I 

111TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 6563 

To establish a national leadership initiative to promote and coordinate knowledge utilization in education to increase student achievement consistent 

with the objectives of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act 

of 1965, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

DECEMBER 21, 2010 

Mr. HOLT introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee 

on Education and Labor 

A BILL 

To establish a national leadership initiative to promote and 

coordinate knowledge utilization in education to increase 

student achievement consistent with the objectives of the 

Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965, and 

for other purposes. 

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

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Knowledge and Inno5 vation for the Next Generation of Learning Act of 2010’’. 

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

7 The Congress finds the following: 


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1 (1) Historically, the United States has under2 invested in education research and development de3 spite evidence that scientifically validated innova4 tions in teaching and learning can result in signifi5 cant improvements in student achievement and suc6 cess. 

7 (2) When understood as systematic innovation, 

8 research and development can spur education im9 provement in scalable and sustainable ways. 

10 (3) Education research and development should 

11 be part of a strategy for innovation and ongoing im12 provement within individual classrooms, schools, and 

13 other learning environments, as well as within spe14 cialized research and development units. 

15 (4) The active involvement of teachers, prin16 cipals, local educational agency administrators, and 

17 State school officers in knowledge and innovation ac18 tivities is essential to the effective application of re19 search-based knowledge to policy and practice. 

20 (5) More instructional activities and practices 

21 supported by scientifically valid research need to be 

22 developed to meet the current and expected demands 

23 of educators in schools. 

24 (6) National leadership is needed to provide 

25 targeted initiatives, collaboration, and coordination 


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1 of innovative best practices in teaching and learning 

2 to ensure that classroom educators have access to, 

3 and effectively use practices supported by, scientif4 ically valid research. 

5 SEC. 3. PURPOSES. 

6 The purposes of this Act are to promote and coordi7 nate the use of research-based knowledge to assess, accel8 erate, expand, and sustain innovation to increase student 

9 achievement. To assist the Federal Government in achiev10 ing this purpose, this Act does the following: 

11 (1) Establishes the National Center for Knowl12 edge Use within the Institute of Education Sciences 

13 to administer knowledge use and innovation pro14 grams that develop and bring to scale successful 

15 educational practices that are based on scientifically 

16 valid research. 

17 (2) Creates a Developing What Works Venture 

18 Fund for the fast development of scientifically valid 

19 research innovations to solve persistent problems of 

20 instructional practice in schools. 

21 (3) Establishes and supports a National Knowl22 edge Officer Program of Chief Knowledge Officers to 

23 help schools collect, translate, and apply the best 

24 available empirical evidence for solving problems of 


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1 instructional practice to increase student achieve2 ment. 

3 (4) Creates the National Leadership Office for 

4 Research to Innovation to strengthen coordination 

5 across the Department of Education and other Fed6 eral departments and agencies to ensure that edu7 cational practices, policies, and investments based on 

8 scientifically valid research are brought to scale. 

9 SEC. 4. NATIONAL CENTER FOR KNOWLEDGE USE. 

10 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—The Secretary of Education 

11 shall establish a National Center for Knowledge Use with12 in the Institute of Education Sciences. 

13 (b) COMMISSIONER.—The National Center for 

14 Knowledge Use shall be headed by a Commissioner who 

15 shall have a high level of expertise in the use of knowledge 

16 to foster innovation, including promoting the effective im17 plementation of the results of research in the classroom 

18 and managing large institutions or consortia that conduct 

19 a broad array of research applications. The Commissioner 

20 shall be appointed by, and report to, the Director of the 

21 Institute of Education Sciences. The Commissioner is au22 thorized— 

23 (1) to select, appoint, and employ such officers 

24 and employees as may be necessary to carry out the 


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1 functions of the National Center for Knowledge Use; 

2 and 

3 (2) to disseminate widely information on sci4 entifically valid research, statistics, and evaluation 

5 on education to State educational agencies, local 

6 educational agencies, institutions of higher edu7 cation, the public, the media, voluntary organiza8 tions, professional associations, and other constitu9 encies, especially with respect to information relating 

10 to— 

11 (A) reading, mathematics, science, and for12 eign languages; 

13 (B) closing the achievement gap between 

14 high-performing students and low-performing 

15 students; 

16 (C) educational practices that improve aca17 demic achievement and promote learning; and 

18 (D) education technology, including soft19 ware. 

