purposes of the Indi24 viduals with Disabilities Education Act; 

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1 ‘‘(3) contains an appropriate balance across all 

2 age ranges and by disability category under the Indi3 viduals with Disabilities Education Act, as appro4 priate; 

5 ‘‘(4) provides for research that is objective and 

6 uses measurable indicators, including timelines, to 

7 assess its progress and results; 

8 ‘‘(5) meets the procedures for peer review es9 tablished by the Director under section 114(f)(5) 

10 and the standards of research described in section 

11 134; 

12 ‘‘(6) is coordinated with the comprehensive plan 

13 developed under section 681 of the Individuals with 

14 Disabilities Education Act; and 

15 ‘‘(7) specifies how the Special Education Re16 search Center will carry out research activities de17 scribed in subsection (a)(3). 

18 ‘‘(c) GRANTS, CONTRACTS, AND COOPERATIVE

19 AGREEMENTS.— 

20 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—In carrying out the duties 

21 under this section, the Special Education Research 

22 Commissioner may award grants to, or enter into 

23 contracts or cooperative agreements with, eligible ap24 plicants. 

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1 ‘‘(2) GRANT CYCLE.—The requirements de2 scribed in section 133(d) shall apply to the Special 

3 Education Research Commissioner in the same man4 ner as such requirements apply to the Research 

5 Commissioner. 

6 ‘‘(3) ELIGIBLE APPLICANTS.—Contracts, 

7 grants, or cooperative agreements for activities 

8 under this subsection shall be awarded only to appli9 cants with the ability and capacity to conduct sci10 entifically valid research. 

11 ‘‘(4) APPLICATIONS.—An eligible applicant that 

12 wishes to receive a grant, or enter into a contract or 

13 cooperative agreement, under this subsection shall 

14 submit an application to the Director at such time, 

15 in such manner, and containing such information as 

16 the Director may require. 

17 ‘‘(d) RESEARCH-PRACTICE PARTNERSHIPS.—In car18 rying out the duties under subsection (a), the Special Edu19 cation Research Commissioner may award grants to, or 

20 enter into contracts or cooperative agreements with, eligi21 ble entities to carry out research-practice partnerships in 

22 the same manner, and subject to the same definitions, 

23 terms, and conditions, as research-practice partnerships 

24 supported under section 133(e). 

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1 ‘‘(e) DISSEMINATION.—The Special Education Re2 search Commissioner shall— 

3 ‘‘(1) synthesize and disseminate the findings 

4 and results of special education research conducted 

5 or supported by the Special Education Research 

6 Center through— 

7 ‘‘(A) the National Center for Education 

8 Evaluation and Evidence Use; 

9 ‘‘(B) activities funded under section 663 of 

10 the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act; 

11 ‘‘(C) parent training and information cen12 ters supported under section 671 of such Act; 

13 and 

14 ‘‘(D) activities funded under section 673 of 

15 such Act; and 

16 ‘‘(2) assist the Director in the preparation of 

17 the biennial report described in section 119.’’; and 

18 (3) in subsection (g), as redesignated by para19 graph (1), by striking ‘‘fiscal years 2005 through 

20 2010’’ and inserting ‘‘fiscal years 2024 through 

21 2029’’. 

22 SEC. 164. STANDARDS FOR CONDUCT AND EVALUATION OF 

23 RESEARCH. 

24 Part E of title I (20 U.S.C. 9567 et seq.) is amended 

25 by adding at the end the following: 

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1 ‘‘SEC. 164. STANDARDS FOR CONDUCT AND EVALUATION OF 

2 RESEARCH. 

3 ‘‘(a) STANDARDS.—The Special Education Research 

4 Commissioner shall ensure that activities assisted under 

5 this section— 

6 ‘‘(1) conform to high standards of quality, in7 tegrity, accuracy, validity, and reliability; 

8 ‘‘(2) are carried out in accordance with— 

9 ‘‘(A) the standards for the conduct and 

10 evaluation of all research and development es11 tablished by the National Center for Education 

12 Research; and 

13 ‘‘(B) any additional standards established 

14 by the Special Education Research Commis15 sioner; and 

16 ‘‘(3) are objective, secular, neutral, and non17 ideological, and are free of partisan political influ18 ence, and racial, cultural, gender, regional, or dis19 ability bias. 

20 ‘‘(b) APPLICABILITY OF EDUCATION SCIENCES RE21 FORM ACT OF 2002.—Parts A and F, and the standards 

22 for peer review of applications and for the conduct and 

23 evaluation of research under sections 133(a)(1) and 134, 

24 shall apply to the Secretary, the Director, and the Special 

25 Education Research Commissioner in carrying out this 

26 part.’’. 

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1 PART F—GENERAL PROVISIONS 

2 SEC. 171. REPEALS AND REDESIGNATION. 

3 Part F of title I (20 U.S.C. 9571 et seq.) is amend4 ed— 

5 (1) by striking sections 179 and 183 (as such 

6 sections were redesignated by section 102); and 

7 (2) by redesignating sections 180, 181, 182, 

8 and 184 (as so redesignated) as sections 179, 180, 

9 181, and 182, respectively. 

10 SEC. 172. INTERAGENCY DATA SOURCES AND FORMATS. 

11 Section 171 (20 U.S.C. 9571), as redesignated by 

12 section 102, is amended— 

13 (1) by striking ‘‘The Secretary,’’ and inserting 

14 the following: 

15 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary,’’; and 

16 (2) by adding at the end the following: 

17 ‘‘(b) SECURE PUBLIC ACCESS.— 

18 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Consistent with Federal 

19 law for privacy, intellectual property, and security, 

20 and the principles of scientifically valid research, the 

21 Director shall, subject to section 172, facilitate for 

22 the public access to research products, including 

23 data, software, and code supported by funds under 

24 this title. 

25 ‘‘(2) DATA MANAGEMENT PLANS.—The Direc26 tor shall require that proposals for funding for reVerDate Sep 11 2014 23:38 Dec 11, 2023 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00140 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3392.IS S3392
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1 search supported under this title, to the extent ap2 propriate, include a machine-readable data manage3 ment plan that includes a description of how the re4 cipient of the funding will archive and preserve ac5 cess to data, software, and code developed as part of 

6 the proposed project. 

