 
                  CHAPTER 68--NATIONAL EDUCATION REFORM
 
Part A--General Provisions Regarding Office of Educational Research and 
                               Improvement
 
    Part B--National Educational Research Policy and Priorities Board
 
Sec. 6021. Establishment within Office of Educational Research 
        and Improvement
        

(a) In general

    There is established within the Office a National Educational 
Research Policy and Priorities Board.

(b) Functions

    It shall be the responsibility of the Board to--
        (1) work collaboratively with the Assistant Secretary to 
    determine priorities that should guide the work of the Office and 
    provide guidance to the Congress in its oversight of the Office;
        (2) review and approve the Research Priorities Plan developed by 
    the Assistant Secretary in collaboration with the Board;
        (3) review and approve standards for the conduct and evaluation 
    of all research, development, and dissemination carried out under 
    the auspices of the Office pursuant to this subchapter; and
        (4) review regularly, evaluate, and publicly comment upon, the 
    implementation of its recommended priorities and policies by the 
    Department and the Congress.

(c) Additional responsibilities of Board

    It shall also be the responsibility of the Board to--
        (1) provide advice and assistance to the Assistant Secretary in 
    carrying out the coordination activities described in section 6011 
    of this title;
        (2) make recommendations to the Assistant Secretary of persons 
    qualified to fulfill the responsibilities of the Director of each 
    research institute established by section 6031 of this title after 
    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) advise and make recommendations to the President with 
    respect to individuals who are qualified to fulfill the 
    responsibilities of the Assistant Secretary for the Office;
        (4) review and comment upon proposed contract grant, and 
    cooperative agreement proposals in accordance with section 
    6031(c)(4) of this title;
        (5) advise the United States on the Federal educational research 
    and development effort;
        (6) recommend ways for strengthening active partnerships among 
    researchers, educational practitioners, librarians, and 
    policymakers;
        (7) recommend ways to strengthen interaction and collaboration 
    between the various program offices and components;
        (8) solicit advice and information from the educational field, 
    to define research needs and suggestions for research topics, and 
    shall involve educational practitioners, particularly teachers, in 
    this process;
        (9) solicit advice from practitioners, policymakers, and 
    researchers, and recommend missions for the national research 
    centers assisted under this subchapter by identifying topics which 
    require long-term, sustained, systematic, programmatic, and 
    integrated research and dissemination efforts;
        (10) provide 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) provide recommendations for creating incentives to draw 
    talented young people into the field of educational research, 
    including scholars from disadvantaged and minority groups.

(d) Standing subcommittees

    The Board may establish a standing subcommittee for each of the 
Institutes established by section 6031 of this title and for the Office 
of Reform Assistance and Dissemination established by section 6041(b) of 
this title which shall advise, assist, consult with and make 
recommendations to the Assistant Secretary, the Board, the Director of 
such entity and the Congress on matters related to the activities 
carried out by and through such entities.

(e) Powers of Board

    In carrying out its functions, powers, and responsibilities, the 
Board--
        (1) shall, without regard to the provisions of title 5 relating 
    to the appointment and compensation of officers or employees of the 
    United States, appoint a director to be paid at a rate not to exceed 
    the rate of basic pay payable for level V of the Executive Schedule 
    who shall assist in carrying out and managing the activities of the 
    Board and perform such other functions the Board determines to be 
    necessary and appropriate;
        (2) shall utilize such additional staff as may be appointed or 
    assigned by the Assistant Secretary;
        (3) may arrange for the detail of staff personnel and utilize 
    the services and facilities of any department or agency of the 
    Federal Government;
        (4) may enter into contracts, or make other arrangements as may 
    be necessary to carry out its functions;
        (5) shall participate in any public meetings or other activities 
    carried out by the Assistant Secretary in the development of the 
    Research Priorities Plan;
        (6) may review any grant, contract, or cooperative agreement 
    made or entered into by the Office;
        (7) may, to the extent otherwise permitted by law, obtain 
    directly from any department or agency of the United States such 
    information as the Board deems necessary to carry out its 
    responsibilities;
        (8) may convene workshops and conferences, collect data, and 
    establish subcommittees which may be composed of members of the 
    Board and nonmember consultants (including employees of the 
    Department of Education) with expertise in the particular area 
    addressed by such subcommittees; and
        (9) shall establish such rules and procedures to govern its 
    operations as it considers appropriate, to the extent otherwise 
    permitted by law.

(f) Membership in general

                         (1) Qualifications

        The members of the Board shall be 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 fulfill the responsibilities described in 
    subsections (b) and (c) of this section.

                      (2) Broad representation

        Due consideration shall be given to the gender, race, and 
    ethnicity of appointees to assure that the Board is broadly 
    representative of the diversity of the United States.

                           (3) Limitation

        A voting member of the Board may not serve on any other 
    governing or advisory board within the Department of Education or as 
    a paid consultant of such Department.

                      (4) Conflict of interest

        A voting member of the Board shall be considered a special 
    Government employee for the purposes of the Ethics in Government Act 
    of 1978.

