Technology-Enabled Education Innovation Partnership Act

To award grants to improve equality of access to technology-enabled education innovations and understanding of how partnerships of educational agencies and research institutions design and implement such innovations in ways that improve student outcomes, and for other purposes. 1. Short title and table of contents (a) Short title This Act may be cited as the Technology-Enabled Education Innovation Partnership Act (b) Table of contents The table of contents of this Act is as follows: Sec. 1. Short title and table of contents. Sec. 2. Findings and purposes. Sec. 3. Definitions. Title I—Technology-enabled education innovation partnership program. Sec. 101. Grants. Sec. 102. Report and evaluation. Sec. 103. National technology activities. Title II—Technology innovation research centers. Sec. 201. Establishment of a Technology Innovation Partnership Coordinating Center. Sec. 202. Establishment of Advanced Learning Technology Research and Development Centers. Title III—Availability of funds Sec. 301. Availability of funds. 2. Findings and purposes (a) Findings Congress finds the following: (1) Technology and the Internet have transformed nearly every aspect of both the global economy and our daily lives. In a technology-rich world, no amount of memorizing information will make a student competitive in the global labor market. America needs an education system that supports students from all walks of life in becoming inquisitive, resourceful thinkers who use technology to pursue knowledge, collaborate across geographic and cultural boundaries, acquire new skills, and solve complex problems. (2) Equality and equity of access is more than access to the same hardware, software, and broadband connections. It includes access to the best digital learning resources and access to teachers who know how to orchestrate the use of these resources in ways that inspire students and produce better learning outcomes. (3) Technology by itself will not improve student outcomes. What is needed are carefully designed innovations that include not just technology but also good learning content, effective instructional strategies, supports for teachers and school systems figuring out how to use the new approach, and the capacity to collect, analyze and reflect on data that will show whether or not the innovation is having the intended effects. (4) Effective learning technology implementations addressing the challenging aspects of language arts, mathematics and science that all students are expected to master. This will require partnerships among education agencies, education researchers, and technology developers with the common goal of harnessing technology to provide opportunities for deeper learning to students who would not otherwise experience them. (b) Purposes The purpose of this Act is to— (1) accelerate the development of technology-supported innovations that improve student learning and educational attainment; and (2) promote the use of technology-supported innovations that improve student outcomes in classrooms serving high-need students. 3. Definitions In this Act: (1) ESEA terms The terms local educational agency professional development State educational agency 20 U.S.C. 7801 (2) Eligible partnership The term eligible partnership (A) shall include— (i) not less than one— (I) State educational agency; or (II) local educational agency; and (ii) not less than one research and evaluation partner; and (B) may include other necessary partner organizations, as determined by the Secretary (acting through the Office of Innovation and Improvement), including technology developers or vendors, technical assistance providers, and education associations. (3) High-need student The term high-need student (A) a student from a family living below the poverty level for the most recent fiscal year for which satisfactory data are available; (B) English language learners; and (C) students with disabilities. (4) Institution of higher education The term institution of higher education 20 U.S.C. 1001(a) (5) Meta-analysis The term meta-analysis (6) Research and evaluation collaborator The term research and evaluation collaborator (A) is not a member of an eligible partnership; (B) is independent of a State educational agency; and (C) has demonstrated capacity to— (i) conduct valid and objective social science research on the relationship between technology-enabled education innovation programs and outcomes, mediated by qualities of implementation; and (ii) provide timely empirical feedback that contributes to improving technology-enabled education innovation. (7) Research and evaluation partner The term research and evaluation partner (A) designing and conducting an evaluation of the extent to which the partnership’s innovation leads to better outcomes for students; and (B) researching the way in which the innovation is implemented in different settings and with different kinds of students, and the relationship between implementation practices and differences in student outcomes. (8) Secretary The term Secretary (9) Technology-enabled education innovation program The term technology-enabled education innovation program (A) employs information technology, best available knowledge about how people learn, and an understanding of how programs are implemented in education settings; and (B) may be implemented at scale with reasonable costs, with the ratio of expected benefits to costs being significantly superior to that for existing approaches. I Technology-enabled education innovation partnership program. 