20 (c) OVERALL MISSION.—The Commissioner of the 

21 National Center for Knowledge Use shall foster and sup22 port the use and application of scientifically valid research 

23 to develop and disseminate innovative practices and poli24 cies— 


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1 (1) to promote quality and integrity through 

2 the use of accepted practices of scientific inquiry to 

3 obtain knowledge and understanding of the validity 

4 of education theories, practices, or conditions; 

5 (2) to promote scientifically valid research find6 ings that can be applied to improve academic in7 struction and lifelong learning; and 

8 (3) to provide to educational institutions tech9 nical assistance related to paragraphs (1) and (2). 

10 (d) SPECIFIC DUTIES.—The Commissioner of the 

11 National Center for Knowledge Use— 

12 (1) shall carry out sections 5 and 6; 

13 (2) shall administer the regional educational 

14 laboratories; 

15 (3) shall administer the National Library of 

16 Education (established in section 172(d) of the Edu17 cation Sciences Reform Act of 2002 (20 U.S.C. 

18 9562(d)); and 

19 (4) shall administer the Educational Resources 

20 Information Center Clearinghouses (established 

21 under section 941(f) of the Educational Research, 

22 Development, Dissemination, and Improvement Act 

23 of 1994 (20 U.S.C. 6041(f)). 

24 (e) GRANTS, CONTRACTS, AND COOPERATIVE

25 AGREEMENTS.—The Commissioner of the National CenVerDate Mar 15 2010 19:48 Dec 23, 2010 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H6563.IH H6563

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1 ter for Knowledge Use, directly or through grants, con2 tracts, or cooperative agreements— 

3 (1) shall promote the use of scientifically valid 

4 research to develop innovative solutions to persistent 

5 problems of instructional practice; 

6 (2) shall support and promote the effective co7 ordination of current federally supported educational 

8 research-based programs, including active participa9 tion in inter-agency or intra-agency research 

10 projects; and 

11 (3) shall promote the use and application of re12 search and development to improve instructional 

13 practice in the classroom. 

14 SEC. 5. DEVELOPING WHAT WORKS VENTURE FUND. 

15 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—The Commissioner of the Na16 tional Center for Knowledge Use shall establish a program 

17 to be known as the ‘‘Developing What Works Venture 

18 Fund’’ under which the Commissioner shall make competi19 tive grants to eligible entities that develop scientifically 

20 valid research to foster school improvement. The purpose 

21 of such grants shall be to develop, bring to scale, and dis22 seminate the use of scientifically valid research innova23 tions in education. 

24 (b) ELIGIBLE ENTITIES.—In this section, the term 

25 ‘‘eligible entity’’— 


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1 (1) means an organization, institution, agency, 

2 or institution of higher education (or partnership of 

3 such institutions) that has demonstrated expertise in 

4 the use of research-based knowledge to foster inno5 vation in education; and 

6 (2) includes existing federally supported knowl7 edge and innovation programs, such as regional edu8 cational laboratories, national research and develop9 ment centers, comprehensive centers and consortia, 

10 national clearinghouses, and other entities involved 

11 in research, development, dissemination, technical 

12 assistance, and evaluation. 

13 (c) USE OF FUNDS.—The Commissioner of the Na14 tional Center for Knowledge Use may not make a grant 

15 to an eligible entity under this section unless the entity 

16 agrees to use the grant for one or more of the following: 

17 (1) Developing innovative curricular and in18 structional tools using scientifically valid research 

19 for addressing persistent problems of practice in 

20 schools. 

21 (2) Targeting efforts to classroom educators 

22 working with subgroups whose test scores indicate 

23 that those subgroups need improvement under the 

24 adequate yearly progress calculation required by the 

25 Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965, 


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1 including economically disadvantaged students, stu2 dents from major racial and ethnic groups, students 

3 with disabilities, and students with limited English 

4 proficiency. 

5 (3) Supporting efforts to identify, develop, and 

6 disseminate promising practices in the implementa7 tion of education innovation that are supported by 

8 scientifically valid research, including those practices 

9 developed by the regional educational laboratories, 

10 national research and development centers, com11 prehensive centers and consortia, national clearing12 houses, and other entities involved in research, de13 velopment, dissemination, technical assistance, and 

14 evaluation related to instructional practice. 

15 (4) Promoting entrepreneurship to develop for 

16 consumers new solutions, innovations, and choices in 

17 education for consumers that are supported by sci18 entifically valid research. 

19 (5) Developing networked communities of 

20 knowledge for sharing and disseminating promising 

21 practices and innovations. 

22 (d) APPLICATIONS.—To seek a grant under this sec23 tion, an eligible entity shall submit to the Commissioner 

24 of the National Center for Knowledge Use an application 


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1 at such time and in such manner as the Commissioner 

2 may require. 

3 (e) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There 

4 are authorized to be appropriated to carry out this section 

5 $200,000,000 for fiscal year 2011 and such sums as may 

6 be necessary for each of the 4 succeeding fiscal years. 

