II 

Calendar No. 600 

113TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 4366 

[Report No. 113–275] 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

MAY 12, 2014 

Received; read twice and referred to the Committee on Health, Education, 

Labor, and Pensions 

NOVEMBER 17, 2014 

Reported by Mr. HARKIN, with an amendment 

[Strike out all after the enacting clause and insert the part printed in italic] 

AN ACT 

To strengthen the Federal education research system to 

make research and evaluations more timely and relevant 

to State and local needs in order to increase student 

achievement. 

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 ‘‘Strengthening Edu5 cation through Research Act’’. 


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1 SEC. 2. TABLE OF CONTENTS. 

Sec. 1. Short title. 

Sec. 2. Table of contents. 

TITLE I—EDUCATION SCIENCES REFORM 

Sec. 101. References. 

Sec. 102. Definitions. 

PART A—THE INSTITUTE OF EDUCATION SCIENCES

Sec. 111. Establishment. 

Sec. 112. Functions. 

Sec. 113. Delegation. 

Sec. 114. Office of the Director. 

Sec. 115. Priorities. 

Sec. 116. National Board for Education Sciences. 

Sec. 117. Commissioners of the National Education Centers. 

Sec. 118. Transparency. 

Sec. 119. Competitive awards. 

PART B—NATIONAL CENTER FOR EDUCATION RESEARCH

Sec. 131. Establishment. 

Sec. 132. Duties. 

Sec. 133. Standards for conduct and evaluation of research. 

PART C—NATIONAL CENTER FOR EDUCATION STATISTICS

Sec. 151. Establishment. 

Sec. 152. Duties. 

Sec. 153. Performance of duties. 

Sec. 154. Reports. 

Sec. 155. Dissemination. 

Sec. 156. Cooperative education statistics systems. 

PART D—NATIONAL CENTER FOR EDUCATION EVALUATION AND REGIONAL

ASSISTANCE

Sec. 171. Establishment. 

Sec. 172. Commissioner for Education Evaluation and Regional Assistance. 

Sec. 173. Evaluations. 

Sec. 174. Regional educational laboratories for research, development, dissemination, and evaluation. 

PART E—NATIONAL CENTER FOR SPECIAL EDUCATION RESEARCH

Sec. 175. Establishment. 

Sec. 176. Commissioner for Special Education Research. 

Sec. 177. Duties. 

PART F—GENERAL PROVISIONS

Sec. 182. Prohibitions. 

Sec. 183. Confidentiality. 

Sec. 184. Availability of data. 

Sec. 185. Performance management. 


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Sec. 186. Authority to publish. 

Sec. 187. Repeals. 

Sec. 188. Fellowships. 

Sec. 189. Authorization of appropriations. 

TITLE II—EDUCATIONAL TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE 

Sec. 201. References. 

Sec. 202. Definitions. 

Sec. 203. Comprehensive centers. 

Sec. 204. Evaluations. 

Sec. 205. Existing technical assistance providers. 

Sec. 206. Regional advisory committees. 

Sec. 207. Priorities. 

Sec. 208. Grant program for statewide longitudinal data systems. 

Sec. 209. Authorization of appropriations. 

TITLE III—NATIONAL ASSESSMENT OF EDUCATIONAL PROGRESS 

Sec. 301. References. 

Sec. 302. National assessment governing board. 

Sec. 303. National assessment of educational progress. 

Sec. 304. Definitions. 

Sec. 305. Authorization of appropriations. 

TITLE IV—EVALUATION PLAN 

Sec. 401. Research and evaluation. 

1 TITLE I—EDUCATION SCIENCES 

2 REFORM 

3 SEC. 101. REFERENCES. 

4 Except as otherwise expressly provided, whenever in 

5 this title an amendment or repeal is expressed in terms 

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

8 section or other provision of the Education Sciences Re9 form Act of 2002 (20 U.S.C. 9501 et seq.). 

10 SEC. 102. DEFINITIONS. 

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

12 (1) in paragraph (5), by striking ‘‘Affairs’’ and 

13 inserting ‘‘Education’’; 


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1 (2) in paragraph (10)— 

2 (A) by inserting ‘‘or other information, in 

3 a timely manner and’’ after ‘‘evaluations,’’; and 

4 (B) by inserting ‘‘school leaders,’’ after 

5 ‘‘teachers,’’; 

6 (3) in paragraph (12), by inserting ‘‘, school 

7 leaders,’’ after ‘‘teachers’’; 

8 (4) by striking paragraph (13); 

9 (5) by redesignating paragraphs (14) and (15) 

10 as paragraphs (13) and (14), respectively; 

11 (6) by inserting after paragraph (14), as so re12 designated, the following: 

13 ‘‘(15) MINORITY-SERVING INSTITUTION.—The 

14 term ‘minority-serving institution’ means an institu15 tion of higher education described in section 371(a) 

16 of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 

17 1067q(a)).’’; 

18 (7) by amending paragraph (18) to read as fol19 lows: 

20 ‘‘(18) PRINCIPLES OF SCIENTIFIC RESEARCH.— 

21 The term ‘principles of scientific research’ means 

22 principles of research that— 

23 ‘‘(A) apply rigorous, systematic, and objec24 tive methodology to obtain reliable and valid 


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1 knowledge relevant to education activities and 

2 programs; 

3 ‘‘(B) present findings and make claims 

4 that are appropriate to, and supported by, the 

5 methods that have been employed; and 

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

7 being conducted— 

8 ‘‘(i) use of systematic, empirical meth9 ods that draw on observation or experi10 ment; 

11 ‘‘(ii) use of data analyses that are 

12 adequate to support the general findings; 

13 ‘‘(iii) reliance on measurements or ob14 servational methods that provide reliable 

15 and generalizable findings; 

16 ‘‘(iv) strong claims of causal relation17 ships, only with research designs that 

18 eliminate plausible competing explanations 

19 for observed results, such as, but not lim20 ited to, random-assignment experiments; 

21 ‘‘(v) presentation of studies and meth22 ods in sufficient detail and clarity to allow 

23 for replication or, at a minimum, to offer 

24 the opportunity to build systematically on 

25 the findings of the research; 


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1 ‘‘(vi) acceptance by a peer-reviewed 

2 journal or critique by a panel of inde3 pendent experts through a comparably rig4 orous, objective, and scientific review; and 

5 ‘‘(vii) consistency of findings across 

6 multiple studies or sites to support the 

7 generality of results and conclusions.’’; 

8 (8) in paragraph (20), by striking ‘‘scientifically 

9 based research standards’’ and inserting ‘‘the prin10 ciples of scientific research’’; and 

11 (9) by adding at the end the following: 

12 ‘‘(24) SCHOOL LEADER.—The term ‘school 

13 leader’ means a principal, assistant principal, or 

14 other individual who is— 

15 ‘‘(A) an employee or officer of— 

16 ‘‘(i) an elementary school or sec17 ondary school; 

18 ‘‘(ii) a local educational agency serv19 ing an elementary school or secondary 

20 school; or 

21 ‘‘(iii) another entity operating the ele22 mentary school or secondary school; and 

23 ‘‘(B) responsible for the daily instructional 

24 leadership and managerial operations of the ele25 mentary school or secondary school.’’. 


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1 PART A—THE INSTITUTE OF EDUCATION 

2 SCIENCES 

3 SEC. 111. ESTABLISHMENT. 

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

5 (1) in subsection (b)(2)— 

6 (A) in the matter preceding subparagraph 

7 (A)— 

8 (i) by striking ‘‘and wide dissemina9 tion activities’’ and inserting ‘‘and, con10 sistent with section 114(j), wide dissemina11 tion and utilization activities’’; and 

12 (ii) by striking ‘‘(including in tech13 nology areas)’’; and 

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

15 ‘‘disability,’’ after ‘‘gender,’’. 

16 SEC. 112. FUNCTIONS. 

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

18 (1) in paragraph (1)— 

19 (A) by inserting ‘‘(including evaluations of 

20 impact and implementation)’’ after ‘‘education 

21 evaluation’’; and 

22 (B) by inserting before the semicolon the 

23 following ‘‘and utilization’’; and 

24 (2) in paragraph (2)— 

25 (A) by inserting ‘‘, consistent with section 

26 114(j),’’ after ‘‘disseminate’’; and 


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1 (B) by adding before the semicolon the fol2 lowing: ‘‘and scientifically valid education eval3 uations carried out under this title’’. 

4 SEC. 113. DELEGATION. 

5 Section 113 (20 U.S.C. 9513) is amended— 

6 (1) in subsection (a)— 

7 (A) by striking paragraph (1); 

8 (B) by redesignating paragraphs (2) 

9 through (5) as paragraphs (1) through (4), re10 spectively; and 

11 (C) in paragraph (2), as so redesignated, 

12 by striking ‘‘of the National Assessment of 

13 Educational Progress Authorization Act’’; 

14 (2) in subsection (b), by striking ‘‘Secretary 

15 may assign the Institute responsibility for admin16 istering’’ and inserting ‘‘Director may accept re17 quests from the Secretary for the Institute to admin18 ister’’; and 

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

20 ‘‘(c) CONTRACT ACQUISITION.—With respect to any 

21 contract entered into under this title, the Director shall 

22 be consulted— 

23 ‘‘(1) during the procurement process; and 

24 ‘‘(2) in the management of such contract’s per25 formance, which shall be consistent with the requireVerDate Sep 11 2014 22:57 Nov 17, 2014 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6401 E:\BILLS\H4366.RS H4366

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1 ments of the performance management system de2 scribed in section 185.’’. 

3 SEC. 114. OFFICE OF THE DIRECTOR. 

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

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

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

7 ‘‘The’’; 

8 (2) in subsection (b)— 

9 (A) in paragraph (1), by inserting before 

10 the period the following: ‘‘, except that if a suc11 cessor to the Director has not been appointed 

12 as of the date of expiration of the Director’s 

13 term, the Director may serve for an additional 

14 1-year period, beginning on the day after the 

15 date of expiration of the Director’s term, or 

16 until a successor has been appointed under sub17 section (a), whichever occurs first’’; 

18 (B) by amending paragraph (2) to read as 

19 follows: 

20 ‘‘(2) REAPPOINTMENT.—A Director may be re21 appointed under subsection (a) for one additional 

22 term.’’; and 

23 (C) in paragraph (3)— 


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1 (i) in the heading, by striking ‘‘SUB2 SEQUENT DIRECTORS’’ and inserting 

3 ‘‘RECOMMENDATIONS’’; and 

4 (ii) by striking ‘‘, other than a Direc5 tor appointed under paragraph (2)’’; 

6 (3) in subsection (f)— 

7 (A) in paragraph (3), by inserting before 

8 the period the following: ‘‘, and, as appropriate, 

9 with such research and activities carried out by 

10 public and private entities, to avoid duplicative 

11 or overlapping efforts’’; 

12 (B) in paragraph (4), by inserting ‘‘, and 

13 the use of evidence’’ after ‘‘statistics activities’’; 

14 (C) in paragraph (5)— 

15 (i) by inserting ‘‘and maintain’’ after 

16 ‘‘establish’’; and 

17 (ii) by inserting ‘‘and subsection (h)’’ 

18 after ‘‘section 116(b)(3)’’; 

19 (D) in paragraph (7), by inserting ‘‘dis20 ability,’’ after ‘‘gender,’’; 

21 (E) in paragraph (8), by striking ‘‘histori22 cally Black colleges or universities’’ and insert23 ing ‘‘minority-serving institutions’’; 

24 (F) by amending paragraph (9) to read as 

25 follows: 


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1 ‘‘(9) To coordinate with the Secretary to ensure 

2 that the results of the Institute’s work are coordi3 nated with, and utilized by, the Department’s tech4 nical assistance providers and dissemination net5 works.’’; 

6 (G) by striking paragraphs (10) and (11); 

7 (H) by redesignating paragraph (12) as 

8 paragraph (10); 

9 (4) by redesignating subsection (h) as sub10 section (i); 

11 (5) by inserting after subsection (g), the fol12 lowing: 

13 ‘‘(h) PEER-REVIEW SYSTEM.—The Director shall es14 tablish and maintain a peer-review system involving high15 ly-qualified individuals, including practitioners, as appro16 priate, with an in-depth knowledge of the subject to be 

17 investigated, for— 

18 ‘‘(1) reviewing and evaluating each application 

19 for a grant or cooperative agreement under this title 

20 that exceeds $100,000; and 

21 ‘‘(2) evaluating and assessing all reports and 

22 other products that exceed $100,000 to be published 

23 and publicly released by the Institute.’’; 

24 (6) in subsection (i), as so redesignated— 

25 (A) by striking ‘‘the products and’’; and 


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1 (B) by striking ‘‘certify that evidence2 based claims about those products and’’ and in3 serting ‘‘determine whether evidence-based 

4 claims in those’’; and 

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

6 ‘‘(j) RELEVANCE, DISSEMINATION, AND UTILIZA7 TION.—To ensure all activities authorized under this title 

8 are rigorous, relevant, and useful for researchers, policy9 makers, practitioners, and the public, the Director shall— 

10 ‘‘(1) ensure such activities address significant 

11 challenges faced by practitioners, and increase 

12 knowledge in the field of education; 

13 ‘‘(2) ensure that the information, products, and 

14 publications of the Institute are— 

15 ‘‘(A) prepared and widely disseminated— 

16 ‘‘(i) in a timely fashion; and 

17 ‘‘(ii) in forms that are understand18 able, easily accessible, and usable, or 

19 adaptable for use in, the improvement of 

20 educational practice; and 

21 ‘‘(B) widely disseminated through elec22 tronic transfer, and other means, such as post23 ing to the Institute’s website or other relevant 

24 place; 


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1 ‘‘(3) promote the utilization of the information, 

2 products, and publications of the Institute, including 

3 through the use of dissemination networks and tech4 nical assistance providers, within the Institute and 

5 the Department; and 

6 ‘‘(4) monitor and manage the performance of 

7 all activities authorized under this title in accord8 ance with section 185.’’. 

9 SEC. 115. PRIORITIES. 

10 Section 115 (20 U.S.C. 9515) is amended— 

11 (1) in subsection (a)— 

12 (A) in the matter preceding paragraph 

13 (1)— 

14 (i) by striking ‘‘(taking into consider15 ation long-term research and development 

16 on core issues conducted through the na17 tional research and development centers)’’ 

18 and inserting ‘‘at least once every 6 

19 years’’; and 

20 (ii) by striking ‘‘such as’’ and insert21 ing ‘‘including’’; 

22 (B) in paragraph (1)— 

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1 ity education, particularly’’ before ‘‘clos2 ing’’; 

3 (ii) by striking ‘‘especially achieve4 ment gaps between’’; 

5 (iii) by striking ‘‘nonminority chil6 dren’’ and inserting ‘‘nonminority children, 

7 disabled and nondisabled children,’’; 

8 (iv) by striking ‘‘and between dis9 advantaged’’ and inserting ‘‘and disadvan10 taged’’; 

11 (v) by striking ‘‘and’’ at the end; 

12 (C) by striking paragraph (2); and 

13 (D) by adding at the end the following: 

14 ‘‘(2) improving the quality of early childhood 

15 education; 

16 ‘‘(3) improving education in elementary and 

17 secondary schools, particularly among low-per18 forming students and schools; and 

19 ‘‘(4) improving access to, opportunities for, and 

20 completion of postsecondary education.’’; and 

21 (2) in subsection (d), by striking ‘‘by means of 

22 the Internet’’ and inserting ‘‘by electronic means 

23 such as posting in an easily accessible manner on 

24 the Institute’s website’’. 


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1 SEC. 116. NATIONAL BOARD FOR EDUCATION SCIENCES. 

2 Section 116 (20 U.S.C. 9516) is amended— 

3 (1) in subsection (b)— 

4 (A) in paragraph (2), by striking ‘‘to guide 

5 the work of the Institute’’ and inserting ‘‘, and 

6 to advise, and provide input to, the Director on 

7 the activities of the Institute on an ongoing 

8 basis’’; 

9 (B) in paragraph (3), by inserting ‘‘under 

10 section 114(h)’’ after ‘‘procedures’’; 

11 (C) in paragraph (8), by inserting ‘‘dis12 ability,’’ after ‘‘gender,’’ 

13 (D) in paragraph (9)— 

14 (i) by striking ‘‘To solicit’’ and insert15 ing ‘‘To ensure all activities of the Insti16 tute are relevant to education policy and 

17 practice by soliciting, on an ongoing 

18 basis,’’; and 

19 (ii) by striking ‘‘consistent with’’ and 

20 inserting ‘‘consistent with section 114(j) 

21 and’’; 

22 (E) in paragraph (11)— 

23 (i) by inserting ‘‘the Institute’s’’ after 

24 ‘‘enhance’’; and 

25 (ii) by striking ‘‘among other Federal 

26 and State research agencies’’ and inserting 


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1 ‘‘with public and private entities to im2 prove the work of the Institute’’; and 

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

4 ‘‘(13) To conduct the evaluations required 

5 under subsection (d).’’; 

6 (2) in subsection (c)— 

7 (A) in paragraph (2)— 

8 (i) by inserting ‘‘Board,’’ before ‘‘Na9 tional Academy’’; 

10 (ii) by striking ‘‘and the National 

11 Science Advisor’’ and inserting ‘‘the Na12 tional Science Advisor, and other entities 

13 and organizations that have knowledge of 

14 individuals who are highly-qualified to ap15 praise education research, statistics, eval16 uations, or development’’; 

17 (B) in paragraph (4)— 

18 (i) in subparagraph (A)— 

19 (I) in clause (i), by striking ‘‘, 

20 which may include those researchers 

21 recommended by the National Acad22 emy of Sciences’’; 

23 (II) by redesignating clause (ii) 

24 as clause (iii); 


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1 (III) by inserting after clause (i), 

2 the following: 

3 ‘‘(ii) Not fewer than 2 practitioners 

4 who are knowledgeable about the education 

5 needs of the United States, who may in6 clude school based professional educators, 

7 teachers, school leaders, local educational 

8 agency superintendents, and members of 

9 local boards of education or Bureau-funded 

10 school boards.’’; and 

11 (IV) in clause (iii), as so redesig12 nated— 

13 (aa) by striking ‘‘school14 based professional educators,’’; 

15 (bb) by striking ‘‘local edu16 cational agency superintend17 ents,’’; 

18 (cc) by striking ‘‘prin19 cipals,’’; 

20 (dd) by striking ‘‘or local’’; 

21 and 

22 (ee) by striking ‘‘or Bureau23 funded school boards’’; and 

24 (ii) in subparagraph (B)— 


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1 (I) in the matter preceding clause 

2 (i), by inserting ‘‘beginning on the 

3 date of appointment of the member,’’ 

4 after ‘‘4 years,’’; 

5 (II) by striking clause (i); 

6 (III) by redesignating clause (ii) 

7 as clause (i); 

8 (IV) in clause (i), as so redesig9 nated, by striking the period and in10 serting ‘‘; and’’; and 

11 (V) by adding at the end the fol12 lowing: 

13 ‘‘(ii) in a case in which a successor to 

14 a member has not been appointed as of the 

15 date of expiration of the member’s term, 

16 the member may serve for an additional 1- 

17 year period, beginning on the day after the 

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

19 until a successor has been appointed under 

20 paragraph (1), whichever occurs first.’’; 

21 (iii) by striking subparagraph (C); 

22 and 

23 (iv) by redesignating subparagraph 

24 (D) as subparagraph (C); 

25 (C) in paragraph (8)— 


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1 (i) by redesignating subparagraphs 

2 (A) through (E) as subparagraphs (B) 

3 through (F), respectively; 

4 (ii) by inserting before subparagraph 

5 (B), as so redesignated, the following: 

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

7 duties under section 116(b) and in accordance 

8 with the Federal Advisory Committee Act (5 

9 U.S.C. App.), the Board shall be independent of 

10 the Director and the other offices and officers 

11 of the Institute.’’; 

12 (iii) in subparagraph (B), as so redes13 ignated, by inserting before the period at 

14 the end the following: ‘‘for a term of not 

15 more than 6 years, and who may be re16 appointed by the Board for 1 additional 

17 term of not more than 6 years’’; and 

18 (iv) by adding at the end the fol19 lowing: 

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

21 establish standing or temporary subcommittees 

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

24 (3) by striking subsection (d); 


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1 (4) by redesignating subsection (e) as sub2 section (d); 

3 (5) in subsection (d), as so redesignated— 

4 (A) in the subsection heading, by striking 

5 ‘‘ANNUAL’’ and inserting ‘‘EVALUATION’’; 

6 (B) by striking ‘‘The Board’’ and inserting 

7 the following: 

8 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Board’’; 

9 (C) by striking ‘‘not later than July 1 of 

10 each year, a’’ and inserting ‘‘and make widely 

11 available to the public (including by electronic 

12 means such as posting in an easily accessible 

13 manner on the Institute’s website), a triennial’’; 

14 and 

15 (D) by adding at the end the following: 

16 ‘‘(2) REQUIREMENTS.—An evaluation report 

17 described in paragraph (1) shall include— 

18 ‘‘(A) subject to paragraph (3), an evalua19 tion of the activities authorized for each of the 

20 National Education Centers, which— 

21 ‘‘(i) uses the performance manage22 ment system described in section 185; and 

23 ‘‘(ii) is conducted by an independent 

24 entity; 


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1 ‘‘(B) a review of the Institute to ensure its 

2 work, consistent with the requirements of sec3 tion 114(j), is timely, rigorous, and relevant; 

4 ‘‘(C) any recommendations regarding ac5 tions that may be taken to enhance the ability 

6 of the Institute and the National Education 

7 Centers to carry out their priorities and mis8 sions; and 

9 ‘‘(D) a summary of the major research 

10 findings of the Institute and the activities car11 ried out under section 113(b) during the 3 pre12 ceding fiscal years. 

13 ‘‘(3) NATIONAL CENTER FOR EDUCATION EVAL14 UATION AND REGIONAL ASSISTANCE.—With respect 

15 to the National Center for Education Evaluation 

16 and Regional Assistance, an evaluation report de17 scribed in paragraph (1) shall contain— 

18 ‘‘(A) an evaluation described in paragraph 

19 (2)(A) of the activities authorized for such Cen20 ter, except for the regional educational labora21 tories established under section 174; and 

22 ‘‘(B) a summative or interim evaluation, 

23 whichever is most recent, for each such labora24 tory conducted under section 174(i) on or after 

25 the date of enactment of the Strengthening 


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1 Education through Research Act or, in a case 

2 in which such an evaluation is not available for 

3 a laboratory, the most recent evaluation for the 

4 laboratory conducted prior to the date of enact5 ment of the Strengthening Education through 

6 Research Act.’’; and 

7 (6) by striking subsection (f). 

8 SEC. 117. COMMISSIONERS OF THE NATIONAL EDUCATION 

9 CENTERS. 

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

11 (1) in subsection (a)— 

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

13 as provided in subsection (b), each’’ and insert14 ing ‘‘Each’’; 

15 (B) in paragraph (2)— 

16 (i) by striking ‘‘Except as provided in 

17 subsection (b), each’’ and inserting 

18 ‘‘Each’’; and 

19 (ii) by inserting ‘‘, statistics,’’ after 

20 ‘‘research’’; 

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

22 as provided in subsection (b), each’’ and insert23 ing ‘‘Each’’; 

24 (2) by striking subsection (b); 


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

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

3 (4) in subsection (c), as so redesignated, by 

4 striking ‘‘, except the Commissioner for Education 

5 Statistics,’’. 

6 SEC. 118. TRANSPARENCY. 

7 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 119 (20 U.S.C. 9519) is 

8 amended to read as follows: 

9 ‘‘SEC. 119. TRANSPARENCY. 

10 ‘‘Not later than 120 days after awarding a grant, 

11 contract, or cooperative agreement under this title in ex12 cess of $100,000, the Director shall make publicly avail13 able (including through electronic means such as posting 

14 in an easily accessible manner on the Institute’s website) 

15 a description of the grant, contract, or cooperative agree16 ment, including, at a minimum, the amount, duration, re17 cipient, and the purpose of the grant, contract, or coopera18 tive agreement.’’. 

19 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—The table of con20 tents in section 1 of the Act of November 5, 2002 (Public 

21 Law 107–279; 116 Stat. 1940) is amended by striking 

22 the item relating to section 119 and inserting the fol23 lowing: 

‘‘Sec. 119. Transparency.’’. 


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1 SEC. 119. COMPETITIVE AWARDS. 

2 Section 120 (20 U.S.C. 9520) is amended by striking 

3 ‘‘when practicable’’ and inserting ‘‘consistent with section 

4 114(h)’’. 

5 PART B—NATIONAL CENTER FOR EDUCATION 

6 RESEARCH 

7 SEC. 131. ESTABLISHMENT. 

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

9 (1) by amending paragraph (1) to read as fol10 lows: 

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

12 lead to the accumulation of knowledge and under13 standing of education, consistent with the priorities 

14 described in section 115;’’; 

15 (2) by striking ‘‘and’’ at the end of paragraph 

16 (3); 

17 (3) in paragraph (4), by striking the period and 

18 inserting ‘‘; and’’; and 

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

20 ‘‘(5) consistent with section 114(j), to widely 

21 disseminate and promote utilization of the work of 

22 the Research Center.’’. 

23 SEC. 132. DUTIES. 

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

25 (1) in subsection (a)— 


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1 (A) in paragraph (1), by striking ‘‘peer-re2 view standards and’’; 

3 (B) by striking paragraph (2); 

4 (C) by redesignating paragraph (3) as 

5 paragraph (2); 

6 (D) by striking paragraph (4); 

7 (E) by redesignating paragraphs (5) 

8 through (9) as paragraphs (3) through (7), re9 spectively; 

10 (F) in paragraph (3), as so redesignated, 

11 by inserting ‘‘in the implementation of pro12 grams carried out by the Department and other 

13 agencies’’ before ‘‘within the Federal Govern14 ment’’; 

15 (G) in paragraph (5), as so redesignated, 

16 by striking ‘‘disseminate, through the National 

17 Center for Education Evaluation and Regional 

18 Assistance,’’ and inserting ‘‘widely disseminate, 

19 consistent with section 114(j),’’; 

20 (H) in paragraph (6), as so redesignated— 

21 (i) by striking ‘‘Director’’ and insert22 ing ‘‘Board’’; and 

23 (ii) by striking ‘‘of a biennial report, 

24 as described in section 119’’ and inserting 


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1 ‘‘and dissemination of each evaluation re2 port under section 116(d)’’; 

3 (I) in paragraph (7), as so redesignated, 

4 by inserting ‘‘and which may include research 

5 on social and emotional learning,’’ after ‘‘gap,’’; 

6 (J) by inserting after paragraph (7), as so 

7 redesignated, the following: 

8 ‘‘(8) to the extent time and resources allow, 

9 when findings from previous research under this 

10 part provoke relevant follow up questions, carry out 

11 research initiatives on such follow up questions;’’; 

12 (K) by redesignating paragraphs (10) and 

13 (11) as paragraphs (9) and (10), respectively; 

14 (L) by amending paragraph (9), as so re15 designated, to read as follows: 

16 ‘‘(9) carry out research initiatives, including 

17 rigorous, peer-reviewed, large-scale, long-term, and 

18 broadly applicable empirical research, regarding the 

19 impact of technology on education, including online 

20 education and hybrid learning;’’; 

21 (M) in paragraph (10), as so redesignated, 

22 by striking the period and inserting ‘‘; and’’; 

23 and 

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


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1 ‘‘(11) to the extent feasible, carry out research 

2 on the quality of implementation of practices and 

3 strategies determined to be effective through sci4 entifically valid research.’’; 

5 (2) by amending subsection (b) to read as fol6 lows: 

7 ‘‘(b) PLAN.—The Research Commissioner shall pro8 pose to the Director and, subject to the approval of the 

9 Director, implement a research plan for the activities of 

10 the Research Center that— 

11 ‘‘(1) is consistent with the priorities and mis12 sion of the Institute and the mission of the Research 

13 Center described in section 131(b), and includes the 

14 activities described in subsection (a); 

15 ‘‘(2) is carried out and, as appropriate, updated 

16 and modified, including through the use of the re17 sults of the Research Center’s most recent evalua18 tion report under section 116(d); 

19 ‘‘(3) describes how the Research Center will use 

20 the performance management system described in 

21 section 185 to assess and improve the activities of 

22 the Center; 

23 ‘‘(4) meets the procedures for peer review es24 tablished and maintained by the Director under secVerDate Sep 11 2014 22:57 Nov 17, 2014 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00027 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6401 E:\BILLS\H4366.RS H4366

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1 tion 114(f)(5) and the standards of research de2 scribed in section 134; and 

3 ‘‘(5) includes both basic research and applied 

4 research, which shall include research conducted 

5 through field-initiated research and ongoing research 

6 initiatives.’’; 

7 (3) by redesignating subsection (c) as sub8 section (d); 

9 (4) by inserting after subsection (b), as so 

10 amended, the following: 

11 ‘‘(c) GRANTS, CONTRACTS, AND COOPERATIVE

12 AGREEMENTS.— 

13 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Research Commis14 sioner may award grants to, or enter into contracts 

15 or cooperative agreements, with eligible applicants to 

16 carry out research under subsection (a). 

17 ‘‘(2) ELIGIBILITY.—For purposes of this sub18 section, the term ‘eligible applicant’ means an appli19 cant that has the ability and capacity to conduct sci20 entifically valid research. 

21 ‘‘(3) APPLICATIONS.— 

22 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—An eligible applicant 

23 that wishes to receive a grant, or enter into a 

24 contract or cooperative agreement, under this 

25 section shall submit an application to the ReVerDate Sep 11 2014 22:57 Nov 17, 2014 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00028 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6401 E:\BILLS\H4366.RS H4366

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1 search Commissioner at such time, in such 

2 manner, and containing such information as the 

3 Research Commissioner may require. 

4 ‘‘(B) CONTENT.—An application submitted 

5 under subparagraph (A) shall describe how the 

6 eligible applicant will address and demonstrate 

7 progress on the requirements of the perform8 ance management system described in section 

9 185, with respect to the activities that will be 

10 carried out under the grant, contract, or coop11 erative agreement.’’; and 

12 (5) in subsection (d), as redesignated by para13 graph (3)— 

14 (A) by amending paragraph (1) to read as 

15 follows: 

16 ‘‘(1) SUPPORT.—In carrying out activities 

17 under subsection (a)(2), the Research Commissioner 

18 shall support national research and development cen19 ters that address topics of importance and relevance 

20 in the field of education across the country and are 

21 consistent with the Institute’s priorities under sec22 tion 115.’’; 

23 (B) by striking paragraphs (2), (3), and 

24 (5); 


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1 (C) by redesignating paragraphs (4), (6), 

2 and (7) as paragraph (2), (3), and (4), respec3 tively; 

4 (D) by amending paragraph (2), as so re5 designated— 

6 (i) in the matter preceding subpara7 graph (A), by striking ‘‘5 additional’’ and 

8 inserting ‘‘2 additional’’; 

9 (ii) in subparagraph (B), by striking 

10 the period and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and 

11 (iii) by adding at the end the fol12 lowing: 

13 ‘‘(C) demonstrates progress on the require14 ments of the performance management system 

15 described in section 185.’’; 

16 (E) in paragraph (3), as so redesignated, 

17 by striking ‘‘paragraphs (4) and (5)’’ and in18 serting ‘‘paragraph (2)’’; and 

19 (F) by amending paragraph (4), as so re20 designated, to read as follows: 

21 ‘‘(4) DISAGGREGATION.—To the extent feasible 

22 and when relevant to the research being conducted, 

23 research conducted under this subsection shall be 

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1 der, disability status, English learner status, and so2 cioeconomic background.’’. 