101. Grants (a) Program authorization From the amounts appropriated under section 103 after making a reservation under subsection (b) of such section, the Secretary of Education is authorized to award grants, on a competitive basis, to eligible partnerships to design, implement, refine, and scale technology-enabled education innovation programs. (b) Application (1) In general An eligible partnership desiring a grant under this section shall submit an application to the Secretary at such time, in such manner, and accompanied by such information as the Secretary may require. (2) Application contents An application described in paragraph (1), shall, at a minimum— (A) include a description of how the eligible partnership proposes to use the grant funds to implement a technology-enabled education innovation program; (B) list the objectives of the technology-enabled education innovation program; (C) provide a budget for the use of the grant funds; (D) describe the evaluation plan and assessment measures for the technology-enabled education innovation program; and (E) provide such additional assurances and information as the Secretary determines to be necessary. (c) Awards (1) Minimum and Maximum Grant Amount A grant awarded under this section shall be not less than $300,000 and not greater than $1,000,000 for each fiscal year. (2) Duration A grant under this section shall be awarded for a period of 3 years. (3) Extension (A) Duration and amount A grant awarded under this section may be extended for an additional 2 years in an amount determined appropriate by the Secretary. (B) Progress and peer review An extension of a grant awarded to an eligible partnership under this section shall be contingent upon evidence of progress and capacity for scaling the technology-enabled education innovation program carried out by the partnership with the grant funds, as determined by a peer review process conducted by the Secretary. (d) Preference points for matching funds The Secretary may award up to 10 percent in competitive preference points to an eligible partnership in which the State educational agency or local educational agency partner provides 10 percent or more matching funds to cover the cost of the activities funded by a grant awarded under this section. (e) Required use of funds An eligible partnership that is awarded a grant under this section shall use such grant to carry out a technology-enabled education innovation program— (1) under which 75 percent or more of students taking part in such program attend a school in which 50 percent or more of the student body is eligible for free or reduced-price lunches (under the Richard B. Russell National School Lunch Act ( 42 U.S.C. 1761 (2) that at a minimum— (A) uses technology to address curriculum content and instructional strategies that support science, language arts, or mathematics, in accordance with career and college ready standards and 21st century skills; (B) demonstrates that sufficient technological infrastructure (which may include connectivity, end user devices, servers, peripherals, or other technology directly related to the technology-enabled innovation) is, or will be, available in the schools participating in the partnership grant to implement the innovation program successfully; (C) measures student learning outcomes aligned to the objectives of such innovation program; and (D) provides teachers with professional development to increase their knowledge and skill related to educational content, pedagogical techniques, and how to use technology effectively in support of learning, which will enable teachers to have the skills and knowledge to implement the innovation program’s instructional strategies with the intended level of frequency and with fidelity to the learning principles on which the innovation is based. 102. Report and evaluation (a) Annual report required An eligible partnership shall submit an annual report to the Secretary detailing— (1) all activities undertaken by the eligible partnership using grant funds; (2) student learning outcomes; and (3) refinements planned for the technology-enabled education innovation program based on analysis of student learning outcome data. (b) Independent evaluation Data used in the report shall be gathered and evaluated by a research and evaluation collaborator. (c) Alternative measures (1) Assessment Measures to evaluate under subsection (b) the academic achievement of students enrolled in a technology-enabled education innovation program may include alternative measures such as student enrollment in advanced course options, consistent completion of homework, or other alternative measures that the Secretary may prescribe, except that if no suitable alternate measure exists to capture outcome data of national significance, an eligible partnership may develop a new measure. (2) Reliability An eligible partnership shall demonstrate that the alternative measures of academic achievement are reliable and valid for the purpose for which such measures are used. (d) Data sets (1) In general Not later than 3 years of carrying out the innovation program established under this section, an eligible partnership shall provide a data set containing student records to a Technology-Enabled Education Innovation Partnership Coordinating Center established under section 201. (2) Data elements A data set described in paragraph (1)— (A) shall contain— (i) a record with an assigned student number for each student participating in the innovation program carried out by the eligible partnership and— (I) information sufficient to determine which innovations were experienced by the student and to analyze the quantitative education outcomes that were measured for that student; (II) student demographic data that will permit subgroup analyses, including by gender, racial or ethnic group, disability status, economic disadvantage, English language proficiency, and migrant status; and (III) such other information that the Secretary may require based on the specifications determined under section 201(b)(1) and that is common to all technology-enabled education innovation programs; and (B) may not include any personally identifying information. 