‘‘(H) the impact that outside influences
have on learning, including television, and drug
and alcohol abuse; and
‘‘(I) methods for integrating learning in
settings other than the classroom, such as with-
in families and communities, with a special em-
phasis on character development and the value
of hard work.
‘‘(3) CERTAIN
REQUIREMENTS.—In carrying
out the activities of the Institute, the Assistant Sec-
retary shall—
‘‘(A) place special emphasis on the special
early childhood education needs of at-risk chil-
dren, children with disabilities, and girls; and
‘‘(B) ensure that its research and develop-
ment program provides information that can be
utilized in improving the major Federal early
childhood education programs, including Head
Start, Even Start, chapter 1 preschool pro-
grams, and part H of the Individuals with Dis-
abilities Education Act, and Bureau of Indian
Affairs early childhood development programs.
‘‘(g) NATIONAL INSTITUTE ON STUDENT ACHIEVE-
MENT.—
‘‘(1) FINDINGS.—The Congress finds as fol-
lows:
‘‘(A) The current achievement levels of
students in the Nation are far below those that
might indicate competency in challenging sub-
ject matter in English, mathematics, science,
history, and geography and other areas, or
across the subject areas.
‘‘(B) Very few students demonstrate that
they can use their minds well. In recent assess-
ments, more students are gaining basic skills,
yet fewer are demonstrating a grasp of higher-
level applications of those skills.
‘‘(C) During the past 20 years, relatively
little has changed in how students are taught.
Despite much research suggesting better alter-
natives, classrooms are still dominated by text-
books, teacher lectures, and short-answer activ-
ity sheets and unequal patterns of student at-
tention.
‘‘(D) Despite progress in narrowing the
gaps, the differences in performance between
white students and their minority counterparts
remain unacceptably large. While progress has
been made in reducing the gender gap in math-
ematics, it still remains at higher levels of prob-
lem solving. Too little progress has been made
in reducing gender performance gaps favoring
males in science and females in writing.
‘‘(2) PURPOSE.—The purpose of the National
Institute on Student Achievement is to carry out a
coordinated and comprehensive program of research
and development to provide research-based leader-
ship to the Nation as it seeks to improve student
achievement in English, mathematics, science, his-
tory, geography, and other subject areas and across
the boundaries of the subject areas. Such program
shall—
‘‘(A) identify, develop, and evaluate inno-
vative and exemplary methods to improve stu-
dent knowledge at all levels in English, mathe-
matics, science, history, geography, civics and
government, foreign languages, arts and hu-
manities, economics, and other subject areas,
such as—
‘‘(i) student learning and assessment
in various subject matters;
‘‘(ii) the effects of organizational pat-
terns on the delivery of instruction, includ-
ing issues of grouping and tracking,
ungraded classrooms, and on the effects of
various pedagogies, including the issues of
technology in education;
‘‘(iii) the best methods of teacher
preparation;
‘‘(iv) methods to improve the process
of reading, the craft of writing, the growth
of reasoning skills, and the development of
information-finding skills;
‘‘(v) enabling students to develop
higher order thinking skills;
‘‘(vi) methods to teach effectively all
students in mixed-ability classrooms;
‘‘(vii) curriculum, instruction, and as-
sessment, in vocational education;
‘‘(viii) the impact and effectiveness of
Federal, State, and local efforts to provide
gender-fair educational opportunities to el-
ementary and secondary students; and
‘‘(ix) programs, policies, approaches
which promote gender equity in elementary
and secondary education;
‘‘(B) conduct basic and applied research in
the areas of human learning, cognition, and
performance, including research and develop-
ment on the education contexts which promote
excellence in learning and instruction, and moti-
vational issues which provide a key to learning;
‘‘(C) identify, develop, and evaluate pro-
grams designed to enhance academic achieve-
ment and narrow racial and gender perform-
ance gaps in a variety of subject areas, includ-
ing research and development on methods of in-
volving parents in their children’s education and
ways to involve business, industry and other
community partners in promoting excellence in
schools; and
‘‘(D) include a comprehensive, coordinated
program of research and development in the
area of assessment which—
‘‘(i) addresses such issues as—
‘‘(I) the validity, reliability, gen-
eralizability, fairness, costs, relative
merits, and most appropriate uses of
various approaches and methods of
assessing 
student 
learning 
and
achievement;
‘‘(II) methods and approaches to
assessing student opportunities to
learn (including the quality of instruc-
tion and the availability of resources
necessary to support learning) and
evaluating the quality of school envi-
ronment;
‘‘(III) the design, development,
evaluation, and validation of model
performance-based and other alter-
native or innovative formats or uses of
assessments;
‘‘(IV) the impact of high-stakes
uses of assessment on student per-
formance and motivation, narrowing
of curriculum, teaching practices, and
test integrity;
‘‘(V) the fairness and impact of
various methods of assessment on
children of different races, ethnicities,
gender, socioeconomic status, English
language proficiencies, and children
with other special needs;
‘‘(VI) standards of performance,
quality, and validity for various meth-
ods of assessment and the means by
which such standards should be devel-
oped;
‘‘(VII) current and emerging
testing practices of State and local
education agencies within the United
States, as well as other nations;
‘‘(VIII) the diverse effects, both
intended and unintended, of assess-
ments as actually used in the schools,
including effects on curriculum and
instruction, effects on equity in the al-
location of resources and opportuni-
ties, effects on equity of outcomes, ef-
fects on other procedures and stand-
ards for judging students and practi-
tioners and possible inflation of test
scores;
‘‘(IX) identifying and evaluating
how students with limited English
language proficiency and students
with disabilities are included and ac-
commodated in the various assess-
ment programs of State and local edu-
cation agencies; and
‘‘(X) the feasibility and validity
of comparing or equating the results
of different assessments;
‘‘(ii) reflects recommendations made
by the National Education Goals Panel
(provided such panel has been authorized
by law);
‘‘(iii) complies with the ‘Standards for
Educational and Psychological Tests’ de-
veloped by the American Psychological As-
sociation, the National Council on Meas-
urement in Education, and the American
Educational Research Association;
‘‘(iv) is consistent with the ‘Criteria
for Evaluation of Student Assessment Sys-
tems’ developed by the National Forum on
Assessment; and
‘‘(v) complies with the ‘Code of Fair
Testing Practices in Education’ developed
by the Joint Committee on Testing Prac-
tices.
For purposes of this subparagraph, the term ‘devel-
opment’ means the development of prototypes for
the purposes of research and evaluation.
‘‘(h) NATIONAL INSTITUTE
FOR POSTSECONDARY
EDUCATION, LIBRARIES, AND LIFELONG LEARNING.—
‘‘(1) FINDINGS.—The Congress finds as fol-
lows:
‘‘(A) The American system of postsecond-
ary education is foremost in the world in its
achievement of both academic excellence and
equity in access, but maintaining that pre-
eminence requires renewed efforts to strengthen
the quality of postsecondary education. Dis-
appointing student performance on achievement
tests and licensure examinations, declining rates
of persistence and completion among minorities,
and other troubling trends in the quality of
postsecondary education must be addressed by
the Nation as part of its overall drive to im-
prove American education.
‘‘(B) The need to improve our Nation’s
economic productivity to meet the competitive
challenges of a new, international economy, cou-
pled with high levels of mobility in the United
States labor market and demographic changes
in the workforce, now demands more and higher
quality programs of learning and training in the
American workplace.
‘‘(C) The more than 1,000,000 men and
women incarcerated in the Nation’s prisons and
jails are among the most severely educationally
disadvantaged in the United States, with high
rates of functional illiteracy and extremely low
levels of educational attainment. Since an esti-
mated 90 percent of these individuals are ex-
pected to be released by the end of the decade,
the Nation must act to assure that our correc-
tional system has the means to equip these
Americans with the knowledge and skills they
will need to participate productively in our
society.
‘‘(D) The development of a ‘Nation of Stu-
dents’ capable of and committed to the pursuit
of formal and informal lifelong learning is es-
sential to sustain both national and individual
economic success and to provide a nurturing en-
vironment in which all children and youth can
learn and achieve. Historically the most effec-
tive community resource for lifelong learning,
the Nation’s public library system must expand
and restructure its delivery of services to take
full advantage of the potential of new informa-
tion technologies to meet the needs of learning
communities.
