20 U.S.C. § 9544 — Performance of duties

Page 1715 TITLE 20—EDUCATION § 9544 1 So in original. The comma probably should not appear. status, limited English proficiency, mobility, disability, urban, rural, suburban districts, and other population characteristics, when such disaggregated information will facilitate educational and policy decisionmaking; (4) assisting public and private educational agencies, organizations, and institutions in improving and automating statistical and data collection activities, which may include assisting State educational agencies and local educational agencies with the disaggregation of data and with the development of longitu- dinal student data systems; (5) determining voluntary standards and guidelines to assist State educational agencies in developing statewide longitudinal data sys- tems that link individual student data con- sistent with the requirements of the Elemen- tary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 6301 et seq.), promote linkages across States, and protect student privacy consistent with section 9573 of this title, to improve stu- dent academic achievement and close achieve- ment gaps; (6) acquiring and disseminating data on edu- cational activities and student achievement (such as the Third International Math and Science Study) in the United States compared with foreign nations; (7) conducting longitudinal and special data collections necessary to report on the condi- tion and progress of education; (8) assisting the Director in the preparation of a biennial report, as described in section 9519 of this title; and (9) determining, in consultation with the Na- tional Research Council of the National Acad- emies, methodology by which States may ac- curately measure graduation rates (defined as the percentage of students who graduate from secondary school with a regular diploma in the standard number of years), school comple- tion rates, and dropout rates. (b) Training program The Statistics Commissioner may establish a program to train employees of public and pri- vate educational agencies, organizations, and in- stitutions in the use of standard statistical pro- cedures and concepts, and may establish a fel- lowship program to appoint such employees as temporary fellows at the Statistics Center, in order to assist the Statistics Center in carrying out its duties. (Pub. L. 107–279, title I, § 153, Nov. 5, 2002, 116 Stat. 1958; Pub. L. 114–95, title IX, § 9214(b), Dec. 10, 2015, 129 Stat. 2161.) Editorial Notes REFERENCES IN TEXT The Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965, referred to in subsec. (a)(5), is Pub. L. 89–10, Apr. 11, 1965, 79 Stat. 27, which is classified generally to chapter 70 (§ 6301 et seq.) of this title. For complete classification of this Act to the Code, see Short Title note set out under section 6301 of this title and Tables. AMENDMENTS 2015—Subsec. (a)(1)(F)(ii). Pub. L. 114–95 substituted ‘‘teachers who meet the applicable State certification and licensure requirements, including any require- ments for certification obtained through alternative routes to certification, or, with regard to special edu- cation teachers, the qualifications described in section 1412(a)(14)(C) of this title.’’ for ‘‘teachers who are high- ly qualified (as such term is defined in section 9101 of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 7801))’’. Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries EFFECTIVE DATE OF 2015 AMENDMENT Amendment by Pub. L. 114–95 effective Dec. 10, 2015, except with respect to certain noncompetitive pro- grams and competitive programs, see section 5 of Pub. L. 114–95, set out as a note under section 6301 of this title. STUDY BY NATIONAL CENTER FOR EDUCATION STATIS- TICS RESPECTING CONDITION OF EDUCATION FOR HIS- PANIC AMERICANS Pub. L. 98–211, § 24(b), Dec. 8, 1983, 97 Stat. 1419, pro- vided that: ‘‘The National Center for Education Statis- tics shall not terminate the study of the condition of education for Hispanic Americans unless specifically required or authorized to do so by law.’’ § 9544. Performance of duties (a) Grants, contracts, and cooperative agree- ments In carrying out the duties under this part, the Statistics Commissioner,1 may award grants, enter into contracts and cooperative agree- ments, and provide technical assistance. (b) Gathering information (1) Sampling The Statistics Commissioner may use the statistical method known as sampling (includ- ing random sampling) to carry out this part. (2) Source of information The Statistics Commissioner may, as appro- priate, use information collected— (A) from States, local educational agen- cies, public and private schools, preschools, institutions of higher education, vocational and adult education programs, libraries, ad- ministrators, teachers, students, the general public, and other individuals, organizations, agencies, and institutions (including infor- mation collected by States and local edu- cational agencies for their own use); and (B) by other offices within the Institute and by other Federal departments, agencies, and instrumentalities. (3) Collection The Statistics Commissioner may— (A) enter into interagency agreements for the collection of