103. National technology activities From the amounts appropriated under section 4 to carry out this title, the Secretary shall reserve 5 percent for the support of national technology activities that share information across technology-enabled education innovation programs funded under this title, such as support for better dissemination of information across such innovation programs to national audiences, by— (1) conducting a study of new approaches to using technology to enhance education outcomes as needed to support making policy around educational technology; (2) disseminating on the Internet for all State educational agencies and other interested parties findings concerning the conditions and practices associated with the use of technology in schools; and (3) providing technical assistance to assist State educational agencies and local educational agencies in applying research-based knowledge to implementing technology in schools. II Technology innovation research centers. 201. Establishment of a Technology Innovation Partnership Coordinating Center (a) Establishment of Center The Secretary shall establish a Technology-Enabled Education Innovation Partnership Coordinating Center for the purpose of creating and promoting use of a Web-accessible archive of the data sets gathered from eligible partnerships under section 102(d). (b) Requirements The Secretary shall direct the center established under subsection (a) to— (1) convene a panel of experts in learning technology, educational improvement, and research methods to specify a set of common data elements required to be submitted by eligible partnerships under section 102(d); (2) provide technical assistance to such eligible partnerships around data submission, data security, and privacy protection; (3) conduct meta-analyses and other syntheses of the data produced by such eligible partnerships; and (4) allow independent researchers access to the data. 202. Establishment of Advanced Learning Technology Research and Development Centers (a) Establishment of centers The Secretary, in consultation with the Director of the National Science Foundation, shall establish and oversee one or more advanced learning technology research and development centers to address the priorities and grand challenges for learning technology set forth in the 2010 National Education Technology Plan, Transforming American Education: Learning Powered by Technology published by the Office of Educational Technology of the Department of Education. (b) Requirements A center established under subsection (a), for the purpose of advancing learning technology evaluation and assessment, shall— (1) design and validate an integrated system for designing and implementing valid, reliable, and cost-effective assessments of important college- and work-relevant complex skills, such as critical thinking, problem solving, effective communication, collaboration, creativity, and innovation, across academic disciplines; (2) design and validate an integrated approach for capturing, aggregating, mining, student learning, and financial data, and sharing content cost-effectively for multiple purposes across multiple learning platforms and data systems; and (3) report data to the Secretary on the designs and validations carried out under paragraphs (1) and (2) in an expedited manner and make such data publicly available within 1 year of carrying out such designs and validations. III Availability of funds 301. Availability of funds For fiscal year 2016 and for each succeeding fiscal year not less than 10 percent of the amount appropriated for such fiscal year for the Office of Innovation and Improvement of the Department of Education shall be available to carry out this Act.

Summary: Technology-Enabled Education Innovation Partnership Act Authorizes the Secretary of Education to award competitive, renewable grants to eligible partnerships to design, implement, refine, and scale technology-enabled education innovation programs. Defines an "eligible partnership" as a partnership composed of at least one state or local educational agency (LEA) and at least one institution of higher education or nonprofit research organization working with the state or LEA as a research and evaluation partner. Requires at least 75% of the students participating in each technology-enabled education innovation program to be attending schools in which at least 50% of the student body is eligible for free or reduced-price lunches under the school lunch program. Requires an independent evaluation of each innovation program by a research and evaluation collaborator. Directs each partnership to provide a data set containing the student records of innovation program participants to a Technology-Enabled Education Innovation Partnership Coordinating Center that is created by the Secretary to: (1) conduct meta-analyses and other syntheses of such data, and (2) allow independent researchers access to the data. Directs the Secretary to support national technology activities that provide the technology-enabled education innovation programs with information on, and technical assistance in, effectively implementing technology in schools. Requires the Secretary to establish and oversee at least one advanced learning technology research and development center to address the priorities and grand challenges for learning technology set forth in the Department of Education's 2010 National Education Technology Plan.