‘‘(2) PURPOSE.—The purpose of the National
Institute for Postsecondary Education, Libraries,
and Lifelong Learning is to promote greater coordi-
nation of Federal research and development on is-
sues related to adult learning and to carry out a
program of research and development in adult learn-
ing to provide nonpartisan, research-based leader-
ship to the Nation as it seeks to improve libraries,
postsecondary education, and lifelong learning
throughout the United States. Such program—
‘‘(A) shall promote greater coordination,
cooperation, and interaction among entities
within the Federal Government which support
research and development related to postsecond-
ary education, libraries, and lifelong learning;
‘‘(B) shall enable greater collaboration
among entities within the Federal Government
which support research and development related
to postsecondary education, libraries, and life-
long learning by supporting research and devel-
opment projects which are carried out jointly by
such entities;
‘‘(C) shall support research and develop-
ment in those areas of postsecondary education,
libraries, and lifelong learning which are not
being addressed sufficiently by other entities
within the Federal Government;
‘‘(D) may include basic and applied re-
search, development, replication, and evaluation
activities in such areas as—
‘‘(i) methods of assessing and evaluat-
ing individual, program, and institutional
performance;
‘‘(ii) the uses and applications of new
technologies to improve program effective-
ness and enhance student learning;
‘‘(iii) practices, policies, and programs
which address the unique needs of adult
learners, including—
‘‘(I) institutional and classroom
policies and practices at the post-
secondary level necessary to improve
matriculation, 
persistence, 
achieve-
ment and graduation by students who
are economically disadvantaged, ethnic
and racial minorities, women, older,
working, and who have children;
‘‘(II) instructional practices and
programs which are effective in cor-
rectional settings;
‘‘(III) new models of service de-
livery for public library systems which
expand 
opportunities 
for 
lifelong
learning;
‘‘(IV) effective programs and ap-
proaches which promote greater ac-
cess to and success by minorities in
postsecondary programs which pre-
pare them for scientific, technical,
teaching, and health career fields;
‘‘(V) 
effective 
approaches 
to
work-based learning; and
‘‘(VI) the most effective training
methods for adults to upgrade edu-
cation and vocational skills;
‘‘(iv) the effectiveness of Historically
Black Colleges and Universities, Tribally-
Controlled Indian Community Colleges,
women’s colleges, and other special mission
institutions in fulfilling their mission of
providing access and equal opportunity in
higher education;
‘‘(v) the quality of higher education at
all levels and the roles and responsibilities
of regional and national accrediting agen-
cies in assuring the quality and relevance
‘‘(ix) preparing students for a lifetime
of work, the ability to adapt through re-
training to the changing needs of the work
force and the ability to learn new tasks.
‘‘(3) INVOLVEMENT OF CERTAIN AGENCIES AND
ORGANIZATIONS.—In promoting coordination and
collaboration on research and development on issues
related to postsecondary education, libraries, and
lifelong learning, the Institute shall, as appropriate,
seek the involvement of—
‘‘(A) within the Department of Edu-
cation—
‘‘(i) the Office of Library Programs;
‘‘(ii) the Office of Correctional Edu-
cation;
‘‘(iii) the Office of Vocational and
Adult Education;
‘‘(iv) the National Institute on Dis-
ability and Rehabilitation Research; and
‘‘(v) the Office of Postsecondary Edu-
cation;
‘‘(B) the National Institute for Literacy;
‘‘(C) the National Board for Professional
Teaching Standards;
‘‘(D) the Employment and Training Ad-
ministration of the Department of Labor;
‘‘(E) the Administration for Children and
Families within the Department of Health and
Human Services;
‘‘(F) the National Institutes of Health;
‘‘(G) the National Endowment for Human-
ities;
‘‘(H) the National Endowment for the
Arts;
‘‘(I) the Bureau of Prisons of the Depart-
ment of Justice;
‘‘(J) the Department of Commerce;
‘‘(K) the Department of Defense; and
‘‘(L) the Office of Indian Education Pro-
grams of the Department of the Interior.
‘‘(4) In addition to the responsibilities described
in paragraph (2), the Assistant Secretary shall en-
sure that the activities of the existing National Cen-
ter on Literacy are fully coordinated with those of
the National Institute for Literacy.
‘‘(i) COORDINATION OF RESEARCH ON CROSS-CUT-
TING ISSUES.—The Assistant Secretary shall promote the
coordination of research and development activities among
the Institutes established by subsection (a) to investigate
those cross-cutting disciplines and areas of inquiry, such
as assessment, the use of technology and the training of
teachers and school administrators, which are relevant to
the missions of more than one of the Institutes. Such ac-
tivities shall—
‘‘(1) address cross-cutting disciplines and areas
of inquiry which have been proposed by the Assist-
ant Secretary and are consistent with the research
priorities identified by the Board;
‘‘(2) be carried out jointly (1) by any one of the
Institutes and—
‘‘(A) one (or more) of the Institutes;
‘‘(B) the National Center for Education
Statistics; or
‘‘(C) any research and development entity
administered by other offices of the Department
of Education or by any other Federal agency or
Department; and
‘‘(3) meet all the standards set by the Assistant
Secretary and the Board for other research and de-
velopment conducted by the Office.
‘‘(j) PROGRAM ON TEACHING AND TEACHER EDU-
CATION.—
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Assistant Secretary, in
accordance with the requirements of this subsection,
shall undertake a comprehensive, coordinated pro-
gram of research in the area of teaching, teacher
education, and professional development.
‘‘(2) CERTAIN
PURPOSES
OF
PROGRAM.—In
carrying out the program established under para-
graph (1), the Assistant Secretary shall conduct, di-
rectly or through grants and contracts, basic and ap-
plied research and analytical activities to further
knowledge about, make recommendations, and im-
prove—
‘‘(A) the ability of classroom teachers and
schools to assist new and diverse populations of
students in successfully assimilating into the
classroom environment;
‘‘(B) the working conditions of teachers
and other educational practitioners, which may
include such topics as—
‘‘(i) teacher isolation;
‘‘(ii) professional resources available
to teachers;
‘‘(iii) continuing educational and pro-
fessional opportunities available to teach-
ers;
‘‘(iv) physical facilities and equipment,
such as office space, telephone, computer
access, and fax machines and television
cable access available to teachers in the
work environment;
‘‘(v) opportunities for teachers to
share information and resources with other
teachers and education professionals;
‘‘(vi) opportunities for advanced learn-
ing experience; and
‘‘(vii) the reduction of stress in the
teaching profession;
‘‘(C) institutional program renewal and in-
struction;
‘‘(D) restructuring of State certification of
teachers and teacher education standards; and
‘‘(E) assisting in the development of teach-
er certification standards by Indian tribal de-
partments of education.
‘‘(3) CERTAIN ACTIVITIES.—In carrying out the
program established under paragraph (1), the As-
sistant Secretary—
‘‘(A) shall work with institutions of higher
education engaged in the preparation of teach-
ers and professional organizations of teacher
educators and practitioners to encourage insti-
tutional program renewal and restructuring;
‘‘(B) may conduct, directly or through
grants and contracts research on—
‘‘(i) effective and reflective teaching
for the preparation and continuing edu-
cation of teachers;
‘‘(ii) the use of computing and multi-
made technology to advance the under-
standing and abilities of teacher educators
and classroom teachers;
‘‘(iii) the development and appraisal
of curriculum and curriculum materials for
the initial and continuing education of
teachers and teacher educators; and
‘‘(iv) strengthening the evaluation and
dissemination of information on programs
for continuing professional education and
renewal of those who educate teachers for
initial or advanced licensure or certifi-
cation; and
‘‘(C) shall work with the national regional
education laboratories, the ERIC clearing-
houses, national education research library, and
the National Center for Education Statistics to
maximize information available, to prevent un-
necessary duplication of efforts and resources,
and to ensure the results of the centers work
are widely available.
‘‘(k) RESEARCH ON EDUCATIONAL TECHNOLOGY.—
The Assistant Secretary shall undertake a comprehensive,
coordinated program of research and development in the
area of the uses and applications of technology in edu-
cation. Such program—
‘‘(1) may support basic and applied research
and development, analysis, evaluation in the area of
the uses and applications of technology to education,
including—
‘‘(A) the capabilities of current and emerg-
ing technologies and their possible uses in edu-
cation;
‘‘(B) the uses and applications of tech-
nology—
‘‘(i) to improve instruction within all
content areas in the school curriculum;
‘‘(ii) to educate more effectively at-
risk students and other students with spe-
cial needs;
‘‘(iii) to improve education in rural
communities and other remote areas;
‘‘(iv) to improve the assessment of
student learning and achievement;
‘‘(v) to deliver preservice and inservice
training for teachers, librarians, and school
administrators; and
‘‘(vi) to deliver and improve profes-
sional development and continuing edu-
cation programs;
‘‘(C) the cost and educational effectiveness
of technologies used in education;
‘‘(D) effective models and approaches for
providing the preservice and inservice training
and technical assistance necessary to enable
teachers, librarians, and school administrators,
cultural organizations, and others to use tech-
nology effectively in education;
‘‘(E) the identification of barriers to great-
er use of technologies in education and poten-
tial approaches to eradicating or mitigating
such barriers;
‘‘(F) methods and approaches which can
be utilized by teachers, school administrators,
and education policymakers, and educational
programs in cultural institutions to evaluate the
quality and most appropriate uses of software
and other technologies designed for use in edu-
cation; and
‘‘(G) approaches to organizing and manag-
ing schools and classrooms to make the most
effective use of technology in education; and
‘‘(2) shall be coordinated with related research
and development activities undertaken by the Office
of Special Education Programs, the National
Science Foundation, the Department of Defense,
and other Federal agencies.
