I

103D CONGRESS

1ST SESSION H. R. 856

To improve education in the United States by promoting excellence in

research, development, and the dissemination of information.

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

FEBRUARY 4, 1993

Mr. OWENS (for himself and Mr. FORD of Michigan) introduced the following

bill; which was referred to the Committee on Education and Labor

A BILL

To improve education in the United States by promoting

excellence in research, development, and the dissemination of information.

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 ‘‘Educational Research,

5 Development, and Dissemination Excellence Act’’.

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

7 The Congress finds as follows with respect to improv8 ing education in the United States:

9 (1) A majority of public schools in the United

10 States are failing to adequately prepare their stu-
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1 dents. School restructuring alone will not allow the

2 United States to achieve the national education

3 goals set forth by the President and the governors

4 of the States. An overwhelming campaign for edu5 cational improvement must be mounted in order to

6 set in motion many strategies and models simulta7 neously. The Federal Government must support an

8 extensive program of educational research, develop9 ment, dissemination, replication and assistance to

10 identify and support the best responses for the chal11 lenges ahead. A significant investment in attaining

12 a deeper understanding of the processes of learning

13 and schooling and developing new ideas holds the

14 best hope of making a substantial difference to the

15 lives of every school and student in the United

16 States. The Office of Educational Research and Im17 provement of the Department of Education should

18 be at the center of this campaign in order to coordi19 nate such efforts.

20 (2) The Federal role in educational research

21 has been closely identified with youths who are

22 socioeconomically disadvantaged, belong to a lan23 guage minority, or are disabled. However, in 1988,

24 the Federal commitment to education was sufficient

25 to serve not more than—
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1 (A) 1 out of every 5 low-income children in

2 need of preschool education;

3 (B) 2 out of every 5 children in need of re4 mediation;

5 (C) 1 out of every 4 children in need of bi6 lingual education; and

7 (D) 1 out of every 20 youths in need of job

8 training.

9 (3) The failure of the Federal Government to

10 adequately invest in educational research and devel11 opment has denied the Nation a sound foundation

12 on which to design school improvements, leading to

13 a history of faddism and failed experimentation re14 sulting in a dearth of research in the area of educa15 tionally at-risk students. This situation is of particu16 lar concern because at least half of the public school

17 students in 25 of the largest cities of the United

18 States are minority children, and demographers

19 project that, by 2005, almost all urban public school

20 students will be minority children or other children

21 in poverty.

22 (4) The investment goal of the Federal re23 search, development, and dissemination function

24 should be at least 1 percent of the total amount of

25 funds spent on education nationally.
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1 (5) Nationwide model programs and reliable

2 interventions should be demonstrated and replicated,

3 and for such purposes, programs should be estab4 lished to conduct research and evaluations, and to

5 disseminate information.

6 (6) The Office of Educational Research and Im7 provement must develop a national dissemination

8 policy that will advance the goal of placing a na9 tional treasure chest of research results, models, and

10 materials at the disposal of the Nation’s education

11 decisionmakers.

12 (7) A National Educational Research Policy

13 and Priorities Board should be established to ensure

14 that an educational research and dissemination

15 agenda is developed and implemented without par16 tisan political interference.

17 (8) Existing research and development entities

18 should adopt expanded, proactive roles and new in19 stitutions must be created to promote knowledge de20 velopment necessary to accelerate the application of

21 research knowledge to high priority areas.

22 (9) Greater use should be made of existing

23 technologies in efforts to improve the Nation’s edu24 cational system, including efforts to disseminate re25 search findings.
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1 (10) Minority educational researchers are inad2 equately represented throughout the Department of

3 Education, but particularly in the Office of Edu4 cational Research and Improvement. The Office

5 therefore must assume a leadership position in the

6 recruitment, retention, and promotion of qualified

7 minority educational researchers.

8 (11) The coordination of the mission of the Of9 fice of Educational Research and Improvement with

10 that of other components of the Department of Edu11 cation is critical. It must improve the coordination

12 of the educational research, development, and dis13 semination function with those of other Federal

14 agencies.

15 SEC. 3. TABLE OF CONTENTS.

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

Sec. 1. Short title.

Sec. 2. Findings.

Sec. 3. Table of contents.

TITLE I—GENERAL PROVISIONS REGARDING OFFICE OF

EDUCATIONAL RESEARCH AND IMPROVEMENT

Sec. 101. General provisions.

Sec. 102. Assistant Secretary for Educational Research and Improvement.

Sec. 103. Savings provision.February 4, 1993

TITLE II—NATIONAL EDUCATIONAL RESEARCH POLICY AND

PRIORITIES BOARD

Sec. 201. Establishment within Office of Educational Research and Improvement.

TITLE III—NATIONAL RESEARCH INSTITUTES

Sec. 301. Establishment within Office of Educational Research and Improvement.
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TITLE IV—NATIONAL EDUCATION DISSEMINATION SYSTEM

Sec. 401. Establishment within Office of Educational Research and Improvement.

TITLE V—NATIONAL LIBRARY OF EDUCATION

Sec. 501. Establishment within Office of Educational Research and Improvement.

TITLE VI—LEADERSHIP FOR EDUCATIONAL TECHNOLOGY

Sec. 601. Leadership for educational technology.

1 TITLE I—GENERAL PROVISIONS

2 REGARDING OFFICE OF EDU3 CATIONAL RESEARCH AND

4 IMPROVEMENT

5 SEC. 101. GENERAL PROVISIONS.

6 Section 405 of the General Education Provisions Act

7 (20 U.S.C. 1221e) is amended to read as follows:

8 ‘‘OFFICE OF EDUCATIONAL RESEARCH AND

9 IMPROVEMENT

10 ‘‘SEC. 405. (a) DECLARATION OF POLICY REGARD11 ING EDUCATIONAL OPPORTUNITY.—

12 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Congress declares it to

13 be the policy of the United States to provide to every

14 individual an equal opportunity to receive an edu15 cation of high quality regardless of race, color, reli16 gion, sex, age, disability, national origin, or social

17 class. Although the American educational system has

18 pursued this objective, it has not attained the objec19 tive. Inequalities of opportunity to receive high qual20 ity education remain pronounced. To achieve the
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1 goal of quality education requires the continued pur2 suit of knowledge about education through research,

3 development, improvement activities, data collection,

4 and information dissemination. While the direction

5 of American education remains primarily the respon6 sibility of State and local governments, the Federal

7 Government has a clear responsibility to provide

8 leadership in the conduct and support of scientific

9 inquiry into the educational process.

10 ‘‘(2) MISSION OF OFFICE.—

11 ‘‘(A) The mission of the Office of Edu12 cational Research and Improvement shall be to

13 provide national leadership in—

14 ‘‘(i) expanding fundamental knowl15 edge and understanding of education;

16 ‘‘(ii) promoting excellence and equity

17 in education; and

18 ‘‘(iii) monitoring the state of edu19 cation.

20 ‘‘(B) The mission of the Office shall be ac21 complished in collaboration with researchers,

22 teachers, school administrators, parents, stu23 dents, employers, and policymakers.

24 ‘‘(b) PURPOSE AND STRUCTURE OF OFFICE.—
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1 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary, acting

2 through the Office of Educational Research and Im3 provement, shall carry out the policies set forth in

4 subsection (a). In carrying out such policies, the

5 Secretary shall be guided by the priorities estab6 lished by the National Educational Research Policy

7 and Priorities Board established in section 405A.

8 ‘‘(2) ADMINISTRATIVE STRUCTURE.—The Of9 fice shall be administered by the Assistant Secretary

10 and shall include—

11 ‘‘(A) the National Educational Research

12 Policy and Priorities Board established by sec13 tion 405A;

14 ‘‘(B) the national research institutes estab15 lished by section 405B;

16 ‘‘(C) the national education dissemination

17 system established by section 405C;

18 ‘‘(D) the National Education Research Li19 brary established by section 405D;

20 ‘‘(E) the National Center for Education

21 Statistics established by section 406; and

22 ‘‘(F) such other units as the Secretary

23 deems appropriate to carry out the purposes of

24 the Office.
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1 ‘‘(3) PRIORITIES IN RESEARCH AND DEVELOP2 MENT.—The Office shall, in accordance with the

3 provisions of this section, seek to improve education

4 in the United States through concentrating the re5 sources of the Office on the following priority re6 search and development needs:

7 ‘‘(A) The education of at-risk students.

8 ‘‘(B) The education and development of

9 young children.

10 ‘‘(C) Student achievement in core subject

11 areas through elementary and secondary school.

12 ‘‘(D) Postsecondary education, libraries,

13 and lifelong learning for adults.

14 ‘‘(E) The improvement of schools through

15 the restructuring and reform of school govern16 ance, policymaking, finance and management at

17 the State, local, school building, and classroom

18 level.

19 ‘‘(c) APPOINTMENT OF EMPLOYEES.—

20 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary may ap21 point, for terms not to exceed three years (without

22 regard to the provisions of title 5 of the United

23 States Code governing appointment in the competi24 tive service) and may compensate (without regard to

25 the provisions of chapter 51 and subchapter III of
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1 chapter 53 of such title relating to classification and

2 General Schedule pay rates) such scientific or tech3 nical employees of the Office as the Secretary con4 siders necessary to accomplish its functions, pro5 vided that—

6 ‘‘(A) at least 60 days prior to the appoint7 ment of any such employee, public notice is

8 given of the availability of such position and an

9 opportunity is provided for qualified individuals

10 to apply and compete for such position;

11 ‘‘(B) the rate of basic pay for such employ12 ees does not exceed the maximum rate of basic

13 pay payable for positions above GS–15, as de14 termined in accordance with section 5376 of

15 title 5, United States Code;

16 ‘‘(C) the appointment of such employee is

17 necessary to provide the Office with scientific or

18 technical expertise which could not otherwise be

19 obtained by the Office through the competitive

20 service; and

21 ‘‘(D) the total number of such employees

22 does not exceed one-fifth of the number of full23 time, regular scientific or professional employ24 ees of the Office.
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1 ‘‘(2) REAPPOINTMENT OF EMPLOYEES.—The

2 Secretary may reappoint employees described in

3 paragraph (1) upon presentation of a clear and con4 vincing justification of need, for one additional term

5 not to exceed 3 years. All such employees shall work

6 on activities of the Office and shall not be reassigned

7 to other duties outside the Office during their term.

8 ‘‘(d) AUTHORITY TO PUBLISH.—

9 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Assistant Secretary is

10 authorized to prepare and publish such information,

11 reports, and documents as may be of value in carry12 ing out the purposes of sections 405 through 405D

13 without further clearance or approval by the Sec14 retary or any other office of the Department.

15 ‘‘(2) QUALITY ASSURANCE.—In carrying out

16 such authority, the Assistant Secretary shall—

17 ‘‘(A) establish such procedures as may be

18 necessary to assure that all reports and publica19 tions issued by the Office are of the highest

20 quality; and

21 ‘‘(B) provide other offices of the Depart22 ment with an opportunity to comment upon any

23 report or publication prior to its publication

24 when its contents relate to matters for which

25 such office has responsibility.
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1 ‘‘(e) ANNUAL REPORT ON ACTIVITIES OF OFFICE.—

2 The Secretary, acting through the Assistant Secretary,

3 shall transmit to the President and the Congress by not

4 later than December 30 of each year an annual report

5 which shall consist of—

6 ‘‘(1) a description prepared by the Director of

7 each research institute of the activities carried out

8 by and through such institute during the fiscal year

9 for which such report is prepared and any rec10 ommendations and comments regarding such activi11 ties as the Director considers appropriate;

12 ‘‘(2) a description of the activities carried out

13 by and through the national education dissemination

14 system established by section 405C during the fiscal

15 year for which such report is prepared and any rec16 ommendations and comments regarding such activi17 ties as the Secretary considers appropriate;

18 ‘‘(3) such written comments and recommenda19 tions as may be submitted by the Board concerning

20 the activities carried out by and through each of the

21 institutes and the national education dissemination

22 system during the fiscal year for which such report

23 is prepared and how such activities relate to the Re24 search Policies and Priorities Plan developed by the

25 Board;
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1 ‘‘(4) a report on the personnel of the Office

2 which shall set forth the number of employees of the

3 Office, provide information concerning the gender,

4 race, and civil service classification of such employ5 ees, and describe any personnel vacancies or pro6 jected future personnel needs of the Office;

7 ‘‘(5) a description of any technical or other as8 sistance the Office has provided to the New Amer9 ican Schools Development Corporation (a nonprofit

10 private organization incorporated under the law of

11 the State of Virginia) during the fiscal year for

12 which such report is prepared and an estimate of the

13 aggregate cost (in cash or in kind) to the Federal

14 Government of such assistance; and

15 ‘‘(6) such additional comments, recommenda16 tions, and materials that the Secretary considers ap17 propriate.

18 ‘‘(f) COORDINATION.—With the advice and assistance

19 of the Board, the Secretary, acting through the Assistant

20 Secretary, shall establish and maintain an ongoing pro21 gram of activities designed to improve the coordination of

22 education research, development, and dissemination and

23 activities within the Department and within the Federal

24 Government, particularly within the priority research and
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1 development needs identified in section 405(b)(3), in order

2 to—

3 ‘‘(1) minimize duplication in education re4 search, development, and dissemination carried out

5 by the Federal Government;

6 ‘‘(2) maximize the value of the total Federal in7 vestment in education research, development, and

8 dissemination; and

9 ‘‘(3) enable all entities engaged in education re10 search, development, and dissemination within the

11 Federal Government to interact effectively as part12 ners and take full advantage of the diverse resources

13 and proficiencies which each entity has available.

14 ‘‘(g) ACTIVITIES REQUIRED WITH RESPECT TO CO15 ORDINATION.—In carrying out such program of coordina16 tion, the Secretary shall—

17 ‘‘(1) not later than 12 months following the

18 date of the enactment of the Educational Research,

19 Development, and Dissemination Excellence Act,

20 make a report to the President and the appropriate

21 committees of Congress which shall identify adminis22 trative and legislative changes necessary to improve

23 the coordination of education research, development,

24 and dissemination activities within the Department

25 of Education, particularly within the priority re-
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1 search and development needs identified in section

2 405(b)(3), and to enable greater interaction among

3 all entities engaged in such activities, including (but

4 not limited to)—

5 ‘‘(A) State facilitators and other entities

6 supported by the National Diffusion Network;

7 ‘‘(B) evaluation assistance centers and

8 multifunctional source centers established by

9 the Office of Bilingual Education and Minority

10 Language Affairs;

11 ‘‘(C) research and development entities ad12 ministered by the Office of Special Education

13 programs;

14 ‘‘(D) the National Center for Research in

15 Vocational Education;

16 ‘‘(E) regional centers established under

17 section 5135 of the Drug-Free Schools and

18 Communities Act of 1986;

19 ‘‘(F) chapter 1 technical assistance cen20 ters;

21 ‘‘(G) the research institutes established by

22 section 405B;

23 ‘‘(H) national education research centers;

24 ‘‘(I) the Women’s Educational Equity Act

25 Publishing Center;
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1 ‘‘(J) the Desegregation Assistance Centers;

2 ‘‘(K) the Office for Civil Rights dissemina3 tion activities; and

4 ‘‘(L) the national education dissemination

5 system established by section 405C; and

6 ‘‘(2) not later than two years following the date

7 of the enactment of the Educational Research, De8 velopment, and Dissemination Act—

9 ‘‘(A) compile (and thereafter regularly

10 maintain) and make available a comprehensive

11 inventory of all education research, develop12 ment, dissemination activities, and expenditures

13 being carried out by the Federal Government

14 within the priority research and development

15 needs identified in section 405(b)(3); and

16 ‘‘(B) make a report to the President and

17 the appropriate committees of the Congress

18 which shall identify administrative and legisla19 tive changes necessary to improve the coordina20 tion of all education research, development, and

21 dissemination activities carried out within the

22 Federal Government, particularly within the

23 priority research and development needs identi24 fied in section 405(b)(3), and to enable greater

25 interaction and exchange of information among
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1 all entities engaged in such activities, includ2 ing—

3 ‘‘(i) the Department of Defense;

4 ‘‘(ii) the Department of Health and

5 Human Services;

6 ‘‘(iii) the Department of Agriculture;

7 ‘‘(iv) the Department of Energy;

8 ‘‘(v) the Department of Housing and

9 Urban Development;

10 ‘‘(vi) the Department of the Interior;

11 ‘‘(vii) the Department of Justice;

12 ‘‘(viii) the Department of Labor;

13 ‘‘(ix) the Department of Transpor14 tation;

15 ‘‘(x) the Department of Veterans Af16 fairs;

17 ‘‘(xi) the Environmental Protection

18 Agency;

19 ‘‘(xii) the National Aeronautics and

20 Space Administration;

21 ‘‘(xiii) the Smithsonian Institution;

22 ‘‘(xiv) the White House Office of

23 Science and Technology Policy; and

24 ‘‘(xv) the National Science Founda25 tion.
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1 ‘‘(h) DEFINITIONS.—For purposes of this section and

2 sections 405A through 405D:

3 ‘‘(1) The term ‘Assistant Secretary’ means the

4 Assistant Secretary for Educational Research and

5 Improvement established by section 202 of the De6 partment of Education Organization Act.

7 ‘‘(2) The term ‘at-risk student’ means a student

8 who, because of limited English proficiency, poverty,

9 geographic location, or educational or economic dis10 advantage, faces a greater risk of low educational

11 achievement and has greater potential for dropping

12 out of school.

13 ‘‘(3) The term ‘Board’ means the National

14 Educational Research Policy and Priorities Board

15 established by section 405A.

16 ‘‘(4) The term ‘educational research’ includes

17 basic and applied research, development, planning,

18 surveys, assessments, evaluations, investigations, ex19 periments, and demonstrations in the field of edu20 cation and other fields relating to education.

21 ‘‘(5) The term ‘development’—

22 ‘‘(A) means the systematic use, adaptation,

23 and transformation of knowledge and under24 standing gained from research to create alter25 natives, policies, products, methods, practices,
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1 or materials which can contribute to the im2 provement of educational practice; and

3 ‘‘(B) includes the design and development

4 of prototypes and the testing of such prototypes

5 for the purposes of establishing their feasibility,

6 reliability, and cost-effectiveness.

7 ‘‘(6) The term ‘technical assistance’ means the

8 provision of external assistance to facilitate the

9 adoption or application of the knowledge gained

10 from educational research and development and in11 cludes—

12 ‘‘(A) problem analysis and diagnosis;

13 ‘‘(B) assistance in finding, selecting, or de14 signing suitable solutions and approaches to

15 problems;

16 ‘‘(C) training in the installation and imple17 mentation of products, programs, policies, prac18 tices, or technologies; and

19 ‘‘(D) such other assistance as may be nec20 essary to encourage the adoption or application

21 of such knowledge.