3 SEC. 133. STANDARDS FOR CONDUCT AND EVALUATION OF 

4 RESEARCH. 

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

6 (1) in subsection (a)— 

7 (A) in paragraph (1), by striking ‘‘based’’ 

8 and inserting ‘‘valid’’; and 

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

10 wide dissemination activities’’ and inserting 

11 ‘‘and, consistent with section 114(j), wide dis12 semination and utilization activities’’; 

13 (2) by striking subsection (b); and 

14 (3) by redesignating subsection (c) as sub15 section (b). 

16 PART C—NATIONAL CENTER FOR EDUCATION 

17 STATISTICS 

18 SEC. 151. ESTABLISHMENT. 

19 Section 151(b) (20 U.S.C. 9541(b)) is amended— 

20 (1) in paragraph (2), by inserting ‘‘and con21 sistent with the privacy protections under section 

22 183’’ after ‘‘manner’’; and 

23 (2) in paragraph (3)— 

24 (A) in subparagraph (A), by inserting ‘‘dis25 ability,’’ after ‘‘cultural,’’; and 


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1 (B) by amending subparagraph (B) to read 

2 as follows: 

3 ‘‘(B) consistent with section 114(j), is rel4 evant, timely, and widely disseminated.’’. 

5 SEC. 152. DUTIES. 

6 Section 153 (20 U.S.C. 9543) is amended— 

7 (1) in subsection (a)— 

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

9 by inserting ‘‘, consistent with the privacy pro10 tections under section 183,’’ after ‘‘Center 

11 shall’’; 

12 (B) in paragraph (1)— 

13 (i) by amending subparagraph (D) to 

14 read as follows: 

15 ‘‘(D) secondary school graduation and 

16 completion rates, including the four-year ad17 justed cohort graduation rate (as defined in sec18 tion 200.19(b)(1)(i)(A) of title 34, Code of Fed19 eral Regulations, as such section was in effect 

20 on November 28, 2008) and the extended-year 

21 adjusted cohort graduation rate (as defined in 

22 section 200.19(b)(1)(v)(A) of title 34, Code of 

23 Federal Regulations, as such section was in ef24 fect on November 28, 2008), and school drop25 out rates, and adult literacy;’’; 


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1 (ii) in subparagraph (E), by striking 

2 ‘‘and opportunity for,’’ and inserting ‘‘op3 portunity for, and completion of’’; 

4 (iii) by amending subparagraph (F) to 

5 read as follows: 

6 ‘‘(F) teaching, including information on 

7 pre-service preparation, professional develop8 ment, teacher distribution, and teacher and 

9 school leader evaluation;’’; 

10 (iv) in subparagraph (G), by inserting 

11 ‘‘and school leaders’’ before the semicolon; 

12 (v) in subparagraph (H), by inserting 

13 ‘‘, climate, and in- and out-of-school sus14 pensions and expulsions’’ before ‘‘, includ15 ing information regarding’’; 

16 (vi) by amending subparagraph (K) to 

17 read as follows: 

18 ‘‘(K) the access to, and use of, technology 

19 to improve elementary schools and secondary 

20 schools;’’; 

21 (vii) in subparagraph (L), by striking 

22 ‘‘and opportunity for,’’ and inserting ‘‘op23 portunity for, and quality of’’; 


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1 (viii) in subparagraph (M), by striking 

2 ‘‘such programs during school recesses’’ 

3 and inserting ‘‘summer school’’; and 

4 (ix) in subparagraph (N), by striking 

5 ‘‘vocational’’ and inserting ‘‘career’’; 

6 (C) in paragraph (3), by striking ‘‘when 

7 such disaggregated information will facilitate 

8 educational and policy decisionmaking’’ and in9 serting ‘‘so long as any reported information 

10 does not reveal individually identifiable informa11 tion’’; 

12 (D) in paragraph (4), by inserting before 

13 the semicolon the following: ‘‘, and the imple14 mentation (with the assistance of the Depart15 ment and other Federal officials who have stat16 utory authority to provide assistance on appli17 cable privacy laws, regulations, and policies) of 

18 appropriate privacy protections’’; 

19 (E) in paragraph (5), by striking ‘‘promote 

20 linkages across States,’’; 

21 (F) in paragraph (6)— 

22 (i) by striking ‘‘Third’’ and inserting 

23 ‘‘Trends in’’; and 


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1 (ii) by inserting ‘‘and the Program for 

2 International Student Assessment’’ after 

3 ‘‘Science Study’’; 

4 (G) in paragraph (7), by inserting before 

5 the semicolon the following: ‘‘, ensuring such 

6 collections protect student privacy consistent 

7 with section 183’’; 

8 (H) by amending paragraph (8) to read as 

9 follows: 

10 ‘‘(8) assisting the Board in the preparation and 

11 dissemination of each evaluation report under sec12 tion 116(d); and’’; and 

13 (I) by striking paragraph (9); 

14 (2) by redesignating subsection (b) as sub15 section (c); and 

16 (3) by inserting after subsection (a) the fol17 lowing: 

18 ‘‘(b) PLAN.—The Statistics Commissioner shall pro19 pose to the Director and, subject to the approval of the 

20 Director, implement a plan for activities of the Statistics 

21 Center that— 

22 ‘‘(1) is consistent with the priorities and mis23 sion of the Institute and the mission of the Statistics 

24 Center described in section 151(b); 


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1 ‘‘(2) is carried out and, as appropriate, updated 

2 and modified, including through the use of the re3 sults of the Statistic Center’s most recent evaluation 

4 report under section 116(d); and 

5 ‘‘(3) describes how the Statistics Center will use 

6 the performance management system described in 

7 section 185 to assess and improve the activities of 

8 the Center.’’. 

9 SEC. 153. PERFORMANCE OF DUTIES. 

10 Section 154 (20 U.S.C. 9544) is amended— 

11 (1) in subsection (a)— 

12 (A) by striking ‘‘In carrying’’ and inserting 

13 the following: 

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

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

16 ‘‘(2) ELIGIBILITY.—For purposes of this sec17 tion, the term ‘eligible applicant’ means an applicant 

18 that has the ability and capacity to carry out activi19 ties under this part. 

20 ‘‘(3) APPLICATIONS.— 

21 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—An eligible applicant 

22 that wishes to receive a grant, or enter into a 

23 contract or cooperative agreement, under this 

24 section shall submit an application to the Sta25 tistics Commissioner at such time, in such manVerDate Sep 11 2014 22:57 Nov 17, 2014 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00036 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6401 E:\BILLS\H4366.RS H4366

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1 ner, and containing such information as the 

2 Statistics Commissioner may require. 

3 ‘‘(B) CONTENTS.—An application sub4 mitted under subparagraph (A) shall describe 

5 how the eligible applicant will address and dem6 onstrate progress on the requirements of the 

7 performance management system described in 

8 section 185, with respect to the activities that 

9 will be carried out under the grant, contract, or 

10 cooperative agreement.’’; 

11 (2) in subsection (b)(2)(A), by striking ‘‘voca12 tional and’’ and inserting ‘‘career and technical edu13 cation programs,’’; and 

14 (3) in subsection (c), by striking ‘‘5 years’’ the 

15 second place it appears and inserting ‘‘2 years if the 

16 recipient demonstrates progress on the requirements 

17 of the performance management system described in 

18 section 185, with respect to the activities carried out 

19 under the grant, contract, or cooperative agreement 

20 received under this section’’. 

21 SEC. 154. REPORTS. 

22 Section 155 (20 U.S.C. 9545) is amended— 

23 (1) in subsection (a), by inserting ‘‘(consistent 

24 with section 114(h))’’ after ‘‘review’’; and 


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1 (2) in subsection (b), by striking ‘‘2003’’ and 

2 inserting ‘‘2015’’. 

3 SEC. 155. DISSEMINATION. 

4 Section 156 (20 U.S.C. 9546) is amended— 

5 (1) in subsection (c), by adding at the end the 

6 following: ‘‘Such projects shall adhere to student pri7 vacy requirements under section 183.’’; and 

8 (2) in subsection (e)— 

9 (A) in paragraph (1), by adding at the end 

10 the following: ‘‘Before receiving access to edu11 cational data under this paragraph, a Federal 

12 agency shall describe to the Statistics Center 

13 the specific research intent for use of the data, 

14 how access to the data may meet such research 

15 intent, and how the Federal agency will protect 

16 the confidentiality of the data consistent with 

17 the requirements of section 183.’’; 

18 (B) in paragraph (2)— 

19 (i) by inserting ‘‘and consistent with 

20 section 183’’ after ‘‘may prescribe’’; and 

21 (ii) by adding at the end the fol22 lowing: ‘‘Before receiving access to data 

23 under this paragraph, an interested party 

24 shall describe to the Statistics Center the 

25 specific research intent for use of the data, 


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1 how access to the data may meet such re2 search intent, and how the party will pro3 tect the confidentiality of the data con4 sistent with the requirements of section 

5 183.’’; and 

6 (C) by adding at the end the following: 

7 ‘‘(3) DENIAL AUTHORITY.—The Statistics Cen8 ter shall have the authority to deny any requests for 

9 access to data under paragraph (1) or (2) for any 

10 scientific deficiencies in the proposed research design 

11 or research intent for use of the data, or if the re12 quest would introduce risk of a privacy violation or 

13 misuse of data.’’. 

14 SEC. 156. COOPERATIVE EDUCATION STATISTICS SYSTEMS. 

15 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 157 (20 U.S.C. 9547) is 

16 amended— 

17 (1) in the heading, by striking ‘‘SYSTEMS’’ and 

18 inserting ‘‘PARTNERSHIPS’’; 

19 (2) by striking ‘‘national cooperative education 

20 statistics systems’’ and inserting ‘‘cooperative edu21 cation statistics partnerships’’; 

22 (3) by striking ‘‘producing and maintaining, 

23 with the cooperation’’ and inserting ‘‘reviewing and 

24 improving, with the voluntary participation’’; 


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1 (4) by striking ‘‘comparable and uniform’’ and 

2 inserting ‘‘data quality standards, which may include 

3 establishing voluntary guidelines to standardize’’; 

4 (5) by striking ‘‘adult education, and libraries,’’ 

5 and inserting ‘‘and adult education’’; and 

6 (6) by adding at the end the following: ‘‘No stu7 dent data shall be collected by the partnerships es8 tablished under this section, nor shall such partner9 ships establish a national student data system.’’. 

10 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—The table of con11 tents in section 1 of the Act of November 5, 2002 (Public 

12 Law 107–279; 116 Stat. 1940) is amended by striking 

13 the item relating to section 157 and inserting the fol14 lowing: 

‘‘Sec. 157. Cooperative education statistics partnerships.’’. 

15 PART D—NATIONAL CENTER FOR EDUCATION 

16 EVALUATION AND REGIONAL ASSISTANCE 

17 SEC. 171. ESTABLISHMENT. 

18 Section 171 (20 U.S.C. 9561) is amended— 

19 (1) in subsection (b)— 

20 (A) by striking paragraph (1); 

21 (B) by redesignating paragraphs (2), (3), 

22 and (4) as paragraphs (1), (2), and (3), respec23 tively; 

24 (C) in paragraph (1), as so redesignated, 

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1 lows through ‘‘science)’’ and inserting ‘‘and to 

2 evaluate the implementation of such programs’’; 

3 (D) in paragraph (2), as so redesignated, 

4 by striking ‘‘and wide dissemination of results 

5 of’’ and inserting ‘‘and, consistent with section 

6 114(j), the wide dissemination and utilization of 

7 results of all’’; and 

8 (2) by striking subsection (c). 

9 SEC. 172. COMMISSIONER FOR EDUCATION EVALUATION 

10 AND REGIONAL ASSISTANCE. 

11 Section 172 (20 U.S.C. 9562) is amended— 

12 (1) in subsection (a)— 

13 (A) by amending paragraph (2) to read as 

14 follows: 

15 ‘‘(2) widely disseminate, consistent with section 

16 114(j), all information on scientifically valid research 

17 and statistics supported by the Institute and all sci18 entifically valid education evaluations supported by 

19 the Institute, particularly to State educational agen20 cies and local educational agencies, to institutions of 

21 higher education, to the public, the media, voluntary 

22 organizations, professional associations, and other 

23 constituencies, especially with respect to the prior24 ities described in section 115;’’; 


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1 (B) in paragraph (3), by inserting ‘‘, con2 sistent with section 114(j)’’ after ‘‘timely, and 

3 efficient manner’’; 

4 (C) in paragraph (4)— 

5 (i) by striking ‘‘development and dis6 semination’’ and inserting ‘‘development, 

7 dissemination, and utilization’’; and 

8 (ii) by striking ‘‘the provision of tech9 nical assistance,’’; 

10 (D) in paragraph (5), by inserting ‘‘and’’ 

11 after the semicolon; 

12 (E) in paragraph (6)— 

13 (i) by striking ‘‘Director’’ and insert14 ing ‘‘Board’’; 

15 (ii) by striking ‘‘preparation of a bien16 nial report’’ and inserting ‘‘preparation 

17 and dissemination of each evaluation re18 port’’; and 

19 (iii) by striking ‘‘119; and’’ and in20 serting ‘‘116(d).’’; 

21 (F) by striking paragraph (7); 

22 (2) in subsection (b)(1)— 

23 (A) by inserting ‘‘all’’ before ‘‘information 

24 disseminated’’; and 


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1 (B) by striking ‘‘, which may include’’ and 

2 all that follows through ‘‘of this Act)’’; 

3 (3) by striking subsection (c) and redesignating 

4 subsection (d) as subsection (e); and 

5 (4) by inserting after subsection (b) the fol6 lowing: 

7 ‘‘(c) PLAN.—The Evaluation and Regional Assistance 

8 Commissioner shall propose to the Director and, subject 

9 to the approval of the Director, implement a plan for the 

10 activities of the National Center for Education Evaluation 

11 and Regional Assistance that— 

12 ‘‘(1) is consistent with the priorities and mis13 sion of the Institute and the mission of the Center 

14 described in section 171(b); 

15 ‘‘(2) is carried out and, as appropriate, updated 

16 and modified, including through the use of the re17 sults of the Center’s most recent evaluation report 

18 under section 116(d); and 

19 ‘‘(3) describes how the Center will use the per20 formance management system described in section 

21 185 to assess and improve the activities of the Cen22 ter. 

23 ‘‘(d) GRANTS, CONTRACTS, AND COOPERATIVE

24 AGREEMENTS.— 


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1 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—In carrying out the duties 

2 under this part, the Evaluation and Regional Assist3 ance Commissioner may— 

4 ‘‘(A) award grants, contracts, or coopera5 tive agreements to eligible applicants to carry 

6 out the activities under this part; and 

7 ‘‘(B) provide technical assistance. 

8 ‘‘(2) ELIGIBILITY.—For purposes of this sec9 tion, the term ‘eligible applicant’ means an applicant 

10 that has the ability and capacity to carry out activi11 ties under this part. 

12 ‘‘(3) ENTITIES TO CONDUCT EVALUATIONS.—In 

13 awarding grants, contracts, or cooperative agree14 ments under paragraph (1) to carry out activities 

15 under section 173, the Evaluation and Regional As16 sistance Commissioner shall make such awards to el17 igible applicants with the ability and capacity to con18 duct scientifically valid education evaluations. 

19 ‘‘(4) APPLICATIONS.— 

20 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—An eligible applicant 

21 that wishes to receive a grant, contract, or co22 operative agreement under paragraph (1) shall 

23 submit an application to the Evaluation and 

24 Regional Assistance Commissioner at such time, 


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1 in such manner, and containing such informa2 tion as the Commissioner may require. 

3 ‘‘(B) CONTENTS.—An application sub4 mitted under subparagraph (A) shall describe 

5 how the eligible applicant will address and dem6 onstrate progress on the requirements of the 

7 performance management system described in 

8 section 185, with respect to the activities car9 ried out under such grant, contract, or coopera10 tive agreement. 

11 ‘‘(5) DURATION.—Notwithstanding any other 

12 provision of law, the grants, contracts, and coopera13 tive agreements under paragraph (1) may be award14 ed, on a competitive basis, for a period of not more 

15 than 5 years, and may be renewed at the discretion 

16 of the Evaluation and Regional Assistance Commis17 sioner for an additional period of not more than 2 

18 years if the recipient demonstrates progress on the 

19 requirements of the performance management sys20 tem described in section 185, with respect to the ac21 tivities carried out under the grant, contract, or co22 operative agreement.’’; 

23 (5) in subsection (e), as so redesignated— 

24 (A) in paragraph (1), by striking ‘‘There is 

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1 gional Assistance’’ and inserting ‘‘The Evalua2 tion and Regional Assistance Commissioner 

3 may establish’’; 

4 (B) in paragraph (2)(A), by inserting ‘‘all’’ 

5 before ‘‘products’’; and 

6 (C) in paragraph (2)(B)(ii), by striking 

7 ‘‘2002’’ and all that follows through the period 

8 and inserting ‘‘2002.’’. 

9 SEC. 173. EVALUATIONS. 

10 Section 173 (20 U.S.C. 9563) is amended— 

11 (1) in subsection (a)— 

12 (A) in paragraph (1)— 

13 (i) in the matter preceding subpara14 graph (A), by striking ‘‘may’’ and inserting 

15 ‘‘shall’’; 

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

17 ‘‘evaluations’’ and inserting ‘‘high-quality 

18 evaluations, including impact evaluations 

19 that use rigorous methodologies that per20 mit the strongest possible causal infer21 ences,’’; 

22 (iii) in subparagraph (B), by inserting 

23 before the semicolon at the end the fol24 lowing: ‘‘, including programs under part 

25 A of such title (20 U.S.C. 6311 et seq.)’’; 


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1 (iv) by striking subparagraph (C) and 

2 redesignating subparagraph (D) as sub3 paragraph (C); 

4 (v) by striking subparagraphs (E) and 

5 (G), and redesignating subparagraph (F) 

6 as subparagraph (D); 

7 (vi) in subparagraph (D), as so redes8 ignated, by striking ‘‘and’’ at the end; and 

9 (vii) by inserting after subparagraph 

10 (D), as so redesignated, the following: 

11 ‘‘(E) provide evaluation findings in an un12 derstandable, easily accessible, and usable for13 mat to support program improvement; 

14 ‘‘(F) support the evaluation activities de15 scribed in section 401 of the Strengthening 

16 Education through Research Act that are car17 ried about by the Director; and 

18 ‘‘(G) to the extent feasible— 

19 ‘‘(i) examine evaluations conducted or 

20 supported by others to determine the qual21 ity and relevance of the evidence of effec22 tiveness generated by those evaluations, 

23 with the approval of the Director; 

24 ‘‘(ii) review and supplement Federal 

25 education program evaluations, particularly 


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1 such evaluations by the Department, to de2 termine or enhance the quality and rel3 evance of the evidence generated by those 

4 evaluations; 

5 ‘‘(iii) conduct implementation evalua6 tions that promote continuous improve7 ment and inform policymaking; 

8 ‘‘(iv) evaluate the short- and long9 term effects and cost efficiencies across 

10 programs assisted or authorized under 

11 Federal law and administrated by the De12 partment; and 

13 ‘‘(v) synthesize the results of evalua14 tion studies for and across Federal edu15 cation programs, policies, and practices.’’; 

16 and 

17 (B) in paragraph (2)— 

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

19 ‘‘and’’ at the end; 

20 (ii) in subparagraph (B), by striking 

21 the period and inserting ‘‘under section 

22 114(h); and’’; and 

23 (iii) by adding at the end the fol24 lowing: 


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1 ‘‘(C) be widely disseminated, consistent 

2 with section 114(j).’’; and 

3 (2) in subsection (b), by striking ‘‘contracts’’ 

4 and inserting ‘‘grants, contracts, or cooperative 

5 agreements’’. 

6 SEC. 174. REGIONAL EDUCATIONAL LABORATORIES FOR 

7 RESEARCH, DEVELOPMENT, DISSEMINATION, 

8 AND EVALUATION. 

9 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 174 (20 U.S.C. 9564) is 

10 amended— 

11 (1) in the section heading by striking ‘‘TECH12 NICAL ASSISTANCE’’ and inserting ‘‘EVALUA13 TION’’; 

14 (2) in subsection (a)— 

15 (A) by striking ‘‘Director’’ and inserting 

16 ‘‘Evaluation and Regional Assistance Commis17 sioner’’; 

18 (B) by striking ‘‘contracts’’ and inserting 

19 ‘‘grants, contracts, or cooperative agreements’’; 

20 and 

21 (C) by inserting ‘‘not more than’’ before 

22 ‘‘10 regional’’; 

23 (3) in subsection (c)— 

24 (A) by striking ‘‘The Director’’ and insert25 ing the following: 


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1 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Evaluation and Re2 gional Assistance Commissioner’’; 

3 (B) by striking ‘‘contracts under this sec4 tion with research organizations, institutions, 

5 agencies, institutions of higher education,’’ and 

6 inserting ‘‘grants, contracts, or cooperative 

7 agreements under this section with public or 

8 private, nonprofit or for-profit research organi9 zations, other organizations, or institutions of 

10 higher education,’’; 

11 (C) by striking ‘‘or individuals,’’; 

12 (D) by striking ‘‘, including regional enti13 ties’’ and all that follows through ‘‘107–110))’’; 

14 and 

15 (E) by adding at the end the following: 

16 ‘‘(2) DEFINITION.—For purposes of this sec17 tion, the term ‘eligible applicant’ means an entity 

18 described in paragraph (1).’’; 

19 (4) by striking subsections (d) through (j) and 

20 inserting the following: 

21 ‘‘(d) APPLICATIONS.— 

22 ‘‘(1) SUBMISSION.— 

23 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Each eligible appli24 cant desiring a contract grant, contract, or co25 operative agreement under this section shall 


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1 submit an application at such time, in such 

2 manner, and containing such information as the 

3 Evaluation and Regional Assistance Commis4 sioner may reasonably require. 

5 ‘‘(B) INPUT.—To ensure that applications 

6 submitted under this paragraph are reflective of 

7 the needs of the regions to be served, each eligi8 ble applicant submitting such an application 

9 shall seek input from State educational agencies 

10 and local educational agencies in the region 

11 that the award will serve, and other individuals 

12 with knowledge of the region’s needs. Such indi13 viduals may include members of the regional 

14 advisory committee for the region under section 

15 206(a). 

16 ‘‘(2) PLAN.— 

17 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Each application sub18 mitted under paragraph (1) shall contain a plan 

19 for the activities of the regional educational lab20 oratory to be established under this section, 

21 which shall be updated, modified, and improved, 

22 as appropriate, on an ongoing basis, including 

23 by using the results of the laboratory’s interim 

24 evaluation under subsection (i)(3). 


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1 ‘‘(B) CONTENTS.—A plan described in 

2 subparagraph (A) shall address— 

3 ‘‘(i) the priorities for applied research, 

4 development, evaluations, and wide dis5 semination established under section 207; 

6 ‘‘(ii) the needs of State educational 

7 agencies and local educational agencies, on 

8 an ongoing basis, using available State and 

9 local data, including the relevant results of 

10 the region’s assessment under section 

11 206(e); and 

12 ‘‘(iii) if available, demonstrated sup13 port from State educational agencies and 

14 local educational agencies in the region, 

15 such as letters of support or signed memo16 randa of understanding. 

17 ‘‘(3) NON-FEDERAL SUPPORT.—In conducting a 

18 competition for grants, contracts, or cooperative 

19 agreements under subsection (a), the Evaluation and 

20 Regional Assistance Commissioner shall give priority 

21 to eligible applicants that will provide a portion of 

22 non-Federal funds to maximize support for activities 

23 of the regional educational laboratories to be estab24 lished under this section. 


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1 ‘‘(e) AWARDING GRANTS, CONTRACTS, OR COOPERA2 TIVE AGREEMENTS.— 

3 ‘‘(1) ASSURANCES.—In awarding grants, con4 tracts, or cooperative agreements under this section, 

5 the Evaluation and Regional Assistance Commis6 sioner shall— 

7 ‘‘(A) make such an award for not more 

8 than a 5-year period; 

9 ‘‘(B) ensure that regional educational lab10 oratories established under this section have 

11 strong and effective governance, organization, 

12 management, and administration, and employ 

13 qualified staff; and 

14 ‘‘(C) ensure that each such laboratory has 

15 the flexibility to respond in a timely fashion to 

16 the needs of the laboratory’s region, includ17 ing— 

18 ‘‘(i) through using the results of the 

19 laboratory’s interim evaluation under sub20 section (i)(3) to improve and modify the 

21 activities of the laboratory before the end 

22 of the award period; and 

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1 propriate, to increase the relevance and 

2 usefulness of the research. 

3 ‘‘(2) COORDINATION.—To ensure coordination 

4 and prevent unnecessary duplication of activities 

5 among the regions, the Evaluation and Regional As6 sistance Commissioner shall— 

7 ‘‘(A) share information about the activities 

8 of each regional educational laboratory with 

9 each other regional educational laboratory, the 

10 Department, the Director, and the National 

11 Board for Education Sciences; 

12 ‘‘(B) ensure, where appropriate, that the 

13 activities of each regional educational laboratory 

14 established under this section also serve na15 tional interests; 

16 ‘‘(C) ensure each such regional educational 

17 laboratory establishes strong partnerships 

18 among practitioners, policymakers, researchers, 

19 and others, so that such partnerships are con20 tinued in the absence of Federal support; and 

21 ‘‘(D) enable, where appropriate, for such a 

22 laboratory to work in a region being served by 

23 another laboratory or to carry out a project 

24 that extends beyond the region served by the 

25 laboratory. 


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1 ‘‘(3) COLLABORATION WITH TECHNICAL ASSIST2 ANCE PROVIDERS.—Each regional educational lab3 oratory established under this section shall, on an 

4 ongoing basis, coordinate its activities, collaborate, 

5 and regularly exchange information with the com6 prehensive centers (established in section 203) in the 

7 region in which the center is located, and with com8 prehensive centers located outside of its region, as 

9 appropriate. 

10 ‘‘(4) OUTREACH.— 

11 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—In conducting com12 petitions for grants, contracts, or cooperative 

13 agreements under this section, the Evaluation 

14 and Regional Assistance Commissioner shall— 

15 ‘‘(i) by making information and tech16 nical assistance relating to the competition 

17 widely available, actively encourage eligible 

18 applicants to compete for such an award; 

19 and 

20 ‘‘(ii) seek input from the chief execu21 tive officers of States, chief State school 

22 officers, educators, parents, superintend23 ents, and other individuals with knowledge 

24 of the needs of the regions to be served by 

25 the awards, regarding— 


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1 ‘‘(I) the needs in the regions for 

2 applied research, evaluation, develop3 ment, and wide-dissemination activi4 ties authorized by this title; and 

5 ‘‘(II) how such needs may be ad6 dressed most effectively. 

7 ‘‘(B) REGIONAL ADVISORY COMMITTEES.— 

8 The individuals described in subparagraph 

9 (A)(ii) may include members of the regional ad10 visory committees established under section 

11 206(a). 

12 ‘‘(5) PERFORMANCE MANAGEMENT.—Before 

13 the Evaluation and Regional Assistance Commis14 sioner awards a grant, contract, or cooperative 

15 agreement under this section, the Director shall es16 tablish measurable performance indicators for as17 sessing the ongoing progress and performance of the 

18 regional educational laboratories established with 

19 such awards that address— 

20 ‘‘(A) the requirements of the performance 

21 management system described in section 185; 

22 and 

23 ‘‘(B) the relevant results of the regional 

24 assessments under section 206(e). 


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1 ‘‘(6) STANDARDS.—The Evaluation and Re2 gional Assistance Commissioner shall adhere to the 

3 Institute’s system for technical and peer review 

4 under section 114(h) in reviewing the applied re5 search activities and research-based reports of the 

6 regional educational laboratories. 

7 ‘‘(7) REQUIRED CONSIDERATION.—In deter8 mining whether to award a grant, contract, or coop9 erative agreement under this section to an eligible 

10 applicant that previously established a regional edu11 cational laboratory under this section, the Evalua12 tion and Regional Assistance Commissioner shall 

13 consider the results of such laboratory’s summative 

14 evaluation under subsection (i)(2). 

15 ‘‘(f) MISSION.—Each regional educational laboratory 

16 established under this section shall— 

17 ‘‘(1) conduct applied research, development, 

18 and evaluation activities with State educational 

19 agencies, local educational agencies, and, as appro20 priate, schools funded by the Bureau; 

21 ‘‘(2) widely disseminate such work, consistent 

22 with section 114(j); and 

23 ‘‘(3) develop the capacity of State educational 

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1 priate, schools funded by the Bureau to carry out 

2 the activities described in paragraphs (1) and (2). 

3 ‘‘(g) ACTIVITIES.—To carry out the mission de4 scribed in subsection (f), each regional educational labora5 tory established under this section shall carry out the fol6 lowing activities: 

7 ‘‘(1) Conduct, widely disseminate, and promote 

8 utilization of applied research, development activi9 ties, evaluations, and other scientifically valid re10 search. 

11 ‘‘(2) Develop and improve the plan for the lab12 oratory under subsection (d)(2) for serving the re13 gion of the laboratory, and as appropriate, national 

14 needs, on an ongoing basis, which shall include seek15 ing input and incorporating feedback from the rep16 resentatives of State educational agencies and local 

17 educational agencies in the region, and other individ18 uals with knowledge of the region’s needs. Such rep19 resentatives and other individuals may include mem20 bers of the regional advisory committee for the re21 gion established under section 206(a). 

22 ‘‘(3) Ensure research and related products are 

23 relevant and responsive to the needs of the region, 

24 including by using the relevant results of the re25 gion’s assessment under section 206(e). 


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1 ‘‘(h) GOVERNING BOARD.— 

2 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Each regional educational 

3 laboratory established under this section may estab4 lish a governing board to improve the management 

5 of activities that the laboratory carries out under 

6 this section. 

7 ‘‘(2) BOARD DUTIES.—A Board established 

8 under paragraph (1) shall coordinate and align its 

9 work with the work of the regional advisory com10 mittee for the region established under section 206. 

11 ‘‘(i) EVALUATIONS.— 

12 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Evaluation and Re13 gional Assistance Commissioner shall— 

14 ‘‘(A) provide for ongoing summative and 

15 interim evaluations described in paragraphs (2) 

16 and (3), respectively, of each of the regional 

17 educational laboratories established under this 

18 section in carrying out the full range of duties 

19 described in this section; and 

20 ‘‘(B) transmit the results of such evalua21 tions, through appropriate means, to the appro22 priate congressional committees, the Director, 

23 and the public. 

24 ‘‘(2) SUMMATIVE EVALUATIONS.—The Evalua25 tion and Regional Assistance Commissioner shall enVerDate Sep 11 2014 22:57 Nov 17, 2014 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00059 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6401 E:\BILLS\H4366.RS H4366

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1 sure each regional educational laboratory established 

2 under this section is evaluated by an independent 

3 entity at the end of the period of the grant, contract, 

4 or cooperative agreement that established such lab5 oratory, which shall— 

6 ‘‘(A) be completed in a timely fashion; 

7 ‘‘(B) assess how well the laboratory is 

8 meeting the measurable performance indicators 

9 established under subsection (e)(5); and 

10 ‘‘(C) consider the extent to which the lab11 oratory ensures that the activities of such lab12 oratory are relevant and useful to the work of 

13 State and local practitioners and policymakers. 

14 ‘‘(3) INTERIM EVALUATIONS.—The Evaluation 

15 and Regional Assistance Commissioner shall ensure 

16 each regional educational laboratory established 

17 under this section is evaluated at the midpoint of the 

18 period of the grant, contract, or cooperative agree19 ment that established such laboratory, which shall— 

20 ‘‘(A) assess how well such laboratory is 

21 meeting the performance indicators described in 

22 subsection (e)(5); and 

23 ‘‘(B) be used to improve the effectiveness 

24 of such laboratory in carrying out its plan 

25 under subsection (d)(2). 


