I 

108TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 4043

To establish a national leadership initiative to promote and coordinate knowledge utilization in education, thereby increasing student achievement 

consistent with the objectives of the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001, 

and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

MARCH 25, 2004

Mr. HOLT (for himself, Mrs. CUBIN, Mr. GEORGE MILLER of California, Ms. 

WOOLSEY, and Mr. HINOJOSA) introduced the following bill; which was 

referred to the Committee on Education and the Workforce 

A BILL

To establish a national leadership initiative to promote and 

coordinate knowledge utilization in education, thereby increasing student achievement consistent with the objectives of the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001, and 

for other purposes.

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

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Knowledge Utilization 

5 in Education Act of 2004’’. 

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

7 The Congress finds as follows: 
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1 (1) Knowledge utilization allows information 

2 generated by scientifically valid research to be avail3 able to, and usable by, educators in the classroom. 

4 (2) Limited knowledge utilization has impeded 

5 the progress of schools in increasing academic 

6 achievement of students. 

7 (3) Research shows that student achievement 

8 increases when education practices based on scientif9 ically valid research are used by classroom teachers. 

10 (4) To facilitate the coordination and use of re11 search-based practices by classroom teachers, effec12 tive knowledge utilization is essential, including the 

13 development and use of products and strategies 

14 based on scientifically valid research. 

15 (5) The active involvement of teachers, prin16 cipals, district administrators, and chief State school 

17 officers in knowledge utilization activities is essential 

18 to the effective application of research-based knowl19 edge to policy and practice. 

20 (6) Although the No Child Left Behind Act of 

21 2001 (which amended the Elementary and Sec22 ondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 6301 et 

23 seq.)) requires educators to use instructional prac24 tices and innovations supported by scientifically valid 

25 research, such practices and innovations are in short 
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1 supply and not widely available and coordinated for 

2 use in classrooms. 

3 (7) Given that a significant percentage of public 

4 schools in the United States are not making ade5 quate yearly progress under the No Child Left Be6 hind Act of 2001, steps must be taken to coordinate 

7 the use of knowledge utilization by classroom edu8 cators. 

9 (8) Particular subgroups of students are not 

10 making adequate yearly progress, as defined by the 

11 No Child Left Behind Act of 2001, including eco12 nomically disadvantaged students, students from 

13 major racial and ethnic groups, students with dis14 abilities, and students with limited English pro15 ficiency. Such students require targeted efforts to 

16 ensure that they are receiving instruction supported 

17 by scientifically valid research. 

18 (9) More instructional activities and practices 

19 supported by scientifically valid research need to be 

20 developed to meet the current and expected demands 

21 of educators in schools. 

22 (10) Although existing federal research, devel23 opment, dissemination, and technical assistance pro24 grams have been proven to be effective, these pro25 grams need to be brought to national scale and co-
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1 ordinated through a national, knowledge utilization 

2 initiative. 

3 (11) Effective knowledge utilization in edu4 cation brings together the professional wisdom of 

5 practitioners and the best available empirical evi6 dence generated through scientifically valid research. 

7 (12) Too often exemplary innovations in teach8 ing, curriculum, and assessment are demonstrated to 

9 be effective, but have minimal impact because they 

10 are not brought to scale. 

11 (13) Educational practices that are supported 

12 by scientifically valid research need to be brought to 

13 greater scale in school districts across the country in 

14 order to have broad influence on student achieve15 ment. 

16 (14) National leadership is needed to provide 

17 targeted initiatives, collaboration, and coordination 

18 of knowledge utilization programs to ensure that 

19 classroom educators have access to, and utilize prac20 tices supported by, scientifically valid research. 

21 (15) A national leadership office intended to co22 ordinate Department of Education programs and 

23 promote knowledge utilization in education will fa24 cilitate the effective implementation of the No Child 

25 Left Behind Act of 2001. 
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1 SEC. 3. NATIONAL LEADERSHIP OFFICE FOR KNOWLEDGE 

2 UTILIZATION IN EDUCATION. 

3 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—There shall be in the Depart4 ment of Education the National Leadership Office for 

5 Knowledge Utilization in Education (in this section re6 ferred to as the ‘‘Office’’), to be headed by a Director ap7 pointed under subsection (c). 