22 ‘‘(7) The term ‘dissemination’ means the trans23 fer of knowledge and products gained through re24 search and includes—
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1 ‘‘(A) the use of communication techniques

2 to increase awareness of such knowledge and

3 products;

4 ‘‘(B) the provision of comparative and

5 evaluative information necessary to enable edu6 cators, school administrators, and others to as7 sess and make informed judgments about the

8 relevance and usefulness of such knowledge and

9 products in specific settings; and

10 ‘‘(C) the provision of support needed to

11 adapt, apply, and utilize such knowledge and

12 products in specific educational settings.

13 ‘‘(8) The term ‘national education dissemina14 tion system’ means the activities carried out by the

15 Office of Reform Assistance and Dissemination es16 tablished by section 405C.

17 ‘‘(9) The term ‘Office’ means the Office of

18 Educational Research and Improvement established

19 in section 209 of the Department of Education Or20 ganization Act.

21 ‘‘(10) The term ‘national research institute’

22 means an institute established in section 405B.

23 ‘‘(11) The terms ‘United States’ and ‘State’ in24 clude the District of Columbia and the Common25 wealth of Puerto Rico.
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1 ‘‘(i) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—

2 ‘‘(1) NATIONAL INSTITUTES.—

3 ‘‘(A)(i) For the purpose of carrying out

4 section 405B, there is authorized to be appro5 priated $37,000,000 for fiscal year 1994.

6 ‘‘(ii) For the purpose of carrying out sec7 tion 405B (other than the provisions of such

8 section relating to the National Institute for the

9 Education of At-Risk Students), there is au10 thorized to be appropriated $36,000,000 for fis11 cal year 1995.

12 ‘‘(iii) For the purpose of carrying out the

13 provisions of section 405B relating to the Na14 tional Institute for the Education of At-Risk

15 Students, there are authorized to be appro16 priated $20,000,000 for fiscal year 1995, and

17 such sums as are necessary for each of the fis18 cal years 1996 and 1997.

19 ‘‘(B) For the purpose of carrying out the

20 provisions of section 405B relating to the Na21 tional Institute for Innovation in Educational

22 Governance and Management, there are author23 ized to be appropriated $20,000,000 for fiscal

24 year 1996, and such sums as may be necessary

25 for fiscal year 1997.
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1 ‘‘(C) For the purpose of carrying out the

2 provisions of section 405B relating to the Na3 tional Institute for Early Childhood Education,

4 there are authorized to be appropriated

5 $20,000,000 for fiscal year 1996 and such

6 sums as may be necessary for fiscal year 1997.

7 ‘‘(D) For the purpose of carrying out the

8 provisions of section 405B relating to the Na9 tional Institute for Student Achievement, there

10 are authorized to be appropriated $20,000,000

11 for fiscal year 1996 and such sums as may be

12 made necessary for fiscal year 1997.

13 ‘‘(E) For the purpose of carrying out the

14 provisions of section 405B relating to the Na15 tional Institute for Postsecondary Education,

16 Libraries, and Lifelong Learning, there are au17 thorized to be appropriated such sums as may

18 be necessary for each of fiscal years 1996 and

19 1997.

20 ‘‘(2) NATIONAL EDUCATION DISSEMINATION

21 SYSTEM.—

22 ‘‘(A)(i) For the purpose of carrying out

23 subsections (b)(2) through (g) of section 405C,

24 there are authorized to be appropriated

25 $17,000,000 for fiscal year 1994, and such
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1 sums as are necessary for each of the fiscal

2 years 1995 through 1997.

3 ‘‘(ii) Of the amount appropriated under

4 clause (i) for any fiscal year, the Secretary shall

5 make available not less than $7,175,000 to

6 carry out subsection (f) of section 405C (relat7 ing to clearinghouses).

8 ‘‘(B) For the purposes of carrying out sub9 section (h) of section 405C (relating to

10 SMARTLINE), there are authorized to be ap11 propriated $5,000,000 for fiscal year 1994, and

12 such sums as are necessary for each of the fis13 cal years 1995 through 1997.

14 ‘‘(C) For the purposes of carrying out sub15 section (i) of section 405C (relating to elec16 tronic networking), there are authorized to be

17 appropriated $10,000,000 for fiscal year 1994,

18 and such sums as are necessary for each of the

19 fiscal years 1995 through 1997.

20 ‘‘(D) For the purpose of carrying out sub21 section (j) of section 405C (relating to regional

22 educational laboratories), there are authorized

23 to be appropriated $36,000,000 for fiscal year

24 1994, and such sums as are necessary for each

25 of the fiscal years 1995 through 1997. Of the
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1 amounts appropriated under the preceding sen2 tence for a fiscal year, the Secretary shall obli3 gate not less than 25 percent to carry out such

4 purpose with respect to rural areas.

5 ‘‘(E) For the purpose of carrying out sub6 section (l) of section 405C (relating to the re7 gional partnerships) there are authorized to be

8 appropriated $30,000,000 for fiscal year 1994,

9 and such sums as are necessary for each of the

10 fiscal years 1995 through 1997.

11 ‘‘(F) For the purpose of carrying out sub12 section (i) of section 405C (relating to the

13 America 2000 Communities Special Assistance

14 program), there are authorized to be appro15 priated $30,000,000 for fiscal year 1994,

16 $50,000,000 for fiscal year 1995, and such

17 sums as are necessary for each of the fiscal

18 years 1996 and 1997.

19 ‘‘(3) NATIONAL EDUCATIONAL RESEARCH POL20 ICY AND PRIORITIES BOARD.—Of the amounts ap21 propriated under paragraphs (1) and (2) for any fis22 cal year, the Secretary shall make available 2 per23 cent of such amounts, or $1,000,000, whichever is

24 less, to the Board for the purpose of carrying out

25 section 405A.
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1 ‘‘(4) ALLOCATIONS FOR GRANTS, COOPERATIVE

2 AGREEMENTS, AND CONTRACTS.—Of the amounts

3 appropriated under paragraph (1) or (2) for any fis4 cal year, not less than 95 percent shall be expended

5 to carry out the purposes described in such para6 graphs through grants, cooperative agreements, or

7 contracts.

8 ‘‘(5) LIMITATIONS ON APPROPRIATIONS.—No

9 amounts are authorized to be appropriated under

10 paragraph (1) or (2) for any fiscal year unless the

11 Board has been appointed in accordance with section

12 405A not later than 180 days after the date of the

13 enactment of the Educational Research, Develop14 ment, and Dissemination Excellence Act.

15 ‘‘(6) RESTRICTIONS ON APPROPRIATIONS.—No

16 funds appropriated under paragraphs (1) and (2) for

17 any fiscal year may be used to support—

18 ‘‘(A) research and development activities in

19 the area of student assessment except those ac20 tivities which are carried out in accordance with

21 subsection (i) of section 405B;

22 ‘‘(B) the development of content or student

23 performance standards unless specifically au24 thorized by law; or
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1 ‘‘(C) the development of curricular frame2 works by State education agencies or other enti3 ties except through the provision of support and

4 technical assistance by the regional laboratories

5 in accordance with subsection (h) of section

6 405C.

7 ‘‘(7) GRANT REQUIRED.—From the amounts

8 appropriated under paragraph (1) for fiscal year

9 1994, the Secretary shall, in accordance with the

10 provisions of this paragraph, award a grant of

11 $5,000,000 to a public or private institution, agency

12 or organization for a period not to exceed five years

13 for the purpose of conducting a State-by-State poll

14 to determine the perceptions of recent graduates of

15 secondary schools, their instructors in institutions of

16 higher education, parents of recent such graduates,

17 and employers of recent such graduates on how well

18 schools have prepared students for further education

19 or employment. The grant shall be awarded on a

20 competitive basis and shall be matched on a two-to21 one basis, with the Federal Government contributing

22 one-third of the total costs of the poll.’’.
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1 SEC. 102. ASSISTANT SECRETARY FOR EDUCATIONAL RE2 SEARCH AND IMPROVEMENT.

3 Subsection (b) of section 202 of the Department of

4 Education Organization Act is amended—

5 (1) in paragraph (1)—

6 (A) by striking subparagraph (E); and

7 (B) by redesignating subparagraphs (F)

8 and (G) as subparagraphs (E) and (F), respec9 tively; and

10 (2) by adding at the end the following para11 graph:

12 ‘‘(3) There shall be in the Department an Assistant

13 Secretary for Educational Research and Improvement who

14 shall be—

15 ‘‘(A) appointed by the President, by and with

16 the consent of the Senate; and

17 ‘‘(B) selected in consultation with the National

18 Educational Research Policy and Priorities Board

19 from among individuals who—

20 ‘‘(i) are distinguished educational research21 ers;

22 ‘‘(ii) have proven management ability; and

23 ‘‘(iii) have substantial knowledge of edu24 cation within the United States.’’.
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1 SEC. 103. SAVINGS PROVISION.

2 Notwithstanding any other provision of law, contracts

3 for the regional educational laboratories, education re4 sources information clearinghouses and research and de5 velopment centers assisted under section 405 of the Gen6 eral Education Provisions Act on the date of the enact7 ment of this Act shall remain in effect until the termi8 nation date of such contracts.

9 TITLE II—NATIONAL EDU10 CATIONAL RESEARCH POLICY

11 AND PRIORITIES BOARD

12 SEC. 201. ESTABLISHMENT WITHIN OFFICE OF EDU13 CATIONAL RESEARCH AND IMPROVEMENT.

14 Part A of the General Education Provisions Act (20

15 U.S.C. 1221e et seq.) is amended by inserting after sec16 tion 405 the following new section:

17 ‘‘NATIONAL EDUCATIONAL RESEARCH POLICY AND

18 PRIORITIES BOARD

19 ‘‘SEC. 405A. (a) IN GENERAL.—There is established

20 within the Office a National Educational Policy and Prior21 ities Board (hereafter in this section referred to as the

22 ‘Board’).

23 ‘‘(b) FUNCTIONS.—It shall be the responsibility of

24 the Board, acting through the Assistant Secretary—
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1 ‘‘(1) to determine priorities that should guide

2 the work of the Office and provide guidance to the

3 Congress in its oversight of the Office;

4 ‘‘(2) to establish standards for the conduct and

5 evaluation of all research, development, and dissemi6 nation carried out under the auspices of the Office

7 pursuant to sections 405 through 405C; and

8 ‘‘(3) to regularly review and evaluate the imple9 mentation of its recommended priorities and policies

10 by the Department and the Congress.

11 ‘‘(c) RESEARCH PRIORITIES PLAN.—The Board

12 shall—

13 ‘‘(1) survey and assess the state of knowledge

14 in education research, development and dissemina15 tion to identify disciplines and areas of inquiry with16 in the priority research, development and dissemina17 tion needs identified in section 405(b)(3) in which

18 the state of knowledge is insufficient and which war19 rant further investigation, taking into account the

20 views of both education researchers and practicing

21 educators;

22 ‘‘(2) consult with the National Education Goals

23 Panel and other authorities on education to identify

24 national priorities for the improvement of education;
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1 ‘‘(3) actively solicit recommendations from edu2 cation researchers, teachers, school administrators,

3 parents, and others throughout the Nation by con4 vening periodic regional forums and through other

5 means;

6 ‘‘(4) provide recommendations for the develop7 ment, maintenance, and assurance of a strong infra8 structure for education, research, and development

9 in the United States; and

10 ‘‘(5) on the basis of such recommendations, de11 velop a research priorities program which shall rec12 ommend priorities for the investment of the re13 sources of the Office over the next 5-, 10-, and 15-

14 year periods, including as priorities those areas of

15 inquiry in which further research, development and

16 dissemination—

17 ‘‘(A) is necessary to attain the goals for

18 the improvement of education identified in

19 paragraph (2);

20 ‘‘(B) promises to yield the greatest prac21 tical benefits to teachers and other educators in

22 terms of improving education; and

23 ‘‘(C) will not be undertaken in sufficient

24 scope or intensity by the other Federal and
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1 non-Federal entities engaged in education re2 search and development.

3 ‘‘(d) CONTENTS OF PLAN—

4 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The research and priorities

5 plan described in subsection (c) shall, at a mini6 mum—

7 ‘‘(A) include goals for expenditures by the

8 Office within the recommended priority areas;

9 ‘‘(B) set forth specific objectives which can

10 be expected to be achieved as a result of such

11 expenditure;

12 ‘‘(C) within each priority area, include rec13 ommendations as to the relative distribution of

14 resources among and within the research insti15 tutes, national education dissemination system,

16 and other entities engaged in education re17 search and development;

18 ‘‘(D) include recommendations with respect

19 to research and development on cross-cutting is20 sues which should be carried out jointly by 2 or

21 more of the research institutes; and

22 ‘‘(E) include an evaluative summary of the

23 educational research and development activities

24 undertaken by the Federal Government during
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1 the preceding 2 fiscal years which shall de2 scribe—

3 ‘‘(i) what has been learned as a result

4 of such activities;

5 ‘‘(ii) how such new knowledge or un6 derstanding extends or otherwise relates to

7 what had been previously known or under8 stood;

9 ‘‘(iii) the implications of such new

10 knowledge or understanding for edu11 cational practice and school reform; and

12 ‘‘(iv) any development, reform, and

13 other assistance activities which have uti14 lized such knowledge or understanding and

15 the effects of such efforts.

16 ‘‘(2) REPORT.—

17 ‘‘(A) Not later than October 1 of fiscal

18 year 1994 and of every second fiscal year there19 after, the Secretary shall publish a report speci20 fying the proposed research priorities of the

21 Board and allow a 60-day period beginning on

22 the date of the publication of the report for

23 public comment and suggestions.

24 ‘‘(B) Not later than 90 days after the expi25 ration of the 60-day period referred to in sub-
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1 paragraph (A), the Secretary shall submit to

2 the President and the Congress a report speci3 fying the research priorities of the Board and

4 any public comment and suggestions obtained

5 under such subparagraph.

6 ‘‘(e) STANDARDS FOR CONDUCT AND EVALUATION

7 OF RESEARCH.—

8 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Board shall develop

9 such standards as it deems necessary to govern the

10 conduct and evaluation of all research, development,

11 and dissemination activities carried out by the Office

12 to assure that such activities meet the highest stand13 ards of professional excellence. In developing such

14 standards, the Board shall review the procedures

15 utilized by the National Institutes of Health, the

16 National Science Foundation, and other Federal

17 agencies engaged in research and development and

18 shall also actively solicit recommendations from the

19 Secretary, the National Academy of Sciences, the

20 American Educational Research Association and

21 members of the general public.

22 ‘‘(2) CONTENTS OF STANDARDS.—Such stand23 ards shall at a minimum—

24 ‘‘(A) require that a system of peer review

25 be utilized by the Office—
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1 ‘‘(i) in reviewing and evaluating all

2 applications for grants and cooperative

3 agreements and bids for contracts;

4 ‘‘(ii) in evaluating and assessing the

5 performance of all recipients of grants

6 from and cooperative agreements and con7 tracts with the Office; and

8 ‘‘(iii) in reviewing and designating ex9 emplary and promising programs in ac10 cordance with section 405C(d);

11 ‘‘(B)(i) specify the composition of peer re12 view panels, the criteria for the selection of

13 members of such panels, and describe the

14 means by which potential members shall be

15 identified so as to assure that such panels are

16 broadly representative of individuals with exper17 tise in matters relevant to the purposes of each

18 such panel;

19 ‘‘(ii) prohibit the consideration of partisan

20 affiliation in the selection of any member of a

21 peer review panel;

22 ‘‘(iii) describe the general procedures which

23 shall be used by each peer review panel in its

24 operations;
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1 ‘‘(iv) prohibit the participation by a mem2 ber of a peer review panel in the review of any

3 application in which such member has any fi4 nancial interest; and

5 ‘‘(v) require that transcripts, minutes, and

6 other documents made available to or prepared

7 for or by a peer review panel will be available

8 for public inspection to the extent consistent

9 with the Freedom of Information Act, the Fed10 eral Advisory Committee Act, the Privacy Act,

11 and other laws;

12 ‘‘(C)(i) describe the procedures which shall

13 be utilized in evaluating applications for grants,

14 proposed cooperative agreements, and contract

15 bids;

16 ‘‘(ii) specify the criteria and factors which

17 shall be considered in making such evaluations;

18 and

19 ‘‘(iii) provide that any decision to fund a

20 grant, contract, or cooperative agreement out of

21 its order of ranking by a peer review panel shall

22 be first fully justified in writing and that copies

23 of such justification shall be transmitted to the

24 Board, unless such action is required by some

25 other provision of law;
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1 ‘‘(D)(i) describe the procedures which shall

2 be utilized in reviewing educational programs

3 which have been identified by or submitted to

4 the Secretary for evaluation in accordance with

5 section 405C(d); and

6 ‘‘(ii) specify the criteria which shall be

7 used in recommending programs as exemplary

8 and promising; and

9 ‘‘(E)(i) require that the performance of all

10 recipients of grants from and contracts and co11 operative agreements with the Office shall be

12 periodically evaluated, both during and at the

13 conclusion of their receipt of assistance;

14 ‘‘(ii) describe the procedures and means by

15 which such evaluations shall be undertaken, in16 cluding—

17 ‘‘(I) the frequency of such evaluations;

18 ‘‘(II) the criteria, outcome measures,

19 and other factors which shall be taken into

20 account; and

21 ‘‘(III) measures to assure that on-site

22 evaluations of performance shall be utilized

23 to the extent appropriate and whenever

24 practicable; and
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1 ‘‘(iii) provide that the results of such eval2 uations shall be taken into account prior to any

3 decision to continue, renew, or provide new

4 funding to the entity being reviewed.

5 ‘‘(3) PUBLICATION AND PROMULGATION OF

6 STANDARDS.—

7 ‘‘(A) The Board shall publish proposed

8 standards—

9 ‘‘(i) which meet the requirements of

10 subparagraphs (A), (B), and (C) of para11 graph (2) not later than 1 year following

12 the convening of the first meeting of the

13 Board;

14 ‘‘(ii) which meet the requirements of

15 paragraph (2)(D) not later than 2 years

16 following the convening of the first meeting

17 of the Board; and

18 ‘‘(iii) which meet the requirements of

19 subparagraph (E) of paragraph (2) not

20 later than 3 years following the convening

21 of the first meeting of the Board; and

22 ‘‘(B) Following the publication of such

23 proposed standards, the Board shall solicit com24 ments from the Secretary and interested mem25 bers of the public with respect to such proposed
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1 standards for a period of not more than 120

2 days. After giving due consideration to any

3 comments it may have received, the Board shall

4 approve and transmit to the Secretary final

5 standards which meet the requirements of the

6 particular subparagraphs of paragraph (2) for

7 which they were developed.