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1 ‘‘(j) CONTINUATION OF AWARDS; RECOMPETITION.— 

2 ‘‘(1) CONTINUATION OF AWARDS.—The Evalua3 tion and Regional Assistance Commissioner shall 

4 continue awards made to each eligible applicant for 

5 the support of regional educational laboratories es6 tablished under this section prior to the date of en7 actment of the Strengthening Education through 

8 Research Act, as such awards were in effect on the 

9 day before the date of enactment of the Strength10 ening Education through Research Act, for the du11 ration of those awards, in accordance with the terms 

12 and agreements of such awards. 

13 ‘‘(2) RECOMPETITION.—Not later than the end 

14 of the period of the awards described in paragraph 

15 (1), the Evaluation and Regional Assistance Com16 missioner shall— 

17 ‘‘(A) hold a competition to make grants, 

18 contracts, or cooperative agreements under this 

19 section to eligible applicants, which may include 

20 eligible applicants that held awards described in 

21 paragraph (1); and 

22 ‘‘(B) in determining whether to select an 

23 eligible applicant that held an award described 

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1 sults of the summative evaluation under sub2 section (i)(2) of the laboratory established with 

3 the eligible applicant’s award described in para4 graph (1).’’; 

5 (5) by striking subsection (l); 

6 (6) by redesignating subsections (m), (n), and 

7 (o) as subsections (l), (m), and (n), respectively; 

8 (7) in subsection (l), as so redesignated, by in9 serting ‘‘and local’’ after ‘‘achieve State’’; 

10 (8) by amending subsection (m), as so redesig11 nated, to read as follows: 

12 ‘‘(m) ANNUAL REPORT.—Each regional educational 

13 laboratory established under this section shall submit to 

14 the Evaluation and Regional Assistance Commissioner an 

15 annual report containing such information as the Commis16 sioner may require, but which shall include, at a minimum, 

17 the following: 

18 ‘‘(1) A summary of the laboratory’s activities 

19 and products developed during the previous year. 

20 ‘‘(2) A listing of the State educational agencies, 

21 local educational agencies, and schools the labora22 tory assisted during the previous year. 

23 ‘‘(3) Using the measurable performance indica24 tors established under subsection (e)(5), a descripVerDate Sep 11 2014 22:57 Nov 17, 2014 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00062 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6401 E:\BILLS\H4366.RS H4366

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1 tion of how well the laboratory is meeting edu2 cational needs of the region served by the laboratory. 

3 ‘‘(4) Any changes to the laboratory’s plan under 

4 subsection (d)(2) to improve its activities in the re5 maining years of the grant, contract, or cooperative 

6 agreement.’’; and 

7 (9) by adding at the end the following new sub8 section: 

9 ‘‘(o) APPROPRIATIONS RESERVATION.—Of the 

10 amounts appropriated under section 194(a), the Evalua11 tion and Regional Assistance Commissioner shall reserve 

12 16.13 percent of such funds to carry out this section, of 

13 which the Commissioner shall use not less than 25 percent 

14 to serve rural areas (including schools funded by the Bu15 reau which are located in rural areas).’’. 

16 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—The table of con17 tents in section 1 of the Act of November 5, 2002 (Public 

18 Law 107–279; 116 Stat. 1940) is amended by striking 

19 the item relating to section 174 and inserting the fol20 lowing: 

‘‘Sec. 174. Regional educational laboratories for research, development, dissemination, and evaluation.’’. 

21 PART E—NATIONAL CENTER FOR SPECIAL 

22 EDUCATION RESEARCH 

23 SEC. 175. ESTABLISHMENT. 

24 Section 175(b) (20 U.S.C. 9567(b)) is amended— 


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1 (1) in paragraph (1), by striking ‘‘and chil2 dren’’ and inserting ‘‘children, and youth’’; 

3 (2) in paragraph (2), by striking ‘‘and’’ at the 

4 end; 

5 (3) in paragraph (3), by striking the period at 

6 the end and inserting a semicolon; and 

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

8 ‘‘(4) to promote quality and integrity through 

9 the use of accepted practices of scientific inquiry to 

10 obtain knowledge and understanding of the validity 

11 of education theories, practices, or conditions with 

12 respect to special education research and evaluation 

13 described in paragraphs (1) through (3); and 

14 ‘‘(5) to promote scientifically valid research 

15 findings in special education that may provide the 

16 basis for improving academic instruction and lifelong 

17 learning.’’. 

18 SEC. 176. COMMISSIONER FOR SPECIAL EDUCATION RE19 SEARCH. 

20 Section 176 (20 U.S.C. 9567a) is amended by insert21 ing ‘‘and youth’’ after ‘‘children’’. 

22 SEC. 177. DUTIES. 

23 Section 177 (20 U.S.C. 9567b) is amended— 

24 (1) in subsection (a)— 


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1 (A) in paragraph (1)(A), by inserting ‘‘and 

2 youth’’ after ‘‘children’’; 

3 (B) in paragraph (2), by striking ‘‘scientif4 ically based educational practices’’ and inserting 

5 ‘‘educational practices, including the use of 

6 technology based on scientifically valid re7 search,’’; 

8 (C) in paragraph (4), by striking ‘‘based’’ 

9 and inserting ‘‘valid’’; 

10 (D) in paragraph (10), by inserting before 

11 the semicolon the following: ‘‘, including how 

12 secondary school credentials are related to post13 secondary and employment outcomes’’; 

14 (E) by redesignating paragraphs (11) 

15 through (15) and paragraphs (16) and (17) as 

16 paragraphs (12) through (16), respectively, and 

17 paragraphs (18) and (19), respectively; 

18 (F) by inserting after paragraph (10), the 

19 following: 

20 ‘‘(11) examine the participation and outcomes 

21 of students with disabilities in secondary and post22 secondary career and technical education pro23 grams;’’; 


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1 (G) in paragraph (14), as so redesignated, 

2 by inserting ‘‘and professional development’’ 

3 after ‘‘preparation’’; 

4 (H) in paragraph (16), as so redesignated, 

5 by striking ‘‘help parents’’ and inserting ‘‘exam6 ine the methods by which parents may’’; 

7 (I) by inserting after paragraph (16), as so 

8 redesignated, the following: 

9 ‘‘(17) assist the Board in the preparation and 

10 dissemination of each evaluation report under sec11 tion 116(d);’’; 

12 (J) in paragraph (18), as so redesignated, 

13 by striking ‘‘and’’ at the end; 

14 (K) by amending paragraph (19), as so re15 designated, to read as follows: 

16 ‘‘(19) examine the needs of children with dis17 abilities who are English learners, gifted and tal18 ented, or who have other unique learning needs; 

19 and’’; and 

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

21 ‘‘(20) examine innovations in the field of special 

22 education, such as multi-tiered systems of support.’’; 

23 (2) in subsection (c)— 

24 (A) in the matter preceding paragraph 

25 (1)— 


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1 (i) by inserting ‘‘for the activities of 

2 the Special Education Research Center’’ 

3 after ‘‘research plan’’; and 

4 (ii) by inserting ‘‘and, subject to the 

5 approval of the Director, implement such 

6 plan’’ after ‘‘Services’’; 

7 (B) in paragraph (1), by inserting ‘‘de8 scribed in section 175(b)’’ after ‘‘Center’’; 

9 (C) by amending paragraph (2) to read as 

10 follows: 

11 ‘‘(2) is carried out, and, as appropriate, up12 dated and modified, including by using the results of 

13 the Special Education Research Center’s most recent 

14 evaluation report under section 116(d);’’; 

15 (D) by striking paragraph (5); 

16 (E) by redesignating paragraphs (3), (4), 

17 and (6) as paragraphs (4), (5), and (7), respec18 tively; 

19 (F) by inserting after paragraph (2), as so 

20 amended, the following: 

21 ‘‘(3) provides for research that addresses sig22 nificant questions of practice where such research is 

23 lacking;’’; 

24 (G) in paragraph (5), as so redesignated, 

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1 serting ‘‘, student subgroups, and types of’’; 

2 and 

3 (H) by inserting after paragraph (5), as so 

4 redesignated and amended, the following: 

5 ‘‘(6) describes how the Special Education Re6 search Center will use the performance management 

7 system described in section 185 to assess and im8 prove the activities of the Center; and’’; 

9 (3) in subsection (d)— 

10 (A) in paragraph (1), by striking ‘‘Direc11 tor’’ and inserting ‘‘Special Education Research 

12 Commissioner’’; 

13 (B) by amending paragraph (3) to read as 

14 follows: 

15 ‘‘(3) APPLICATIONS.— 

16 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—An eligible applicant 

17 that wishes to receive a grant, or enter into a 

18 contract or cooperative agreement, under this 

19 section shall submit an application to the Spe20 cial Education Research Commissioner at such 

21 time, in such manner, and containing such in22 formation as the Special Education Research 

23 Commissioner may require. 

24 ‘‘(B) CONTENTS.—An application sub25 mitted under subparagraph (A) shall describe 


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1 how the eligible applicant will address and dem2 onstrate progress on the requirements of the 

3 performance management system described in 

4 section 185, with respect to the activities that 

5 will be carried out under such grant, contract, 

6 or cooperative agreement.’’; and 

7 (C) by adding at the end the following: 

8 ‘‘(4) DURATION.—Notwithstanding any other 

9 provision of law, the grants, contracts, and coopera10 tive agreements under this section may be awarded, 

11 on a competitive basis, for a period of not more than 

12 5 years, and may be renewed at the discretion of the 

13 Special Education Research Commissioner for an 

14 additional period of not more than 2 years if the re15 cipient demonstrates progress on the requirements 

16 of the performance management system described in 

17 section 185, with respect to the activities carried out 

18 under the grant, contract, or cooperative agreement 

19 received under this section.’’; 

20 (4) by amending subsection (e) to read as fol21 lows: 

22 ‘‘(e) DISSEMINATION.—The Special Education Re23 search Center shall synthesize and, consistent with section 

24 114(j), widely disseminate and promote utilization of the 

25 findings and results of special education research conVerDate Sep 11 2014 22:57 Nov 17, 2014 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00069 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6401 E:\BILLS\H4366.RS H4366

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1 ducted or supported by the Special Education Research 

2 Center.’’; and 

3 (5) in subsection (f), by striking ‘‘part such 

4 sums as may be necessary for each of fiscal years 

5 2005 through 2010.’’ and inserting ‘‘part— 

6 ‘‘(1) for fiscal year 2015, $54,000,000; 

7 ‘‘(2) for fiscal year 2016, $54,108,000; 

8 ‘‘(3) for fiscal year 2017, $55,298,376; 

9 ‘‘(4) for fiscal year 2018, $56,625,537; 

10 ‘‘(5) for fiscal year 2019, $58,154,426; and 

11 ‘‘(6) for fiscal year 2020, $65,645,169.’’. 

12 PART F—GENERAL PROVISIONS 

13 SEC. 182. PROHIBITIONS. 

14 Section 182 (20 U.S.C. 9572) is amended— 

15 (1) in subsection (b)— 

16 (A) by striking ‘‘or control’’ and inserting 

17 ‘‘control, or coerce’’; and 

18 (B) by inserting ‘‘specific academic stand19 ards or assessments,’’ after ‘‘the curriculum,’’ 

20 (3) in subsection (c)— 

21 (A) by inserting ‘‘coerce,’’ after ‘‘approve,’’ 

22 and 

23 (B) by striking ‘‘an elementary school or 

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1 cation, or in an elementary school, secondary 

2 school, or institution of higher education’’. 

3 SEC. 183. CONFIDENTIALITY. 

4 Section 183 (20 U.S.C. 9573) is amended— 

5 (1) in subsection (b)— 

6 (A) by striking ‘‘their families, and infor7 mation with respect to individual schools,’’ and 

8 inserting ‘‘and their families’’; and 

9 (B) by inserting before the period at the 

10 end the following: ‘‘, and that any disclosed in11 formation with respect to individual schools not 

12 reveal such individually identifiable informa13 tion’’; 

14 (2) in subsection (d)(2), by inserting ‘‘, includ15 ing voluntary and uncompensated services under sec16 tion 190’’ after ‘‘providing services’’; and 

17 (3) in subsection (e)(1), in the matter preceding 

18 subparagraph (A), by inserting ‘‘and Director’’ after 

19 ‘‘Secretary’’. 

20 SEC. 184. AVAILABILITY OF DATA. 

21 Section 184 (20 U.S.C. 9574) is amended by striking 

22 ‘‘use of the Internet’’ and inserting ‘‘electronic means, 

23 such as posting to the Institute’s website in an easily ac24 cessible manner’’. 


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1 SEC. 185. PERFORMANCE MANAGEMENT. 

2 Section 185 (20 U.S.C. 9575) is amended to read as 

3 follows: 

4 ‘‘SEC. 185. PERFORMANCE MANAGEMENT. 

5 ‘‘The Director shall establish a system for managing 

6 the performance of all activities authorized under this title 

7 to promote continuous improvement of the activities and 

8 to ensure the effective use of Federal funds by— 

9 ‘‘(1) developing and using measurable perform10 ance indicators, including timelines, to evaluate and 

11 improve the effectiveness of the activities; 

12 ‘‘(2) using the performance indicators described 

13 in paragraph (1) to inform funding decisions, includ14 ing the awarding and continuation of all grants, con15 tracts, and cooperative agreements under this title; 

16 ‘‘(3) establishing and improving formal feed17 back mechanisms to— 

18 ‘‘(A) anticipate and meet stakeholder 

19 needs; and 

20 ‘‘(B) incorporate, on an ongoing basis, the 

21 feedback of such stakeholders into the activities 

22 authorized under this title; and 

23 ‘‘(4) promoting the wide dissemination and uti24 lization, consistent with section 114(j), of all infor25 mation, products, and publications of the Institute.’’. 


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1 SEC. 186. AUTHORITY TO PUBLISH. 

2 Section 186(b) (20 U.S.C. 9576) is amended by strik3 ing ‘‘any information to be published under this section 

4 before publication’’ and inserting ‘‘publications under this 

5 section before the public release of such publications’’. 

6 SEC. 187. REPEALS. 

7 (a) REPEALS.—Sections 187 (20 U.S.C. 9577) and 

8 193 (20 U.S.C. 9583) are repealed. 

9 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.—The table of con10 tents in section 1 of the Act of November 5, 2002 (Public 

11 Law 107–279; 116 Stat. 1940) is amended by striking 

12 the items relating to sections 187 and 193. 

13 SEC. 188. FELLOWSHIPS. 

14 Section 189 (20 U.S.C. 9579) is amended— 

15 (1) by inserting ‘‘and the mission of each Na16 tional Education Center authorized under this title’’ 

17 after ‘‘related to education’’; and 

18 (2) by striking ‘‘historically Black colleges and 

19 universities’’ and inserting ‘‘minority-serving institu20 tions’’. 

21 SEC. 189. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 

22 Section 194 (20 U.S.C. 9584) is amended— 

23 (1) by amending subsection (a) to read as fol24 lows: 


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1 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—There are authorized to be ap2 propriated to administer and carry out this title (except 

3 part E)— 

4 ‘‘(1) for fiscal year 2015, $337,343,000; 

5 ‘‘(2) for fiscal year 2016, $338,017,686; 

6 ‘‘(3) for fiscal year 2017, $345,454,075; 

7 ‘‘(4) for fiscal year 2018, $353,744,974; 

8 ‘‘(5) for fiscal year 2019, $363,296,087; and 

9 ‘‘(6) for fiscal year 2020, $368,745,528.’’. 

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

11 following: 

12 ‘‘(b) RESERVATIONS.—Of the amounts appropriated 

13 under subsection (a) for each fiscal year— 

14 ‘‘(1) not less than the amount provided to the 

15 National Center for Education Statistics (as such 

16 Center was in existence on the day before the date 

17 of enactment of the Strengthening Education 

18 through Research Act) for fiscal year 2014 shall be 

19 provided to the National Center for Education Sta20 tistics, as authorized under part C; and 

21 ‘‘(2) not more than the lesser of 2 percent of 

22 such funds or $2,000,000 shall be made available to 

23 carry out section 116 (relating to the National 

24 Board for Education Sciences).’’. 


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1 TITLE II—EDUCATIONAL 

2 TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE 

3 SEC. 201. REFERENCES. 

4 Except as otherwise expressly provided, whenever in 

5 this title an amendment or repeal is expressed in terms 

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

8 section or other provision of the Educational Technical As9 sistance Act of 2002 (20 U.S.C. 9601 et seq.). 

10 SEC. 202. DEFINITIONS. 

11 Section 202 (20 U.S.C. 9601) is amended— 

12 (1) by redesignating paragraph (2) as para13 graph (3); and 

14 (2) by inserting after paragraph (1), the fol15 lowing: 

16 ‘‘(2) SCHOOL LEADER.—The term ‘school lead17 er’ has the meaning given the term in section 102.’’. 

18 SEC. 203. COMPREHENSIVE CENTERS. 

19 Section 203 (20 U.S.C. 9602)— 

20 (1) by amending subsection (a) to read as fol21 lows: 

22 ‘‘(a) AUTHORIZATION.— 

23 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Subject to paragraph (3), 

24 the Secretary is authorized to award not more than 

25 17 grants, contracts, or cooperative agreements to 


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1 eligible applicants to establish comprehensive cen2 ters. 

3 ‘‘(2) MISSION.—The mission of the comprehen4 sive centers is to provide State educational agencies 

5 and local educational agencies technical assistance, 

6 analysis, and training to build their capacity in im7 plementing the requirements of the Elementary and 

8 Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 6301 

9 et seq.) and other Federal education laws, and re10 search-based practices. 

11 ‘‘(3) REGIONS.—In awarding grants, contracts, 

12 or cooperative agreements under paragraph (1), the 

13 Secretary— 

14 ‘‘(A) shall establish at least one com15 prehensive center for each of the 10 geographic 

16 regions served by the regional educational lab17 oratories established under section 941(h) of 

18 the Educational Research, Development, Dis19 semination, and Improvement Act of 1994 (as 

20 such provision existed on the day before the 

21 date of enactment of this Act); and 

22 ‘‘(B) may establish additional comprehen23 sive centers— 

24 ‘‘(i) for one or more of the regions de25 scribed in subparagraph (A); or 


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1 ‘‘(ii) to serve the Nation as a whole by 

2 providing technical assistance on a par3 ticular content area of importance to the 

4 Nation, as determined by the Secretary 

5 with the advice of the regional advisory 

6 committees established under section 

7 206(a). 

8 ‘‘(4) NATION.—In the case of a comprehensive 

9 center established to serve the Nation as described 

10 in paragraph (3)(B)(ii), the Nation shall be consid11 ered to be a region served by such Center. 

12 ‘‘(5) AWARD PERIOD.—A grant, contract, or co13 operative agreement under this section may be 

14 awarded, on a competitive basis, for a period of not 

15 more than 5 years. 

16 ‘‘(6) RESPONSIVENESS.—The Secretary shall 

17 ensure that each comprehensive center established 

18 under this section has the ability to respond in a 

19 timely fashion to the needs of State educational 

20 agencies and local educational agencies, including 

21 through using the results of the center’s interim 

22 evaluation under section 204(c), to improve and 

23 modify the activities of the center before the end of 

24 the award period.’’; 

25 (2) in subsection (b)— 


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1 (A) in paragraph (1)— 

2 (i) by inserting ‘‘, contracts, or coop3 erative agreements’’ after ‘‘Grants’’; 

4 (ii) by striking ‘‘research organiza5 tions, institutions, agencies, institutions of 

6 higher education,’’ and inserting ‘‘public or 

7 private, nonprofit or for-profit research or8 ganizations, other organizations, or institu9 tions of higher education,’’; 

10 (iii) by striking ‘‘, or individuals,’’; 

11 (iv) by striking ‘‘subsection (f)’’ and 

12 inserting ‘‘subsection (e)’’; and 

13 (v) by striking ‘‘, including regional’’ 

14 and all that follows through ‘‘107–110))’’; 

15 and 

16 (B) by striking paragraphs (2) and (3) and 

17 inserting the following: 

18 ‘‘(2) OUTREACH.— 

19 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—In conducting com20 petitions for grants, contracts, or cooperative 

21 agreements under this section, the Secretary 

22 shall— 

23 ‘‘(i) by making widely available infor24 mation and technical assistance relating to 


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1 the competition, actively encourage eligible 

2 applicants to compete for such awards; and 

3 ‘‘(ii) seek input from chief executive 

4 officers of States, chief State school offi5 cers, educators, parents, superintendents, 

6 and other individuals with knowledge of 

7 the needs of the regions to be served by 

8 the awards, regarding— 

9 ‘‘(I) the needs in the regions for 

10 technical assistance authorized under 

11 this title; and 

12 ‘‘(II) how such needs may be ad13 dressed most effectively. 

14 ‘‘(B) REGIONAL ADVISORY COMMITTEES.— 

15 The individuals described in subparagraph 

16 (A)(ii) may include members of the regional ad17 visory committees established under section 

18 206(a). 

19 ‘‘(3) PERFORMANCE MANAGEMENT.—Before 

20 awarding a grant, contract, or cooperative agree21 ment under this section, the Secretary shall establish 

22 measurable performance indicators to be used to as23 sess the ongoing progress and performance of the 

24 comprehensive centers to be established under this 

25 title that address— 


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1 ‘‘(A) paragraphs (1) through (3) of the 

2 performance management system described in 

3 section 185; and 

4 ‘‘(B) the relevant results of the regional 

5 assessments under section 206(e). 

6 ‘‘(4) REQUIRED CONSIDERATION.—In deter7 mining whether to award a grant, contract, or coop8 erative agreement under this section to an eligible 

9 applicant that previously established a comprehen10 sive center under this section, the Secretary shall 

11 consider the results of such center’s summative eval12 uation under section 204(b). 

13 ‘‘(5) CONTINUATION OF AWARDS.— 

14 ‘‘(A) CONTINUATION OF AWARDS.—The 

15 Secretary shall continue awards made to each 

16 eligible applicant for the support of comprehen17 sive centers established under this section prior 

18 to the date of enactment of the Strengthening 

19 Education through Research Act, as such 

20 awards were in effect on the day before the 

21 date of enactment of the Strengthening Edu22 cation through Research Act, for the duration 

23 of those awards, in accordance with the terms 

24 and agreements of such awards. 


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1 ‘‘(B) RECOMPETITION.—Not later than the 

2 end of the period of the awards described in 

3 subparagraph (A), the Secretary shall— 

4 ‘‘(i) hold a competition to make 

5 grants, contracts, or cooperative agree6 ments under this section to eligible appli7 cants, which may include eligible appli8 cants that held awards described in sub9 paragraph (A); and 

10 ‘‘(ii) in determining whether to select 

11 an eligible applicant that held an award 

12 described in subparagraph (A) for an 

13 award under clause (i) of this subpara14 graph, consider the results of the 

15 summative evaluation under section 204(b) 

16 of the center established with the eligible 

17 applicant’s award described in subpara18 graph (A). 

19 ‘‘(6) ELIGIBLE APPLICANT DEFINED.—For pur20 poses of this section, the term ‘eligible applicant’ 

21 means an entity described in paragraph (1).’’; 

22 (3) by amending subsection (c) to read as fol23 lows: 

24 ‘‘(c) APPLICATIONS.— 

25 ‘‘(1) SUBMISSION.— 


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1 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Each eligible appli2 cant seeking a grant, contract, or cooperative 

3 agreement under this section shall submit an 

4 application at such time, in such manner, and 

5 containing such additional information as the 

6 Secretary may reasonably require. 

7 ‘‘(B) INPUT.—To ensure that applications 

8 submitted under this paragraph are reflective of 

9 the needs of the regions to be served, each eligi10 ble applicant submitting such an application 

11 shall seek input from State educational agencies 

12 and local educational agencies in the region 

13 that the award will serve, and other individuals 

14 with knowledge of the region’s needs. Such indi15 viduals may include members of the regional 

16 advisory committee for the region under section 

17 206(a). 

18 ‘‘(2) PLAN.— 

19 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Each application sub20 mitted under paragraph (1) shall contain a plan 

21 for the comprehensive center to be established 

22 under this section, which shall be updated, 

23 modified, and improved, as appropriate, on an 

24 ongoing basis, including by using the results of 


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1 the center’s interim evaluation under section 

2 204(c). 

3 ‘‘(B) CONTENTS.—A plan described in 

4 subparagraph (A) shall address— 

5 ‘‘(i) the priorities for technical assist6 ance established under section 207; 

7 ‘‘(ii) the needs of State educational 

8 agencies and local educational agencies, on 

9 an ongoing basis, using available State and 

10 local data, including the relevant results of 

11 the regional assessments under section 

12 206(e); and 

13 ‘‘(iii) if available, demonstrated sup14 port from State educational agencies and 

15 local educational agencies, such as letters 

16 of support or signed memoranda of under17 standing. 

18 ‘‘(3) NON-FEDERAL SUPPORT.—In conducting a 

19 competition for grants, contracts, or cooperative 

20 agreements under subsection (a), the Secretary shall 

21 give priority to eligible applicants that will provide 

22 a portion of non-Federal funds to maximize support 

23 for activities of the comprehensive centers to be es24 tablished under this section.’’; 


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1 (4) in subsection (d), by inserting ‘‘the number 

2 of low-performing schools in the region,’’ after ‘‘eco3 nomically disadvantaged students,’’; 

4 (5) by striking subsection (e) and redesignating 

5 subsections (f), (g), and (h) as subsections (e), (f), 

6 and (g), respectively; 

7 (6) in subsection (e), as so redesignated— 

8 (A) in paragraph (1)— 

9 (i) by striking ‘‘support dissemination 

10 and technical assistance activities by’’ and 

11 inserting ‘‘support State educational agen12 cies and local educational agencies, includ13 ing by’’; 

14 (ii) in subparagraph (A)(i), by insert15 ing ‘‘and other Federal education laws’’ be16 fore the semicolon; 

17 (iii) in subparagraph (A)(ii)— 

18 (I) in the matter preceding sub19 clause (I), by striking ‘‘and assess20 ment tools’’ and inserting ‘‘, assess21 ment tools, and other educational 

22 strategies’’; 

23 (II) in subclause (I), by striking 

24 ‘‘mathematics, science,’’ and inserting 

25 ‘‘mathematics and science, which may 


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1 include computer science or engineer2 ing,’’; and 

3 (III) in subclause (III), by insert4 ing ‘‘, including innovative tools and 

5 methods’’ before the semicolon; 

6 (iv) by striking subparagraph (A)(iii) 

7 and inserting the following: 

8 ‘‘(iii) the replication and adaptation of 

9 exemplary practices and innovative meth10 ods that have an evidence base of effective11 ness; and’’; 

12 (v) in subparagraph (B)— 

13 (I) by inserting ‘‘, consistent with 

14 section 114(j),’’ after ‘‘dissemi15 nating’’; and 

16 (II) by striking ‘‘(as described’’ 

17 and all that follows through ‘‘is lo18 cated’’; and 

19 (vi) by amending subparagraph (C) to 

20 read as follows: 

21 ‘‘(C) ensuring activities carried out under 

22 this section are relevant and responsive to the 

23 needs of the region being served, including by 

24 using the relevant results of the regional assess25 ments under section 206(e).’’; and 


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1 (B) in paragraph (2)— 

2 (i) by inserting ‘‘, on an ongoing 

3 basis,’’ after ‘‘this section shall’’; and 

4 (ii) by inserting ‘‘or other regional 

5 educational laboratories or comprehensive 

6 centers, as appropriate,’’ after ‘‘center is 

7 located,’’; and 

8 (7) by amending subsections (f) and (g), as 

9 each so redesignated, to read as follows: 

10 ‘‘(f) COMPREHENSIVE CENTER ADVISORY BOARD.— 

11 A comprehensive center established under this section may 

12 establish an advisory board to support and monitor the 

13 priorities and activities of such center. An advisory board 

14 established under this subsection shall coordinate and 

15 align its work with the work of the regional advisory com16 mittee of the region served by such center established 

17 under section 206. 

18 ‘‘(g) REPORT TO THE SECRETARY.—Each com19 prehensive center established under this section shall sub20 mit to the Secretary an annual report, at such time, in 

21 such manner, and containing such information as the Sec22 retary may require, which shall include the following: 

23 ‘‘(1) A summary of the center’s activities and 

24 products developed during the previous year. 


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1 ‘‘(2) A listing of the State educational agencies, 

2 local educational agencies, and schools the center as3 sisted during the previous year. 

4 ‘‘(3) Using the measurable performance indica5 tors established under subsection (b)(3), a descrip6 tion of how well the center is meeting educational 

7 needs of the region served by the center. 

8 ‘‘(4) Any changes to the center’s plan under 

9 subsection (c)(2) to improve its activities in the re10 maining years of the grant, contract, or cooperative 

11 agreement.’’. 

12 SEC. 204. EVALUATIONS. 

13 Section 204 (20 U.S.C. 9603) is amended to read as 

14 follows: 

15 ‘‘SEC. 204. EVALUATIONS. 

16 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall— 

17 ‘‘(1) provide for ongoing summative and interim 

18 evaluations described in subsections (b) and (c), re19 spectively, of each of the comprehensive centers es20 tablished under this title in carrying out the full 

21 range of duties of the center under this title; and 

22 ‘‘(2) transmit the results of such evaluations, 

23 through appropriate means, to the appropriate con24 gressional committees, the Director of the Institute 

25 of Education Sciences, and the public. 


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1 ‘‘(b) SUMMATIVE EVALUATION.—The Secretary shall 

2 ensure each comprehensive center established under this 

3 title is evaluated by an independent entity at the end of 

4 the period of the grant, contract, or cooperative agreement 

5 that established such center, which shall— 

6 ‘‘(1) be completed in a timely fashion; 

7 ‘‘(2) assess how well the center is meeting the 

8 measurable performance indicators established under 

9 section 203(b)(3); and 

10 ‘‘(3) consider the extent to which the center en11 sures that the technical assistance of such center is 

12 relevant and useful to the work of State and local 

13 practitioners and policymakers. 

14 ‘‘(c) INTERIM EVALUATION.—The Secretary shall en15 sure that each comprehensive center established under this 

16 title is evaluated at the midpoint of the period of the 

17 grant, contract, or cooperative agreement that established 

18 such center, which shall— 

19 ‘‘(1) assess how well such center is meeting the 

20 measurable performance indicators established under 

21 section 203(b)(3); and 

22 ‘‘(2) be used to improve the effectiveness of 

23 such center in carrying out its plan under section 

24 203(c)(2).’’. 


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1 SEC. 205. EXISTING TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE PROVIDERS. 

2 (a) REPEAL.—Section 205 (20 U.S.C. 9604) is re3 pealed. 

4 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—The table of con5 tents in section 1 of the Act of November 5, 2002 (Public 

6 Law 107–279; 116 Stat. 1940) is amended by striking 

7 the item relating to section 205. 

8 SEC. 206. REGIONAL ADVISORY COMMITTEES. 

9 Section 206 (20 U.S.C. 9605) is amended— 

10 (1) in subsection (a)— 

11 (A) by striking ‘‘Beginning in 2004, the’’ 

12 and inserting ‘‘The’’; and 

13 (B) by striking ‘‘of the Education Sciences 

14 Reform Act of 2002’’; 

15 (2) by striking subsection (c) and redesignating 

16 subsections (b) and (d) as subsections (d) and (e), 

17 respectively; 

18 (3) by inserting the following after subsection 

19 (a): 

20 ‘‘(b) MISSION.—The mission of each regional advi21 sory committee established under subsection (a) shall be 

22 to— 

23 ‘‘(1) support, strengthen, and, as appropriate, 

24 align the work of the regional educational labora25 tories established under section 174 and the com26 prehensive centers established under this title; and 


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1 ‘‘(2) ensure that the regional educational lab2 oratories and comprehensive centers are meeting the 

3 needs of their regions. 