7 ‘‘(3) REQUIREMENTS.—In carrying out the re8 quirements under this subsection, the Director 

9 shall— 

10 ‘‘(A) provide necessary resources, including 

11 trainings and workshops, to educate researchers 

12 and students on how to develop and review 

13 high-quality data management plans; and 

14 ‘‘(B) ensure staff and peer review panels of 

15 the Institute are equipped with the resources 

16 and training necessary to review the quality of 

17 data management plans in competitions for 

18 grants, contracts, and cooperative agreements 

19 under this title, as applicable.’’. 

20 SEC. 173. PROHIBITIONS. 

21 Section 172 (20 U.S.C. 9572), as redesignated by 

22 section 102, is amended— 

23 (1) in subsection (a), by striking ‘‘individually’’ 

24 and inserting ‘‘personally’’; and 

25 (2) in subsection (d)(2)— 

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1 (A) by striking ‘‘section 153(a)(6)’’ and in2 serting ‘‘section 143(a)(7)’’; and 

3 (B) by striking ‘‘nations’’ and inserting 

4 ‘‘countries’’. 

5 SEC. 174. CONFIDENTIALITY. 

6 Section 173 (20 U.S.C. 9573), as redesignated by 

7 section 102, is amended— 

8 (1) in subsection (a), by striking ‘‘subsection 

9 (c)’’ and inserting ‘‘subsection (d)’’; 

10 (2) in subsection (b)— 

11 (A) by striking ‘‘individually’’ and insert12 ing ‘‘personally’’; 

13 (B) by striking ‘‘subsection (c)’’ and in14 serting ‘‘subsection (d)’’; and 

15 (C) by striking ‘‘their families, and infor16 mation with respect to individual schools’’ and 

17 inserting ‘‘and their families’’; 

18 (3) by redesignating subsections (c) through (e) 

19 as subsections (d) through (f), respectively; 

20 (4) by inserting after subsection (b) the fol21 lowing: 

22 ‘‘(c) INSTITUTION-LEVEL DATA.—The Director shall 

23 ensure that any authorized disclosed information with re24 spect to an early childhood education program, elementary 

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1 tution of higher education shall not include personally 

2 identifiable information.’’; 

3 (5) in subsection (d)(2)(A), as redesignated by 

4 paragraph (3), by striking ‘‘individually’’ and insert5 ing ‘‘personally’’; and 

6 (6) in subsection (e), as redesignated by para7 graph (3)— 

8 (A) by striking ‘‘individually identifiable 

9 information’’ each place the term appears and 

10 inserting ‘‘personally identifiable information’’; 

11 and 

12 (B) in paragraph (1)(B), by striking ‘‘Indi13 vidually identifiable information’’ and inserting 

14 ‘‘Personally identifiable information’’. 

15 SEC. 175. AVAILABILITY OF DATA. 

16 Section 174 (20 U.S.C. 9574), as redesignated by 

17 section 102, is amended— 

18 (1) by striking ‘‘section 183’’ and inserting 

19 ‘‘section 173’’; and 

20 (2) by striking ‘‘use of the Internet’’ and insert21 ing ‘‘through electronic means, such as posting in an 

22 easily accessible manner on the website of the Insti23 tute’’. 

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1 SEC. 176. PERFORMANCE MANAGEMENT. 

2 Section 175 (20 U.S.C. 9575), as redesignated by 

3 section 102, is amended to read as follows: 

4 ‘‘SEC. 175. PERFORMANCE MANAGEMENT. 

5 ‘‘The Director shall establish a system for managing 

6 the performance of all activities authorized under this title 

7 to ensure the effective use of Federal funds and that such 

8 activities meet the Institute’s mission, by— 

9 ‘‘(1) developing and utilizing measurable per10 formance indicators, including reasonable timelines, 

11 to evaluate and improve the effectiveness of such ac12 tivities and to inform applicable competitions for 

13 grants, contracts, or cooperative agreements under 

14 this title; 

15 ‘‘(2) ensuring information, statistics, products, 

16 and publications of the Institute are prepared in a 

17 timely manner and are widely disseminated to prac18 titioners, education system leaders, and policymakers 

19 in formats that are high-quality, easily accessible, 

20 understandable, and actionable; 

21 ‘‘(3) utilizing the most modern technology and 

22 other methods available, including arrangements to 

23 use data collected electronically by public agencies 

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1 densome collection and timely distribution of infor2 mation, including data and reports; 

3 ‘‘(4) promoting engagement with, wide dissemi4 nation of, and evidence use of all information, prod5 ucts, and publications of the Institute in a manner 

6 that is responsive to the educational challenges fac7 ing students, families, practitioners, and education 

8 system leaders; 

9 ‘‘(5) continuously improving management strat10 egies and practices; and 

11 ‘‘(6) making information available to the public 

12 in an expeditious fashion.’’. 

13 SEC. 177. VACANCIES. 

14 Section 177 (20 U.S.C. 9577), as redesignated by 

15 section 102, is amended— 

16 (1) by striking the first sentence; and 

17 (2) by striking ‘‘section 188’’ and inserting 

18 ‘‘section 178’’. 

19 SEC. 178. SCIENTIFIC OR TECHNICAL EMPLOYEES. 

20 Section 178 (20 U.S.C. 9578), as redesignated by 

21 section 102, is amended— 

22 (1) in the matter preceding paragraph (1) of 

23 subsection (a), by inserting ‘‘, including experts in 

24 privacy, security of personally identifiable informa25 tion, and cybersecurity,’’ before ‘‘to carry out’’; and 

146 

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1 (2) by adding at the end the following: 

2 ‘‘(c) ROTATORS.—The Director may, under the au3 thority provided by subsection (a), appoint for a limited 

4 term, or on a temporary basis, practitioners, researchers, 

5 and other technical and professional personnel on leave of 

6 absence from academic, industrial, or research institutions 

7 to work for the Institute, which may include such per8 sonnel affiliated with minority-serving institutions.’’. 

