194 
‘‘(2) for fiscal year 2016, $344,089,860; 
‘‘(3) for fiscal year 2017, $350,971,657; 
‘‘(4) for fiscal year 2018, $357,991,090; 
‘‘(5) for fiscal year 2019, $364,792,921; and 
‘‘(6) for fiscal year 2020, $368,440,850.’’; and 
(2) by striking subsection (b) and inserting the 
following: 
‘‘(b) RESERVATIONS.—Of the amounts appropriated 
under subsection (a) for each fiscal year— 
‘‘(1) not less than the amount provided to the 
National Center for Education Statistics (as such 
Center was in existence on the day before the date of 
enactment of the Strengthening Education through 
Research Act) for fiscal year 2014 shall be provided 
to the National Center for Education Statistics, as 
authorized under part C; and 
‘‘(2) not more than the lesser of 2 percent of such 
appropriated amounts or $2,000,000 shall be made 
available to carry out section 116 (relating to the Na-
tional Board for Education Sciences).’’. 
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195 
PART G—TECHNICAL AND CONFORMING 
AMENDMENTS 
SEC. 191. TECHNICAL AND CONFORMING AMENDMENTS TO 
OTHER LAWS. 
(a) CARL D. PERKINS CAREER AND TECHNICAL EDU-
CATION ACT OF 2006.—Section 3(25) of the Carl D. Perkins 
Career and Technical Education Act of 2006 (20 U.S.C. 
2302(25)) is amended by striking ‘‘using scientifically 
based research standards, as defined in section 102’’ and 
inserting ‘‘in accordance with the principles of scientific re-
search, as defined in section 102’’. 
(b) ELEMENTARY AND SECONDARY EDUCATION ACT OF 
1965.—Section 9529(b) of the Elementary and Secondary 
Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 7909(b)) is amended by 
striking ‘‘section 153(a)(5)’’ and inserting ‘‘section 
153(a)(6)’’. 
(c) INDIVIDUALS
WITH
DISABILITIES
EDUCATION 
ACT.—Section 681(a)(1) of the Individuals with Disabil-
ities Education Act (20 U.S.C. 1481(a)(1)) is amended by 
striking ‘‘section 178(c)’’ and inserting ‘‘section 177(c)’’. 
TITLE II—EDUCATIONAL 
TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE 
SEC. 201. REFERENCES. 
Except as otherwise expressly provided, whenever in 
this title an amendment or repeal is expressed in terms of 
an amendment to, or repeal of, a section or other provision, 
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196 
the reference shall be considered to be made to a section or 
other provision of the Educational Technical Assistance Act 
of 2002 (20 U.S.C. 9601 et seq.). 
SEC. 202. DEFINITIONS. 
Section 202 (20 U.S.C. 9601) is amended— 
(1) by redesignating paragraph (2) as para-
graph (3); and 
(2) by inserting after paragraph (1) the fol-
lowing: 
‘‘(2) SCHOOL LEADER.—The term ‘school leader’ 
has the meaning given the term in section 102.’’. 
SEC. 203. COMPREHENSIVE CENTERS. 
Section 203 (20 U.S.C. 9602) is amended— 
(1) by striking subsection (a) and inserting the 
following: 
‘‘(a) AUTHORIZATION.— 
‘‘(1) IN
GENERAL.—Subject to paragraph (3) 
and except as provided in subsection (b)(5), the Sec-
retary shall award 17 grants, contracts, or coopera-
tive agreements to eligible applicants to establish com-
prehensive centers. 
‘‘(2) MISSION.—The mission of the comprehen-
sive centers is to provide State educational agencies 
and local educational agencies technical assistance, 
analysis, and training to build their capacity in im-
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plementing the requirements of the Elementary and 
Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 6301 et 
seq.) and other Federal education laws, and research- 
based practices. 
‘‘(3) REGIONS.—In awarding grants, contracts, 
or cooperative agreements under paragraph (1), the 
Secretary— 
‘‘(A) shall establish at least one comprehen-
sive center for each of the 10 geographic regions 
served by the regional educational laboratories 
established under section 941(h) of the Edu-
cational Research, Development, Dissemination, 
and Improvement Act of 1994 (20 U.S.C. 
