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‘‘(d) GRANTS, CONTRACTS, AND COOPERATIVE AGREE-
MENTS.—In carrying out the duties under this section, the 
Director may award grants to, or enter into contracts or 
cooperative agreements with, eligible entities. 
‘‘(e) APPLICATIONS.—An eligible entity that wishes to 
receive a grant, or enter into a contract or cooperative 
agreement, under this part shall submit an application to 
the Director at such time, in such manner, and containing 
such information as the Director may require. 
‘‘(f) DISSEMINATION.—The Special Education Re-
search Center shall— 
‘‘(1) synthesize and disseminate, through the Na-
tional Center for Education Evaluation and Regional 
Assistance, the findings and results of special edu-
cation research conducted or supported by the Special 
Education Research Center; and 
‘‘(2) assist the Director in the preparation of a 
biennial report, as described in section 119. 
‘‘(g) AUTHORIZATION
OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There 
are authorized to be appropriated to carry out this part 
such sums as may be necessary for each of fiscal years 2004 
through 2009.’’. 
(b) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.— 
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(1) EDUCATION
SCIENCES
REFORM
ACT
OF 
2002.—The Education Sciences Reform Act of 2002 
(20 U.S.C. 9501 et seq.) is amended— 
(A) in section 111(b)(1)(A) (20 U.S.C. 
9511(b)(1)(A)), by inserting ‘‘and special edu-
cation’’ after ‘‘early childhood education’’. 
(B) 
in 
section 
111(c)(3) 
(20 
U.S.C. 
9511(c)(3))— 
(i) in subparagraph (B), by striking 
‘‘and’’ after the semicolon; 
(ii) in subparagraph (C), by striking 
the period and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and 
(iii) by adding at the end the fol-
lowing: 
‘‘(D) the National Center for Special Edu-
cation Research (as described in part E).’’; 
(C) in section 115(a) (20 U.S.C. 9515(a)), 
by striking ‘‘including those’’ and all that follows 
through ‘‘such as’’ and inserting ‘‘including those 
associated with the goals and requirements of the 
Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 
1965 (20 U.S.C. 6301 et seq.), the Individuals 
with Disabilities Education Act (20 U.S.C. 1400 
et seq.), and the Higher Education Act of 1965 
(20 U.S.C. 1001 et seq.), such as’’; and 
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(D) in section 116(c)(4)(A)(ii) (20 U.S.C. 
9516(c)(4)(A)(ii) is amended by inserting ‘‘spe-
cial education experts,’’ after ‘‘early childhood 
experts,’’. 
(2) ELEMENTARY
AND
SECONDARY
EDUCATION 
ACT OF 1965.—Section 1117(a)(3) of the Elementary 
and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 
6317(a)(3)) is amended by striking ‘‘part E’’ and in-
serting ‘‘part D’’. 
(c) TRANSITION PROVISIONS.— 
(1) 
ORDERLY
TRANSITION.—Notwithstanding 
any other provision of law, the Secretary of Edu-
cation shall take such steps as are necessary to pro-
vide for the orderly transition to, and implementation 
of, part E of the Education Science Reform Act of 
2002, as enacted by subsection (a), from research ac-
tivities carried out under section 672 of the Individ-
uals with Disabilities Education Act (as such section 
was in effect on the day before the date of enactment 
of this Act). 
(2) CONTINUATION OF AWARDS.—The Secretary 
of Education shall continue research awards made 
under section 672 of the Individuals with Disabilities 
Education Act (as such section was in effect on the 
day before the date of enactment of this Act) that are 
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in effect on the day before the date of enactment of 
this Act in accordance with the terms of those awards. 
(d) EFFECTIVE DATES.—Notwithstanding any other 
provision of law— 
(1) the amendments made by subsections (a) and 
(b) of this section shall take effect on October 1, 2004; 
and 
(2) section 672 of the Individuals with Disabil-
ities Education Act (as such section was in effect on 
the day before the date of enactment of this Act) shall 
remain in effect through September 30, 2004. 
SEC. 302. NATIONAL BOARD FOR EDUCATION SCIENCES. 
Section 116(c)(9) of the Education Sciences Reform 
Act of 2002 (20 U.S.C. 9516(c)(9)) is amended by striking 
the third sentence and inserting the following: ‘‘Meetings 
of the Board are subject to section 552b of title 5, United 
States Code (commonly referred to as the Government in 
the Sunshine Act).’’. 
