New Essential Education Discoveries Act of 2024

Section 111(c)(3) of the Education Sciences Reform Act of 2002 (20 U.S.C. 9511(c)(3)) is amended—

(1) in subparagraph (C), by striking and at the end;

(2) in subparagraph (D), by striking the period at the end and inserting; and; and

(3) by adding at the end the following:

(E) the National Center for Advanced Development in Education (as described in part G).

Section 102 of the Education Sciences Reform Act of 2002 (20 U.S.C. 9501) is amended—

(1) by redesignating paragraphs (18) through (23) as paragraphs (19) through (24), respectively; and

(2) by inserting after paragraph (17) the following:

The term science of learning and development means the body of peer-reviewed knowledge from a variety of academic fields and disciplines that demonstrates how students best learn and develop.

Title I of the Education Sciences Reform Act of 2002 (20 U.S.C. 9501 et seq.) is amended by adding at the end the following:

There is established in the Institute a National Center for Advanced Development in Education (in this part referred to as the Advanced Development Center).

The mission of the Advanced Development Center is to—

(1) identify, develop, and promote advances in and new solutions for teaching and learning, with an emphasis on breakthrough technologies, new pedagogical approaches, innovative learning models, and more efficient, reliable, and valid forms of assessments;

(2) identify, develop, and promote transformative, community-informed solutions to address disparities in achievement and opportunity for students;

(3) identify, develop, and promote community-informed advances in teaching and learning that have the potential to transform education practices across—

(A) early childhood education;

(B) elementary and secondary education;

(C) postsecondary education;

(D) adult education;

(E) special education and services for students with disabilities; and

(F) services for English learners;

(4) identify, develop, test, and promote strategies and interventions that support student relationships and skill-building consistent with the science of learning and development;

(5) identify and provide community-informed recommendations and solutions that address additional factors that can improve student outcomes, including—

(A) access to a diverse teaching workforce; and

(B) institutional barriers, including with respect to students from underrepresented communities; and

(6) investigate transformative research opportunities, including—

(A) technologies to analyze speech samples and identify speech and reading disorders;

(B) identifying tools to support skill acquisition outside of school (including tools for parents); and

(C) developing tools to provide feedback directly to students on their competencies.

The Advanced Development Center shall be headed by a Commissioner for Advanced Education Development (in this part referred to as the Advanced Development Commissioner) who shall be highly qualified and have substantial knowledge of the methodologies used and activities undertaken by the Advanced Development Center.

The Advanced Development Center shall—

(1) collect, report, analyze, and disseminate data related to transforming education in the United States;

(2) approve and terminate projects in accordance with subsection (f)(2)(B);

(3) set priorities that align with the mission of the Advanced Development Center, including by identifying areas that can be furthered by research and development, including—

(A) interventions for learning recovery, with a particular focus on students who score below proficient on the academic assessments in mathematics or reading or language arts described in section 1111(b)(2) of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 6311(b)(2)), including specific challenges due to the COVID–19 public health emergency declared pursuant to section 319 of the Public Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 247d) and other disruptions to instruction;

(B) pedagogy; and

(C) assessments administered to students, including such assessments that are summative, formative, competency-based, performance-based, administered throughout the school year to produce a single summative assessment score, or incorporated into an instructional sequence or lesson;

(4) support the use of scientific discoveries and inventions to improve teaching and learning;

(5) carry out the evaluation and dissemination requirements under subsection (e); and

(6) convene and engage an advisory panel under section 198.

Not later than 6 months after the date of the enactment of this part, and every 3 years thereafter, the Advanced Development Commissioner shall submit to the Director a research plan that—

(1) is consistent with the priorities and mission of the Institute and the mission of the Advanced Development Center; and

(2) describes how the Advanced Development Center will use the performance management system described in section 185 to assess and improve the activities of the Advanced Development Center.

The Advanced Development Commissioner may establish a program to train employees of public and private educational agencies, organizations, and institutions and may establish a fellowship program to appoint such employees as temporary fellows at the Advanced Development Center in order to assist the Advanced Development Center in carrying out its duties.

