[Congressional Record Volume 148, Number 135 (Tuesday, October 15, 2002)]
[Senate]
[Pages S10480-S10481]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[[Page S10480]]
EDUCATION SCIENCES REFORM ACT OF 2002
Mr. DASCHLE. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the HELP
committee be discharged from further consideration of H.R. 3801, the
Education Sciences Reform Act of 2002, and that the Senate proceed to
its immediate consideration.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
The clerk will report the bill by title.
The legislative clerk read as follows:
A bill (H.R. 3801) to provide for improvement of Federal
education research, statistics, evaluation, information, and
dissemination, and for other purposes.
There being no objection, the Senate proceeded to consider the bill.
Mr. KENNEDY. Mr. President, I welcome this bipartisan agreement on
the reauthorization of the Office of Education Research. The new
Institute of Education Sciences created by this legislation will
improve the capacity of the Department to conduct high quality research
to improve educational opportunities for all students.
We know that research can make a difference in teaching and learning
by providing high quality technical assistance and professional
development, reliable data, and wide dissemination of research and best
practices.
We all agree that education research has to be high quality. It also
needs to be directly related to the needs of the professionals in the
field. Schools, teachers, principals and child care providers all must
have access to the best practices in education if our schools are to be
the best they can be.
States, schools and teachers have to face the challenge of preparing
students for assessments and dealing with schools that fail to make
adequate progress. Regional technical assistance providers can help
them meet this challenge. Our bill reauthorizes the regional education
laboratories, and provides a smooth transition from the current system
of technical assistance providers to a new, streamlined system of
comprehensive centers. We know that our teachers need this support and
we intend to provide it.
The Federal Government has a distinguished history of investment in
education research. What began many years ago as data collection has
evolved into a current approach that collects, analyzes and
disseminates important information. It enables researchers to bring
their analyses to the people who need this information and can use it
best. Our bill also maintains the autonomy of the National Center on
Statistics, and makes sure that the National Assessment of Education
Progress stays out of the political arena.
Our goals are to raise the quality of research conducted at the new
Institute, to link its research with other research, and to make it
available to the teachers who use it.
We want to be able to look to this Institute when we have education
questions in the same way that we look to the NIH when we have medical
questions. This bill provides a sound foundation to do so.
I commend the Committee staff who worked long and hard and
effectively on this bill: Alex Nock, Denise Forte, Doug Mesecar, Bob
Sweet and Sally Lovejoy of the House Committee; Lloyd Horwich with
Senator Dodd, Elyse Wasch and Kathleen Fitzgerald with Senator Reed,
Bethany Little with Senator Murray, Carmel Martin with Senator
Bingaman, Rebecca Litt with Senator Mikulski, Eric Fatemi with Senator
Harkin, David Sewell with Senator Edwards, Jill Morningstar with
Senator Wellstone, Katherine Brown with Senator Clinton and Sherry
Kaiman with Senator Jeffords, Tracy Locklin with Senator Gregg, Amanda
Farris with Senator Enzi, Kristin Bannerman with Senator DeWine,
Jennifer Swenson with Senator Roberts, Andrea Becker with Senator Frist
and Jane Oates and Emma Vadehra of my own staff. I thank Amy Gaynor of
Legislative Counsel and the floor staff for working with us to complete
the process.
Mr. GREGG. Mr. President, first let me say that I believe that this
Substitute Amendment to H.R. 3801, The Education Sciences Reform Act of
2002, represents a significant step toward achieving our common goal of
improving the quality of education research. I thank Assistant
Secretary Whitehurst and his staff for the assistance they provided in
crafting this legislation. I am especially gratified to see this bill
come together in the same spirit of bipartisanship in which we crafted
the No Child Left Behind Act.
Though significant Federal involvement in education research dates
back to the 1950's, we are still without a strong body of high quality
education research to guide education policymaking. Yet the need for
sound, rigorous education research that is free of political bias and
useful to educators has never been more important. With passage of the
bipartisan No Child Left Behind Act, we have made it our mission as a
Nation to make sure every student is well-educated. By renewing our
efforts to master the science of how children learn best, this bill
will help tremendously in achieving that mission.
Specifically, the bill:
No. 1, reconstitutes the Office of Education Research and Improvement
as the ``Institute of Education Sciences'' to provide a more rational,
streamlined infrastructure for the Department of Education's research,
development, statistics, evaluation, and dissemination functions;
No. 2, establishes more rigorous research standards, which all
Institute-funded education research will have to meet. Education fads
that masquerade as science will no longer be acceptable;
No. 3, establishes Research and Development Centers to cover such
important topics as standards, assessment and accountability, improving
low achieving schools, innovation in education reform, rural education,
teacher quality, and postsecondary education;
No. 4, contributes to the creation of a ``culture of science'' within
the new Institute by giving the Director the hiring flexibility
necessary to attract and retain the best researchers, evaluators, and
statisticians to the Institute;
No. 5, makes technical assistance to schools, school districts, and
states more efficient and user-friendly, particularly the assistance
needed in order to effectively implement the No Child Left Behind Act.
The current patchwork of regional technical assistance entities will be
replaced by a single set of technical assistance providers;
No. 6, increases the independence of the research and evaluation
functions of the Department, while preserving the independence and
quality of the current National Center for Education Statistics;
No. 7, further insulates the National Assessment of Educational
Progress from political interference by giving the independent National
Assessment Governing Board the authority to release NAEP results to the
public; and
No 8, requires that grants and contracts with regional education
laboratories, national research and development centers, and technical
assistance providers are awarded on the basis of open competition.
It is my hope that the significant reforms made by this legislation
will mark the beginning of a new era in the field of education
research--an era in which policymaking will be based on sound science,
to the benefit of our Nation's students.
Mr. REED. Mr. President, I support the Education Sciences Reform Act
of 2002.
This legislation reauthorizes and renames the current Office of
Educational Research and Improvement at the Department of Education,
now to be called the Institute of Education Sciences. The bill will
increase the quality of educational research and statistics, improve
dissemination, technical assistance, educational product development,
evaluation, and other research efforts, and minimize the effect of
politics on education research.
As States begin to implement the No Child Left Behind Act, the need
for a responsive, relevant, high quality, and rigorous education
knowledge enterprise is greater than ever.
Mr. President, I am particularly pleased about the bill's provisions
to retain and strengthen the regional educational laboratories. The
regional educational laboratories, like the Northeast and Islands
Regional Educational Laboratory at Brown University, conduct applied
research, develop educational products and materials, provide technical
assistance, and disseminate information in order to improve teaching,
increase student achievement, and promote effective
[[Page S10481]]
school reform. The Education Sciences Reform Act enhances the regional
educational laboratories work to put research into practice and focuses
their efforts on helping states and districts meet their specific
educational needs.
I thank Chairman Kennedy, Senator Gregg, Senator Enzi, and members of
the House Education and the Workforce Committee for working closely
with me on many aspects of this legislation. This is important
legislation, and I am pleased to support it.
Mr. DASCHLE. I understand Senators Kennedy, Gregg, and others have a
substitute amendment at the desk, and I ask the amendment be considered
and agreed to, and the motion to reconsider be laid upon the table;
that the bill, as amended, be read three times, passed, and the motion
to reconsider be laid upon the table, and that any statements related
thereto be printed in the Record, without intervening action or debate.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
The amendment (No. 4885) was agreed to.
(The amendment is printed in today's Record under ``Text of
Amendments.'')
The bill (H.R. 3801), as amended, was read the third time and passed.
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