4 ‘‘(c) DUTIES.—Each advisory committee established 

5 under subsection (a) shall— 

6 ‘‘(1) conduct, on at least a biennial basis, a 

7 needs assessments of the region served by the com8 mittee, as described in subsection (e); 

9 ‘‘(2) to ensure the activities of the regional edu10 cational laboratory and comprehensive centers serv11 ing the region of the committee are responsive to the 

12 needs of such region, provide ongoing input to the 

13 laboratory and centers on planning and carrying out 

14 their activities under section 174 and this title, re15 spectively; 

16 ‘‘(3) maintain a high standard of quality in the 

17 performance of the activities of the laboratory and 

18 centers, respectively; and 

19 ‘‘(4) support the continuous improvement of the 

20 laboratory and centers in the region served by the 

21 committee, especially in meeting the measurable per22 formance indicators established under sections 

23 174(e)(4) and 203(b)(3), respectively.’’; 

24 (4) by amending subsection (d), as so redesig25 nated, to read as follows: 


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1 ‘‘(d) MEMBERSHIP.— 

2 ‘‘(1) COMPOSITION.—The membership of each 

3 regional advisory committee shall— 

4 ‘‘(A) not exceed 25 members; 

5 ‘‘(B) include the chief State school officer, 

6 or such officer’s designee, or other State offi7 cial, of States within the region of the com8 mittee who have primary responsibility under 

9 State law for elementary and secondary edu10 cation in the State; 

11 ‘‘(C) include representatives of local edu12 cational agencies, including rural and urban 

13 local educational agencies, that represent the 

14 geographic diversity of the region; and 

15 ‘‘(D) include researchers. 

16 ‘‘(2) ELIGIBILITY.—The membership of each 

17 regional advisory committee may include the fol18 lowing: 

19 ‘‘(A) Representatives of institutions of 

20 higher education. 

21 ‘‘(B) Parents. 

22 ‘‘(C) Practicing educators, including class23 room teachers, school leaders, administrators, 

24 school board members, and other local school 

25 officials. 


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1 ‘‘(D) Representatives of business. 

2 ‘‘(E) Policymakers. 

3 ‘‘(F) Representatives from the regional 

4 educational laboratory and comprehensive cen5 ters in the region. 

6 ‘‘(3) RECOMMENDATIONS.—In choosing individ7 uals for membership on a regional advisory com8 mittee, the Secretary shall consult with, and solicit 

9 recommendations from, the chief executive officers of 

10 States, chief State school officers, local educational 

11 agencies, and other education stakeholders within 

12 the applicable region. 

13 ‘‘(4) SPECIAL RULE.—The total number of 

14 members on each committee who are selected under 

15 subparagraphs (B) and (C) of paragraph (1), in the 

16 aggregate, shall exceed the total number of members 

17 who are selected under paragraph (2), collectively.’’; 

18 (5) in subsection (e), as so redesignated— 

19 (A) in paragraph (1)— 

20 (i) by inserting ‘‘, at least on a bien21 nial basis,’’ after ‘‘assess’’; and 

22 (ii) by inserting ‘‘, strengths, and 

23 weaknesses’’ after ‘‘educational needs’’; 

24 (B) in paragraph (2)— 


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1 (i) by striking ‘‘State school officers,’’ 

2 and all that follows through ‘‘within the re3 gion)’’ and inserting ‘‘State school officers, 

4 local educational agencies, representatives 

5 of public charter schools, educators, par6 ents, and others within the region’’; 

7 (ii) by striking ‘‘of the Education 

8 Sciences Reform Act of 2002 and section 

9 203 of this title’’ and inserting ‘‘and sec10 tion 203’’; and 

11 (iii) by striking ‘‘and’’ at the end; 

12 (C) by redesignating paragraph (3) as 

13 paragraph (4); 

14 (D) by inserting after paragraph (2) the 

15 following new paragraph: 

16 ‘‘(3) use available State and local data, con17 sistent with privacy protections under section 183, 

18 to determine regional educational needs; and’’. 

19 SEC. 207. PRIORITIES. 

20 Section 207 (20 U.S.C. 9606) is amended— 

21 (1) by inserting ‘‘Director and’’ before ‘‘Sec22 retary shall establish’’; 

23 (2) by striking ‘‘of the Education Sciences Re24 form Act of 2002’’; 

25 (3) by striking ‘‘of this title’’; 


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1 (4) by striking ‘‘to address, taking onto ac2 count’’ and inserting ‘‘, respectively, using the re3 sults of’’; and 

4 (5) by striking ‘‘relevant regional’’ and all that 

5 follows through ‘‘Secretary deems appropriate’’ and 

6 inserting ‘‘relevant regional and national surveys of 

7 educational needs’’. 

8 SEC. 208. GRANT PROGRAM FOR STATEWIDE LONGITU9 DINAL DATA SYSTEMS. 

10 Section 208 (20 U.S.C. 9607) is amended— 

11 (1) in subsection (a)— 

12 (A) by inserting before the period at the 

13 end the following: ‘‘, the Higher Education Act 

14 of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1001 et seq.), and the Indi15 viduals with Disabilities Education Act (20 

16 U.S.C. 1400 et seq.)’’; and 

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

18 ‘‘State educational agencies receiving a grant 

19 under this section may provide subgrants to 

20 local educational agencies to improve the capac21 ity of local educational agencies to carry out the 

22 activities authorized under this section.’’; 

23 (2) by redesignating subsections (c), (d), and 

24 (e) as subsections (d), (e), and (g), respectively; 


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

3 ‘‘(c) PERFORMANCE MANAGEMENT.—Before award4 ing a grant under this section, the Secretary shall estab5 lish measurable performance indicators— 

6 ‘‘(1) to be used to assess the ongoing progress 

7 and performance of State educational agencies re8 ceiving a grant under this section; and 

9 ‘‘(2) that address paragraphs (1) through (3) of 

10 the performance management system described in 

11 section 185.’’; 

12 (4) in subsection (d), as so redesignated— 

13 (A) in paragraph (1), by striking ‘‘, pro14 motes linkages across States,’’; 

15 (B) in paragraph (2)— 

16 (i) in the matter preceding subpara17 graph (A), by inserting ‘‘supports school 

18 improvement and’’ after ‘‘data that’’; 

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

20 ‘‘and other reporting requirements and 

21 close achievement gaps; and’’ and inserting 

22 ‘‘, other reporting requirements, close 

23 achievement gaps, and improve teaching;’’; 

24 (iii) in subparagraph (B), by striking 

25 ‘‘and close achievement gaps’’ and by inVerDate Sep 11 2014 22:57 Nov 17, 2014 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00095 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6401 E:\BILLS\H4366.RS H4366

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1 serting ‘‘, close achievement gaps, and im2 prove teaching’’; and 

3 (iv) by inserting after subparagraph 

4 (B) the following: 

5 ‘‘(C) to align statewide longitudinal data 

6 systems from early education through postsec7 ondary education (including pre-service prepa8 ration programs), and the workforce, consistent 

9 with privacy protections under section 183;’’; 

10 and 

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

13 ‘‘(3) ensures the protection of student privacy, 

14 and includes a review of how State educational agen15 cies, local educational agencies, and others that will 

16 have access to the statewide data systems under this 

17 section will adhere to Federal privacy laws and pro18 tections, consistent with section 183, in the building, 

19 maintenance, and use of such data systems; 

20 ‘‘(4) ensures State educational agencies receiv21 ing a grant under this section support professional 

22 development that builds the capacity of teachers and 

23 school leaders to use data effectively; and 

24 ‘‘(5) gives priority to State educational agencies 

25 that leverage the use of longitudinal data systems to 


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1 improve student achievement and growth, including 

2 such State educational agencies that— 

3 ‘‘(A) meet the voluntary standards and 

4 guidelines described in section 153(a)(5); 

5 ‘‘(B) define the roles of State educational 

6 agencies, local educational agencies, and others 

7 in providing timely access to data under the 

8 statewide data systems, consistent with privacy 

9 protections in section 183; and 

10 ‘‘(C) demonstrate the capacity to share 

11 teacher and school leader performance data, in12 cluding student achievement and growth data, 

13 with local educational agencies and teacher and 

14 school leader preparation programs.’’; 

15 (5) by inserting after subsection (e), as so re16 designated, the following: 

17 ‘‘(f) RENEWAL OF AWARDS.—The Secretary may 

18 renew a grant awarded to a State educational agency 

19 under this section for a period not to exceed 3 years, if 

20 the State educational agency has demonstrated progress 

21 on the measurable performance indicators established 

22 under subsection (c).’’; and 

23 (6) by amending subsection (g), as so redesig24 nated, to read as follows: 

25 ‘‘(g) REPORTS.— 


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1 ‘‘(1) FIRST REPORT.—Not later than 1 year 

2 after the date of enactment of the Strengthening 

3 Education through Research Act, the Secretary shall 

4 prepare and make publicly available a report on the 

5 implementation and effectiveness of the activities 

6 carried out by State educational agencies receiving a 

7 grant under this section, including— 

8 ‘‘(A) information on progress in the devel9 opment and use of statewide longitudinal data 

10 systems described in this section; 

11 ‘‘(B) information on best practices and 

12 areas for improvement in such development and 

13 use; and 

14 ‘‘(C) how the State educational agencies 

15 are adhering to Federal privacy laws and pro16 tections in the building, maintenance, and use 

17 of such data systems. 

18 ‘‘(2) SUCCEEDING REPORTS.—Every succeeding 

19 3 years after the report is made publicly available 

20 under paragraph (1), the Secretary shall prepare 

21 and make publicly available a report on the imple22 mentation and effectiveness of the activities carried 

23 out by State educational agencies receiving a grant 

24 under this section, including— 


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1 ‘‘(A) information on the requirements of 

2 subparagraphs (A) through (C) of paragraph 

3 (1); and 

4 ‘‘(B) the progress, in the aggregate, State 

5 educational agencies are making on the measur6 able performance indicators established under 

7 subsection (c).’’. 

8 SEC. 209. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 

9 Section 209 (20 U.S.C. 9608) is amended to read as 

10 follows: 

11 ‘‘SEC. 209. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 

12 ‘‘There are authorized to be appropriated to carry out 

13 this title— 

14 ‘‘(1) for fiscal year 2015, $82,984,000; 

15 ‘‘(2) for fiscal year 2016, $83,149,968; 

16 ‘‘(3) for fiscal year 2017, $84,979,268; 

17 ‘‘(4) for fiscal year 2018, $87,018,769; 

18 ‘‘(5) for fiscal year 2019, $89,368,277; and 

19 ‘‘(6) for fiscal year 2020, $90,708,801.’’. 

20 TITLE III—NATIONAL ASSESS21 MENT OF EDUCATIONAL 

22 PROGRESS 

23 SEC. 301. REFERENCES. 

24 Except as otherwise expressly provided, whenever in 

25 this title an amendment or repeal is expressed in terms 


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1 of an amendment to, or repeal of, a section or other provi2 sion, the reference shall be considered to be made to a 

3 section or other provision of the National Assessment of 

4 Educational Progress Authorization Act (20 U.S.C. 9621 

5 et seq.). 

6 SEC. 302. NATIONAL ASSESSMENT GOVERNING BOARD. 

7 Section 302 (20 U.S.C. 9621) is amended— 

8 (1) in subsection (a), by striking ‘‘shall formu9 late policy guidelines’’ and inserting ‘‘shall oversee 

10 and set policies, in a manner consistent with sub11 section (e) and accepted professional standards,’’; 

12 (2) in subsection (b)(1)(L)— 

13 (A) by striking ‘‘principals’’ and inserting 

14 ‘‘leaders’’; and 

15 (B) by striking ‘‘principal’’ both places it 

16 appears and inserting ‘‘leader’’; 

17 (3) in subsection (c), by striking paragraph (4); 

18 (4) in subsection (d)— 

19 (A) in paragraph (1)— 

20 (i) in subparagraph (A), by inserting 

21 ‘‘the Assessment Board after consultation 

22 with’’ before ‘‘organizations’’; and 

23 (ii) in subparagraph (B)— 

24 (I) by striking ‘‘Each organiza25 tion submitting nominations to the 


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1 Secretary with’’ and inserting ‘‘With’’; 

2 and 

3 (II) by inserting ‘‘, the Assess4 ment Board’’ after ‘‘particular va5 cancy’’; and 

6 (B) in paragraph (2)— 

7 (i) by striking ‘‘that each organization 

8 described in paragraph (1)(A) submit addi9 tional nominations’’ and inserting ‘‘addi10 tional nominations from the Assessment 

11 Board or each organization described in 

12 paragraph (1)(A)’’; and 

13 (ii) by striking ‘‘such organization’’ 

14 and inserting ‘‘the Assessment Board’’; 

15 and 

16 (5) in subsection (e)(1)— 

17 (A) in subparagraph (A)— 

18 (i) by inserting ‘‘in consultation with 

19 the Commissioner for Education Statis20 tics,’’ before ‘‘select’’; 

21 (ii) by inserting ‘‘and grades or ages’’ 

22 before ‘‘to be’’; and 

23 (iii) by inserting ‘‘, and determine the 

24 year in which such assessments will be 

25 conducted’’ after ‘‘assessed’’; 


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

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

3 (C) in subparagraph (E), by striking ‘‘de4 sign’’ and inserting ‘‘provide input on’’; 

5 (D) by striking ‘‘and’’ at the end of sub6 paragraph (I); 

7 (E) by redesignating subparagraph (J) as 

8 subparagraph (K); 

9 (F) by inserting after subparagraph (I), 

10 the following: 

11 ‘‘(J) provide input to the Director on an12 nual budget requests for the National Assess13 ment of Educational Progress; and’’; 

14 (G) in subparagraph (K), as so redesig15 nated— 

16 (i) by striking ‘‘plan and execute the 

17 initial public release of’’; and 

18 (ii) by inserting ‘‘release the initial’’ 

19 before ‘‘National’’; and 

20 (H) in the matter following subparagraph 

21 (K), as so amended and redesignated, by strik22 ing ‘‘subparagraph (J)’’ and inserting ‘‘sub23 paragraph (K)’’. 


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1 SEC. 303. NATIONAL ASSESSMENT OF EDUCATIONAL 

2 PROGRESS. 

3 Section 303 (20 U.S.C. 9622) is amended— 

4 (1) in subsection (a), by striking ‘‘with the ad5 vice of the Assessment Board established under sec6 tion 302’’ and inserting ‘‘in a manner consistent 

7 with accepted professional standards and the policies 

8 set forth by the Assessment Board under section 

9 302(a)’’; 

10 (2) in subsection (b)(2)— 

11 (A) in subparagraph (D), by inserting 

12 ‘‘and consistent with section 302(e)(1)(A)’’ 

13 after ‘‘resources allow’’; 

14 (B) by striking ‘‘and’’ at the end of sub15 paragraph (G); 

16 (C) by striking the period and inserting ‘‘; 

17 and’’ at the end of subparagraph (H); and 

18 (D) by adding at the end the following new 

19 subparagraph: 

20 ‘‘(I) determine, after taking into account 

21 section 302(e)(1)(I), the content of initial and 

22 subsequent reports of all assessments author23 ized under this section and ensure that such re24 ports are valid and reliable.’’; 

25 (3) in subsection (c)(2)— 


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1 (A) in subparagraph (B), by striking ‘‘of 

2 Education’’ after ‘‘Secretary’’; and 

3 (B) in subparagraph (D)— 

4 (i) by striking ‘‘Chairman of the 

5 House’’ before ‘‘Committee on Education’’; 

6 (ii) by inserting ‘‘of the House of Rep7 resentatives’’ after ‘‘Workforce’’; 

8 (iii) by striking ‘‘Chairman of the 

9 Senate’’ before ‘‘Committee on Health’’; 

10 and 

11 (iv) by inserting ‘‘of the Senate’’ after 

12 ‘‘Pensions’’; 

13 (4) in subsection (d)(1), by inserting before the 

14 period, the following: ‘‘, except as required under 

15 section 1112(b)(1)(F) of the Elementary and Sec16 ondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 

17 6312(b)(1)(F))’’; 

18 (5) in subsection (e)— 

19 (A) in paragraph (1), by striking ‘‘or age’’; 

20 and 

21 (B) in paragraph (2)— 

22 (i) in subparagraph (A)— 

23 (I) by striking ‘‘shall’’ and all 

24 that follows through ‘‘be’’ and insert 

25 ‘‘shall be’’; 


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1 (II) by redesignating subclauses 

2 (I) and (II) as clauses (i) and (ii), re3 spectively (and by moving the margins 

4 2 ems to the left); and 

5 (III) in clause (ii) (as so redesig6 nated), by striking ‘‘, or the age of 

7 the students, as the case may be’’; 

8 (ii) in subparagraph (B)— 

9 (I) by striking ‘‘After the deter10 minations described in subparagraph 

11 (A), devising’’ and inserting ‘‘The As12 sessment Board shall, in making the 

13 determination described in subpara14 graph (A), use’’; and 

15 (II) by inserting after ‘‘ap16 proach’’ the following: ‘‘, providing for 

17 the active participation of teachers, 

18 school leaders, curriculum specialists, 

19 local school administrators, parents, 

20 and concerned members of the general 

21 public’’; and 

22 (iii) in subparagraph (D), by inserting 

23 ‘‘Assessment’’ before ‘‘Board’’; and 

24 (6) in subsection (g)(2)— 


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1 (A) in the heading, by striking ‘‘AFFAIRS’’ 

2 and inserting ‘‘EDUCATION’’; and 

3 (B) by striking ‘‘Affairs’’ and inserting 

4 ‘‘Education’’. 

5 SEC. 304. DEFINITIONS. 

6 Section 304 (20 U.S.C. 9623) is amended— 

7 (1) in paragraph (1), by striking ‘‘(1)’’ and in8 serting ‘‘(1) DIRECTOR.—’’; 

9 (2) in paragraph (2), by striking ‘‘(2)’’ and in10 serting ‘‘(2) STATE.—’’; and 

11 (3) by redesignating paragraphs (1) and (2) (as 

12 so amended) as paragraphs (2) and (5), respectively; 

13 (4) by inserting before paragraph (2) (as so re14 designated) the following new paragraph: 

15 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The terms ‘elementary 

16 school’, ‘local educational agency’, and ‘secondary 

17 school’ have the meanings given those terms in sec18 tion 9101 of the Elementary and Secondary Edu19 cation Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 7801).’’; and 

20 (5) by inserting after paragraph (2) (as so re21 designated), the following new paragraphs: 

22 ‘‘(3) SCHOOL LEADER.—The term ‘school lead23 er’ has the meaning given the term in section 102. 

24 ‘‘(4) SECRETARY.—The term ‘Secretary’ means 

25 the Secretary of Education.’’. 


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1 SEC. 305. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 

2 Section 305(a) (20 U.S.C. 9624(a)) is amended to 

3 read as follows: 

4 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—There are authorized to be ap5 propriated— 

6 ‘‘(1) for fiscal year 2015— 

7 ‘‘(A) $8,235,000 to carry out section 302 

8 (relating to the National Assessment Governing 

9 Board); and 

10 ‘‘(B) $132,000,000 to carry out section 

11 303 (relating to the National Assessment of 

12 Educational Progress); 

13 ‘‘(2) for fiscal year 2016— 

14 ‘‘(A) $8,251,470 to carry out section 302 

15 (relating to the National Assessment Governing 

16 Board); and 

17 ‘‘(B) $132,264,000 to carry out section 

18 303 (relating to the National Assessment of 

19 Educational Progress); 

20 ‘‘(3) for fiscal year 2017— 

21 ‘‘(A) $8,433,002 to carry out section 302 

22 (relating to the National Assessment Governing 

23 Board); and 

24 ‘‘(B) $135,173,808 to carry out section 

25 303 (relating to the National Assessment of 

26 Educational Progress); 


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1 ‘‘(4) for fiscal year 2018— 

2 ‘‘(A) $8,635,395 to carry out section 302 

3 (relating to the National Assessment Governing 

4 Board); and 

5 ‘‘(B) $138,417,979 to carry out section 

6 303 (relating to the National Assessment of 

7 Educational Progress); 

8 ‘‘(5) for fiscal year 2019— 

9 ‘‘(A) $8,868,550 to carry out section 302 

10 (relating to the National Assessment Governing 

11 Board); and 

12 ‘‘(B) $142,155,266 to carry out section 

13 303 (relating to the National Assessment of 

14 Educational Progress); and 

15 ‘‘(6) for fiscal year 2020— 

16 ‘‘(A) $9,001,578 to carry out section 302 

17 (relating to the National Assessment Governing 

18 Board); and 

19 ‘‘(B) $144,287,595 to carry out section 

20 303 (relating to the National Assessment of 

21 Educational Progress).’’. 

22 TITLE IV—EVALUATION PLAN 

23 SEC. 401. RESEARCH AND EVALUATION. 

24 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Institute of Education 

25 Sciences shall be the primary entity for conducting reVerDate Sep 11 2014 22:57 Nov 17, 2014 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00108 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6401 E:\BILLS\H4366.RS H4366

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1 search on and evaluations of Federal education programs 

2 within the Department of Education to ensure the rigor 

3 and independence of such research and evaluation. 

4 (b) FLEXIBLE AUTHORITY.— 

5 (1) RESERVATION.—Notwithstanding any other 

6 provision of law in the Elementary and Secondary 

7 Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. et seq. 6301 et 

8 seq.) related to evaluation, the Secretary of Edu9 cation, in consultation with the Director of the Insti10 tute of Education Sciences— 

11 (A) may, for purposes of carrying out the 

12 activities described in paragraph (2)(B)— 

13 (i) reserve not more than 0.5 percent 

14 of the total amount of funds appropriated 

15 for each program authorized under the El16 ementary and Secondary Education Act of 

17 1965 (20 U.S.C. 6301 et seq.), other than 

18 part A of title I of such Act (20 U.S.C. 

19 6311 et seq.) and section 1501 of such Act 

20 (20 U.S.C. 6491); and 

21 (ii) reserve, in the manner described 

22 in subparagraph (B), an amount equal to 

23 not more than 0.1 percent of the total 

24 amount of funds appropriated for— 


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1 (I) part A of title I of the Ele2 mentary and Secondary Education 

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

4 and 

5 (II) section 1501 of such Act (20 

6 U.S.C. 6491); and 

7 (B) in reserving the amount described in 

8 subparagraph (A)(ii)— 

9 (i) shall reserve up to the total 

10 amount of funds appropriated for section 

11 1501 of the Elementary and Secondary 

12 Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 6491); 

13 and 

14 (ii) may, in a case in which the total 

15 amount of funds appropriated for such sec16 tion 1501 (20 U.S.C. 6491) is less than 

17 the amount described in subparagraph 

18 (A)(ii), reserve the amount of funds appro19 priated for part A of title I of the Elemen20 tary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 

21 (20 U.S.C. 6311 et seq.) that is needed for 

22 the sum of the total amount of funds ap23 propriated for such section 1501 (20 

24 U.S.C. 6491) and such amount of funds 

25 appropriated for such part A of title I (20 


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1 U.S.C. 6311 et seq.) to equal the amount 

2 described in subparagraph (A)(ii). 

3 (2) AUTHORIZED ACTIVITIES.—If funds are re4 served under paragraph (1)— 

5 (A) neither the Secretary of Education nor 

6 the Director of the Institute of Education 

7 Sciences shall— 

8 (i) carry out evaluations under section 

9 1501 of the Elementary and Secondary 

10 Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 6491); 

11 or 

12 (ii) reserve funds for evaluation activi13 ties under section 3111(c)(1)(C) of such 

14 Act (20 U.S.C. 6821); and 

15 (B) the Secretary of Education, in con16 sultation with the Director of the Institute of 

17 Education Sciences— 

18 (i) shall use the funds reserved under 

19 paragraph (1) to carry out high-quality 

20 evaluations (consistent with the require21 ments of section 173(a) of the Education 

22 Sciences Reform Act of 2002 (20 U.S.C. 

23 9563(a)), as amended by this Act, and the 

24 evaluation plan described in subsection (c) 

25 of this section) of programs authorized 


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1 under the Elementary and Secondary Edu2 cation Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 6301 et 

3 seq.); and 

4 (ii) may use the funds reserved under 

5 paragraph (1) to— 

6 (I) increase the usefulness of the 

7 evaluations conducted under clause (i) 

8 to promote continuous improvement of 

9 programs under the Elementary and 

10 Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 

11 U.S.C. 6301 et seq.); or 

12 (II) assist grantees of such pro13 grams in collecting and analyzing data 

14 and other activities related to con15 ducting high-quality evaluations under 

16 clause (i). 

17 (3) DISSEMINATION.—The Secretary of Edu18 cation or the Director of the Institute of Education 

19 Sciences shall disseminate evaluation findings, con20 sistent with section 114(j) of the Education Sciences 

21 Reform Act of 2002 (20 U.S.C. 9514(j)), as amend22 ed by this Act, of evaluations carried out under 

23 paragraph (2)(B)(i). 


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1 (4) CONSOLIDATION.—The Secretary of Edu2 cation, in consultation with the Director of the Insti3 tute of Education Sciences— 

4 (A) may consolidate the funds reserved 

5 under paragraph (1) for purposes of carrying 

6 out the activities under paragraph (2)(B); and 

7 (B) shall not be required to evaluate under 

8 paragraph (2)(B)(i) each program authorized 

9 under the Elementary and Secondary Education 

10 Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 6301 et seq.) each year. 

11 (c) EVALUATION PLAN.—The Director of the Insti12 tute of Education Sciences, in consultation with the Sec13 retary of Education, shall, on a biennial basis, develop, 

14 submit to Congress, and make publicly available an eval15 uation plan, that— 

16 (1) describes the specific activities that will be 

17 carried out under subsection (b)(2)(B) for the 2-year 

18 period applicable to the plan, and the timelines of 

19 such activities; 

20 (2) contains the results of the activities carried 

21 out under subsection (b)(2)(B) for the most recent 

22 2-year period; and 

23 (3) describes how programs authorized under 

24 the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 


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1 1965 (20 U.S.C. 6301 et seq.) will be regularly eval2 uated. 

3 (d) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.—Nothing in this sec4 tion shall be construed to affect section 173(b) of the Edu5 cation Sciences Reform Act of 2002 (20 U.S.C. 9563(b)), 

6 as amended by this Act. 

7 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

8 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Strengthening Edu9 cation through Research Act’’. 

10 SEC. 2. TABLE OF CONTENTS. 

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

Sec. 1. Short title. 

Sec. 2. Table of contents. 

Sec. 3. Nonduplication. 

TITLE I—EDUCATION SCIENCES REFORM 

Sec. 101. References. 

Sec. 102. Definitions. 

PART A—THE INSTITUTE OF EDUCATION SCIENCES

Sec. 111. Establishment. 

Sec. 112. Functions. 

Sec. 113. Delegation. 

Sec. 114. Office of the Director. 

Sec. 115. Priorities. 

Sec. 116. National Board for Education Sciences. 

Sec. 117. Commissioners of the National Education Centers. 

Sec. 118. Transparency. 

Sec. 119. Competitive awards. 

PART B—NATIONAL CENTER FOR EDUCATION RESEARCH

Sec. 131. Establishment. 

Sec. 132. Duties. 

Sec. 133. Standards for conduct and evaluation of research. 

PART C—NATIONAL CENTER FOR EDUCATION STATISTICS

Sec. 151. Establishment. 

Sec. 152. Duties. 

Sec. 153. Performance of duties. 

Sec. 154. Reports. 


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Sec. 155. Dissemination. 

Sec. 156. Cooperative education statistics systems. 

PART D—NATIONAL CENTER FOR EDUCATION EVALUATION AND REGIONAL

ASSISTANCE

Sec. 171. Establishment. 

Sec. 172. Commissioner for Education Evaluation and Regional Assistance. 

Sec. 173. Evaluations. 

Sec. 174. Regional educational laboratories for research, development, dissemination, and evaluation. 

PART E—NATIONAL CENTER FOR SPECIAL EDUCATION RESEARCH

Sec. 175. Establishment. 

Sec. 176. Commissioner for Special Education Research. 

Sec. 177. Duties. 

PART F—GENERAL PROVISIONS

Sec. 181. Prohibitions. 

Sec. 182. Confidentiality. 

Sec. 183. Availability of data. 

Sec. 184. Performance management. 

Sec. 185. Authority to publish. 

Sec. 186. Repeals. 

Sec. 187. Fellowships. 

Sec. 188. Authorization of appropriations. 

PART G—TECHNICAL AND CONFORMING AMENDMENTS

Sec. 191. Technical and conforming amendments to other laws. 

TITLE II—EDUCATIONAL TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE 

Sec. 201. References. 

Sec. 202. Definitions. 

Sec. 203. Comprehensive centers. 

Sec. 204. Evaluations. 

Sec. 205. Existing technical assistance providers. 

Sec. 206. Regional advisory committees. 

Sec. 207. Priorities. 

Sec. 208. Grant program for statewide, longitudinal data systems. 

Sec. 209. Authorization of appropriations. 

TITLE III—NATIONAL ASSESSMENT OF EDUCATIONAL PROGRESS 

Sec. 301. References. 

Sec. 302. National Assessment Governing Board. 

Sec. 303. National Assessment of Educational Progress. 

Sec. 304. Definitions. 

Sec. 305. Authorization of appropriations. 

TITLE IV—EVALUATION PLAN 

Sec. 401. Research and evaluation. 


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1 SEC. 3. NONDUPLICATION. 

2 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Act of November 5, 2002 (Pub3 lic Law 107–279; 116 Stat. 1940) is amended by inserting 

4 after section 1 the following: 

5 ‘‘SEC. 2. NONDUPLICATION. 

6 ‘‘In collecting information and data under this Act, 

7 including requiring the reporting of information and data, 

8 the Secretary of Education shall, to the extent appropriate, 

9 not duplicate other requirements and shall use information 

10 and data that are available from existing Federal, State, 

11 and local sources, in order to reduce burden and cost to 

12 the Department of Education, States, local educational 

13 agencies (as defined in section 9101 of the Elementary and 

14 Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 7801)), and 

15 other entities.’’. 

16 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—The table of contents 

17 in section 1 of the Act of November 5, 2002 (Public Law 

18 107–279; 116 Stat. 1940) is amended by inserting after the 

19 item relating to section 1 the following: 

‘‘Sec. 2. Nonduplication.’’. 

20 TITLE I—EDUCATION SCIENCES 

21 REFORM 

22 SEC. 101. REFERENCES. 

23 Except as otherwise expressly provided, whenever in 

24 this title an amendment or repeal is expressed in terms of 

25 an amendment to, or repeal of, a section or other provision, 


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1 the reference shall be considered to be made to a section or 

2 other provision of the Education Sciences Reform Act of 

3 2002 (20 U.S.C. 9501 et seq.). 