In carrying out the duties under this section, the Advanced Development Commissioner may award grants and cash prizes, enter into contracts and cooperative agreements, and provide technical assistance.

In awarding grants and cash prizes and entering into contracts and cooperative agreements under paragraph (1), the Advanced Development Commissioner shall—

(A) solicit applications from public and private entities; and

(B) build research collaborations between a variety of stakeholders—

(i) from the private and public sectors; and

(ii) with expertise in education practices, including teachers, principals and other school leaders, and local and State educational agency leaders.

For purposes of carrying out an applicable program under subsection (f)(2), a program manager may enter into contracts and cooperative agreements in the manner described in paragraph (2).

The Advanced Development Commissioner shall obtain independent, periodic, and rigorous evaluation of—

(i) the effectiveness of the processes that the Advanced Development Center is using to achieve the mission described in section 195(b);

(ii) the relevance, accessibility, and utility of the awards made and transactions entered into under subsection (d) to education practitioners; and

(iii) the effectiveness of the projects carried out through such awards and transactions, using evidence standards developed in consultation with the Institute of Education Sciences, and the suitability of such projects for further investment or increased scale.

The Advanced Development Commissioner shall assess the information obtained from the evaluation and identify best practices for the Advanced Development Center.

The Advanced Development Center shall disseminate, through the entities listed in subparagraph (B), information obtained from the evaluation under paragraph (1) and any other information determined to be relevant by the Advanced Development Commissioner with respect to effective practices and technologies developed under the Advanced Development Center, as appropriate, to—

(i) education professionals, including teachers, principals, and local and State superintendents; and

(ii) parents.

The Advanced Development Center shall distribute the information described in subparagraph (A) through—

(i) the comprehensive centers established under section 203 of the Educational Technical Assistance Act of 2002 (20 U.S.C. 9602);

(ii) the regional laboratories system established under section 174; and

(iii) such other means as the Advanced Development Commissioner, in consultation with the Director and the Secretary, determines to be appropriate.

The Advanced Development Commissioner shall support the use and adoption of the best practices identified in paragraph (1)(B) at all levels of education and training.

Notwithstanding section 188, the Advanced Development Commissioner, with the approval of and in collaboration with the Director, shall—

(A) make appointments of scientific, engineering, and professional personnel, which may include temporary or time-limited appointments as determined by the Director to be necessary to carry out the mission described in section 195(b), without regard to the provisions of title 5, United States Code, governing appointment in the competitive service and fix the compensation of such personnel at a rate to be determined by the Director;

(B) hire staff with sufficient qualifications and expertise (as determined by the Commissioner in consultation with the Director) to enable the Advanced Development Center to carry out the duties described in subsection (a) in conjunction with other operations of the Institute, without regard to the provisions of title 5, United States Code, governing appointment in the competitive service and fix the compensation of such staff at a rate to be determined by the Director; and

(C) use all existing authorities of the Director to hire administrative, financial, and clerical staff as necessary to carry out this subsection and pay such staff in accordance with the provisions of chapter 51 and subchapter III of chapter 53 of title 5, United States Code, relating to classification and General Schedule pay rates.

The Advanced Development Commissioner, with the approval of and in collaboration with the Director, shall designate staff appointed or hired under subparagraphs (A) or (B) of paragraph (1), respectively, to serve as program managers for the Advanced Development Center.

A program manager shall be responsible for—

(i) establishing research and development goals for an applicable program, including by developing and hosting workshops and consulting with outside experts;

(ii) publicizing such goals;

(iii) soliciting applications from eligible entities for projects that advance such goals and contribute to making rapid advances in teaching and learning, to be submitted by such entities at such time, in such manner, and containing such information as the program manager, in conjunction with the Advanced Development Commissioner, may require;

(iv) selecting, on a competitive basis, such projects to be supported under an applicable program, taking into consideration—

(I) the novelty and scientific and technical merit of a proposed project;

(II) the demonstrated capabilities of the eligible entity to successfully carry out such proposed project;

(III) the extent to which the eligible entity considered, as part of the application submitted under clause (iii), future commercial applications of a proposed project to increase the likelihood of scalability of such project; and

(IV) such other criteria as the program manager, in conjunction with the Advanced Development Commissioner, may require;

(v) terminating such projects, as applicable; and

(vi) establishing the research collaborations described in subsection (d)(3).