8 ‘‘(f) ADDITIONAL RESPONSIBILITIES OF THE

9 BOARD.—It shall also be the responsibility of the Board

10 to—

11 ‘‘(1) provide advice and assistance to the Sec12 retary in carrying out the coordination activities de13 scribed in section 405;

14 ‘‘(2) make nominations to the Secretary of per15 sons qualified to fulfill the responsibilities of the Di16 rector for each research institute established by sec17 tion 405B after making special efforts to identify

18 qualified women and minorities and soliciting and

19 giving due consideration to recommendations from

20 professional associations and interested members of

21 the public; and

22 ‘‘(3) advise and make recommendations to the

23 President with respect to individuals who are quali24 fied to fulfill the responsibilities of the Assistant
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1 Secretary for the Office of Educational Research

2 and Improvement.

3 ‘‘(g) STANDING SUBCOMMITTEES.—

4 ‘‘(1) ESTABLISHMENT; FUNCTIONS.—The

5 Board shall establish a standing subcommittee for

6 each of the Institutes established by subsection (a)

7 of section 405B and for the Office of Dissemination

8 and School Improvement established by subsection

9 (b) of section 405C which shall advise, assist, con10 sult with and make recommendations to the Assist11 ant Secretary, the Board, the Director of such entity

12 and the Congress on matters related to the activities

13 carried out by and through such entities.

14 ‘‘(2) COMPOSITION.—

15 ‘‘(A) Each standing subcommittee shall

16 consist of 3 members of the Board and 6 addi17 tional individuals appointed by the Board who

18 have significant experience in and knowledge of

19 the disciplines relevant to the purposes of the

20 entity for which the subcommittee is estab21 lished.

22 ‘‘(B) The Board shall assure that the

23 membership of each subcommittee includes both

24 educational researchers and persons who are

25 knowledgeable about the research, development
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1 and dissemination needs of practitioners, in2 cluding classroom teachers, school administra3 tors, and members of State or local boards of

4 education.

5 ‘‘(h) POWERS OF THE BOARD.—In carrying out its

6 functions, powers, and responsibilities, the Board—

7 ‘‘(1) shall, without regard to the provisions of

8 title 5, United States Code, relating to the appoint9 ment and compensation of officers or employees of

10 the United States, appoint a director to be paid at

11 a rate not to exceed the rate of basic pay payable

12 for level V of the Executive Schedule who shall as13 sist in carrying out and managing the activities of

14 the Board and perform such other functions the

15 Board determines to be necessary and appropriate;

16 ‘‘(2) shall hire its own staff through routine

17 government procedures;

18 ‘‘(3) may arrange for the detail of staff person19 nel and utilize the services and facilities of any agen20 cy of the Federal Government;

21 ‘‘(4) may enter into contracts, or make other

22 arrangements as may be necessary to carry out its

23 functions;

24 ‘‘(5) may review any grant, contract, or cooper25 ative agreement made or entered into by the Office;
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1 ‘‘(6) may, to the extent otherwise permitted by

2 law, obtain directly from any department or agency

3 of the United States such information as it deems

4 necessary to carry out its responsibilities;

5 ‘‘(7) may convene workshops and conferences,

6 collect data, and establish subcommittees which may

7 be composed of members of the Board and

8 nonmember consultants (including employees of the

9 Department) with expertise in the particular area

10 addressed by such subcommittees; and

11 ‘‘(8) shall establish such rules and procedures

12 to govern its operations as it considers appropriate,

13 to the extent otherwise permitted by law.

14 ‘‘(i) MEMBERSHIP IN GENERAL.—

15 ‘‘(1) QUALIFICATIONS.—The members of the

16 Board shall be eminent persons who, by virtue of

17 their training, experience, and background, are ex18 ceptionally qualified to appraise the educational re19 search and development effort of the Nation and to

20 establish policies and priorities to govern future Fed21 eral investment in educational research, develop22 ment, and dissemination.

23 ‘‘(2) BROAD REPRESENTATION.—Due consider24 ation shall be given to the gender, race, and eth-
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1 nicity of appointees to assure that the Board is

2 broadly representative of the diversity of the Nation.

3 ‘‘(3) LIMITATION.—A voting member of the

4 Board may not serve on any other governing or advi5 sory board within the Department of Education.

6 ‘‘(4) CONFLICT OF INTEREST.—A voting mem7 ber of the Board shall be considered a special Gov8 ernment employee for the purposes of the Ethics in

9 Government Act of 1978.

10 ‘‘(j) SECRETARIAL APPOINTMENTS.—The Board

11 shall consist of 20 members appointed by the Secretary.

12 Of the members of the Board—

13 ‘‘(1) seven shall be appointed from among re14 searchers in the field of education who have been

15 nominated by the National Academy of Sciences

16 (giving due consideration to recommendations made

17 by the American Educational Research Association),

18 including persons who are among the leading au19 thorities on early childhood education and the edu20 cation of at-risk students;

21 ‘‘(2) four shall be classroom teachers, no fewer

22 than 2 of whom continue to work regularly in the

23 classroom, appointed from among outstanding teach24 ers nominated by the American Federation of

25 Teachers, the National Education Association, the
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1 National Association for the Education of Young

2 Children, and the National Head Start Association;

3 ‘‘(3) one shall be a Chief State School Officer,

4 appointed from among those nominated by the

5 Council of Chief State School Officers;

6 ‘‘(4) one shall be a local education agency

7 school superintendent or principal, appointed from

8 among those nominated by the American Association

9 of School Administrators, the National Association

10 of Elementary School Principals, and the National

11 Association of Secondary School Principals;

12 ‘‘(5) one shall be a member of a State or local

13 board of education, appointed from among those

14 nominated by the National School Boards Associa15 tion and the National Association of State Boards of

16 Education;

17 ‘‘(6) one shall be a professional librarian, school

18 library media specialist, library administrator, or li19 brary science educator, appointed from among those

20 nominated by the American Library Association and

21 the Association of Research Libraries;

22 ‘‘(7) one shall be a parent with extensive experi23 ence in promoting parental involvement in education,

24 appointed from among those nominated by the Na25 tional Parent-Teachers Association, the National
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1 Committee for Citizens in Education, and the Na2 tional Coalition of Title I/Chapter 1 Parents;

3 ‘‘(8) one shall be an individual from the non4 profit foundation community, appointed from among

5 those individuals nominated by the Spencer Founda6 tion, Carnegie Corporation of New York, and other

7 foundations which have been involved consistently

8 and significantly in efforts to improve education;

9 ‘‘(9) two shall be individuals from business and

10 industry with significant experience in promoting

11 private sector involvement in education, appointed

12 from among those nominated by the Committee for

13 Economic Development, the National Alliance of

14 Business, the Chamber of Commerce, the Business

15 Roundtable, Black Business Council, and the United

16 States Hispanic Chamber of Commerce; and

17 ‘‘(10) one shall be a State Governor who shall

18 be appointed from among those individuals nomi19 nated by the National Governors Association and the

20 National Education Goals Panel.

21 ‘‘(k) REQUIREMENTS FOR NOMINATIONS.—

22 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—In making nominations for

23 members of the Board, each organization described

24 in subsection (j)—
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1 ‘‘(A) may not nominate any individual who

2 is an elected officer or employee of such organi3 zation; and

4 ‘‘(B) shall nominate not less than 3 indi5 viduals for each of the positions on the Board

6 for which such organization has responsibility

7 for making nominations.

8 ‘‘(2) REQUEST FOR ADDITIONAL NOMINA9 TIONS.—In the event that the Secretary determines

10 that none of the individuals nominated by an organi11 zation meet the qualifications for membership on the

12 Board specified in subsection (i), the Secretary may

13 request that such organization make additional

14 nominations.

15 ‘‘(l) EX OFFICIO MEMBERS.—The ex officio,

16 nonvoting members of the Board shall be as follows:

17 ‘‘(1) The Secretary.

18 ‘‘(2) The Assistant Secretary.

19 ‘‘(3) The Director of Research for the Depart20 ment of Defense.

21 ‘‘(4) The Director of Research for the Depart22 ment of Labor.

23 ‘‘(5) The Director of the National Science

24 Foundation.
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1 ‘‘(6) The Director of the National Institutes of

2 Health.

3 ‘‘(7) The Director of the National Endowment

4 for the Arts.

5 ‘‘(8) The Director of the National Endowment

6 for the Humanities.

7 ‘‘(9) The Librarian of Congress.

8 ‘‘(m) CHAIR.—The Board shall select a Chair from

9 among its appointed members who shall serve for a renew10 able term of 2 years.

11 ‘‘(n) TERMS OF OFFICE.—

12 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in para13 graphs (2) and (3), the term of office of each voting

14 member of the Board shall be 4 years.

15 ‘‘(2) EXCEPTIONS.—

16 ‘‘(A) Any individual appointed to fill a va17 cancy occurring on the Board prior to the expi18 ration of the term for which the predecessor of

19 the individual was appointed shall be appointed

20 for the remainder of the term. A vacancy shall

21 be filled in the same manner in which the origi22 nal appointment was made.

23 ‘‘(B) The terms of office of the members

24 of the Board who first take office after the date

25 of enactment of the Educational Research, De-
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1 velopment, and Dissemination Excellence Act

2 shall, as designated by a random selection proc3 ess at the time of appointment, be as follows:

4 ‘‘(i) 2 years for each of 6 members of

5 the Board.

6 ‘‘(ii) 3 years for each of 6 members of

7 the Board.

8 ‘‘(iii) 4 years for each of 8 members

9 of the Board.

10 ‘‘(3) PROHIBITION ON CERTAIN CONSECUTIVE

11 TERMS.—An individual who has been a member of

12 the Board for 8 consecutive years shall thereafter be

13 ineligible for appointment during the 2-year period

14 beginning on the date of the expiration of the 8th

15 year.

16 ‘‘(o) MEETINGS OF BOARD.—

17 ‘‘(1) INITIAL MEETING.—The Secretary shall

18 ensure that the first meeting of the Board is held

19 not later than the expiration of the 180-day period

20 beginning on the date of the enactment of the Edu21 cational Research, Development, and Dissemination

22 Excellence Act.

23 ‘‘(2) SUBSEQUENT MEETINGS.—The Board

24 shall meet quarterly, at the call of the Chair, and
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1 when at least one-third of the members of the Board

2 make a written request to meet.

3 ‘‘(3) QUORUM.—A majority of the Board shall

4 constitute a quorum.

5 ‘‘(4) OPEN MEETINGS.—The Government in the

6 Sunshine Act (5 U.S.C. 552b) shall apply to meet7 ings of the Board.’’.

8 TITLE III—NATIONAL RESEARCH

9 INSTITUTES

10 SEC. 301. ESTABLISHMENT WITHIN OFFICE OF EDU11 CATIONAL RESEARCH AND IMPROVEMENT.

12 Part A of the General Education Provisions Act, as

13 amended by section 201 of this Act, is amended by insert14 ing after section 405A the following new section:

15 ‘‘NATIONAL RESEARCH INSTITUTES

16 ‘‘SEC. 405B. (a) ESTABLISHMENT OF INSTITUTES.—

17 In order to fulfill the research and development purposes

18 of the Office, and to carry out, in accordance with the

19 standards established by the Board, a program of high20 quality and rigorously evaluated research and development

21 that is capable of improving Federal, State, and local edu22 cation policies and practices, there are established within

23 the Office the following institutes:

24 ‘‘(1) The National Institute for the Education

25 of At-Risk Students.
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1 ‘‘(2) The National Institute for Innovation in

2 Educational Governance, Finance, and Management.

3 ‘‘(3) The National Institute for Early Childhood

4 Development and Education.

5 ‘‘(4) The National Institute on Student

6 Achievement.

7 ‘‘(5) The National Institute on Postsecondary

8 Education, Libraries, and Lifelong Education.

9 ‘‘(b) DIRECTORS.—

10 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Each Institute established

11 by subsection (a) shall be headed by a Director who

12 shall be appointed by the Secretary from among per13 sons who have significant experience and expertise in

14 the disciplines relevant to the purposes of such Insti15 tute. Prior to making such appointment, the Sec16 retary shall solicit and give due consideration to rec17 ommendations made by the Board of persons

18 qualfied to fulfill the position.

19 ‘‘(2) TERM OF OFFICE.—The Director of each

20 Institute shall serve for a term of 4 years. With re21 spect to the annual rate of basic pay payable for the

22 position of Director of any of such Institutes, such

23 position shall be a position to which level IV of the

24 Executive Schedule applies for purposes of section

25 5315 of title 5, United States Code.
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1 ‘‘(c) AUTHORITIES AND DUTIES.—

2 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary, acting

3 through the Director of each Institute, is authorized

4 to conduct research, development, demonstration,

5 and evaluation activities to carry out the purposes

6 for which such Institute was established—

7 ‘‘(A) directly;

8 ‘‘(B) through grants, contracts, and coop9 erative agreements with institutions of higher

10 education, regional educational laboratories,

11 public and private organizations, institutions,

12 agencies, and individuals, including—

13 ‘‘(i) research and development centers

14 which are—

15 ‘‘(I) awarded competitively for a

16 period of not less than 6 and not

17 more than 10 years;

18 ‘‘(II) funded at not less than

19 $2,000,000 annually in order to sup20 port a full range of basic research, ap21 plied research and dissemination ac22 tivities; and

23 ‘‘(III) established by institutions

24 of higher education, by institutions of

25 higher education in consort with pub-
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1 lic agencies or private nonprofit orga2 nizations, or by interstate agencies es3 tablished by compact which operate

4 subsidiary bodies established to con5 duct postsecondary educational re6 search and development;

7 ‘‘(ii) public-private research partner8 ships established by a State or local edu9 cation agency in consort with a private or10 ganization and a team of educational re11 searchers, for which the Federal share

12 shall be limited to not more than 50 per13 cent of the total costs of the project;

14 ‘‘(iii) meritorious unsolicited proposals

15 for educational research and related activi16 ties;

17 ‘‘(iv) proposals that are specifically in18 vited or requested by the Director, on a

19 competitive basis; and

20 ‘‘(v) dissertation grants, awarded for

21 a period of not more than 2 years and in

22 a total amount not to exceed $20,000 to

23 graduate students in the sciences, human24 ities, and the arts to support research by

25 such scholars in the field of education;
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1 ‘‘(C) through the provision of technical as2 sistance; and

3 ‘‘(D) through the award of fellowships to

4 support graduate study in educational research

5 by qualified African-American, Hispanic, and

6 other individuals from groups which have been

7 traditionally underrepresented in the field of

8 educational research which shall—

9 ‘‘(i) be awarded on the basis of merit

10 for a period of 3 years; and

11 ‘‘(ii) provide stipends to each fellow in

12 an amount which shall be set at a level of

13 support comparable to that provided by the

14 National Science Foundation Graduate

15 Fellowships, except that such amounts

16 shall be adjusted as necessary so as not to

17 exceed each fellow’s demonstrated level of

18 need.

19 ‘‘(2) SCOPE AND FOCUS OF ACTIVITIES.—In

20 carrying out the purposes for which each Institute is

21 established, the Secretary, acting through the Direc22 tor of each Institute, shall—

23 ‘‘(A) maintain an appropriate balance be24 tween applied and basic research;
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1 ‘‘(B) significantly expand the role of field2 initiated research in meeting the Nation’s edu3 cation research and development needs by re4 serving not less than 15 percent of the amounts

5 available to each Institute in any fiscal year to

6 support field-initiated research described in

7 clauses (iii) through (v) of paragraph (1); and

8 ‘‘(C) provide for and maintain a stable

9 foundation of long-term research and develop10 ment on core issues and concerns conducted

11 through university-based research and develop12 ment centers by reserving not less than 30 per13 cent of the amounts available to each Institute

14 in any fiscal year to support such research and

15 development centers.

16 ‘‘(3) REQUIREMENTS REGARDING FINANCIAL

17 ASSISTANCE.—No grant, contract, or cooperative

18 agreement may be made under this section unless—

19 ‘‘(A) sufficient notice of the availability of,

20 and opportunity to compete for, assistance has

21 first been provided to potential applicants

22 through notice published in the Federal Reg23 ister and other means;
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1 ‘‘(B) it has been recommended after peer

2 review in accordance with the standards issued

3 by the Board;

4 ‘‘(C) it will be evaluated in accordance with

5 the standards issued by the Board; and

6 ‘‘(D) in the case of a grant, contract, or

7 cooperative agreement which exceeds $500,000

8 for a single fiscal year or $1,000,000 for more

9 than one fiscal year, the Secretary has complied

10 with the requirements of paragraph (4).

11 ‘‘(4) BOARD REVIEW OF CERTAIN PROPOSED

12 GRANT AND CONTRACT ACTIONS.—

13 ‘‘(A) The Secretary may not solicit any

14 contract bid or issue a request for proposals or

15 applications for any grant or cooperative agree16 ment the amount of which exceeds $500,000 in

17 any single fiscal year or which exceeds an ag18 gregate amount of $1,000,000 for more than

19 one fiscal year unless—

20 ‘‘(i) at least 30 days prior to the next

21 scheduled meeting of the Board, a descrip22 tion of the proposed grant, contract, or co23 operative agreement action has been trans24 mitted to the Board, including an expla25 nation of how the proposed action relates
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1 to the Research Priorities Plan developed

2 by the Board under section 405A(c); and

3 ‘‘(ii) the Board has reviewed the pro4 posed action and made a written deter5 mination that—

6 ‘‘(I) the purposes and scope of

7 the proposed action are consistent

8 with the Research Priorities Plan; and

9 ‘‘(II) the methodology and ap10 proach of the proposed action are

11 sound and adequate to achieve its

12 stated objectives.

13 ‘‘(B) The Board shall review and act upon

14 each proposed action which has been transmit15 ted by the Secretary in accordance with clause

16 (i) of subparagraph (A) at the next meeting of

17 the Board which follows the transmittal by the

18 Secretary. In the event that the Board fails to

19 review and act upon any proposed action at

20 such meeting, the requirements of clause (ii) of

21 such subparagraph shall not apply with respect

22 to such proposed action.

23 ‘‘(5) HISTORICALLY UNDERUTILIZED RE24 SEARCHERS AND INSTITUTIONS.—The Secretary,

25 acting through the Director of each Institute, shall
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1 establish and maintain initiatives and programs to

2 increase the participation in the activities of each In3 stitute of groups of researchers and institutions who

4 have been historically underutilized in Federal edu5 cational research activities, including—

6 ‘‘(A) researchers who are women, African7 American, Hispanic, or other ethnic minorities;

8 ‘‘(B) promising young or new researchers

9 in the field, such as postdoctoral students and

10 recently appointed assistant or associate profes11 sors;

12 ‘‘(C) historically black colleges and univer13 sities and other institutions of higher education

14 with large numbers of minority students;

15 ‘‘(D) institutions of higher education lo16 cated in rural areas; and

17 ‘‘(E) institutions and researchers located

18 in States and regions of the Nation which have

19 historically received the least Federal support

20 for educational research and development.

