PoliticalRepoPoliticalRepo

United States · Bill · S

S. 227 (114th)

Strengthening Education through Research Act

referredUnited States· United States Congress· EN

Introduced

21 January 2015

Last action

—

Status

Referred to the House Committee on Education and the Workforce.

Sponsors

—

Subjects

Discovery layer

Source updated

4 March 2026

Official sourceDownload fileView documentsShare

Summary

Strengthening Education through Research Act Amends the Education Sciences Reform Act of 2002 (ESRA) to require the Secretary of Education, in collecting information and data under that Act, to not duplicate other reporting requirements and to use information and data available from existing federal, state, and local sources to reduce the burden and cost to the Department of Education (ED), states, and local educational agencies (LEAs). TITLE I--EDUCATION SCIENCES REFORM Amends the ESRA to require: (1) the mission of the Institute of Education Sciences (IES) to include providing national leadership in expanding fundamental knowledge and understanding of adult education, and (2) IES activities to be free of disability bias. Allows the IES to accept requests from the Secretary of Education to administer activities other than those assigned to it, provided they are consistent with the IES's priorities or mission. Allows a Director of the IES (Director) to be appointed to one additional six-year term in office. Adds to the Director's duties: (1) coordinating IES research activities with the education research activities of public and private entities, and (2) coordinating with the Secretary to ensure that IES results are coordinated with and utilized by ED's technical assistance providers and dissemination networks. Requires the Director to establish and maintain a peer-review system to review and evaluate applications for grants or cooperative agreements, IES reports, and other products. Requires the Director to: ensure that IES activities address significant challenges faced by practitioners and increase knowledge in the education field; ensure that the IES information, products, and publications are prepared and widely disseminated in a timely, understandable, and convenient manner; promote the utilization of IES information, products, and publications; and monitor and manage all activities authorized under the ESRA. Requires the Director to propose the IES's priorities to the National Board for Education Sciences (Board) at least once every six years. Includes among those priorities: closing the achievement gap between disabled and nondisabled students; improving access to and the quality of early childhood education; improving elementary and secondary education, particularly among low-performing students and schools; and improving access to, opportunities for, and the completion of postsecondary education and adult education. Adds to the Board's duties: providing ongoing advice and input to the Director on IES activities, providing advice to the Director on ensuring that IES activities are free of disability bias, ensuring that IES activities are relevant to education policy and practice by soliciting ongoing advice and information from those in the education field, recommending to the Director ways to enhance strategic partnerships and collaborative efforts with public and private entities, and issuing a report every five years assessing IES effectiveness. Makes the Board independent of the Director and the other offices and officers of the IES. Provides that the Executive Director of the Board is to be appointed by the Board for a term of up to six years and may be reappointed for an additional term. Provides that the Commissioner of the National Center for Education Statistics, like the Commissioners of the other National Education Centers, is to be appointed by the Director and serve under the Director's supervision. Requires the National Center for Education Research (Research Center) to: (1) conduct research that is consistent with IES priorities, and (2) widely disseminate and promote the utilization of its work. Adds to the Research Center's duties conducting research on: (1) follow-up questions provoked by previous research, (2) the impact of technology on education, and (3) the quality of the implementation of practices and strategies determined to be effective through scientifically valid research. Authorizes the Research Commissioner to award grants to, or enter into contracts or cooperative agreements with, applicants that have the ability and capacity to conduct scientifically valid research. Eliminates: (1) the requirement that the Research Commissioner support at least eight national research and development centers, and (2) the list of research topics eligible for support. Requires research conducted or supported by the Research Center to be disaggregated and cross-tabulated by age, race, gender, disability status, English learner status, socioeconomic background, and other population characteristics as determined by the Research Commissioner, so long as any reported information does not reveal individually identifiable information. Directs the National Center for Education Statistics (Statistics Center) to collect, analyze, and report education information and statistics in a manner that is: (1) consistent with the ESRA's privacy protections; (2) free of disability bias; and (3) relevant, timely, and widely disseminated. Adds to the data the Statistics Center