In this paragraph:

The term applicable program means a program—

(I) for which a project manager establishes research and development goals;

(II) that supports projects aligned with such goals; and

(III) that receives funds from the Advanced Development Center.

The term eligible entity means—

(I) a State educational agency;

(II) a local educational agency;

(III) a public or private nonprofit institution of higher education;

(IV) a nonprofit educational organization; and

(V) a federally funded research and development center.

Not later than 90 days after the date on which the Advanced Development Commissioner is appointed, the Commissioner shall establish an advisory panel to identify, evaluate, and make recommendations with respect to improving education research in order to promote the mission of the Advanced Development Center.

Not later than 2 years after the date on which the advisory panel is established, the advisory panel shall create and update on an annual basis a report that—

(A) identifies, analyzes, and evaluates the state of—

(i) education research and development; and

(ii) education research priorities at the State and local levels;

(B) identifies and promotes advances in teaching and learning; and

(C) highlights factors that can have an impact on student learning outcomes, with particular attention to opportunity and achievement disparities for students, including the factors addressed in section 195(b)(6).

Not later than 1 month after the date on which the report described in paragraph (1) is created and not later than 1 month after each subsequent update of such report, the advisory panel shall—

(A) submit such report to—

(i) the Advanced Development Commissioner;

(ii) the Director;

(iii) the Secretary;

(iv) the Committee on Appropriations of the House of Representatives;

(v) the Committee on Appropriations of the Senate;

(vi) the Committee on Education and the Workforce of the House of Representatives; and

(vii) the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions of the Senate; and

(B) make such report publicly available on the website of the Institute.

The advisory panel shall be composed of at least 8, but not more than 12, members appointed by the Advanced Development Commissioner as follows:

(1) At least 1 but not more than 2 members shall be parents.

(2) At least 1 but not more than 2 members shall be education professionals.

(3) At least 1 but not more than 2 members shall be experts in technology.

(4) At least 1 but not more than 2 members shall be specialists in rapid gains in student achievement and school improvement.

(5) At least 1 but not more than 2 members shall be specialists in personalized learning.

(6) At least 1 but not more than 2 members shall be education and social science researchers.

(7) At least 1 but not more than 2 members shall be representatives from the Department or National Science Foundation.

(8) At least 1 but not more than 2 members shall be individuals with expertise in education issues not otherwise represented who will contribute to the overall rigor and quality of the Advanced Development Center.

The function of the advisory panel shall be advisory in nature. Nothing in this section shall be construed as giving the advisory panel authority over the activities authorized under this part.

The advisory panel shall terminate 5 years after the date of establishment of such panel.

In this part, the term community-informed means to be informed by input from State educational agencies, local educational agencies, parents, students, and education practitioners, including teachers, principals, and other school leaders within the community or regional area where activities planned and carried out by the Advanced Development Center will occur.

There are authorized to be appropriated to carry out this part such sums as may be necessary for each of fiscal years 2025 through 2029.

Amounts made available for a fiscal year under subsection (a) shall remain available until expended.

The Secretary may reserve not more than 5 percent of the funds appropriated for a fiscal year under subsection (a) for administrative expenses and technical assistance.

The Secretary shall award grants to eligible entities to design, develop, improve, and implement statewide longitudinal data systems (in this section referred to as SLDS) to—

(1) produce more consistent and comprehensive data of individuals and on the pathways of such individuals from birth into the workforce; and

(2) efficiently and accurately manage, analyze, disaggregate, and use such data in a manner that protects the privacy of such individuals.

An eligible entity seeking a grant under this section shall submit to the Secretary an application in such form, at such time, and containing such information as the Secretary determines appropriate.