9 SEC. 179. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 

10 Section 182 (20 U.S.C. 9584), as redesignated by 

11 section 171, is amended— 

12 (1) in subsection (a)— 

13 (A) in the matter preceding paragraph (1), 

14 by striking ‘‘(except section 174) $400,000,000 

15 for fiscal year 2003 and such sums as may be 

16 necessary for each of the 5 succeeding fiscal 

17 years, of which’’ and inserting ‘‘(except section 

18 157) such sums as may be necessary for fiscal 

19 year 2024 and each of the 5 succeeding fiscal 

20 years, of which, for each fiscal year’’; 

21 (B) in paragraph (1)— 

22 (i) by striking ‘‘(as such Center’’ and 

23 all that follows through ‘‘2002’’ and insert24 ing ‘‘for fiscal year 2023’’; and 

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1 (ii) by striking ‘‘, as authorized under 

2 part C’’; and 

3 (C) in paragraph (2), by striking 

4 ‘‘$1,000,000’’ and inserting ‘‘$2,000,000’’; 

5 (2) by redesignating subsections (b) and (c) as 

6 subsections (c) and (d), respectively; 

7 (3) by inserting after subsection (a) the fol8 lowing: 

9 ‘‘(b) PROGRAM ADMINISTRATION.—There are au10 thorized to be appropriated to carry out this title, for sala11 ries and related expenses for the Director, each of the 

12 Commissioners, and employees described in section 178, 

13 such sums as may be necessary for fiscal year 2024 and 

14 each of the 5 succeeding fiscal years.’’; 

15 (4) in subsection (c), as redesignated by para16 graph (2)— 

17 (A) in the first sentence, by striking ‘‘sec18 tion 174 $100,000,000 for fiscal year 2003’’ 

19 and inserting ‘‘section 157 such sums as may 

20 be necessary for fiscal year 2024’’; and 

21 (B) by striking the second sentence; and 

22 (5) in subsection (d), as redesignated by para23 graph (2)— 

24 (A) by inserting ‘‘for a fiscal year’’ after 

25 ‘‘this section’’; and 

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1 (B) by striking ‘‘until expended’’ and in2 serting ‘‘for the 2 succeeding fiscal years’’. 

3 SEC. 180. CONFORMING AMENDMENTS. 

4 (a) GENERAL EDUCATION PROVISIONS ACT.—Sec5 tion 447(b) of the General Education Provisions Act (20 

6 U.S.C. 1232j(b)) is amended by striking ‘‘section 

7 153(a)(6)’’ and inserting ‘‘section 143(a)(7)’’. 

8 (b) ELEMENTARY AND SECONDARY EDUCATION ACT

9 OF 1965.—The Elementary and Secondary Education Act 

10 of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 6301 et seq.) is amended— 

11 (1) in section 2244(b)(5), by striking ‘‘section 

12 174’’ and inserting ‘‘section 157’’; 

13 (2) in section 8101— 

14 (A) in paragraph (23)— 

15 (i) in subparagraph (A)(i), by striking 

16 ‘‘section 153’’ and inserting ‘‘section 143’’; 

17 and 

18 (ii) in subparagraph (D)(i), by strik19 ing ‘‘section 153’’ and inserting ‘‘section 

20 143’’; and 

21 (B) in paragraph (25)— 

22 (i) in subparagraph (A)(i), by striking 

23 ‘‘section 153’’ and inserting ‘‘section 143’’; 

24 and 

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1 (ii) in subparagraph (D)(i), by strik2 ing ‘‘section 153’’ and inserting ‘‘section 

3 143’’; and 

4 (3) in section 8529(b), by striking ‘‘section 

5 153(a)(6)’’ and inserting ‘‘section 143(a)(7)’’. 

6 (c) INDIVIDUALS WITH DISABILITIES EDUCATION

7 ACT.—The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act 

8 (20 U.S.C. 1400 et seq.) is amended— 

9 (1) in section 673(c), by striking ‘‘section 174’’ 

10 and inserting ‘‘section 157’’; and 

11 (2) in section 681(a)(1), by striking ‘‘section 

12 178(c)’’ and inserting ‘‘section 163(b)’’. 

13 TITLE II—EDUCATIONAL 

14 TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE 

15 SEC. 201. EDUCATIONAL TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE. 

16 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Educational Technical As17 sistance Act of 2002 (20 U.S.C. 9601 et seq.) is amended 

18 to read as follows: 

19 ‘‘TITLE II—EDUCATIONAL 

20 TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE 

21 ‘‘SEC. 201. SHORT TITLE. 

22 ‘‘This title may be cited as the ‘Educational Tech23 nical Assistance Act of 2002’. 

24 ‘‘SEC. 202. DEFINITIONS. 

25 ‘‘In this title: 

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1 ‘‘(1) ESEA TERMS.—The terms ‘child with a 

2 disability’, ‘English learner’, ‘Secretary’, and ‘school 

3 leader’ have the meanings given those terms in sec4 tion 8101 of the Elementary and Secondary Edu5 cation Act of 1965. 

6 ‘‘(2) ESRA TERMS.—The terms ‘Bureau-fund7 ed school’, ‘evidence-based’, ‘evidence use’, ‘geo8 graphic region’, ‘institution of higher education’, ‘re9 gional educational laboratory’, and ‘subgroup of stu10 dents’ have the meanings given those terms in sec11 tion 102. 

12 ‘‘(3) COMPREHENSIVE CENTER.— 

13 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘comprehen14 sive center’ means a technical assistance center 

15 authorized under section 207. 

16 ‘‘(B) NATIONAL COMPREHENSIVE CEN17 TER.—The term ‘national comprehensive cen18 ter’ means a comprehensive center established 

19 or supported through an award under section 

20 207(a)(2)(A) to support regional comprehensive 

21 centers by scaling effective technical assistance, 

22 minimizing duplication, and addressing common 

23 implementation challenges faced by States and 

24 emerging national education issues. 

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1 ‘‘(C) REGIONAL COMPREHENSIVE CEN2 TER.—The term ‘regional comprehensive center’ 

3 means a comprehensive center established or 

4 supported through an award under section 

5 207(a)(2)(B) that serves 1 geographic region. 

6 ‘‘(4) FOCUS CENTER.—The term ‘focus center’ 

7 means a technical assistance center authorized under 

8 section 208. 

9 ‘‘SEC. 203. COORDINATION OF TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE. 

10 ‘‘(a) PURPOSE.—It is the purpose of this section to 

11 improve educational opportunities and outcomes, particu12 larly academic achievement, for all students, particularly 

13 for each subgroup of students, through the coordination 

14 of technical assistance to support the effective implemen15 tation of— 

16 ‘‘(1) the Elementary and Secondary Education 

17 Act of 1965; 

18 ‘‘(2) the Individuals with Disabilities Education 

19 Act; 

20 ‘‘(3) the Carl D. Perkins Career and Technical 

21 Education Act of 2006; 

22 ‘‘(4) the Higher Education Act of 1965; 

23 ‘‘(5) section 444 of the General Education Pro24 visions Act (commonly known as the ‘‘Family Edu25 cational Rights and Privacy Act of 1974’’); and 

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1 ‘‘(6) other relevant Federal education laws. 

