107TH CONGRESS
2D SESSION
H. R. 3801
AN ACT
To provide for improvement of Federal education
research, statistics, evaluation, information, and
dissemination, and for other purposes.
107TH CONGRESS
2D SESSION
H. R. 3801
AN ACT
To provide for improvement of Federal education research,
statistics, evaluation, information, and dissemination,
and for other purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. TABLE OF CONTENTS.
The table of contents for this Act is as follows:
Sec. 1. Table of contents.
TITLE I—EDUCATION SCIENCES REFORM
PART A—ACADEMY OF EDUCATION SCIENCES
Sec. 111. Establishment.
Sec. 112. Organization.
Sec. 113. Functions.
Sec. 114. Delegation.
Sec. 115. Office of the Director.
Sec. 116. Priorities.
Sec. 117. National Board for Education Sciences.
Sec. 118. Commissioners of the National Education Centers.
Sec. 119. Office of Educational Resources and Dissemination.
PART B—NATIONAL CENTER FOR EDUCATION RESEARCH
Sec. 131. Establishment.
Sec. 132. Commissioner for Education Research.
Sec. 133. Duties.
Sec. 134. Biennial report.
Sec. 135. Standards for conduct and evaluation of research.
PART C—NATIONAL CENTER FOR EDUCATION STATISTICS
Sec. 151. Establishment.
Sec. 152. Commissioner for Education Statistics.
Sec. 153. Duties.
Sec. 154. Performance of duties.
Sec. 155. Reports.
Sec. 156. Dissemination.
Sec. 157. Cooperative education statistics systems.
Sec. 158. State defined.
PART D—NATIONAL CENTER FOR EDUCATION EVALUATION
Sec. 171. Establishment.
Sec. 172. Commissioner for Education Evaluation.
Sec. 173. Duties.
PART E—GENERAL PROVISIONS
Sec. 181. Definitions.
Sec. 182. Interagency data sources and formats.
Sec. 183. Prohibitions.
Sec. 184. Confidentiality.
Sec. 185. Availability of data.
Sec. 186. Performance management.
Sec. 187. Authority to publish.
Sec. 188. Vacancies.
Sec. 189. Scientific or technical employees.
Sec. 190. Voluntary service.
Sec. 191. Fellowships.
(b) MISSION.—The mission of the Academy is to pro-
vide national leadership in expanding fundamental knowl-
edge and understanding of education, in order to provide
parents, educators, students, researchers, policymakers,
and the general public with reliable information about the
condition and progress of education in the United States,
educational practices that support learning and improve
academic achievement for all students, and the effective-
ness of Federal and other education programs. In carrying
out this mission, the Academy shall conduct research,
evaluation, statistics, and dissemination activities sup-
ported by Federal funds through the Academy and ensure
that such activities—
(1) conform to high standards of quality, integ-
rity, and accuracy; and
(2) are objective, secular, neutral, and nonideo-
logical and are free of partisan political influence
and racial, cultural, gender, or regional bias.
SEC. 112. ORGANIZATION.
The Academy consists of the following:
(1) The Office of the Director (as set out in
section 115).
(2) The National Board for Education Sciences
(as set out in section 117).
(3) The Office of Educational Resources and
Dissemination (as set out in section 119).
(4) The National Education Centers, which
include—
(A) the National Center for Education Re-
search (as set out in part B);
(B) the National Center for Education
Statistics (as set out in part C); and
(C) the National Center for Education
Evaluation (as set out in part D).
SEC. 113. FUNCTIONS.
The Academy, directly or through grants, contracts,
or cooperative agreements, shall—
(1) conduct and support scientifically valid re-
search activities, including basic and applied re-
search, statistics activities, scientifically valid edu-
cation evaluation, development, and dissemination;
(2) disseminate the findings and results of sci-
entifically valid research in education;
(3) promote the application of knowledge gained
from scientifically valid research activities;
(4) strengthen the national capacity to conduct
scientifically valid research in education; and
(5) promote the coordination of scientifically
valid research in education within the Department
and the Federal Government.
SEC. 114. DELEGATION.
(a) DELEGATION OF AUTHORITY.—Notwithstanding
section 412 of the Department of Education Organization
Act (20 U.S.C. 3472), the Secretary shall delegate to the
Director all functions for carrying out this title (other
than administrative and support functions), except that—
(1) nothing in this title or in the National As-
sessment of Educational Progress Authorization Act
may be construed to alter or diminish the role, re-
sponsibilities, or authority of the National Assess-
ment Governing Board with respect to the National
Assessment of Educational Progress from those au-
thorized by the National Education Statistics Act of
1994 immediately before the enactment of this Act;
(2) members of the National Assessment Gov-
erning Board shall continue to be appointed by the
Secretary;
(3) section 302(f)(1) of the National Assess-
ment of Educational Progress Authorization Act
shall apply to the National Assessment Governing
Board in the exercise of its responsibilities under
this Act;
(4) sections 116 and 117(b)(2) shall not apply
to the National Assessment of Educational Progress;
and
(5) sections 116 and 117 shall not apply to the
National Assessment Governing Board.
(b) OTHER ACTIVITIES.—The Secretary may assign
the Academy responsibility for administering other activi-
ties, if those activities are consistent with—
(1) the Academy’s priorities, as approved by the
National Board for Education Sciences under sec-
tion 116; or
(2) the Academy’s mission, if the activities are
not consistent with such priorities.
SEC. 115. OFFICE OF THE DIRECTOR.
(a) APPOINTMENT.—Except as provided in sub-
section (b)(2), the President, with the advice and consent
of the Senate, shall appoint the Director of the Academy.
(b) TERM.—
(1) IN GENERAL.—The Director shall serve for
a term of 6 years, beginning on the date of appoint-
ment of the Director, but may be removed by the
President prior to the expiration of that term.
(2) FIRST DIRECTOR.—The President, without
the advice and consent of the Senate, may appoint
the Assistant Secretary for the Office of Educational
Research and Improvement (as such office existed
on the day before the date of enactment of this Act)
to serve as the first Director of the Academy.
(3) SUBSEQUENT DIRECTORS.—The Board may
make recommendations to the President with respect
to the appointment of a Director, other than a Di-
rector appointed under paragraph (2).
(c) PAY.—The Director shall receive the rate of basic
pay for level III of the Executive Schedule.
(d) QUALIFICATIONS.—The Director shall be selected
from individuals who are highly qualified authorities in the
fields of scientifically valid research, statistics, or evalua-
tion in education, as well as management within such
areas, and have a demonstrated capacity for sustained
productivity and leadership in these areas.
(e) ADMINISTRATION.—The Director shall—
(1) administer, supervise, and coordinate the
activities carried out under the Academy, including
the activities of the National Education Centers; and
(2) coordinate and approve budgets and oper-
ating plans for each of the National Education Cen-
ters for submission to the Secretary.
(f) DUTIES.—The duties of the Director shall include
the following:
(1) To propose to the Board priorities for the
Academy, in accordance with section 116(a).
(2) To ensure the methodology applied in con-
ducting research, evaluation, and statistical analysis
is consistent with the standards for such activities
under this title.
(3) To coordinate education research and re-
lated activities carried out by the Academy with such
research and activities carried out by other agencies
within the Department and the Federal Government.
(4) To advise the Secretary on research, evalua-
tion, and statistics activities relevant to the activities
of the Department.
(5) To establish necessary procedures for tech-
nical and scientific peer review of the activities of
the Academy, consistent with section 117(b)(3).
(6) To ensure that all participants in research
conducted or supported by the Academy are afforded
their privacy rights and other relevant protections as
research subjects, in accordance with section 184 of
this title, section 552a of title 5, United States
Code, and sections 444 and 445 of the General Edu-
cation Provisions Act (20 U.S.C. 1232g, 1232h).
(7) To ensure that activities conducted or sup-
ported by the Academy are objective, secular, neu-
tral, and nonideological and are free of partisan po-
litical influence and racial, cultural, gender, or re-
gional bias.
(8) To undertake initiatives and programs to
increase the participation of researchers and institu-
tions that have been historically underutilized in
Federal education research activities in the activities
of the Academy, including historically Black colleges
and universities and other institutions of higher edu-
cation with large numbers of minority students.
