[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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