‘‘(l) TRANSITIONAL PROVISIONS.—
‘‘(1) TEMPORARY
REORGANIZATIONS.—Upon
the enactment of the Educational Research, Devel-
opment and Dissemination Excellence Act, the Sec-
retary shall reorganize the research and development
functions and activities of the Office into adminis-
trative units the purposes of which shall be the same
as those for each of the national research institutes
established in subsection (a). Such administrative
units shall be responsible for planning and providing
for the establishment of such institutes and shall
cease to exist on the dates upon which each of the
relevant institutes is established. The provisions of
subsection (c) (relating to authorities and duties)
shall apply to all activities undertaken by each such
administrative unit.
‘‘(2) DATES
FOR
ESTABLISHMENT
OF
INSTI-
TUTES.—The National Institute for the Education
of At-Risk Students, the National Institute for Inno-
vation in Educational Governance, Finance, Policy-
Making, and Management, the National Institute for
Early Childhood Development and Education, the
National Institute on Student Achievement, and the
National Institute on Postsecondary Education, Li-
braries, and Lifelong Learning shall each be estab-
lished effective October 1, 1994.’’.
TITLE 
IV—NATIONAL 
EDU-
CATION DISSEMINATION SYS-
TEM
SEC. 
401. 
ESTABLISHMENT 
WITHIN 
OFFICE 
OF 
EDU-
CATIONAL RESEARCH AND IMPROVEMENT.
Part A of the General Education Provisions Act, as
amended by section 301 of this Act, is amended by insert-
ing after section 405B the following new section:
‘‘NATIONAL EDUCATION DISSEMINATION SYSTEM
‘‘SEC. 405C. (a) IN GENERAL.—
‘‘(1) FINDINGS.—The Congress finds as fol-
lows:
‘‘(A) In order to improve the American
educational system for all students, achieve the
national education goals, and provide for great-
er educational equity, policymakers, administra-
tors, teachers, and parents must have ready ac-
cess to the best information and methods avail-
able as a result of educational research and de-
velopment.
‘‘(B) The Office of Educational Research
and Improvement should have as one of its pri-
mary purposes the dissemination of such infor-
mation and methods in order to assist the na-
tional education reform effort.
‘‘(C) All current resources within the Of-
fice, the Department, and other agencies that
can help accomplish this goal should be coordi-
nated by the Assistant Secretary so as to form
a systematic process to accomplish these objec-
tives.
‘‘(D) Education research has the capacity
to improve teaching and learning in our Na-
tion’s schools, however, teachers need training
in the developmental skills necessary to trans-
late research into practice and to allow them to
become a cadre of knowledgeable practitioners
and leaders in educational improvement.
‘‘(E) Adequate linkages between research
and development providers and practitioners are
essential to ensuring that research on effective
practice is useful, disseminated and supported
with technical assistance to all educators, and
that all educators are partners in the research
and development process.
‘‘(2) PURPOSE.—The purpose of this section is
to—
‘‘(A) create a national system of dissemi-
nation, development, and educational improve-
ment in order to create, adapt, identify, vali-
date, and disseminate to educators, parents,
and policymakers those educational programs
that have potential or have been shown to im-
prove educational opportunities for all students;
and
‘‘(B) empower and increase the capacity of
teachers to participate in the research and de-
velopment process.
‘‘(3) 
DEFINITION
OF
EDUCATIONAL
PRO-
GRAM.—For the purposes of this section, the term
‘educational program’ includes educational policies,
research findings, practices, and products.
‘‘(b) ESTABLISHMENT OF OFFICE.—
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—There is established within
the Office an Office of Reform Assistance and Dis-
semination (in this section referred to as the ‘Dis-
semination Office’) through which the Secretary
shall carry out all functions and activities described
in this section.
‘‘(2) CERTAIN DUTIES.—The Dissemination Of-
fice shall—
‘‘(A) identify educational programs that
may merit being designated as exemplary or
promising educational programs;
‘‘(B) based solely on the educational merits
and promise of such programs, select those to
be designated as exemplary or promising;
‘‘(C) provide technical and financial assist-
ance to individuals and organizations in the
process of developing promising educational
programs in the priority areas identified in sec-
tion 405(b)(3), but who might not, without
such assistance, be able to complete necessary
development and assessment activities;
‘‘(D) nationally disseminate information
regarding the exemplary and promising pro-
grams to educators, parents, and policymakers
through a variety of means, including existing
Department activities, education associations
and networks, and communication technologies;
‘‘(E) provide training and technical assist-
ance regarding the implementation and adop-
tion of such exemplary and promising programs
by interested entities; and
‘‘(F) carry out a program of research on
models for successful knowledge dissemination,
and utilization, and strategies for reaching edu-
cation policymakers, practitioners, and others
interested in education.
‘‘(3) ADDITIONAL DUTIES.—The Dissemination
Office shall carry out and contain the following func-
tions and activities:
‘‘(A) A process for the identification of
educational programs that work.
‘‘(B) The educational resources informa-
tion clearinghouses.
‘‘(C) Dissemination through new tech-
nologies.
‘‘(D) Smartline.
‘‘(E) The regional educational laboratories.
‘‘(F) Teacher Research Dissemination Net-
work.
‘‘(G) The Goals 2000 Community Partner-
ships Program.
‘‘(H) The existing National Diffusion Net-
work and its Developer-Demonstrator and State
Facilitator projects.
‘‘(I) Such other programs or entities the
Secretary determines are consistent with the
purposes for which the Dissemination Office is
established.
‘‘(c) IDENTIFICATION OF PROGRAMS.—
‘‘(1) IN
GENERAL.—The Assistant Secretary
shall establish a process through which successful
educational programs are actively sought out for
possible dissemination through the national edu-
cational dissemination system. Such process shall, at
a minimum, have the capability to—
‘‘(A) work closely with the research insti-
tutes, centers, regional educational laboratories,
the National Diffusion Network and its Devel-
oper-Demonstrator 
and 
State 
Facilitator
projects, learning grant institutions established
under the Goals 2000 Community Partnerships
Program, department-supported technical as-
sistance providers, and other entities to identify
successful educational programs at the regional,
State, local, or classroom level;
‘‘(B) review successful educational pro-
grams supported by the Department through all
of its programs, including Chapter 1, Even
Start, Drug-Free Schools and Communities Act
of 1986, the Individuals With Disabilities Edu-
cation Act, Bilingual Education, Indian Edu-
cation, the Women’s Educational Equity Act,
and Adult and Vocational Education;
‘‘(C) through cooperative agreements, re-
view for possible inclusion in the system edu-
cational programs administered by the Depart-
ments of Health and Human Services (particu-
larly the Head Start program), Labor and De-
fense, the National Science Foundation, the De-
partment of the Interior (particularly the Office
of Indian Education Programs), and any other
appropriate Federal agency; and
‘‘(D) provide for an active outreach effort
to identify successful educational programs
through cooperative arrangements with State
and local education agencies, teachers and
teacher organizations, curriculum associations,
foundations, private schools, institutions of
higher education, and other entities that could
enhance the ability of the Secretary to identify
programs for possible inclusion in the dissemi-
nation system.
‘‘(2) PRIORITY
PROGRAMS.—In carrying out
this subsection, the Secretary shall place a priority
on identifying programs, products, and practices re-
lated to the priority research and development needs
identified in section 405(b)(3).
‘‘(d) DESIGNATION OF EXEMPLARY AND PROMISING
PROGRAMS.—
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Assistant Secretary, in
consultation with the Board, shall establish 1 or
more panels of appropriately qualified experts and
practitioners to—
‘‘(A) evaluate educational programs that
have been identified by the Secretary under
subsection (c) or that have been submitted to
the Secretary for such evaluation by some other
individual or organization; and
‘‘(B) recommend to the Secretary pro-
grams that should be designated as exemplary
or promising educational programs.