21 ‘‘(6) ADDITIONAL AUTHORITIES.—The Sec22 retary, acting through the Director of each Insti23 tute—

24 ‘‘(A) may obtain (in accordance with sec25 tion 3109 of title 5 but without regard to the
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1 limitation in such section on the period of serv2 ice) the services of experts or consultants with

3 scientific or professional qualifications in the

4 disciplines relevant to the purposes of such In5 stitute;

6 ‘‘(B) may not, notwithstanding any other

7 provision of law, appoint, and employ any per8 son in a position excepted from the competitive

9 service under Schedule C;

10 ‘‘(C) may use, with their consent, the serv11 ices, equipment, personnel, information, and fa12 cilities of other Federal, State, or local public

13 agencies, with or without reimbursement there14 for;

15 ‘‘(D) may accept voluntary and uncompen16 sated services; and

17 ‘‘(E) may accept unconditional gifts made

18 to the institute to support its activities.

19 ‘‘(d) NATIONAL INSTITUTE FOR THE EDUCATION OF

20 AT-RISK STUDENTS.—

21 ‘‘(1) FINDINGS.—The Congress finds as fol22 lows:

23 ‘‘(A) The rate of decline in our urban

24 schools is escalating at a rapid pace. Student

25 performance in most inner city schools grows
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1 worse each year. At least half of all students

2 entering ninth grade fail to graduate 4 years

3 later and many more students from high-pov4 erty backgrounds leave school with skills that

5 are inadequate for today’s workplace. In 1988

6 the average National Assessment of Edu7 cational Progress (NAEP) reading score of

8 white 17 year-olds was approximately 20 points

9 higher than that of African-American 17 year10 olds and 25 points higher than that of Hispanic

11 17 year-olds. None of the existing Federal edu12 cational research and development programs

13 are adequately addressing this obvious emer14 gency.

15 ‘‘(B) Rural schools enroll a disproportion16 ately large share of the Nation’s poor and at17 risk students and yet often lack the means to

18 address effectively the needs of these children.

19 Intensive efforts must be made to overcome the

20 problems of geographic isolation, declining pop21 ulation, inadequate financial resources and

22 other impediments to the educational success of

23 children residing in rural areas.

24 ‘‘(C) By the year 2000, an estimated 3.4

25 million school age children with limited English
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1 language proficiency will be entering the school

2 system. The Federal Government must develop

3 effective policies and programs to address the

4 educational needs of this growing population of

5 children who are at increased risk for edu6 cational failure.

7 ‘‘(D) An educational emergency exists in

8 those urban and rural areas where there are

9 large concentrations of children who live in pov10 erty. The numbers of educationally disadvan11 taged children will substantially increase by the

12 year 2020, when the number of impoverished

13 children alone will be 16.5 million, a 33 percent

14 increase over the 12.4 million children in pov15 erty in 1987.

16 ‘‘(E) Minority scholars as well as institu17 tions and groups that have been historically

18 committed to the improvement of the education

19 of at-risk students need to be more fully mobi20 lized in the effort to develop a new generation

21 of programs, models, practices, and schools ca22 pable of responding to the urgent needs of stu23 dents who are educationally at-risk.

24 ‘‘(2) PURPOSE.—It shall be the purpose of the

25 Institute for the Education of At-Risk Students to
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1 carry out a coordinated and comprehensive program

2 of research and development to provide nonpartisan,

3 research-based leadership to the Nation as it seeks

4 to improve educational opportunities for students

5 who are at-risk for educational failure, particularly

6 children who reside in inner city and rural areas and

7 children of limited English proficiency. Such pro8 gram shall undertake research necessary to provide

9 a sound basis from which to—

10 ‘‘(A) identify, develop, evaluate, and assist

11 others to replicate and adapt interventions, pro12 grams, and models which promote greater

13 achievement and educational success by at-risk

14 students, including (but not limited to)—

15 ‘‘(i) methods of instruction and edu16 cational practices (including community

17 services) which improve the achievement

18 and retention of at-risk students;

19 ‘‘(ii) means by which parents and

20 community resources and institutions can

21 be utilized to support and improve the

22 achievement of at-risk students;

23 ‘‘(iii) the training of teachers and

24 other educational professionals and para-
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1 professionals to work more effectively with

2 at-risk students;

3 ‘‘(iv) the most effective uses of tech4 nology in the education of at-risk students;

5 and

6 ‘‘(v) programs designed to promote

7 gender equity in schools that serve at-risk

8 students; and

9 ‘‘(vi) methods of assessing the

10 achievement of students which are sensitive

11 to cultural differences, provide multiple

12 methods of assessing student learning,

13 support student acquisition of higher order

14 capabilities, and enable identification of

15 the effects of inequalities in the resources

16 available to support the learning of chil17 dren throughout the Nation; and

18 ‘‘(B) maximize the participation of those

19 schools and institutions of higher education

20 that serve the greatest number of at-risk stu21 dents in inner city and rural areas, including

22 model collaborative programs between schools

23 and schools systems, institutions of higher edu24 cation, and community organizations.
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1 ‘‘(e) NATIONAL INSTITUTE FOR INNOVATION IN

2 EDUCATIONAL GOVERNANCE, FINANCE AND MANAGE3 MENT.—

4 ‘‘(1) FINDINGS.—The Congress finds as fol5 lows:

6 ‘‘(A) Many elementary and secondary

7 schools in the United States—

8 ‘‘(i) are structured according to mod9 els that are ineffective and rely on notions

10 of management and governance that may

11 be outdated or insufficient for the chal12 lenges of the next century; and

13 ‘‘(ii) are unsuccessful in equipping all

14 students with the knowledge and skills

15 needed to succeed as citizens and in the

16 working world.

17 ‘‘(B) New approaches are needed in the

18 governance and management of elementary and

19 secondary education with the United States at

20 the State, local, school building and classroom

21 level.

22 ‘‘(C) Not enough is known about the ef23 fects of various systems of school governance

24 and management on student achievement to
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1 provide sound guidance to policymakers as they

2 pursue school restructuring and reform.

3 ‘‘(D) A concentrated Federal effort is

4 needed to support research, development, dem5 onstration, and evaluation of approaches to

6 school governance, finance and management

7 which promise to improve education equity and

8 excellence throughout the Nation.

9 ‘‘(2) PURPOSE.—It shall be the purpose of the

10 Institute on Innovation in Educational Governance,

11 Finance, and Management to carry out a coordi12 nated and comprehensive program of research and

13 development to provide nonpartisan, research-based

14 leadership to the Nation as it seeks to improve stu15 dent achievement through school restructuring and

16 reform. Such program shall—

17 ‘‘(A) undertake research necessary to pro18 vide a sound basis from which to identify, de19 velop and evaluate approaches in governance

20 and management at the State, local, school

21 building and classroom level which promise to

22 improve educational equity and excellence, such

23 as—

24 ‘‘(i) open enrollment programs, mag25 net schools and other systems through
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1 which parents may select the public schools

2 and educational programs in which their

3 children are enrolled;

4 ‘‘(ii) the provision of financial and

5 other rewards and incentives based on per6 formance to improve student achievement;

7 ‘‘(iii) the use of regulatory flexibility

8 on the State or district level to promote in9 novation and school restructuring;

10 ‘‘(iv) school-based management;

11 ‘‘(v) the restructuring of school fi12 nance systems at the State and local level

13 to promote greater equity in the distribu14 tion of resources for education;

15 ‘‘(vi) expanding the role of teachers in

16 policymaking and administration at the

17 school and district-wide level;

18 ‘‘(vii) programs designed to increase

19 the involvement of parents and families in

20 the management and governance of schools

21 and the education of their children;

22 ‘‘(viii) effective approaches to increas23 ing the representation of women and mi24 norities among leadership and management

25 positions in education;
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1 ‘‘(ix) approaches to systemic reforms

2 involving the coordination of multiple poli3 cies of each level of government to promote

4 higher levels of student achievement;

5 ‘‘(x) approaches to coordinated serv6 ices for children; and

7 ‘‘(xi) policies related to school to work

8 transitions and preparing noncollege-bound

9 students; and

10 ‘‘(B) undertake research and development

11 activities necessary to provide information on

12 the skills required for successful educational

13 leadership at the State and local level and to

14 enhance the ability of school leaders and admin15 istrators to improve the educational environ16 ment for all students.

17 ‘‘(f) NATIONAL INSTITUTE FOR EARLY CHILDHOOD

18 DEVELOPMENT AND EDUCATION.—

19 ‘‘(1) FINDINGS.—The Congress finds as fol20 lows:

21 ‘‘(A) The Nation has set as a goal that all

22 children should arrive at school ready to learn.

23 ‘‘(B) Despite efforts to expand and im24 prove preschool programs, many children still
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1 reach school age unprepared to benefit from

2 formal education programs.

3 ‘‘(C) Early intervention for disadvantaged

4 children from conception to age five has been

5 shown to be a highly cost-effective strategy for

6 reducing later expenditures on a wide variety of

7 health, developmental, and educational prob8 lems that often interfere with learning. Long9 term studies of the benefits of preschool edu10 cation have a demonstrated return on invest11 ment ranging from three to six dollars for every

12 one dollar spent.

13 ‘‘(D) The Federal Government should play

14 a central role in providing research-based infor15 mation on early childhood education models

16 which enhance children’s development and ulti17 mately their success in school.

18 ‘‘(2) PURPOSE.—The purpose of the National

19 Institute for Early Childhood Development and Edu20 cation is to support basic and applied research, com21 pile existing research, develop effective models, offer

22 in-depth technical assistance, and to otherwise assist

23 States and communities in developing sound early

24 childhood education policies and practices that in25 clude—
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1 ‘‘(A) social and educational development of

2 all infants, toddlers, and preschool children;

3 ‘‘(B) the role of parents and the commu4 nity in promoting the successful social and edu5 cational development of children from birth to

6 age five;

7 ‘‘(C) training and preparation of teachers

8 and other professional and paraprofessional

9 preschool and child care workers;

10 ‘‘(D) the structure and environment of

11 early childhood education and child care set12 tings which lead to improved social and edu13 cational development; and

14 ‘‘(E) practices and approaches which sus15 tain the benefits of effective preschool and child

16 care programs.

17 ‘‘(3) CERTAIN REQUIREMENTS.—In carrying

18 out its mission, the Institute shall—

19 ‘‘(A) place special emphasis on the special

20 early childhood education needs of at-risk chil21 dren, children with disabilities, and girls; and

22 ‘‘(B) ensure that its research and develop23 ment program provides information that can be

24 utilized in improving the major Federal early

25 childhood education programs, including Head
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1 Start, Even Start, chapter 1 preschool pro2 grams, and part H of the Individuals with Dis3 abilities Education Act.

4 ‘‘(g) NATIONAL INSTITUTE ON STUDENT ACHIEVE5 MENT.—

6 ‘‘(1) FINDINGS.—The Congress finds as fol7 lows:

8 ‘‘(A) The current achievement levels of

9 students in the Nation are far below those that

10 might indicate competency in challenging sub11 ject matter in English, mathematics, science,

12 history, and geography and other areas, or

13 across the subject areas.

14 ‘‘(B) Very few students demonstrate that

15 they can use their minds well. In recent assess16 ments, more students are gaining basic skills,

17 yet fewer are demonstrating a grasp of higher18 level applications of those skills.

19 ‘‘(C) During the past 20 years, relatively

20 little has changed in how students are taught.

21 Despite much research suggesting better alter22 natives, classrooms are still dominated by text23 books, teacher lectures, and short-answer activ24 ity sheets and unequal patterns of student at25 tention.
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1 ‘‘(D) Despite progress in narrowing the

2 gaps, the differences in performance between

3 white students and their minority counterparts

4 remain unacceptably large. While progress has

5 been made in reducing the gender gap in math6 ematics, it still remains at higher levels of prob7 lem solving. Too little progress has been made

8 in reducing gender performance gaps favoring

9 males in science and females in writing.

10 ‘‘(2) PURPOSE.—The purpose of the National

11 Institute on Student Achievement is to carry out a

12 coordinated and comprehensive program of research

13 and development to provide research-based leader14 ship to the Nation as it seeks to improve student

15 achievement in English, mathematics, science, his16 tory, geography, and other subject areas and across

17 the boundaries of the subject areas. Such program

18 shall—

19 ‘‘(A) identify, develop, and evaluate inno20 vative and exemplary methods of instruction

21 and classroom management in a variety of sub22 ject areas, including (but not limited to)—

23 ‘‘(i) research and development on stu24 dent learning and assessment in various

25 subject matters;
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1 ‘‘(ii) research and development on the

2 effects of organizational patterns on the

3 delivery of instruction, including issues of

4 grouping and tracking, ungraded class5 rooms, and on the effects of various peda6 gogies, including the issues of technology

7 in education; and

8 ‘‘(iii) research and development on the

9 best methods of teacher preparation;

10 ‘‘(B) conduct basic and applied research in

11 the areas of human learning, cognition, and

12 performance, including research and develop13 ment on the education contexts which promote

14 excellence in learning and instruction, and moti15 vational issues which provide a key to learning;

16 and

17 ‘‘(C) identify, develop, and evaluate pro18 grams designed to enhance academic achieve19 ment and narrow racial and gender perform20 ance gaps in a variety of subject areas, includ21 ing research and development on methods of in22 volving parents in their children’s education and

23 ways to involve business, industry and other

24 community partners in promoting excellence in

25 schools.
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1 ‘‘(h) NATIONAL INSTITUTE FOR POSTSECONDARY

2 EDUCATION, LIBRARIES, AND LIFELONG LEARNING.—

3 ‘‘(1) FINDINGS.—The Congress finds as fol4 lows:

5 ‘‘(A) The American system of postsecond6 ary education is foremost in the world in its

7 achievement of both academic excellence and

8 equity in access, but maintaining that pre9 eminence requires renewed efforts to strengthen

10 the quality of postsecondary education. Dis11 appointing student performance on achievement

12 tests and licensure examinations, declining rates

13 of persistence and completion among minorities,

14 and other troubling trends in the quality of

15 postsecondary education must be addressed by

16 the Nation as part of its overall drive to im17 prove American education.

18 ‘‘(B) The need to improve our Nation’s

19 economic productivity to meet the competitive

20 challenges of a new, international economy, cou21 pled with high levels of mobility in the United

22 States labor market and demographic changes

23 in the workforce, now demands more and higher

24 quality programs of learning and training in the

25 American workplace.
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1 ‘‘(C) The more than 1,000,000 men and

2 women incarcerated in the Nation’s prisons and

3 jails are among the most severely educationally

4 disadvantaged in the United States, with high

5 rates of functional illiteracy and extremely low

6 levels of educational attainment. Since an esti7 mated 90 percent of these individuals are ex8 pected to be released by the end of the decade,

9 the Nation must act to assure that our correc10 tional system has the means to equip these

11 Americans with the knowledge and skills they

12 will need to participate productively in our

13 society.

14 ‘‘(D) The development of a ‘Nation of Stu15 dents’ capable of and committed to the pursuit

16 of formal and informal lifelong learning is es17 sential to sustain both national and individual

18 economic success and to provide a nurturing en19 vironment in which all children and youth can

20 learn and achieve. Historically the most effec21 tive community resource for lifelong learning,

22 the Nation’s public library system must expand

23 and restructure its delivery of services to take

24 full advantage of the potential of new informa-
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1 tion technologies to meet the needs of learning

2 communities.

3 ‘‘(2) PURPOSE.—The purpose of the National

4 Institute for Postsecondary Education, Libraries,

5 and Lifelong Learning is to promote greater coordi6 nation of Federal research and development on is7 sues related to adult learning and to carry out a

8 program of research and development in adult learn9 ing to provide nonpartisan, research-based leader10 ship to the Nation as it seeks to improve libraries,

11 postsecondary education, and lifelong learning

12 throughout the United States. Such program—

13 ‘‘(A) shall promote greater coordination,

14 cooperation, and interaction among entities

15 within the Federal Government which support

16 research and development related to postsecond17 ary education, libraries, and lifelong learning;

18 ‘‘(B) shall enable greater collaboration

19 among entities within the Federal Government

20 which support research and development related

21 to postsecondary education, libraries, and life22 long learning by supporting research and devel23 opment projects which are carried out jointly by

24 such entities;
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1 ‘‘(C) shall support research and develop2 ment in those areas of postsecondary education,

3 libraries, and lifelong learning which are not

4 being addressed sufficiently by other entities

5 within the Federal Government; and

6 ‘‘(D) may include basic and applied re7 search, development, replication, and evaluation

8 activities in such areas as—

9 ‘‘(i) methods of assessing and evaluat10 ing individual, program, and institutional

11 performance;

12 ‘‘(ii) the uses and applications of new

13 technologies to improve program effective14 ness and enhance student learning;

15 ‘‘(iii) practices, policies, and programs

16 which address the unique needs of adult

17 learners, including—

18 ‘‘(I) institutional and classroom

19 policies and practices at the post20 secondary level necessary to improve

21 matriculation, persistence, achieve22 ment and graduation by students who

23 are economically disadvantaged, ethnic

24 and racial minorities, women, older,

25 working, and who have children;
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1 ‘‘(II) instructional practices and

2 programs which are effective in cor3 rectional settings;

4 ‘‘(III) new models of service de5 livery for public library systems which

6 expand opportunities for lifelong

7 learning;

8 ‘‘(IV) effective programs and ap9 proaches which promote greater ac10 cess to and success by minorities in

11 postsecondary programs which pre12 pare them for scientific, technical,

13 teaching, and health career fields; and

14 ‘‘(V) effective approaches to

15 work-based learning;

16 ‘‘(iv) the effectiveness of Historically

17 Black Colleges and Universities, Tribally18 Controlled Indian Community Colleges,

19 women’s colleges, and other special mission

20 institutions in fulfilling their mission of

21 providing access and equal opportunity in

22 higher education; and

23 ‘‘(v) the quality of higher education at

24 all levels and the roles and responsibilities

25 of regional and national accrediting agen-
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1 cies in assuring the quality and relevance

2 of academic goals and objectives estab3 lished by institutions of higher education;

4 ‘‘(vi) financial barriers to postsecond5 ary educational opportunity, including—

6 ‘‘(I) the role of Federal programs

7 authorized under title IV of the High8 er Education Act and State grant and

9 work programs in mitigating such

10 barriers;

11 ‘‘(II) the impact of the rising

12 total cost of postsecondary education

13 on access to higher education; and

14 ‘‘(III) the extent and impact of

15 student reliance on loans to meet the

16 costs of higher education.