statistics; (B) arrange with any agency, organization, or institution for the collection of statistics; and (C) assign employees of the Statistics Cen- ter to any such agency, organization, or in- stitution to assist in such collection. (4) Technical assistance and coordination In order to maximize the effectiveness of De- partment efforts to serve the educational needs of children and youth, the Statistics Commissioner shall— Page 1716 TITLE 20—EDUCATION § 9545 1 So in original. The comma probably should not appear. (A) provide technical assistance to the De- partment offices that gather data for statis- tical purposes; and (B) coordinate with other Department of- fices in the collection of data. (c) Duration Notwithstanding any other provision of law, the grants, contracts, and cooperative agree- ments under this section may be awarded, on a competitive basis, for a period of not more than 5 years, and may be renewed at the discretion of the Statistics Commissioner for an additional period of not more than 5 years. (Pub. L. 107–279, title I, § 154, Nov. 5, 2002, 116 Stat. 1960.) § 9545. Reports (a) Procedures for issuance of reports The Statistics Commissioner,1 shall establish procedures, in accordance with section 9576 of this title, to ensure that the reports issued under this section are relevant, of high quality, useful to customers, subject to rigorous peer re- view, produced in a timely fashion, and free from any partisan political influence. (b) Report on condition and progress of edu- cation Not later than June 1, 2003, and each June 1 thereafter, the Statistics Commissioner,1 shall submit to the President and the appropriate congressional committees a statistical report on the condition and progress of education in the United States. (c) Statistical reports The Statistics Commissioner shall issue reg- ular and, as necessary, special statistical re- ports on education topics, particularly in the core academic areas of reading, mathematics, and science, consistent with the priorities and the mission of the Statistics Center. (Pub. L. 107–279, title I, § 155, Nov. 5, 2002, 116 Stat. 1960.) § 9546. Dissemination (a) General requests (1) In general The Statistics Center may furnish tran- scripts or copies of tables and other statistical records and make special statistical compila- tions and surveys for State and local officials, public and private organizations, and individ- uals. (2) Compilations The Statistics Center shall provide State educational agencies, local educational agen- cies, and institutions of higher education with opportunities to suggest the establishment of particular compilations of statistics, surveys, and analyses that will assist those educational agencies. (b) Congressional requests The Statistics Center shall furnish such spe- cial statistical compilations and surveys as the relevant congressional committees may request. (c) Joint statistical projects The Statistics Center may engage in joint sta- tistical projects related to the mission of the Center, or other statistical purposes authorized by law, with nonprofit organizations or agen- cies, and the cost of such projects shall be shared equitably as determined by the Sec- retary. (d) Fees (1) In general Statistical compilations and surveys under this section, other than those carried out pur- suant to subsections (b) and (c), may be made subject to the payment of the actual or esti- mated cost of such work. (2) Funds received All funds received in payment for work or services described in this subsection may be used to pay directly the costs of such work or services, to repay appropriations that initially bore all or part of such costs, or to refund ex- cess sums when necessary. (e) Access (1) Other agencies The Statistics Center shall, consistent with section 9573 of this title, cooperate with other Federal agencies having a need for educational data in providing access to educational data received by the Statistics Center. (2) Interested parties The Statistics Center shall, in accordance with such terms and conditions as the Center may prescribe, provide all interested parties, including public and private agencies, parents, and other individuals, direct access, in the most appropriate form (including, where pos- sible, electronically), to data collected by the Statistics Center for the purposes of research and acquiring statistical information. (Pub. L. 107–279, title I, § 156, Nov. 5, 2002, 116 Stat. 1961.) § 9547. Cooperative education statistics systems The Statistics Center may establish 1 or more national cooperative education statistics sys- tems for the purpose of producing and maintain- ing, with the cooperation of the States, com- parable and uniform information and data on early childhood education, elementary and sec- ondary education, postsecondary education, adult education, and libraries, that are useful for policymaking at the Federal, State, and local levels. (Pub. L. 107–279, title I, § 157, Nov. 5, 2002, 116 Stat. 1962.) § 9548. State defined In this part, the term ‘‘State’’ means each of the 50 States, the District of Columbia, and the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico. (Pub. L. 107–279, title I, § 158, Nov. 5, 2002, 116 Stat. 1962.)