‘‘(2) 
CONSIDERATIONS
IN
MAKING
REC-
OMMENDATIONS.—In determining whether an edu-
cational program should receive a recommendation
under paragraph (1), a panel established under such
paragraph shall consider—
‘‘(A) whether, based on empirical data,
which may include but shall not be limited to
test results, the program is effective and should
thus be designated as exemplary and dissemi-
nated through the national dissemination sys-
tem; or
‘‘(B) whether there is sufficient evidence to
lead a panel of experts and practitioners to be-
lieve that the program shows promise for im-
proving student achievement and should thus be
designated as promising and disseminated
through the national dissemination system while
it continues to be evaluated.
‘‘(3) REQUIREMENT REGARDING APPROVAL OF
PROGRAMS.—In seeking out programs for approval
under paragraph (2), the Assistant Secretary shall
seek programs that may be implemented at the
State, local, and classroom level.
‘‘(4) REQUIREMENTS REGARDING PANELS.—
‘‘(A) A panel shall not eliminate a program
from consideration under this subsection based
solely on the fact that it does not have one spe-
100
cific type of supporting data, such as test
scores.
‘‘(B) The Assistant Secretary may not des-
ignate a program as exemplary or promising
unless a panel established under paragraph (1)
has recommended that the program be so des-
ignated.
‘‘(C) The Secretary shall establish such
panels under paragraph (1) as may be nec-
essary to ensure that each program identified
or submitted for evaluation is evaluated.
‘‘(D) Not less than 2⁄3 of the membership
of a panel established under paragraph (1) shall
consist of individuals who are not officers or
employees of the United States. Members of
panels under paragraph (1) who are not em-
ployees of the United States shall receive com-
pensation for each day engaged in carrying out
the duties of the panel as well as compensation
for their expenses.
‘‘(e) DISSEMINATION OF EXEMPLARY AND PROMIS-
ING PROGRAMS.—
‘‘(1) IN
GENERAL.—In order to ensure that
programs identified as exemplary or promising are
available for adoption by the greatest number of
101
teachers, schools, local and State education agencies,
and Bureau of Indian Affairs-funded schools, the
Assistant Secretary shall utilize the capabilities of—
‘‘(A) the education resources information
clearinghouses;
‘‘(B) Smartline;
‘‘(C) the regional educational laboratories;
‘‘(D) the National Diffusion Network;
‘‘(E) entities established under the Goals
2000 Community Partnerships Program;
‘‘(F) department-supported technical as-
sistance providers;
‘‘(G) the National Library of Education;
and
‘‘(H) other public and private nonprofit en-
tities, including existing education associations
and networks, that have the capability to assist
educators in adopting exemplary and promising
programs.
‘‘(2) REQUIREMENTS
FOR
ASSISTANT
SEC-
RETARY.—In carrying out paragraph (1), the Assist-
ant Secretary shall ensure that all such entities
are—
‘‘(A) kept apprised of the availability of
specific programs for dissemination;
102
‘‘(B) provided technical assistance, if nec-
essary, to carry out this dissemination function;
and
‘‘(C) involved in the national education dis-
semination system as specified by law.
‘‘(f) EDUCATION RESOURCES INFORMATION CLEAR-
INGHOUSES.—
‘‘(1) IN
GENERAL.—The Assistant Secretary
shall establish a system of 16 education resource in-
formation clearinghouses having, at a minimum, the
functions and scope of work as the clearinghouses
had on the date of the enactment of the Educational
Research, Development, and Dissemination Excel-
lence Act.
‘‘(2) ADDITIONAL FUNCTIONS.—In addition to
those functions already being carried out by the
clearinghouses, such clearinghouses may—
‘‘(A) periodically produce interpretive sum-
maries, digests, and syntheses of the results
and findings of education-related research and
development; and
‘‘(B) contain and make available to users
information concerning those programs des-
ignated as exemplary and promising under sub-
section (c).
103
‘‘(3) COORDINATION OF ACTIVITIES.—The As-
sistant Secretary shall assure that the functions and
activities of such clearinghouses are coordinated with
the activities of the research institutes, the regional
educational laboratories, learning grant institutions,
other clearinghouses supported by the Department,
the National Diffusion Network, and other appro-
priate entities within the Office and the Department.
‘‘(4) SPECIAL RESPONSIBILITIES OF THE SEC-
RETARY.—To assure that the information provided
through such clearinghouses is fully comprehensive,
the Secretary shall—
‘‘(A) require that all reports, studies, and
other resources produced directly or by grant or
contract with the Department of Education are
made available to clearinghouses;
‘‘(B) establish cooperative agreements with
the Departments of Defense, Health and
Human Services, Interior, and other Federal
agencies to assure that all education-related re-
ports, studies, and other resources produced di-
rectly or by grant or contract with the Federal
Government are made available to such clear-
inghouses; and
104
‘‘(C) devise an effective system for maxi-
mizing the identification, synthesis, and dis-
semination of information related to the needs
of Indian and Alaska Native children.
‘‘(5) COPYRIGHT PROHIBITED.—
‘‘(A) No clearinghouse or other entity re-
ceiving assistance under this subsection may
copyright or otherwise charge a royalty or other
fee that—
‘‘(i) is for the use or redissemination
of any database, index, abstract, report, or
other information produced with assistance
under this subsection; and
‘‘(ii) exceeds the incremental cost of
disseminating such information.
‘‘(B) For purposes of subparagraph (A),
the incremental cost of dissemination does not
include any portion of the cost of collecting, or-
ganizing, or processing the information which is
disseminated.
‘‘(g) 
DISSEMINATION
THROUGH
NEW
TECH-
NOLOGIES.—
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Assistant Secretary is
authorized to award grants or contracts in accord-
ance with this subsection to support the development
105
of materials, programs, and resources which utilize
new technologies and techniques to synthesize and
disseminate research and development findings and
other information which can be used to support edu-
cational improvement.
‘‘(2) SOURCES OF MATERIALS AND RESEARCH
ABOUT TEACHING AND LEARNING FOR IMPROVING
NATIONWIDE EDUCATION (SMARTLINE).—
‘‘(A) ELECTRONIC NETWORK.—The Assist-
ant Secretary, acting through the Office of Re-
form Assistance and Dissemination, shall estab-
lish and maintain an electronic network which
shall, at a minimum, link—
‘‘(i) each office of the Department of
Education;
‘‘(ii) the research institutes estab-
lished by section 405B;
‘‘(iii) the National Center for Edu-
cation Statistics;
‘‘(iv) the National Library of Edu-
cation; and
‘‘(v) entities engaged in research, de-
velopment, dissemination, and technical as-
sistance under grant, contract, or coopera-
106
tive agreement with the Department of
Education.
‘‘(B) CERTAIN REQUIREMENTS FOR NET-
WORK.—The network described in subpara-
graph (A) shall—
‘‘(i) to the extent feasible, build upon
existing national, regional, and State elec-
tronic 
networks 
and 
support 
video,
telecomputing, and interactive communica-
tions;
‘‘(ii) at a minimum, have the capabil-
ity to support electronic mail and file
transfer services;
‘‘(iii) be linked to and accessible to
other users, including State and local edu-
cation agencies, institutions of higher edu-
cation, museums, libraries, and others
through the Internet and the National Re-
search and Education Network; and
‘‘(iv) be provided at no cost (excluding
the costs of necessary hardware) to the
contractors and grantees described in
clause (v) of subparagraph (A) and to edu-
cational institutions accessing such net-
107
work through the Internet and the Na-
tional Research and Education Network.
‘‘(C) INFORMATION RESOURCES.—The As-
sistant Secretary, acting through the Office of
Reform Assistance and Dissemination, may
make available through the network described
in subparagraph (A)—
‘‘(i) information about grant and con-
tract assistance available through the de-
partment;
‘‘(ii) an annotated directory of current
research and development activities and
projects being undertaken with the assist-
ance of the Department;
‘‘(iii) information about publications
published by the Department and, to the
extent feasible, the full text of such publi-
cations;
‘‘(iv) statistics and data published by
the National Center for Education Statis-
tics;
‘‘(v) syntheses of research and devel-
opment findings;
‘‘(vi) a directory of other education-re-
lated electronic networks and databases,
108
including information about the means by
which they may be accessed;
‘‘(vii) a descriptive listing of materials
and courses of instruction provided by tele-
communications 
partnerships 
assisted
under the Star Schools program;
‘‘(viii) resources developed by the
ERIC Clearinghouses;
‘‘(ix) education-related software (in-
cluding video) which is in the public do-
main;
‘‘(x) a listing of instructional mate-
rials available through telecommunications
to local education agencies through the
Public Broadcasting Service and State
educational television networks; and
‘‘(xi) such other information and re-
sources the Assistant Secretary considers
useful and appropriate.