2 ‘‘(b) ACTIVITIES.—In meeting the purpose of sub3 section (a), the Secretary shall— 

4 ‘‘(1) provide technical assistance to practi5 tioners, education system leaders, elementary and 

6 secondary schools, local educational agencies, State 

7 educational agencies, institutions of higher edu8 cation, families, local boards and State boards (as 

9 defined under section 3 of the Workforce Innovation 

10 and Opportunity Act), and other appropriate agen11 cies, to support effective implementation of the laws 

12 described in subsection (a); 

13 ‘‘(2) encourage evidence use and support the 

14 implementation of evidence-based practices to im15 prove educational outcomes, particularly academic 

16 achievement, for all students, and particularly for 

17 each subgroup of students; and 

18 ‘‘(3) align technical assistance efforts across the 

19 Department of Education to minimize duplication of 

20 technical assistance and increase client satisfaction 

21 in a manner that— 

22 ‘‘(A) promotes high-quality, actionable, 

23 timely, and easily accessible information; and 

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1 ‘‘(B) is responsive to the educational chal2 lenges facing students, families, practitioners, 

3 and education system leaders. 

4 ‘‘(c) CONTENT.—The technical assistance provided 

5 under this section may include— 

6 ‘‘(1) an evaluation of the implementation of 

7 Federal programs at the local or State level, or 

8 building local or State capacity to carry out such an 

9 evaluation; and 

10 ‘‘(2) improving or streamlining data collections, 

11 and increasing the capacity of agencies to analyze 

12 and communicate such data and carry out evidence 

13 use to support practitioners and education system 

14 leaders in evidence-based decisionmaking. 

15 ‘‘SEC. 204. COORDINATION BETWEEN COMPREHENSIVE 

16 CENTERS AND REGIONAL EDUCATIONAL LAB17 ORATORIES. 

18 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary, in consultation 

19 with the Commissioner for Education Evaluation and Evi20 dence Use described in section 152, shall ensure that re21 gional comprehensive centers and regional educational lab22 oratories that serve the same geographic regions are effec23 tively coordinated to minimize duplication and increase cli24 ent satisfaction. 

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1 ‘‘(b) LOCAL COORDINATION.—Each regional com2 prehensive center and regional educational laboratory that 

3 serve the same geographic region, to the greatest extent 

4 practicable, shall— 

5 ‘‘(1) carry out local needs assessments and re6 lated input gathering in a coordinated manner; 

7 ‘‘(2) be familiar with each other’s work plan 

8 and areas of expertise, and with other federally 

9 funded technical assistance centers; 

10 ‘‘(3) be responsive, in a timely and effective 

11 manner, to the State educational agencies, local edu12 cational agencies, and, if applicable, Bureau-funded 

13 schools located in such geographic region, which may 

14 include referring such an agency to a more appro15 priate federally funded technical assistance center; 

16 ‘‘(4) develop and maintain a shared regional 

17 governing board, in accordance with the require18 ments of section 206(a)(1); and 

19 ‘‘(5) identify challenges facing students and 

20 practitioners in the region so as to inform the work 

21 of focus centers authorized under section 208. 

22 ‘‘(c) CONTRACT CYCLE.—The Secretary, in consulta23 tion with the Commissioner for Education Evaluation and 

24 Evidence Use, shall, to the greatest extent practicable, en25 sure that the duration of grants, contacts, or cooperative 

155 

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1 agreements awarded for comprehensive centers under this 

2 title is consistent with the duration of contracts awarded 

3 by such Commissioner for the regional educational labora4 tory program. 

5 ‘‘SEC. 205. PRIORITIES. 

6 ‘‘The Secretary shall establish priorities for the re7 gional educational laboratories and comprehensive centers, 

8 taking into account input from regional governing boards. 

9 ‘‘SEC. 206. GOVERNING BOARDS. 

10 ‘‘(a) REGIONAL GOVERNING BOARD.— 

11 ‘‘(1) ESTABLISHMENT.— 

12 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Each regional com13 prehensive center and regional educational lab14 oratory that serve the same geographic region 

15 shall have a shared regional governing board 

16 that shall guide and direct the work of such 

17 center and such laboratory. 

18 ‘‘(B) COSTS.—In supporting and maintain19 ing the regional governing board required under 

20 this paragraph, each regional comprehensive 

21 center and regional educational laboratory shall 

22 equally divide any costs related to developing, 

23 operating, or staffing such board. Such center 

24 or laboratory may enter into a contract with 

25 each other to carry out such activities. 

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1 ‘‘(2) DUTIES.—Each regional governing board 

2 established under paragraph (1) shall advise the rel3 evant regional comprehensive center and regional 

4 educational laboratory on— 

5 ‘‘(A) the comprehensive center’s activities 

6 described in section 207(f) and the laboratory’s 

7 activities to satisfy the terms and conditions of 

8 the contract award under section 154; 

9 ‘‘(B) the regional agenda of such center 

10 and such laboratory, in a manner that is re11 sponsive to the challenges facing students and 

12 practitioners of the region, which may include 

13 the identification of exemplary, innovative, and 

14 promising practices in the region for additional 

15 study; 

16 ‘‘(C) ensuring the work of the comprehen17 sive center and the laboratory is high-quality, 

18 actionable, timely, and easily accessible; 

19 ‘‘(D) identifying challenges facing students 

20 and practitioners of the region, which shall in21 form the work of focus centers authorized 

22 under section 208; and 

23 ‘‘(E) the implementation of such center’s 

24 and such laboratory’s respective duties in a 

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1 viding all students, particularly each subgroup 

2 of students, access to high-quality educational 

3 opportunities and improves educational out4 comes, particularly student academic achieve5 ment. 

6 ‘‘(3) COMPOSITION.— 

7 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Each regional gov8 erning board shall be composed of— 

9 ‘‘(i) the chief State school officers, or 

10 such officers’ designees or other State offi11 cials, in each State located in the cor12 responding geographic region; and 

13 ‘‘(ii) not more than 10 other members 

14 who are representative of the educational 

15 interests in the corresponding geographic 

16 region, which may include the following: 

17 ‘‘(I) Representatives of local edu18 cational agencies and educational 

19 service agencies, including representa20 tives of local educational agencies 

21 serving urban and rural areas. 