8 (b) DUTIES.—The duties of the Office shall be the 

9 following: 

10 (1) Promoting the use of scientifically valid re11 search in education practice and innovation. 

12 (2) Providing leadership to the Nation in devel13 oping and promoting policies, practices, and invest14 ments that result in the provision of instruction sup15 ported by scientifically valid research to elementary 

16 and secondary school students. 

17 (3) Developing and promoting policies, prac18 tices, and investments that result in bringing to 

19 scale successful educational practices that are based 

20 on scientifically valid research. 

21 (4) Informing the public about the significance 

22 of using scientifically valid research in education. 

23 (5) Encouraging the use of new technologies in 

24 appropriate knowledge utilization efforts. 

25 (6) Supporting the effective coordination of cur26 rent federally supported knowledge utilization pro-
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1 grams, including regional educational laboratories, 

2 research and development centers, technical assist3 ance centers and consortia, national clearinghouses, 

4 and other entities involved in research, development, 

5 dissemination, technical assistance, and evaluation. 

6 (7) Administering the partnership established 

7 pursuant to subsection (e). 

8 (8) Producing the biennial report required by 

9 subsection (f). 

10 (9) Using the expertise of existing knowledge 

11 utilization programs to assist in the implementation 

12 of this section. 

13 (c) DIRECTOR; STAFF.—

14 (1) APPOINTMENT.—The Secretary of Edu15 cation shall appoint the Director of the Office. 

16 (2) QUALIFICATIONS.—The Director of the Of17 fice shall be selected from among individuals who 

18 are experts in—

19 (A) knowledge utilization, including pro20 moting the effective implementation of the re21 sults of research in the classroom; and 

22 (B) managing large institutions or con23 sortia that conduct a broad array of research 

24 applications. 
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1 (3) DUTIES.—The Director of the Office 

2 shall—

3 (A) report directly to the Secretary; 

4 (B) be responsible for the duties of the Of5 fice described in subsection (b); and 

6 (C) perform such additional functions as 

7 the Secretary may prescribe. 

8 (4) COMPENSATION.—Section 5315 of title 5, 

9 United States Code, relating to level IV of the Exec10 utive Schedule, is amended by adding at the end of 

11 the list in such section the following new item: 

12 ‘‘Director of the National Leadership Office for 

13 Knowledge Utilization in Education.’’. 

14 (5) STAFF.—The Director of the Office may se15 lect, appoint, and employ such officers and employ16 ees as may be necessary to carry out the functions 

17 of the Office, subject to the provisions of title 5, 

18 United States Code, governing appointments in the 

19 competitive service, and the provisions of chapter 51 

20 and subchapter III of chapter 53 of such title, relat21 ing to classification and General Schedule pay rates. 

22 (d) INTERAGENCY TASK FORCE.—

23 (1) ESTABLISHMENT.—To promote coordina24 tion and cooperation among Federal departments 

25 and agencies administering knowledge utilization 
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1 programs and activities, the Director of the Office 

2 shall convene the Interagency Task Force on Knowl3 edge Utilization in Education (in this subsection re4 ferred to as the ‘‘Task Force’’). 

5 (2) DUTIES.—The Task Force shall—

6 (A) identify and review Federal programs, 

7 activities, and projects with respect to knowl8 edge utilization in education (including any 

9 plans for such programs, activities, and 

10 projects); and 

11 (B) prepare, for inclusion in the biennial 

12 report under subsection (f), recommendations 

13 on ways to improve the coordination and col14 laboration of such programs, activities, and 

15 projects. 

16 (3) MEMBERSHIP.—The Task Force shall be 

17 composed of the following members: 

18 (A) The Director of the Institute of Edu19 cation Sciences. 

20 (B) The Director of the National Institute 

21 of Child Health and Human Development. 

22 (C) The Director of the National Science 

23 Foundation. 

24 (D) The Director of the Office. 
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1 (E) Such Assistant Secretaries and other 

2 officials from the Department of Education as 

3 the Secretary may designate. 

4 (F) Such other members as the President, 

5 the Secretary, or the Director of the Office may 

6 invite. 

7 (4) CHAIRPERSON.—The Director of the Office 

8 shall serve as the Chairperson of the Task Force. 