17 ‘‘(3) INVOLVEMENT OF CERTAIN AGENCIES AND

18 ORGANIZATIONS.—In promoting coordination and

19 collaboration on research and development on issues

20 related to postsecondary education, libraries, and

21 lifelong learning, the Institute shall, as appropriate,

22 seek the involvement of—

23 ‘‘(A) within the Department of Edu24 cation—

25 ‘‘(i) the Office of Library Programs;
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1 ‘‘(ii) the Office of Correctional Edu2 cation;

3 ‘‘(iii) the Office of Vocational and

4 Adult Education;

5 ‘‘(iv) the National Institute on Dis6 ability and Rehabilitation Research; and

7 ‘‘(v) the Office of Postsecondary Edu8 cation;

9 ‘‘(B) the National Institute for Literacy;

10 ‘‘(C) the National Board for Professional

11 Teaching Standards;

12 ‘‘(D) the Employment and Training Ad13 ministration of the Department of Labor;

14 ‘‘(E) the Administration for Children and

15 Families within the Department of Health and

16 Human Services;

17 ‘‘(F) the National Institutes of Health;

18 ‘‘(G) the National Endowment for Human19 ities;

20 ‘‘(H) the Bureau of Prisons of the Depart21 ment of Justice;

22 ‘‘(I) the Department of Commerce; and

23 ‘‘(J) the Department of Defense.

24 ‘‘(4) ADDITIONAL RESPONSIBILITIES.—In addi25 tion to the responsibilities described in paragraph
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1 (2), the Institute shall be responsible for managing

2 the existing contract for the National Center on Lit3 eracy and assuring that the activities of such center

4 are fully coordinated with those of the National In5 stitute for Literacy.

6 ‘‘(i) RESEARCH ON ASSESSMENT.—The Secretary,

7 acting through the Assistant Secretary, shall undertake a

8 comprehensive, coordinated program of research and de9 velopment in the area of assessment in accordance with

10 the requirements of this subsection. Such program shall

11 comply with the following:

12 ‘‘(1)(A) The program shall be carried out by—

13 ‘‘(i) each of the Institutes established by

14 this section; and

15 ‘‘(ii) a research and development center

16 which shall be jointly funded by all of the Insti17 tutes.

18 ‘‘(B) Such center shall—

19 ‘‘(i) conduct basic and applied research

20 and engage in development, analysis, and eval21 uation in the area of assessment of student

22 achievement;

23 ‘‘(ii) coordinate the research and develop24 ment activities in the area of assessment under25 taken by each of the Institutes; and
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1 ‘‘(iii) working cooperatively with the re2 gional educational laboratories, provide tech3 nical assistance to State and local education

4 agencies in the design, development, and imple5 mentation of new forms of assessment.

6 ‘‘(2) The program shall include research and

7 development in the following areas:

8 ‘‘(A) The validity, reliability, generaliz9 ability, fairness, costs, relative merits, and most

10 appropriate uses of various approaches and

11 methods of assessing student learning and

12 achievement.

13 ‘‘(B) Methods and approaches to assessing

14 student opportunities to learn (including the

15 quality of instruction and the availability of re16 sources necessary to support learning) and eval17 uating the quality of school environments.

18 ‘‘(C) The design, development, evaluation,

19 and validation of model performance-based and

20 other alternative or innovative formats or uses

21 of assessments.

22 ‘‘(D) The impact of high-stakes uses of as23 sessment on student performance and motiva24 tion, narrowing of curriculum, teaching prac25 tices, and test integrity.
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1 ‘‘(E) The fairness and impact of various

2 methods of assessment on children of different

3 races, ethnicities, gender, socioeconomic status,

4 English language proficiencies, and children

5 with other special needs.

6 ‘‘(F) Standards of performance, quality,

7 and validity for various methods of assessment

8 and the means by which such standards should

9 be developed.

10 ‘‘(G) Current and emerging testing prac11 tices of State and local education agencies with12 in the United States, as well as other nations.

13 ‘‘(H) The diverse effects, both intended

14 and unintended, of assessments as actually used

15 in the schools, including effects on curriculum

16 and instruction, effects on equity in the alloca17 tion of resources and opportunities, effects on

18 equity of outcomes, effects on other procedures

19 and standards for judging students and practi20 tioners and possible inflation of test scores.

21 ‘‘(I) Identifying and evaluating how stu22 dents with limited English language proficiency

23 and students with disabilities are included and

24 accommodated in the various assessment pro25 grams of State and local education agencies.
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1 ‘‘(J) The feasibility and validity of compar2 ing or equating the results of different assess3 ments.

4 ‘‘(3) The program shall—

5 ‘‘(A) reflect recommendations made by the

6 National Education Goals Panel (provided such

7 panel has been authorized by law);

8 ‘‘(B) comply with the ‘Standards for Edu9 cational and Psychological Tests’ developed by

10 the American Psychological Association, the

11 National Council on Measurement in Edu12 cation, and the American Educational Research

13 Association;

14 ‘‘(C) be consistent with the ‘Criteria for

15 Evaluation of Student Assessment Systems’ de16 veloped by the National Forum on Assessment;

17 and

18 ‘‘(D) comply with the ‘Code of Fair Test19 ing Practices in Education’ developed by the

20 Joint Committee on Testing Practices.

21 For purposes of this subsection, the term ‘development’

22 means the development of prototypes for the purposes of

23 research and evaluation.

24 ‘‘(j) COORDINATION OF RESEARCH ON CROSS-CUT25 TING ISSUES.—The Secretary, acting through the Assist-
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1 ant Secretary, shall promote the coordination of research

2 and development activities among the Institutes estab3 lished by subsection (a) to investigate those cross-cutting

4 disciplines and areas of inquiry, such as assessment, the

5 use of technology and the training of teachers and school

6 administrators, which are relevant to the missions of more

7 than one of the Institutes. Such activities shall—

8 ‘‘(1) address cross-cutting disciplines and areas

9 of inquiry which have been proposed by the Assist10 ant Secretary and are consistent with the research

11 priorities identified by the Board;

12 ‘‘(2) be carried out jointly (1) by any one of the

13 Institutes and—

14 ‘‘(A) one (or more) of the Institutes;

15 ‘‘(B) the National Center for Education

16 Statistics; or

17 ‘‘(C) any research and development entity

18 administered by other offices of the Department

19 of Education or by any other Federal agency or

20 Department; and

21 ‘‘(3) meet all the standards set by the Board

22 for other research and development conducted by the

23 Office.

24 ‘‘(k) PROGRAM ON TEACHING AND TEACHER EDU25 CATION.—
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1 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary, acting

2 through the Assistant Secretary, in accordance with

3 the requirements of this subsection, shall undertake

4 a comprehensive, coordinated program of research in

5 the area of teaching and teacher education to be car6 ried out by each of the Institutes established by this

7 section, including through research centers and field8 initiated grants.

9 ‘‘(2) CERTAIN PURPOSES OF PROGRAM.—In

10 carrying out the program established under para11 graph (1), the Secretary shall conduct, directly or

12 through grants and contracts, basic and applied re13 search and analytical activities to further knowledge

14 about, make recommendations, and improve—

15 ‘‘(A) the ability of classroom teachers and

16 schools to assist new and diverse populations of

17 students in successfully assimilating into the

18 classroom environment;

19 ‘‘(B) the working conditions of teachers

20 and other educational practitioners, including

21 but not limited to the topics of—

22 ‘‘(i) teacher isolation;

23 ‘‘(ii) professional resources available

24 to teachers;
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1 ‘‘(iii) continuing educational and pro2 fessional opportunities available to teach3 ers;

4 ‘‘(iv) physical facilities and equipment,

5 such as office space, telephone, computer

6 access, and fax machines and television

7 cable access available to teachers in the

8 work environment;

9 ‘‘(v) opportunities for teachers to

10 share information and resources with other

11 teachers and education professionals;

12 ‘‘(vi) opportunities for advanced learn13 ing experience; and

14 ‘‘(vii) the reduction of stress in the

15 teaching profession;

16 ‘‘(C) institutional program renewal and in17 struction; and

18 ‘‘(D) restructuring of State certification of

19 teachers and teacher education standards.

20 ‘‘(3) CERTAIN ACTIVITIES.—In carrying out the

21 program established under paragraph (1), the Sec22 retary shall—

23 ‘‘(A) work with institutions of higher edu24 cation engaged in the preparation of teachers

25 and professional organizations of teacher edu-
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1 cators and practitioners to encourage institu2 tional program renewal and restructuring;

3 ‘‘(B) conduct, directly or through grants

4 and contracts research on—

5 ‘‘(i) effective and reflective teaching

6 for the preparation and continuing edu7 cation of teachers;

8 ‘‘(ii) the use of computing and multi9 made technology to advance the under10 standing and abilities of teacher educators

11 and classroom teachers;

12 ‘‘(iii) the development and appraisal

13 of curriculum and curriculum materials for

14 the initial and continuing education of

15 teachers and teacher educators; and

16 ‘‘(iv) strengthening the evaluation and

17 dissemination of information on programs

18 for continuing professional education and

19 renewal of those who educate teachers for

20 initial or advanced licensure or certifi21 cation; and

22 ‘‘(C) work with the national regional edu23 cation laboratories, the ERIC clearinghouses,

24 national education research library, and the na25 tional center for education statistics to maxi-
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1 mize information available, to prevent unneces2 sary duplication of efforts and resources, and to

3 ensure the results of the centers work are wide4 ly available.

5 ‘‘(l) RESEARCH ON EDUCATIONAL TECHNOLOGY.—

6 The Assistant Secretary shall undertake a comprehensive,

7 coordinated program of research and development in the

8 area of the uses and applications of technology in edu9 cation in accordance with the requirements of this sub10 section. Such program shall meet the following require11 ments:

12 ‘‘(1) The program shall be carried out by each

13 of the Institutes established by this section and a re14 search and development center which shall be jointly

15 funded by all of the Institutes. Such center shall—

16 ‘‘(A) conduct basic and applied research

17 and engage in development, analysis, evaluation

18 in the area of the uses and applications of tech19 nology to education; and

20 ‘‘(B) coordinate the research and develop21 ment activities in the area of the uses and ap22 plications of technology to education under23 taken by each of the Institutes;
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1 ‘‘(2) The program shall include basic and ap2 plied research, development, policy analysis, and

3 evaluation in the following areas:

4 ‘‘(A) The capabilities of current and

5 emerging technologies and their possible uses in

6 education.

7 ‘‘(B) The uses and applications of tech8 nology—

9 ‘‘(i) to improve instruction within all

10 content areas in the school curriculum;

11 ‘‘(ii) to educate more effectively at12 risk students and other students with spe13 cial needs;

14 ‘‘(iii) to improve education in rural

15 communities and other remote areas;

16 ‘‘(iv) to improve the assessment of

17 student learning and achievement; and

18 ‘‘(v) to deliver preservice and inservice

19 training for teachers, librarians, and school

20 administrators.

21 ‘‘(C) The cost and educational effective22 ness of technologies used in education.

23 ‘‘(D) Effective models and approaches for

24 providing the preservice and inservice training

25 and technical assistance necessary to enable
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1 teachers, librarians, and school administrators

2 and others to use technology effectively in edu3 cation.

4 ‘‘(E) The identification of barriers to

5 greater use of technologies in education and po6 tential approaches to eradicating or mitigating

7 such barriers.

8 ‘‘(F) Methods and approaches which can

9 be utilized by teachers, school administrators,

10 and education policymakers to evaluate the

11 quality and most appropriate uses of software

12 and other technologies designed for use in edu13 cation.

14 ‘‘(G) Approaches to organizing and manag15 ing schools and classrooms to make the most

16 effective use of technology in education.

17 ‘‘(3) The program shall be coordinated with re18 lated research and development activities undertaken

19 by the Office of Special Education Programs, the

20 National Science Foundation, the Department of

21 Defense, and other Federal agencies.

22 ‘‘(m) TRANSITIONAL PROVISIONS.—

23 ‘‘(1) TEMPORARY REORGANIZATIONS.—Upon

24 the enactment of the Educational Research, Devel25 opment and Dissemination Excellence Act, the Sec-
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1 retary shall reorganize the research and development

2 functions and activities of the Office into adminis3 trative units the purposes of which shall be the same

4 as those for each of the national research institutes

5 established in subsection (a). Such administrative

6 units shall be responsible for planning and providing

7 for the establishment of such institutes and shall

8 cease to exist on the dates upon which each of the

9 relevant institutes is established. The provisions of

10 subsection (c) (relating to authorities and duties)

11 shall apply to all activities undertaken by each such

12 administrative unit.

13 ‘‘(2) DATES FOR ESTABLISHMENT OF INSTI14 TUTES.—

15 ‘‘(A) The National Institute for the Edu16 cation of At-Risk Students shall be established

17 effective October 1, 1994.

18 ‘‘(B) The National Institute for Early

19 Childhood Development and Education, the Na20 tional Institute for Innovation in Educational

21 Governance and Management, the National In22 stitute for Student Achievement, and the Na23 tional Institute on Postsecondary Education,

24 Libraries, and Lifelong Learning shall each be

25 established effective October 1, 1995.’’.
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1 TITLE IV—NATIONAL EDU2 CATION DISSEMINATION SYS3 TEM

4 SEC. 401. ESTABLISHMENT WITHIN OFFICE OF EDU5 CATIONAL RESEARCH AND IMPROVEMENT.

6 Part A of the General Education Provisions Act, as

7 amended by section 301 of this Act, is amended by insert8 ing after section 405B the following new section:

9 ‘‘NATIONAL EDUCATION DISSEMINATION SYSTEM

10 ‘‘SEC. 405C. (a) IN GENERAL.—

11 ‘‘(1) FINDINGS.—The Congress finds as fol12 lows:

13 ‘‘(A) In order to improve the American

14 educational system for all students, achieve the

15 national education goals, and provide for great16 er educational equity, policymakers, administra17 tors, teachers, and parents must have ready ac18 cess to the best information and methods avail19 able as a result of educational research and de20 velopment.

21 ‘‘(B) The Office of Educational Research

22 and Improvement should have as one of its pri23 mary purposes the dissemination of such infor24 mation and methods in order to assist the na25 tional education reform effort.
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1 ‘‘(C) All current resources within the Of2 fice, the Department, and other agencies that

3 can help accomplish this goal should be coordi4 nated by the Assistant Secretary so as to form

5 a systematic process to accomplish these objec6 tives.

7 ‘‘(D) Education research has the capacity

8 to improve teaching and learning in our Na9 tion’s schools, however, teachers need training

10 in the developmental skills necessary to trans11 late research into practice and to allow them to

12 become a cadre of knowledgeable practitioners

13 and leaders in educational improvement.

14 ‘‘(E) Adequate linkages between research

15 and development providers and practitioners are

16 essential to ensuring that research on effective

17 practice is useful, disseminated and supported

18 with technical assistance to all educators, and

19 that all educators are partners in the research

20 and development process.

21 ‘‘(2) PURPOSE.—The purpose of this section is

22 to—

23 ‘‘(A) create a national system of dissemi24 nation, development, and school improvement in

25 order to create, adapt, identify, validate, and
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1 disseminate to educators, parents, and policy2 makers those educational programs that have

3 potential or have been shown to improve edu4 cational opportunities for all students; and

5 ‘‘(B) empower and increase the capacity of

6 teachers to participate in the research and de7 velopment process.

8 ‘‘(3) DEFINITION OF EDUCATIONAL PRO9 GRAM.—For the purposes of this section, the term

10 ‘educational program’ includes educational policies,

11 research findings, practices, and products.

12 ‘‘(b) ESTABLISHMENT OF OFFICE.—

13 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—There is established within

14 the Office an Office of Reform Assistance and Dis15 semination (in this section referred to as the ‘Dis16 semination Office’) through which the Secretary

17 shall carry out all functions and activities described

18 in this section.

19 ‘‘(2) CERTAIN DUTIES.—The Dissemination Of20 fice shall—

21 ‘‘(A) identify educational programs that

22 may merit being designated as exemplary or

23 promising educational programs;
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1 ‘‘(B) based solely on the educational merits

2 and promise of such programs, select those to

3 be designated as exemplary or promising;

4 ‘‘(C) provide technical and financial assist5 ance to individuals and organizations in the

6 process of developing promising educational

7 programs in the priority areas identified in sec8 tion 405(b)(3), but who might not, without

9 such assistance, be able to complete necessary

10 development and assessment activities;

11 ‘‘(D) nationally disseminate information

12 regarding the exemplary and promising pro13 grams to educators, parents, and policymakers

14 through a variety of means, including existing

15 Department activities, education associations

16 and networks, and communication technologies;

17 ‘‘(E) provide training and technical assist18 ance regarding the implementation and adop19 tion of such exemplary and promising programs

20 by interested entities; and

21 ‘‘(F) carry out a program of research on

22 models for successful knowledge dissemination

23 and utilization and strategies for reaching edu24 cation policymakers, practitioners, and others

25 interested in education.
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1 ‘‘(3) ADDITIONAL DUTIES.—The Dissemination

2 Office shall carry out and contain the following func3 tions and activities:

4 ‘‘(A) A process for the identification of

5 educational programs that work.

6 ‘‘(B) The educational resources informa7 tion clearinghouses.

8 ‘‘(C) Dissemination through new tech9 nologies.

10 ‘‘(D) Smartline.

11 ‘‘(E) The Electronic Networking and Re12 source-Sharing for School Improvement pro13 gram.

14 ‘‘(F) The regional educational laboratories.

15 ‘‘(G) Regional Partnerships for Teacher

16 Change Agents.

17 ‘‘(H) The America 2000 Communities Spe18 cial Assistance Program.