7 SEC. 6. CHIEF KNOWLEDGE OFFICER PROGRAM. 

8 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—The Commissioner of the Na9 tional Center for Knowledge Use shall establish a program 

10 of multi-year grants to State educational agencies to es11 tablish a Chief Knowledge Officer Program. Award 

12 amounts under the program shall be determined based on 

13 the percentage of funds received by a State under part 

14 A of title I of the Elementary and Secondary Education 

15 Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 6311 et seq.). 

16 (b) MISSION.—The mission of the Chief Knowledge 

17 Officer Program shall be to enable local educational agen18 cies and schools to work in collaboration with entities 

19 knowledgeable about education research to address prob20 lems of instructional practice in chronically low-per21 forming schools. The program shall involve a corps of 

22 Chief Knowledge Officers, each of whom shall be employed 

23 by a State educational agency and whose duty it shall be 

24 to connect educators and administrators with high-quality, 

25 evidence-based, relevant solutions for the most critical 


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1 problems of practice in local educational agencies and 

2 chronically low-performing schools. The number of Chief 

3 Knowledge Officers per State may vary depending on the 

4 number of chronically low-performing schools served by 

5 the State educational agency. 

6 (c) DUTIES.—A Chief Knowledge Officer shall— 

7 (1) conduct analyses to better inform teachers 

8 and school administrators about the empirical evi9 dence available to solve problems of educational 

10 practice to increase student achievement; 

11 (2) research the problems of practice that pre12 vent students from passing State examinations and 

13 making academic progress that have been identified 

14 in the local educational agency at issue, using sci15 entifically validated research; 

16 (3) contribute as State education agency leader17 ship develops programs, policies, or strategies for 

18 using research on successful educational practices; 

19 (4) participate in a national network of Chief 

20 Knowledge Officers; 

21 (5) develop effective induction and ongoing pro22 fessional development experiences for teachers; 

23 (6) support innovations in curricula; 

24 (7) foster the effective use of technology-based 

25 applications in classrooms; 


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1 (8) contribute to professional performance as2 sessment systems that focus on the most important 

3 competencies for student success and provide useful 

4 feedback to facilitate instructional improvements; 

5 and 

6 (9) communicate complex research findings to 

7 an audience of non-specialists. 

8 (d) APPLICATIONS.—A State education agency desir9 ing to receive a grant under this section shall submit an 

10 application to the Commissioner at such a time, in such 

11 a manner, and containing such information as the Com12 missioner may require. Such an application shall include— 

13 (1) a list of the low-performing schools that will 

14 be targeted for support by means of services of Chief 

15 Knowledge Officers; 

16 (2) how Chief Knowledge Officers will be re17 cruited, selected, and trained; 

18 (3) a description of the nature of services to be 

19 provided in the designated schools, such as com20 bining resources into school support teams, and pro21 viding on-line ‘‘ask the expert’’ advice; 

22 (4) how the Chief Knowledge Officers will col23 laborate with local educational agencies and entities 

24 knowledgeable about education research; 


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1 (5) how the State education agency shall issue 

2 progress reports to the Department; and 

3 (6) how the State education agency shall evalu4 ate the effectiveness of the services provided. 

5 (e) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There 

6 are authorized to be appropriated to carry out this section 

7 $50,000,000 for fiscal year 2011 and such sums as may 

8 be necessary for each of the 4 succeeding fiscal years. 

9 SEC. 7. THE NATIONAL LEADERSHIP OFFICE FOR RE10 SEARCH TO INNOVATION. 

11 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—The Secretary shall establish 

12 in the Department of Education a National Leadership 

13 Office for Research to Innovation. 

14 (b) DIRECTOR.— 

15 (1) IN GENERAL.—The National Leadership 

16 Office for Research to Innovation shall be headed by 

17 a Director appointed by the Secretary. 

18 (2) EXPERTISE.—The Director shall be an ex19 pert in the effective use of scientifically valid re20 search, including— 

21 (A) promoting the effective implementation 

22 of the results of research in the classroom; and 

23 (B) managing large institutions or con24 sortia that conduct a broad array of research 

25 applications. 


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1 (3) OFFICERS AND EMPLOYEES.—The Director 

2 is authorized to select, appoint, and employ such of3 ficers and employees as may be necessary to carry 

4 out the functions of the National Leadership Office 

5 for Research to Innovation. 