‘‘(D) EVALUATIONS
REGARDING
OTHER
FUNCTIONS OF NETWORK.—The Assistant Sec-
retary shall also undertake projects to test and
evaluate the feasibility of using the network de-
scribed in subparagraph (A) for—
109
‘‘(i) the submission of applications for
assistance to the Department; and
‘‘(ii) the collection of data and other
statistics through the National Center for
Education Statistics.
‘‘(E) TRAINING AND TECHNICAL ASSIST-
ANCE.—The 
Assistant 
Secretary, 
acting
through the Office of Reform Assistance and
Dissemination, shall—
‘‘(i) provide such training and tech-
nical assistance as may be necessary to en-
able the contractors and grantees described
in clause (v) of subparagraph (A) to par-
ticipate in the electronic network described
in such subparagraph; and
‘‘(ii) work with the National Science
Foundation to provide, upon request, as-
sistance to State and local education agen-
cies, the Department of the Interior’s Of-
fice of Indian Education Programs, tribal
departments of education, State library
agencies, libraries, museums, and other
educational institutions in obtaining access
to the Internet and the National Research
and Education Network.
110
‘‘(h) REGIONAL EDUCATIONAL LABORATORIES.—
‘‘(1) 
REGIONAL
EDUCATIONAL
LABORA-
TORIES.—The Assistant Secretary shall enter into
contracts with public or private nonprofit entities to
establish a networked system of 10 regional edu-
cational laboratories which serve the needs of each
region of the Nation in accordance with the provi-
sions of this subsection. For the purposes of this
subsection, the term ‘region’ means 1 of the 10 geo-
graphic regions set forth in section 2(a) of part 707
of title 34, Code of Federal Regulations (34 CFR
707.2(a)), as published in number 157 of volume 53
of the Federal Register on August 15, 1988.
‘‘(2) DUTIES.—Each regional educational lab-
oratory receiving assistance under this subsection
shall, with such assistance, assist State education
agencies, intermediate education agencies, local
school districts, and schools funded by the Bureau of
Indian Affairs in implementing broad-based, sys-
temic school improvement strategies through the use
of applied research and development activities. The
regional educational laboratories shall support such
system-wide reform efforts through—
‘‘(A) the development of a plan for identi-
fying needs and for serving the needs of the re-
111
gion by conducting a continuing survey of the
educational needs, strengths and weaknesses
within the region, including a process of open
hearings to solicit the views of schools, teachers,
administrators, parents, local educational agen-
cies, librarians, and State educational agencies
within the region;
‘‘(B) the dissemination of information
about programs designated as exemplary and
promising under subsection (c) and other ap-
propriate programs and practices;
‘‘(C) the provision of support and technical
assistance in—
‘‘(i) replicating and adapting such ex-
emplary and promising practices;
‘‘(ii) the development of high-quality,
challenging curriculum frameworks;
‘‘(iii) the development of valid, reli-
able, fair systems of assessment which are
based upon State, local, or Bureau of In-
dian 
Affairs-funded 
school 
curriculum
frameworks and reflect recent advances in
the field of educational assessment;
‘‘(iv) the improvement of professional
development strategies to assure that all
112
teachers are prepared to teach a challeng-
ing curriculum;
‘‘(v) expanding and improving the use
of technology in education to improve
teaching and learning;
‘‘(vi) the development of alternatives
for restructuring school finance systems to
promote greater equity in the distribution
of resources; and
‘‘(vii) the development of alternative
administrative structures which are more
conducive to planning, implementing, and
sustaining school reform and improved
educational outcomes;
‘‘(D) the development of educational pro-
grams and practices that address State, re-
gional, or Indian tribal needs in relating to
their school reform efforts;
‘‘(E) facilitating communication between
educational experts, school officials, and teach-
ers, parents, and librarians, to enable such indi-
viduals to assist schools to develop a plan to
meet the national education goals;
113
‘‘(F) bringing teams of experts together to
develop and implement school improvement
plans and strategies;
‘‘(G) the provision of training in—
‘‘(i) the field of education research
and related areas;
‘‘(ii) the use of new educational meth-
ods; and
‘‘(iii) the use of information-finding
methods, practices, techniques, and prod-
ucts developed in connection with such
training for which the regional educational
laboratory shall be authorized to support
internships and fellowships and to provide
stipends; and
‘‘(H) the provision of support and tech-
nical assistance (upon their request) to State
facilitators funded through the National Diffu-
sion Network.
‘‘(3) NETWORKING.—In order to improve the
efficiency and effectiveness of the regional labora-
tories, the governing boards of the ten regional lab-
oratories shall establish and maintain a network
to—
116
‘‘(I) guides and directs the lab-
oratory in carrying out the provisions
of this subsection and satisfying the
terms and conditions of the contract
award; and
‘‘(II) determines the regional
agenda of the laboratory, consistent
with the priority research and devel-
opment needs identified in section
405(b)(3); and
‘‘(ii) reflects a balanced representation
of the States in the region, as well as the
interests and concerns of regional constitu-
encies;
‘‘(B) comply with the standards established
by the Assistant Secretary and the Board under
section 405A;
‘‘(C) coordinate its activities, collaborate,
and regularly exchange information with the in-
stitutes established under section 405C, the Na-
tional Diffusion Network, and its Developer
Demonstrator and State Facilitator projects,
learning grant institutions and district edu-
cation agents assisted under subsection (i), the
ERIC Clearinghouses, and other entities en-
117
gages in technical assistance and dissemination
activities which are supported by other Offices
of the Department of Education; and
‘‘(D) allocate its resources to and within
each State in a manner which reflects the need
for assistance, taking into account such factors
as the proportion of economically disadvantaged
students, the increased cost burden of service
delivery in areas of sparse populations, and any
special initiatives being undertaken by State,
intermediate, local education agencies, or Bu-
reau of Indian Affairs-funded schools which
may require special assistance from the labora-
tory.
‘‘(6) EVALUATIONS.—The Assistant Secretary
shall provide for periodic, independent evaluations of
each of the laboratories in carrying out the duties
described in paragraph (1) in accordance with the
standards developed by the Assistant Secretary and
the Board and transmit the results of such evalua-
tions to the relevant committees of the Congress, the
Board, and the appropriate regional educational lab-
oratory board.
‘‘(7) INVITATION
REGARDING
COMPETITION
FOR AWARDS OF ASSISTANCE.—Prior to awarding a
118
grant or entering into a contract under this section,
the Secretary shall invite applicants, including the
existing regional educational laboratories, to compete
for such award through notice in the Federal Reg-
ister and in the publication of the Department of
Commerce known as the Commerce Business Daily.
‘‘(8) APPLICATION FOR ASSISTANCE.—Each ap-
plication for assistance under this subsection shall—
‘‘(A) cover not less than a 5-year period;
‘‘(B) describe how the applicant would
carry out the activities required by this sub-
section; and
‘‘(C) contain such additional information
as the Secretary may reasonably require.
‘‘(9) RULE
OF
CONSTRUCTION.—No regional
educational laboratory receiving assistance under
this subsection shall, by reason of the receipt of that
assistance, be ineligible to receive any other assist-
ance from the Department as authorized by law.
‘‘(10) ADVANCE PAYMENT SYSTEM.—Each re-
gional educational laboratory shall participate in the
advance payment system at the Department of Edu-
cation.
‘‘(i) GOALS 2000 COMMUNITY PARTNERSHIPS PRO-
GRAM.—
119
‘‘(1) PURPOSE.—The purpose of the Goals
2000 Community Partnerships program is to im-
prove the quality of learning and teaching in the Na-
tion’s most impoverished urban and rural commu-
nities by supporting sustained collaborations between
universities, schools, businesses, and communities
which apply and utilize the results of educational re-
search and development.
‘‘(2) GRANTS
FOR
GOALS
2000
COMMUNITY
PARTNERSHIPS.—The Assistant Secretary is author-
ized to make grants to eligible entities to support
the establishment of Learning Grant Institutions
and District Education Agents and the activities au-
thorized under this subsection within eligible com-
munities.