4 SEC. 102. DEFINITIONS. 

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

6 (1) by striking paragraphs (13) and (18); 

7 (2) by redesignating paragraphs (2) through 

8 (11), (12), (14), (15), (16), (17), and (19) through 

9 (23), as paragraphs (3) through (12), (14), (15), (16), 

10 (18), (20), and (22) through (26), respectively; 

11 (3) by inserting after paragraph (1) the fol12 lowing: 

13 ‘‘(2) ADULT EDUCATION; ADULT EDUCATION AND

14 LITERACY ACTIVITIES.—The terms ‘adult education’ 

15 and ‘adult education and literacy activities’ have the 

16 meanings given the terms in section 203 of the Adult 

17 Education and Family Literacy Act (20 U.S.C. 

18 9202).’’; 

19 (4) in paragraph (6), as redesignated by para20 graph (2), by striking ‘‘Affairs’’ and inserting ‘‘Edu21 cation’’; 

22 (5) in paragraph (11), as redesignated by para23 graph (2)— 

24 (A) by inserting ‘‘or other information, in 

25 a timely manner and’’ after ‘‘evaluations,’’; and 


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1 (B) by inserting ‘‘school leaders,’’ after 

2 ‘‘teachers,’’; 

3 (6) by inserting after paragraph (12), as redesig4 nated by paragraph (2), the following: 

5 ‘‘(13) ENGLISH LEARNER.—The term ‘English 

6 learner’ means an individual who is limited English 

7 proficient, as defined in section 9101 of the Elemen8 tary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 

9 U.S.C. 7801) or section 637 of the Head Start Act (42 

10 U.S.C. 9832).’’; 

11 (7) in paragraph (14), as redesignated by para12 graph (2), by inserting ‘‘, school leaders,’’ after 

13 ‘‘teachers’’; 

14 (8) by inserting after paragraph (16), as redesig15 nated by paragraph (2), the following: 

16 ‘‘(17) MINORITY-SERVING INSTITUTION.—The 

17 term ‘minority-serving institution’ means an institu18 tion of higher education described in section 371(a) of 

19 the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 

20 1067q(a)).’’; 

21 (9) in paragraph (18), as redesignated by para22 graph (2), by striking ‘‘section 133(c)’’ and inserting 

23 ‘‘section 133(d)’’; 

24 (10) by inserting after paragraph (18), as redes25 ignated by paragraph (2), the following: 


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1 ‘‘(19) PRINCIPLES OF SCIENTIFIC RESEARCH.— 

2 The term ‘principles of scientific research’ means 

3 principles of research that— 

4 ‘‘(A) apply rigorous, systematic, and objec5 tive methodology to obtain reliable and valid 

6 knowledge relevant to education activities and 

7 programs; 

8 ‘‘(B) present findings and make claims that 

9 are appropriate to, and supported by, the meth10 ods that have been employed; and 

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

12 being conducted— 

13 ‘‘(i) use of systematic, empirical meth14 ods that draw on observation or experiment; 

15 ‘‘(ii) use of data analyses that are ade16 quate to support the general findings; 

17 ‘‘(iii) reliance on measurements or ob18 servational methods that provide reliable 

19 and generalizable findings; 

20 ‘‘(iv) strong claims of causal relation21 ships, only with research designs that elimi22 nate plausible competing explanations for 

23 observed results, such as, but not limited to, 

24 random-assignment experiments; 


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1 ‘‘(v) presentation of studies and meth2 ods in sufficient detail and clarity to allow 

3 for replication or, at a minimum, to offer 

4 the opportunity to build systematically on 

5 the findings of the research; 

6 ‘‘(vi) acceptance by a peer-reviewed 

7 journal or critique by a panel of inde8 pendent experts through a comparably rig9 orous, objective, and scientific review; and 

10 ‘‘(vii) consistency of findings across 

11 multiple studies or sites to support the gen12 erality of results and conclusions.’’; 

13 (11) by inserting after paragraph (20), as redes14 ignated by paragraph (2), the following: 

15 ‘‘(21) SCHOOL LEADER.—The term ‘school lead16 er’ means a principal, assistant principal, or other 

17 individual who is— 

18 ‘‘(A) an employee or officer of— 

19 ‘‘(i) an elementary school or secondary 

20 school; 

21 ‘‘(ii) a local educational agency serv22 ing an elementary school or secondary 

23 school; or 

24 ‘‘(iii) another entity operating the ele25 mentary school or secondary school; and 


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1 ‘‘(B) responsible for the daily instructional 

2 leadership and managerial operations of the ele3 mentary school or secondary school.’’; and 

4 (12) in paragraph (23), as redesignated by para5 graph (2), by striking ‘‘scientifically based research 

6 standards’’ and inserting ‘‘the principles of scientific 

7 research’’. 

8 PART A—THE INSTITUTE OF EDUCATION 

9 SCIENCES 

10 SEC. 111. ESTABLISHMENT. 

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

12 (1) in paragraph (1), in the matter preceding 

13 subparagraph (A), by inserting ‘‘including adult edu14 cation,’’ after ‘‘postsecondary study,’’; and 

15 (2) in paragraph (2)— 

16 (A) in the matter preceding subparagraph 

17 (A)— 

18 (i) by striking ‘‘and wide dissemina19 tion activities’’ and inserting ‘‘and, con20 sistent with section 114(j), wide dissemina21 tion and utilization activities’’; and 

22 (ii) by striking ‘‘(including in tech23 nology areas)’’; and 

24 (B) in subparagraph (B), by inserting ‘‘dis25 ability,’’ after ‘‘gender,’’. 


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1 SEC. 112. FUNCTIONS. 

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

3 (1) in paragraph (1)— 

4 (A) by inserting ‘‘(including evaluations of 

5 impact and implementation)’’ after ‘‘education 

6 evaluation’’; and 

7 (B) by inserting ‘‘and utilization’’ before 

8 the semicolon; and 

9 (2) in paragraph (2)— 

10 (A) by inserting ‘‘, consistent with section 

11 114(j),’’ after ‘‘disseminate’’; and 

12 (B) by inserting ‘‘and scientifically valid 

13 education evaluations carried out under this 

14 title’’ before the semicolon. 

15 SEC. 113. DELEGATION. 

16 Section 113 (20 U.S.C. 9513) is amended— 

17 (1) in subsection (a)— 

18 (A) by striking paragraph (1); and 

19 (B) by redesignating paragraphs (2) 

20 through (5) as paragraphs (1) through (4), re21 spectively; 

22 (2) in subsection (b), by striking ‘‘Secretary may 

23 assign the Institute responsibility for administering’’ 

24 and inserting ‘‘Director may accept requests from the 

25 Secretary for the Institute to administer’’; and 

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


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1 ‘‘(c) CONTRACT ACQUISITION.—With respect to any 

2 contract entered into under this title, the Director shall be 

3 consulted— 

4 ‘‘(1) during the procurement process; and 

5 ‘‘(2) in the management of such contract’s per6 formance, which shall be consistent with the require7 ments of the performance management system de8 scribed in section 185.’’. 

9 SEC. 114. OFFICE OF THE DIRECTOR. 

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

11 (1) in subsection (a), by striking ‘‘Except as pro12 vided in subsection (b)(2), the’’ and inserting ‘‘The’’; 

13 (2) in subsection (b)— 

14 (A) in paragraph (1), by inserting before 

15 the period the following: ‘‘, except that if a suc16 cessor to the Director has not been appointed as 

17 of the date of expiration of the Director’s term, 

18 the Director may serve for an additional 1-year 

19 period, beginning on the day after the date of ex20 piration of the Director’s term, or until a suc21 cessor has been appointed under subsection (a), 

22 whichever occurs first’’; 

23 (B) by striking paragraph (2) and inserting 

24 the following: 


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1 ‘‘(2) REAPPOINTMENT.—A Director may be re2 appointed under subsection (a) for one additional 

3 term.’’; and 

4 (C) in paragraph (3)— 

5 (i) in the heading, by striking ‘‘SUBSE6 QUENT DIRECTORS’’ and inserting ‘‘REC7 OMMENDATIONS’’; and 

8 (ii) by striking ‘‘, other than a Direc9 tor appointed under paragraph (2)’’; 

10 (3) in subsection (f)— 

11 (A) in paragraph (3), by inserting before 

12 the period the following: ‘‘, and, as appropriate, 

13 with such research and activities carried out by 

14 public and private entities, to avoid duplicative 

15 or overlapping efforts’’; 

16 (B) in paragraph (4), by inserting ‘‘, and 

17 the use of evidence’’ after ‘‘statistics activities’’; 

18 (C) in paragraph (5)— 

19 (i) by inserting ‘‘and maintain’’ after 

20 ‘‘establish’’; and 

21 (ii) by inserting ‘‘and subsection (h)’’ 

22 after ‘‘section 116(b)(3)’’; 

23 (D) in paragraph (7), by inserting ‘‘dis24 ability,’’ after ‘‘gender,’’; 


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1 (E) in paragraph (8), by striking ‘‘histori2 cally Black colleges or universities’’ and insert3 ing ‘‘minority-serving institutions’’; 

4 (F) by striking paragraph (9) and inserting 

5 the following: 

6 ‘‘(9) To coordinate with the Secretary to ensure 

7 that the results of the Institute’s work are coordinated 

8 with, and utilized by, the Department’s technical as9 sistance providers and dissemination networks.’’; 

10 (G) by striking paragraphs (10) and (11); 

11 and 

12 (H) by redesignating paragraph (12) as 

13 paragraph (10); 

14 (4) by redesignating subsection (h) as subsection 

15 (i); 

16 (5) by inserting after subsection (g), the fol17 lowing: 

18 ‘‘(h) PEER-REVIEW SYSTEM.—The Director shall es19 tablish and maintain a peer-review system involving highly 

20 qualified individuals, including practitioners, as appro21 priate, with an in-depth knowledge of the subject to be in22 vestigated, including, in the case of special education re23 search, an understanding of special education, for— 


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1 ‘‘(1) reviewing and evaluating each application 

2 for a grant or cooperative agreement under this title 

3 that exceeds $100,000; and 

4 ‘‘(2) evaluating and assessing all reports and 

5 other products that exceed $100,000 to be published 

6 and publicly released by the Institute.’’; 

7 (6) in subsection (i), as redesignated by para8 graph (4)— 

9 (A) by striking ‘‘the products and’’; and 

10 (B) by striking ‘‘certify that evidence-based 

11 claims about those products and’’ and inserting 

12 ‘‘determine whether evidence-based claims in 

13 those’’; and 

14 (7) by adding at the end the following: 

15 ‘‘(j) RELEVANCE, DISSEMINATION, AND UTILIZA16 TION.—To ensure all activities authorized under this title 

17 are rigorous, relevant, and useful for researchers, policy18 makers, practitioners, and the public, the Director shall— 

19 ‘‘(1) ensure such activities address significant 

20 challenges faced by practitioners, and increase knowl21 edge in the field of education; 

22 ‘‘(2) ensure that the information, products, and 

23 publications of the Institute are— 

24 ‘‘(A) prepared and widely disseminated— 

25 ‘‘(i) in a timely fashion; and 


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1 ‘‘(ii) in forms that are understandable, 

2 easily accessible, and usable, or adaptable 

3 for use in, the improvement of educational 

4 practice; and 

5 ‘‘(B) widely disseminated through electronic 

6 transfer, and other means, such as posting to the 

7 Institute’s website or other relevant place; 

8 ‘‘(3) promote the utilization of the information, 

9 products, and publications of the Institute, including 

10 through the use of dissemination networks and tech11 nical assistance providers, within the Institute and 

12 the Department; and 

13 ‘‘(4) monitor and manage the performance of all 

14 activities authorized under this title in accordance 

15 with section 185.’’. 

16 SEC. 115. PRIORITIES. 

17 Section 115 (20 U.S.C. 9515) is amended— 

18 (1) in subsection (a)— 

19 (A) in the matter preceding paragraph 

20 (1)— 

21 (i) by striking ‘‘(taking into consider22 ation long-term research and development 

23 on core issues conducted through the na24 tional research and development centers)’’ 


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1 and inserting ‘‘at least once every 6 years’’; 

2 and 

3 (ii) by striking ‘‘such as’’ and insert4 ing ‘‘including’’; 

5 (B) in paragraph (1)— 

6 (i) by inserting ‘‘ensuring that all stu7 dents have the ability to obtain a high-qual8 ity education, particularly’’ before ‘‘clos9 ing’’; 

10 (ii) by striking ‘‘low-performing chil11 dren’’ and inserting ‘‘low-performing stu12 dents’’; 

13 (iii) by striking ‘‘especially achieve14 ment gaps between’’; 

15 (iv) by striking ‘‘nonminority chil16 dren’’ and inserting ‘‘nonminority students, 

17 students with disabilities and students with18 out disabilities,’’; 

19 (v) by striking ‘‘and between disadvan20 taged children and such children’s’’ and in21 serting ‘‘and disadvantaged students and 

22 such students’ ’’; and 

23 (vi) by striking ‘‘and’’ after the semi24 colon; 

25 (C) by striking paragraph (2); and 


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1 (D) by adding at the end the following: 

2 ‘‘(2) improving access to and the quality of early 

3 childhood education; 

4 ‘‘(3) improving education in elementary schools 

5 and secondary schools, particularly among low-per6 forming students and schools; and 

7 ‘‘(4) improving access to, opportunities for, and 

8 completion of postsecondary education and adult edu9 cation.’’; and 

10 (2) in subsection (d)(1), by striking ‘‘by means 

11 of the Internet’’ and inserting ‘‘by electronic means 

12 such as posting in an easily accessible manner on the 

13 Institute’s website’’. 

14 SEC. 116. NATIONAL BOARD FOR EDUCATION SCIENCES. 

15 Section 116 (20 U.S.C. 9516) is amended— 

16 (1) in subsection (b)— 

17 (A) in paragraph (2), by striking ‘‘to guide 

18 the work of the Institute’’ and inserting ‘‘, and 

19 to advise, and provide input to, the Director on 

20 the activities of the Institute on an ongoing 

21 basis’’; 

22 (B) in paragraph (3), by inserting ‘‘under 

23 section 114(h)’’ after ‘‘procedures’’; 

24 (C) in paragraph (8), by inserting ‘‘dis25 ability,’’ after ‘‘gender,’’; 


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1 (D) in paragraph (9)— 

2 (i) by striking ‘‘To solicit’’ and insert3 ing ‘‘To ensure all activities of the Institute 

4 are relevant to education policy and prac5 tice by soliciting, on an ongoing basis,’’; 

6 and 

7 (ii) by striking ‘‘consistent with’’ and 

8 inserting ‘‘consistent with section 114(j) 

9 and’’; 

10 (E) in paragraph (11)— 

11 (i) by inserting ‘‘the Institute’s’’ after 

12 ‘‘enhance’’; and 

13 (ii) by striking ‘‘among other Federal 

14 and State research agencies’’ and inserting 

15 ‘‘with public and private entities to im16 prove the work of the Institute’’; and 

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

18 ‘‘(13) To conduct the evaluations required under 

19 subsection (d).’’; 

20 (2) in subsection (c)— 

21 (A) in paragraph (2)— 

22 (i) by inserting ‘‘Board,’’ before ‘‘Na23 tional Academy’’; and 

24 (ii) by striking ‘‘and the National 

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1 tional Science Advisor, and other entities 

2 and organizations that have knowledge of 

3 individuals who are highly qualified to ap4 praise education research, statistics, evalua5 tions, or development’’; 

6 (B) in paragraph (4)— 

7 (i) in subparagraph (A)— 

8 (I) in clause (i), by striking ‘‘, 

9 which may include those researchers 

10 recommended by the National Academy 

11 of Sciences’’; 

12 (II) by redesignating clause (ii) 

13 as clause (iii); 

14 (III) by inserting after clause (i), 

15 the following: 

16 ‘‘(ii) Not fewer than 2 practitioners 

17 who are knowledgeable about the education 

18 needs of the United States, who may include 

19 school-based professional educators, teachers, 

20 school leaders, local educational agency su21 perintendents, and members of local boards 

22 of education or Bureau-funded school 

23 boards.’’; and 

24 (IV) in clause (iii), as redesig25 nated by subclause (II)— 


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1 (aa) by striking ‘‘school2 based professional educators,’’; 

3 (bb) by inserting ‘‘State lead4 ers in adult education,’’ after ‘‘ex5 ecutives,’’; 

6 (cc) by striking ‘‘local edu7 cational agency superintendents,’’; 

8 (dd) by striking ‘‘prin9 cipals,’’; 

10 (ee) by striking ‘‘or local’’; 

11 and 

12 (ff) by striking ‘‘or Bureau13 funded school boards’’; and 

14 (ii) in subparagraph (B)— 

15 (I) in the matter preceding clause 

16 (i), by inserting ‘‘beginning on the 

17 date of appointment of the member,’’ 

18 after ‘‘4 years,’’; 

19 (II) by striking clause (i); 

20 (III) by redesignating clause (ii) 

21 as clause (i); 

22 (IV) in clause (i), as redesignated 

23 by subclause (III), by striking the pe24 riod and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and 


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1 (V) by adding at the end the fol2 lowing: 

3 ‘‘(ii) in a case in which a successor to 

4 a member has not been appointed as of the 

5 date of expiration of the member’s term, the 

6 member may serve for an additional 1-year 

7 period, beginning on the day after the date 

8 of expiration of the member’s term, or until 

9 a successor has been appointed under para10 graph (1), whichever occurs first.’’; 

11 (iii) by striking subparagraph (C); 

12 and 

13 (iv) by redesignating subparagraph 

14 (D) as subparagraph (C); and 

15 (C) in paragraph (8)— 

16 (i) by redesignating subparagraphs (A) 

17 through (E) as subparagraphs (B) through 

18 (F), respectively; 

19 (ii) by inserting before subparagraph 

20 (B), as redesignated by clause (i), the fol21 lowing: 

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

23 duties under subsection (b) and in accordance 

24 with the Federal Advisory Committee Act (5 

25 U.S.C. App.), the Board shall be independent of 


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1 the Director and the other offices and officers of 

2 the Institute.’’; 

3 (iii) in subparagraph (B), as redesig4 nated by clause (i), by inserting before the 

5 period at the end the following: ‘‘for a term 

6 of not more than 6 years, and who may be 

7 reappointed by the Board for 1 additional 

8 term of not more than 6 years’’; and 

9 (iv) by adding at the end the following: 

10 ‘‘(G) SUBCOMMITTEES.—The Board may es11 tablish standing or temporary subcommittees to 

12 make recommendations to the Board for carrying 

13 out activities authorized under this title.’’; 

14 (3) by striking subsection (d); 

15 (4) by redesignating subsection (e) as subsection 

16 (d); 

17 (5) in subsection (d), as redesignated by para18 graph (4)— 

19 (A) in the subsection heading, by striking 

20 ‘‘ANNUAL’’ and inserting ‘‘EVALUATION’’; 

21 (B) by striking ‘‘The Board’’ and inserting 

22 the following: 

23 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Board’’; 

24 (C) by striking ‘‘not later than July 1 of 

25 each year, a report’’ and inserting ‘‘and make 


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1 widely available to the public (including by elec2 tronic means such as posting in an easily acces3 sible manner on the Institute’s website), a report 

4 once every 5 years’’; and 

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

6 ‘‘(2) REQUIREMENTS.—An evaluation report de7 scribed in paragraph (1) shall include— 

8 ‘‘(A) subject to paragraph (3), an evalua9 tion of the activities authorized for each of the 

10 National Education Centers, which— 

11 ‘‘(i) uses the performance management 

12 system described in section 185; and 

13 ‘‘(ii) is conducted by an independent 

14 entity; 

15 ‘‘(B) a review of the Institute to ensure its 

16 work, consistent with the requirements of section 

17 114(j), is timely, rigorous, and relevant; 

18 ‘‘(C) any recommendations regarding ac19 tions that may be taken to enhance the ability 

20 of the Institute and the National Education Cen21 ters to carry out their priorities and missions; 

22 ‘‘(D) a summary of the major research find23 ings of the Institute and the activities carried 

24 out under section 113(b) during the 3 preceding 

25 fiscal years; and 


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1 ‘‘(E) interim findings made widely avail2 able to the public (including by electronic means 

3 such as posting in an easily accessible manner 

4 on the Institute’s website) 3 years after the inde5 pendent entity has begun reviewing the work of 

6 the Institute. 

7 ‘‘(3) NATIONAL CENTER FOR EDUCATION EVAL8 UATION AND REGIONAL ASSISTANCE.—With respect to 

9 the National Center for Education Evaluation and 

10 Regional Assistance, an evaluation report described 

11 in paragraph (1) shall contain— 

12 ‘‘(A) an evaluation described in paragraph 

13 (2)(A) of the activities authorized for such Cen14 ter, except for the regional educational labora15 tories established under section 174; and 

16 ‘‘(B) a summative or interim evaluation, 

17 whichever is most recent, for each such labora18 tory conducted under section 174(i) on or after 

19 the date of enactment of the Strengthening Edu20 cation through Research Act or, in a case in 

21 which such an evaluation is not available for a 

22 laboratory, the most recent evaluation for the 

23 laboratory conducted prior to the date of enact24 ment of such Act.’’; and 

25 (6) by striking subsection (f). 


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1 SEC. 117. COMMISSIONERS OF THE NATIONAL EDUCATION 

2 CENTERS. 

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

4 (1) in subsection (a)— 

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

6 as provided in subsection (b), each’’ and insert7 ing ‘‘Each’’; 

8 (B) in paragraph (2)— 

9 (i) by striking ‘‘Except as provided in 

10 subsection (b), each’’ and inserting ‘‘Each’’; 

11 and 

12 (ii) by inserting ‘‘, statistics,’’ after 

13 ‘‘research’’; and 

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

15 as provided in subsection (b), each’’ and insert16 ing ‘‘Each’’; 

17 (2) by striking subsection (b); 

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

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

20 (4) in subsection (c), as redesignated by para21 graph (3), by striking ‘‘, except the Commissioner for 

22 Education Statistics,’’. 

23 SEC. 118. TRANSPARENCY. 

24 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 119 (20 U.S.C. 9519) is 

25 amended to read as follows: 


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1 ‘‘SEC. 119. TRANSPARENCY. 

2 ‘‘Not later than 120 days after awarding a grant, con3 tract, or cooperative agreement under this title in excess of 

4 $100,000, the Director shall make publicly available (in5 cluding through electronic means such as posting in an eas6 ily accessible manner on the Institute’s website) a descrip7 tion of the grant, contract, or cooperative agreement, in8 cluding, at a minimum, the amount, duration, recipient, 

9 and the purpose of the grant, contract, or cooperative agree10 ment.’’. 

11 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—The table of contents 

12 in section 1 of the Act of November 5, 2002 (Public Law 

13 107–279; 116 Stat. 1940) is amended by striking the item 

14 relating to section 119 and inserting the following: 

‘‘Sec. 119. Transparency.’’. 

15 SEC. 119. COMPETITIVE AWARDS. 

16 Section 120 (20 U.S.C. 9520) is amended by striking 

17 ‘‘when practicable’’ and inserting ‘‘consistent with section 

18 114(h)’’. 

19 PART B—NATIONAL CENTER FOR EDUCATION 

20 RESEARCH 

21 SEC. 131. ESTABLISHMENT. 

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

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

24 following: 


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

2 to the accumulation of knowledge and understanding 

3 of education, consistent with the priorities described 

4 in section 115;’’; 

5 (2) by striking ‘‘and’’ at the end of paragraph 

6 (3); 

7 (3) in paragraph (4), by striking the period and 

8 inserting ‘‘; and’’; and 

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

10 ‘‘(5) consistent with section 114(j), to widely dis11 seminate and promote utilization of the work of the 

12 Research Center.’’. 

13 SEC. 132. DUTIES. 

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

15 (1) in subsection (a)— 

16 (A) in paragraph (1), by striking ‘‘peer-re17 view standards and’’; 

18 (B) by striking paragraph (2); 

19 (C) by redesignating paragraph (3) as 

20 paragraph (2); 

21 (D) by striking paragraph (4); 

22 (E) by redesignating paragraphs (5) 

23 through (9) as paragraphs (3) through (7), re24 spectively; 


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1 (F) in paragraph (3), as redesignated by 

2 subparagraph (E), by inserting ‘‘in the imple3 mentation of programs carried out by the De4 partment and other agencies’’ before ‘‘within the 

5 Federal Government’’; 

6 (G) in paragraph (5), as redesignated by 

7 subparagraph (E), by striking ‘‘disseminate, 

8 through the National Center for Education Eval9 uation and Regional Assistance,’’ and inserting 

10 ‘‘widely disseminate, consistent with section 

11 114(j),’’; 

12 (H) in paragraph (6), as redesignated by 

13 subparagraph (E)— 

14 (i) by striking ‘‘Director’’ and insert15 ing ‘‘Board’’; and 

16 (ii) by striking ‘‘of a biennial report, 

17 as described in section 119’’ and inserting 

18 ‘‘and dissemination of each evaluation re19 port under section 116(d)’’; 

20 (I) in paragraph (7), as redesignated by 

21 subparagraph (E), by inserting ‘‘and which may 

22 include research on social and emotional learn23 ing, and the acquisition of competencies and 

24 skills, including the ability to think critically, 


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1 solve complex problems, evaluate evidence, and 

2 communicate effectively,’’ after ‘‘gap,’’; 

3 (J) by inserting after paragraph (7), as re4 designated by subparagraph (E), the following: 

5 ‘‘(8) to the extent time and resources allow, when 

6 findings from previous research under this part pro7 voke relevant follow up questions, carry out research 

8 initiatives on such follow up questions;’’; 

9 (K) by redesignating paragraphs (10) and 

10 (11) as paragraphs (9) and (10), respectively; 

11 (L) by striking paragraph (9), as redesig12 nated by subparagraph (K), and inserting the 

13 following: 

14 ‘‘(9) carry out research initiatives, including rig15 orous, peer-reviewed, large-scale, long-term, and 

16 broadly applicable empirical research, regarding the 

17 impact of technology on education, including online 

18 education and hybrid learning;’’; 

19 (M) in paragraph (10), as redesignated by 

20 subparagraph (K), by striking the period at the 

21 end and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and 

22 (N) by adding at the end the following: 

23 ‘‘(11) to the extent feasible, carry out research on 

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1 gies determined to be effective through scientifically 

2 valid research.’’; 

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

4 following: 

5 ‘‘(b) PLAN.—The Research Commissioner shall propose 

6 to the Director and, subject to the approval of the Director, 

7 implement a research plan for the activities of the Research 

8 Center that— 

9 ‘‘(1) is consistent with the priorities and mission 

10 of the Institute and the mission of the Research Cen11 ter described in section 131(b), and includes the ac12 tivities described in subsection (a); 

13 ‘‘(2) is carried out and, as appropriate, updated 

14 and modified, including through the use of the results 

15 of the Research Center’s most recent evaluation report 

16 under section 116(d); 

17 ‘‘(3) describes how the Research Center will use 

18 the performance management system described in sec19 tion 185 to assess and improve the activities of the 

20 Center; 

21 ‘‘(4) meets the procedures for peer review estab22 lished and maintained by the Director under section 

23 114(f)(5) and the standards of research described in 

24 section 134; and 


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1 ‘‘(5) includes both basic research and applied re2 search, which shall include research conducted 

3 through field-initiated research and ongoing research 

4 initiatives.’’; 

5 (3) by redesignating subsection (c) as subsection 

6 (d); 

7 (4) by inserting after subsection (b), the fol8 lowing: 

9 ‘‘(c) GRANTS, CONTRACTS, AND COOPERATIVE AGREE10 MENTS.— 

11 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Research Commissioner 

12 may award grants to, or enter into contracts or coop13 erative agreements with, eligible applicants to carry 

14 out research under subsection (a). 

15 ‘‘(2) ELIGIBILITY.—For purposes of this sub16 section, the term ‘eligible applicant’ means an appli17 cant that has the ability and capacity to conduct sci18 entifically valid research. 

19 ‘‘(3) APPLICATIONS.— 

20 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—An eligible applicant 

21 that wishes to receive a grant, or enter into a 

22 contract or cooperative agreement, under this 

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1 ner, and containing such information as the Re2 search Commissioner may require. 

3 ‘‘(B) CONTENT.—An application submitted 

4 under subparagraph (A) shall describe how the 

5 eligible applicant will address and demonstrate 

6 progress on the requirements of the performance 

7 management system described in section 185, 

8 with respect to the activities that will be carried 

9 out under the grant, contract, or cooperative 

10 agreement.’’; and 

11 (5) in subsection (d), as redesignated by para12 graph (3)— 

13 (A) by striking paragraph (1) and inserting 

14 the following: 

15 ‘‘(1) SUPPORT.—In carrying out activities under 

16 subsection (a)(2), the Research Commissioner shall 

17 support national research and development centers 

18 that address topics of importance and relevance in the 

19 field of education across the country and are con20 sistent with the Institute’s priorities under section 

21 115.’’; 

22 (B) by striking paragraphs (2), (3), and 

23 (5); 


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1 (C) by redesignating paragraphs (4), (6), 

2 and (7) as paragraphs (2), (3), and (4), respec3 tively; 

4 (D) in paragraph (2), as redesignated by 

5 subparagraph (C)— 

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

8 (I) by striking ‘‘5 additional’’ and 

9 inserting ‘‘2 additional’’; and 

10 (II) by striking ‘‘notwithstanding 

11 section 134(b),’’ and inserting ‘‘not12 withstanding section 114(h),’’; 

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

14 ‘‘and’’ after the semicolon; 

15 (iii) in subparagraph (B), by striking 

16 the period and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and 

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

18 ‘‘(C) demonstrates progress on the require19 ments of the performance management system 

20 described in section 185.’’; 

21 (E) in paragraph (3), as redesignated by 

22 subparagraph (C), by striking ‘‘paragraphs (4) 

23 and (5)’’ and inserting ‘‘paragraph (2)’’; and 


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1 (F) by striking paragraph (4), as redesig2 nated by subparagraph (C), and inserting the 

3 following: 

4 ‘‘(4) DISAGGREGATION.—To the extent feasible 

5 and when relevant to the research being conducted, re6 search conducted under this subsection shall be 

7 disaggregated and cross-tabulated by age, race, gen8 der, disability status, English learner status, socio9 economic background, and other population character10 istics as determined by the Research Commissioner, so 

11 long as any reported information does not reveal in12 dividually identifiable information.’’. 

13 SEC. 133. STANDARDS FOR CONDUCT AND EVALUATION OF 

14 RESEARCH. 

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

16 (1) in subsection (a)— 

17 (A) in paragraph (1), by striking ‘‘based’’ 

18 and inserting ‘‘valid’’; and 

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

20 wide dissemination activities’’ and inserting 

21 ‘‘and, consistent with section 114(j), wide dis22 semination and utilization activities’’; 

23 (2) by striking subsection (b); and 

24 (3) by redesignating subsection (c) as subsection 

25 (b). 


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1 PART C—NATIONAL CENTER FOR EDUCATION 

2 STATISTICS 

3 SEC. 151. ESTABLISHMENT. 

4 Section 151(b) (20 U.S.C. 9541(b)) is amended— 

5 (1) in paragraph (2), by inserting ‘‘and con6 sistent with the privacy protections under section 

7 183’’ after ‘‘manner’’; and 

8 (2) in paragraph (3)— 

9 (A) in subparagraph (A), by inserting ‘‘dis10 ability,’’ after ‘‘cultural,’’; and 

11 (B) by striking subparagraph (B) and in12 serting the following: 

13 ‘‘(B) is consistent with section 114(j), is rel14 evant, timely, and widely disseminated.’’. 