6 (c) FUNCTIONS.—The Director of the National Lead7 ership Office for Research to Innovation— 

8 (1) shall ensure that educational practices, poli9 cies, and investments based on scientifically valid re10 search are brought to scale and fully coordinated 

11 across the Department and other Federal depart12 ment and agencies; 

13 (2) shall encourage the use of new technologies 

14 in appropriate research-based efforts in education; 

15 (3) shall support the effective coordination of 

16 current federally supported education research pro17 grams including the regional educational labora18 tories, the university-based research and develop19 ment centers, comprehensive assistance centers, na20 tional clearinghouses, and other entities involved in 

21 education-related research, information dissemina22 tion, and technical assistance; 

23 (4) shall submit to the Congress and the Sec24 retary a biennial report containing— 


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1 (A) an analysis of the state of knowledge 

2 and innovation in education practice; 

3 (B) an assessment of the efforts to in4 crease the use of education practices supported 

5 by scientifically valid research; and 

6 (C) recommendations for changes in poli7 cies to further promote progress in knowledge 

8 and innovation in education; and 

9 (5) shall promote coordination among Federal 

10 departments and agencies administering research11 based education programs and services by means of 

12 an inter-agency task force comprised of the following 

13 members: 

14 (A) Relevant assistant secretaries in the 

15 Department of Education. 

16 (B) The Director of the Institute of Edu17 cation Sciences. 

18 (C) The Commissioner of the National 

19 Center for Knowledge Use. 

20 (D) The Director of the National Science 

21 Foundation. 

22 (E) The Director of the National Institute 

23 for Child Health and Human Development. 

24 (F) Other members designated by the Sec25 retary. 


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1 SEC. 8. DEFINITIONS. 

2 In this Act: 

3 (1) CHIEF KNOWLEDGE OFFICER.—The term 

4 ‘‘Chief Knowledge Officer’’ means a professional 

5 who— 

6 (A) has— 

7 (i) previous teaching or research expe8 rience and an advanced degree with a con9 centration in research analysis or research 

10 design; 

11 (ii) prior experience in a State edu12 cational agency, local educational agency, 

13 school network, or state agency setting; or 

14 (iii) prior for-profit, non-profit, or 

15 public sector consulting experience; and 

16 (B) has— 

17 (i) a strong background in quan18 titative analysis; 

19 (ii) extensive experience in managing 

20 projects; 

21 (iii) excellent interpersonal skills; and 

22 (iv) the ability to communicate com23 plex research findings to an audience of 

24 non-specialists. 

25 (2) COMPREHENSIVE CENTER.—The term 

26 ‘‘comprehensive center’’ means an entity established 


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1 under section 203 of the Educational Technical As2 sistance Act of 2002 (20 U.S.C. 9602). 

3 (3) ENTITIES KNOWLEDGEABLE ABOUT EDU4 CATION RESEARCH.—The term ‘‘entities knowledge5 able about education research’’ means the following: 

6 (A) The Institute of Education Sciences. 

7 (B) National research and development 

8 centers. 

9 (C) Regional educational laboratories. 

10 (D) Comprehensive centers. 

11 (E) Other designated Federal, State, and 

12 local sources and providers of educational inno13 vation and improvement. 

14 (4) KNOWLEDGE USE.—The term ‘‘knowledge 

15 use’’— 

16 (A) means the interactive processes involv17 ing research, development, dissemination, tech18 nical assistance, and evaluation in which re19 search-based knowledge is applied to improving 

20 instructional practice; and 

21 (B) includes activities essential to school 

22 improvement, such as— 

23 (i) development and evaluation of 

24 practical applications of research, such as 


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1 procedures, policies, practices, programs, 

2 materials, and training; 

3 (ii) the use of research-based technical 

4 assistance and professional development 

5 for policymakers, practitioners, and other 

6 stakeholders; 

7 (iii) collection and dissemination of in8 formation, data, and statistics related to 

9 education and methods of instruction; 

10 (iv) initiatives for building linkages 

11 among research, policy, and practice in 

12 education; and 

13 (v) an infrastructure for increasing 

14 capacity for the use of instructional re15 search and its applications. 

16 (5) NATIONAL RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT

17 CENTER.—The term ‘‘national research and develop18 ment center’’ means a research and development 

19 center supported under section 133(c) of the Edu20 cational Sciences Reform Act of 2002 (20 U.S.C. 

21 9533(c)). 

22 (6) REGIONAL EDUCATIONAL LABORATORY.— 

23 The term ‘‘regional educational laboratory’’ means 

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1 cational Sciences Reform Act of 2002 (20 U.S.C. 

2 9564). 

3 (7) SCIENTIFICALLY VALID RESEARCH.—The 

4 term ‘‘scientifically valid research’’ has the meaning 

5 given such term in section 200 of the Higher Edu6 cation Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1021). 

7 (8) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means 

8 the Secretary of Education. 

Æ 


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