(9) To coordinate with the Secretary to promote
and provide for the coordination of research and de-
velopment activities and technical assistance activi-
ties between the Academy and the regional gov-
erning boards and regional entities described in sec-
tion 202 of the Regional Assistance Act of 2002 to
ensure collaboration and resource sharing and re-
duce redundancy in such activities.
(10) To solicit and consider the recommenda-
tions of education stakeholders, in order to ensure
that there is broad and regular public and profes-
sional input from the educational field in the plan-
ning and carrying out of the Academy’s activities.
(11) At the discretion of the Director and in
consultation with the National Academy of Sciences,
to conduct a study to determine—
(A) a standard by which States may accu-
rately measure the rate at which students drop
out of or graduate from secondary schools in
the United States (including on-time gradua-
tion); and
(B) the use of alcohol or illegal narcotics
as contributing factors to incidents of school vi-
olence committed by students during the reg-
ular school day and while participating in other
school-related activities.
(12) To carry out and support other activities
consistent with the priorities and mission of the
Academy.
(g) EXPERT GUIDANCE AND ASSISTANCE.—The Di-
rector may establish technical and scientific peer-review
groups and scientific program advisory committees that
the Director determines are necessary to carry out the re-
quirements of this title. The Director shall appoint such
personnel, except that officers and employees of the
United States shall comprise no more than one-fourth of
the members of any such group or committee and shall
not receive additional compensation for their service as
members of such a group or committee. The Director shall
ensure that reviewers are highly qualified and capable to
appraise education research and development projects.
The Federal Advisory Committee Act (5 U.S.C. App.)
shall not apply to a peer-review group or an advisory com-
mittee established under this subsection.
SEC. 116. PRIORITIES.
(a) PROPOSAL.—The Director shall propose to the
Board priorities for the Academy (taking into consider-
ation long-term research and development on core issues
conducted through the national research and development
centers (as defined in section 181)) identifying topics that
may require long-term research and topics that are fo-
cused on understanding and solving particular education
problems and issues, including those associated with the
goals and requirements established in the Elementary and
Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 6301 et
seq.), such as—
(1) closing the achievement gap between high-
performing and low-performing children, especially
achievement gaps between minority and nonminority
children and between disadvantaged children and
their more advantaged peers; and
(2) ensuring that all children reach, at a min-
imum, proficiency on challenging State academic
achievement standards and assessments.
(b) APPROVAL.—The Board shall approve or dis-
approve the priorities for the Academy proposed by the
Director, including any necessary revision of those prior-
ities. The Board shall transmit any priorities so approved
to the appropriate congressional committees.
(c) CONSISTENCY.—The Board shall ensure that pri-
orities of the Academy and the National Education Cen-
ters are consistent with the mission of the Academy.
(d) PUBLIC AVAILABILITY AND COMMENT.—
(1) PRIORITIES.—Before submitting to the
Board proposed priorities for the Academy, the Di-
rector shall make such priorities available to the
public for comment (including by means of the
Internet and through publishing such priorities in
the Federal Register). The Director shall provide to
the Board a copy of each such comment submitted.
(2) PLAN.—Upon approval of such priorities,
the Director shall make the Academy’s plan for ad-
dressing such priorities available for public comment
in the same manner as under paragraph (1).
SEC. 117. NATIONAL BOARD FOR EDUCATION SCIENCES.
(a) ESTABLISHMENT.—The Academy shall have a
board of directors, which shall be known as the National
Board for Education Sciences.
(b) DUTIES.—The duties of the Board shall be the
following:
(1) To advise the Director on the policies of the
Academy.
(2) To consider and approve priorities under
section 116 to guide the work of the Academy.
(3) To review and approve procedures for sci-
entific peer review of the activities of the Academy.
(4) To advise the Director on the development
of activities to be supported by the Academy, includ-
ing the general areas of research to be carried out
by the National Center for Education Research.
(5) To present to the Director such rec-
ommendations as it may find appropriate for—
(A) the strengthening of education re-
search; and
(B) the funding of the Academy.
(6) To advise the Director on the funding of
applications for grants, contracts, and cooperative
agreements for research, after the completion of peer
review.
(7) To review and regularly evaluate the work
of the Academy, to ensure that scientifically valid re-
search, evaluation, and statistical analysis are con-
sistent with the standards for such activities under
this title.
(8) To advise the Director on ensuring that ac-
tivities conducted or supported by the Academy are
objective, secular, neutral, and nonideological and
are free of partisan political influence and racial,
cultural, gender, or regional bias.
(9) To solicit advice and information from those
in the educational field, particularly practitioners
and researchers, to recommend to the Director top-
ics that require long-term, sustained, systematic,
programmatic, and integrated research efforts, in-
cluding knowledge utilization and dissemination of
research, consistent with the priorities and mission
of the Academy.
(10) To advise the Director on opportunities for
the participation in, and the advancement of,
women, minorities, and persons with disabilities in
education research, statistics, and evaluation activi-
ties of the Academy.
(11) To recommend to the Director ways to en-
hance strategic partnerships and collaborative efforts
among other Federal and State research agencies.
(12) To recommend to the Director individuals
to serve as Commissioners of the National Edu-
cation Centers.
(c) COMPOSITION.—
(1) VOTING MEMBERS.—The Board shall have
15 voting members appointed by the President, with
the advice and consent of the Senate.
(2) ADVICE.—The President shall solicit advice
on individuals to serve on the Board from the Na-
tional Academy of Sciences, the National Science
Foundation, and the Office of Science and Tech-
nology Policy.
(3) NONVOTING EX OFFICIO MEMBERS.—The
Board shall have the following nonvoting ex officio
members:
(A) The Director of the Academy of Edu-
cation Sciences.
(B) Each of the Commissioners of the Na-
tional Education Centers.
(C) The Director of the National Institute
of Child Health and Human Development.
(D) The Director of the Census.
(E) The Commissioner of Labor Statistics.
(F) The Director of the National Science
Foundation.
(4) APPOINTED MEMBERSHIP.—
(A) 
QUALIFICATIONS.—Members 
ap-
pointed under paragraph (1) shall be highly
qualified to appraise education research, statis-
tics, evaluations, or development, and shall in-
clude individuals from each of the following
groups:
(i) Educators, including classroom
teachers, principals, and other school ad-
ministrators.
(ii) Parents.
(iii) Business leaders.
(iv) Experts and scientists in re-
search, statistics, evaluation, or develop-
ment, who are recognized in their dis-
cipline as highly qualified to represent such
discipline.
(B) SPECIAL
RULE.—A majority of the
voting members of the Board must be ap-
pointed from the groups described in clauses (i)
and (iv) of subparagraph (A).
(C) TERMS.—Each member appointed
under paragraph (1) shall serve for a term of
4 years, except that—
(i) each such member may be removed
by the President before the expiration of
that term;
(ii) the terms of the initial members
appointed under such paragraph shall (as
determined by a random selection process
at the time of appointment) be for stag-
gered terms of—
(I) 4 years for each of five mem-
bers;
(II) 3 years for each of five mem-
bers; and
(III) 2 years for each of five
members; and
(iii) no member appointed under such
paragraph shall serve for more than two
consecutive terms.
(D) UNEXPIRED
TERMS.—Any member
appointed to fill a vacancy occurring before the
expiration of the term for which the member’s
predecessor was appointed shall be appointed
only for the remainder of that term.
(5) CHAIR.—The Board shall elect a chair-
person from among the members of the Board.
(6) COMPENSATION.—Members of the Board
shall serve without pay for such service. Members of
the Board who are officers or employees of the
United States may not receive additional pay, allow-
ances, or benefits by reason of their service on the
Board.
(7) TRAVEL EXPENSES.—The members of the
Board shall receive travel expenses, including per
diem in lieu of subsistence, in accordance with sub-
chapter I of chapter 57 of title 5, United States
Code.
(8) POWERS OF THE BOARD.—
(A) EXECUTIVE
DIRECTOR.—The Board
shall have an Executive Director who shall be
appointed by the Board.
(B) ADDITIONAL STAFF.—The Board shall
utilize such additional staff as may be ap-
pointed or assigned by the Director, in con-
sultation with the Chair.