22 ‘‘(II) Representatives of institu23 tions of higher education. 

24 ‘‘(III) Parents. 

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1 ‘‘(IV) Practitioners, including 

2 classroom teachers, principals, and 

3 other school leaders. 

4 ‘‘(V) Representatives of work5 force development. 

6 ‘‘(VI) Policymakers, expert prac7 titioners, and researchers with knowl8 edge of, and experience using re9 search, development, evaluation, and 

10 statistics. 

11 ‘‘(b) NATIONAL COMPREHENSIVE CENTER GOV12 ERNING BOARD.— 

13 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The National Comprehen14 sive Center shall have a governing board that 

15 shall— 

16 ‘‘(A) guide and direct the work of such 

17 center; and 

18 ‘‘(B) support such center in scaling effec19 tive technical assistance, minimizing duplica20 tion, and addressing common implementation 

21 challenges faced by States and emerging na22 tional education issues. 

23 ‘‘(2) COMPOSITION.—The governing board de24 scribed this subsection shall be composed of— 

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1 ‘‘(A) not less than 1 member of each re2 gional governing board described in subsection 

3 (a); and 

4 ‘‘(B) a variety of members described in 

5 subsection (a)(3)(A)(ii). 

6 ‘‘SEC. 207. COMPREHENSIVE CENTERS. 

7 ‘‘(a) AUTHORIZATION.— 

8 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall award 

9 11 grants, contracts, or cooperative agreements, on 

10 a competitive basis, to establish national or regional 

11 comprehensive centers, in accordance with para12 graph (2). 

13 ‘‘(2) AWARD CRITERIA.—In awarding grants, 

14 contracts, or cooperative agreements under para15 graph (1), the Secretary— 

16 ‘‘(A) shall award 1 grant, contract, or co17 operative agreement to an eligible entity to en18 able that eligible entity to establish a national 

19 comprehensive center that will support regional 

20 comprehensive centers by— 

21 ‘‘(i) scaling effective technical assist22 ance; 

23 ‘‘(ii) minimizing duplication; and 

24 ‘‘(iii) addressing— 

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1 ‘‘(I) common implementation 

2 challenges faced by States; and 

3 ‘‘(II) emerging national edu4 cation issues; and 

5 ‘‘(B) shall ensure that 1 regional com6 prehensive center is established in each of the 

7 geographic regions. 

8 ‘‘(3) NATIONAL COMPREHENSIVE CENTER; RE9 GIONAL COMPREHENSIVE CENTERS.—In the case 

10 of— 

11 ‘‘(A) a national comprehensive center de12 scribed in paragraph (2)(A), the Nation shall be 

13 considered to be the region served by the com14 prehensive center; and 

15 ‘‘(B) a regional comprehensive center de16 scribed in paragraph (2)(B), the geographic re17 gion shall be considered to be the region served 

18 by the comprehensive center. 

19 ‘‘(b) ELIGIBLE ENTITIES.— 

20 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Grants, contracts, or coop21 erative agreements under this section may be made 

22 with research organizations, public agencies, private 

23 entities, institutions of higher education, or partner24 ships among such entities, with the demonstrated 

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1 scribed in subsection (f) (referred to in this section 

2 as ‘eligible entities’). 

3 ‘‘(2) OUTREACH.—In conducting competitions 

4 for grants, contracts, or cooperative agreements 

5 under this section, the Secretary shall— 

6 ‘‘(A) actively encourage eligible entities to 

7 apply for such awards by making widely avail8 able information and technical assistance relat9 ing to the awards described under this section; 

10 and 

11 ‘‘(B) seek input from chief executive offi12 cers of States, chief State school officers, teach13 ers, principals, other school leaders, parents, 

14 administrators, paraprofessionals, and other in15 dividuals with knowledge of the needs of the re16 gions to be served by the awards, regarding— 

17 ‘‘(i) the needs in the regions for tech18 nical assistance authorized under this title; 

19 and 

20 ‘‘(ii) how such needs may be ad21 dressed most effectively. 

22 ‘‘(3) REQUIREMENTS.—In determining whether 

23 to award a grant, contract, or cooperative agreement 

24 under this section, the Secretary shall ensure that 

25 an eligible entity has a history of effectiveness in 

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1 providing high-quality technical assistance, including 

2 by considering the results of any completed evalua3 tion required under this title or part D of title I if 

4 such entity previously received a grant, contract, or 

5 cooperative agreement under this title or title I. 

6 ‘‘(c) APPLICATION.— 

7 ‘‘(1) SUBMISSION.— 

8 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Each eligible entity, 

9 seeking a grant, contract, or cooperative agree10 ment under this section shall submit an applica11 tion at such time, in such manner, and con12 taining such additional information as the Sec13 retary may reasonably require, including the 

14 plan described in paragraph (2). 

15 ‘‘(B) ENGAGEMENT.—To help ensure ap16 plications submitted under this paragraph are 

17 responsive to challenges facing students, practi18 tioners, and education system leaders in the re19 gion proposed to be served, each eligible entity 

20 submitting such an application shall meaning21 fully engage with not less than 1 individual or 

22 entity located in such region from each of the 

23 following categories, to inform the application: 

24 ‘‘(i) State educational agencies. 

25 ‘‘(ii) Local educational agencies. 

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1 ‘‘(iii) Practitioners, including teachers, 

2 principals, and other school leaders. 

3 ‘‘(iv) Students and parents. 

4 ‘‘(v) Policymakers, expert practi5 tioners, and researchers with knowledge of, 

6 and experience using, the findings from re7 search, evaluation, and statistics. 

8 ‘‘(2) PLAN.—Each application submitted under 

9 paragraph (1) shall contain— 

10 ‘‘(A) an assurance that such applicant will 

11 develop and regularly update a 5-year service 

12 plan for carrying out the technical assistance 

13 and capacity-building activities for the region in 

14 a manner that addresses— 

15 ‘‘(i) the priorities described under sec16 tion 205; and 

17 ‘‘(ii) the needs of all States (and to 

18 the extent practicable, of local educational 

19 agencies) within the region to be served by 

20 the national or regional comprehensive cen21 ter, on an ongoing basis; and 

22 ‘‘(B) an assurance that such entity will de23 velop and regularly update and submit to the 

24 Secretary a State service plan that includes— 

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1 ‘‘(i) a description of the capacity2 building supports to be delivered by the 

3 center in response to educational chal4 lenges facing students, practitioners, and 

5 education system leaders in a manner that 

6 supports evidence use; and 

7 ‘‘(ii) a description of the technical as8 sistance to be provided to support the ef9 fective implementation of the Elementary 

10 and Secondary Education Act of 1965. 

