1.This Act may be cited as the
Knowledge and Innovation for the Next
Generation of Learning Act of 2010
.
2.The Congress finds the following:
(1)Historically, the United States has
under-invested in education research and development despite evidence that
scientifically validated innovations in teaching and learning can result in
significant improvements in student achievement and success.
(2)When understood as systematic innovation,
research and development can spur education improvement in scalable and
sustainable ways.
(3)Education research and development should
be part of a strategy for innovation and ongoing improvement within individual
classrooms, schools, and other learning environments, as well as within
specialized research and development units.
(4)The active involvement of teachers,
principals, local educational agency administrators, and State school officers
in knowledge and innovation activities is essential to the effective
application of research-based knowledge to policy and practice.
(5)More instructional activities and practices
supported by scientifically valid research need to be developed to meet the
current and expected demands of educators in schools.
(6)National leadership is needed to provide
targeted initiatives, collaboration, and coordination of innovative best
practices in teaching and learning to ensure that classroom educators have
access to, and effectively use practices supported by, scientifically valid
research.
3.The purposes of this Act are to promote and
coordinate the use of research-based knowledge to assess, accelerate, expand,
and sustain innovation to increase student achievement. To assist the Federal
Government in achieving this purpose, this Act does the following:
(1)Establishes the National Center for
Knowledge Use within the Institute of Education Sciences to administer
knowledge use and innovation programs that develop and bring to scale
successful educational practices that are based on scientifically valid
research.
(2)Creates a
Developing What Works Venture Fund for the fast development of scientifically
valid research innovations to solve persistent problems of instructional
practice in schools.
(3)Establishes and
supports a National Knowledge Officer Program of Chief Knowledge Officers to
help schools collect, translate, and apply the best available empirical
evidence for solving problems of instructional practice to increase student
achievement.
(4)Creates the
National Leadership Office for Research to Innovation to strengthen
coordination across the Department of Education and other Federal departments
and agencies to ensure that educational practices, policies, and investments
based on scientifically valid research are brought to scale.
4.National Center
for Knowledge Use
(a)The Secretary of Education shall establish
a National Center for Knowledge Use within the Institute of Education
Sciences.
(b)The National Center for Knowledge Use shall
be headed by a Commissioner who shall have a high level of expertise in the use
of knowledge to foster innovation, including promoting the effective
implementation of the results of research in the classroom and managing large
institutions or consortia that conduct a broad array of research applications.
The Commissioner shall be appointed by, and report to, the Director of the
Institute of Education Sciences. The Commissioner is authorized—
(1)to select, appoint, and employ such
officers and employees as may be necessary to carry out the functions of the
National Center for Knowledge Use; and
(2)to disseminate
widely information on scientifically valid research, statistics, and evaluation
on education to State educational agencies, local educational agencies,
institutions of higher education, the public, the media, voluntary
organizations, professional associations, and other constituencies, especially
with respect to information relating to—
(A)reading, mathematics, science, and foreign
languages;
(B)closing the
achievement gap between high-performing students and low-performing
students;
(C)educational
practices that improve academic achievement and promote learning; and
(D)education
technology, including software.
(c)The Commissioner of
the National Center for Knowledge Use shall foster and support the use and
application of scientifically valid research to develop and disseminate
innovative practices and policies—
(1)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;
(2)to promote
scientifically valid research findings that can be applied to improve academic
instruction and lifelong learning; and
(3)to provide to
educational institutions technical assistance related to paragraphs (1) and
(2).
(d)The Commissioner of
the National Center for Knowledge Use—
(1)shall carry out sections 5 and 6;
(2)shall administer the regional educational
laboratories;
(3)shall administer
the National Library of Education (established in section 172(d) of the
Education Sciences Reform Act of 2002 (20 U.S.C. 9562(d)); and
(4)shall administer the Educational Resources
Information Center Clearinghouses (established under section 941(f) of the
Educational Research, Development, Dissemination, and Improvement Act of 1994
(20 U.S.C. 6041(f)).
(e)Grants,
contracts, and cooperative agreementsThe Commissioner of the National Center for
Knowledge Use, directly or through grants, contracts, or cooperative
agreements—
(1)shall promote the use of scientifically
valid research to develop innovative solutions to persistent problems of
instructional practice;
(2)shall support and
promote the effective coordination of current federally supported educational
research-based programs, including active participation in inter-agency or
intra-agency research projects; and
(3)shall promote the
use and application of research and development to improve instructional
practice in the classroom.