19 ‘‘(I) The existing National Diffusion Net20 work and its Developer-Demonstrator and State

21 Facilitator projects.

22 ‘‘(J) Such other programs or entities the

23 Secretary determines are consistent with the

24 purposes for which the Dissemination Office is

25 established.
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1 ‘‘(c) IDENTIFICATION OF PROGRAMS.—

2 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall estab3 lish a process through which successful educational

4 programs are actively sought out for possible dis5 semination through the national educational dissemi6 nation system. Such process shall, at a minimum,

7 have the capability to—

8 ‘‘(A) work closely with the research insti9 tutes, centers, regional educational laboratories,

10 the National Diffusion Network and its Devel11 oper-Demonstrator and State Facilitator

12 projects, learning grant institutions established

13 under the America 2000 Communities Special

14 Assistance program, technical assistance centers

15 established under chapter 1 of the Elementary

16 and Secondary Education Act, the Women’s

17 Educational Equity Act Publishing Center, and

18 other entities to identify successful educational

19 programs at the regional, State, local, or class20 room level;

21 ‘‘(B) review successful educational pro22 grams supported by the Department through all

23 of its programs, including Chapter 1, Even

24 Start, Drug-Free Schools and Communities Act

25 of 1986, the Individuals With Disabilities Edu-
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1 cation Act, Bilingual Education, the Women’s

2 Educational Equity Act, and Adult and Voca3 tional Education;

4 ‘‘(C) through cooperative agreements, re5 view for possible inclusion in the system edu6 cational programs administered by the Depart7 ments of Health and Human Services (particu8 larly the Head Start program), Labor and De9 fense, the National Science Foundation, and

10 any other appropriate Federal agency; and

11 ‘‘(D) provide for an active outreach effort

12 to identify successful educational programs

13 through cooperative arrangements with State

14 and local education agencies, teachers and

15 teacher organizations, curriculum associations,

16 foundations, private schools, institutions of

17 higher education, and other entities that could

18 enhance the ability of the Secretary to identify

19 programs for possible inclusion in the dissemi20 nation system.

21 ‘‘(2) PRIORITY PROGRAMS.—In carrying out

22 this subsection, the Secretary shall place a priority

23 on identifying programs, products, and practices re24 lated to the priority research and development needs

25 identified in section 405(b)(3).
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1 ‘‘(d) DESIGNATION OF EXEMPLARY AND PROMISING

2 PROGRAMS.—

3 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary, in consulta4 tion with the Board, shall establish 1 or more panels

5 of appropriately qualified experts and practitioners

6 to—

7 ‘‘(A) evaluate educational programs that

8 have been identified by the Secretary under

9 subsection (c) or that have been submitted to

10 the Secretary for such evaluation by some other

11 individual or organization; and

12 ‘‘(B) recommend to the Secretary pro13 grams that should be designated as exemplary

14 or promising educational programs.

15 ‘‘(2) CONSIDERATIONS IN MAKING REC16 OMMENDATIONS.—In determining whether an edu17 cational program should receive a recommendation

18 under paragraph (1), a panel established under such

19 paragraph shall consider—

20 ‘‘(A) whether, based on empirical data,

21 which may include but shall not be limited to

22 test results, the program is effective and should

23 thus be designated as exemplary and dissemi24 nated through the national dissemination sys25 tem; or
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1 ‘‘(B) whether there is sufficient evidence to

2 lead a panel of experts and practitioners to be3 lieve that the program shows promise for im4 proving student achievement and should thus be

5 designated as promising and disseminated

6 through the national dissemination system while

7 it continues to be evaluated.

8 ‘‘(3) REQUIREMENT REGARDING APPROVAL OF

9 PROGRAMS.—In seeking out programs for approval

10 under paragraph (2), the Dissemination Office shall

11 seek programs that may be implemented at the

12 State, local, and classroom level.

13 ‘‘(4) REQUIREMENTS REGARDING PANELS.—

14 ‘‘(A) A panel shall not eliminate a program

15 from consideration under this subsection based

16 solely on the fact that it does not have one spe17 cific type of supporting data, such as test

18 scores.

19 ‘‘(B) The Secretary may not designate a

20 program as exemplary or promising unless a

21 panel established under paragraph (1) has rec22 ommended that the program be so designated.

23 ‘‘(C) The Secretary shall establish such

24 panels under paragraph (1) as may be nec-
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1 essary to ensure that each program identified

2 or submitted for evaluation is evaluated.

‘‘(D) Not less than 2 3 ⁄3 of the membership

4 of a panel established under paragraph shall

5 consist of individuals who are not officers or

6 employees of the United States. Members of

7 panels under paragraph (1) who are not em8 ployees of the United States shall receive com9 pensation for each day engaged in carrying out

10 the duties of the panel as well as compensation

11 for their expenses.

12 ‘‘(e) DISSEMINATION OF EXEMPLARY AND PROMIS13 ING PROGRAMS.—

14 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—In order to ensure that

15 programs identified as exemplary or promising are

16 available for adoption by the greatest number of

17 teachers, schools, and local and State education

18 agencies, the Secretary shall utilize the capabilities

19 of—

20 ‘‘(A) the education resources information

21 clearinghouses;

22 ‘‘(B) Smartline;

23 ‘‘(C) the regional educational laboratories;

24 ‘‘(D) the National Diffusion Network;
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1 ‘‘(E) entities established under the Amer2 ica 2000 Communities Special Assistance Pro3 gram;

4 ‘‘(F) technical assistance centers estab5 lished under Chapter 1 of the Elementary and

6 Secondary Education Act;

7 ‘‘(G) the National Library of Education;

8 and

9 ‘‘(H) other public and private nonprofit en10 tities, including existing education associations

11 and networks, that have the capability to assist

12 educators in adopting exemplary and promising

13 programs.

14 ‘‘(2) REQUIREMENTS FOR SECRETARY.—In car15 rying out paragraph (1), the Secretary shall ensure

16 that all such entities are—

17 ‘‘(A) kept apprised of the availability of

18 specific programs for dissemination;

19 ‘‘(B) provided technical assistance, if nec20 essary, to carry out this dissemination function;

21 and

22 ‘‘(C) involved in the national education dis23 semination system as specified by law.

24 ‘‘(f) EDUCATION RESOURCES INFORMATION CLEAR25 INGHOUSES.—
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1 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall estab2 lish a system of 16 education resource information

3 clearinghouses having, at a minimum, the same

4 functions and scope of work as the clearinghouses

5 had on the date of the enactment of the Educational

6 Research, Development, and Dissemination Excel7 lence Act.

8 ‘‘(2) ADDITIONAL FUNCTIONS.—In addition to

9 those functions already being carried out by the

10 clearinghouses, such clearinghouses shall—

11 ‘‘(A) periodically produce interpretive sum12 maries, digests, and syntheses of the results

13 and findings of education-related research and

14 development; and

15 ‘‘(B) contain and make available to users

16 information concerning those programs des17 ignated as exemplary and promising under sub18 section (c).

19 ‘‘(3) COORDINATION OF ACTIVITIES.—The Sec20 retary shall assure that the functions and activities

21 of such clearinghouses are coordinated with the ac22 tivities of the research institutes, the regional edu23 cational laboratories, learning grant institutions,

24 other clearinghouses supported by the Department,
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1 the National Diffusion Network, and other appro2 priate entities within the Office and the Department.

3 ‘‘(4) SPECIAL RESPONSIBILITIES OF THE SEC4 RETARY.—To assure that the information provided

5 through such clearinghouses is fully comprehensive,

6 the Secretary shall—

7 ‘‘(A) require that all reports, studies, and

8 other resources produced directly or by grant or

9 contract with the Department of Education are

10 made available to clearinghouses; and

11 ‘‘(B) establish cooperative agreements with

12 the Departments of Defense, Health and

13 Human Services, and other Federal agencies to

14 assure that all education-related reports, stud15 ies, and other resources produced directly or by

16 grant or contract with the Federal Government

17 are made available to such clearinghouses.

18 ‘‘(5) COPYRIGHT PROHIBITED.—No clearing19 house or other entity receiving assistance under this

20 subsection may copyright or otherwise charge a roy21 alty or other fee for the use or redissemination of

22 any database, index, abstract, report, or other infor23 mation produced with assistance under this sub24 section.
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1 ‘‘(g) DISSEMINATION THROUGH NEW TECH2 NOLOGIES.—

3 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Assistant Secretary is

4 authorized to award grants in accordance with this

5 subsection to support the development of materials,

6 programs, and resources which utilize new tech7 nologies and techniques to synthesize and dissemi8 nate research and development findings and other

9 information which can be used to support school and

10 classroom improvement. Such grants shall be limited

11 to not more than 50 percent of the total cost of de12 veloping such materials.

13 ‘‘(2) REQUIREMENTS.—In carrying out this

14 subsection, the Assistant Secretary shall assure

15 that—

16 ‘‘(A) grants are awarded to support a di17 verse range of technologies, including, but not

18 limited to, CD–ROM, interactive video discs,

19 personal computer software, and public broad20 casting, cable, fiber, and satellite programming;

21 ‘‘(B) both formative and summative eval22 uations are undertaken as part of each develop23 ment project;

24 ‘‘(C) the information and other resources

25 disseminated as part of each development
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1 project have been evaluated and validated as

2 part of the identification process described in

3 subsections (c) and (d) of this section; and

4 ‘‘(D) priority in awarding grants is given

5 to—

6 ‘‘(i) development projects which pro7 vide information and other resources relat8 ed to effective approaches to educating at9 risk students;

10 ‘‘(ii) development projects which pro11 vide information and other resources that

12 parents, in particular, will find useful in a

13 manner and format which is readily acces14 sible and easy to understand; and

15 ‘‘(iii) a national multimedia, tele16 vision-based project directed to homes,

17 schools, libraries, and after-school pro18 grams which demonstrates and dissemi19 nates effective ways to motivate and im20 prove reading comprehension and writing

21 coherence of elementary age students in

22 high poverty areas.

23 ‘‘(h) SOURCES OF MATERIALS AND RESEARCH

24 ABOUT TEACHING AND LEARNING FOR IMPROVING NA25 TIONWIDE EDUCATION (SMARTLINE).—
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1 ‘‘(1) ELECTRONIC NETWORK.—The Assistant

2 Secretary, acting through the Office of Reform As3 sistance and Dissemination, shall establish and

4 maintain an electronic network which shall, at a

5 minimum, link—

6 ‘‘(A) each office of the Department of

7 Education;

8 ‘‘(B) the research institutes established by

9 section 405B;

10 ‘‘(C) the National Center for Education

11 Statistics;

12 ‘‘(D) the National Library of Education;

13 and

14 ‘‘(E) entities engaged in research, develop15 ment, dissemination, and technical assistance

16 under grant, contract, or cooperative agreement

17 with the Department of Education, including—

18 ‘‘(i) the ERIC Clearinghouses;

19 ‘‘(ii) national research and develop20 ment centers;

21 ‘‘(iii) the regional educational labora22 tories;

23 ‘‘(iv) National Diffusion Network

24 State Facilitators;
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1 ‘‘(v) Chapter 1 Technical Assistance

2 Centers;

3 ‘‘(vi) research and development enti4 ties supported by the Office of Special

5 Education programs;

6 ‘‘(vii) evaluation assistance centers

7 and multifunctional resource centers ad8 ministered by the Office of Bilingual Edu9 cation and Minority Language Affairs;

10 ‘‘(viii) the National Center for Re11 search in Vocational Education;

12 ‘‘(ix) the Desegregation Assistance

13 Centers; and

14 ‘‘(x) regional centers established

15 under section 5135 of the Drug-Free

16 Schools and Communities Act of 1986.

17 ‘‘(2) CERTAIN REQUIREMENTS FOR NET18 WORK.—The network described in paragraph (1)

19 shall—

20 ‘‘(A) to the extent feasible, build upon ex21 isting national, regional, and State electronic

22 networks;

23 ‘‘(B) at a minimum, have the capability to

24 support electronic mail and file transfer serv25 ices;
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1 ‘‘(C) be linked to and accessible to other

2 users, including State and local education agen3 cies, institutions of higher education, museums,

4 libraries, and others through the Internet and

5 the National Research and Education Network;

6 and

7 ‘‘(D) be provided at no cost (excluding the

8 costs of necessary hardware) to the contractors

9 and grantees described in subparagraph (E) of

10 paragraph (1) and to educational institutions

11 accessing such network through the Internet

12 and the National Research and Education Net13 work;

14 ‘‘(3) INFORMATION RESOURCES.—The Assist15 ant Secretary, acting through the Office of Reform

16 Assistance and Dissemination, shall make available

17 through the network described in paragraph (1) the

18 following—

19 ‘‘(A) information about grant and contract

20 assistance available through the department;

21 ‘‘(B) an annotated directory of current re22 search and development activities and projects

23 being undertaken with the assistance of the De24 partment;
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1 ‘‘(C) information about publications pub2 lished by the Department and, to the extent

3 feasible, the full text of such publications;

4 ‘‘(D) statistics and data published by the

5 National Center for Education Statistics;

6 ‘‘(E) syntheses of research and develop7 ment findings;

8 ‘‘(F) a directory of other education-related

9 electronic networks and databases, including in10 formation about the means by which they may

11 be accessed;

12 ‘‘(G) a descriptive listing of materials and

13 courses of instruction provided by telecommuni14 cations partnerships assisted under the Star

15 Schools program;

16 ‘‘(H) resources developed by the ERIC

17 Clearinghouses;

18 ‘‘(I) education-related software which is in

19 the public domain; and

20 ‘‘(J) such other information and resources

21 the Assistant Secretary considers useful and ap22 propriate.

23 ‘‘(4) EVALUATIONS REGARDING OTHER FUNC24 TIONS OF NETWORK.—The Assistant Secretary shall

25 also undertake projects to test and evaluate the fea-
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1 sibility of using the network described in paragraph

2 (1) for—

3 ‘‘(A) the submission of applications for as4 sistance to the Department; and

5 ‘‘(B) the collection of data and other sta6 tistics through the National Center for Edu7 cation Statistics.

8 ‘‘(5) SOFTWARE INTERFACES; INTELLIGENT

9 GATEWAYS.—

10 ‘‘(A) Upon the completion of the study re11 quired by subparagraph (B), the Assistant Sec12 retary is authorized to support the development

13 of 1 or more software interfaces or intelligent

14 gateways which can be used to access and

15 search multiple education-related databases si16 multaneously in order to improve access to cur17 rent information about teaching and learning by

18 education researchers, teachers, librarians, ad19 ministrators, parents, community members, and

20 policymakers.

21 ‘‘(B) The Assistant Secretary shall provide

22 for the conduct of an independent study of the

23 feasibility and costs associated with developing

24 and maintaining the software interfaces de-
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1 scribed in subparagraph (A). Such study

2 shall—

3 ‘‘(i) identify a variety of options and

4 strategies for the development and oper5 ation of such interfaces;

6 ‘‘(ii) identify the extent to which such

7 interfaces are needed by various segments

8 of the educational community, including

9 education researchers, teachers, librarians,

10 policymakers, school administrators, par11 ents, and others;

12 ‘‘(iii) estimate the costs associated

13 with developing and maintaining such

14 interfaces;

15 ‘‘(iv) identify possible roles for the

16 private sector in the development of such

17 interfaces; and

18 ‘‘(v) determine whether such inter19 faces would be developed in the absence of

20 Federal assistance.

21 The Assistant Secretary shall submit copies of

22 the study required by this subparagraph to the

23 appropriate authorizing and appropriations

24 committees of the Congress.
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1 ‘‘(6) TRAINING AND TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE.—

2 The Assistant Secretary, acting through the Office

3 of Reform Assistance and Dissemination, shall—

4 ‘‘(A) provide such training and technical

5 assistance as may be necessary to enable the

6 contractors and grantees described in subpara7 graph (E) of paragraph (1) to participate in the

8 electronic network described in paragraph (1);

9 ‘‘(B) provide, through the regional labora10 tories and other means, technical assistance to

11 State education agencies in the development of

12 the electronic networking plans described in

13 subsection (h); and

14 ‘‘(C) work with the National Science Foun15 dation to provide, upon request, assistance to

16 State and local education agencies, State library

17 agencies, libraries, museums, and other edu18 cational institutions in obtaining access to the

19 Internet and the National Research and Edu20 cation Network.

21 ‘‘(i) ELECTRONIC NETWORKING AND RESOURCE22 SHARING FOR SCHOOL IMPROVEMENT.—

23 ‘‘(1) AUTHORITY FOR GRANTS.—The Assistant

24 Secretary is authorized, in accordance with the pro25 visions of this subsection, to make grants to State
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1 educational agencies for the purposes of expanding

2 and improving the use of electronic networking and

3 resource-sharing among educational institutions,

4 educators, school administrators, and parents

5 throughout the Nation. Such grants shall be used

6 to—

7 ‘‘(A) develop comprehensive plans to en8 able participation in electronic networking and

9 resource-sharing, as well as access to the

10 Smartline resources described in subsection (h),

11 by all educational institutions within the State

12 by the year 2000; and

13 ‘‘(B) carry out the provisions of such

14 plans, giving first priority to those activities

15 which are necessary to enable access and use of

16 electronic networking and resource-sharing by

17 local education agencies within the state which

18 have the greatest number or percentage of

19 chapter 1 eligible students.

20 ‘‘(2) CERTAIN REQUIREMENTS FOR PLANS.—

21 Each such plan shall—

22 ‘‘(A) provide for the development of an

23 electronic network to enable greater information

24 and resource-sharing among educational institu25 tions within the State which shall—
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1 ‘‘(i) to the extent feasible, build upon

2 existing electronic networks;

3 ‘‘(ii) be linked to and accessible to

4 other users through the Internet and the

5 National Research and Education Net6 work;

7 ‘‘(iii) enable networking among public

8 and school libraries and be consistent with

9 State plan for interlibrary cooperation and

10 resource-sharing under title III of the Li11 brary Services and Construction Act;

12 ‘‘(iv) be available to all educational in13 stitutions within the State by the year

14 2000; and

15 ‘‘(v) enable access to the network es16 tablished by the Assistant Secretary under

17 paragraph (1) of subsection (h) and the in18 formation resources made available

19 through such network;

20 ‘‘(B) be developed through a broadly

21 participatory process which shall include con22 sultation with technical experts, State and local

23 educational policymakers, teachers, librarians,

24 school administrators, parents, the business

25 community, representatives of institutions of
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1 higher education, and community-based organi2 zations;

3 ‘‘(C) identify potential uses for the net4 work and the information resources available

5 through such network by educational institu6 tions within the State, including how such re7 sources may be used to support learning in the

8 classroom;

9 ‘‘(D) establish standards and a governance

10 structure for such network;

11 ‘‘(E) identify professional development and

12 technical support activities necessary to ensure

13 that the personnel of educational institutions

14 within the State have the skills necessary to

15 participate fully and effectively in the electronic

16 network;

17 ‘‘(F) identify strategies and activities nec18 essary to promote use of and participating in

19 such network by parents;

20 ‘‘(G) set out a schedule for the implemen21 tation of the plan; and

22 ‘‘(H) estimate the costs of implementing

23 the plan and identify resources, including as24 sistance available through other Federal pro25 grams, to meet such costs.
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1 ‘‘(3) CONTINGENT AUTHORITY REGARDING IM2 PLEMENTATION.—If a State education agency al3 ready has a plan which meets the requirements of

4 paragraph (2), such State education agency may use

5 assistance provided under this subsection to support

6 the implementation of such plan.