‘‘(3) DEFINITION OF ELIGIBLE ENTITY AND EL-
IGIBLE COMMUNITY.—For the purposes of this sub-
section:
‘‘(A) The term ‘eligible entity’ includes any
institution of higher education, regional edu-
cation laboratory, National Diffusion Network
project, national research and development cen-
ter, public or private nonprofit corporation, or
any consortium thereof that—
120
‘‘(i) has demonstrated experience, ex-
pertise and commitment in serving the
educational needs of at-risk students; and
‘‘(ii) is, by virtue of its previous activi-
ties, knowledgeable about the unique needs
and characteristics of the community to be
served.
‘‘(B) The term ‘eligible community’ means
a unit of general purpose local government
(such as a city, township, or village), a
nonmetropolitan county, tribal village, or a geo-
graphically distinct area (such as a school dis-
trict, school attendance area, ward, precinct or
neighborhood), or any group of such entities
that—
‘‘(i) has a population of not less than
200,000 and not more than 300,000; and
‘‘(ii) in which not less than one-half of
the school-age children have family in-
comes which are below the poverty line, as
determined by the 1990 United States
Census, participation in the National
School Lunch program, or other current,
reliable data concerning family income.
121
‘‘(4) GOALS 2000 COMMUNITY PARTNERSHIPS.—
Each learning grant institution receiving assistance
under this subsection shall establish a Goals 2000
community partnership to carry out the activities
authorized under this subsection. Such partner-
ship—
‘‘(A) shall include the participation of one
or more local educational agencies, institutions
of higher education, community-based organiza-
tions, parents, teachers, and the business com-
munity;
‘‘(B) may include the participation of
human, social service and health care agencies,
Head Start and child care agencies, libraries,
museums, employment and training agencies,
and the State educational agency or tribal de-
partment of education; and
‘‘(C) shall be broadly representative of all
segments of the community in which the activi-
ties will be carried out.
‘‘(5) COMPREHENSIVE
GOALS
2000
PLAN.—
Each Goals 2000 Community Partnership shall de-
velop a comprehensive plan for assuring educational
success and high achievement for all students in the
community. Each such plan shall—
122
‘‘(A) adopt the 6 national educational
goals;
‘‘(B) identify additional needs and goals
for educational improvement within the commu-
nity;
‘‘(C) focus on helping all students reach
challenging content and student performance
standards;
‘‘(D) be consistent with the State and local
plan for system-wide education improvement de-
veloped pursuant to the Goals 2000: Educate
America Act;
‘‘(E) establish a comprehensive commu-
nity-wide plan for achieving such goals; and
‘‘(F) develop a means for measuring the
progress of the community in meeting such
goals for improvement.
‘‘(6) IMPLEMENTATION
OF
COMMUNITY-WIDE
PLAN.—Each Goals 2000 Community Partnership
shall, utilizing the District Education Agent, provide
assistance in implementing the community-wide plan
for educational improvement by—
‘‘(A) supporting innovation, restructuring,
and continuous improvement in educational
practice by—
123
‘‘(i) 
disseminating 
information
throughout the community about exem-
plary and promising educational programs,
practices, products, and policies;
‘‘(ii) evaluating the effectiveness of
federally funded educational programs
within the community and identifying
changes in such programs which are likely
to improve student achievement;
‘‘(iii) identifying, selecting and rep-
licating exemplary and promising edu-
cational programs, practices, products, and
policies in both in and out-of-school set-
tings;
‘‘(iv) applying educational research to
solve specific problems in the classroom,
home and community which impede learn-
ing and student achievement; and
‘‘(v) supporting research and develop-
ment by teachers, school administrators,
and other practitioners which promise to
improve teaching and learning and the
organization of schools;
‘‘(B) improving the capacity of educators,
school administrators, child care providers and
124
other practitioners to prepare all students to
reach challenging standards and to attain the
goals set out in the comprehensive community-
wide plan through such means as—
‘‘(i) the training of prospective and
novice teachers (including preschool and
early childhood educators) in a school set-
ting under the guidance of master teachers
and teacher educators;
‘‘(ii) training and other activities to
promote the continued learning and profes-
sional development of experienced teachers,
related services personnel, school adminis-
trators to assure that they develop the
subject matter and pedagogical expertise
needed to prepare all students to reach
challenging standards;
‘‘(iii) training and other activities to
increase the ability of prospective, novice,
and experienced teachers to teach effec-
tively at-risk students, students with dis-
abilities, students with limited English lan-
guage proficiency, and students from di-
verse cultural backgrounds; and
125
‘‘(iv) programs to enhance teaching
and classroom management skills, includ-
ing school-based management skills, of
novice, prospective, and experienced teach-
ers;
‘‘(C) promoting the development of an in-
tegrated system of service delivery to children
from birth through age 18 and their families by
facilitating linkages and cooperation among—
‘‘(i) local education agencies;
‘‘(ii) health and social services agen-
cies and providers;
‘‘(iii) juvenile justice and criminal jus-
tice agencies;
‘‘(iv) providers of employment train-
ing; and
‘‘(v) child care, Head Start, and other
early childhood agencies; and
‘‘(D) mobilizing the resources of the com-
munity in support of student learning and high
achievement by facilitating effective partner-
ships and collaboration among—
‘‘(i) local education agencies;
‘‘(ii) postsecondary educational insti-
tutions;
126
‘‘(iii) public libraries;
‘‘(iv) parents;
‘‘(v) community-based organizations,
neighborhood associations, and other civic
and community organizations;
‘‘(vi) child care, Head Start, and
other early childhood agencies;
‘‘(vii) churches, synagogues and other
religious institutions;
‘‘(viii) labor organizations; and
‘‘(ix) business and industry.
‘‘(7) ADDITIONAL
REQUIREMENTS.—In carry-
ing out its responsibilities under this subsection,
each partnership receiving assistance under this sub-
section shall—
‘‘(A) appoint a District Education Agent
who shall be responsible, on a full-time basis,
for directing the implementation of the commu-
nity-wide plan. Such individual shall have sig-
nificant experience and expertise in the field of
education in—
‘‘(i) addressing the needs of at-risk
students; and
‘‘(ii) conducting educational research
and promoting the application of the re-
127
sults of such research to educational prac-
tice;
‘‘(B) provide for such other professional
and support personnel as may be necessary to
implement the community-wide plan under the
direction of the District Education Agent; and
‘‘(C) coordinate its activities and work co-
operatively with the National Diffusion Network
State facilitators, regional laboratories, and
other components of the Office to utilize most
effectively Federal research, development, and
dissemination resources in implementing the
community-wide plan.
‘‘(8) APPLICATION FOR GRANTS.—Any eligible
entity desiring a grant under this subsection shall
submit an application to the Assistant Secretary at
such time, in such manner, and accompanied by
such information as the Assistant Secretary may
reasonably require. Each such application shall—
‘‘(A) include a comprehensive plan for
meeting the objectives and requirements of this
subsection; and
‘‘(B) provide evidence of support for the
application from local elected officials, the State
education agency, the local education agency,
128
parents, local community leaders, businesses,
and other appropriate organizations.
‘‘(9) PRIORITY IN MAKING GRANTS; DURATION
AND AMOUNT OF GRANT.—Each grant made under
this subsection shall be—
‘‘(A) awarded on a competitive basis, with
first priority given to those applications from
communities with the greatest percentage of
school-age children in families with poverty-level
incomes;
‘‘(B) made for a 5-year period, with fund-
ing for the second and each successive year in
this period conditioned upon a determination by
the Assistant Secretary that the grant recipient
has complied with the conditions of the grants
during the previous year; and
‘‘(C) an amount equal to not less than
$1,000,000 per year.
‘‘(10) LIMITATION OF ONE GRANT PER CON-
GRESSIONAL DISTRICT.—Not more than one grant
shall be awarded within a single congressional dis-
trict.
‘‘(11) 
TECHNICAL
ASSISTANCE; 
EVALUA-
TIONS.—In administering the program authorized
under this subsection, the Assistant Secretary shall,
129
either directly or through grant or contract with an
eligible nonprofit agency—
‘‘(A) upon request, provide technical assist-
ance to eligible entities to assist in the develop-
ment of a comprehensive plan to meet the re-
quirements of this subsection and in the prepa-
ration of applications for assistance;
‘‘(B) regularly provide technical assistance
to learning grant institutions receiving assist-
ance under this subsection to assist with the de-
velopment and implementation of the commu-
nity-wide plan for educational improvement;
‘‘(C) provide for an independent evaluation
of the activities assisted under this subsection,
including—
‘‘(i) the impact of the Goals 2000
Community Partnerships program on chil-
dren and families within each community,
including (but not limited to) effects on the
extent of educational achievement, rates of
school retention and completion, and en-
rollment in program postsecondary edu-
cational programs; and
‘‘(ii) whether an intensified effort to
apply and utilize educational research
130
within a limited geographic area signifi-
cantly improves student learning and
achievement; and
‘‘(D) plan for the expansion of the Goals
2000 
Community 
Partnerships 
program
throughout the remainder of the Nation begin-
ning in fiscal year 1998.
