A r c h i v e d I n f o r m a t i o n

The New OERI-In Brief

On March 31, President Clinton signed into law the Goals 2000: Educate America Act (Public Law 103-227). Title IX of this legislation, the Educational Research, Development, Dissemination, and Improvement Act of 1994, reauthorized OERI, redefined its mission, and mandated a major restructuring of the organization.

Under its new authorization, the mission of OERI is to provide national leadership in

Expanding basic knowledge and understanding of education;
Promoting excellence and equity in education and the achievement of the National Education Goals by spurring reform in the school systems of the United States;
Promoting the use of research and development to improve practice in the classroom; and
Monitoring the state of education

. To fulfill this mission, the statute mandates the following:

Establishment of a 15-member National Educational Research Policy and Priorities Board to be appointed by the Secretary that will work with the OERI Assistant Secretary to develop research priorities and high standards for future education research and development.
Creation by October 1995 of five new National Research Institutes that will conduct basic and applied research and coordinate with other OERI-supported projects. Institutes will focus on issues related to

--Student achievement, curriculum, and assessment;

--Education of at-risk students;

--Educational governance, finance, policymaking, and management;

--Early childhood development and education; and

--Postsecondary education, libraries, and lifelong learning.

Establishment of an Office of Reform Assistance and Dissemination (ORAD) to provide easy access to statistical and research-based information and methods that can improve learning opportunities for all students. The office will not only identify and share information on exemplary and promising programs, but it will form and maintain an electronic network linking the Education Department, the Institutes, the National Center for Education Statistics, the National Library of Education, OERI-funded projects, and educational consumers such as libraries and state and local education agencies. ORAD will also develop 10 to 12 regional laboratories to advance systemwide school reform and support the development of teachers' skills and knowledge.
Creation of a National Library of Education to provide a central location within the federal government for information about education and to promote cooperation and networking among libraries to share education information. Title IX also authorizes:
Goals 2000 Community Partnerships to enrich learning and teaching in impoverished urban and rural communities. Partnerships could support long-term teamwork between universities, schools, businesses, and communities.
Teacher Research Dissemination Demonstration Program to train teachers how to find and use research to help them improve teaching, share successful teaching strategies and materials, support professional networks, and survey teacher research needs.

The National Center for Education Statistics is being reauthorized through the Elementary and Secondary Education Act currently before Congress. Although not authorized through Title IX, the Library Programs office will continue to administer federal library grant programs.

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