7 ‘‘(4) AWARD OF GRANTS.—

8 ‘‘(A) Except as provided in subparagraph

9 (B), the Assistant Secretary shall award grants

10 under this subsection to each State having an

11 application approved under paragraph (5) in an

12 amount which bears the same relationship to

13 the amount appropriated to carry out this sub14 section as the amount such State received

15 under chapter 1 of title I of the Elementary

16 and Secondary Education Act of 1965 bears to

17 the amount received under such chapter by all

18 States.

19 ‘‘(B) No State shall receive a grant pursu20 ant to subparagraph (A) in an amount which is

21 less than $100,000.

22 ‘‘(5) APPLICATION FOR GRANT.—Each State

23 desiring a grant under this subsection shall submit

24 to the Assistant Secretary an application at such

25 time, in such manner, and accompanied by such in-
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1 formation as the Assistant Secretary may reasonably

2 require.

3 ‘‘(6) DURATION OF GRANT.—Grants awarded

4 under this subsection shall be for a period of 1 year,

5 which may be renewable for an additional 2 years.

6 ‘‘(7) DEFINITION.—For the purposes of this

7 subsection, the term ‘educational institution’ in8 cludes State and local education agencies, institu9 tions of higher education, libraries, museums, and

10 education-related private foundations, community11 based organizations which provide or support edu12 cational services, and education-related professional

13 associations.

14 ‘‘(j) REGIONAL EDUCATIONAL LABORATORIES.—

15 ‘‘(1) FINDINGS.—The Congress finds as fol16 lows:

17 ‘‘(A) Rural America contains more than

18 56,000,000 residents, making up 23 percent of

19 the Nation’s population. Increasingly, life in

20 many parts of rural America has become a

21 struggle for survival. The stark realities of pov22 erty, lack of jobs, isolation and scarce commu23 nity resources are challenging idyllic rural

24 myths. Rural schools, in many rural commu25 nities the center of rural community life and
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1 well-being, are facing neglect, constant budget

2 cutting, and community upheavals.

3 ‘‘(B) Rural America suffers from the high4 est unemployment rates in the United States,

5 and a rate of poverty that is growing twice as

6 fast as that found in metropolitan areas.

7 ‘‘(C) One in 4 rural children lives in pov8 erty compared to 1 in 5 children nationwide.

9 ‘‘(D) More than 6,600,000 students attend

10 22,412 rural schools, of which 75 percent have

11 fewer than 400 students.

12 ‘‘(E) Approximately 24 percent of Ameri13 ca’s public school teachers are employed in

14 rural schools. Teachers in these schools tend to

15 be mostly white, young, less experienced, and

16 less likely to have completed an advanced de17 gree compared to their counterparts in nonrural

18 areas.

19 ‘‘(F) Educators in rural settings often feel

20 isolated, constrained by small budgets, and

21 frustrated by high staff turnover. Geographi22 cally cut off from other educators and edu23 cational institutions, rural educators often miss

24 the professional interactions and development
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1 opportunities that help motivate and renew

2 their urban and suburban counterparts.

3 ‘‘(2) REGIONAL EDUCATIONAL LABORA4 TORIES.—The Secretary shall enter into contracts

5 with public or private nonprofit entities to establish

6 a networked system of 10 regional educational lab7 oratories which serve the needs of each region of the

8 Nation in accordance with the provisions of this sub9 section. For the purposes of this subsection, the

10 term ‘region’ means 1 of the 10 geographic regions

11 set forth in section 2(a) of part 707 of title 34, Code

12 of Federal Regulations (34 CFR 707.2(a)), as pub13 lished in number 157 of volume 53 of the Federal

14 Register on August 15, 1988.

15 ‘‘(3) DUTIES.—Each regional educational lab16 oratory receiving assistance under this subsection

17 shall assist State education agencies, intermediate

18 education agencies, and local school districts in im19 plementing broad-based, systemic school improve20 ment strategies through the use of applied research

21 and development activities. The regional educational

22 laboratories shall support such system-wide reform

23 efforts through—

24 ‘‘(A) the dissemination of information

25 about programs designated as exemplary and
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1 promising under subsection (C) and other ap2 propriate programs and practices;

3 ‘‘(B) the provision of support and technical

4 assistance in—

5 ‘‘(i) replicating and adapting such ex6 emplary and promising practices;

7 ‘‘(ii) the development of high-quality,

8 challenging curriculum frameworks;

9 ‘‘(iii) the development of valid, reli10 able, fair systems of assessment which are

11 based upon State or local curriculum

12 frameworks and reflect recent advances in

13 the field of educational assessment

14 ‘‘(iv) the improvement of professional

15 development strategies to assure that all

16 teachers are prepared to teach a challeng17 ing curriculum;

18 ‘‘(v) expanding and improving the use

19 of technology in education;

20 ‘‘(vi) the development of alternatives

21 for restructuring school finance systems to

22 promote greater equity in the distribution

23 of resources; and

24 ‘‘(vii) the development of alternative

25 administrative structures which are more
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1 conducive to planning, implementing, and

2 sustaining school reform and improved

3 educational outcomes;

4 ‘‘(C) the development of educational pro5 grams and practices that address State or re6 gional needs in relating to their school reform

7 efforts; and

8 ‘‘(D) the provision of support and technical

9 assistance (upon their request) to State

10 facilitators funded through the National Diffu11 sion Network.

12 ‘‘(4) NETWORKING.—In order to improve the

13 efficiency and effectiveness of the regional labora14 tories, the governing boards of the ten regional lab15 oratories shall establish and maintain a network

16 to—

17 ‘‘(A) share information about the activities

18 each is carrying out;

19 ‘‘(B) plan joint activities that would meet

20 the needs of multiple regions;

21 ‘‘(C) create a strategic plan for the devel22 opment of activities undertaken by the labora23 tories to reduce redundancy and increase col24 laboration and resource-sharing in such activi25 ties; and
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1 ‘‘(D) otherwise devise means by which the

2 work of the individual laboratories could serve

3 national, as well as regional, needs.

4 ‘‘(5) ADDITIONAL DUTIES.—Each regional edu5 cation laboratory receiving assistance under this sub6 section shall carry out the following activities:

7 ‘‘(A) Contribute to a fuller understanding

8 of rural education and schools in the economic

9 and cultural life of rural communities.

10 ‘‘(B) Develop strategies to utilize schools

11 as critical components in reforming education

12 and revitalizing rural communities in the Unit13 ed States.

14 ‘‘(C) Report and disseminate information

15 on overcoming the obstacles faced by rural edu16 cators and rural schools.

17 ‘‘(D) Identify successful educational pro18 grams that have either been developed by such

19 laboratory in carrying out its functions or that

20 have been developed or used by others within

21 the region served by the laboratory and make

22 such information available to the Secretary and

23 the network of regional laboratories so that

24 they may be considered for inclusion in the na-
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1 tional education development and dissemination

2 system.

3 ‘‘(6) CERTAIN REQUIREMENTS.—In carrying

4 out its responsibilities, each regional educational lab5 oratory shall—

6 ‘‘(A) establish a governing board that—

7 ‘‘(i) is the sole entity that—

8 ‘‘(I) guides and directs the lab9 oratory in carrying out the provisions

10 of this subsection and satisfying the

11 terms and conditions of the contract

12 award; and

13 ‘‘(II) determines the regional

14 agenda of the laboratory, consistent

15 with the priority research and devel16 opment needs identified in section

17 405(b)(3); and

18 ‘‘(ii) reflects a balanced representation

19 of the States in the region, as well as the

20 interests and concerns of regional constitu21 encies;

22 ‘‘(B) comply with the standards established

23 by the Board under section 405A;

24 ‘‘(C) coordinate its activities, collaborate,

25 and regularly exchange information with the in-
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1 stitutes established under section 405C, the Na2 tional Diffusion Network, and its Developer

3 Demonstrator and State Facilitator projects,

4 learning grant institutions and district edu5 cation agents assisted under subsection (i), the

6 ERIC Clearinghouses, and other entities en7 gages in technical assistance and dissemination

8 activities which are supported by other Offices

9 of the Department of Education; and

10 ‘‘(D) allocate its resources to and within

11 each State in a manner which reflects the need

12 for assistance, taking into account such factors

13 as the proportion of economically disadvantaged

14 students, the increased cost burden of service

15 delivery in areas of sparse populations, and any

16 special initiatives being undertaken by State,

17 intermediate, or local education agencies which

18 may require special assistance from the labora19 tory.

20 ‘‘(7) EVALUATIONS.—The Secretary shall pro21 vide for periodic, independent evaluations of each of

22 the laboratories in carrying out the duties described

23 in paragraph (2) in accordance with the standards

24 developed by the Board and transmit the results of

25 such evaluations to the relevant committees of the
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1 Congress, the Board, and the appropriate regional

2 educational laboratory board.

3 ‘‘(8) INVITATION REGARDING COMPETITION

4 FOR AWARDS OF ASSISTANCE.—Prior to awarding a

5 grant or entering into a contract under this section,

6 the Secretary shall invite applicants, including the

7 existing regional educational laboratories, to compete

8 for such award through notice in the Federal Reg9 ister.

10 ‘‘(9) APPLICATION FOR ASSISTANCE.—Each ap11 plication for assistance under this subsection shall—

12 ‘‘(A) cover a 5-year period;

13 ‘‘(B) describe how the applicant would

14 carry out the activities required by this sub15 section; and

16 ‘‘(C) contain such additional information

17 as the Secretary may reasonably require.

18 ‘‘(10) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.—No regional

19 educational laboratory receiving assistance under

20 this subsection shall, by reason of the receipt of that

21 assistance, be ineligible to receive any other assist22 ance from the Department as authorized by law.

23 ‘‘(k) AMERICA 2000 COMMUNITIES SPECIAL ASSIST24 ANCE PROGRAM.—
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1 ‘‘(1) PURPOSE.—The purpose of the American

2 2000 communities special assistance program is to

3 provide targeted field-based, technical assistance to

4 the Nation’s most impoverished urban and rural

5 communities to enable them to achieve the national

6 education goals and other objectives for educational

7 improvement through the continuous, intensified ap8 plication and utilization of the results of educational

9 research.

10 ‘‘(2) GRANTS FOR LEARNING GRANT INSTITU11 TIONS AND DISTRICT EDUCATION AGENTS.—The

12 Secretary is authorized to make grants in accord13 ance with this subsection to eligible entities for the

14 establishment of Learning Grant Institutions and

15 District Education Agents within eligible commu16 nities to administer the America 2000 communities

17 special assistance program.

18 ‘‘(3) DEFINITION OF ELIGIBLE ENTITY AND EL19 IGIBLE COMMUNITY.—For the purposes of this sub20 section:

21 ‘‘(A) The term ‘eligible entity’ includes any

22 institution of higher education, regional edu23 cation laboratory, National Diffusion Network

24 project, national research and development cen-
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1 ter, public or private nonprofit corporation, or

2 any consortium thereof that—

3 ‘‘(i) has demonstrated experience, ex4 pertise and commitment in serving the

5 educational needs of at-risk students; and

6 ‘‘(ii) is, by virtue of its previous activi7 ties, knowledgeable about the unique needs

8 and characteristics of the community to be

9 served.

10 ‘‘(B) The term ‘eligible community’ means

11 a unit of general purpose local government

12 (such as a city, township, or village), a

13 nonmetropolitan county, tribal village, or a geo14 graphically distinct area (such as a school dis15 trict, school attendance area, ward, precinct or

16 neighborhood), or any group of such entities

17 that—

18 ‘‘(i) has a population of not less than

19 200,000 and not more than 300,000; and

20 ‘‘(ii) is located within one of the 50

21 congressional districts with the lowest me22 dian family income as determined by pov23 erty indices established by 1990 United

24 States Census.
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1 ‘‘(4) COMPREHENSIVE AMERICA 2000 PLAN.—

2 Each Learning Grant Institution receiving assist3 ance under this subsection shall assist in the devel4 opment of a comprehensive America 2000 plan for

5 assuring educational success for all students in the

6 community. Each such plan shall—

7 ‘‘(A) adopt the 6 national educational

8 goals;

9 ‘‘(B) identify additional needs and goals

10 for educational improvement within the commu11 nity;

12 ‘‘(C) establish a comprehensive community13 wide plan for achieving such goals; and

14 ‘‘(D) develop a means for measuring the

15 progress of the community in meeting such

16 goals for improvement.

17 ‘‘(5) IMPLEMENTATION OF COMMUNITY-WIDE

18 PLAN.—Each learning grant institution receiving as19 sistance under this subsection shall, utilizing the

20 District Education Agent, provide assistance in im21 plementing the community-wide plan for educational

22 improvement by—

23 ‘‘(A) disseminating information throughout

24 the community about exemplary and promising
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1 educational programs, practices, products, and

2 policies;

3 ‘‘(B) assisting teachers, school administra4 tors, other educational personnel, parents and

5 others in—

6 ‘‘(i) tracking educational programs

7 within the community which receive Fed8 eral financial assistance and identifying

9 changes in such programs which are likely

10 to improve student achievement;

11 ‘‘(ii) identifying, selecting and rep12 licating exemplary and promising edu13 cational programs, practices, products, and

14 policies in both in and out-of-school set15 tings; and

16 ‘‘(iii) applying educational research to

17 solve specific problems in the classroom,

18 home and community which impede learn19 ing and student achievement;

20 ‘‘(C) promoting the development of an in21 tegrated system of service delivery to children

22 from birth through age 18 and their families by

23 facilitating linkages and cooperation among—

24 ‘‘(i) local education agencies;
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1 ‘‘(ii) health and social services agen2 cies and providers;

3 ‘‘(iii) juvenile justice and criminal jus4 tice agencies;

5 ‘‘(iv) providers of employment train6 ing; and

7 ‘‘(v) child care, Head Start, and other

8 early childhood agencies; and

9 ‘‘(D) mobilizing the resources of the com10 munity in support of student learning and high

11 achievement by facilitating effective partner12 ships and collaboration among—

13 ‘‘(i) local education agencies;

14 ‘‘(ii) postsecondary educational insti15 tutions;

16 ‘‘(iii) public libraries;

17 ‘‘(iv) parents;

18 ‘‘(v) community-based organizations,

19 neighborhood associations, and other civic

20 and community organizations;

21 ‘‘(vi) child care, Head Start, and

22 other early childhood agencies;

23 ‘‘(vii) churches, synagogues and other

24 religious institutions;

25 ‘‘(viii) labor organizations; and
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1 ‘‘(ix) business and industry.

2 ‘‘(6) ADDITIONAL REQUIREMENTS FOR LEARN3 ING GRANT INSTITUTIONS.—In carrying out its re4 sponsibilities under this subsection, each learning

5 grant institution receiving assistance under this sub6 section shall—

7 ‘‘(A) convene and regularly consult with an

8 advisory board that is broadly representative of

9 the community, including public and private ele10 mentary and secondary school teachers and ad11 ministrators, parents, librarians, college and

12 university faculty and administrators, Head

13 Start and child care agencies, labor, business,

14 local elected officials, and community leaders;

15 ‘‘(B) cooperate with the local education

16 agency and, to the extent appropriate, the State

17 education agency;

18 ‘‘(C) appoint a District Education Agent

19 who shall be responsible, on a full-time basis,

20 for directing the implementation of the commu21 nity-wide plan. Such individual shall have sig22 nificant experience and expertise in the field of

23 education in—

24 ‘‘(i) addressing the needs of at-risk

25 students; and
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1 ‘‘(ii) conducting educational research

2 and promoting the application of the re3 sults of such research to educational prac4 tice;

5 ‘‘(D) provide for such other professional

6 and support personnel as may be necessary to

7 implement the community-wide plan under the

8 direction of the District Education Agent; and

9 ‘‘(E) coordinate its activities and work co10 operatively with the National Diffusion Network

11 State facilitators, regional laboratories, and

12 other components of the Office to utilize most

13 effectively Federal research, development, and

14 dissemination resources in implementing the

15 community-wide plan.

16 ‘‘(7) APPLICATION FOR GRANTS.—Any eligible

17 entity desiring a grant under this subsection shall

18 submit an application to the Secretary at such time,

19 in such manner, and accompanied by such informa20 tion as the Secretary may reasonably require. Each

21 such application shall—

22 ‘‘(A) include a comprehensive plan for

23 meeting the objectives and requirements of this

24 subsection; and
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1 ‘‘(B) provide evidence of support for the

2 application from local elected officials, the State

3 education agency, the local education agency,

4 parents, local community leaders, businesses,

5 and other appropriate organizations.

6 ‘‘(8) PRIORITY IN MAKING GRANTS; DURATION

7 AND AMOUNT OF GRANT.—Each grant made under

8 this subsection shall be—

9 ‘‘(A) awarded on a competitive basis, with

10 first priority given to those applications from

11 communities within congressional districts with

12 the lowest median family income;

13 ‘‘(B) made for a 5-year period, with fund14 ing for the second and each successive year in

15 this period conditioned upon a determination by

16 the Secretary that the grant recipient has com17 plied with the conditions of the grants during

18 the previous year; and

19 ‘‘(C) an amount equal to not less than

20 $1,000,000 per year.

21 ‘‘(9) REQUIREMENT REGARDING CERTAIN CON22 GRESSIONAL DISTRICTS.—Not more and not less

23 than one grant shall be awarded within each of the

24 50 congressional districts with the lowest median

25 family income.
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1 ‘‘(10) CONTINGENT AUTHORITY REGARDING AP2 PLICATIONS FROM CHIEF STATE SCHOOL OFFI3 CER.—In the event that no eligible entity submits an

4 application to provide services under this subsection

5 to an eligible community within one year after ap6 propriations become available to fund such applica7 tion, the Secretary shall permit and encourage the

8 chief State school officer of the State in which the

9 eligible community is located to submit an applica10 tion under this subsection to provide services to such

11 community. Such application shall provide for the

12 carrying out of the program described in paragraphs

13 (4) through (6) by the State education agency in

14 conjunction with an eligible entity and shall other15 wise meet all the requirements of this subsection.