is to collect and disseminate. Requires the Statistics Center to provide technical assistance to states in developing statewide longitudinal data systems that link individual student data and protect student privacy to improve student academic achievement and close achievement gaps. Directs the Statistics Commissioner to develop and implement a plan for Statistic Center activities that is consistent with the priorities of the IES and subject to appropriate modifications. Authorizes the Statistics Commissioner to renew grants, contracts, and cooperative agreements for up to two years if the recipients demonstrate progress on the requirements of the ESRA's performance measurement system. Requires the joint statistical projects the Statistic Center carries out with nonprofit entities to adhere to the ESRA's student privacy requirements. Requires federal agencies and other parties seeking access to educational data from the Statistics Center to describe their research-related need for such data and how the data will be protected from misuse or privacy violations. Authorizes the Statistics Center to deny requests for access to its data if such data would: (1) be unnecessary for, or unrelated to, the proposed research; or (2) introduce the risk that the data would be misused or used to violate privacy rights. Renames "national cooperative education statistics systems" as "cooperative education statistics partnerships" between the Statistics Center and states that volunteer to participate and requires the partnerships to review and improve data quality standards. Prohibits the partnerships from collecting student data or establishing a national student data system. Requires the National Center for Education Evaluation and Regional Assistance to evaluate the impact and implementation of federal education programs administered by the Secretary. Authorizes the Evaluation and Regional Assistance Commissioner o: (1) award grants, contracts, or cooperative agreements on a competitive basis for up to five years and renew them for up to two years if the recipients demonstrate progress on the requirements of the ESRA's performance measurement system; and (2) establish a National Library of Education within the Center. Requires the Center to: examine evaluations conducted or supported by others, with the Director's approval; review and supplement federal education program evaluations; conduct implementation evaluations that promote continuous improvement and inform policymaking; evaluate the effects and cost efficiencies of federal education programs; and synthesize the results of evaluation studies for and across federal education programs, policies, and practices. Requires the Evaluation Commissioner to enter into grants, contracts, or cooperative agreements with public or private, nonprofit or for-profit research organizations, other organizations, or institutions of higher education (IHEs) to establish a networked system of 10 regional educational laboratories that serve the needs of each region of the United States. Authorizes the Evaluation Commissioner to determine that establishing 10 regional educational laboratories is unnecessary and grant an alternative number of awards or reorganize such laboratories. Requires each regional educational laboratory to: (1) conduct applied research, development, data analysis, and evaluation activities with states, local educational agencies (LEAs), and Indian schools; (2) widely disseminate such work; and (3) develop the capacity of states, LEAs, and Indian schools to carry out such activities. Directs the Evaluation and Regional Assistance Commissioner to conduct ongoing summative and interim evaluations of each of the regional educational laboratories. Adds to the duties of the National Center for Special Education Research: examining the participation and outcomes of disabled students in secondary and postsecondary career and technical education programs; assisting the Board in the preparation and dissemination of the report evaluating the effectiveness of the IES; examining the needs of disabled children who are English learners, who are gifted and talented, or who have other unique learning needs; and examining innovations in the special education field, such as multi-tiered systems of support. Authorizes the Special Education Research Commissioner to award grants, contracts, or cooperative agreements on a competitive basis for up to five years and renew them for up to two years if the recipients demonstrate progress on the requirements of the ESRA's performance measurement system. Directs the Special Education Research Center to synthesize, disseminate, and promote the utilization of the special education research it conducts or supports. Prohibits the use of IES funding to endorse, approve, or sanction any curriculum designed to be used in early education or in an elementary school, secondary school, or IHE. Allows IES data to disclose information regarding individual schools so long as no individually identifiable information is disclosed. Subjects IES volunteers or those who provide the IES with uncompensated services to punishment for privacy violations. Requires IES data to be made available to the public through electronic means. Requires the Director to establish a performance management system to promote the continuous improvement of activities authorized under the ESRA and ensure the effective use of federal funds. Requires the Director