9 (5) TERMINATION.—The Task Force shall ter10 minate 2 years after the date of the enactment of 

11 this Act, subject to renewal at the discretion of the 

12 Director of the Office. 

13 (e) KNOWLEDGE UTILIZATION PARTNERSHIP IN

14 EDUCATION.—

15 (1) ESTABLISHMENT.—The Director of the Of16 fice shall establish a network of private and public 

17 entities throughout the Nation, to be known as the 

18 Knowledge Utilization Partnership in Education (in 

19 this subsection referred to as the ‘‘Partnership’’). 

20 (2) PURPOSE.—The purpose of the Partnership 

21 is to promote and advance knowledge utilization in 

22 education in conjunction with private and public or23 ganizations and entities throughout the Nation. 

24 (3) DUTIES.—The Partnership shall—
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1 (A) encourage private-public venture part2 nerships for knowledge utilization; 

3 (B) identify needs in relation to knowledge 

4 utilization programs, activities, and projects 

5 supported by the Federal Government; 

6 (C) provide general advice to the Office; 

7 and 

8 (D) provide ambassadors to the elementary 

9 and secondary education community to encour10 age the adoption of education practices sup11 ported by scientifically valid research. 

12 (4) ADVISORY PANEL.—

13 (A) ESTABLISHMENT.—The Director of 

14 the Office may establish a Partnership Advisory 

15 Panel (in this paragraph referred to as the 

16 ‘‘Panel’’). 

17 (B) MEMBERSHIP.—The Director shall se18 lect the members of the Panel from among indi19 viduals who represent entities participating in 

20 the Partnership and have expertise in knowl21 edge utilization. 

22 (C) DUTIES.—The duties of the Panel 

23 shall be the following: 

24 (i) To provide advice to the Director 

25 regarding the opportunities and challenges 
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1 of promoting knowledge utilization activi2 ties at the local, State, and Federal levels 

3 through the Partnership. 

4 (ii) To offer suggestions to the Direc5 tor for promoting knowledge utilization 

6 policies and strategies in the future 

7 through the Partnership. 

8 (f) BIENNIAL REPORT.—

9 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Director of the Office 

10 shall—

11 (A) conduct a biennial analysis of the state 

12 of knowledge utilization in education practice 

13 and innovation; and 

14 (B) submit a report on the results of each 

15 such analysis to the Committee on Education 

16 and the Workforce of the House of Representa17 tives and the Committee on Health, Education, 

18 Labor, and Pensions of the Senate. 

19 (2) CONTENTS.—Each report submitted under 

20 this subsection shall—

21 (A) include an assessment of efforts to in22 crease the use of education practices supported 

23 by scientifically valid research; 

24 (B) include the recommendations of the 

25 Interagency Task Force on Knowledge Utiliza-
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1 tion in Education prepared pursuant to sub2 section (d)(2); and 

3 (C) recommend changes in policies to fur4 ther promote progress in knowledge utilization. 

5 (3) INITIAL REPORT.—The Director of the Of6 fice shall submit the first report under this sub7 section not later than 2 years after the date of the 

8 enactment of this Act. 

9 SEC. 4. GRANTS TO PROMOTE KNOWLEDGE UTILIZATION IN 

10 EDUCATION. 

11 (a) PROGRAM AUTHORIZED.—The Secretary of Edu12 cation shall make competitive grants to, and enter into 

13 contracts with, eligible entities to support projects that 

14 promote knowledge utilization in education. 

15 (b) USE OF FUNDS.—The Secretary may not make 

16 a grant to an eligible entity under this section unless the 

17 entity agrees to use the grant for 1 or more of the fol18 lowing: 

19 (1) Helping educators become more informed 

20 consumers of research-based knowledge utilization 

21 programs and services through sustained profes22 sional development activities, including annual con23 ferences, summer teacher academies, on-line semi24 nars, and school-based workshops. 
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1 (2) Creating incentives for States and districts 

2 to expand and coordinate their investments in 

3 knowledge utilization initiatives. 

4 (3) Focusing special knowledge utilization ef5 forts on high-need, low-capacity areas such as rural 

6 schools. 

7 (4) Developing a national corps of regionally 

8 based research-to-practice coordinators to work in 

9 schools on the effective implementation, utilization, 

10 and dissemination of education practices supported 

11 by scientifically valid research. 