6041(h)) (as such provision existed on the day 
before the date of enactment of this Act); 
‘‘(B) may establish additional comprehen-
sive centers— 
‘‘(i) for one or more of the regions de-
scribed in subparagraph (A); or 
‘‘(ii) to serve the Nation as a whole by 
providing technical assistance on a par-
ticular content area of importance to the 
Nation, as determined by the Secretary; and 
‘‘(C) may make such arrangements as the 
Secretary determines necessary to ensure that the 
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198 
Bureau of Indian Education and States or local 
educational agencies serving significant numbers 
of American Indian, Alaska Native, or Native 
Hawaiian students have access to services pro-
vided under this section. 
‘‘(4) NATION.—In the case of a comprehensive 
center established to serve the Nation as described in 
paragraph (3)(B)(ii), the Nation shall be considered 
to be a region served by such Center. 
‘‘(5) AWARD PERIOD.—A grant, contract, or co-
operative agreement under this section may be award-
ed, on a competitive basis, for a period of not more 
than 5 years. 
‘‘(6) RESPONSIVENESS.—The Secretary shall en-
sure that each comprehensive center established under 
this section has the ability to respond in a timely 
fashion to the needs of State educational agencies and 
local educational agencies, including through using 
the results of the center’s interim evaluation under 
section 204(c), to improve and modify the activities 
of the center before the end of the award period.’’; 
(2) in subsection (b)— 
(A) in paragraph (1)— 
(i) by inserting ‘‘, contracts, or cooper-
ative agreements’’ after ‘‘Grants’’; 
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199 
(ii) by striking ‘‘research organiza-
tions, institutions, agencies, institutions of 
higher education,’’ and inserting ‘‘public or 
private, nonprofit or for-profit research or-
ganizations, other organizations, or institu-
tions of higher education,’’; 
(iii) by striking ‘‘, or individuals,’’; 
(iv) by striking ‘‘subsection (f)’’ and 
inserting ‘‘subsection (e)’’; and 
(v) by striking ‘‘, including regional’’ 
and all that follows through ‘‘107–110))’’; 
and 
(B) by striking paragraphs (2) and (3) and 
inserting the following: 
‘‘(2) OUTREACH.—In conducting competitions 
for grants, contracts, or cooperative agreements under 
this section, the Secretary shall— 
‘‘(A) by making widely available informa-
tion and technical assistance relating to the com-
petition, actively encourage eligible applicants to 
compete for such awards; and 
‘‘(B) seek input from chief executive officers 
of States, chief State school officers, educators, 
parents, superintendents, and other individuals 
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with knowledge of the needs of the regions to be 
served by the awards, regarding— 
‘‘(i) the needs in the regions for tech-
nical assistance authorized under this title; 
and 
‘‘(ii) how such needs may be addressed 
most effectively. 
‘‘(3) 
PERFORMANCE
MANAGEMENT.—Before 
awarding a grant, contract, or cooperative agreement 
under this section, the Secretary shall establish meas-
urable performance indicators to be used to assess the 
ongoing progress and performance of the comprehen-
sive centers to be established under this title that ad-
dress paragraphs (1) through (3) of the performance 
management system described in section 185. 
‘‘(4) 
REQUIRED
CONSIDERATION.—In 
deter-
mining whether to award or enter into a grant, con-
tract, or cooperative agreement under this section— 
‘‘(A) to an eligible applicant that previously 
established a comprehensive center under this 
section, the Secretary shall— 
‘‘(i) consider the results of such center’s 
summative evaluation under section 204(b) 
or, if not available, any interim evaluation 
results under section 204(c); and 
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‘‘(ii) ensure that only centers deter-
mined effective in the centers’ relevant in-
terim or summative evaluations, as de-
scribed in section 204, are eligible to receive 
a new grant, contract, or cooperative agree-
ment; and 
‘‘(B) to any eligible applicant, the Secretary 
shall ensure that such applicant has— 
‘‘(i) a history of effectiveness in pro-
viding high-quality technical assistance; 
and 
‘‘(ii) the capacity to meet the measur-
able 
performance 
indicators 
established 
under paragraph (3). 