15 SEC. 152. DUTIES. 

16 Section 153 (20 U.S.C. 9543) is amended— 

17 (1) in subsection (a)— 

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

19 by inserting ‘‘, consistent with the privacy pro20 tections under section 183,’’ after ‘‘Center shall’’; 

21 (B) in paragraph (1)— 

22 (i) by striking subparagraph (D) and 

23 inserting the following: 

24 ‘‘(D) secondary school graduation and com25 pletion rates, including the four-year adjusted 

26 cohort graduation rate (as defined in section 


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1 200.19(b)(1)(i)(A) of title 34, Code of Federal 

2 Regulations, as such section was in effect on No3 vember 28, 2008) and the extended-year adjusted 

4 cohort graduation rate (as defined in section 

5 200.19(b)(1)(v)(A) of title 34, Code of Federal 

6 Regulations, as such section was in effect on No7 vember 28, 2008), and school dropout rates, and 

8 adult literacy;’’; 

9 (ii) in subparagraph (E), by striking 

10 ‘‘and opportunity for,’’ and inserting ‘‘op11 portunity for, and completion of’’; 

12 (iii) by striking subparagraph (F) and 

13 inserting the following: 

14 ‘‘(F) teaching and school leadership, includ15 ing information on teacher and school leader 

16 pre-service preparation, professional develop17 ment, teacher distribution, and teacher and 

18 school leader evaluation;’’; 

19 (iv) in subparagraph (G), by inserting 

20 ‘‘and school leaders’’ before the semicolon; 

21 (v) in subparagraph (H), by inserting 

22 ‘‘, climate, and in- and out-of-school suspen23 sions and expulsions’’ before ‘‘, including 

24 information regarding’’; 


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1 (vi) by striking subparagraph (K) and 

2 inserting the following: 

3 ‘‘(K) the access to, and use of, technology to 

4 improve elementary schools and secondary 

5 schools;’’; 

6 (vii) in subparagraph (L), by striking 

7 ‘‘and opportunity for,’’ and inserting ‘‘op8 portunity for, and quality of’’; 

9 (viii) in subparagraph (M), by striking 

10 ‘‘such programs during school recesses’’ and 

11 inserting ‘‘summer school’’; 

12 (ix) in subparagraph (N)— 

13 (I) by striking ‘‘vocational’’ and 

14 inserting ‘‘career’’; and 

15 (II) by striking ‘‘and’’ after the 

16 semicolon; 

17 (x) in subparagraph (O), by inserting 

18 ‘‘and’’ after the semicolon; and 

19 (xi) by adding at the end the following: 

20 ‘‘(P) access to, and opportunity for, adult 

21 education and literacy activities;’’; 

22 (C) in paragraph (3)— 

23 (i) by striking ‘‘when such 

24 disaggregated information will facilitate 

25 educational and policy decisionmaking’’ 


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1 and inserting ‘‘so long as any reported in2 formation does not reveal individually iden3 tifiable information’’; and 

4 (ii) by striking ‘‘limited English pro5 ficiency’’ and inserting ‘‘English learner 

6 status’’; 

7 (D) in paragraph (4), by inserting before 

8 the semicolon the following: ‘‘, and the imple9 mentation (with the assistance of the Depart10 ment and other Federal officials who have statu11 tory authority to provide assistance on applica12 ble privacy laws, regulations, and policies) of 

13 appropriate privacy protections’’; 

14 (E) in paragraph (5)— 

15 (i) by striking ‘‘determining voluntary 

16 standards and guidelines to assist’’ and in17 serting ‘‘providing technical assistance to’’; 

18 and 

19 (ii) by striking ‘‘promote linkages 

20 across States,’’; 

21 (F) in paragraph (6)— 

22 (i) by striking ‘‘Third’’ and inserting 

23 ‘‘Trends in’’; and 


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1 (ii) by inserting ‘‘and the Program for 

2 International Student Assessment’’ after 

3 ‘‘Science Study’’; 

4 (G) in paragraph (7), by striking the semi5 colon and inserting the following: ‘‘and ensuring 

6 such collections protect student privacy con7 sistent with section 183; and’’; 

8 (H) by striking paragraph (8) and insert9 ing the following: 

10 ‘‘(8) assisting the Board in the preparation and 

11 dissemination of each evaluation report under section 

12 116(d).’’; and 

13 (I) by striking paragraph (9); 

14 (2) by redesignating subsection (b) as subsection 

15 (c); and 

16 (3) by inserting after subsection (a) the fol17 lowing: 

18 ‘‘(b) PLAN.—The Statistics Commissioner shall de19 velop a plan in consultation with the Director and imple20 ment a plan for activities of the Statistics Center that— 

21 ‘‘(1) is consistent with the priorities and mission 

22 of the Institute and the mission of the Statistics Cen23 ter described in section 151(b); 

24 ‘‘(2) is carried out and, as appropriate, updated 

25 and modified, including through the use of the results 


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1 of the Statistic Center’s most recent evaluation report 

2 under section 116(d); and 

3 ‘‘(3) describes how the Statistics Center will use 

4 the performance management system described in sec5 tion 185 to assess and improve the activities of the 

6 Center.’’. 

7 SEC. 153. PERFORMANCE OF DUTIES. 

8 Section 154 (20 U.S.C. 9544) is amended— 

9 (1) in subsection (a)— 

10 (A) by striking ‘‘In carrying’’ and inserting 

11 the following: 

12 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—In carrying’’; 

13 (B) by inserting ‘‘to eligible applicants’’ 

14 after ‘‘technical assistance’’; and 

15 (C) by adding at the end the following: 

16 ‘‘(2) ELIGIBILITY.—For purposes of this section, 

17 the term ‘eligible applicant’ means an applicant that 

18 has the ability and capacity to carry out activities 

19 under this part. 

20 ‘‘(3) APPLICATIONS.— 

21 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—An eligible applicant 

22 that wishes to receive a grant, or enter into a 

23 contract or cooperative agreement, under this 

24 section shall submit an application to the Statis25 tics Commissioner at such time, in such manner, 


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1 and containing such information as the Statis2 tics Commissioner may require. 

3 ‘‘(B) CONTENTS.—An application submitted 

4 under subparagraph (A) shall describe how the 

5 eligible applicant will address and demonstrate 

6 progress on the requirements of the performance 

7 management system described in section 185, 

8 with respect to the activities that will be carried 

9 out under the grant, contract, or cooperative 

10 agreement.’’; 

11 (2) in subsection (b)(2)(A), by striking ‘‘voca12 tional and’’ and inserting ‘‘career and technical edu13 cation programs,’’; and 

14 (3) in subsection (c), by striking ‘‘5 years’’ the 

15 second place it appears and inserting ‘‘2 years if the 

16 recipient demonstrates progress on the requirements of 

17 the performance management system described in sec18 tion 185, with respect to the activities carried out 

19 under the grant, contract, or cooperative agreement 

20 received under this section’’. 

21 SEC. 154. REPORTS. 

22 Section 155 (20 U.S.C. 9545) is amended— 

23 (1) in subsection (a), by inserting ‘‘(consistent 

24 with section 114(h))’’ after ‘‘review’’; and 


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1 (2) in subsection (b), by striking ‘‘2003’’ and in2 serting ‘‘2015’’. 

3 SEC. 155. DISSEMINATION. 

4 Section 156 (20 U.S.C. 9546) is amended— 

5 (1) in subsection (c), by adding at the end the 

6 following: ‘‘Such projects shall adhere to student pri7 vacy requirements under section 183.’’; and 

8 (2) in subsection (e)— 

9 (A) in paragraph (1), by adding at the end 

10 the following: ‘‘Before receiving access to edu11 cational data under this paragraph, a Federal 

12 agency shall describe to the Statistics Center the 

13 specific research intent for use of the data, how 

14 access to the data may meet such research intent, 

15 and how the Federal agency will protect the con16 fidentiality of the data consistent with the re17 quirements of section 183.’’; 

18 (B) in paragraph (2)— 

19 (i) by inserting ‘‘and consistent with 

20 section 183’’ after ‘‘may prescribe’’; and 

21 (ii) by adding at the end the following: 

22 ‘‘Before receiving access to data under this 

23 paragraph, an interested party shall de24 scribe to the Statistics Center the specific 

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1 cess to the data may meet such research in2 tent, and how the party will protect the 

3 confidentiality of the data consistent with 

4 the requirements of section 183.’’; and 

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

6 ‘‘(3) DENIAL AUTHORITY.—The Statistics Center 

7 shall have the authority to deny any requests for ac8 cess to data under paragraph (1) or (2) if the data 

9 requested would be unnecessary for or unrelated to the 

10 proposed research design or research intent, or if the 

11 request would introduce risk of a privacy violation or 

12 misuse of data. 

13 ‘‘(4) APPLICABILITY OF REQUIREMENTS.—The 

14 requirements described under the second sentence of 

15 paragraph (1) and the second sentence of paragraph 

16 (2) and the authority under paragraph (3) shall not 

17 apply to public use data sets.’’. 

18 SEC. 156. COOPERATIVE EDUCATION STATISTICS SYSTEMS. 

19 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 157 (20 U.S.C. 9547) is 

20 amended— 

21 (1) in the section heading, by striking ‘‘SYS22 TEMS’’ and inserting ‘‘PARTNERSHIPS’’; 

23 (2) by striking ‘‘national cooperative education 

24 statistics systems’’ and inserting ‘‘cooperative edu25 cation statistics partnerships’’; 


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1 (3) by striking ‘‘producing and maintaining, 

2 with the cooperation’’ and inserting ‘‘reviewing and 

3 improving, with the voluntary participation’’; 

4 (4) by striking ‘‘comparable and uniform’’ and 

5 inserting ‘‘data quality standards, which may include 

6 establishing voluntary guidelines to standardize’’; 

7 (5) by striking ‘‘adult education, and libraries,’’ 

8 and inserting ‘‘and adult education’’; and 

9 (6) by adding at the end the following: ‘‘No stu10 dent data shall be collected by the partnerships estab11 lished under this section, nor shall such partnerships 

12 establish a national student data system.’’. 

13 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—The table of contents 

14 in section 1 of the Act of November 5, 2002 (Public Law 

15 107–279; 116 Stat. 1940) is amended by striking the item 

16 relating to section 157 and inserting the following: 

‘‘Sec. 157. Cooperative education statistics partnerships.’’. 

17 PART D—NATIONAL CENTER FOR EDUCATION 

18 EVALUATION AND REGIONAL ASSISTANCE 

19 SEC. 171. ESTABLISHMENT. 

20 Section 171 (20 U.S.C. 9561) is amended— 

21 (1) in subsection (b)— 

22 (A) by striking paragraph (1); 

23 (B) by redesignating paragraphs (2), (3), 

24 and (4) as paragraphs (1), (2), and (3), respec25 tively; 


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1 (C) in paragraph (1), as redesignated by 

2 subparagraph (B), by striking ‘‘of such pro3 grams’’ and all that follows through ‘‘science)’’ 

4 and inserting ‘‘and to evaluate the implementa5 tion of such programs’’; and 

6 (D) in paragraph (2), as redesignated by 

7 subparagraph (B), by striking ‘‘and wide dis8 semination of results of’’ and inserting ‘‘and, 

9 consistent with section 114(j), the wide dissemi10 nation and utilization of results of all’’; and 

11 (2) by striking subsection (c). 

12 SEC. 172. COMMISSIONER FOR EDUCATION EVALUATION 

13 AND REGIONAL ASSISTANCE. 

14 Section 172 (20 U.S.C. 9562) is amended— 

15 (1) in subsection (a)— 

16 (A) by striking paragraph (2) and inserting 

17 the following: 

18 ‘‘(2) widely disseminate, consistent with section 

19 114(j), all information on scientifically valid research 

20 and statistics supported by the Institute and all sci21 entifically valid education evaluations supported by 

22 the Institute, particularly to State educational agen23 cies and local educational agencies, to institutions of 

24 higher education, to the public, the media, voluntary 

25 organizations, professional associations, and other 


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1 constituencies, especially with respect to the priorities 

2 described in section 115;’’; 

3 (B) in paragraph (3)— 

4 (i) by inserting ‘‘, consistent with sec5 tion 114(j)’’ after ‘‘timely, and efficient 

6 manner’’; and 

7 (ii) by striking ‘‘that shall include all 

8 topics covered in paragraph (2)(E)’’; 

9 (C) in paragraph (4)— 

10 (i) by striking ‘‘development and dis11 semination’’ and inserting ‘‘development, 

12 dissemination, and utilization’’; and 

13 (ii) by striking ‘‘the provision of tech14 nical assistance,’’; 

15 (D) in paragraph (5)— 

16 (i) by striking ‘‘subsection (d)’’ and in17 serting ‘‘subsection (e)’’; and 

18 (ii) by inserting ‘‘and’’ after the semi19 colon; 

20 (E) in paragraph (6)— 

21 (i) by striking ‘‘Director’’ and insert22 ing ‘‘Board’’; 

23 (ii) by striking ‘‘preparation of a bien24 nial report’’ and inserting ‘‘preparation 


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1 and dissemination of each evaluation re2 port’’; and 

3 (iii) by striking ‘‘119; and’’ and in4 serting ‘‘116(d).’’; and 

5 (F) by striking paragraph (7); 

6 (2) in subsection (b)(1)— 

7 (A) by inserting ‘‘all’’ before ‘‘information 

8 disseminated’’; and 

9 (B) by striking ‘‘, which may include’’ and 

10 all that follows through ‘‘of this Act)’’; 

11 (3) by striking subsection (c); 

12 (4) by redesignating subsection (d) as subsection 

13 (e); 

14 (5) by inserting after subsection (b) the fol15 lowing: 

16 ‘‘(c) PLAN.—The Evaluation and Regional Assistance 

17 Commissioner shall propose to the Director and, subject to 

18 the approval of the Director, implement a plan for the ac19 tivities of the National Center for Education Evaluation 

20 and Regional Assistance that— 

21 ‘‘(1) is consistent with the priorities and mission 

22 of the Institute and the mission of the Center de23 scribed in section 171(b); 

24 ‘‘(2) is carried out and, as appropriate, updated 

25 and modified, including through the use of the results 


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1 of the Center’s most recent evaluation report under 

2 section 116(d); and 

3 ‘‘(3) describes how the Center will use the per4 formance management system described in section 185 

5 to assess and improve the activities of the Center. 

6 ‘‘(d) GRANTS, CONTRACTS, AND COOPERATIVE AGREE7 MENTS.— 

8 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—In carrying out the duties 

9 under this part, the Evaluation and Regional Assist10 ance Commissioner may— 

11 ‘‘(A) award grants, contracts, or cooperative 

12 agreements to eligible applicants to carry out the 

13 activities under this part; and 

14 ‘‘(B) provide technical assistance. 

15 ‘‘(2) ELIGIBILITY.—For purposes of this section, 

16 the term ‘eligible applicant’ means an applicant that 

17 has the ability and capacity to carry out activities 

18 under this part. 

19 ‘‘(3) ENTITIES TO CONDUCT EVALUATIONS.—In 

20 awarding grants, contracts, or cooperative agreements 

21 under paragraph (1) to carry out activities under sec22 tion 173, the Evaluation and Regional Assistance 

23 Commissioner shall make such awards to eligible ap24 plicants with the ability and capacity to conduct sci25 entifically valid education evaluations. 


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1 ‘‘(4) APPLICATIONS.— 

2 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—An eligible applicant 

3 that wishes to receive a grant, contract, or coop4 erative agreement under paragraph (1) shall sub5 mit an application to the Evaluation and Re6 gional Assistance Commissioner at such time, in 

7 such manner, and containing such information 

8 as the Commissioner may require. 

9 ‘‘(B) CONTENTS.—An application submitted 

10 under subparagraph (A) shall describe how the 

11 eligible applicant will address and demonstrate 

12 progress on the requirements of the performance 

13 management system described in section 185, 

14 with respect to the activities carried out under 

15 such grant, contract, or cooperative agreement. 

16 ‘‘(5) DURATION.—Notwithstanding any other 

17 provision of law, the grants, contracts, and coopera18 tive agreements under paragraph (1) may be award19 ed, on a competitive basis, for a period of not more 

20 than 5 years, and may be renewed at the discretion 

21 of the Evaluation and Regional Assistance Commis22 sioner for an additional period of not more than 2 

23 years if the recipient demonstrates progress on the re24 quirements of the performance management system 

25 described in section 185, with respect to the activities 


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1 carried out under the grant, contract, or cooperative 

2 agreement.’’; and 

3 (6) in subsection (e), as redesignated by para4 graph (4)— 

5 (A) in paragraph (1), by striking ‘‘There is 

6 established’’ and all that follows through ‘‘Re7 gional Assistance’’ and inserting ‘‘The Evalua8 tion and Regional Assistance Commissioner may 

9 establish’’; 

10 (B) in paragraph (2)(A), by inserting ‘‘all’’ 

11 before ‘‘products’’; and 

12 (C) in paragraph (2)(B)(ii), by striking 

13 ‘‘2002’’ and all that follows through the period 

14 and inserting ‘‘2002).’’. 

15 SEC. 173. EVALUATIONS. 

16 Section 173 (20 U.S.C. 9563) is amended— 

17 (1) in subsection (a)— 

18 (A) in paragraph (1)— 

19 (i) in the matter preceding subpara20 graph (A), by striking ‘‘may’’ and inserting 

21 ‘‘shall’’; 

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

23 ‘‘evaluations’’ and inserting ‘‘high-quality 

24 evaluations, including impact evaluations 


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1 that use rigorous methodologies that permit 

2 the strongest possible causal inferences,’’; 

3 (iii) in subparagraph (B), by inserting 

4 before the semicolon at the end the fol5 lowing: ‘‘, including programs under part A 

6 of such title (20 U.S.C. 6311 et seq.)’’; 

7 (iv) by striking subparagraph (C); 

8 (v) by redesignating subparagraph (D) 

9 as subparagraph (C); 

10 (vi) by striking subparagraphs (E) and 

11 (G); 

12 (vii) by redesignating subparagraph 

13 (F) as subparagraph (D); 

14 (viii) in subparagraph (D), as redesig15 nated by clause (vii), by striking ‘‘and’’ at 

16 the end; and 

17 (ix) by inserting after subparagraph 

18 (D), as redesignated by clause (vii), the fol19 lowing: 

20 ‘‘(E) provide evaluation findings in an un21 derstandable, easily accessible, and usable format 

22 to support program improvement; 

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1 cation through Research Act that are carried out 

2 by the Director; and 

3 ‘‘(G) to the extent feasible— 

4 ‘‘(i) examine evaluations conducted or 

5 supported by others to determine the quality 

6 and relevance of the evidence of effectiveness 

7 generated by those evaluations, with the ap8 proval of the Director; 

9 ‘‘(ii) review and supplement Federal 

10 education program evaluations, particularly 

11 such evaluations by the Department, to de12 termine or enhance the quality and rel13 evance of the evidence generated by those 

14 evaluations; 

15 ‘‘(iii) conduct implementation evalua16 tions that promote continuous improvement 

17 and inform policymaking; 

18 ‘‘(iv) evaluate the short- and long-term 

19 effects and cost efficiencies across programs 

20 assisted or authorized under Federal law 

21 and administrated by the Department; and 

22 ‘‘(v) synthesize the results of evaluation 

23 studies for and across Federal education 

24 programs, policies, and practices.’’; and 

25 (B) in paragraph (2)— 


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1 (i) in subparagraph (A), by striking 

2 ‘‘and’’ at the end; 

3 (ii) in subparagraph (B), by striking 

4 the period and inserting ‘‘under section 

5 114(h); and’’; and 

6 (iii) by adding at the end the fol7 lowing: 

8 ‘‘(C) be widely disseminated, consistent with 

9 section 114(j).’’; and 

10 (2) in subsection (b), by striking ‘‘contracts’’ and 

11 inserting ‘‘grants, contracts, or cooperative agree12 ments’’. 

13 SEC. 174. REGIONAL EDUCATIONAL LABORATORIES FOR RE14 SEARCH, DEVELOPMENT, DISSEMINATION, 

15 AND EVALUATION. 

16 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 174 (20 U.S.C. 9564) is 

17 amended— 

18 (1) in the section heading, by striking ‘‘TECH19 NICAL ASSISTANCE’’ and inserting ‘‘EVALUA20 TION’’; 

21 (2) in subsection (a)— 

22 (A) by striking ‘‘The Director’’ and insert23 ing ‘‘Except as provided in subsection (e)(8), the 

24 Evaluation and Regional Assistance Commis25 sioner’’; and 


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1 (B) by striking ‘‘contracts’’ and inserting 

2 ‘‘grants, contracts, or cooperative agreements’’; 

3 (3) in subsection (c)— 

4 (A) by striking ‘‘The Director’’ and insert5 ing the following: 

6 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Evaluation and Re7 gional Assistance Commissioner’’; 

8 (B) by striking ‘‘contracts under this section 

9 with research organizations, institutions, agen10 cies, institutions of higher education,’’ and in11 serting ‘‘grants, contracts, or cooperative agree12 ments under this section with public or private, 

13 nonprofit or for-profit research organizations, 

14 other organizations, or institutions of higher 

15 education,’’; 

16 (C) by striking ‘‘or individuals,’’; 

17 (D) by striking ‘‘, including regional enti18 ties’’ and all that follows through ‘‘107–110))’’; 

19 and 

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

21 ‘‘(2) DEFINITION.—For purposes of this section, 

22 the term ‘eligible applicant’ means an entity de23 scribed in paragraph (1).’’; 

24 (4) by striking subsections (d) through (j) and 

25 inserting the following: 


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1 ‘‘(d) APPLICATIONS.— 

2 ‘‘(1) SUBMISSION.— 

3 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Each eligible applicant 

4 desiring a contract grant, contract, or coopera5 tive agreement under this section shall submit an 

6 application at such time, in such manner, and 

7 containing such information as the Evaluation 

8 and Regional Assistance Commissioner may rea9 sonably require. 

10 ‘‘(B) INPUT.—To ensure that applications 

11 submitted under this paragraph are reflective of 

12 the needs of the regions to be served, each eligible 

13 applicant submitting such an application shall 

14 seek input from State educational agencies and 

15 local educational agencies in the region that the 

16 award will serve, and other individuals with 

17 knowledge of the region’s needs. 

18 ‘‘(2) PLAN.— 

19 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Each application sub20 mitted under paragraph (1) shall contain a plan 

21 for the activities of the regional educational lab22 oratory to be established under this section, 

23 which shall be updated, modified, and improved, 

24 as appropriate, on an ongoing basis, including 


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1 by using the results of the laboratory’s interim 

2 evaluation under subsection (i)(3). 

3 ‘‘(B) CONTENTS.—A plan described in sub4 paragraph (A) shall address— 

5 ‘‘(i) the priorities for applied research, 

6 development, evaluations, and wide dissemi7 nation established under section 207; 

8 ‘‘(ii) the needs of State educational 

9 agencies and local educational agencies, on 

10 an ongoing basis, using available State and 

11 local data; and 

12 ‘‘(iii) if available, demonstrated sup13 port from State educational agencies and 

14 local educational agencies in the region, 

15 such as letters of support or signed memo16 randa of understanding. 

17 ‘‘(3) NON-FEDERAL SUPPORT.—In conducting a 

18 competition for grants, contracts, or cooperative 

19 agreements under subsection (a), the Evaluation and 

20 Regional Assistance Commissioner shall give priority 

21 to eligible applicants that will provide a portion of 

22 non-Federal funds to maximize support for activities 

23 of the regional educational laboratories to be estab24 lished under this section. 


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1 ‘‘(e) AWARDING GRANTS, CONTRACTS, OR COOPERA2 TIVE AGREEMENTS.— 

3 ‘‘(1) ASSURANCES.—In awarding grants, con4 tracts, or cooperative agreements under this section, 

5 the Evaluation and Regional Assistance Commis6 sioner shall— 

7 ‘‘(A) make such an award for not more 

8 than a 5-year period; 

9 ‘‘(B) ensure that regional educational lab10 oratories established under this section have 

11 strong and effective governance, organization, 

12 management, and administration, and employ 

13 qualified staff; and 

14 ‘‘(C) ensure that each such laboratory has 

15 the flexibility to respond in a timely fashion to 

16 the needs of the laboratory’s region, including— 

17 ‘‘(i) through using the results of the 

18 laboratory’s interim evaluation under sub19 section (i)(3) to improve and modify the ac20 tivities of the laboratory before the end of 

21 the award period; and 

22 ‘‘(ii) through sharing preliminary re23 sults of the laboratory’s research, as appro24 priate, to increase the relevance and useful25 ness of the research. 


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1 ‘‘(2) COORDINATION.—To ensure coordination 

2 and prevent unnecessary duplication of activities 

3 among the regions, the Evaluation and Regional As4 sistance Commissioner shall— 

5 ‘‘(A) share information about the activities 

6 of each regional educational laboratory with each 

7 other regional educational laboratory, the De8 partment, the Director, and the National Board 

9 for Education Sciences; 

10 ‘‘(B) ensure, where appropriate, that the ac11 tivities of each regional educational laboratory 

12 established under this section also serve national 

13 interests; 

14 ‘‘(C) ensure each such regional educational 

15 laboratory establishes strong partnerships among 

16 practitioners, policymakers, researchers, and oth17 ers, so that such partnerships are continued in 

18 the absence of Federal support; and 

19 ‘‘(D) enable, where appropriate, for such a 

20 laboratory to work in a region being served by 

21 another laboratory or to carry out a project that 

22 extends beyond the region served by the labora23 tory. 

24 ‘‘(3) COLLABORATION WITH TECHNICAL ASSIST25 ANCE PROVIDERS.—Each regional educational laboraVerDate Sep 11 2014 22:57 Nov 17, 2014 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00170 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6203 E:\BILLS\H4366.RS H4366

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1 tory established under this section shall, on an ongo2 ing basis, coordinate its activities, collaborate, and 

3 regularly exchange information with the comprehen4 sive centers (established in section 203) in the region 

5 in which the center is located, and with comprehen6 sive centers located outside of its region, as appro7 priate. 

8 ‘‘(4) OUTREACH.—In conducting competitions 

9 for grants, contracts, or cooperative agreements under 

10 this section, the Evaluation and Regional Assistance 

11 Commissioner shall— 

12 ‘‘(A) by making information and technical 

13 assistance relating to the competition widely 

14 available, actively encourage eligible applicants 

15 to compete for such an award; and 

16 ‘‘(B) seek input from the chief executive offi17 cers of States, chief State school officers, edu18 cators, parents, superintendents, and other indi19 viduals with knowledge of the needs of the re20 gions to be served by the awards, regarding— 

21 ‘‘(i) the needs in the regions for ap22 plied research, evaluation, development, and 

23 wide-dissemination activities authorized by 

24 this title; and 


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1 ‘‘(ii) how such needs may be addressed 

2 most effectively. 

3 ‘‘(5) PERFORMANCE MANAGEMENT.—Before the 

4 Evaluation and Regional Assistance Commissioner 

5 awards a grant, contract, or cooperative agreement 

6 under this section, the Director shall establish meas7 urable performance indicators for assessing the ongo8 ing progress and performance of the regional edu9 cational laboratories established with such awards 

10 that address the requirements of the performance 

11 management system described in section 185. 

12 ‘‘(6) STANDARDS.—The Evaluation and Re13 gional Assistance Commissioner shall adhere to the 

14 Institute’s system for technical and peer review under 

15 section 114(h) in reviewing the applied research ac16 tivities and research-based reports of the regional edu17 cational laboratories. 

18 ‘‘(7) REQUIRED CONSIDERATION.—In deter19 mining whether to award a grant, contract, or coop20 erative agreement under this section— 

21 ‘‘(A) to an eligible applicant that previously 

22 established a regional educational laboratory 

23 under this section, the Evaluation and Regional 

24 Assistance Commissioner shall— 


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1 ‘‘(i) consider the results of such labora2 tory’s summative evaluation under sub3 section (i)(2), or, if not available, any in4 terim evaluation findings under subsection 

5 (i)(3); and 

6 ‘‘(ii) ensure that only such laboratories 

7 determined effective in their relevant in8 terim or summative evaluations, as de9 scribed in subsection (i), are eligible to re10 ceive a new grant, contract, or cooperative 

11 agreement; and 

12 ‘‘(B) to any eligible applicant, the Evalua13 tion and Regional Assistance Commissioner shall 

14 ensure that such applicant has— 

15 ‘‘(i) a history of effectiveness in con16 ducting high-quality applied research; and 

17 ‘‘(ii) the capacity to meet the measur18 able performance indicators established 

19 under paragraph (5). 

20 ‘‘(8) FLEXIBILITY IN LABORATORY NUMBER.— 

21 ‘‘(A) DETERMINATION.—The Evaluation 

22 and Regional Assistance Commissioner, in con23 sultation with the regional educational labora24 tory advisory boards described in subsection (h), 

25 may determine that establishing 10 regional eduVerDate Sep 11 2014 22:57 Nov 17, 2014 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00173 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6203 E:\BILLS\H4366.RS H4366

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1 cational laboratories is unnecessary, as required 

2 in subsection (a), and grant an alternative num3 ber of awards or reorganize such laboratories, 

4 which may include not basing the awards on the 

5 regions described in subsection (b), if— 

6 ‘‘(i) an insufficient number of regional 

7 educational laboratories are meeting the 

8 needs of the regions described in subsection 

9 (b), as determined by the Commissioner; 

10 ‘‘(ii) an insufficient number of labora11 tories are meeting the measurable perform12 ance indicators established under paragraph 

13 (5), as determined by the Commissioner and 

14 the most recent interim or summative eval15 uation under subsection (i); or 

16 ‘‘(iii) an insufficient number of eligible 

17 applicants have the capacity to meet the 

18 measurable performance indicators estab19 lished under paragraph (5), as determined 

20 by the Commissioner. 

21 ‘‘(B) LIMITATION.—If the Evaluation and 

22 Regional Assistance Commissioner uses the deter23 mination authority described in subparagraph 

24 (A), there shall be no more than 10 regional edu25 cational laboratories established. 


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1 ‘‘(f) MISSION.—Each regional educational laboratory 

2 established under this section shall— 

3 ‘‘(1) conduct applied research, development, data 

4 analysis, and evaluation activities with State edu5 cational agencies, local educational agencies, and, as 

6 appropriate, schools funded by the Bureau; 

7 ‘‘(2) widely disseminate such work, consistent 

8 with section 114(j); and 

9 ‘‘(3) develop the capacity of State educational 

10 agencies, local educational agencies, and, as appro11 priate, schools funded by the Bureau to carry out the 

12 activities described in paragraphs (1) and (2). 

13 ‘‘(g) ACTIVITIES.—To carry out the mission described 

14 in subsection (f), each regional educational laboratory es15 tablished under this section shall carry out the following 

16 activities: 

17 ‘‘(1) Conduct, widely disseminate, and promote 

18 utilization of applied research, development activities, 

19 evaluations, data analysis, and other scientifically 

20 valid research. 

21 ‘‘(2) Develop and improve the plan for the lab22 oratory under subsection (d)(2) for serving the region 

23 of the laboratory, and as appropriate, national needs, 

24 on an ongoing basis, which shall include seeking 

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1 tives of State educational agencies and local edu2 cational agencies in the region, and other individuals 

3 with knowledge of the region’s needs. 

4 ‘‘(3) Ensure research and related products are 

5 relevant and responsive to the needs of the region. 

6 ‘‘(h) REGIONAL EDUCATIONAL LABORATORY ADVISORY

7 BOARD.— 

8 ‘‘(1) ESTABLISHMENT.—Each regional edu9 cational laboratory established under this section may 

10 establish an advisory board that shall support the 

11 priorities of such laboratory. 

12 ‘‘(2) DUTIES.—Each advisory board established 

13 under paragraph (1) shall advise the regional edu14 cational laboratory— 

15 ‘‘(A) concerning the activities described in 

16 subsection (g); 

17 ‘‘(B) on strategies for monitoring and ad18 dressing the educational needs of the region, on 

19 an ongoing basis, and as appropriate, national 

20 needs; 

21 ‘‘(C) on maintaining a high standard of 

22 quality in the performance of the laboratory’s ac23 tivities, especially in meeting the measurable 

24 performance indicators established under sub25 section (e)(5); 


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1 ‘‘(D) on carrying out the laboratory’s duties 

2 in a manner that promotes progress toward im3 proving student academic achievement; 

4 ‘‘(E) on the activities undertaken by the 

5 comprehensive center in the region, other centers, 

6 as appropriate, and other laboratories to align 

7 the work of such entities, reduce redundancy, 

8 and increase collaboration and resource-sharing 

9 in such activities; and 

10 ‘‘(F) on joint activities with other com11 prehensive centers or laboratories that would 

12 meet the needs of multiple regions. 