(C) DETAIL OF PERSONNEL.—The Board
may use the services and facilities of any de-
partment or agency of the Federal Government.
Upon the request of the Board, the head of any
Federal department or agency may detail any
of the personnel of that department or agency
to the Board to assist the Board in carrying out
this Act.
(D) CONTRACTS.—The Board may enter
into contracts or make other arrangements as
may be necessary to carry out its functions.
(E) INFORMATION.—The Board may, to
the extent otherwise permitted by law, obtain
directly from any executive department or agen-
cy of the Federal Government such information
as the Board deems necessary to carry out its
functions.
(9) MEETINGS.—The Board shall meet not less
than four times each year. The Board shall hold ad-
ditional meetings at the call of the chairperson or
upon the written request of at least six voting mem-
bers of the Board.
(10) QUORUM.—A majority of the voting mem-
bers of the Board shall constitute a quorum.
(d) STANDING COMMITTEES.—
(1) ESTABLISHMENT.—The Board may estab-
lish standing committees—
(A) to each serve one of the National Edu-
cation Centers; and
(B) to advise, consult with, and make rec-
ommendations to the Director and the Commis-
sioner of the appropriate National Education
Centers.
(2) MEMBERSHIP.—A majority of the members
of each standing committee shall be voting members
of the Board whose expertise is needed for the func-
tioning of the committee. In addition, the member-
ship of each standing committee may include, as
appropriate—
(A) experts and scientists in research, sta-
tistics, evaluation, or development who are rec-
ognized in their discipline as highly qualified to
represent such discipline and who are not mem-
bers of the Board, but who may have been rec-
ommended by the Commissioner of the appro-
priate National Education Center and approved
by the Board;
(B) ex officio members of the Board; and
(C) policymakers and expert practitioners
with knowledge of, and experience using, the re-
sults of research, evaluation, and statistics who
are not members of the Board, but who may
have been recommended by the Commissioner
of the appropriate National Education Center
and approved by the Board.
(3) DUTIES.—Each standing committee shall—
(A) at the discretion of the Board or the
standing committee, review and comment on
any grant, contract, or cooperative agreement
entered into (or proposed to be entered into) by
the applicable National Education Center;
(B) prepare for, and submit to, the Board
an annual evaluation of the operations of the
applicable National Education Center;
(C) review and comment on the relevant
plan for activities to be undertaken by the ap-
plicable National Education Center for each fis-
cal year; and
(D) periodically report to the Board re-
garding the activities of the committee and the
applicable National Education Center.
(e) ANNUAL REPORT.—The Board shall submit to
the Director, the Secretary, and the appropriate congres-
sional committees, not later than July 1 of each year, a
report that assesses the effectiveness of the Academy in
carrying out its priorities and mission, especially as such
priorities and mission relate to carrying out scientifically
valid research, conducting unbiased evaluations, and col-
lecting and reporting accurate education statistics.
(f) RECOMMENDATIONS.—The Board shall submit to
the Director, the Secretary, and the appropriate congres-
sional committees a report that includes any recommenda-
tions regarding any actions that could be taken to enhance
the ability of the Academy to carry out its priorities and
mission. The Board shall submit an interim report not
later than 3 years after the date of enactment of this Act
and a final report not later than 5 years after such date
of enactment.
SEC. 118. COMMISSIONERS OF THE NATIONAL EDUCATION
CENTERS.
(a) APPOINTMENT.—The National Education Cen-
ters shall each be headed by a Commissioner appointed
by the Director. In appointing Commissioners, the Direc-
tor shall seek to promote continuity in leadership of the
National Education Centers and shall consider individuals
recommended by the Board. The Director may appoint a
Commissioner to carry out the functions of a National
Education Center without regard to the provisions of title
5, United States Code, governing appointments in the
competitive service, and the provisions of chapter 51 and
subchapter III of chapter 53 of such title relating to classi-
fication and General Schedule pay rates.
(b) PAY.—The Commissioners shall each receive the
rate of basic pay for level IV of the Executive Schedule.
(c) QUALIFICATIONS.—Each Commissioner shall be
highly qualified in the field of education research, statis-
tics, or evaluation.
(d) SERVICE AND REMOVAL.—Each Commissioner
shall report to the Director and may be removed by the
Director. A Commissioner shall serve for a period of no
more than 6 years, unless reappointed by the Director,
except that a Commissioner may serve for an additional
period, not to exceed 1 year, until a successor has been
appointed by the Director.
SEC. 119. OFFICE OF EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES AND DIS-
SEMINATION.
(a) ESTABLISHMENT.—There is established within
the Academy an Office of Educational Resources and Dis-
semination.
(b) DUTIES.—The Office of Educational Resources
and Dissemination shall—
(1) disseminate information on scientifically
valid research, statistics, and evaluation on edu-
cation to the public, the media, voluntary organiza-
tions, and other constituencies, especially with re-
spect to information relating to, at a minimum—
(A) the core academic areas of reading,
mathematics, and science;
(B) closing the achievement gap between
high-performing students and low-performing
students;
(C) educational practices that improve aca-
demic achievement and promote learning; and
(D) education technology, including soft-
ware;
(2) manage the National Library of Education
described in subsection (e), and other sources of dig-
ital information on education research; and
(3) make such information accessible in a user-
friendly, timely, and efficient manner (including
through use of a searchable Internet web-based on-
line database) to schools, educators, parents, admin-
istrators, policymakers, researchers, public and pri-
vate entities, entities responsible for carrying out
technical assistance through the Department, and
the general public.
(c) ADDITIONAL DUTIES.—In carrying out sub-
section (b), the Office of Educational Resources and Dis-
semination shall—
(1) ensure that information disseminated under
this section is provided in a cost-effective, non-
duplicative manner, including the most current re-
search findings, which may include through the con-
tinuation of individual clearinghouses authorized
under the Educational Research, Development, Dis-
semination, and Improvement Act of 1994 (title IX
of the Goals 2000: Educate America Act; 20 U.S.C.
6001 et seq.) (as such Act existed on the day before
the date of enactment of this Act) or the clearing-
house authorized under section 2102(b) of the Ele-
mentary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (as
such section existed on the day before the date of
enactment of the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001
(Public Law 107–110));
(2) prominently describe the type of scientific
evidence that is used to support the findings that
are disseminated;
(3) clearly explain the scientifically appropriate
and inappropriate uses of—
(A) the findings that are disseminated; and
(B) the types of evidence used to support
those findings; and
(4) respond, as appropriate, to inquiries from
schools, educators, parents, administrators, policy-
makers, researchers, public and private entities, and
entities responsible for carrying out technical assist-
ance.
(d) CONTINUATION.—The Director shall continue the
existing awards of the Educational Resources Information
Center Clearinghouses (established under section 941(f)
of the Educational Research, Development, Dissemina-
tion, and Improvement Act of 1994 (as such provision ex-
isted on the day before the date of enactment of this Act))
for the duration of those existing awards, in accordance
with the terms and agreements of such awards.
(e) NATIONAL LIBRARY OF EDUCATION.—There is
established within the Office of Educational Resources
and Dissemination a National Library of Education that
shall be headed by an individual who is highly qualified
in library science and shall collect and archive information,
including products and publications developed through, or
supported by, the Academy, and other relevant and useful
education-related research, statistics, and evaluation and
other information, projects, and publications that are con-
sistent with scientifically valid research or the priorities
and mission of the Academy and are developed by the De-
partment, other Federal agencies, or entities (including
entities supported under the Regional Educational Tech-
nical Assistance Act).
PART B—NATIONAL CENTER FOR
EDUCATION RESEARCH
SEC. 131. ESTABLISHMENT.
(a) ESTABLISHMENT.—There is established in the
Academy a National Center for Education Research (in
this part referred to as the ‘‘Research Center’’).
(b) MISSION.—The mission of the Research Center
is—
(1) to sponsor sustained research that will lead
to the accumulation of knowledge and understanding
of education, particularly to improve student aca-
demic achievement and close the achievement gap
between high-performing and low-performing stu-
dents, including through the improvement of teach-
ing and learning of reading, writing, mathematics,
science, and other academic subjects;
(2) to support the synthesis and, as appro-
priate, the integration of education research;
(3) to promote quality and integrity through
the use of accepted practices of scientific inquiry to
obtain knowledge and understanding of the validity
of education theories, practices, or conditions; and
(4) to promote scientifically valid research find-
ings that can provide the basis for improving aca-
demic instruction and lifelong learning.