11 ‘‘(d) ALLOCATION.— 

12 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Each regional comprehen13 sive center established under this section shall allo14 cate such center’s resources to and within each State 

15 in a manner which reflects the need for assistance, 

16 taking into account such factors as— 

17 ‘‘(A) the proportion and number of stu18 dents from low-income backgrounds counted 

19 under section 1113(a)(5) of the Elementary 

20 and Secondary Education Act of 1965; 

21 ‘‘(B) the number of schools implementing 

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1 tion 1111(d) of the Elementary and Secondary 

2 Education Act of 1965 in the region; 

3 ‘‘(C) the increased cost burden of service 

4 delivery in rural areas; and 

5 ‘‘(D) any special initiatives being under6 taken by State, intermediate, local educational 

7 agencies, or Bureau-funded schools, as appro8 priate, that may require special assistance from 

9 the center. 

10 ‘‘(2) RESPONSIVENESS.—In allocating resources 

11 in accordance with paragraph (1), each regional 

12 comprehensive center shall reserve not more than 15 

13 percent of funds awarded by the Secretary for a fis14 cal year to respond in a timely fashion to urgent 

15 needs of State educational agencies and local edu16 cational agencies served by such center for such fis17 cal year, which may also include modifying the ac18 tivities of the center and the State service plan de19 scribed in subsection (c)(2)(B). 

20 ‘‘(e) SCOPE OF WORK.—Each comprehensive center 

21 established under this section shall work with State edu22 cational agencies, local educational agencies, educational 

23 service agencies, and schools, including Bureau-funded 

24 schools, in the region where such center is located on 

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1 tors such as the proportion and number of students from 

2 low-income backgrounds counted under section 1113(a)(5) 

3 of Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 in 

4 the region, and give priority to— 

5 ‘‘(1) schools in the region with high percentages 

6 or numbers of students from low-income back7 grounds, as determined under section 1113(a)(5) of 

8 the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 

9 1965, including such schools in rural and urban 

10 areas, and schools receiving assistance under title I 

11 of that Act; 

12 ‘‘(2) local educational agencies in the region in 

13 which high percentages or numbers of school-age 

14 children are from low-income families, as determined 

15 under section 1124(c)(1)(A) of the Elementary and 

16 Secondary Education Act of 1965, including such 

17 local educational agencies in rural and urban areas; 

18 and 

19 ‘‘(3) schools in the region that are imple20 menting comprehensive support and improvement 

21 activities, targeted support and improvement activi22 ties, and additional targeted support under section 

23 1111(d) of the Elementary and Secondary Edu24 cation Act of 1965. 

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1 ‘‘(f) ACTIVITIES.—A comprehensive center estab2 lished under this section shall provide high-quality, high3 impact technical assistance and capacity-building supports 

4 to State educational agencies, local educational agencies, 

5 educational service agencies, and schools, including Bu6 reau-funded schools, located in the region served by such 

7 center by— 

8 ‘‘(1) providing capacity-building supports de9 scribed in subsection (c)(2)(B)(i), which may include 

10 supports to— 

11 ‘‘(A) strengthen data privacy and security; 

12 or 

13 ‘‘(B) coordinate with other State and local 

14 public agencies, institutions of higher education, 

15 and entities to address challenges facing stu16 dents, practitioners, and education system lead17 ers; 

18 ‘‘(2) providing training, professional develop19 ment, and technical assistance regarding implemen20 tation of laws described in subsection (c)(2)(B)(ii); 

21 ‘‘(3) facilitating communication between teach22 ers, principals, other school leaders, paraprofes23 sionals, parents, families, librarians, and education 

24 system leaders, as appropriate; 

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1 ‘‘(4) supporting evidence use amongst practi2 tioners and education system leaders, at a minimum, 

3 in— 

4 ‘‘(A) the core academic subjects of mathe5 matics, science, and reading or language arts; 

6 ‘‘(B) meeting the needs of English learners 

7 and children with disabilities; and 

8 ‘‘(C) education technology (including as9 sistive and adaptive technology); 

10 ‘‘(5) in coordination with the Director of the 

11 Institute of Education Sciences, disseminating and 

12 providing information, reports, and publications that 

13 support teaching and learning to improve edu14 cational opportunities and student outcomes, par15 ticularly academic achievement, and particularly for 

16 each subgroup of students, to students, families, 

17 practitioners, education system leaders, and policy18 makers within the region served by the center; 

19 ‘‘(6) bringing teams of experts together to de20 velop and implement school improvement plans and 

21 strategies, especially in schools implementing com22 prehensive support and improvement activities, tar23 geted support and improvement activities, and addi24 tional targeted support under section 1111(d) of the 

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1 Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965; 

2 and 

3 ‘‘(7) supporting high-quality teacher and school 

4 leader preparation, recruitment, and retention prac5 tices, including evidenced-based clinical experiences, 

6 and improving the teacher pipeline in critical areas. 

7 ‘‘SEC. 208. FOCUS CENTERS. 

8 ‘‘(a) AUTHORIZATION.— 

9 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary may award 

10 not more than 3 grants, contracts, or cooperative 

11 agreements to eligible entities (as described in sec12 tion 207(b)(1)) to enable those eligible entities to es13 tablish and operate focus centers on topics described 

14 in subsection (b). 

15 ‘‘(2) APPLICATION.—Each eligible entity, seek16 ing a grant, contract, or cooperative agreement 

17 under this section shall submit an application at 

18 such time, in such manner, and containing such ad19 ditional information as the Secretary may reasonably 

20 require. 

21 ‘‘(3) REQUIREMENTS.—Focus centers author22 ized under paragraph (1) shall— 

23 ‘‘(A) address 1 or more topics described in 

24 subsection (b); 

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1 ‘‘(B) carry out activities that increase evi2 dence use on such topic amongst practitioners, 

3 education system leaders, elementary schools 

4 and secondary schools, local educational agen5 cies, and State educational agencies; and 

6 ‘‘(C) in a timely manner, develop evidence7 based products or tools regarding such topic 

8 and widely disseminate such products or tools 

9 to practitioners, education system leaders, and 

10 policymakers in formats that are high-quality, 

11 easily accessible, understandable, and action12 able. 