13 ‘‘(3) COMPOSITION.— 

14 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Each advisory board 

15 shall— 

16 ‘‘(i) not exceed 25 members; 

17 ‘‘(ii) include the chief State school offi18 cer, or such officer’s designee, or other State 

19 official, of States within the region of the 

20 laboratory who have primary responsibility 

21 under State law for elementary and sec22 ondary education in the State; 

23 ‘‘(iii) include representatives of local 

24 educational agencies, including rural and 


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1 urban local educational agencies, that rep2 resent the geographic diversity of the region; 

3 ‘‘(iv) include researchers; and 

4 ‘‘(v) include not less than 1 representa5 tive from an advisory board of a com6 prehensive center serving the region, if ap7 plicable. 

8 ‘‘(B) ELIGIBILITY.—The membership of 

9 each regional educational laboratory advisory 

10 board may include the following: 

11 ‘‘(i) Representatives of institutions of 

12 higher education. 

13 ‘‘(ii) Parents. 

14 ‘‘(iii) Practicing educators, including 

15 classroom teachers, school leaders, adminis16 trators, school board members, and other 

17 local school officials. 

18 ‘‘(iv) Representatives of business. 

19 ‘‘(v) Policymakers. 

20 ‘‘(4) RECOMMENDATIONS.—In choosing individ21 uals for membership on a regional educational lab22 oratory advisory board, the regional educational lab23 oratory shall consult with, and solicit recommenda24 tions from, the Evaluation and Regional Assistance 

25 Commissioner, the chief executive officers of States, 


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1 chief State school officers, local educational agencies, 

2 and other education stakeholders within the applica3 ble region. 

4 ‘‘(5) SPECIAL RULE.—The total number of mem5 bers on each regional educational laboratory advisory 

6 board who are selected under clauses (ii) and (iii) of 

7 paragraph (3)(A), in the aggregate, shall exceed the 

8 total number of members who are selected under para9 graph (3)(B), collectively. 

10 ‘‘(i) EVALUATIONS.— 

11 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Evaluation and Re12 gional Assistance Commissioner shall— 

13 ‘‘(A) provide for ongoing summative and 

14 interim evaluations described in paragraphs (2) 

15 and (3), respectively, of each of the regional edu16 cational laboratories established under this sec17 tion in carrying out the full range of duties de18 scribed in this section; and 

19 ‘‘(B) transmit the results of such evalua20 tions, through appropriate means, to the appro21 priate congressional committees, the Director, 

22 and the public. 

23 ‘‘(2) SUMMATIVE EVALUATIONS.—The Evalua24 tion and Regional Assistance Commissioner shall en25 sure each regional educational laboratory established 


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1 under this section is evaluated by an independent en2 tity at the end of the period of the grant, contract, or 

3 cooperative agreement that established such labora4 tory, and such evaluation shall— 

5 ‘‘(A) be completed in a timely fashion; 

6 ‘‘(B) assess how well the laboratory is meet7 ing the measurable performance indicators estab8 lished under subsection (e)(5); and 

9 ‘‘(C) consider the extent to which the labora10 tory ensures that the activities of such laboratory 

11 are relevant and useful to the work of State and 

12 local practitioners and policymakers. 

13 ‘‘(3) INTERIM EVALUATIONS.—The Evaluation 

14 and Regional Assistance Commissioner shall ensure 

15 each regional educational laboratory established 

16 under this section is evaluated at the midpoint of the 

17 period of the grant, contract, or cooperative agreement 

18 that established such laboratory, and such evaluation 

19 shall— 

20 ‘‘(A) assess how well such laboratory is 

21 meeting the performance indicators described in 

22 subsection (e)(5); and 

23 ‘‘(B) be used to improve the effectiveness of 

24 such laboratory in carrying out its plan under 

25 subsection (d)(2). 


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1 ‘‘(j) CONTINUATION OF AWARDS; RECOMPETITION.— 

2 ‘‘(1) CONTINUATION OF AWARDS.—The Evalua3 tion and Regional Assistance Commissioner shall con4 tinue awards made to each eligible applicant for the 

5 support of regional educational laboratories estab6 lished under this section prior to the date of enact7 ment of the Strengthening Education through Re8 search Act, as such awards were in effect on the day 

9 before the date of enactment of such Act, for the dura10 tion of those awards, in accordance with the terms 

11 and agreements of such awards. 

12 ‘‘(2) RECOMPETITION.—Not later than the end of 

13 the period of the awards described in paragraph (1), 

14 the Evaluation and Regional Assistance Commis15 sioner shall— 

16 ‘‘(A) hold a competition to make grants, 

17 contracts, or cooperative agreements under this 

18 section to eligible applicants, which may include 

19 eligible applicants that held awards described in 

20 paragraph (1); and 

21 ‘‘(B) in determining whether to select an el22 igible applicant that held an award described in 

23 paragraph (1) for an award under subparagraph 

24 (A) of this paragraph, consider the results of the 

25 summative evaluation under subsection (i)(2) of 


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1 the laboratory established with the eligible appli2 cant’s award described in paragraph (1).’’; 

3 (5) by striking subsection (l); 

4 (6) by redesignating subsections (m), (n), and (o) 

5 as subsections (l), (m), and (n), respectively; 

6 (7) in subsection (l), as redesignated by para7 graph (6), by inserting ‘‘and local’’ after ‘‘achieve 

8 State’’; 

9 (8) by striking subsection (m), as redesignated 

10 by paragraph (6), and inserting the following: 

11 ‘‘(m) ANNUAL REPORT.—Each regional educational 

12 laboratory established under this section shall submit to the 

13 Evaluation and Regional Assistance Commissioner an an14 nual report containing such information as the Commis15 sioner may require, but which shall include, at a minimum, 

16 the following: 

17 ‘‘(1) A summary of the laboratory’s activities 

18 and products developed during the previous year. 

19 ‘‘(2) A listing of the State educational agencies, 

20 local educational agencies, and schools the laboratory 

21 assisted during the previous year. 

22 ‘‘(3) Using the measurable performance indica23 tors established under subsection (e)(5), a description 

24 of how well the laboratory is meeting educational 

25 needs of the region served by the laboratory. 


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1 ‘‘(4) Any changes to the laboratory’s plan under 

2 subsection (d)(2) to improve its activities in the re3 maining years of the grant, contract, or cooperative 

4 agreement.’’; and 

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

6 ‘‘(o) APPROPRIATIONS RESERVATION.—Of the 

7 amounts appropriated under section 194(a), the Evaluation 

8 and Regional Assistance Commissioner shall reserve 16.13 

9 percent of such funds to carry out this section, of which 

10 the Commissioner shall use not less than 25 percent to serve 

11 rural areas (including schools funded by the Bureau which 

12 are located in rural areas).’’. 

13 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—The table of contents 

14 in section 1 of the Act of November 5, 2002 (Public Law 

15 107–279; 116 Stat. 1940) is amended by striking the item 

16 relating to section 174 and inserting the following: 

‘‘Sec. 174. Regional educational laboratories for research, development, dissemination, and evaluation.’’. 

17 PART E—NATIONAL CENTER FOR SPECIAL 

18 EDUCATION RESEARCH 

19 SEC. 175. ESTABLISHMENT. 

20 Section 175(b) (20 U.S.C. 9567(b)) is amended— 

21 (1) in paragraph (1), by striking ‘‘and children’’ 

22 and inserting ‘‘children, and youth’’; 

23 (2) in paragraph (2), by striking ‘‘and’’ at the 

24 end; 


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1 (3) in paragraph (3), by striking the period at 

2 the end and inserting a semicolon; and 

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

4 ‘‘(4) to promote quality and integrity through 

5 the use of accepted practices of scientific inquiry to 

6 obtain knowledge and understanding of the validity of 

7 education theories, practices, or conditions with re8 spect to special education research and evaluation de9 scribed in paragraphs (1) through (3); and 

10 ‘‘(5) to promote scientifically valid research find11 ings in special education that may provide the basis 

12 for improving academic instruction and lifelong 

13 learning.’’. 

14 SEC. 176. COMMISSIONER FOR SPECIAL EDUCATION RE15 SEARCH. 

16 Section 176 (20 U.S.C. 9567a) is amended by insert17 ing ‘‘and youth’’ after ‘‘children’’. 

18 SEC. 177. DUTIES. 

19 Section 177 (20 U.S.C. 9567b) is amended— 

20 (1) in subsection (a)— 

21 (A) in paragraph (1)(A), by inserting ‘‘and 

22 youth’’ after ‘‘children’’; 

23 (B) in paragraph (2), by striking ‘‘scientif24 ically based educational practices’’ and inserting 


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1 ‘‘educational practices, including the use of tech2 nology based on scientifically valid research,’’; 

3 (C) in paragraph (4)— 

4 (i) by striking ‘‘scientifically based’’; 

5 and 

6 (ii) by inserting ‘‘are based on scientif7 ically valid research and’’ after ‘‘interven8 tions that’’; 

9 (D) in paragraph (10), by inserting before 

10 the semicolon the following: ‘‘, including how sec11 ondary school credentials are related to postsec12 ondary and employment outcomes’’; 

13 (E) by redesignating paragraphs (11) 

14 through (15) and paragraphs (16) and (17) as 

15 paragraphs (12) through (16), respectively, and 

16 paragraphs (18) and (19), respectively; 

17 (F) by inserting after paragraph (10), the 

18 following: 

19 ‘‘(11) examine the participation and outcomes of 

20 students with disabilities in secondary and postsec21 ondary career and technical education programs;’’; 

22 (G) in paragraph (14), as redesignated by 

23 subparagraph (E), by inserting ‘‘and profes24 sional development’’ after ‘‘preparation’’; 


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1 (H) in paragraph (16), as redesignated by 

2 subparagraph (E), by striking ‘‘help parents’’ 

3 and inserting ‘‘examine the methods by which 

4 parents may’’; 

5 (I) by inserting after paragraph (16), as re6 designated by subparagraph (E), the following: 

7 ‘‘(17) assist the Board in the preparation and 

8 dissemination of each evaluation report under section 

9 116(d);’’; 

10 (J) in paragraph (18), as redesignated by 

11 subparagraph (E), by striking ‘‘and’’ at the end; 

12 (K) by striking paragraph (19), as redesig13 nated by subparagraph (E), and inserting the 

14 following: 

15 ‘‘(19) examine the needs of children with disabil16 ities who are English learners, are gifted and tal17 ented, or have other unique learning needs; and’’; and 

18 (L) by adding at the end the following: 

19 ‘‘(20) examine innovations in the field of special 

20 education, such as multi-tiered systems of support.’’; 

21 (2) in subsection (c)— 

22 (A) in the matter preceding paragraph 

23 (1)— 


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1 (i) by inserting ‘‘for the activities of 

2 the Special Education Research Center’’ 

3 after ‘‘a research plan’’; and 

4 (ii) by striking ‘‘Services, that—’’ and 

5 inserting ‘‘Services, and, subject to the ap6 proval of the Director, implement the re7 search plan. The research plan shall be a 

8 plan that—’’; 

9 (B) in paragraph (1), by inserting ‘‘de10 scribed in section 175(b)’’ after ‘‘Center’’; 

11 (C) by striking paragraph (2) and inserting 

12 the following: 

13 ‘‘(2) is carried out, and, as appropriate, updated 

14 and modified, including by using the results of the 

15 Special Education Research Center’s most recent eval16 uation report under section 116(d);’’; 

17 (D) by striking paragraph (5); 

18 (E) by redesignating paragraphs (3), (4), 

19 and (6) as paragraphs (4), (5), and (7), respec20 tively; 

21 (F) by inserting after paragraph (2) the fol22 lowing: 

23 ‘‘(3) provides for research that addresses signifi24 cant questions of practice where such research is lack25 ing;’’; 


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1 (G) in paragraph (5), as redesignated by 

2 subparagraph (E), by striking ‘‘and types of 

3 children with’’ and inserting ‘‘, student sub4 groups, and types of’’; and 

5 (H) by inserting after paragraph (5), as re6 designated by subparagraph (E), the following: 

7 ‘‘(6) describes how the Special Education Re8 search Center will use the performance management 

9 system described in section 185 to assess and improve 

10 the activities of the Center; and’’; 

11 (3) in subsection (d)— 

12 (A) in paragraph (1), by striking ‘‘Direc13 tor’’ and inserting ‘‘Special Education Research 

14 Commissioner’’; 

15 (B) by striking paragraph (3) and inserting 

16 the following: 

17 ‘‘(3) APPLICATIONS.— 

18 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—An eligible applicant 

19 that wishes to receive a grant, or enter into a 

20 contract or cooperative agreement, under this 

21 section shall submit an application to the Spe22 cial Education Research Commissioner at such 

23 time, in such manner, and containing such in24 formation as the Special Education Research 

25 Commissioner may require. 


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1 ‘‘(B) CONTENTS.—An application submitted 

2 under subparagraph (A) shall describe how the 

3 eligible applicant will address and demonstrate 

4 progress on the requirements of the performance 

5 management system described in section 185, 

6 with respect to the activities that will be carried 

7 out under such grant, contract, or cooperative 

8 agreement.’’; and 

9 (C) by adding at the end the following: 

10 ‘‘(4) DURATION.—Notwithstanding any other 

11 provision of law, the grants, contracts, and coopera12 tive agreements under this section may be awarded or 

13 entered into, on a competitive basis, for a period of 

14 not more than 5 years, and may be renewed at the 

15 discretion of the Special Education Research Commis16 sioner for an additional period of not more than 2 

17 years if the recipient demonstrates progress on the re18 quirements of the performance management system 

19 described in section 185, with respect to the activities 

20 carried out under the grant, contract, or cooperative 

21 agreement received or entered into under this sec22 tion.’’; 

23 (4) by striking subsection (e) and inserting the 

24 following: 


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1 ‘‘(e) DISSEMINATION.—The Special Education Re2 search Center shall synthesize and, consistent with section 

3 114(j), widely disseminate and promote utilization of the 

4 findings and results of special education research conducted 

5 or supported by the Special Education Research Center.’’; 

6 and 

7 (5) in subsection (f), by striking ‘‘part such sums 

8 as may be necessary for each of fiscal years 2005 

9 through 2010.’’ and inserting the following: ‘‘part— 

10 ‘‘(1) for fiscal year 2015, $54,000,000; 

11 ‘‘(2) for fiscal year 2016, $55,080,000; 

12 ‘‘(3) for fiscal year 2017, $56,181,600; 

13 ‘‘(4) for fiscal year 2018, $57,305,232; 

14 ‘‘(5) for fiscal year 2019, $58,394,031; and 

15 ‘‘(6) for fiscal year 2020, $66,151,452.’’. 

16 PART F—GENERAL PROVISIONS 

17 SEC. 181. PROHIBITIONS. 

18 Section 182 (20 U.S.C. 9572) is amended— 

19 (1) in subsection (b), by inserting ‘‘specific aca20 demic achievement or content standards or assess21 ments,’’ after ‘‘the curriculum,’’; and 

22 (2) in subsection (c), by striking ‘‘an elementary 

23 school or secondary school’’ and inserting ‘‘early edu24 cation, or in an elementary school, secondary school, 

25 or institution of higher education’’. 


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1 SEC. 182. CONFIDENTIALITY. 

2 Section 183 (20 U.S.C. 9573) is amended— 

3 (1) in subsection (b)— 

4 (A) by striking ‘‘their families, and infor5 mation with respect to individual schools,’’ and 

6 inserting ‘‘and their families’’; and 

7 (B) by inserting before the period at the end 

8 the following: ‘‘, and that any disclosed informa9 tion with respect to individual schools not reveal 

10 such individually identifiable information’’; 

11 (2) in subsection (d)(2), by inserting ‘‘, includ12 ing voluntary and uncompensated services under sec13 tion 190’’ after ‘‘providing services’’; and 

14 (3) in subsection (e)(1), in the matter preceding 

15 subparagraph (A), by inserting ‘‘and Director’’ after 

16 ‘‘Secretary’’. 

17 SEC. 183. AVAILABILITY OF DATA. 

18 Section 184 (20 U.S.C. 9574) is amended by striking 

19 ‘‘use of the Internet’’ and inserting ‘‘electronic means, such 

20 as posting in an easily accessible manner on the Institute’s 

21 website’’. 

22 SEC. 184. PERFORMANCE MANAGEMENT. 

23 Section 185 (20 U.S.C. 9575) is amended to read as 

24 follows: 


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1 ‘‘SEC. 185. PERFORMANCE MANAGEMENT. 

2 ‘‘The Director shall establish a system for managing 

3 the performance of all activities authorized under this title 

4 to promote continuous improvement of the activities and 

5 to ensure the effective use of Federal funds by— 

6 ‘‘(1) developing and using measurable perform7 ance indicators, including timelines, to evaluate and 

8 improve the effectiveness of the activities; 

9 ‘‘(2) using the performance indicators described 

10 in paragraph (1) to inform funding decisions, includ11 ing the awarding and continuation of all grants, con12 tracts, and cooperative agreements under this title; 

13 ‘‘(3) establishing and improving formal feedback 

14 mechanisms to— 

15 ‘‘(A) anticipate and meet stakeholder needs; 

16 and 

17 ‘‘(B) incorporate, on an ongoing basis, the 

18 feedback of such stakeholders into the activities 

19 authorized under this title; and 

20 ‘‘(4) promoting the wide dissemination and uti21 lization, consistent with section 114(j), of all informa22 tion, products, and publications of the Institute.’’. 

23 SEC. 185. AUTHORITY TO PUBLISH. 

24 Section 186(b) (20 U.S.C. 9576(b)) is amended by 

25 striking ‘‘any information to be published under this section 


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1 before publication’’ and inserting ‘‘any publication under 

2 this section before the public release of such publication’’. 

3 SEC. 186. REPEALS. 

4 (a) REPEALS.—Sections 187 (20 U.S.C. 9577) and 

5 193 (20 U.S.C. 9583) are repealed. 

6 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.—The table of contents 

7 in section 1 of the Act of November 5, 2002 (Public Law 

8 107–279; 116 Stat. 1940) is amended by striking the items 

9 relating to sections 187 and 193. 

10 SEC. 187. FELLOWSHIPS. 

11 Section 189 (20 U.S.C. 9579) is amended— 

12 (1) by inserting ‘‘and the mission of each Na13 tional Education Center authorized under this title’’ 

14 after ‘‘related to education’’; and 

15 (2) by striking ‘‘historically Black colleges and 

16 universities’’ and inserting ‘‘minority-serving institu17 tions’’. 

18 SEC. 188. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 

19 Section 194 (20 U.S.C. 9584) is amended— 

20 (1) by striking subsection (a) and inserting the 

21 following: 

22 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—There are authorized to be appro23 priated to administer and carry out this title (except part 

24 E)— 

25 ‘‘(1) for fiscal year 2015, $337,343,000; 


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1 ‘‘(2) for fiscal year 2016, $344,089,860; 

2 ‘‘(3) for fiscal year 2017, $350,971,657; 

3 ‘‘(4) for fiscal year 2018, $357,991,090; 

4 ‘‘(5) for fiscal year 2019, $364,792,921; and 

5 ‘‘(6) for fiscal year 2020, $368,440,850.’’; and 

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

7 following: 

8 ‘‘(b) RESERVATIONS.—Of the amounts appropriated 

9 under subsection (a) for each fiscal year— 

10 ‘‘(1) not less than the amount provided to the 

11 National Center for Education Statistics (as such 

12 Center was in existence on the day before the date of 

13 enactment of the Strengthening Education through 

14 Research Act) for fiscal year 2014 shall be provided 

15 to the National Center for Education Statistics, as 

16 authorized under part C; and 

17 ‘‘(2) not more than the lesser of 2 percent of such 

18 appropriated amounts or $2,000,000 shall be made 

19 available to carry out section 116 (relating to the Na20 tional Board for Education Sciences).’’. 


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1 PART G—TECHNICAL AND CONFORMING 

2 AMENDMENTS 

3 SEC. 191. TECHNICAL AND CONFORMING AMENDMENTS TO 

4 OTHER LAWS. 

5 (a) CARL D. PERKINS CAREER AND TECHNICAL EDU6 CATION ACT OF 2006.—Section 3(25) of the Carl D. Perkins 

7 Career and Technical Education Act of 2006 (20 U.S.C. 

8 2302(25)) is amended by striking ‘‘using scientifically 

9 based research standards, as defined in section 102’’ and 

10 inserting ‘‘in accordance with the principles of scientific re11 search, as defined in section 102’’. 

12 (b) ELEMENTARY AND SECONDARY EDUCATION ACT OF

13 1965.—Section 9529(b) of the Elementary and Secondary 

14 Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 7909(b)) is amended by 

15 striking ‘‘section 153(a)(5)’’ and inserting ‘‘section 

16 153(a)(6)’’. 

17 (c) INDIVIDUALS WITH DISABILITIES EDUCATION

18 ACT.—Section 681(a)(1) of the Individuals with Disabil19 ities Education Act (20 U.S.C. 1481(a)(1)) is amended by 

20 striking ‘‘section 178(c)’’ and inserting ‘‘section 177(c)’’. 

21 TITLE II—EDUCATIONAL 

22 TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE 

23 SEC. 201. REFERENCES. 

24 Except as otherwise expressly provided, whenever in 

25 this title an amendment or repeal is expressed in terms of 

26 an amendment to, or repeal of, a section or other provision, 


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1 the reference shall be considered to be made to a section or 

2 other provision of the Educational Technical Assistance Act 

3 of 2002 (20 U.S.C. 9601 et seq.). 

4 SEC. 202. DEFINITIONS. 

5 Section 202 (20 U.S.C. 9601) is amended— 

6 (1) by redesignating paragraph (2) as para7 graph (3); and 

8 (2) by inserting after paragraph (1) the fol9 lowing: 

10 ‘‘(2) SCHOOL LEADER.—The term ‘school leader’ 

11 has the meaning given the term in section 102.’’. 

12 SEC. 203. COMPREHENSIVE CENTERS. 

13 Section 203 (20 U.S.C. 9602) is amended— 

14 (1) by striking subsection (a) and inserting the 

15 following: 

16 ‘‘(a) AUTHORIZATION.— 

17 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Subject to paragraph (3) 

18 and except as provided in subsection (b)(5), the Sec19 retary shall award 17 grants, contracts, or coopera20 tive agreements to eligible applicants to establish com21 prehensive centers. 

22 ‘‘(2) MISSION.—The mission of the comprehen23 sive centers is to provide State educational agencies 

24 and local educational agencies technical assistance, 

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1 plementing the requirements of the Elementary and 

2 Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 6301 et 

3 seq.) and other Federal education laws, and research4 based practices. 

5 ‘‘(3) REGIONS.—In awarding grants, contracts, 

6 or cooperative agreements under paragraph (1), the 

7 Secretary— 

8 ‘‘(A) shall establish at least one comprehen9 sive center for each of the 10 geographic regions 

10 served by the regional educational laboratories 

11 established under section 941(h) of the Edu12 cational Research, Development, Dissemination, 

13 and Improvement Act of 1994 (20 U.S.C. 

14 6041(h)) (as such provision existed on the day 

15 before the date of enactment of this Act); 

16 ‘‘(B) may establish additional comprehen17 sive centers— 

18 ‘‘(i) for one or more of the regions de19 scribed in subparagraph (A); or 

20 ‘‘(ii) to serve the Nation as a whole by 

21 providing technical assistance on a par22 ticular content area of importance to the 

23 Nation, as determined by the Secretary; and 

24 ‘‘(C) may make such arrangements as the 

25 Secretary determines necessary to ensure that the 


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1 Bureau of Indian Education and States or local 

2 educational agencies serving significant numbers 

3 of American Indian, Alaska Native, or Native 

4 Hawaiian students have access to services pro5 vided under this section. 

6 ‘‘(4) NATION.—In the case of a comprehensive 

7 center established to serve the Nation as described in 

8 paragraph (3)(B)(ii), the Nation shall be considered 

9 to be a region served by such Center. 

10 ‘‘(5) AWARD PERIOD.—A grant, contract, or co11 operative agreement under this section may be award12 ed, on a competitive basis, for a period of not more 

13 than 5 years. 

14 ‘‘(6) RESPONSIVENESS.—The Secretary shall en15 sure that each comprehensive center established under 

16 this section has the ability to respond in a timely 

17 fashion to the needs of State educational agencies and 

18 local educational agencies, including through using 

19 the results of the center’s interim evaluation under 

20 section 204(c), to improve and modify the activities 

21 of the center before the end of the award period.’’; 

22 (2) in subsection (b)— 

23 (A) in paragraph (1)— 

24 (i) by inserting ‘‘, contracts, or cooper25 ative agreements’’ after ‘‘Grants’’; 


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1 (ii) by striking ‘‘research organiza2 tions, institutions, agencies, institutions of 

3 higher education,’’ and inserting ‘‘public or 

4 private, nonprofit or for-profit research or5 ganizations, other organizations, or institu6 tions of higher education,’’; 

7 (iii) by striking ‘‘, or individuals,’’; 

8 (iv) by striking ‘‘subsection (f)’’ and 

9 inserting ‘‘subsection (e)’’; and 

10 (v) by striking ‘‘, including regional’’ 

11 and all that follows through ‘‘107–110))’’; 

12 and 

13 (B) by striking paragraphs (2) and (3) and 

14 inserting the following: 

15 ‘‘(2) OUTREACH.—In conducting competitions 

16 for grants, contracts, or cooperative agreements under 

17 this section, the Secretary shall— 

18 ‘‘(A) by making widely available informa19 tion and technical assistance relating to the com20 petition, actively encourage eligible applicants to 

21 compete for such awards; and 

22 ‘‘(B) seek input from chief executive officers 

23 of States, chief State school officers, educators, 

24 parents, superintendents, and other individuals 


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1 with knowledge of the needs of the regions to be 

2 served by the awards, regarding— 

3 ‘‘(i) the needs in the regions for tech4 nical assistance authorized under this title; 

5 and 

6 ‘‘(ii) how such needs may be addressed 

7 most effectively. 

8 ‘‘(3) PERFORMANCE MANAGEMENT.—Before 

9 awarding a grant, contract, or cooperative agreement 

10 under this section, the Secretary shall establish meas11 urable performance indicators to be used to assess the 

12 ongoing progress and performance of the comprehen13 sive centers to be established under this title that ad14 dress paragraphs (1) through (3) of the performance 

15 management system described in section 185. 

16 ‘‘(4) REQUIRED CONSIDERATION.—In deter17 mining whether to award or enter into a grant, con18 tract, or cooperative agreement under this section— 

19 ‘‘(A) to an eligible applicant that previously 

20 established a comprehensive center under this 

21 section, the Secretary shall— 

22 ‘‘(i) consider the results of such center’s 

23 summative evaluation under section 204(b) 

24 or, if not available, any interim evaluation 

25 results under section 204(c); and 


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1 ‘‘(ii) ensure that only centers deter2 mined effective in the centers’ relevant in3 terim or summative evaluations, as de4 scribed in section 204, are eligible to receive 

5 a new grant, contract, or cooperative agree6 ment; and 

7 ‘‘(B) to any eligible applicant, the Secretary 

8 shall ensure that such applicant has— 

9 ‘‘(i) a history of effectiveness in pro10 viding high-quality technical assistance; 

11 and 

12 ‘‘(ii) the capacity to meet the measur13 able performance indicators established 

14 under paragraph (3). 

15 ‘‘(5) FLEXIBILITY IN COMPREHENSIVE CENTER

16 NUMBER.— 

17 ‘‘(A) DETERMINATION.—The Secretary, in 

18 consultation with the comprehensive center advi19 sory boards described in subsection (f), may de20 termine that establishing 17 comprehensive cen21 ters under this section is unnecessary, as re22 quired in subsection (a)(1), and grant an alter23 native number of awards or reorganize such cen24 ters, which may include organizing the centers 


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1 around content area instead of by the regions de2 scribed in subsection (a)(3), if— 

3 ‘‘(i) an insufficient number of such 

4 comprehensive centers are meeting the needs 

5 of the regions described in paragraphs (3) 

6 and (4) of subsection (a), as determined by 

7 the Secretary; 

8 ‘‘(ii) an insufficient number of such 

9 comprehensive centers are meeting the meas10 urable performance indicators established 

11 under paragraph (3), as determined by the 

12 Secretary and the most recent interim or 

13 summative evaluation under section 204; or 

14 ‘‘(iii) an insufficient number of eligible 

15 applicants have the capacity to meet the 

16 measurable performance indicators estab17 lished under paragraph (3), as determined 

18 by the Secretary. 

19 ‘‘(B) LIMITATION.—The Secretary shall not 

20 use the determination authority described in sub21 paragraph (A) to establish more than 17 com22 prehensive centers under this section. 

23 ‘‘(6) CONTINUATION OF AWARDS.— 

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1 ble applicant for the support of comprehensive 

2 centers established under this section prior to the 

3 date of enactment of the Strengthening Edu4 cation through Research Act, as such awards 

5 were in effect on the day before the date of enact6 ment of such Act, for the duration of those 

7 awards, in accordance with the terms and agree8 ments of such awards. 

9 ‘‘(B) RECOMPETITION.—Not later than the 

10 end of the period of the awards described in sub11 paragraph (A), the Secretary shall— 

12 ‘‘(i) hold a competition to make grants, 

13 contracts, or cooperative agreements under 

14 this section to eligible applicants, which 

15 may include eligible applicants that held 

16 awards described in subparagraph (A); and 

17 ‘‘(ii) in determining whether to select 

18 an eligible applicant that held an award de19 scribed in subparagraph (A) for an award 

20 under clause (i) of this subparagraph, con21 sider the results of the summative evalua22 tion under section 204(b) of the center es23 tablished with the eligible applicant’s award 

24 described in subparagraph (A). 


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1 ‘‘(7) ELIGIBLE APPLICANT DEFINED.—For pur2 poses of this section, the term ‘eligible applicant’ 

3 means an entity described in paragraph (1).’’; 

4 (3) by striking subsection (c) and inserting the 

5 following: 

6 ‘‘(c) APPLICATIONS.— 

7 ‘‘(1) SUBMISSION.— 

8 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Each eligible applicant 

9 seeking a grant, contract, or cooperative agree10 ment under this section shall submit an applica11 tion at such time, in such manner, and con12 taining such additional information as the Sec13 retary may reasonably require. 

14 ‘‘(B) INPUT.—To ensure that applications 

15 submitted under this paragraph are reflective of 

16 the needs of the regions to be served, each eligible 

17 applicant submitting such an application shall 

18 seek input from— 

19 ‘‘(i) State educational agencies and 

20 local educational agencies in the region that 

21 the award will serve; and 

22 ‘‘(ii) other individuals with knowledge 

23 of the region’s needs. 

24 ‘‘(2) PLAN.— 


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1 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Each application sub2 mitted under paragraph (1) shall contain a plan 

3 for the comprehensive center to be established 

4 under this section, which shall be updated, modi5 fied, and improved, as appropriate, on an ongo6 ing basis, including by using the results of the 

7 center’s interim evaluation under section 204(c). 

8 ‘‘(B) CONTENTS.—A plan described in sub9 paragraph (A) shall address— 

10 ‘‘(i) the priorities for technical assist11 ance established under section 207; 

12 ‘‘(ii) the needs of State educational 

13 agencies and local educational agencies, on 

14 an ongoing basis, using available State and 

15 local data, including how the needs of 

16 schools identified for improvement and 

17 schools and local educational agencies with 

18 a high percentage or number of low-income 

19 students will be prioritized and served; and 

20 ‘‘(iii) if available, demonstrated sup21 port from State educational agencies and 

22 local educational agencies, such as letters of 

23 support or signed memoranda of under24 standing. 