(g) Secretarial appointments

    The Board shall consist of 15 members appointed by the Secretary. Of 
the members of the Board--
        (1) five shall be appointed from among researchers in the field 
    of education who have been nominated by the National Academy of 
    Sciences;
        (2) five shall be outstanding school-based professional 
    educators; and
        (3) 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-
    funded school boards, and individuals from business and industry 
    with experience in promoting private sector involvement in 
    education.

(h) Requirements for nominations by National Academy of Sciences

                           (1) In general

        In making nominations for the members of the Board described in 
    subsection (g)(1) of this section, the National Academy of 
    Sciences--
            (A) shall give due consideration to recommendations from 
        research and education organizations;
            (B) may not nominate any individual who is an elected 
        officer or employee of such organization; and
            (C) shall nominate not less than 5 individuals for each of 
        the positions on the Board for which such organization has 
        responsibility for making nominations.

               (2) Request for additional nominations

        In the event that the Secretary determines that none of the 
    individuals nominated by the National Academy of Sciences meets the 
    qualifications for membership on the Board specified in subsection 
    (g) of this section, the Secretary may request that such 
    organization make additional nominations.

(i) Nominations for Board membership

    Prior to appointing any member of the Board, the Secretary shall 
actively solicit and give due consideration to recommendations from 
organizations such as the National Education Association, the American 
Federation of Teachers, the National Parent-Teachers Association, the 
American Library Association, the American Association of School 
Administrators, the National Association of State Boards of Education, 
the National Indian School Board Association, the Association of 
Community Tribal Schools, the National Indian Education Association, and 
other education-related organizations and interested members of the 
public.

(j) Ex officio members

    The ex officio, nonvoting members of the Board shall include the 
Assistant Secretary and may also include--
        (1) the Director of Research for the Department of Defense;
        (2) the Director of Research for the Department of Labor;
        (3) the Director of the National Science Foundation;
        (4) the Director of the National Institutes of Health;
        (5) the chair of the National Endowment for the Arts;
        (6) the chair of the National Endowment for the Humanities;
        (7) the Librarian of Congress; and
        (8) the Director of the Office of Indian Education Programs of 
    the Department of the Interior.

(k) Chair

    The Board shall select a Chair from among its appointed members who 
shall serve for a renewable term of 2 years.

(l) Terms of office

                           (1) In general

        Except as provided in paragraphs (2) and (3), the term of office 
    of each voting member of the Board shall be 6 years.

                           (2) Exceptions

        (A) Any individual appointed to fill a vacancy occurring on the 
    Board prior to the expiration of the term for which the predecessor 
    of the individual was appointed shall be appointed for the remainder 
    of the term. A vacancy shall be filled in the same manner in which 
    the original appointment was made.
        (B) The terms of office of the members of the Board who first 
    take office after March 31, 1994, shall, as designated by a random 
    selection process at the time of appointment, be as follows:
            (i) 3 years for each of 5 members of the Board.
            (ii) 4 years for each of 5 members of the Board.
            (iii) 6 years for each of 5 members of the Board.

            (3) Prohibition on certain consecutive terms

        An individual who has been a member of the Board for 12 
    consecutive years shall thereafter be ineligible for appointment 
    during the 6-year period beginning on the date of the expiration of 
    the 12th year.

                  (4) Prohibition regarding removal

        The Secretary shall neither remove nor encourage the departure 
    of a member of the Board before the expiration of such member's 
    term.

(m) Meetings of Board

                         (1) Initial meeting

        The Secretary shall ensure that the first meeting of the Board 
    is held not later than May 15, 1995.

                       (2) Subsequent meetings

        The Board shall meet quarterly, at the call of the Chair, and 
    when at least one-third of the members of the Board make a written 
    request to meet.

                             (3) Quorum

        A majority of the Board shall constitute a quorum.

                          (4) Open meetings

        The Government in the Sunshine Act (5 U.S.C. 552b) shall apply 
    to meetings of the Board.

(Pub. L. 103-227, title IX, Sec. 921, Mar. 31, 1994, 108 Stat. 223.)

                       References in Text

    Level V of the Executive Schedule, referred to in subsec. (e)(1), is 
set out in section 5316 of Title 5, Government Organization and 
Employees.
    The Ethics in Government Act of 1978, referred to in subsec. (f)(4), 
is Pub. L. 95-521, Oct. 26, 1978, 92 Stat. 1824, as amended. For 
complete classification of this Act to the Code, see Short Title note 
set out under section 101 of Pub. L. 95-521 in the Appendix to Title 5.
    The Government in the Sunshine Act, referred to in subsec. (m)(4), 
is Pub. L. 94-409, Sept. 13, 1976, 90 Stat. 1241, which enacted section 
552b of Title 5, amended sections 551, 552, 556, and 557 of Title 5, 
section 10 of Pub. L. 92-463, set out in the Appendix to Title 5, and 
section 410 of Title 39, Postal Service, and enacted provisions set out 
as notes under section 552b of Title 5. For complete classification of 
this Act to the Code, see Short Title note set out under section 552b of 
Title 5 and Tables.

                  Section Referred to in Other Sections

    This section is referred to in section 6011 of this title.