SEC. 303. REGIONAL ADVISORY COMMITTEES. 
Section 206(d)(3) of the Education Sciences Reform 
Act of 2002 (20 U.S.C. 9605(d)(3)) is amended by striking 
‘‘Academy’’ and inserting ‘‘Institute’’. 
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TITLE IV—COMMISSION ON UNI-
VERSAL DESIGN AND THE AC-
CESSIBILITY OF CURRICULUM 
AND INSTRUCTIONAL MATE-
RIALS 
SEC. 401. COMMISSION ON UNIVERSAL DESIGN AND THE 
ACCESSIBILITY OF CURRICULUM AND IN-
STRUCTIONAL MATERIALS. 
(a) ESTABLISHMENT AND PURPOSE.— 
(1) ESTABLISHMENT.—There is established a 
Commission (hereafter in this section referred to as 
the ‘‘Commission’’) to study, evaluate, and make ap-
propriate recommendations to the Congress and to the 
Secretary on universal design and accessibility of cur-
riculum and instructional materials for use by all 
children, with a particular focus on children with dis-
abilities, in elementary schools and secondary schools. 
(2) PURPOSE.—The purpose of the Commission 
is— 
(A) to survey the issues related to improv-
ing access to curriculum and instructional mate-
rials for children with disabilities, with and 
without assistive technologies; 
(B) to study the benefits, current or poten-
tial costs, and challenges of developing and im-
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plementing a standard definition of the term 
universal design as a means to achieve accessi-
bility of curriculum and instructional materials, 
and as the Commission determines necessary, to 
recommend a definition for the term universal 
design, or other terms, taking into consideration 
educational objectives, investment of resources, 
state of technology, and effect on development of 
curriculum and instructional materials; 
(C) to examine issues related to the need for 
and current availability and accessibility of cur-
riculum and instructional materials for use in 
elementary schools and secondary schools by chil-
dren with disabilities, gaps in or conflicts among 
relevant technical standards, educational qual-
ity, availability of instructional materials, tech-
nical standards, intellectual property rights, and 
the economic and technical feasibility of imple-
menting any recommended definitions; and 
(D) to provide the Congress and the Sec-
retary, not later than 24 months after the date 
of enactment of this Act, the report described in 
subsection (d). 
(b) MEMBERSHIP.— 
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(1) COMPOSITION.—The Commission shall be 
composed of 21 members, of which— 
(A) 3 members shall be appointed by the 
Majority Leader of the Senate; 
(B) 2 members shall be appointed by the 
Minority Leader of the Senate; 
(C) 3 members shall be appointed by the 
Speaker of the House of Representatives; 
(D) 2 members shall be appointed by the 
Minority Leader of the House; 
(E) 8 members shall be appointed by the 
Secretary including representatives of States, 
local educational agencies, publishers of instruc-
tional material, individuals with disabilities, 
technical standard setting bodies, and authorized 
entities as defined in section 121(c)(1) of title 
17, United States Code; and 
(F) 3 members shall be appointed by the 
Registrar of Copyrights. 
(2) EXPERTISE OF COMMISSIONERS.—All mem-
bers of the Commission shall be individuals who have 
been appointed on the basis of technical qualifica-
tions, professional expertise, and demonstrated knowl-
edge and shall include at least 4 representatives of 
each of the following: 
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(A) publishers of instructional materials, 
including of textbooks, software, and other print, 
electronic, or digital curricular materials; 
(B) elementary and secondary education, 
including teachers, special educators, and State 
and local education officials or administrators; 
(C) researchers in the fields of disabilities, 
technology, and accessible media; 
(D) experts in intellectual property rights; 
and 
(E) advocates of children with disabilities, 
including parents of blind, visually impaired, 
deaf, hearing impaired, physically challenged, 
cognitively impaired, or learning disabled, or 
representatives of organizations that advocate for 
such children. 
(3) DATE.—The appointment of the members of 
the Commission shall be made not later than 60 days 
after the date of enactment of this Act. 
(4) PERIOD OF APPOINTMENT AND VACANCIES.— 
Members shall be appointed for the life of the Com-
mission. Any vacancy in the Commission shall not af-
fect its powers, but shall be filled in the same manner 
as the original appointment. 
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(5) INITIAL MEETING.—Not later than 45 days 
after the date on which all members of the Commis-
sion have been appointed, the Commission shall hold 
the Commission’s first meeting. 
(6) MEETINGS.—The Commission shall meet at 
the call of the Chairperson. 