5.Developing What
Works Venture Fund
(a)The Commissioner of the National Center for
Knowledge Use shall establish a program to be known as the Developing
What Works Venture Fund under which the Commissioner shall make
competitive grants to eligible entities that develop scientifically valid
research to foster school improvement. The purpose of such grants shall be to
develop, bring to scale, and disseminate the use of scientifically valid
research innovations in education.
(b)In this section, the
term eligible entity—
(1)means an organization, institution, agency,
or institution of higher education (or partnership of such institutions) that
has demonstrated expertise in the use of research-based knowledge to foster
innovation in education; and
(2)includes existing
federally supported knowledge and innovation programs, such as regional
educational laboratories, national research and development centers,
comprehensive centers and consortia, national clearinghouses, and other
entities involved in research, development, dissemination, technical
assistance, and evaluation.
(c)The Commissioner of the
National Center for Knowledge Use may not make a grant to an eligible entity
under this section unless the entity agrees to use the grant for one or more of
the following:
(1)Developing innovative curricular and
instructional tools using scientifically valid research for addressing
persistent problems of practice in schools.
(2)Targeting efforts
to classroom educators working with subgroups whose test scores indicate that
those subgroups need improvement under the adequate yearly progress calculation
required by the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965, including
economically disadvantaged students, students from major racial and ethnic
groups, students with disabilities, and students with limited English
proficiency.
(3)Supporting efforts
to identify, develop, and disseminate promising practices in the implementation
of education innovation that are supported by scientifically valid research,
including those practices developed by the regional educational laboratories,
national research and development centers, comprehensive centers and consortia,
national clearinghouses, and other entities involved in research, development,
dissemination, technical assistance, and evaluation related to instructional
practice.
(4)Promoting
entrepreneurship to develop for consumers new solutions, innovations, and
choices in education for consumers that are supported by scientifically valid
research.
(5)Developing
networked communities of knowledge for sharing and disseminating promising
practices and innovations.
(d)To seek a grant under this section, an
eligible entity shall submit to the Commissioner of the National Center for
Knowledge Use an application at such time and in such manner as the
Commissioner may require.
(e)Authorization of
AppropriationsThere are
authorized to be appropriated to carry out this section $200,000,000 for fiscal
year 2011 and such sums as may be necessary for each of the 4 succeeding fiscal
years.
6.Chief Knowledge
Officer Program
(a)The Commissioner of the National Center for
Knowledge Use shall establish a program of multi-year grants to State
educational agencies to establish a Chief Knowledge Officer Program. Award
amounts under the program shall be determined based on the percentage of funds
received by a State under part A of title I of the Elementary and Secondary
Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 6311 et seq.).
(b)The mission of the Chief Knowledge Officer
Program shall be to enable local educational agencies and schools to work in
collaboration with entities knowledgeable about education research to address
problems of instructional practice in chronically low-performing schools. The
program shall involve a corps of Chief Knowledge Officers, each of whom shall
be employed by a State educational agency and whose duty it shall be to connect
educators and administrators with high-quality, evidence-based, relevant
solutions for the most critical problems of practice in local educational
agencies and chronically low-performing schools. The number of Chief Knowledge
Officers per State may vary depending on the number of chronically
low-performing schools served by the State educational agency.
(c)A Chief Knowledge Officer shall—
(1)conduct analyses to better inform teachers
and school administrators about the empirical evidence available to solve
problems of educational practice to increase student achievement;
(2)research the
problems of practice that prevent students from passing State examinations and
making academic progress that have been identified in the local educational
agency at issue, using scientifically validated research;
(3)contribute as
State education agency leadership develops programs, policies, or strategies
for using research on successful educational practices;
(4)participate in a
national network of Chief Knowledge Officers;
(5)develop effective
induction and ongoing professional development experiences for teachers;
(6)support
innovations in curricula;
(7)foster the
effective use of technology-based applications in classrooms;
(8)contribute to
professional performance assessment systems that focus on the most important
competencies for student success and provide useful feedback to facilitate
instructional improvements; and
(9)communicate complex research findings to an
audience of non-specialists.
(d)A State education agency desiring to
receive a grant under this section shall submit an application to the
Commissioner at such a time, in such a manner, and containing such information
as the Commissioner may require. Such an application shall include—
(1)a list of the low-performing schools that
will be targeted for support by means of services of Chief Knowledge
Officers;
(2)how Chief
Knowledge Officers will be recruited, selected, and trained;
(3)a
description of the nature of services to be provided in the designated schools,
such as combining resources into school support teams, and providing on-line
ask the expert
advice;
(4)how the Chief
Knowledge Officers will collaborate with local educational agencies and
entities knowledgeable about education research;
(5)how the State
education agency shall issue progress reports to the Department; and
(6)how the State
education agency shall evaluate the effectiveness of the services
provided.