‘‘(5) FLEXIBILITY IN COMPREHENSIVE CENTER 
NUMBER.— 
‘‘(A) DETERMINATION.—The Secretary, in 
consultation with the comprehensive center advi-
sory boards described in subsection (f), may de-
termine that establishing 17 comprehensive cen-
ters under this section is unnecessary, as re-
quired in subsection (a)(1), and grant an alter-
native number of awards or reorganize such cen-
ters, which may include organizing the centers 
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around content area instead of by the regions de-
scribed in subsection (a)(3), if— 
‘‘(i) an insufficient number of such 
comprehensive centers are meeting the needs 
of the regions described in paragraphs (3) 
and (4) of subsection (a), as determined by 
the Secretary; 
‘‘(ii) an insufficient number of such 
comprehensive centers are meeting the meas-
urable performance indicators established 
under paragraph (3), as determined by the 
Secretary and the most recent interim or 
summative evaluation under section 204; or 
‘‘(iii) an insufficient number of eligible 
applicants have the capacity to meet the 
measurable performance indicators estab-
lished under paragraph (3), as determined 
by the Secretary. 
‘‘(B) LIMITATION.—The Secretary shall not 
use the determination authority described in sub-
paragraph (A) to establish more than 17 com-
prehensive centers under this section. 
‘‘(6) CONTINUATION OF AWARDS.— 
‘‘(A) CONTINUATION OF AWARDS.—The Sec-
retary shall continue awards made to each eligi-
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ble applicant for the support of comprehensive 
centers established under this section prior to the 
date of enactment of the Strengthening Edu-
cation through Research Act, as such awards 
were in effect on the day before the date of enact-
ment of such Act, for the duration of those 
awards, in accordance with the terms and agree-
ments of such awards. 
‘‘(B) RECOMPETITION.—Not later than the 
end of the period of the awards described in sub-
paragraph (A), the Secretary shall— 
‘‘(i) hold a competition to make grants, 
contracts, or cooperative agreements under 
this section to eligible applicants, which 
may include eligible applicants that held 
awards described in subparagraph (A); and 
‘‘(ii) in determining whether to select 
an eligible applicant that held an award de-
scribed in subparagraph (A) for an award 
under clause (i) of this subparagraph, con-
sider the results of the summative evalua-
tion under section 204(b) of the center es-
tablished with the eligible applicant’s award 
described in subparagraph (A). 
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‘‘(7) ELIGIBLE APPLICANT DEFINED.—For pur-
poses of this section, the term ‘eligible applicant’ 
means an entity described in paragraph (1).’’; 
(3) by striking subsection (c) and inserting the 
following: 
‘‘(c) APPLICATIONS.— 
‘‘(1) SUBMISSION.— 
‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Each eligible applicant 
seeking a grant, contract, or cooperative agree-
ment under this section shall submit an applica-
tion at such time, in such manner, and con-
taining such additional information as the Sec-
retary may reasonably require. 
‘‘(B) INPUT.—To ensure that applications 
submitted under this paragraph are reflective of 
the needs of the regions to be served, each eligible 
applicant submitting such an application shall 
seek input from— 
‘‘(i) State educational agencies and 
local educational agencies in the region that 
the award will serve; and 
‘‘(ii) other individuals with knowledge 
of the region’s needs. 
‘‘(2) PLAN.— 
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‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Each application sub-
mitted under paragraph (1) shall contain a plan 
for the comprehensive center to be established 
under this section, which shall be updated, modi-
fied, and improved, as appropriate, on an ongo-
ing basis, including by using the results of the 
center’s interim evaluation under section 204(c). 
‘‘(B) CONTENTS.—A plan described in sub-
paragraph (A) shall address— 
‘‘(i) the priorities for technical assist-
ance established under section 207; 
‘‘(ii) the needs of State educational 
agencies and local educational agencies, on 
an ongoing basis, using available State and 
local data, including how the needs of 
schools identified for improvement and 
schools and local educational agencies with 
a high percentage or number of low-income 
students will be prioritized and served; and 
‘‘(iii) if available, demonstrated sup-
port from State educational agencies and 
local educational agencies, such as letters of 
support or signed memoranda of under-
standing. 
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