§ 9516. National Board for Education Sciences

(a) Establishment

The Institute shall have a board of directors, which shall be known as the National Board for Education Sciences.

(b) Duties

The duties of the Board shall be the following:

(1) To advise and consult with the Director on the policies of the Institute.

(2) To consider and approve priorities proposed by the Director under section 9515 of this title to guide the work of the Institute.

(3) To review and approve procedures for technical and scientific peer review of the activities of the Institute.

(4) To advise the Director on the establishment of activities to be supported by the Institute, including the general areas of research to be carried out by the National Center for Education Research.

(5) To present to the Director such recommendations as it may find appropriate for—

(A) the strengthening of education research; and

(B) the funding of the Institute.

(6) To advise the Director on the funding of applications for grants, contracts, and cooperative agreements for research, after the completion of peer review.

(7) To review and regularly evaluate the work of the Institute, to ensure that scientifically valid research, development, evaluation, and statistical analysis are consistent with the standards for such activities under this subchapter.

(8) To advise the Director on ensuring that activities conducted or supported by the Institute are objective, secular, neutral, and nonideological and are free of partisan political influence and racial, cultural, gender, or regional bias.

(9) To solicit advice and information from those in the educational field, particularly practitioners and researchers, to recommend to the Director topics that require long-term, sustained, systematic, programmatic, and integrated research efforts, including knowledge utilization and wide dissemination of research, consistent with the priorities and mission of the Institute.

(10) To advise the Director on opportunities for the participation in, and the advancement of, women, minorities, and persons with disabilities in education research, statistics, and evaluation activities of the Institute.

(11) To recommend to the Director ways to enhance strategic partnerships and collaborative efforts among other Federal and State research agencies.

(12) To recommend to the Director individuals to serve as Commissioners of the National Education Centers.

(1) Voting members

The Board shall have 15 voting members appointed by the President, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate.

(2) Advice

The President shall solicit advice regarding individuals to serve on the Board from the National Academy of Sciences, the National Science Board, and the National Science Advisor.

(3) Nonvoting ex officio members

The Board shall have the following nonvoting ex officio members:

(A) The Director of the Institute of Education Sciences.

(B) Each of the Commissioners of the National Education Centers.

(D) The Director of the Census.

(E) The Commissioner of Labor Statistics.

(F) The Director of the National Science Foundation.

(4) Appointed membership

(A) Qualifications

Members appointed under paragraph (1) shall be highly qualified to appraise education research, statistics, evaluations, or development, and shall include the following individuals:

(i) Not fewer than 8 researchers in the field of statistics, evaluation, social sciences, or physical and biological sciences, which may include those researchers recommended by the National Academy of Sciences.

(ii) Individuals who are knowledgeable about the educational needs of the United States, who may include school-based professional educators, parents (including parents with experience in promoting parental involvement in education), Chief State School Officers, State postsecondary education executives, presidents of institutions of higher education, local educational agency superintendents, early childhood experts, special education experts, 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.

(B) Terms

Each member appointed under paragraph (1) shall serve for a term of 4 years, except that—

(i) the terms of the initial members appointed under such paragraph shall (as determined by a random selection process at the time of appointment) be for staggered terms of—

(I) 4 years for each of 5 members;

(II) 3 years for each of 5 members; and

(III) 2 years for each of 5 members; and

(ii) no member appointed under such paragraph shall serve for more than 2 consecutive terms.

Any member appointed to fill a vacancy occurring before the expiration of the term for which the member’s predecessor was appointed shall be appointed only for the remainder of that term.

(D) 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.

(5) Chair

The Board shall elect a chair from among the members of the Board.

(6) Compensation

Members of the Board shall serve without pay for such service. Members of the Board who are officers or employees of the United States may not receive additional pay, allowances, or benefits by reason of their service on the Board.

(7) Travel expenses

The members of the Board shall receive travel expenses, including per diem in lieu of subsistence, in accordance with subchapter I of chapter 57 of title 5.

(8) Powers of the Board

(A) Executive Director

The Board shall have an Executive Director who shall be appointed by the Board.

(B) Additional staff

The Board shall utilize such additional staff as may be appointed or assigned by the Director, in consultation with the Chair and the Executive Director.

The Board may use the services and facilities of any department or agency of the Federal Government. Upon the request of the Board, the head of any Federal department or agency may detail any of the personnel of that department or agency to the Board to assist the Board in carrying out this Act.

(D) Contracts

The Board may enter into contracts or make other arrangements as may be necessary to carry out its functions.

(E) Information

The Board may, to the extent otherwise permitted by law, obtain directly from any executive department or agency of the Federal Government such information as the Board determines necessary to carry out its functions.

(9) Meetings

The Board shall meet not less than 3 times each year. The Board shall hold additional meetings at the call of the Chair or upon the written request of not less than 6 voting members of the Board. Meetings of the Board are subject to section 552b of title 5 (commonly referred to as the Government in the Sunshine Act).

(10) Quorum

A majority of the voting members of the Board serving at the time of the meeting shall constitute a quorum.

(d) Standing committees

(1) Establishment

The Board may establish standing committees—

(A) that will each serve 1 of the National Education Centers; and

(B) to advise, consult with, and make recommendations to the Director and the Commissioner of the appropriate National Education Center.

(2) Membership

A majority of the members of each standing committee shall be voting members of the Board whose expertise is needed for the functioning of the committee. In addition, the membership of each standing committee may include, as appropriate—

(A) experts and scientists in research, statistics, evaluation, or development who are recognized in their discipline as highly qualified to represent such discipline and who are not members of the Board, but who may have been recommended by the Commissioner of the appropriate National Education Center and approved by the Board;

(B) ex officio members of the Board; and

(C) policymakers and expert practitioners with knowledge of, and experience using, the results of research, evaluation, and statistics who are not members of the Board, but who may have been recommended by the Commissioner of the appropriate National Education Center and approved by the Board.

(3) Duties

Each standing committee shall—

(A) review and comment, at the discretion of the Board or the standing committee, on any grant, contract, or cooperative agreement entered into (or proposed to be entered into) by the applicable National Education Center;

(B) prepare for, and submit to, the Board an annual evaluation of the operations of the applicable National Education Center;

(C) review and comment on the relevant plan for activities to be undertaken by the applicable National Education Center for each fiscal year; and

(D) report periodically to the Board regarding the activities of the committee and the applicable National Education Center.

(e) Annual report

The Board shall submit to the Director, the Secretary, and the appropriate congressional committees, not later than July 1 of each year, a report that assesses the effectiveness of the Institute in carrying out its priorities and mission, especially as such priorities and mission relate to carrying out scientifically valid research, conducting unbiased evaluations, collecting and reporting accurate education statistics, and translating research into practice.

(f) Recommendations

The Board shall submit to the Director, the Secretary, and the appropriate congressional committees a report that includes any recommendations regarding any actions that may be taken to enhance the ability of the Institute to carry out its priorities and mission. The Board shall submit an interim report not later than 3 years after November 5, 2002, and a final report not later than 5 years after such date.

U.S. Code

§ 9516. National Board for Education Sciences