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1 ‘‘(3) NON-FEDERAL SUPPORT.—In conducting a 

2 competition for grants, contracts, or cooperative 

3 agreements under subsection (a), the Secretary shall 

4 give priority to eligible applicants that will provide 

5 a portion of non-Federal funds to maximize support 

6 for activities of the comprehensive centers to be estab7 lished under this section.’’; 

8 (4) in subsection (d), by inserting ‘‘the number 

9 of low-performing schools in the region,’’ after ‘‘eco10 nomically disadvantaged students,’’; 

11 (5) by striking subsections (e), (g), and (h); 

12 (6) by redesignating subsection (f) as subsection 

13 (e); 

14 (7) in subsection (e), as redesignated by para15 graph (6)— 

16 (A) in paragraph (1)— 

17 (i) in the matter preceding subpara18 graph (A), by striking ‘‘support dissemina19 tion and technical assistance activities by’’ 

20 and inserting ‘‘support State educational 

21 agencies and local educational agencies, in22 cluding by’’; 

23 (ii) in subparagraph (A)— 


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1 (I) in clause (i), by inserting 

2 ‘‘and other Federal education laws’’ be3 fore the semicolon; 

4 (II) in clause (ii)— 

5 (aa) in the matter preceding 

6 subclause (I), by striking ‘‘and as7 sessment tools’’ and inserting ‘‘, 

8 assessment tools, and other edu9 cational strategies’’; 

10 (bb) in subclause (I), by 

11 striking ‘‘mathematics, science,’’ 

12 and inserting ‘‘mathematics and 

13 science, which may include com14 puter science or engineering,’’; 

15 and 

16 (cc) in subclause (III), by in17 serting ‘‘, including innovative 

18 tools and methods’’ before the 

19 semicolon; and 

20 (III) by striking clause (iii) and 

21 inserting the following: 

22 ‘‘(iii) the replication and adaptation of 

23 exemplary practices and innovative methods 

24 that have an evidence base of effectiveness; 

25 and’’; 


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1 (iii) in subparagraph (B)— 

2 (I) by inserting ‘‘, consistent with 

3 section 114(j),’’ after ‘‘disseminating’’; 

4 and 

5 (II) by striking ‘‘(as described’’ 

6 and all that follows through ‘‘is lo7 cated’’; and 

8 (iv) by striking subparagraph (C) and 

9 inserting the following: 

10 ‘‘(C) ensuring activities carried out under 

11 this section are relevant and responsive to the 

12 needs of the region being served.’’; and 

13 (B) in paragraph (2)— 

14 (i) by inserting ‘‘, on an ongoing 

15 basis,’’ after ‘‘this section shall’’; and 

16 (ii) by striking ‘‘in which the center is 

17 located’’ and inserting ‘‘served by the center 

18 or other regional educational laboratories or 

19 comprehensive centers, as appropriate’’; and 

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

21 ‘‘(f) COMPREHENSIVE CENTER ADVISORY BOARD.— 

22 ‘‘(1) ESTABLISHMENT.—Each comprehensive 

23 center established under this section may establish an 

24 advisory board that shall support the priorities of 

25 such center. 


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1 ‘‘(2) DUTIES.—Each advisory board established 

2 under paragraph (1) shall advise the comprehensive 

3 center— 

4 ‘‘(A) concerning the activities described in 

5 subsection (e); 

6 ‘‘(B) on strategies for monitoring and ad7 dressing the educational needs of the region being 

8 served on an ongoing basis and, as appropriate, 

9 national needs; 

10 ‘‘(C) on maintaining a high standard of 

11 quality in the performance of the center’s activi12 ties, especially in meeting the measurable per13 formance indicators established under subsection 

14 (b)(3); 

15 ‘‘(D) on carrying out the center’s duties in 

16 a manner that promotes progress toward im17 proving student academic achievement; 

18 ‘‘(E) on the activities undertaken by re19 gional educational laboratories of the region 

20 being served, other regional educational labora21 tories, as appropriate, and other comprehensive 

22 centers to align the work of the laboratories and 

23 centers, reduce redundancy, and increase collabo24 ration and resource-sharing in such activities; 

25 and 


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1 ‘‘(F) on joint activities, with other com2 prehensive centers or regional educational lab3 oratories from other regions, that would meet the 

4 needs of multiple regions. 

5 ‘‘(3) COMPOSITION.— 

6 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Each advisory board 

7 shall— 

8 ‘‘(i) not exceed 25 members; 

9 ‘‘(ii) include the chief State school offi10 cer, or such officer’s designee, or other State 

11 official, of States within the region served 

12 by the comprehensive center who have pri13 mary responsibility under State law for ele14 mentary and secondary education in the 

15 State; 

16 ‘‘(iii) include representatives of local 

17 educational agencies, including rural and 

18 urban local educational agencies, that rep19 resent the geographic diversity of the region; 

20 ‘‘(iv) include researchers; and 

21 ‘‘(v) include not less than 1 representa22 tive from the advisory board of a regional 

23 educational laboratory in the region being 

24 served by the comprehensive center. 


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1 ‘‘(B) ELIGIBILITY.—The membership of 

2 each comprehensive center advisory board may 

3 include the following: 

4 ‘‘(i) Representatives of institutions of 

5 higher education. 

6 ‘‘(ii) Parents. 

7 ‘‘(iii) Practicing educators, including 

8 classroom teachers, school leaders, adminis9 trators, school board members, and other 

10 local school officials. 

11 ‘‘(iv) Representatives of business. 

12 ‘‘(v) Policymakers. 

13 ‘‘(4) RECOMMENDATIONS.—In choosing individ14 uals for membership on a comprehensive center advi15 sory board, the comprehensive center shall consult 

16 with, and solicit recommendations from, the Sec17 retary, chief executive officers of States, chief State 

18 school officers, local educational agencies, and other 

19 education stakeholders within the applicable region. 

20 ‘‘(5) SPECIAL RULE.—The total number of mem21 bers on each board who are selected under clauses (ii) 

22 and (iii) of paragraph (3)(A), in the aggregate, shall 

23 exceed the total number of members who are selected 

24 under paragraph (3)(B), collectively. 


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1 ‘‘(g) REPORT TO THE SECRETARY.—Each comprehen2 sive center established under this section shall submit to the 

3 Secretary an annual report, at such time, in such manner, 

4 and containing such information as the Secretary may re5 quire, which shall include the following: 

6 ‘‘(1) A summary of the center’s activities and 

7 products developed during the previous year. 

8 ‘‘(2) A listing of the State educational agencies, 

9 local educational agencies, and schools the center as10 sisted during the previous year. 

11 ‘‘(3) Using the measurable performance indica12 tors established under subsection (b)(3), a description 

13 of how well the center is meeting educational needs of 

14 the region served by the center. 

15 ‘‘(4) Any changes to the center’s plan under sub16 section (c)(2) to improve its activities in the remain17 ing years of the grant, contract, or cooperative agree18 ment.’’. 

19 SEC. 204. EVALUATIONS. 

20 Section 204 (20 U.S.C. 9603) is amended to read as 

21 follows: 

22 ‘‘SEC. 204. EVALUATIONS. 

23 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall— 

24 ‘‘(1) provide for ongoing summative and interim 

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1 spectively, of each of the comprehensive centers estab2 lished under this title in carrying out the full range 

3 of duties of the center under this title; and 

4 ‘‘(2) transmit the results of such evaluations, 

5 through appropriate means, to the appropriate con6 gressional committees, the Director of the Institute of 

7 Education Sciences, and the public. 

8 ‘‘(b) SUMMATIVE EVALUATION.—The Secretary shall 

9 ensure each comprehensive center established under this title 

10 is evaluated by an independent entity at the end of the pe11 riod of the grant, contract, or cooperative agreement that 

12 established such center, which shall— 

13 ‘‘(1) be completed in a timely fashion; 

14 ‘‘(2) assess how well the center is meeting the 

15 measurable performance indicators established under 

16 section 203(b)(3); and 

17 ‘‘(3) consider the extent to which the center en18 sures that the technical assistance of such center is 

19 relevant and useful to the work of State and local 

20 practitioners and policymakers. 

21 ‘‘(c) INTERIM EVALUATION.—The Secretary shall en22 sure that each comprehensive center established under this 

23 title is evaluated at the midpoint of the period of the grant, 

24 contract, or cooperative agreement that established such cen25 ter, which shall— 


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1 ‘‘(1) assess how well such center is meeting the 

2 measurable performance indicators established under 

3 section 203(b)(3); and 

4 ‘‘(2) be used to improve the effectiveness of such 

5 center in carrying out its plan under section 

6 203(c)(2).’’. 

7 SEC. 205. EXISTING TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE PROVIDERS. 

8 (a) REPEAL.—Section 205 (20 U.S.C. 9604) is re9 pealed. 

10 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—The table of contents 

11 in section 1 of the Act of November 5, 2002 (Public Law 

12 107–279; 116 Stat. 1940) is amended by striking the item 

13 relating to section 205. 

14 SEC. 206. REGIONAL ADVISORY COMMITTEES. 

15 (a) REPEAL.—Section 206 (20 U.S.C. 9605) is re16 pealed. 

17 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—The table of contents 

18 in section 1 of the Act of November 5, 2002 (Public Law 

19 107–279; 116 Stat. 1940) is amended by striking the item 

20 relating to section 206. 

21 SEC. 207. PRIORITIES. 

22 Section 207 (20 U.S.C. 9606) is amended— 

23 (1) by inserting ‘‘Director and’’ before ‘‘Sec24 retary shall establish’’; 


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1 (2) by striking ‘‘of the Education Sciences Re2 form Act of 2002’’; 

3 (3) by striking ‘‘of this title’’; 

4 (4) by striking ‘‘to address, taking onto account 

5 the regional assessments conducted under section 206 

6 and other’’ and inserting ‘‘, respectively, using the re7 sults of’’; and 

8 (5) by striking ‘‘relevant regional’’ and all that 

9 follows through ‘‘Secretary deems appropriate’’ and 

10 inserting ‘‘relevant regional and national surveys of 

11 educational needs’’. 

12 SEC. 208. GRANT PROGRAM FOR STATEWIDE, LONGITU13 DINAL DATA SYSTEMS. 

14 Section 208 (20 U.S.C. 9607) is amended— 

15 (1) in subsection (a)— 

16 (A) by inserting before the period at the end 

17 the following: ‘‘, the Higher Education Act of 

18 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1001 et seq.), and the Individ19 uals with Disabilities Education Act (20 U.S.C. 

20 1400 et seq.)’’; and 

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

22 ‘‘State educational agencies receiving a grant 

23 under this section may provide subgrants to local 

24 educational agencies to improve the capacity of 


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1 local educational agencies to carry out the activi2 ties authorized under this section.’’; 

3 (2) by redesignating subsections (c), (d), and (e) 

4 as subsections (d), (e), and (g), respectively; 

5 (3) by inserting after subsection (b), the fol6 lowing: 

7 ‘‘(c) PERFORMANCE MANAGEMENT.—Before awarding 

8 a grant under this section, the Secretary shall establish 

9 measurable performance indicators— 

10 ‘‘(1) to be used to assess the ongoing progress and 

11 performance of State educational agencies receiving a 

12 grant under this section; and 

13 ‘‘(2) that address paragraphs (1) through (3) of 

14 the performance management system described in sec15 tion 185.’’; 

16 (4) in subsection (d), as redesignated by para17 graph (2)— 

18 (A) in paragraph (1), by striking ‘‘, pro19 motes linkages across States,’’; 

20 (B) in paragraph (2)— 

21 (i) in the matter preceding subpara22 graph (A), by inserting ‘‘supports school 

23 improvement and’’ after ‘‘data that’’; 

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

25 ‘‘and other reporting requirements and close 


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1 achievement gaps; and’’ and inserting ‘‘ 

2 and other reporting requirements, close 

3 achievement gaps, and improve teaching 

4 and school leadership;’’; 

5 (iii) in subparagraph (B), by striking 

6 ‘‘and close achievement gaps; and’’ and by 

7 inserting ‘‘, close achievement gaps, and im8 prove teaching and school leadership; and’’; 

9 and 

10 (iv) by inserting after subparagraph 

11 (B) the following: 

12 ‘‘(C) to align statewide, longitudinal data 

13 systems from early education through postsec14 ondary education (including pre-service prepara15 tion programs), and the workforce, consistent 

16 with privacy protections under section 183;’’; 

17 and 

18 (C) by striking paragraph (3) and inserting 

19 the following: 

20 ‘‘(3) ensures the protection of student privacy, 

21 and includes a review of how State educational agen22 cies, local educational agencies, and others that will 

23 have access to the statewide, longitudinal data sys24 tems under this section will adhere to Federal privacy 

25 laws and protections, consistent with section 183, in 


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1 the building, maintenance, and use of such data sys2 tems; 

3 ‘‘(4) ensures State educational agencies receiving 

4 a grant under this section support professional devel5 opment that builds the capacity of teachers and school 

6 leaders to use data effectively; and 

7 ‘‘(5) gives priority to State educational agencies 

8 that leverage the use of statewide, longitudinal data 

9 systems to improve student achievement and growth, 

10 including such State educational agencies that— 

11 ‘‘(A) meet the voluntary standards and 

12 guidelines described in section 153(a)(5); 

13 ‘‘(B) define the roles of State educational 

14 agencies, local educational agencies, and others 

15 in providing timely access to data under the 

16 statewide, longitudinal data systems, consistent 

17 with privacy protections in section 183; and 

18 ‘‘(C) demonstrate the capacity to share 

19 teacher and school leader performance data, in20 cluding student achievement and growth data, 

21 with local educational agencies and teacher and 

22 school leader preparation programs.’’; 

23 (5) by inserting after subsection (e), as redesig24 nated by paragraph (2), the following: 


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1 ‘‘(f) RENEWAL OF AWARDS.—The Secretary may 

2 renew a grant awarded to a State educational agency under 

3 this section for a period not to exceed 3 years, if the State 

4 educational agency has demonstrated progress on the meas5 urable performance indicators established under subsection 

6 (c).’’; and 

7 (6) by striking subsection (g), as redesignated by 

8 paragraph (2), and inserting the following: 

9 ‘‘(g) REPORTS.— 

10 ‘‘(1) FIRST REPORT.—Not later than 1 year after 

11 the date of enactment of the Strengthening Education 

12 through Research Act, the Secretary shall prepare and 

13 make publicly available a report on the implementa14 tion and effectiveness of the activities carried out by 

15 State educational agencies receiving a grant under 

16 this section, including— 

17 ‘‘(A) information on progress in the devel18 opment and use of statewide, longitudinal data 

19 systems described in this section; 

20 ‘‘(B) information on best practices and 

21 areas for improvement in such development and 

22 use; and 

23 ‘‘(C) how the State educational agencies are 

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1 tions in the building, maintenance, and use of 

2 such data systems. 

3 ‘‘(2) SUCCEEDING REPORTS.—Every succeeding 

4 3 years after the report is made publicly available 

5 under paragraph (1), the Secretary shall prepare and 

6 make publicly available a report on the implementa7 tion and effectiveness of the activities carried out by 

8 State educational agencies receiving a grant under 

9 this section, including— 

10 ‘‘(A) information on the requirements of 

11 subparagraphs (A) through (C) of paragraph (1); 

12 and 

13 ‘‘(B) the progress, in the aggregate, State 

14 educational agencies are making on the measur15 able performance indicators established under 

16 subsection (c).’’. 

17 SEC. 209. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 

18 Section 209 (20 U.S.C. 9608) is amended to read as 

19 follows: 

20 ‘‘SEC. 209. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 

21 ‘‘There are authorized to be appropriated to carry out 

22 this title— 

23 ‘‘(1) for fiscal year 2015, $82,984,000; 

24 ‘‘(2) for fiscal year 2016, $84,643,680; 

25 ‘‘(3) for fiscal year 2017, $86,336,554; 


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1 ‘‘(4) for fiscal year 2018, $88,063,285; 

2 ‘‘(5) for fiscal year 2019, $89,736,487; and 

3 ‘‘(6) for fiscal year 2020, $90,633,852.’’. 

4 TITLE III—NATIONAL ASSESS5 MENT OF EDUCATIONAL 

6 PROGRESS 

7 SEC. 301. REFERENCES. 

8 Except as otherwise expressly provided, whenever in 

9 this title an amendment or repeal is expressed in terms of 

10 an amendment to, or repeal of, a section or other provision, 

11 the reference shall be considered to be made to a section or 

12 other provision of the National Assessment of Educational 

13 Progress Authorization Act (20 U.S.C. 9621 et seq.). 

14 SEC. 302. NATIONAL ASSESSMENT GOVERNING BOARD. 

15 Section 302 (20 U.S.C. 9621) is amended— 

16 (1) in subsection (a), by striking ‘‘shall formu17 late policy guidelines’’ and inserting ‘‘shall oversee 

18 and set policies, in a manner consistent with sub19 section (e) and accepted professional standards,’’; 

20 (2) in subsection (b)(1)(L)— 

21 (A) by striking ‘‘principals’’ and inserting 

22 ‘‘leaders’’; and 

23 (B) by striking ‘‘principal’’ both places it 

24 appears and inserting ‘‘leader’’; 

25 (3) in subsection (c), by striking paragraph (4); 


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1 (4) in subsection (d)— 

2 (A) in paragraph (1)— 

3 (i) in subparagraph (A), by inserting 

4 ‘‘the Assessment Board after consultation 

5 with’’ before ‘‘organizations’’; and 

6 (ii) in subparagraph (B)— 

7 (I) by striking ‘‘Each organiza8 tion submitting nominations to the 

9 Secretary with’’ and inserting ‘‘With’’; 

10 and 

11 (II) by inserting ‘‘, the Assessment 

12 Board’’ after ‘‘particular vacancy’’; 

13 and 

14 (B) in paragraph (2)— 

15 (i) by striking ‘‘that each organization 

16 described in paragraph (1)(A) submit addi17 tional nominations’’ and inserting ‘‘addi18 tional nominations from the Assessment 

19 Board or each organization described in 

20 paragraph (1)(A)’’; and 

21 (ii) by striking ‘‘such organization’’ 

22 and inserting ‘‘the Assessment Board’’; and 

23 (5) in subsection (e)(1)— 

24 (A) in subparagraph (A)— 


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1 (i) by inserting ‘‘in consultation with 

2 the Commissioner for Education Statistics,’’ 

3 before ‘‘select’’; 

4 (ii) by inserting ‘‘and grades or ages’’ 

5 before ‘‘to be’’; and 

6 (iii) by inserting ‘‘, and determine the 

7 year in which such assessments will be con8 ducted’’ after ‘‘assessed’’; 

9 (B) in subparagraph (D), by inserting 

10 ‘‘school leaders,’’ after ‘‘teachers,’’; 

11 (C) in subparagraph (E), by striking ‘‘de12 sign’’ and inserting ‘‘provide input on’’; 

13 (D) by striking ‘‘and’’ at the end of sub14 paragraph (I); 

15 (E) by redesignating subparagraph (J) as 

16 subparagraph (K); 

17 (F) by inserting after subparagraph (I), the 

18 following: 

19 ‘‘(J) provide input to the Director on an20 nual budget requests for the National Assessment 

21 of Educational Progress; and’’; 

22 (G) in subparagraph (K), as redesignated 

23 by subparagraph (E)— 

24 (i) by striking ‘‘plan and execute the 

25 initial public release of’’; and 


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1 (ii) by inserting ‘‘release the initial’’ 

2 before ‘‘National’’; and 

3 (H) in the matter following subparagraph 

4 (K), as redesignated by subparagraph (E), by 

5 striking ‘‘subparagraph (J)’’ and inserting ‘‘sub6 paragraph (K)’’. 

7 SEC. 303. NATIONAL ASSESSMENT OF EDUCATIONAL 

8 PROGRESS. 

9 Section 303 (20 U.S.C. 9622) is amended— 

10 (1) in subsection (a), by striking ‘‘with the ad11 vice of the Assessment Board established under section 

12 302’’ and inserting ‘‘in a manner consistent with ac13 cepted professional standards and the policies set 

14 forth by the Assessment Board under section 302(a)’’; 

15 (2) in subsection (b)— 

16 (A) in paragraph (2)— 

17 (i) in subparagraph (D), by inserting 

18 ‘‘and consistent with section 302(e)(1)(A)’’ 

19 after ‘‘resources allow’’; 

20 (ii) in subparagraph (G)— 

21 (I) by striking ‘‘limited English 

22 proficiency’’ and inserting ‘‘English 

23 learner status’’; and 

24 (II) by striking ‘‘and’’ at the end 

25 of subparagraph (G); 


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1 (iii) in subparagraph (H), by striking 

2 the period at the end and inserting ‘‘; and’’; 

3 and 

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

5 ‘‘(I) determine, after taking into account 

6 section 302(e)(1)(I), the content of initial and 

7 subsequent reports of all assessments authorized 

8 under this section and ensure that such reports 

9 are valid and reliable.’’; and 

10 (B) in paragraph (5)(C), by striking ‘‘lim11 ited English proficiency’’ and inserting ‘‘English 

12 learner status’’; 

13 (3) in subsection (c)(2)— 

14 (A) in subparagraph (B), by striking ‘‘of 

15 Education’’ after ‘‘Secretary’’; and 

16 (B) in subparagraph (D)— 

17 (i) by striking ‘‘Chairman of the 

18 House’’ before ‘‘Committee on Education’’; 

19 (ii) by inserting ‘‘of the House of Rep20 resentatives’’ after ‘‘Workforce’’; 

21 (iii) by striking ‘‘Chairman of the Sen22 ate’’ before ‘‘Committee on Health’’; and 

23 (iv) by inserting ‘‘of the Senate’’ after 

24 ‘‘Pensions’’; 


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1 (4) in subsection (d)(1), by inserting before the 

2 period, the following: ‘‘, except as required under sec3 tion 1112(b)(1)(F) of the Elementary and Secondary 

4 Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 6312(b)(1)(F))’’; 

5 (5) in subsection (e)— 

6 (A) in paragraph (1), by striking ‘‘or age’’; 

7 and 

8 (B) in paragraph (2)— 

9 (i) in subparagraph (A)— 

10 (I) by striking ‘‘shall’’ and all 

11 that follows through ‘‘be’’ and insert 

12 ‘‘shall be’’; 

13 (II) by redesignating subclauses 

14 (I) and (II) as clauses (i) and (ii), re15 spectively (and by moving the margins 

16 2 ems to the left); and 

17 (III) in clause (ii), as redesig18 nated by subclause (II), by striking ‘‘, 

19 or the age of the students, as the case 

20 may be’’; 

21 (ii) in subparagraph (B)— 

22 (I) by striking ‘‘After the deter23 minations described in subparagraph 

24 (A), devising’’ and inserting ‘‘The As25 sessment Board shall, in making the 


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1 determination described in subpara2 graph (A), use’’; and 

3 (II) by inserting ‘‘, providing for 

4 the active participation of teachers, 

5 school leaders, curriculum specialists, 

6 local school administrators, parents, 

7 and concerned members of the general 

8 public’’ after ‘‘approach’’; and 

9 (iii) in subparagraph (D), by inserting 

10 ‘‘Assessment’’ before ‘‘Board’’; and 

11 (6) in subsection (g)(2)— 

12 (A) in the heading, by striking ‘‘AFFAIRS’’ 

13 and inserting ‘‘EDUCATION’’; and 

14 (B) by striking ‘‘Affairs’’ and inserting 

15 ‘‘Education’’. 

16 SEC. 304. DEFINITIONS. 

17 Section 304 (20 U.S.C. 9623) is amended by striking 

18 paragraphs (1) and (2) and inserting the following: 

19 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The terms ‘elementary 

20 school’, ‘local educational agency’, and ‘secondary 

21 school’ have the meanings given those terms in section 

22 9101 of the Elementary and Secondary Education 

23 Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 7801). 

24 ‘‘(2) DIRECTOR.—The term ‘Director’ means the 

25 Director of the Institute of Education Sciences. 


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1 ‘‘(3) SCHOOL LEADER.—The term ‘school leader’ 

2 has the meaning given the term in section 102. 

3 ‘‘(4) SECRETARY.—The term ‘Secretary’ means 

4 the Secretary of Education. 

5 ‘‘(5) STATE.—The term ‘State’ means each of the 

6 50 States, the District of Columbia, and the Common7 wealth of Puerto Rico.’’. 

8 SEC. 305. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 

9 Section 305(a) (20 U.S.C. 9624(a)) is amended to read 

10 as follows: 

11 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—There are authorized to be appro12 priated— 

13 ‘‘(1) for fiscal year 2015— 

14 ‘‘(A) $8,235,000 to carry out section 302 

15 (relating to the National Assessment Governing 

16 Board); and 

17 ‘‘(B) $132,000,000 to carry out section 303 

18 (relating to the National Assessment of Edu19 cational Progress); 

20 ‘‘(2) for fiscal year 2016— 

21 ‘‘(A) $8,399,700 to carry out section 302 

22 (relating to the National Assessment Governing 

23 Board); and 


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1 ‘‘(B) $134,640,000 to carry out section 303 

2 (relating to the National Assessment of Edu3 cational Progress); 

4 ‘‘(3) for fiscal year 2017— 

5 ‘‘(A) $8,567,694 to carry out section 302 

6 (relating to the National Assessment Governing 

7 Board); and 

8 ‘‘(B) $137,332,800 to carry out section 303 

9 (relating to the National Assessment of Edu10 cational Progress); 

11 ‘‘(4) for fiscal year 2018— 

12 ‘‘(A) $8,739,048 to carry out section 302 

13 (relating to the National Assessment Governing 

14 Board); and 

15 ‘‘(B) $140,079,456 to carry out section 303 

16 (relating to the National Assessment of Edu17 cational Progress); 

18 ‘‘(5) for fiscal year 2019— 

19 ‘‘(A) $8,905,090 to carry out section 302 

20 (relating to the National Assessment Governing 

21 Board); and 

22 ‘‘(B) $142,740,966 to carry out section 303 

23 (relating to the National Assessment of Edu24 cational Progress); and 

25 ‘‘(6) for fiscal year 2020— 


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1 ‘‘(A) $8,994,141 to carry out section 302 

2 (relating to the National Assessment Governing 

3 Board); and 

4 ‘‘(B) $144,168,376 to carry out section 303 

5 (relating to the National Assessment of Edu6 cational Progress).’’. 

7 TITLE IV—EVALUATION PLAN 

8 SEC. 401. RESEARCH AND EVALUATION. 

9 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Institute of Education Sciences 

10 shall be the primary entity for conducting research on and 

11 evaluations of Federal education programs within the De12 partment of Education to ensure the rigor and independ13 ence of such research and evaluation. 

14 (b) FLEXIBLE AUTHORITY.— 

15 (1) RESERVATION.—Notwithstanding any other 

16 provision of law in the Elementary and Secondary 

17 Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. et seq. 6301 et seq.) 

18 related to evaluation, the Secretary of Education, in 

19 consultation with the Director of the Institute of Edu20 cation Sciences— 

21 (A) may, for purposes of carrying out the 

22 activities described in paragraph (2)(B)— 

23 (i) reserve not more than 0.5 percent of 

24 the total amount of funds appropriated for 

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1 tary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 

2 (20 U.S.C. 6301 et seq.), other than part A 

3 of title I of such Act (20 U.S.C. 6311 et 

4 seq.) and section 1501 of such Act (20 

5 U.S.C. 6491); and 

6 (ii) reserve, in the manner described in 

7 subparagraph (B), an amount equal to not 

8 more than 0.1 percent of the total amount 

9 of funds appropriated for— 

10 (I) part A of title I of the Elemen11 tary and Secondary Education Act of 

12 1965 (20 U.S.C. 6311 et seq.); and 

13 (II) section 1501 of such Act (20 

14 U.S.C. 6491); and 

15 (B) in reserving the amount described in 

16 subparagraph (A)(ii)— 

17 (i) shall reserve not more than the total 

18 amount of funds appropriated for section 

19 1501 of the Elementary and Secondary 

20 Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 6491); 

21 and 

22 (ii) may, in a case in which the total 

23 amount of funds appropriated for such sec24 tion 1501 (20 U.S.C. 6491) is less than the 

25 amount described in subparagraph (A)(ii), 


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1 reserve the amount of funds appropriated 

2 for part A of title I of the Elementary and 

3 Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 

4 U.S.C. 6311 et seq.) that is needed for the 

5 sum of the total amount of funds appro6 priated for such section 1501 (20 U.S.C. 

7 6491) and such amount of funds appro8 priated for such part A of title I (20 U.S.C. 

9 6311 et seq.) to equal the amount described 

10 in subparagraph (A)(ii). 

11 (2) AUTHORIZED ACTIVITIES.—If funds are re12 served under paragraph (1)— 

13 (A) neither the Secretary of Education nor 

14 the Director of the Institute of Education 

15 Sciences shall— 

16 (i) carry out evaluations under section 

17 1501 of the Elementary and Secondary 

18 Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 6491); or 

19 (ii) reserve funds for evaluation activi20 ties under section 3111(c)(1)(C) of such Act 

21 (20 U.S.C. 6821(c)(1)(C)); and 

22 (B) the Secretary of Education, in consulta23 tion with the Director of the Institute of Edu24 cation Sciences— 


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1 (i) shall use the funds reserved under 

2 paragraph (1) to carry out high-quality 

3 evaluations (consistent with the require4 ments of section 173(a) of the Education 

5 Sciences Reform Act of 2002 (20 U.S.C. 

6 9563(a)), as amended by this Act, and the 

7 evaluation plan described in subsection (c) 

8 of this section) of programs authorized 

9 under the Elementary and Secondary Edu10 cation Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 6301 et seq.); 

11 and 

12 (ii) may use the funds reserved under 

13 paragraph (1) to— 

14 (I) increase the usefulness of the 

15 evaluations conducted under clause (i) 

16 to promote continuous improvement of 

17 programs under the Elementary and 

18 Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 

19 U.S.C. 6301 et seq.); or 

20 (II) assist grantees of such pro21 grams in collecting and analyzing data 

22 and other activities related to con23 ducting high-quality evaluations under 

24 clause (i). 


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1 (3) DISSEMINATION.—The Secretary of Edu2 cation or the Director of the Institute of Education 

3 Sciences shall disseminate evaluation findings, con4 sistent with section 114(j) of the Education Sciences 

5 Reform Act of 2002 (20 U.S.C. 9514(j)), as amended 

6 by this Act, of evaluations carried out under para7 graph (2)(B)(i). 

8 (4) CONSOLIDATION.—The Secretary of Edu9 cation, in consultation with the Director of the Insti10 tute of Education Sciences— 

11 (A) may consolidate the funds reserved 

12 under paragraph (1) for purposes of carrying 

13 out the activities under paragraph (2)(B); and 

14 (B) shall not be required to evaluate under 

15 paragraph (2)(B)(i) each program authorized 

16 under the Elementary and Secondary Education 

17 Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 6301 et seq.) each year. 

18 (c) EVALUATION PLAN.—The Director of the Institute 

19 of Education Sciences, in consultation with the Secretary 

20 of Education, shall, on a biennial basis, develop, submit to 

21 Congress, and make publicly available an evaluation plan, 

22 that— 

23 (1) describes the specific activities that will be 

24 carried out under subsection (b)(2)(B) for the 2-year 


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1 period applicable to the plan, and the timelines of 

2 such activities; 

3 (2) contains the results of the activities carried 

4 out under subsection (b)(2)(B) for the most recent 2- 

5 year period; and 

6 (3) describes how programs authorized under the 

7 Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 

8 (20 U.S.C. 6301 et seq.) will be regularly evaluated. 

9 (d) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.—Nothing in this section 

10 shall be construed to affect section 173(b) of the Education 

11 Sciences Reform Act of 2002 (20 U.S.C. 9563(b)), as 

12 amended by this Act. 


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Calendar No. 600 

113TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 4366 

[Report No. 113–275] 

AN ACT 

To strengthen the Federal education research systo increase student achievement. ly and relevant to State and local needs in order tem to make research and evaluations more timeNOVEMBER 17, 2014 

Reported with an amendment 


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