to provide the Secretary and other relevant offices with an advance copy of IES publications before their public release. Reauthorizes appropriations for activities under the ESRA through FY2021. TITLE II--EDUCATIONAL TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE Amends the Educational Technical Assistance Act of 2002 (ETAA) to direct the Secretary to award up to 17 competitive grants, contracts, or cooperative agreements to establish comprehensive centers to provide states and LEAs with technical assistance, analysis, and training to build their capacity to implement federal educational laws and research-based practices. Authorizes the Secretary to determine that establishing 17 comprehensive centers is unnecessary and grant an alternative number of awards or reorganize such centers. Directs the Secretary to establish at least one comprehensive center for each of the 10 geographic regions served by the regional educational laboratories established under the Educational Research, Development, Dissemination, and Improvement Act of 1994. Allows the Secretary to establish additional comprehensive centers serving one or more of those regions or the nation as a whole. Includes in the training, professional development, and technical assistance provided by comprehensive centers the replication and adaptation of exemplary practices and innovative methods that have an evidence base of effectiveness. Requires the Secretary to provide for an interim and summative evaluation of each comprehensive center. Repeals the requirement that the Secretary establish a regional advisory committee for each region served by a regional educational laboratory. Requires the Director and the Secretary to establish priorities for the regional educational laboratories and comprehensive centers using the results of relevant regional and national surveys of educational needs. Allows states that receive competitive grants to design, develop, and implement statewide, longitudinal data systems to provide subgrants to LEAs for their role in those activities. Requires the Secretary, before awarding such grants, to establish measurable performance indicators for use in assessing the ongoing progress and performance of state grantees in designing, developing, and implementing those systems. Authorizes the Secretary to renew such grants for up to three years if the state demonstrates progress on the measurable performance indicators. Reauthorizes appropriations for activities under the ETAA through FY2021. TITLE III--NATIONAL ASSESSMENT OF EDUCATIONAL PROGRESS Amends the National Assessment of Educational Progress Authorization Act (NAEPA) to require the National Assessment Governing Board (Assessment Board) to oversee and set policies for the National Assessment of Educational Progress consistent with its duties and accepted professional standards. Directs the Secretary to fill vacancies on the Assessment Board from among individuals who are nominated by the Assessment Board. Directs the Assessment Board, in selecting the subject areas to be assessed, to select the grades or ages being assessed and the year in which such assessments will be conducted. Directs the Assessment Board to provide input to the Director on annual budget requests for the National Assessment of Educational Progress. Directs the Statistics Commissioner to carry out such Assessment in a manner consistent with accepted professional standards and the policies set forth by the Assessment Board. Adds to the Statistics Commissioner's duties determining the content of initial and subsequent National Assessment of Educational Progress reports and ensuring their validity and reliability. Requires LEAs participating in the school improvement program under part A of title I of the ESEA to participate in the National Assessment of Educational Progress. Eliminates the option allowing the Assessment Board to develop appropriate achievement levels for each age, rather than grade level, for each subject area being tested. Directs the Assessment Board to use a national consensus approach in establishing the appropriate student achievement levels. Reauthorizes appropriations for activities under the NAEPA through FY2021. TITLE IV--EVALUATION PLAN Requires the IES to be the primary entity for conducting research on and evaluations of federal education programs within ED to ensure the rigor and independence of such research and evaluations. Authorizes the Secretary to reserve and consolidate specified percentages of funds from ESEA programs to: (1) carry out high-quality evaluations of programs authorized under the ESEA, (2) increase the usefulness of those evaluations or assist ESEA program grantees in collecting and analyzing data and other activities related to the evaluations. Prohibits the Secretary from being required to evaluate each ESEA program each year. Requires the Secretary or the Director to disseminate the findings from such evaluations.

This text is taken from the official record. PoliticalRepo does not editorialize.

Timeline

No timeline events have been ingested for this record yet.

Votes

No vote records are attached yet.

Versions

No version snapshots stored. Document URLs remain at the source.

Documents

11 official files

Sponsors

No sponsors or actors listed by the source.

Related records

No cross-record relationships stored yet.

Sources

PoliticalRepo is an index and interpretation layer, not the authoritative legal source.