(7) QUORUM.—A majority of the members of the 
Commission shall constitute a quorum, but a lesser 
number of members may hold hearings. 
(8) CHAIRPERSON AND VICE CHAIRPERSON.—The 
Commission shall select a chairperson and vice chair-
person from among the members of the Commission. 
(c) DUTIES OF THE COMMISSION.—The Commission 
shall study and make recommendations to Congress and the 
Secretary regarding— 
(1) the purposes of the Commission described in 
subsection (a)(2); 
(2) priority topics for additional research; 
(3) the availability and accessibility of curricula 
and instructional materials, including print, soft-
ware, CD–ROM, video, and Internet, for use in ele-
mentary schools and secondary schools by children 
with disabilities, including— 
(A) the numbers of affected children with 
disabilities, by grade, age, and type of disability; 
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(B) the technical and other means by which 
such materials are made accessible, such as as-
sistive technologies, electronic versions, large 
print, closed captioning, video description, and 
Braille, and any conflicts between relevant tech-
nical standards by which instructional materials 
are made accessible; 
(C) the steps taken by State and local edu-
cational agencies to support accessibility, includ-
ing through State adoption and procurement 
policies, the acquisition and integration of as-
sistive technology, and any State and local re-
quirements or standards; 
(D) timeliness of receipt of such materials 
by children with disabilities; and 
(E) continued barriers to access to such ma-
terials; and 
(4) the potential and likely effects of providing 
accessible or universally designed materials for all 
students in elementary schools and secondary schools, 
with a particular focus on children with disabilities, 
including— 
(A) an analysis of the current and potential 
costs to develop and provide accessible instruc-
tional materials, with and without specialized 
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formats, to publishers, States, local educational 
agencies, schools, and others, broken down by— 
(i) type of disability, including phys-
ical, sensory, and cognitive disability; 
(ii) type of instructional materials, in-
cluding by grade and by basal and supple-
mental materials; and 
(iii) type of media, including print, 
electronic, software, web-based, audio, and 
video; and 
(B) an analysis of the effects of any rec-
ommended definitions regarding— 
(i) the availability and quality of in-
structional materials for nondisabled stu-
dents, and innovation in the development 
and delivery of these materials; 
(ii) State learning content standards 
that are media-, skill-, or pedagogically- 
based and may therefore be compromised; 
(iii) prices of instructional materials 
and the impact of the definitions on State 
and local budgets; and 
(iv) intellectual property rights in con-
nection with the development, distribution, 
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and use of curriculum and instructional 
materials. 
(d) PUBLIC HEARINGS.—As part of the study con-
ducted under this subsection, the Commission shall hold 
public hearings, including through the use of the Internet 
or other technologies, for the purposes referred to in sub-
section (a). 
(e) REPORT.— 
(1) INTERIM REPORT.—Not later than 12 months 
after the establishment of the Commission, the Com-
mission shall provide to the Secretary and Congress 
an interim report on the Commission’s activities dur-
ing the Commission’s first year and any preliminary 
findings. 
(2) FINAL REPORT.—Not later than 24 months 
after the establishment of the Commission, the Com-
mission shall submit a report to the Secretary and 
Congress that shall contain— 
(A) recommendations determined necessary 
regarding definitions of the terms described in 
subsection (a)(2)(B); 
(B) recommendations for additional re-
search; and 
(C) a detailed statement of the findings and 
conclusions of the Commission resulting from the 
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study of the issues identified in subsection 
(a)(2)(C). 
(f) POWERS OF THE COMMISSION.— 
(1) AUTHORITY OF COMMISSION.—The Commis-
sion may hold such hearings, convene and act at such 
times and places, take such testimony, and receive 
such evidence, as the Commission considers necessary 
to carry out the responsibilities of the Commission. 
(2) USE OF MAIL.—The Commission may use the 
United States mails in the same manner and under 
the same conditions as other departments and agen-
cies of the Federal Government. 
(3) GIFTS.—The Commission may accept, use, 
and dispose of gifts or donations of services or prop-
erty. 
(4) COMPENSATION.—Except as provided in 
paragraph (5), each member of the Commission who 
is not an officer or employee of the Federal Govern-
ment shall serve without compensation. All members 
of the Commission who are officers or employees of the 
United States shall serve without compensation in ad-
dition to that received for their services as officers or 
employees of the United States. 
(5) PER DIEM.—The members of the Commission 
shall be allowed travel expenses, including per diem 
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