(e)Authorization of
appropriationsThere are
authorized to be appropriated to carry out this section $50,000,000 for fiscal
year 2011 and such sums as may be necessary for each of the 4 succeeding fiscal
years.
7.The National
Leadership Office for Research to Innovation
(a)The Secretary shall establish in the
Department of Education a National Leadership Office for Research to
Innovation.
(b)
(1)The National Leadership Office for Research to Innovation
shall be headed by a Director appointed by the Secretary.
(2)The Director shall be an expert in the
effective use of scientifically valid research, including—
(A)promoting the
effective implementation of the results of research in the classroom;
and
(B)managing large
institutions or consortia that conduct a broad array of research
applications.
(3)The Director is
authorized to select, appoint, and employ such officers and employees as may be
necessary to carry out the functions of the National Leadership Office for
Research to Innovation.
(c)The Director of the National Leadership
Office for Research to Innovation—
(1)shall ensure that
educational practices, policies, and investments based on scientifically valid
research are brought to scale and fully coordinated across the Department and
other Federal department and agencies;
(2)shall encourage
the use of new technologies in appropriate research-based efforts in
education;
(3)shall support the effective coordination of
current federally supported education research programs including the regional
educational laboratories, the university-based research and development
centers, comprehensive assistance centers, national clearinghouses, and other
entities involved in education-related research, information dissemination, and
technical assistance;
(4)shall submit to the Congress and the
Secretary a biennial report containing—
(A)an analysis of the
state of knowledge and innovation in education practice;
(B)an assessment of
the efforts to increase the use of education practices supported by
scientifically valid research; and
(C)recommendations
for changes in policies to further promote progress in knowledge and innovation
in education; and
(5)shall promote
coordination among Federal departments and agencies administering
research-based education programs and services by means of an inter-agency task
force comprised of the following members:
(A)Relevant assistant
secretaries in the Department of Education.
(B)The Director of
the Institute of Education Sciences.
(C)The Commissioner
of the National Center for Knowledge Use.
(D)The Director of
the National Science Foundation.
(E)The Director of
the National Institute for Child Health and Human Development.
(F)Other members
designated by the Secretary.
8.In this Act:
(1)The term Chief Knowledge Officer means a
professional who—
(A)has—
(i)previous teaching or research experience
and an advanced degree with a concentration in research analysis or research
design;
(ii)prior experience in a State educational
agency, local educational agency, school network, or state agency setting;
or
(iii)prior for-profit, non-profit, or public
sector consulting experience; and
(B)has—
(i)a strong background in quantitative
analysis;
(ii)extensive experience in managing
projects;
(iii)excellent interpersonal skills; and
(iv)the ability to communicate complex research
findings to an audience of non-specialists.
(2)The term
comprehensive center means an entity established under section 203
of the Educational Technical Assistance Act of 2002 (20 U.S.C. 9602).
(3)Entities
knowledgeable about education researchThe term entities
knowledgeable about education research means the following:
(A)The Institute of
Education Sciences.
(B)National research
and development centers.
(C)Regional
educational laboratories.
(D)Comprehensive
centers.
(E)Other designated
Federal, State, and local sources and providers of educational innovation and
improvement.
(4)The term knowledge
use—
(A)means the interactive processes involving
research, development, dissemination, technical assistance, and evaluation in
which research-based knowledge is applied to improving instructional practice;
and
(B)includes activities essential to school
improvement, such as—
(i)development and evaluation of practical
applications of research, such as procedures, policies, practices, programs,
materials, and training;
(ii)the use of research-based technical
assistance and professional development for policymakers, practitioners, and
other stakeholders;
(iii)collection and dissemination of
information, data, and statistics related to education and methods of
instruction;
(iv)initiatives for building linkages among
research, policy, and practice in education; and
(v)an infrastructure for increasing capacity
for the use of instructional research and its applications.
(5)National
research and development centerThe term national research and
development center means a research and development center supported
under section 133(c) of the Educational Sciences Reform Act of 2002 (20 U.S.C.
9533(c)).
(6)Regional
educational laboratoryThe term regional educational
laboratory means an entity established under section 174 of the
Educational Sciences Reform Act of 2002 (20 U.S.C. 9564).
(7)Scientifically
valid researchThe term
scientifically valid research has the meaning given such term in
section 200 of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1021).
(8)The term Secretary means the
Secretary of Education.