16 ‘‘(11) TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE; EVALUA17 TIONS.—In administering the program authorized

18 under this subsection, the Secretary shall, either di19 rectly or through grant or contract with an eligible

20 nonprofit agency—

21 ‘‘(A) upon request, provide technical assist22 ance to eligible entities to assist in the develop23 ment of a comprehensive plan to meet the re24 quirements of this subsection and in the prepa25 ration of applications for assistance;
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1 ‘‘(B) regularly provide technical assistance

2 to learning grant institutions receiving assist3 ance under this subsection to assist with the de4 velopment and implementation of the commu5 nity-wide plan for educational improvement;

6 ‘‘(C) provide for an independent evaluation

7 of the activities assisted under this subsection,

8 including—

9 ‘‘(i) the impact of the America 2000

10 communities special assistance program on

11 children and families within each commu12 nity, including (but not limited to) effects

13 on the extent of educational achievement,

14 rates of school retention and completion,

15 and enrollment in program postsecondary

16 educational programs; and

17 ‘‘(ii) whether an intensified effort to

18 apply and utilize educational research

19 within a limited geographic area signifi20 cantly improves student learning and

21 achievement; and

22 ‘‘(D) plan for the expansion of the America

23 2000 communities special assistance program

24 throughout the remainder of the Nation begin25 ning in fiscal year 1998.
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1 ‘‘(l) REGIONAL PARTNERSHIPS FOR TEACHER

2 CHANGE AGENTS.—

3 ‘‘(1) PROGRAM AUTHORIZED.—

4 ‘‘(A) The Assistant Secretary shall enter

5 into contracts with regional educational labora6 tories, in partnership with 1 or more institu7 tions of higher education in each State of its re8 gion, the National Diffusion Network, and

9 other entities with demonstrated experience, ex10 pertise, and commitment in the areas of teacher

11 research or teacher professional development,

12 such as the national research and development

13 centers, professional teacher organizations, and

14 other qualified organizations and associations,

15 in the region to carry out activities described in

16 paragraph (2).

17 ‘‘(B) The Assistant Secretary shall enter

18 into contracts under this subsection in an equi19 table manner and shall provide assistance on

20 the basis of the number of schools in each re21 gional educational laboratory region with atten22 tion given to populations with special needs and

23 the increased cost burden of service delivery in

24 regions of sparse population.
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1 ‘‘(C) Contracts under this subsection shall

2 be awarded for a period of not less than 3

3 years.

4 ‘‘(2) PROGRAM ACTIVITIES.—

5 ‘‘(A) Each regional partnership described

6 in paragraph (1)(A) entering into a contract

7 under this subsection shall carry out programs

8 of providing training to teachers relevant to the

9 needs and problems of the schools and school

10 districts where teachers, who participate in the

11 programs, serve. The purpose of such programs

12 shall be to—

13 ‘‘(i) educate teachers on how to ac14 quire information about education research

15 findings and best practices;

16 ‘‘(ii) provide teachers with current

17 education research and development the18 ory, skills, and practice as shall enable

19 them to modify, design, develop, and adapt

20 such findings and practices to effect local

21 district and classroom outcomes that im22 prove education;

23 ‘‘(iii) enable teachers to become ac24 tively involved in the applied research and

25 development process;
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1 ‘‘(iv) provide teachers the ability to

2 become leaders in the utilization of applied

3 research and to become active participants

4 in the Federal research and development

5 partnership; and

6 ‘‘(v) facilitate collaboration between

7 the teacher change agent and the National

8 Diffusion Network State facilitator.

9 ‘‘(B) Teachers that participate in training

10 assisted under this subsection shall be known as

11 ‘‘teacher change agents’’.

12 ‘‘(C) The program described in subpara13 graph (A) shall provide teacher change agents

14 with training during the summer and at such

15 other times as agreed to by the district, which

16 shall—

17 ‘‘(i) give teacher change agents knowl18 edge and guidance in using the existing

19 educational improvement services and re20 sources funded by the United States De21 partment of Education and other major re22 search organizations, including the prod23 ucts and work of the regional educational

24 laboratories, professional teacher organiza25 tions, the National Diffusion Network, in-
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1 stitutions of higher education, the Edu2 cational Research Information Centers,

3 National Research Centers, National Re4 search Institutes, State Departments of

5 Education, local education agencies, and

6 other nonprofit organizations participating

7 in the improvement of education;

8 ‘‘(ii) provide teacher change agents

9 with indepth knowledge about a number of

10 products, programs, and processes devel11 oped by entities described in clause (i) that

12 the teacher change agents judge most rel13 evant to the needs of the district or dis14 tricts they will serve;

15 ‘‘(iii) inform teacher change agents

16 about government programs, including, but

17 not limited, to programs in government

18 agencies other than the Department of

19 Education, which offer research opportuni20 ties and funding; and

21 ‘‘(iv) provide teacher change agents

22 with instruction in technical assistance

23 skills in order to increase their capacity to

24 aid district and school site teacher teams

25 responsible for leading school improvement
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1 activities at the district and school site

2 level.

3 ‘‘(D) The school year activities described

4 in subparagraph (A) shall provide teacher

5 change agents participating in such program

6 during the school year with—

7 ‘‘(i) opportunities to meet with other

8 teacher change agents to exchange experi9 ences;

10 ‘‘(ii) additional training or assistance

11 as needed or requested;

12 ‘‘(iii) updates in education research,

13 application, and findings; and

14 ‘‘(iv) opportunities to provide feedback

15 into the educational research infrastruc16 ture regarding needed research and ways

17 to improve the development and dissemina18 tion of information.

19 ‘‘(E) The regional partnership program

20 may support educational improvement and re21 form activities such as—

22 ‘‘(i) training in applied research meth23 odologies;

24 ‘‘(ii) assistance in conducting applied

25 research;
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1 ‘‘(iii) teacher research sabbaticals;

2 ‘‘(iv) video conferencing for additional

3 training in order to reduce travel time and

4 expenses;

5 ‘‘(v) training in developing and imple6 menting effective teacher in-service train7 ing;

8 ‘‘(vi) training in change management,

9 including strategies for restructuring

10 schools, building local capacity, and gen11 erally strengthening the culture of schools

12 so that schools are conducive and support13 ive of change, including training in inter14 personal and leadership skills; and

15 ‘‘(vii) training in the appropriate use

16 of technology to assist classroom teachers.

17 ‘‘(F) TEACHER RESPONSIBILITIES.—

18 Teacher change agents shall, during the school

19 year—

20 ‘‘(i) meet with other teachers and dis21 trict or school site teacher teams to provide

22 other teachers with knowledge about how

23 to acquire information regarding education

24 research findings and best practices, in25 cluding what resources are available from
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1 the Department of Education and how to

2 obtain products and technical services from

3 the Department;

4 ‘‘(ii) meet with the National Diffusion

5 Network State Facilitator to coordinate

6 and not duplicate efforts in the dissemina7 tion of exemplary educational programs;

8 ‘‘(iii) help interested schools identify

9 resources needed to address the school’s

10 needs and act as liaison between the school

11 and the appropriate resource entities, such

12 as regional educational laboratories, cen13 ters, national institutes, institutions of

14 higher education, professional teacher or15 ganizations, scholars, consultants, and

16 other schools and school districts that may

17 be of assistance;

18 ‘‘(iv) teach other teachers how to use

19 the products, programs, and processes in

20 which the teacher was trained pursuant to

21 paragraph (2)(C)(II);

22 ‘‘(v) work with other teachers and

23 teacher teams to adapt identified exem24 plary practices, programs, and research re25 sults to implement school site or classroom
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1 improvements as desired, and provide fol2 low-up activities throughout a 2-year pe3 riod to ensure the successful adaptation

4 and implementation of such programs in

5 local schools; and

6 ‘‘(vi) inform teachers about how they

7 can obtain Federal research funding, fel8 lowships, and sabbaticals.

9 ‘‘(G) APPLICATION.—

10 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—Each regional

11 partnership desiring a contract under this

12 subsection shall submit to the Secretary an

13 application at such time, in such manner,

14 and accompanied by such information as

15 the Assistant Secretary may reasonably re16 quire.

17 ‘‘(ii) CONTENTS.—Each application

18 described in clause (i) shall—

19 ‘‘(I) contain a plan acceptable to

20 affected States and local education

21 agencies for conducting the program

22 to be assisted under this section;

23 ‘‘(II) contain assurances that the

24 partnership requirements are fulfilled;
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1 ‘‘(III) contain assurances that

2 both district and school site teacher

3 teams will be established to work in

4 conjunction with the teacher change

5 agent;

6 ‘‘(IV) contain a plan for the se7 lection of district and school site

8 teacher team participants and others

9 as deemed appropriate by the teacher

10 change agent and the regional part11 nership;

12 ‘‘(V) contain assurances that the

13 regional partnership, in conjunction

14 with the participating school districts,

15 shall provide each teacher change

16 agent with a stipend for the entire

17 calendar year commensurate with

18 such teacher’s salary and travel ex19 penses, to permit a teacher to partici20 pate in such program without incur21 ring loss of income;

22 ‘‘(VI) contain assurances that

23 each teacher change agent participat24 ing in the program shall receive an

25 award of not more than $10,000 to be
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1 used by such teacher during the

2 school year of such teacher’s partici3 pation to purchase materials, support,

4 and coordinate with other teachers or

5 site teacher teams in the school dis6 trict;

7 ‘‘(VII) contain assurances that

8 such regional partnerships shall pro9 vide not more than $5,000 to each

10 school district or group of school dis11 tricts having an individual from such

12 district or districts participating in

13 the program assisted under this sec14 tion for each of the 2 years following

15 such participation to enable such

16 school district or districts to continue

17 efforts to improve dissemination of ef18 fective practices and programs within

19 the district or districts;

20 ‘‘(VIII) contain assurances that

21 representatives of State educational

22 agencies, intermediate educational

23 agencies, teacher centers, teacher edu24 cators at institutions of higher edu25 cation, and school district in-service or
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1 curriculum specialists will be eligible

2 to participate in the program assisted

3 under this section if such individuals

4 pay the cost of their participation;

5 and

6 ‘‘(IX) contain an assurance that

7 such regional partnership shall permit

8 a teacher to participate in the pro9 gram only after such partnership de10 termines that the teacher will be af11 forded a full opportunity by the dis12 trict to perform such teacher’s respon13 sibilities described in subparagraph

14 (2)(F).

15 ‘‘(3) TEACHER SELECTION AND ELIGIBILITY.—

16 ‘‘(A) NOMINATION.—Teacher participants

17 in the program assisted under this subsection

18 shall be nominated by their peers at the school

19 district level.

20 ‘‘(B) ELIGIBILITY.—Each school district

21 or group of school districts desiring to have

22 teachers from such district or districts partici23 pate in the program assisted under this sub24 section shall provide the regional partnership

25 with the names of such teachers, and an indica-
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1 tion of the type of issues or problems on which

2 each such teacher would like to receive informa3 tion and training.

4 ‘‘(C) SELECTION.—

5 ‘‘(i) Teacher participants shall be se6 lected by the regional partnerships in con7 sultation with the State educational agen8 cies in the region. Teacher participants

9 shall be selected in such a manner so as to

10 ensure an equitable representation of such

11 teachers by State within the region.

12 ‘‘(ii) The number of teachers selected

13 each year shall be determined in accord14 ance with the amount of funding received

15 by the regional partnership.

16 ‘‘(4) INDEPENDENT EVALUATION.—

17 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The Board shall pro18 vide for an independent evaluation of the pro19 gram assisted under this subsection to deter20 mine the net impact and cost effectiveness of

21 the program and the reactions of teachers and

22 school districts participating in such program.

23 ‘‘(B) DATE.—The evaluation described in

24 subparagraph (A) shall be submitted to the
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1 Congress within 6 months after the completion

2 of the third year of the program.

3 ‘‘(C) FUNDING.—The Assistant Secretary

4 may reserve not more than $250,000 of the

5 amount appropriated under section

6 405(i)(2)(E) to carry out the evaluation de7 scribed in this paragraph.’’.

8 TITLE V—NATIONAL LIBRARY OF

9 EDUCATION

10 SEC. 501. ESTABLISHMENT WITHIN OFFICE OF EDU11 CATIONAL RESEARCH AND IMPROVEMENT.

12 Part A of the General Education Provisions Act, as

13 amended by section 401 of this Act, is amended by insert14 ing after section 405C the following new section:

15 ‘‘NATIONAL LIBRARY OF EDUCATION

16 ‘‘SEC. 405D. (a) IN GENERAL.—There is established

17 within the Office a National Library of Education (here18 after in this section referred to as the ‘Library’), which

19 shall be maintained as a governmental activity. The Office

20 shall carry out this section acting through the Library.

21 ‘‘(b) FUNCTIONS OF LIBRARY.—The functions of the

22 Library are—

23 ‘‘(1) to provide a central location within the

24 Federal Government for information about edu25 cation;
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1 ‘‘(2) to provide comprehensive reference services

2 on matters related to education to employees of the

3 Department of Education and its contractors and

4 grantees, other Federal employees, and members of

5 the public; and

6 ‘‘(3) to promote greater cooperation and re7 source sharing among providers and repositories of

8 education information in the United States.

9 ‘‘(c) ONE-STOP INFORMATION AND REFERRAL SERV10 ICE.—The Library shall establish and maintain a central

11 information and referral service to respond to telephonic,

12 mail and electronic and other inquiries from the public

13 concerning—

14 ‘‘(1) programs and activities of the Department

15 of Education;

16 ‘‘(2) publications produced by the Department

17 of Education and, to the extent feasible, education

18 related publications produced by the Departments of

19 Labor, Health and Human Services, and other Fed20 eral agencies;

21 ‘‘(3) services and resources available to the pub22 lic through the Office, including the ERIC Clearing23 houses, the research institutes, and the national edu24 cation dissemination system;
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1 ‘‘(4) statistics and other information produced

2 by the National Center for Education Statistics; and

3 ‘‘(5) referrals to additional sources of informa4 tion and expertise about educational issues which

5 may be available through educational associations

6 and foundations, the private sector, colleges and uni7 versities, libraries and bibliographic databases.

8 The Library shall maintain and actively publicize a toll9 free telephone number through which public inquiries to

10 the Library may be made.

11 ‘‘(d) COMPREHENSIVE REFERENCE SERVICES.—The

12 Library shall provide for the delivery of a full range of

13 reference services on subjects related to education to em14 ployees of the Department and its contractors and grant15 ees, other Federal employees, and members of the general

16 public. Such services may include—

17 ‘‘(1) specialized subject searches;

18 ‘‘(2) search and retrieval of electronic

19 databases;

20 ‘‘(3) document delivery by mail and facsimile

21 transmission;

22 ‘‘(4) research counseling, bibliographic instruc23 tion, and other training services;

24 ‘‘(5) interlibrary loan services; and
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1 ‘‘(6) selective dissemination of information serv2 ices.

3 The Library shall first give priority in the provision of

4 reference services to requests made by employees of the

5 Department.

6 ‘‘(e) COOPERATION AND RESOURCE SHARING.—The

7 Library shall promote greater cooperation and resource

8 sharing among libraries and archives with significant col9 lections in the area of education through such means as—

10 ‘‘(1) the establishment of information and re11 source sharing networks among such entities;

12 ‘‘(2) the development of a national union list of

13 education journals held by education libraries

14 throughout the United States;

15 ‘‘(3) the development of directories and indexes

16 to textbook and other specialized collections held by

17 education libraries throughout the United States;

18 and

19 ‘‘(4) cooperative efforts to preserve, maintain

20 and promote access to items of special historical

21 value or interest.

22 ‘‘(f) ADMINISTRATION.—The Library shall be admin23 istered by an Executive Director who shall—
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1 ‘‘(1) be appointed by the Assistant Secretary

2 from among persons with significant training or ex3 perience in library and information science;

4 ‘‘(2) serve for a renewable term of 4 years; and

5 ‘‘(3) be paid at not less than the minimum rate

6 of basic pay payable for GS–15 of the General

7 Schedule.

8 ‘‘(g) TRANSFER OF FUNCTIONS.—There are hereby

9 transferred to the Library all functions of—

10 ‘‘(1) the Department of Education Research Li11 brary;

12 ‘‘(2) the Department of Education Reference

13 Section; and

14 ‘‘(3) the Department of Education Information

15 Branch.

16 ‘‘(h) COLLECTION DEVELOPMENT POLICY.—Not

17 later than 180 days after the enactment of the Edu18 cational Research, Development, and Dissemination Ex19 cellence Act, the Executive Director shall promulgate a

20 comprehensive collection development policy to govern the

21 Library’s operations, acquisitions, and services to users.

22 Such collection development policy shall—

23 ‘‘(1) be consistent with the functions of the Li24 brary set out in subsection (b);
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1 ‘‘(2) emphasize the acquisition and maintenance

2 of a comprehensive collection of reference materials;

3 and

4 ‘‘(3) avoid unnecessary duplication by putting a

5 priority on meeting the information needs of the Li6 brary’s users through cooperation and resource-shar7 ing with other entities with significant collections in

8 the field of education.

9 ‘‘(i) ARREARAGE AND PRESERVATION.—On the basis

10 of the collection development policy promulgated under

11 subsection (h), the Executive Director shall develop a

12 multiyear plan which shall set forth goals and priorities

13 for actions needed to—

14 ‘‘(1) eliminate within 3 years the arrearage of

15 uncataloged books and other materials in the Li16 brary’s collections; and

17 ‘‘(2) respond effectively and systematically to

18 the preservation needs of the Library’s collections,

19 relying, whenever possible, upon cooperative efforts

20 with other institutions to preserve and maintain the

21 usability of books and materials in the Library’s col22 lections.’’.
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1 TITLE VI—LEADERSHIP FOR

2 EDUCATIONAL TECHNOLOGY

3 SEC. 601. LEADERSHIP FOR EDUCATIONAL TECHNOLOGY.

4 The Secretary of Education shall promote and facili5 tate the expansion of an improvements in the use of tech6 nology in education throughout the Nation. In carrying

7 out such responsibility, the Secretary shall—

8 (1) designate a single official within the De9 partment who shall be responsible for coordinating

10 all activities of the Department and interagency ini11 tiatives which relate to the use of technology in edu12 cation;

13 (2) ensure that each program administered by

14 the Department incorporates the full and effective

15 use of technology to achieve its objectives;

16 (3) work with the Federal Communications

17 Commission, National Science Foundation, Depart18 ment of Commerce and other Federal, State, and

19 local government agencies to assure that national

20 telecommunication policies address the needs and

21 goals of educational agencies;

22 (4) work with the Department of Defense and

23 other Federal agencies to facilitate the adaptation

24 and transfer of education and training software de-
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1 veloped by such agencies for use by educational in2 stitutions throughout the Nation;

3 (5) support and encourage cooperative efforts

4 to develop compatibility and other technical stand5 ards for technology used by educational agencies

6 through the Federal Coordinating Council for

7 Science, Engineering and Technology and other

8 means;

9 (6) promote partnerships between business and

10 education which will expand and improve the use of

11 technology in education;

12 (7) assure that there are sufficient personnel

13 with the Department with expertise in the uses and

14 applications of technology in education;

15 (8) report biennially to the appropriate author16 izing committees of the Congress on the activities

17 undertaken in fulfilling the requirements of this

18 paragraph; and

19 (9) in consultation with the National Science

20 Foundation, the Department of Commerce, and

21 other agencies and utilizing the advice of nationally

22 recognized experts, recommend to the President and

23 the Congress a national educational technology pol24 icy which will maximize the most effective uses of
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1 educational technology to promote student learning

2 and school improvement.

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