12 (5) Targeting efforts to classroom educators 

13 working with subgroups whose test scores indicate 

14 that they need improvement under the adequate 

15 yearly progress calculation required by section 

16 1111(b)(2) of the Elementary and Secondary Edu17 cation Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 6311(b)(2)), includ18 ing economically disadvantaged students, students 

19 from major racial and ethnic groups, students with 

20 disabilities, and students with limited English pro21 ficiency. 

22 (6) Conducting research on knowledge utiliza23 tion. 

24 (7) Coordinating and enhancing existing feder25 ally supported knowledge utilization programs, in-
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1 cluding regional educational laboratories, research 

2 and development centers, technical assistance cen3 ters and consortia, national clearinghouses, and 

4 other entities involved in research, development, dis5 semination, technical assistance, and evaluation. 

6 (8) Supporting efforts to identify and dissemi7 nate promising practices in the implementation of 

8 education innovation that are supported by scientif9 ically valid research. 

10 (9) Promoting entrepreneurship in developing 

11 new solutions, innovations, and choices in education 

12 for consumers that are supported by scientifically 

13 valid research. 

14 (10) Establishing fellowship programs to en15 courage expert capacity in knowledge utilization. 

16 (11) Using Internet-based technology to enable 

17 classroom teachers to access, in all content areas, in18 structional practice and innovation that are ground19 ed in scientifically valid research. 

20 (12) Developing means and methods for making 

21 the information from the What Works Clearinghouse 

22 and other clearinghouses available to, and accessible 

23 by, classroom teachers. 

24 (13) Developing strategies to support the use of 

25 scientifically valid research by classroom teachers 
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1 and school administrators in managing and improv2 ing student behavior and school climate. 

3 (c) APPLICATIONS.—To seek a grant or a contract 

4 under this section, an eligible entity shall submit an appli5 cation to the Secretary at such time and in such manner 

6 as the Secretary may reasonably require. 

7 (d) ELIGIBLE ENTITIES.—In this section, the term 

8 ‘‘eligible entity’’—

9 (1) means a private or public, for-profit or non10 profit organization, institution, agency, institution of 

11 higher education, or partnership of such entities, 

12 that has demonstrated expertise in knowledge utili13 zation in education; and 

14 (2) includes existing federally supported knowl15 edge utilization programs, such as regional edu16 cational laboratories, research and development cen17 ters, technical assistance centers and consortia, na18 tional clearinghouses, and other entities involved in 

19 research, development, dissemination, technical as20 sistance, and evaluation. 

21 SEC. 5. DEFINITIONS. 

22 In this Act: 

23 (1) APPLIED RESEARCH.—The term ‘‘applied 

24 research’’ has the meaning given to that term in sec-
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1 tion 102 of the Education Sciences Reform Act of 

2 2002 (20 U.S.C. 9501). 

3 (2) KNOWLEDGE UTILIZATION.—The term 

4 ‘‘knowledge utilization’’—

5 (A) means the interactive processes involv6 ing research, development, dissemination, tech7 nical assistance, and evaluation in which re8 search-based knowledge is applied to improving 

9 instructional practice; and 

10 (B) includes such activities essential to 

11 school improvement as—

12 (i) development and evaluation of 

13 practical applications of research, such as 

14 procedures, policies, practices, programs, 

15 materials, and training; 

16 (ii) the use of research-based technical 

17 assistance and professional development 

18 for policymakers, practitioners, and other 

19 stakeholders; 

20 (iii) collection and dissemination of in21 formation, data, and statistics; 

22 (iv) initiatives for building linkages 

23 among research, policy, and practice; and 
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1 (v) an infrastructure for increasing 

2 capacity for the use of research and its ap3 plications. 

4 (3) OFFICE.—The term ‘‘Office’’ means the 

5 National Leadership Office for Knowledge Utiliza6 tion in Education established by section 3. 

7 (4) SCIENTIFICALLY VALID RESEARCH.—The 

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

9 given to that term in section 102 of the Education 

10 Sciences Reform Act of 2002 (20 U.S.C. 9501). 

11 (5) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means 

12 the Secretary of Education. 

13 SEC. 6. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 

14 There are authorized to be appropriated such sums 

15 as may be necessary to carry out this Act for each of fiscal 

16 years 2005 through 2008.

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