SEC. 132. COMMISSIONER FOR EDUCATION RESEARCH.
The Research Center shall be headed by a Commis-
sioner for Education Research (in this part referred to as
the ‘‘Research Commissioner’’) who shall have substantial
knowledge of the activities of the Research Center, includ-
ing a high level of expertise in the fields of research and
research management.
SEC. 133. DUTIES.
(a) GENERAL DUTIES.—The Research Center shall—
(1) maintain published peer-review standards
and standards for the conduct and evaluation of all
research and development carried out under the aus-
pices of the Research Center in accordance with this
part;
(2) propose to the Director a research plan
that—
(A) is consistent with the priorities and
mission of the Academy and the mission of the
Research Center and includes the activities de-
scribed in paragraph (3); and
(B) shall be carried out pursuant to para-
graph (4) and, as appropriate, be updated and
modified;
(3) carry out specific, long-term research activi-
ties that are consistent with the priorities and mis-
sion of the Academy, and are approved by the Direc-
tor;
(4) implement the plan proposed under para-
graph (2) to carry out scientifically valid research
that—
(A) uses objective and measurable indica-
tors, including timelines, that are used to assess
the progress and results of such research;
(B) meets the procedures for peer review
established by the Director under section
115(f)(5) and the standards of research de-
scribed in section 135; and
(C) includes both basic research and ap-
plied research, which shall include research con-
ducted through field-initiated studies and may
include ongoing research initiatives;
(5) promote the use of scientifically valid re-
search within the Federal Government, including ac-
tive participation in interagency research initiatives;
(6) ensure that research conducted by the Re-
search Center is relevant to education practice and
policy;
(7) synthesize and disseminate, through the Of-
fice of Educational Resources and Dissemination,
the findings and results of education research con-
ducted or supported by the Research Center;
(8) prepare and submit to the Director for ap-
proval a biennial report, as described in section 134,
which shall be made available to the public through
such means as the Internet; and
(9) carry out research on successful State and
local education reform activities that result in in-
creased academic achievement and narrowing of
achievement gaps, as approved by the Director.
(b) ELIGIBILITY.—Research carried out under sub-
section (a) through contracts, grants, or cooperative
agreements shall be carried out only by recipients with the
ability and capacity to conduct scientifically valid research.
(c) NATIONAL RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT CEN-
TERS.—
(1) SUPPORT.—In carrying out activities under
subsection (a)(3), the Director, acting through the
Research Commissioner, shall support national re-
search and development centers.
(2) SCOPE.—Support for a national research
and development center shall be for a period of not
more than 5 years, shall be of sufficient size and
scope to be effective, and notwithstanding section
135(b), may be renewed without competition for not
more than 5 additional years if the Director, in con-
sultation with the Research Commissioner and the
Board, determines that the research of the national
research and development center—
(A) continues to address priorities of the
Academy; and
(B) merits renewal (applying the proce-
dures and standards established in section
135).
(3) LIMIT.—No national research and develop-
ment center may be supported under this subsection
for a period of more than 10 years without competi-
tion.
(4) CONTINUATION OF AWARDS.—The Director,
acting through the Research Commissioner, shall
continue awards made to the national research and
development centers in effect on the day before the
date of enactment of this Act in accordance with the
terms of those awards and may renew them in ac-
cordance with paragraphs (2) and (3).
SEC. 134. BIENNIAL REPORT.
The Director shall, on a biennial basis, transmit to
the President, the Board, and the appropriate congres-
sional committees and make widely available to the public
(including by means of the Internet), a report containing
the following:
(1) A description of the activities carried out by
and through the Research Center during the prior
fiscal year.
(2) A detailed summary of each grant, contract,
and cooperative agreement in excess of $100,000
funded during the prior fiscal year, including, at a
minimum, the amount, duration, recipient, purpose,
and goal of the award and its relationship to the pri-
orities and mission of the Academy, and the reports
and publications produced, which shall be available
in a user-friendly electronic database.
(3) A description of how the activities of the
Research Center are consistent with the principles of
scientifically valid research and the priorities and
mission of the Academy.
(4) Such additional comments, recommenda-
tions, and materials as the Director considers appro-
priate.
SEC. 135. STANDARDS FOR CONDUCT AND EVALUATION OF
RESEARCH.
(a) IN GENERAL.—In carrying out this part, the Di-
rector, acting through the Research Commissioner, shall—
(1) ensure that all research conducted under
the direction of the Research Center follows scientif-
ically based research standards;
(2) develop such other standards as may be
necessary to govern the conduct and evaluation of all
research, development, and dissemination activities
carried out by the Research Center to assure that
such activities meet the highest standards of profes-
sional excellence;
(3) review the procedures utilized by the Na-
tional Institutes of Health, the National Science
Foundation, and other Federal departments or agen-
cies engaged in research and development and ac-
tively solicit recommendations from research organi-
zations and members of the general public in the de-
velopment of the standards described in paragraph
(2); and
(4) ensure that all research complies with Fed-
eral guidelines relating to research misconduct.
(b) RESEARCH AWARDS.—
(1) IN GENERAL.—Research carried out under
this part through grants, contracts, or cooperative
agreements, at a minimum, shall—
(A) be awarded through a process of open
competition; and
(B) be subject to a system of peer review
of highly qualified individuals with an in-depth
knowledge of the subject to be investigated—
(i) for reviewing and evaluating all ap-
plications for grants and cooperative agree-
ments and bids for contracts that exceed
$100,000; and
(ii) for evaluating and assessing the
performance of all recipients of grants, co-
operative agreements, and contracts.
(2) 
EVALUATION.—The 
Director, 
acting
through the Research Commissioner, shall—
(A) develop the procedures to be used in
evaluating applications for research grants, co-
operative agreements, and contracts and specify
the criteria and factors which shall be consid-
ered in making such evaluations; and
(B) evaluate the performance of each re-
cipient of an award of a research grant, con-
tract, or cooperative agreement at the conclu-
sion of the award.
(c) LONG-TERM RESEARCH.—The Director, acting
through the Research Commissioner, shall assure that not
less than 50 percent of the funds made available for re-
search for each fiscal year shall be used to fund long-term
research programs of not less than 5 years, which support
the priorities and mission of the Academy and the mission
of the Research Center.
PART C—NATIONAL CENTER FOR
EDUCATION STATISTICS
SEC. 151. ESTABLISHMENT.
(a) ESTABLISHMENT.—There is established in the
Academy a National Center for Education Statistics (in
this part referred to as the ‘‘Statistics Center’’).
(b) MISSION.—The mission of the Statistics Center
shall be—
(1) to collect and analyze education information
and statistics in a manner that meets the highest
methodological standards;
(2) to report education information and statis-
tics in a timely manner; and
(3) to collect, analyze, and report education in-
formation and statistics in a manner that—
(A) is objective, secular, neutral, and non-
ideological and is free of partisan political influ-
ence and racial, cultural, gender, or regional
bias; and
(B) is relevant and useful to practitioners,
researchers, policymakers, and the public.
SEC. 152. COMMISSIONER FOR EDUCATION STATISTICS.
The Statistics Center shall be headed by a Commis-
sioner for Education Statistics (in this part referred to
as the ‘‘Statistics Commissioner’’) who shall have substan-
tial knowledge of statistical methodologies and activities
undertaken by the Statistics Center.
SEC. 153. DUTIES.
(a) GENERAL DUTIES.—The Statistics Center shall
collect, report, analyze, and disseminate statistical data re-
lated to education in the United States and in other na-
tions, including—
(1) collecting, acquiring, compiling (where ap-
propriate, on a State-by-State basis), and dissemi-
nating full and complete statistics on the condition
and progress of education, at the preschool, elemen-
tary, secondary, postsecondary, and adult levels in
the United States, including data on—
(A) student achievement in, at a minimum,
the core academic areas of reading, mathe-
matics, and science at all levels of education;
(B) secondary school completions, drop-
outs, and adult literacy and reading skills;
(C) educational access to, and opportunity
for, postsecondary education, including data on
financial aid to postsecondary students;
(D) teaching, including—
(i) data on in-service professional de-
velopment, including a comparison of
courses taken in the core academic areas
of reading, mathematics, and science with
courses in noncore academic areas; and
(ii) the percentage of teachers who are
highly qualified (as such term is defined in
section 9101 of the Elementary and Sec-
ondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C.