13 ‘‘(b) TOPICS.— 

14 ‘‘(1) ENGAGEMENT.—The Secretary shall en15 gage with— 

16 ‘‘(A) regional governing boards, in accord17 ance with in section 206(a)(2)(D), to identify 

18 challenges facing students and practitioners 

19 that are of shared importance and urgency 

20 across geographic regions; and 

21 ‘‘(B) the Director of the Institute of Edu22 cation Sciences to examine the evidence bases of 

23 research that may address the challenges identi24 fied in subparagraph (A). 

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1 ‘‘(2) IDENTIFICATION.—After carrying out the 

2 engagement requirements in paragraph (1), the Sec3 retary, in consultation with the Director of the Insti4 tute of Education Sciences, shall identify topics for 

5 focus centers that address educational challenges of 

6 shared importance and urgency and that may be ad7 dressed through the mobilization of robust evidence 

8 bases of research. 

9 ‘‘(c) RULE.—In making awards under this section, 

10 the Secretary may carry out distinct award competitions 

11 for each topic developed under subsection (b). 

12 ‘‘SEC. 209. EVALUATIONS. 

13 ‘‘(a) COMPREHENSIVE CENTERS.— 

14 ‘‘(1) NATIONAL CENTER FOR EDUCATION EVAL15 UATION AND EVIDENCE USE.—The Secretary shall 

16 provide for ongoing independent evaluations by the 

17 National Center for Education Evaluation and Evi18 dence Use of the comprehensive centers receiving as19 sistance under this title, the results of which shall be 

20 transmitted to the Committee on Heath, Education, 

21 Labor, and Pensions and the Committee on Appro22 priations of the Senate and the Committee on Edu23 cation and the Workforce and the Committee on Ap24 propriations of the House of Representatives, the 

25 Director of the Institute of Education Sciences, and 

172 

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1 the public. Such evaluations shall include an analysis 

2 of the services provided under this title, the extent 

3 to which each of the comprehensive centers meets 

4 the objectives of its respective plan, and the extent 

5 to which— 

6 ‘‘(A) technical assistance provided by such 

7 centers— 

8 ‘‘(i) was high quality and high impact; 

9 ‘‘(ii) was responsive to the needs of 

10 clients in the region; and 

11 ‘‘(iii) improved implementation of the 

12 laws described in section 207(c)(2)(C)(ii); 

13 ‘‘(B) capacity-building services were high 

14 quality and high impact, and responsive to the 

15 educational challenges of State educational 

16 agencies, local educational agencies, and schools 

17 in the region; and 

18 ‘‘(C) such centers effectively coordinated 

19 with regional educational laboratories and other 

20 federally funded technical assistance centers to 

21 align technical assistance, minimize duplication, 

22 and increase client satisfaction. 

23 ‘‘(2) INDEPENDENT ENTITY.—In addition to 

24 the evaluation described in paragraph (1), the Sec25 retary shall ensure that each comprehensive center 

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1 receiving assistance under this title is evaluated by 

2 an independent entity, which shall be completed not 

3 less than 1 fiscal year prior to the end of the period 

4 of the grant, contract, or cooperative agreement with 

5 the eligible entity that operates the comprehensive 

6 center, and which shall— 

7 ‘‘(A) include each of the analyses and as8 sessments described in paragraph (1); and 

9 ‘‘(B) determine the extent to which such 

10 center effectively supported the decisionmaking 

11 of practitioners, education system leaders, and 

12 policymakers located in the region served by the 

13 center. 

14 ‘‘(b) FOCUS CENTER EVALUATION.—The Secretary 

15 shall provide for ongoing independent evaluations by the 

16 National Center for Education Evaluation and Evidence 

17 Use of the focus centers receiving assistance under this 

18 title, the results of which shall be transmitted to the Com19 mittee on Heath, Education, Labor, and Pensions and the 

20 Committee on Appropriations of the Senate and the Com21 mittee on Education and the Workforce and the Com22 mittee on Appropriations of the House of Representatives, 

23 the Director of the Institute of Education Sciences, and 

24 the public. Such evaluations shall include an analysis of 

25 the evidence use activities carried out by such center, and 

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1 such center’s effectiveness in addressing topics of shared 

2 importance and urgency. 

3 ‘‘SEC. 210. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 

4 ‘‘There are authorized to be appropriated to carry out 

5 this title such sums as may be necessary for fiscal year 

6 2024 and for each of the 5 succeeding fiscal years.’’. 

7 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.—Section 2244 of 

8 the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 is 

9 amended— 

10 (1) in subsection (a)(1), by striking ‘‘section 

11 203’’ and inserting ‘‘section 207’’; and 

12 (2) in subsection (b)(5), by striking ‘‘section 

13 203’’ and inserting ‘‘section 207’’. 

14 TITLE III—NATIONAL ASSESS15 MENT OF EDUCATIONAL 

16 PROGRESS 

17 SEC. 301. REFERENCES. 

18 Except as otherwise expressly provided, whenever in 

19 this title an amendment or repeal is expressed in terms 

20 of an amendment to, or repeal of, a section or other provi21 sion, the reference shall be considered to be made to a 

22 section or other provision of the National Assessment of 

23 Educational Progress Authorization Act (20 U.S.C. 9621 

24 et seq.). 

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1 SEC. 302. NATIONAL ASSESSMENT GOVERNING BOARD. 

2 Section 302 (20 U.S.C. 9621) is amended— 

3 (1) in subsection (c), by striking paragraph (4); 

4 (2) by striking subparagraph (A) of subsection 

5 (e)(1) and inserting the following: 

6 ‘‘(A) establish an assessment schedule, in 

7 consultation with the Commissioner for Edu8 cation Statistics to ensure the technical and 

9 cost feasibility of such schedule’s implementa10 tion, that complies with the requirements of 

11 section 303(b), including— 

12 ‘‘(i) selecting the subject areas and 

13 grades or ages to be assessed; and 

14 ‘‘(ii) determining the years in which 

15 such assessments will be conducted;’’; and 

16 (3) in subsection (g)(2), by striking ‘‘on the De17 partment’s’’ and all that follows through the period 

18 at the end and inserting the following: ‘‘on— 

19 ‘‘(A) the Department’s actions to imple20 ment the decisions of the Assessment Board; 

21 and 

22 ‘‘(B) the budget of the Department regard23 ing the costs associated with the duties of the 

24 Assessment Board and activities relating to the 

25 National Assessment, including the technical 

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1 ment schedule established under subsection 

2 (e)(1)(A).’’. 

