974
competitive service, not more than 6 technical employees
who may be paid without regard to the provisions of chap-
ter 51 and subchapter III of chapter 53 of such title relat-
ing to classification and General Schedule pay rates.
(g) COORDINATION.—The Commissioner and the
Board shall meet periodically to ensure coordination of
their duties and activities relating to the National Assess-
ment.
(h) ADMINISTRATION.—(1) Sections 10, 11, and 12
of the Federal Advisory Committee Act are the only sec-
tions of such Act that shall apply with respect to the
Board.
(2)(A) No member or employee of the Board, in the
course of the official duties of such member or employee,
may engage in activities designed to directly or indirectly
influence legislation which is or may be considered by the
Congress, except in instances where a representative of the
Board has been invited to provide testimony before a
committee of the Congress.
(B) Any member or employee of the Board who know-
ingly engages in the conduct prohibited by subparagraph
(A) may be subject to either confinement for a period not
to exceed 6 months or a fine not to exceed $10,000, or
both.
975
SEC. 413. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.
(1) There are authorized to be appropriated to carry
out this title (except section 412), $103,200,000 for fiscal
year 1995 and such sums as may be necessary for each
of the fiscal years 1996, 1997, 1998, and 1999.
(2) There are authorized to be appropriated to carry
out section 412 $2,000,000 for each of the fiscal years
1995 and 1996.
TITLE V—MISCELLANEOUS
SEC. 501. EVALUATION OF FEDERAL EFFORTS TO ASSIST IN
SCHOOL REFORM.
(a)(1) In collaboration with the national assessment
conducted pursuant to title I of the Elementary and Sec-
ondary Education Act as amended by this Act, the Sec-
retary of Education shall conduct a comprehensive evalua-
tion of how the Federal Government has assisted the
States to reform their educational systems through the
various education laws enacted during the 103d Congress.
(2) Such evaluation shall encompass the changes
made in Federal programs pursuant to this Act as well
as in any other law enacted during this Congress amend-
ing a Federal program assisting pre-elementary, elemen-
tary, or secondary education. In addition, such evaluation
shall encompass new initiatives enacted into law, such as
the Goals 2000: Educate America Act, and the School-
976
to-Work Opportunities Act and shall be coordinated with
evaluations of such Acts.
(b)(1) This evaluation shall include a comprehensive
review of these laws and programs to determine their over-
all effect on—
(A) the readiness of children for schooling,
(B) the improvement in educational attainment
of students in elementary and secondary education,
and
(C) the improvement in skills needed by stu-
dents to obtain employment upon completion of high
school or further education.
(2) This evaluation shall also include a comprehensive
review of these programs to determine their overall ef-
fect—
(A) on school reform efforts undertaken by
States,
(B) on efforts by States to adopt educational
standards to improve schooling for all children, to
align their curricula, teacher training, and assess-
ments with such standards, and to bring flexibility
to the rules governing how education is to be pro-
vided, and
(C) on student populations who have been the
traditional beneficiaries of Federal assistance to de-
977
termine whether their educational attainment has
been improved through these changes.
(3) This evaluation shall also evaluate how the Na-
tional Assessment Governing Board, the Advisory Council
on Education Statistics, the National Education Goals
Panel, the National Education Statistics and Improve-
ment Council and any other Board established to analyze,
address, or approve standards and assessments coordi-
nates, interacts, and/or duplicates efforts to assist the
States to reform their educational systems.
(4) This evaluation shall also include a review of
these laws and programs in such detail as the Secretary
deems appropriate and may involve cooperation with other
Federal departments and agencies in order to incorporate
their evaluations and recommendations.
(c)(1) The Secretary shall appoint an independent
panel to review the plan for this evaluation, to advise on
its progress, and to comment, if it so wishes, on the final
report. The panel shall not be subject to the Federal Advi-
sory Committee Act.
(2) The Secretary shall submit this report by Janu-
ary 1, 1998, to the Committee on Education and Labor
of the United States House of Representatives and to the
Committee on Labor and Human Resources.
978
SEC. 502. STUDY OF THE EFFECTIVENESS AND IMPACT OF
FEDERAL CATEGORICAL AID PROGRAMS.
(a) STUDY.—In addition to the national assessment
conducted pursuant to section 1501 of the Elementary
and Secondary Education Act of 1965, as amended by sec-
tion 101 of this Act, the Secretary of Education shall con-
duct a comprehensive study of the effectiveness of other
Federal categorical aid programs and the administrative
impact of such programs on schools and local educational
agencies.
(b) CONTENTS.—Such study shall—
(1) examine the effectiveness of elementary and
secondary school categorical programs, including
those authorized in this Act and elsewhere, in im-
proving the educational achievement of participating
students;
(2) encompass an in-depth evaluation of the ad-
ministrative impact of the broad range of categorical
programs on participating schools and local edu-
cational agencies;
(3) include a comprehensive review of the pro-
grams to determine their effect on—
(A) 
the 
improvement 
in 
educational
achievement of participating students;
(B) school and local educational agencies’
administrative responsibilities and structure, in-
979
cluding the use of local and State resources,
with particular attention to schools and agen-
cies serving a high concentration of disadvan-
taged students; and
(C) overall school reform efforts, including
efforts undertaken by States and encouraged by
Federal laws, such as the Goals 2000: Educate
America Act;
(4) evaluate the effect of Federal categorical
programs at the elementary and secondary levels on
the proliferation of State categorical education aid
programs and regulations, and the impact on stu-
dent achievement and school and local educational
agency administrative responsibilities and structure;
and
(5) examine the effect of waivers on categorical
program requirements and other flexibility provi-
sions in this Act, the School-to-Work Opportunities
Act, and the Goals 2000: Educate America Act on
improvement in educational achievement of partici-
pating students and on school and local educational
agency administrative responsibilities, structure, and
resources.
(c) PANEL.—The Secretary shall appoint an inde-
pendent panel to review the plan for the study, to advise