7801)) in each State and, where feasible,
in each local educational agency and
school;
(E) instruction, the conditions of the edu-
cation workplace, and the supply of, and de-
mand for, teachers;
(F) the incidence, frequency, seriousness,
and nature of violence affecting students, school
personnel, and other individuals participating in
school activities, as well as other indices of
school safety, including information regarding—
(i) the relationship between victims
and perpetrators;
(ii) demographic characteristics of the
victims and perpetrators; and
(iii) the type of weapons used in inci-
dents, as classified in the Uniform Crime
Reports of the Federal Bureau of Inves-
tigation;
(G) the financing and management of edu-
cation, including data on revenues and expendi-
tures;
(H) the social and economic status of chil-
dren, including their academic achievement;
(I) the existence and use of educational
technology and access to the Internet in ele-
mentary schools and secondary schools;
(J) educational access to, and opportunity
for, early childhood education; and
(K) the availability of, and access to, be-
fore-school and after-school programs (including
such programs during school recesses);
(2) conducting and publishing reports on the
meaning and significance of the statistics described
in paragraph (1);
(3) collecting, analyzing, cross-tabulating, and
reporting, to the extent feasible, information by gen-
der, race, ethnicity, socioeconomic status, limited
English proficiency, mobility, and disability, when
such disaggregated information would facilitate edu-
cational and policy decisionmaking;
(4) assisting public and private educational
agencies, organizations, and institutions in improv-
ing and automating statistical and data collection
activities, which may include assisting State edu-
cational agencies and local educational agencies with
the disaggregation of data;
(5) acquiring and disseminating data on edu-
cational activities and student achievement (such as
the Third International Math and Science Study) in
the United States compared with foreign nations;
and
(6) conducting longitudinal and special data
collections necessary to report on the condition and
progress of education.
(b) TRAINING
PROGRAM.—The Director, acting
through the Statistics Commissioner, may establish a pro-
gram to train employees of public and private educational
agencies, organizations, and institutions in the use of
standard statistical procedures and concepts and may es-
tablish a fellowship program to appoint such employees
as temporary fellows at the Statistics Center in order to
assist the Statistics Center in carrying out its duties.
SEC. 154. PERFORMANCE OF DUTIES.
(a) 
GRANTS, 
CONTRACTS, 
AND
COOPERATIVE
AGREEMENTS.—In carrying out the duties under this
part, the Director, acting through the Statistics Commis-
sioner, may award grants, enter into contracts and cooper-
ative agreements, and provide technical assistance.
(b) GATHERING INFORMATION.—
(1) SAMPLING.—The Statistics Commissioner
may use the statistical method known as sampling
(including random sampling) to carry out this part.
(2) SOURCE OF INFORMATION.—The Statistics
Commissioner may, as appropriate, use information
collected—
(A) from States, local educational agencies,
public and private schools, preschools, institu-
tions of postsecondary education, vocational and
adult education programs, libraries, administra-
tors, teachers, students, the general public, and
other individuals, organizations, agencies, and
institutions (including information collected by
States and local educational agencies for their
own use); and
(B) by other offices within the Academy
and by other Federal departments, agencies,
and instrumentalities.
(3) 
COLLECTION.—The 
Director, 
acting
through the Statistics Commissioner, may—
(A) enter into interagency agreements for
the collection of statistics;
(B) arrange with any agency, organization,
or institution for the collection of statistics; and
(C) assign employees of the Statistics Cen-
ter to any such agency, organization, or institu-
tion to assist in such collection.
(4) TECHNICAL
ASSISTANCE
AND
COORDINA-
TION.—In order to maximize the effectiveness of De-
partment efforts to serve the educational needs of
children and youth, the Statistics Commissioner
shall—
(A) provide technical assistance to the De-
partment offices that gather data for statistical
purposes; and
(B) coordinate with other Department of-
fices in the collection of data.
SEC. 155. REPORTS.
(a) PROCEDURES FOR ISSUANCE OF REPORTS.—The
Director, acting through the Statistics Commissioner,
shall establish procedures, in accordance with section 187,
to ensure that the reports issued under this section are
relevant, of high quality, useful to customers, subject to
rigorous peer review, produced in a timely fashion, and
free from any partisan political influence.
(b) REPORT ON CONDITION AND PROGRESS OF EDU-
CATION.—Not later than June 1, 2002, and each suc-
ceeding June 1 thereafter, the Director, acting through
the Statistics Commissioner, shall submit to the President
and the appropriate congressional committees a statistical
report on the condition and progress of education in the
United States.
(c) STATISTICAL REPORTS.—The Director, acting
through the Statistics Commissioner, shall issue regular
and, as necessary, special statistical reports on education
topics, particularly in the core academic areas of reading,
mathematics, and science, consistent with the priorities
and mission of the Academy and the mission of the Statis-
tics Center.
SEC. 156. DISSEMINATION.
(a) GENERAL REQUESTS.—
(1) IN GENERAL.—The Statistics Center may
furnish transcripts or copies of tables and other sta-
tistical records and make special statistical compila-
tions and surveys for State and local officials, public
and private organizations, and individuals.
(2) COMPILATIONS.—The Statistics Center
shall provide State and local educational agencies
opportunities to suggest the development of par-
ticular compilations of statistics, surveys, and anal-
yses that would assist those educational agencies.
(b) CONGRESSIONAL
REQUESTS.—The Statistics
Center shall furnish such special statistical compilations
and surveys as the relevant congressional committees may
request.
(c) JOINT STATISTICAL PROJECTS.—The Statistics
Center may engage in joint statistical projects related to
the mission of the Center, or other statistical purposes au-
thorized by law, with nonprofit organizations or agencies,
and the cost of such projects shall be shared equitably.
(d) FEES.—
(1) IN GENERAL.—Statistical compilations and
surveys under this section, other than those carried
out pursuant to subsections (b) and (c), may be
made subject to the payment of the actual or esti-
mated cost of such work.
(2) FUNDS RECEIVED.—All funds received in
payment for work or services described in this sub-
section may be used to pay directly the costs of such
work or services, to repay appropriations that ini-
tially bore all or part of such costs, or to refund ex-
cess sums when necessary.
(e) ACCESS.—
(1) OTHER AGENCIES.—The Statistics Center
shall, consistent with section 184, cooperate with
other Federal agencies having a need for educational
data in providing access to educational data received
by the Statistics Center.
(2) INTERESTED PARTIES.—The Statistics Cen-
ter shall, in accordance with such terms and condi-
tions as the Center may prescribe, provide all inter-
ested parties, including public and private agencies,
parents, and other individuals, direct access, in the
most appropriate form (including, where possible,
electronically), to data collected by the Statistics
Center for the purposes of research and acquiring
statistical information.
SEC. 157. COOPERATIVE EDUCATION STATISTICS SYSTEMS.
The Statistics Center may establish one or more na-
tional cooperative education statistics systems for the pur-
pose of producing and maintaining, with the cooperation
of the States, comparable and uniform information and
data on early childhood education, elementary and sec-
ondary education, postsecondary education, adult edu-
cation, and libraries, that are useful for policymaking at
the Federal, State, and local levels.
SEC. 158. STATE DEFINED.
In this part, the term ‘‘State’’ means each of the 50
States, the District of Columbia, and the Commonwealth
of Puerto Rico.
PART D—NATIONAL CENTER FOR
EDUCATION EVALUATION
SEC. 171. ESTABLISHMENT.
(a) ESTABLISHMENT.—There is established in the
Academy a National Center for Education Evaluation (in
this part referred to as the ‘‘Evaluation Center’’).
(b) MISSION.—The mission of the Evaluation Center
shall be to conduct evaluations of Federal education pro-
grams administered by the Secretary (and as time and re-
sources allow, other education programs) to determine the
impact of such programs (especially on student academic
achievement in the core academic areas of reading, mathe-
matics, and science), to support synthesis and dissemina-
tion of results of evaluation research, and to encourage
the use of scientifically valid education evaluation through-
out the United States.
