[Federal Register Volume 59, Number 153 (Wednesday, August 10, 1994)]
[Unknown Section]
[Page 0]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 94-19535]


[[Page Unknown]]

[Federal Register: August 10, 1994]


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DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION

 

National Educational Research Policy and Priorities Board; 
Nominations

AGENCY: Department of Education.

ACTION: Acceptance of Nominations for Membership on the National 
Educational Research Policy and Priorities Board (Board).

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1. Introduction

    The U.S. Department of Education's Office of Educational Research 
and Improvement (OERI) was recently reauthorized by Public Law 103-227 
Title IX: the ``Educational Research, Development, Dissemination and 
Improvement Act of 1994'' (the Act). Part B of the Act directs the 
Secretary to establish, within OERI, a ``National Educational Research 
Policy and Priorities Board''. In accordance with this directive, 
notice is hereby given that the Secretary of Education (the Secretary) 
is accepting nominations of individuals who, by virtue of their 
training, experience, and background in educational research and the 
education professions, are exceptionally qualified to appraise the 
educational research and development effort of the United States and to 
work with the Assistant Secretary for Educational Research and 
Improvement (Assistant Secretary) in fulfilling other duties as 
described elsewhere in this Notice. (Section 921(f)(1) of the Act)

2. Description of the Board

    The Board shall consist of 15 members appointed by the Secretary. 
Five members shall be appointed from among researchers in the field of 
education who have been nominated by the National Academy of Sciences; 
five shall be outstanding school-based professional educators; and five 
shall be individuals who are knowledgeable about the educational needs 
of the United States and may include: parents with experience in 
promoting parental involvement in education, Chief State School 
Officers, local educational agency superintendents, principals, members 
of State or local boards of education or Bureau of Indian Affairs-
funded school boards, and individuals from business and industry with 
experience in promoting private sector involvement in education.
    Members of the Board may not serve on any other governing or 
advisory board within the Department of Education (Department) or as a 
paid consultant of the Department.
    The Act provides that generally the terms of office for members 
shall be for six years. However, for the first Board appointed under 
this legislative authority, the terms of office shall, through a random 
selection process at the time of appointment, be as follows: five 
members will serve for three (3) years; five members will serve for 
four (4) years; and five members will serve for six (6) years. (Section 
921(l)(2)(B) of the Act)
    At a minimum, the Board is required to meet quarterly. Additional 
time will most likely be required for subcommittee meetings and to 
fulfill the duties assigned to the Board. By law, the Board is required 
to hold its first meeting no later than May 15, 1995. However, the 
Secretary and Assistant Secretary believe that the restructuring of the 
Department's education research and dissemination effort is of such 
urgency and high priority that they would like to have the advice of 
and collaboration with the Board begin as soon as possible. Therefore, 
they anticipate holding the Board's first meeting in late November, 
1994.

3. Functions of the Board

    Section 921(b) of the Act provides that the Board had the 
responsibility to:
    (a) work collaboratively with the Assistant Secretary to determine 
priorities that should guide the work of OERI and provide guidance to 
the Congress in its oversight of OERI;
    (b) review and approve the Research Priorities Plan developed by 
the Assistant Secretary in collaboration with the Board;
    (c) review and approve standards for the conduct and evaluation of 
all research, development, and dissemination carried out under the 
auspices of OERI; and
    (d) review regularly, evaluate, and publicly comment upon, the 
implementation of its recommended priorities and policies by the 
Department and the Congress.
    Additional responsibilities of the Board include:
    (1) Providing advice and assistance to the Assistant Secretary in 
administering the duties of OERI;
    (2) Making recommendations to the Assistant Secretary of persons 
qualified to fulfill the responsibilities of the Director of each 
research institute established within OERI, making special efforts to 
identify qualified women and minorities and soliciting and giving due 
consideration to recommendations from professional associations and 
interested members of the public;
    (3) Advising and making recommendations to the President with 
respect to individuals who are qualified to fulfill the 
responsibilities of the Assistant Secretary for OERI;
    (4) Reviewing and commenting upon proposed contract, grant, and 
cooperative agreement proposals;
    (5) Advising the United States on the Federal educational research 
and development effort;
    (6) Recommending ways for strengthening active partnerships among 
researchers, educational practitioners, librarians, and policymakers;
    (7) Recommending ways to strengthen interaction and collaboration 
between the various program offices and components;
    (8) Soliciting advice and information from the educational field--
making sure to involve educational practitioners particularly teachers 
in the process--to define research needs and provide suggestions for 
research topics;
    (9) Soliciting advice from practitioners, policymakers, and 
researchers, and recommending missions for the national research 
centers which are funded by OERI by identifying topics which require 
long-term, sustained, systematic, programmatic, and integrated research 
and dissemination efforts;
    (10) Providing recommendations for translating research findings 
into workable, adaptable models for use in policy and in practice 
across different settings, and recommendations for other forms of 
dissemination; and
    (11) Providing recommendations for creating incentives to draw 
talented young people into the field of educational research, including 
scholars from disadvantaged and minority groups. (Section 921(c) of the 
Act)

4. Nomination Categories

    Nominations are being requested for the five outstanding school-
based professional educators and the five individuals who are 
knowledgeable about the educational needs of the United States as 
described under the heading Description of the Board above. The 
Secretary must give due consideration to the gender, race, and 
ethnicity of appointees to assure that the Board is broadly 
representative of the diversity of the United States. (Section 
921(f)(2) of the Act)

5. Applicability of Certain Federal Legal Requirements

    The Board is subject to Federal legislation (the Federal Advisory 
Committee Act, 5 U.S.C. App. 2; and the Government in the Sunshine Act, 
5 U.S.C. 552b), which is designed to ensure that public business is 
publicly conducted, and that government advisory and policymaking 
groups are not inappropriately used to advance the private interests of 
their members. Board members are considered special government 
employees who are subject to certain government-wide restrictions on 
conflicts of interest.

6. Nomination Procedures

    In order to be assured of consideration, nominations--which include 
the nominee's name, address, telephone number and brief biography--
should be mailed or hand delivered no later than September 12, 1994 to 
Diane Rossi, Office of the Secretary of Education, U.S. Department of 
Education, Attention: National Educational Research Policy and 
Priorities Board, 600 Independence Avenue, SW, Washington, DC 20202-
0106. If the nomination is late, the Department may lack sufficient 
time to review it with other nominations and may decline to accept it.

(a) Nominations Delivered by Mail

    Nominations delivered by mail must be addressed as indicated above 
and must show proof of mailing consisting of one of the following: (1) 
a legibly dated U.S. Postal Service Postmark; (2) a legible mail 
receipt with the date of mailing stamped by the U.S. Postal Service; 
(3) a dated shipping label, invoice, or receipt from a commercial 
carrier. The following are not accepted as proof of mailing: (1) A 
private metered postmark, or (2) a mail receipt that is not dated by 
the U.S. Postal Service.

(b) Nominations Delivered By Hand/Courier Service

    A nomination that is hand delivered must be taken to the U.S. 
Department of Education, Room 6103, 600 Independence Avenue, SW, 
Washington, D.C. 20202-0106. Hand-delivered nominations will be 
accepted daily between the hours of 8:30 a.m. and 5:00 p.m., 
Washington, DC time, except Saturdays, Sundays, and Federal holidays. 
In order for a nomination sent through a Courier Service to be 
considered timely, the Courier Service must be in receipt of the 
nomination on or before the deadline.

    Dated: August 5, 1994.
Sharon P. Robinson,
Assistant Secretary for Educational Research and Improvement.
[FR Doc. 94-19535 Filed 8-9-94; 8:45 am]
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