‘‘(j) TEACHER RESEARCH
DISSEMINATION NET-
WORK.—
‘‘(1) FINDINGS.—The Congress finds that—
‘‘(A) education research, including re-
search funded by the Office, is not having the
impact on the Nation’s schools that such re-
search should;
‘‘(B) relevant education research and re-
sulting solutions are not being adequately dis-
seminated to the teachers that need such re-
search and solutions;
‘‘(C) there are not enough linkages be-
tween the research and development centers as-
sisted under this section, the regional edu-
cational laboratories described in subsection (k),
the 
National 
Diffusion 
Network 
State
facilitators, the Education Resources Informa-
tion Clearinghouses, and the public schools, to
131
ensure that research on effective practice is dis-
seminated and technical assistance provided to
all teachers;
‘‘(D) the average teacher has almost no
time to plan or engage in a professional dia-
logue with such teacher’s peers about strategies
for improving learning;
‘‘(E) teachers do not have direct access to
information systems or networks;
‘‘(F) teachers have little control over what
in-service education teachers will be offered;
and
‘‘(G) individual teachers are not encour-
aged to move beyond the walls of their class-
rooms to identify and use outside resources.
‘‘(2) PROGRAM AUTHORIZED.—
‘‘(A) The Assistant Secretary shall enter
into contracts with regional educational labora-
tories, in partnership with 1 or more institu-
tions of higher education in each State of its re-
gion, the National Diffusion Network, and
other entities with demonstrated experience, ex-
pertise, and commitment in the areas of teacher
research or teacher professional development,
such as the national research and development
132
centers, professional teacher organizations, and
other qualified organizations and associations,
in the region to carry out activities described in
paragraph (3).
‘‘(B) The Assistant Secretary shall enter
into contracts under this subsection in an equi-
table manner and shall provide assistance on
the basis of the number of schools, teachers,
and students in each regional educational lab-
oratory region with attention given to popu-
lations with special needs and the increased cost
burden of service delivery in regions of sparse
population.
‘‘(C) Contracts under this subsection shall
be awarded for a period of not less than 3
years.
‘‘(3) PROGRAM ACTIVITIES.—
‘‘(A) Each regional partnership described
in paragraph (2)(A) entering into a contract
under this subsection shall carry out programs
of providing training to teachers relevant to the
needs and problems of the schools and school
districts where teachers, who participate in the
programs, serve. The purpose of such programs
shall be to—
133
‘‘(i) educate teachers on how to ac-
quire information about education research
findings and best practices;
‘‘(ii) provide teachers with current
education research and development the-
ory, skills, and practice as shall enable
them to modify, design, develop, and adapt
such findings and practices to effect local
district and classroom outcomes that im-
prove education;
‘‘(iii) enable teachers to become ac-
tively involved in the applied research and
development process;
‘‘(iv) provide teachers the ability to
become leaders in the utilization of applied
research and to become active participants
in the Federal research and development
partnership;
‘‘(v) enhance the ability of teachers to
evaluate and choose effective education
programs and curricula; and
‘‘(vi) facilitate collaboration between
the teacher change agent and the National
Diffusion Network State facilitator.
135
‘‘(ii) provide teacher change agents
with indepth knowledge about a number of
products, programs, and processes devel-
oped by entities described in clause (i) that
the teacher change agents judge most rel-
evant to the needs of the district or dis-
tricts they will serve;
‘‘(iii) inform teacher change agents
about government programs, including, but
not limited to, programs in government
agencies other than the Department of
Education, which offer research opportuni-
ties, fellowships, and funding; and
‘‘(iv) provide teacher change agents
with instruction in technical assistance
skills in order to increase their capacity to
aid district and school site teacher teams
responsible for leading school improvement
activities at the district and school site
level.
‘‘(D) The school year activities described
in subparagraph (A) shall provide teacher
change agents participating in such program
during the school year with—
136
‘‘(i) opportunities to meet with other
teacher change agents to exchange experi-
ences;
‘‘(ii) additional training or assistance
as needed or requested;
‘‘(iii) updates in education research,
application, and findings; and
‘‘(iv) opportunities to provide feedback
into the educational research infrastruc-
ture regarding needed research and ways
to improve the development and dissemina-
tion of information.
‘‘(E) The regional partnership program
may support educational improvement and re-
form activities such as—
‘‘(i) training in applied research meth-
odologies;
‘‘(ii) assistance in conducting applied
research;
‘‘(iii) teacher research sabbaticals;
‘‘(iv) video conferencing for additional
training in order to reduce travel time and
expenses;
137
‘‘(v) training in developing and imple-
menting effective teacher in-service train-
ing;
‘‘(vi) training in change management,
including 
strategies 
for 
restructuring
schools, building local capacity, and gen-
erally strengthening the culture of schools
so that schools are conducive and support-
ive of change, including training in inter-
personal and leadership skills; and
‘‘(vii) training in the appropriate use
of technology to assist classroom teachers.
‘‘(F) 
TEACHER
RESPONSIBILITIES.—
Teacher change agents shall, during the school
year—
‘‘(i) meet with other teachers and dis-
trict or school site teacher teams to provide
other teachers with knowledge about how
to acquire information regarding education
research findings and best practices, in-
cluding what resources are available from
the Department of Education and how to
obtain products and technical services from
the Department;
138
‘‘(ii) meet with the National Diffusion
Network State Facilitator to coordinate
and not duplicate efforts in the dissemina-
tion of exemplary educational programs;
‘‘(iii) help interested schools identify
resources needed to address the school’s
needs and act as liaison between the school
and the appropriate resource entities, such
as regional educational laboratories, cen-
ters, national institutes, institutions of
higher education, professional teacher or-
ganizations, scholars, consultants, and
other schools and school districts that may
be of assistance;
‘‘(iv) teach other teachers how to use
the products, programs, and processes in
which the teacher was trained pursuant to
paragraph (2)(C)(II);
‘‘(v) work with other teachers and
teacher teams to adapt identified exem-
plary practices, programs, and research re-
sults to implement school site or classroom
improvements as desired, and provide fol-
low-up activities throughout a 2-year pe-
riod to ensure the successful adaptation
139
and implementation of such programs in
local schools; and
‘‘(vi) inform teachers about how they
can obtain Federal research funding, fel-
lowships, and sabbaticals.
‘‘(G) APPLICATION.—
‘‘(i) IN
GENERAL.—Each regional
partnership desiring a contract under this
subsection shall submit to the Secretary an
application at such time, in such manner,
and accompanied by such information as
the Assistant Secretary may reasonably re-
quire.
‘‘(ii) CONTENTS.—Each application
described in clause (i) shall—
‘‘(I) contain a plan acceptable to
affected States and local education
agencies for conducting the program
to be assisted under this section;
‘‘(II) contain assurances that the
partnership requirements are fulfilled;
‘‘(III) contain assurances that
both district and school site teacher
teams will be established to work in
140
conjunction with the teacher change
agent;
‘‘(IV) contain a plan for the se-
lection of district and school site
teacher team participants and others
as deemed appropriate by the teacher
change agent and the regional part-
nership;
‘‘(V) contain assurances that the
regional partnership, in conjunction
with the participating school districts,
shall provide each teacher change
agent with a stipend for the entire
calendar year commensurate with
such teacher’s salary and travel ex-
penses, to permit a teacher to partici-
pate in such program without incur-
ring loss of income;
‘‘(VI) contain assurances that
each teacher change agent participat-
ing in the program shall receive an
award of not more than $10,000 to be
used by such teacher during the
school year of such teacher’s partici-
pation to purchase materials, support,
141
and coordinate with other teachers or
site teacher teams in the school dis-
trict;
‘‘(VII) contain assurances that
such regional partnerships shall pro-
vide not more than $5,000 to each
school district or group of school dis-
tricts having an individual from such
district or districts participating in
the program assisted under this sec-
tion for each of the 2 years following
such participation to enable such
school district or districts to continue
efforts to improve dissemination of ef-
fective practices and programs within
the district or districts;
‘‘(VIII) contain assurances that
representatives of State educational
agencies, 
intermediate 
educational
agencies, teacher centers, teacher edu-
cators at institutions of higher edu-
cation, and school district in-service or
curriculum specialists will be eligible
to participate in the program assisted
under this section if such individuals
142
pay the cost of their participation;
and
‘‘(IX) contain an assurance that
such regional partnership shall permit
a teacher to participate in the pro-
gram only after such partnership de-
termines that the teacher will be af-
forded a full opportunity by the dis-
trict to perform such teacher’s respon-
sibilities 
described 
in 
paragraph
(3)(F).