SEC. 172. COMMISSIONER FOR EDUCATION EVALUATION.
(a) IN GENERAL.—The Evaluation Center shall be
headed by a Commissioner for Education Evaluation (in
this part referred to as the ‘‘Evaluation Commissioner’’)
who—
(1) shall possess a demonstrated capacity for
sustained productivity and leadership in education
evaluation, and be technically competent in con-
ducting scientifically valid education evaluations; and
(2) shall oversee all evaluation activities of the
Evaluation Center, the development of evaluation
methodology, the reporting of findings of evaluations
to the public and appropriate congressional commit-
tees, and other duties essential to carrying out the
mission of the Evaluation Center.
(b) 
GRANTS, 
CONTRACTS, 
AND
COOPERATIVE
AGREEMENTS.—In carrying out the duties under this
part, the Director, acting through the Evaluation Commis-
sioner, may award grants, enter into contracts and cooper-
ative agreements, and provide technical assistance.
SEC. 173. DUTIES.
(a) GENERAL DUTIES.—
(1) IN
GENERAL.—The Evaluation Center
shall—
(A) conduct or support evaluations con-
sistent with the Evaluation Center’s mission as
described in section 171(b);
(B) evaluate programs under title I of the
Elementary and Secondary Education Act of
1965 (20 U.S.C. 6301 et seq.);
(C) coordinate the activities of the Evalua-
tion Center with other evaluation activities in
the Department; and
(D) review and, where feasible, supplement
Federal education program evaluations, particu-
larly those by the Department, to determine or
enhance the quality and relevance of the evi-
dence generated by those evaluations.
(2) ADDITIONAL REQUIREMENTS.—Each eval-
uation conducted by the Evaluation Center pursuant
to paragraph (1) shall adhere to the highest possible
standards of quality for conducting scientifically
valid education evaluation.
(3) REPORT.—The Director, acting through the
Evaluation Commissioner, shall submit to the Presi-
dent and the appropriate congressional committees a
report on the Evaluation Center’s evaluation activi-
ties on a biennial basis.
(b) ADMINISTRATION
OF
EVALUATIONS
UNDER
TITLE I OF THE ELEMENTARY AND SECONDARY EDU-
CATION ACT OF 1965.—The Director, acting through the
Evaluation Commissioner, consistent with the mission of
the Evaluation Center under section 171(b), shall admin-
ister all operations and contracts associated with evalua-
tions authorized by part E of title I of the Elementary
and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 6491
et seq.) and administered by the Department as of the
date of enactment of this Act.
PART E—GENERAL PROVISIONS
SEC. 181. DEFINITIONS.
In this title:
(1) The terms ‘‘elementary school’’, ‘‘secondary
school’’, ‘‘local educational agency’’, and ‘‘State edu-
cational agency’’ have the meanings given those
terms in section 9101 of the Elementary and Sec-
ondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 7801)
and the terms ‘‘freely associated states’’ and ‘‘out-
lying area’’ have the meanings given those terms in
section 1121(c) of such Act (20 U.S.C. 6331(c)).
(2) The term ‘‘Academy’’ means the Academy
of Education Sciences established under section 111.
(3) The term ‘‘applied research’’ means
research—
(A) to gain knowledge or understanding
necessary for determining the means by which
a recognized and specific need may be met; and
(B) that is specifically directed to the ad-
vancement of practice in the field of education.
(4) 
The 
term 
‘‘basic 
research’’ 
means
research—
(A) to gain fundamental knowledge or un-
derstanding of phenomena and observable facts,
without specific application toward processes or
products; and
(B) for the advancement of knowledge in
the field of education.
(5) The term ‘‘Board’’ means the National
Board for Education Sciences established under sec-
tion 117.
(6) The term ‘‘Department’’ means the Depart-
ment of Education.
(7) The term ‘‘development’’ means the system-
atic use of knowledge or understanding gained from
the findings of scientifically valid research that may
prove useful in areas (such as the preparation of
materials and new methods of instruction and prac-
tices in teaching), that may lead to the improvement
of the academic skills of students, and that are
replicable in different educational settings.
(8) The term ‘‘Director’’ means the Director of
the Academy of Education Sciences.
(9) The term ‘‘dissemination’’ means the com-
munication and transfer of the results of scientif-
ically valid research, statistics, and evaluations, in
forms that are understandable, easily accessible, and
usable, or adaptable for use in, the improvement of
educational practice by teachers, administrators, li-
brarians, other practitioners, researchers, policy-
makers, and the public, through the provision of
technical assistance, electronic transfer, and other
means.
(10) The term ‘‘field-initiated research’’ means
basic research or applied research in which specific
questions and methods of study are generated by in-
vestigators (including teachers and other practi-
tioners) and that conforms to standards of scientif-
ically valid research.
(11) The term ‘‘institution of higher education’’
has the meaning given that term in section 101(a)
of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C.
1001(a)).
(12) The term ‘‘national research and develop-
ment center’’ means a research and development
center under section 931(c)(1)(B) of the Education
Research, Development, Dissemination, and Im-
provement Act of 1994 (20 U.S.C. 6031(c)(1)(B))
(as such provision existed on the day before the date
of enactment of this Act).
(13)(A) The term ‘‘scientifically based research
standards’’ means research standards that—
(i) apply rigorous, systematic, and objec-
tive methodology to obtain reliable and valid
knowledge relevant to education activities and
programs; and
(ii) present findings and make claims that
are appropriate to and supported by the meth-
ods that have been employed.
(B) The term includes, appropriate to the re-
search being conducted—
(i) employing systematic, empirical meth-
ods that draw on observation or experiment;
(ii) involving data analyses that are ade-
quate to support the general findings;
(iii) relying on measurements or observa-
tional methods that provide reliable data;
(iv) making claims of causal relationships
only in random assignment experiments or
other designs (to the extent such designs sub-
stantially eliminate plausible competing expla-
nations for the obtained results);
(v) ensuring that studies and methods are
presented in sufficient detail and clarity to
allow for replication or, at a minimum, to offer
the opportunity to build systematically on the
findings of the research;
(vi) obtaining acceptance by a peer-re-
viewed journal or approval by a panel of inde-
pendent experts through a comparably rigorous,
objective, and scientific review; and
(vii) using research designs and methods
appropriate to the research question posed.
(14) The term ‘‘scientifically valid education
evaluation’’ means an evaluation that—
(A) adheres to the highest possible stand-
ards of quality with respect to research design
and statistical analysis;
(B) provides an adequate description of the
programs evaluated and, to the extent possible,
examines the relationship between program im-
plementation and program impacts;
(C) provides an analysis of the results
achieved by the program with respect to its pro-
jected effects;
(D) employs experimental designs using
random assignment, when feasible, and other
research methodologies that allow for the
strongest possible causal inferences when ran-
dom assignment is not feasible; and
(E) may study program implementation
through a combination of scientifically valid and
reliable methods.
(15) The term ‘‘scientifically valid research’’ in-
cludes applied research, basic research, and field-ini-
tiated research in which the rationale, design, and
interpretation are soundly developed in accordance
with scientifically based research standards.
(16) The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means the Secretary
of Education.
(17) The term ‘‘State’’ includes (except as pro-
vided in section 158 and in the National Assessment
of Educational Progress Authorization Act) each of
the 50 States, the District of Columbia, the Com-
monwealth of Puerto Rico, the freely associated
states, and the outlying areas.
(18) The term ‘‘technical assistance’’ means—
(A) assistance in identifying, selecting, or
designing solutions (including professional de-
velopment and training to implement such solu-
tions) leading to—
(i) improved educational practices and
classroom instruction based on scientif-
ically valid research; and
(ii) improved planning, design, and
administration of programs;
(B) assistance in interpreting, analyzing,
and utilizing statistics and evaluations; and
(C) other assistance necessary to encour-
age the adoption or application of scientifically
valid research.
SEC. 182. INTERAGENCY DATA SOURCES AND FORMATS.
The Secretary, in consultation with the Director,
shall ensure that the Department and the Academy use
common sources of data in standardized formats.