3 SEC. 303. NATIONAL ASSESSMENT OF EDUCATIONAL 

4 PROGRESS. 

5 Section 303 (20 U.S.C. 9622) is amended— 

6 (1) in subsection (b)— 

7 (A) in paragraph (2)— 

8 (i) in subparagraph (B), by inserting 

9 ‘‘subject to paragraph (4),’’ before ‘‘con10 duct’’; 

11 (ii) in subparagraph (C), by striking 

12 ‘‘, but at least as’’ and all that follows 

13 through the semicolon and inserting ‘‘and 

14 at least once every 4 years;’’; and 

15 (iii) in subparagraph (E), by striking 

16 ‘‘, to provide’’ and all that follows through 

17 the semicolon and inserting ‘‘, subject to 

18 paragraph (4)’’; 

19 (B) in paragraph (3)— 

20 (i) in subparagraph (A)— 

21 (I) in clause (i), by inserting 

22 ‘‘subject to paragraph (4),’’ before 

23 ‘‘shall’’; and 

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1 (II) in clause (iv), by inserting 

2 ‘‘subject to paragraph (4),’’ before 

3 ‘‘shall’’; and 

4 (ii) in subparagraph (B)(ii), by insert5 ing ‘‘on’’ before ‘‘the standards’’; 

6 (C) by redesignating paragraphs (4) 

7 through (6) as paragraphs (5) through (7), re8 spectively; 

9 (D) by inserting after paragraph (3) the 

10 following: 

11 ‘‘(4) FREQUENCY OF BIENNIAL READING AND

12 MATHEMATICS ASSESSMENTS.—In carrying out the 

13 reading and mathematics assessments requirements 

14 under subparagraphs (B) and (E) of paragraph (2) 

15 and paragraph (3), the Commissioner for Education 

16 Statistics shall conduct such assessments in— 

17 ‘‘(A) 2024; 

18 ‘‘(B) 2027; and 

19 ‘‘(C) every other year thereafter, in order 

20 to provide for 1 year in which no such assess21 ments are conducted between each administra22 tion of such assessments.’’; and 

23 (E) in paragraph (6)(C), as redesignated 

24 by subparagraph (C), by striking ‘‘information 

25 on’’ and all that follows through the period at 

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1 the end and inserting ‘‘, to the extent feasible, 

2 information needed to carry out paragraph 

3 (2)(G).’’; 

4 (2) in subsection (c)— 

5 (A) in paragraph (2)(D), by striking 

6 ‘‘Chairman of the House Committee’’ and all 

7 that follows through the period at the end and 

8 inserting ‘‘Committee on Education and the 

9 Workforce of the House of Representatives and 

10 the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, 

11 and Pensions of the Senate.’’; and 

12 (B) in paragraph (4), by inserting a 

13 comma after ‘‘Code’’; 

14 (3) in subsection (d)(3)(B), by striking ‘‘For’’ 

15 and inserting ‘‘In accordance with section 

16 1111(g)(2)(D) of the Elementary and Secondary 

17 Education Act of 1965, for’’; 

18 (4) in subsection (e)— 

19 (A) in paragraph (2)— 

20 (i) in subparagraph (A)— 

21 (I) by striking ‘‘shall’’ and all 

22 that follows through ‘‘by—’’ and in23 serting ‘‘shall be determined by—’’; 

24 and 

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1 (II) by redesignating subclauses 

2 (I) and (II) as clauses (i) and (ii), re3 spectively, and indenting appro4 priately; 

5 (ii) by striking subparagraph (B) and 

6 inserting the following: 

7 ‘‘(B) NATIONAL CONSENSUS APPROACH.— 

8 The Assessment Board shall— 

9 ‘‘(i) make the determinations de10 scribed in subparagraph (A) utilizing a na11 tional consensus approach; and 

12 ‘‘(ii) ensure the achievement levels de13 veloped under such subparagraph are rea14 sonable, valid, and informative to the pub15 lic.’’; 

16 (iii) by striking subparagraphs (C) 

17 and (D); and 

18 (iv) by redesignating subparagraph 

19 (E) as subparagraph (C); and 

20 (B) in paragraph (4)— 

21 (i) by striking ‘‘trial’’; 

22 (ii) by inserting ‘‘under this sub23 section,’’ after ‘‘development’’; and 

24 (iii) by inserting a comma after ‘‘offi25 cer’’; 

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1 (5) in subsection (f)(1)(B)(ii), by striking ‘‘–’’ 

2 after the semicolon; and 

3 (6) in subsection (g)(2)— 

4 (A) in the subsection heading, by striking 

5 ‘‘INDIAN AFFAIRS SCHOOLS’’ and inserting 

6 ‘‘INDIAN EDUCATION’’; and 

7 (B) by striking ‘‘Indian Affairs’’ and in8 serting ‘‘Indian Education’’. 

9 SEC. 304. DEFINITIONS. 

10 Section 304 (20 U.S.C. 9623) is amended— 

11 (1) by redesignating paragraphs (1) and (2) as 

12 paragraphs (2) and (3), respectively; 

13 (2) by inserting before paragraph (2), as redes14 ignated by paragraph (1), the following: 

15 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The terms ‘elementary 

16 school’, ‘local educational agency’, ‘secondary 

17 school’, and ‘Secretary’ have the meanings given 

18 those terms in section 8101 of the Elementary and 

19 Secondary Education Act of 1965.’’; 

20 (3) in paragraph (2), as redesignated by para21 graph (1), by inserting ‘‘DIRECTOR.—’’ before ‘‘The 

22 term’’; and 

23 (4) in paragraph (3), as so redesignated, by in24 serting ‘‘STATE.—’’ before ‘‘The term’’. 

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1 SEC. 305. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 

2 Section 305(a) (20 U.S.C. 9624(a)) is amended to 

3 read as follows: 

4 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—There are authorized to be ap5 propriated— 

6 ‘‘(1) for fiscal year 2024— 

7 ‘‘(A) such sums as may be necessary to 

8 carry out section 302; and 

9 ‘‘(B) such sums as may be necessary to 

10 carry out section 303; and 

11 ‘‘(2) for each of the 5 succeeding fiscal years, 

12 such sums as may be necessary to carry out sections 

13 302 and 303.’’. 

Æ