‘‘(4) TEACHER SELECTION AND ELIGIBILITY.—
‘‘(A) NOMINATION.—Teacher participants
in the program assisted under this subsection
shall be nominated by their peers at the school
district level.
‘‘(B) ELIGIBILITY.—Each school district
or group of school districts desiring to have
teachers from such district or districts partici-
pate in the program assisted under this sub-
section shall provide the regional partnership
with the names of such teachers, and an indica-
tion of the type of issues or problems on which
each such teacher would like to receive informa-
tion and training.
143
‘‘(C) SELECTION.—
‘‘(i) Teacher participants shall be se-
lected by the regional partnerships in con-
sultation with the State educational agen-
cies in the region. Teacher participants
shall be selected in such a manner so as to
ensure an equitable representation of such
teachers by State and school enrollment
within the region.
‘‘(ii) The number of teachers selected
each year shall be determined in accord-
ance with the amount of funding received
by the regional partnership.
‘‘(5) INDEPENDENT EVALUATION.—
‘‘(A) IN
GENERAL.—The Assistant Sec-
retary shall provide for an independent evalua-
tion of the program assisted under this sub-
section to determine the net impact and cost ef-
fectiveness of the program and the reactions of
teachers and school districts participating in
such program, including any career plan
changes of participating teachers.
‘‘(B) DATE.—The evaluation described in
subparagraph (A) shall be submitted to the
144
Congress within 6 months after the completion
of the third year of the program.
‘‘(C) FUNDING.—The Assistant Secretary
may reserve not more than $250,000 of the
amount 
appropriated 
under 
section
405(i)(2)(E) to carry out the evaluation de-
scribed in this paragraph.’’.
TITLE V—NATIONAL LIBRARY OF
EDUCATION
SEC. 
501. 
ESTABLISHMENT 
WITHIN 
OFFICE 
OF 
EDU-
CATIONAL RESEARCH AND IMPROVEMENT.
Part A of the General Education Provisions Act, as
amended by section 401 of this Act, is amended by insert-
ing after section 405C the following new section:
‘‘NATIONAL LIBRARY OF EDUCATION
‘‘SEC. 405D. (a) IN GENERAL.—There is established
within the Office a National Library of Education (here-
after in this section referred to as the ‘Library’), which
shall be maintained as a governmental activity.
‘‘(b) FUNCTIONS OF LIBRARY.—The functions of the
Library are—
‘‘(1) to provide a central location within the
Federal Government for information about edu-
cation;
‘‘(2) to provide comprehensive reference services
on matters related to education to employees of the
145
Department of Education and its contractors and
grantees, other Federal employees, and members of
the public; and
‘‘(3) to promote greater cooperation and re-
source sharing among providers and repositories of
education information in the United States.
‘‘(c) ONE-STOP INFORMATION AND REFERRAL SERV-
ICE.—The Library shall establish and maintain a central
information and referral service to respond to telephonic,
mail and electronic and other inquiries from the public
concerning—
‘‘(1) programs and activities of the Department
of Education;
‘‘(2) publications produced by the Department
of Education and, to the extent feasible, education
related publications produced by the Departments of
Labor, Health and Human Services, and other Fed-
eral agencies;
‘‘(3) services and resources available to the pub-
lic through the Office, including the ERIC Clearing-
houses, the research institutes, and the national edu-
cation dissemination system;
‘‘(4) statistics and other information produced
by the National Center for Education Statistics; and
146
‘‘(5) referrals to additional sources of informa-
tion and expertise about educational issues which
may be available through educational associations
and foundations, the private sector, colleges and uni-
versities, libraries and bibliographic databases.
The Library shall maintain and actively publicize a toll-
free telephone number through which public inquiries to
the Library may be made.
‘‘(d) COMPREHENSIVE REFERENCE SERVICES.—The
Library shall, to the extent feasible, provide for the deliv-
ery of a full range of reference services on subjects related
to education to employees of the Department and its con-
tractors and grantees, other Federal employees, and mem-
bers of the general public. Such services may include—
‘‘(1) specialized subject searches;
‘‘(2) 
search 
and 
retrieval 
of 
electronic
databases;
‘‘(3) document delivery by mail and facsimile
transmission;
‘‘(4) research counseling, bibliographic instruc-
tion, and other training services;
‘‘(5) interlibrary loan services; and
‘‘(6) selective dissemination of information serv-
ices.
147
The Library shall first give priority in the provision of
reference services to requests made by employees of the
Department.
‘‘(e) COOPERATION AND RESOURCE SHARING.—The
Library shall promote greater cooperation and resource
sharing among libraries and archives with significant col-
lections in the area of education through such means as—
‘‘(1) the establishment of information and re-
source sharing networks among such entities;
‘‘(2) the development of a national union list of
education journals held by education libraries
throughout the United States;
‘‘(3) the development of directories and indexes
to textbook and other specialized collections held by
education libraries throughout the United States;
and
‘‘(4) cooperative efforts to preserve, maintain
and promote access to items of special historical
value or interest.
‘‘(f) ADMINISTRATION.—The Library shall be admin-
istered by an Executive Director who shall—
‘‘(1) be appointed by the Assistant Secretary
from among persons with significant training or ex-
perience in library and information science;
‘‘(2) serve for a renewable term of 5 years; and
148
‘‘(3) be paid at not less than the minimum rate
of basic pay payable for GS–15 of the General
Schedule.
‘‘(g) TASK FORCE.—
‘‘(1) IN
GENERAL.—The Assistant Secretary
shall appoint a task force of librarians, scholars,
teachers, parents, and school leaders (hereafter in
this paragraph referred to as the ‘Task Force’) to
provide advice on the establishment of the Library.
‘‘(2) PREPARATION OF PLAN.—The Task Force
shall prepare a workable plan to establish the Li-
brary and to implement the requirements of this sec-
tion.
‘‘(3) CERTAIN AUTHORITIES.—The Task Force
may identify other activities and functions for the
Library to carry out, except that such functions
shall not be carried out until the Library is estab-
lished and has implemented the requirements of this
section.
‘‘(4) REPORT.—The Task Force shall prepare
and submit to the Assistant Secretary not later than
6 months after the first meeting of the Task Force
a report on the activities of the Library.
‘‘(h) TRANSFER OF FUNCTIONS.—There are hereby
transferred to the Library all functions of—
149
‘‘(1) the Department of Education Research Li-
brary;
‘‘(2) the Department of Education Reference
Section; and
‘‘(3) the Department of Education Information
Branch.
‘‘(i) COLLECTION DEVELOPMENT POLICY.—Not later
than 180 days after the enactment of the Educational Re-
search, Development, and Dissemination Excellence Act,
the Assistant Secretary shall promulgate a comprehensive
collection development policy to govern the Library’s oper-
ations, acquisitions, and services to users. Such collection
development policy shall—
‘‘(1) be consistent with the functions of the Li-
brary set out in subsection (b);
‘‘(2) emphasize the acquisition and maintenance
of a comprehensive collection of reference materials;
and
‘‘(3) avoid unnecessary duplication by putting a
priority on meeting the information needs of the Li-
brary’s users through cooperation and resource-shar-
ing with other entities with significant collections in
the field of education.
‘‘(j) ARREARAGE AND PRESERVATION.—On the basis
of the collection development policy promulgated under
150
subsection (h), the Executive Director shall develop a
multiyear plan which shall set forth goals and priorities
for actions needed to—
‘‘(1) eliminate within 3 years the arrearage of
uncataloged books and other materials in the Li-
brary’s collections; and
‘‘(2) respond effectively and systematically to
the preservation needs of the Library’s collections,
relying, whenever possible, upon cooperative efforts
with other institutions to preserve and maintain the
usability of books and materials in the Library’s col-
lections.’’.
Passed the House of Representatives August 2,
1993.
Attest:
DONNALD K. ANDERSON,
Clerk.
HR 856 RS——2
HR 856 RS——3
HR 856 RS——4
HR 856 RS——5
HR 856 RS——6
HR 856 RS——7
HR 856 RS——8
HR 856 RS——9
HR 856 RS——10