SEC. 183. PROHIBITIONS.
(a) NATIONAL DATABASE.—Nothing in this title may
be construed to authorize the development of a nationwide
database of individually identifiable information on indi-
viduals involved in studies or other collections of data
under this title.
(b) FEDERAL GOVERNMENT AND USE OF FEDERAL
FUNDS.—Nothing in this title may be construed to au-
thorize an officer or employee of the Federal Government
to mandate, direct, or control the curriculum, program of
instruction, or allocation of State or local resources of a
State, local educational agency, or school, or to mandate
a State, or any subdivision thereof, to spend any funds
or incur any costs not provided for under this title.
(c) ENDORSEMENT
OF
CURRICULUM.—Notwith-
standing any other provision of Federal law, no funds pro-
vided under this title to the Academy, including any office,
board, committee, or center of the Academy, may be used
by the Academy to endorse, approve, or sanction any cur-
riculum designed to be used in an elementary school or
secondary school.
(d) FEDERALLY SPONSORED TESTING.—
(1) IN GENERAL.—Subject to paragraph (2), no
funds provided under this title to the Secretary or
to the recipient of any award may be used to de-
velop, pilot test, field test, implement, administer, or
distribute any federally sponsored national test in
reading, mathematics, or any other subject, unless
specifically and explicitly authorized by law.
(2) EXCEPTIONS.—Subsection (a) shall not
apply to international comparative assessments de-
veloped under the authority of section 153(a)(5) of
this title or section 404(a)(6) of the National Edu-
cation Statistics Act of 1994 (20 U.S.C. 9003(a)(6))
(as such section existed on the day before the date
of enactment of this Act) and administered to only
a representative sample of pupils in the United
States and in foreign nations.
SEC. 184. CONFIDENTIALITY.
(a) IN GENERAL.—All collection, maintenance, use,
and dissemination of data by the Academy, including each
office, board, committee, and center of the Academy, shall
conform with the requirements of section 552a of title 5,
United States Code, the confidentiality standards of sub-
section (c) of this section, and sections 444 and 445 of
the General Education Provisions Act (20 U.S.C. 1232g,
1232h).
(b) STUDENT INFORMATION.—The Director shall en-
sure that all individually identifiable information about
students, their academic achievements, and their families,
and information with respect to individual schools, re-
mains confidential in accordance with section 552a of title
5, United States Code, subsection (c) of this section, and
sections 444 and 445 of the General Education Provisions
Act (20 U.S.C. 1232g, 1232h).
SEC. 185. AVAILABILITY OF DATA.
Subject to section 184, data collected by the Acad-
emy, including any office, board, committee, or center of
the Academy, in carrying out the priorities and mission
of the Academy, shall be made available to the public, in-
cluding through use of the Internet.
SEC. 186. PERFORMANCE MANAGEMENT.
The Director shall ensure that all activities conducted
or supported by the Academy or a National Education
Center make customer service a priority. The Director
shall ensure a high level of customer satisfaction through
the following methods:
(1) Establishing and improving feedback mech-
anisms in order to anticipate customer needs.
(2) Disseminating information in a timely fash-
ion and in formats that are easily accessible and us-
able by researchers, practitioners, and the general
public.
(3) Utilizing the most modern technology and
other methods available, including arrangements to
use data collected electronically by States and local
educational agencies, to ensure the efficient collec-
tion and timely distribution of information, including
data and reports.
(4) Establishing and measuring performance
against a set of indicators for the quality of data
collected, analyzed, and reported.
(5) Continuously improving management strate-
gies and practices.
(6) Making information available to the public
in an expeditious fashion.
SEC. 187. AUTHORITY TO PUBLISH.
(a) PUBLICATION.—The Director may prepare and
publish (including through oral presentation) such re-
search, statistics, and evaluation information and reports
from any office, board, committee, and center of the Acad-
emy as needed to carry out the priorities and mission of
the Academy.
(b) PEER REVIEW.—All research, statistics, and eval-
uation reports conducted by, or supported through, the
Academy shall be subjected to rigorous peer review before
being published or otherwise made available to the public.
(c) ADVANCE COPIES.—The Director shall provide
the Secretary an advance copy of any information to be
published under this section at least 30 days before publi-
cation.
(d) ITEMS NOT COVERED.—Nothing in subsection
(a) or (b) shall be construed to apply to—
(1) information on current or proposed budgets,
appropriations, or legislation;
(2) information prohibited from disclosure by
law or the Constitution, classified national security
information, or information described in section
552(b) of title 5, United States Code; and
(3) review by officers of the United States in
order to prevent the unauthorized disclosure of in-
formation described in paragraph (1) or (2).
SEC. 188. VACANCIES.
Any member appointed to fill a vacancy on the Board
occurring before the expiration of the term for which the
member’s predecessor was appointed shall be appointed
only for the remainder of that term. A vacancy in an of-
fice, board, committee, or center of the Academy shall be
filled in the manner in which the original appointment was
made. This section does not apply to employees appointed
under section 189.
SEC. 189. SCIENTIFIC OR TECHNICAL EMPLOYEES.
(a) APPOINTMENT AND PAY.—The Director may ap-
point for limited periods of time and fix the pay of certain
scientific or technical employees to carry out the functions
of the Academy or the office, board, committee, or center,
respectively, without regard to the provisions of title 5,
United States Code, governing appointments in the com-
petitive service, and the provisions of chapter 51 and sub-
chapter III of chapter 53 of such title relating to classi-
fication and General Schedule pay rates, provided that—
(1) at least 30 days before the appointment of
any employee under this subsection, the Director
shall give public notice of the availability of such po-
sition and shall provide an opportunity for qualified
individuals to apply and compete for the position;
and
(2) the Director may not appoint an employee
under this subsection unless the employee is nec-
essary to provide the Academy with scientific or
technical expertise that could not otherwise be ob-
tained by the Academy through the competitive serv-
ice and such necessity can be justified in a clear and
convincing fashion.
(b) 
MAXIMUM
NUMBER.—Employees 
appointed
under this section and employed at the Academy at any
particular time shall not exceed the greater of 20 percent
of the total employees of the Academy or a total of 60
individuals.
(c) MAXIMUM PAY RATE.—An employee appointed
under this section may not be paid at a rate that exceeds
the rate of basic pay for level V of the Executive Schedule,
except that not more than 10 individuals appointed under
this section may be paid at a rate that does not exceed
the rate of basic pay for level IV of the Executive Sched-
ule.
(d) DURATION.—An employee appointed under this
section may not serve longer than 6 years.
SEC. 190. VOLUNTARY SERVICE.
The Secretary, acting through the Director, may ac-
cept voluntary and uncompensated services to carry out
and support activities that are consistent with the prior-
ities and mission of the Academy.
SEC. 191. FELLOWSHIPS.
In order to strengthen the national capacity to carry
out high-quality research, evaluation, and statistics related
to education, the Director shall establish and maintain re-
search, evaluation, and statistics fellowships in the Acad-
emy and institutions of higher education (which may in-
clude the establishment of such fellowships in historically
Black colleges and universities and other institutions of
higher education with large numbers of minority students)
that support graduate and postdoctoral study, particularly
for women and minorities, with such stipends and allow-
ances (including travel and subsistence expenses) as the
Director may determine necessary to obtain the assistance
of highly qualified research, evaluation, and statistics fel-
lows.
SEC. 192. RULEMAKING.
Notwithstanding section 437(d) of the General Edu-
cation Provisions Act (20 U.S.C. 1232(d)), the exemption
for public property, loans, grants, and benefits in section
553(a)(2) of title 5, United States Code, shall apply to
the Academy.
SEC. 193. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.
(a) IN GENERAL.—There are authorized to be appro-
priated 
to 
administer 
and 
carry 
out 
this 
title
$400,000,000 for fiscal year 2003 and such sums as may
be necessary for each of the 5 succeeding fiscal years, of
which—
(1) no 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 this Act) for fiscal year 2002 shall
be provided to the National Center for Education
Statistics, as authorized under part C; and
(2) the lesser of 2 percent of such funds or
$1,000,000 shall be made available to carry out sec-
tion 117 (relating to the National Board for Edu-
cation Sciences).