An eligible entity shall use a grant awarded under this section to—

(1) modernize data infrastructure and analytics capacity to—

(A) use and integrate data across education, workforce, nutrition, and other social service systems into SLDS, including—

(i) early childhood education;

(ii) elementary and secondary education;

(iii) career and technical education;

(iv) postsecondary education; and

(v) workforce development programs supported by the—

(I) Department of Education;

(II) Department of Labor;

(III) Department of Health and Human Services;

(IV) Department of Agriculture;

(V) Department of Defense; and

(VI) Department of Commerce;

(B) improve access to, and use of, data integrated across the systems described in subparagraph (A);

(2) increase the capacity of staff at the eligible entity to oversee, maintain, support, and operate SLDS;

(3) ensure the technical quality, including validity and reliability, of the data described in paragraph (1);

(4) promote linkages and use across States and systems, including with respect to—

(A) early childhood education;

(B) elementary and secondary education;

(C) postsecondary education; and

(D) workforce, including—

(i) employment;

(ii) healthcare; and

(iii) social services, including nutrition;

(5) meet Federal and State law requirements with respect to protecting the privacy of individuals, including student privacy rights guaranteed by section 444 of the General Education Provisions Act (20 U.S.C. 1232g) (commonly referred to as the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act of 1974);

(6) provide, prior to beginning employment and on a regular basis thereafter, training to local and State employees, including school leaders and teachers, with respect to maintaining privacy of personally identifiable information and securely utilizing data from SLDS to improve education and workforce practice, policy, and outcomes;

(7) promote the creation and management of accurate data that are needed—

(A) for State and local educational, labor, workforce, health, social services, and other relevant agencies to comply with Federal and State laws and reporting requirements;

(B) to better understand and address achievement and opportunity gaps in education, employment, health, and social services; and

(C) to enable, facilitate, and participate in research within a State and across States to improve student academic achievement, close education and employment gaps and gaps related to access to health care and social services, and improve student, worker, and family outcomes; and

(8) support continual improvement of education, workforce, health, and social services programs and systems, including by better understanding whether such programs and systems are—

(A) serving students, workers, and families, with a focus on underserved students, workers, and families;

(B) supporting the attainment of key education, employment, health, social services, and other relevant outcomes, including sustained increases in wages;

(C) making data available, in a way that protects personally identifiable student information, to researchers and encouraging partnerships to make information actionable;

(D) achieving positive outcomes for the students, workers, families, and other demographics that such programs and systems are intended to serve; and

(E) engaging with diverse stakeholders to receive input and share information.

Funds made available under this section shall be used to supplement, and not supplant, other Federal, State, or local funds used for developing statewide longitudinal data systems.

The Secretary may reserve not more than 5 percent of the funds made available under this section for program administration and technical assistance.

The Secretary, in consultation with the National Academies Committee on National Statistics, shall make publicly available a report on the implementation and effectiveness of the activities carried out by eligible entities with grant funds awarded under this section including by—

(A) identifying and analyzing State practices regarding the development and use of statewide longitudinal data systems;

(B) evaluating the ability of such systems to manage individual student data consistent with the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 6301 et seq.), promote linkages across States, and protect student privacy consistent with section 183; and

(C) identifying best practices and areas for improvement.

The report required under paragraph (1) shall be submitted—

(A) not later than 1 year after the date of the enactment of this section; and

(B) not later than 4 years after the date of the enactment of this section.

In this section, the term eligible entity means—

(1) a State;

(2) a State educational agency;

(3) a State workforce development board established under section 101 of the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (29 U.S.C. 3111);

(4) a State higher education agency as defined under section 103 of the Higher Education Act (20 U.S.C. 1003); and

(5) other statewide data governance bodies or organizations managing or overseeing the SLDS of a State, as determined and designated by the Governor.

There are authorized to be appropriated to carry out this section—

(1) such sums as may be necessary for fiscal year 2025; and

(2) for each fiscal year thereafter, not less than the amount appropriated for fiscal year 2024.