(b) AVAILABILITY.—Amounts made available under
this section shall remain available until expended.
TITLE 
II—REGIONAL 
EDU-
CATIONAL 
APPLIED 
RE-
SEARCH AND TECHNICAL AS-
SISTANCE
SEC. 201. SHORT TITLE.
This title may be cited as the ‘‘Regional Assistance
Act of 2002’’.
SEC. 202. REGIONAL EDUCATIONAL APPLIED RESEARCH
AND TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE ENTITIES.
(a) ESTABLISHMENT.—
(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall support,
through competitive contracts, a system of regional
educational applied research and technical assistance
entities (in this title referred to as ‘‘regional enti-
ties’’) to provide applied research, dissemination,
training, technical assistance, and development ac-
tivities related to the administration and implemen-
tation of Federal education programs and other re-
gional education needs to States, local educational
agencies, schools, Indian tribes, community-based or-
ganizations, and other appropriate entities.
(2) REGIONS.—In establishing geographical re-
gions to be served by the regional entities, the Sec-
retary shall serve the same geographical regions as
served by the regional educational laboratories estab-
lished under section 941(h) of the Educational Re-
search, Development, Dissemination, and Improve-
ment Act of 1994 (as such provision existed on the
day before the date of enactment of this Act).
(3) ALLOCATION.—From the funds appro-
priated under section 205, the Secretary shall allo-
cate for each region for each fiscal year an amount
of funds that is comparable in proportion to the
amount of funds awarded to serve the needs of that
region under prior regional assistance programs
under section 3141 and parts A and C of title XIII
of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of
1965 (as such provisions existed on the day before
the date of enactment of the No Child Left Behind
Act of 2001 (Public Law 107–110)) and section
941(h) of the Educational Research, Development,
Dissemination, and Improvement Act of 1994 (as
such Act existed on the day before the date of enact-
ment of this Act).
(b) ACTIVITIES OF THE REGIONAL ENTITIES.—
(1) REGIONAL SUPPORT ACTIVITIES.—The sys-
tem of regional entities, established under subsection
(a)(1), shall support applied research, development,
dissemination, and technical assistance activities
by—
(A) providing training and technical assist-
ance regarding, at a minimum—
(i) the administration and implemen-
tation of programs under the Elementary
and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20
U.S.C. 6301 et seq.);
(ii) scientifically valid research in edu-
cation on teaching methods and assess-
ment tools for use by teachers and admin-
istrators in, at a minimum—
(I) the core academic areas of
mathematics, science, and reading;
and
(II) education technology; and
(iii) the facilitation of communication
between education experts, school officials,
teachers, parents, and librarians, as appro-
priate;
(B) disseminating and providing scientif-
ically valid research, information, reports, and
publications that are usable for improving aca-
demic 
achievement, 
narrowing 
achievement
gaps, and encouraging and sustaining school
improvement, to—
(i) schools, educators, parents, and
policymakers within the applicable region
in which the entity is located; and
(ii) the Office of Educational Re-
sources and Dissemination;
(C) carrying out applied research projects
that are designed to serve the particular edu-
cational needs of the region, that reflect find-
ings from scientifically valid research, and that
result in user-friendly, replicable classroom ap-
plications geared toward promoting increased
student achievement; and
(D) supporting development activities and
contributing to the current base of education
knowledge by addressing enduring problems in
elementary and secondary education.
(2) COORDINATION
AND
COLLABORATION.—
Each regional entity shall coordinate its activities,
collaborate, and regularly exchange information with
the Secretary, the Director of the Academy of Edu-
cation Sciences, the Office of Educational Resources
and Dissemination of the Academy, and other appro-
priate entities (including educational service agen-
cies, as defined in section 9101 of the Elementary
and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C.
7801)).
(3) ALLOCATION
OF
RESOURCES.—Each re-
gional entity shall direct its resources under this
title to, and within, each State in a manner that re-
flects the need for assistance, taking into account
factors such as the proportion of economically dis-
advantaged students and the cost burden in areas of
sparse populations, and giving priority to—
(A) schools with high percentages or num-
bers of students from low-income families, as
determined under section 1113(a)(5) of the Ele-
mentary and Secondary Education Act of 1965
(20 U.S.C. 6313(a)(5)), including such schools
in rural and urban areas, and schools partici-
pating in schoolwide programs under title I of
that Act (20 U.S.C. 6301 et seq.);
(B) local educational agencies in which
high percentages or numbers of school-age chil-
dren are from low-income families, as deter-
mined under section 1124(c)(1)(A) of the Ele-
mentary and Secondary Education Act of 1965
(20 U.S.C. 6333(c)(1)(A)), including such local
educational agencies in rural and urban areas;
and
(C) schools that have been identified for
school improvement under section 1116 of the
Elementary and Secondary Education Act of
1965 (20 U.S.C. 6316).
(4) REPORT
TO
SECRETARY.—Each regional
entity shall submit to the Secretary an annual re-
port, at such time, in such manner, and containing
such information as the Secretary may require,
which shall include the following:
(i) The information described in para-
graph (5)(E).
(ii) A summary of the entity’s activi-
ties during the preceding year.
(iii) A listing of the States, local edu-
cational agencies, and schools the entity
assisted during the preceding year.
(5) REGIONAL CONTRACT BOARDS.—
(A) ESTABLISHMENT.—Not later than 120
days after entering into a contract under this
section, a regional entity shall establish a re-
gional contract board.
(B) COMPOSITION.—
(i) IN GENERAL.—The regional con-
tract board shall be composed of—
(I) the chief State school officers
(or other State officials in each State
served by the regional entity who have
primary responsibility under State law
for elementary and secondary edu-
cation in the State), or their des-
ignees, in the region served by the re-
gional entity; and
(II) not more than 15 other
members who are representative of
Reform Act of 2002 by the Director appointed under sec-
tion 115(a) of that Act.’’.
(3) In the table of contents in section 1 (20
U.S.C. 3401 note), the item relating to section 208
is amended to read as follows:
‘‘Sec. 208. Academy of Education Sciences.’’.
SEC. 403. REPEALS.
The following provisions of law are repealed:
(1) The National Education Statistics Act of
1994 (title IV of the Improving America’s Schools
Act of 1994; 20 U.S.C. 9001 et seq.).
(2) Parts A through E and K through N of the
Educational Research, Development, Dissemination,
and Improvement Act of 1994 (title IX of the Goals
2000: Educate America Act) (20 U.S.C. 6001 et
seq.).
(3) Paragraph (2) of section 401(b) of the De-
partment of Education Organization Act (20 U.S.C.
3461(b)(2)).
SEC. 404. CONFORMING AND TECHNICAL AMENDMENTS.
(a) GOALS 2000: EDUCATE AMERICA ACT.—The
table of contents in section 1(b) of the Goals 2000: Edu-
cate America Act (20 U.S.C. 5801 note) is amended by
striking the items relating to parts A through E of title
IX (including the items relating to sections within those
parts).
(b) TITLE 5, UNITED STATES CODE.—Title 5,
United States Code, is amended—
(1) in section 5314, by inserting a period after
‘‘Under Secretary of Education’’; and
(2) in section 5315, by striking the following:
‘‘Commissioner, National Center for Education Sta-
tistics.’’.
(c) GENERAL EDUCATION PROVISIONS ACT.—Sec-
tion 447(b) of the General Education Provisions Act (20
U.S.C. 1232j) is amended by striking ‘‘section 404(a)(6)
of the National Education Statistics Act of 1994 (20
U.S.C. 9003(a)(6))’’ and inserting ‘‘section 153(a)(5) of
the Education Sciences Reform Act of 2002’’.
(d) ELEMENTARY AND SECONDARY EDUCATION ACT
OF 1965.—The Elementary and Secondary Education Act
of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 6301 et seq.) is amended as follows:
(1) Section 1111(c)(2) is amended by striking
‘‘section 411(b)(2) of the National Education Statis-
tics Act of 1994’’ and inserting ‘‘section 303(b)(2)
of the National Assessment of Educational Progress
Authorization Act’’.
(2) Section 1112(b)(1)(F) is amended by strik-
ing ‘‘section 411(b)(2) of the National Education
Statistics Act of 1994’’ and inserting ‘‘section