20 U.S.C. § 9576 — Authority to publish

Page 1726 TITLE 20—EDUCATION § 9574 1 So in original. Probably means subsection (d)(2). 1 So in original. Probably should be ‘‘subsection’’. (e) Investigation and prosecution of terrorism (1) In general Notwithstanding subsections (a) and (b), the Attorney General (or any Federal officer or employee, in a position not lower than an As- sistant Attorney General, designated by the Attorney General) may submit a written ap- plication to a court of competent jurisdiction for an ex parte order requiring the Secretary to permit the Attorney General (or his des- ignee) to— (A) collect reports, records, and informa- tion (including individually identifiable in- formation) in the possession of the Director that are relevant to an authorized investiga- tion or prosecution of an offense listed in section 2332b(g)(5)(B) of title 18 or an act of domestic or international terrorism as de- fined in section 2331 of that title; and (B) for official purposes related to the in- vestigation or prosecution of an offense de- scribed in paragraph (1)(A), retain, dissemi- nate, and use (including as evidence at trial or in other administrative or judicial pro- ceedings) such information, consistent with such guidelines as the Attorney General, after consultation with the Secretary, shall issue to protect confidentiality. (2) Application and approval (A) IN GENERAL.—An application under para- graph (1) shall certify that there are specific and articulable facts giving reason to believe that the information sought is described in paragraph (1)(A). (B) The court shall issue an order described in paragraph (1) if the court finds that the ap- plication for the order includes the certifi- cation described in subparagraph (A). (3) Protection An officer or employee of the Department who, in good faith, produces information in ac- cordance with an order issued under this sub- section does not violate subsection (b)(2) 1 and shall not be liable to any person for that pro- duction. (Pub. L. 107–279, title I, § 183, title IV, § 401(a)(6), Nov. 5, 2002, 116 Stat. 1972, 1983.) Editorial Notes CODIFICATION Subsecs. (a) to (c) of section 9007 of this title, which were transferred to this section and redesignated sub- secs. (c) to (e) by Pub. L. 107–279, § 401(a)(6), were based on Pub. L. 103–382, title IV, § 408(a) to (c), Oct. 20, 1994, 108 Stat. 4034; Pub. L. 107–56, title V, § 508, Oct. 26, 2001, 115 Stat. 368; Pub. L. 107–279, title IV, § 401(a)(1)–(5), Nov. 5, 2002, 116 Stat. 1983. AMENDMENTS 2002—Subsecs. (c) to (e). Pub. L. 107–279, § 401(a)(6), transferred subsecs. (a) to (c) of section 9007 of this title to this section and redesignated them as subsecs. (c) to (e), respectively. See Codification note above. § 9574. Availability of data Subject to section 9573 of this title, data col- lected by the Institute, including any office, board, committee, or center of the Institute, in carrying out the priorities and mission of the Institute, shall be made available to the public, including through use of the Internet. (Pub. L. 107–279, title I, § 184, Nov. 5, 2002, 116 Stat. 1972.) § 9575. Performance management The Director shall ensure that all activities conducted or supported by the Institute or a Na- tional Education Center make customer service a priority. The Director shall ensure a high level of customer satisfaction through the following methods: (1) Establishing and improving feedback mechanisms in order to anticipate customer needs. (2) Disseminating information in a timely fashion and in formats that are easily acces- sible and usable by researchers, practitioners, and the general public. (3) Utilizing the most modern technology and other methods available, including ar- rangements to use data collected electroni- cally by States and local educational agencies, to ensure the efficient collection and timely distribution of information, including data and reports. (4) Establishing and measuring performance against a set of indicators for the quality of data collected, analyzed, and reported. (5) Continuously improving management strategies and practices. (6) Making information available to the pub- lic in an expeditious fashion. (Pub. L. 107–279, title I, § 185, Nov. 5, 2002, 116 Stat. 1972.) § 9576. Authority to publish (a) Publication The Director may prepare and publish (includ- ing through oral presentation) such research, statistics (consistent with part C), and evalua- tion information and reports from any office, board, committee, and center of the Institute, as needed to carry out the priorities and mission of the Institute without the approval of the Sec- retary or any other office of the Department. (b) Advance copies The Director shall provide the Secretary and other relevant offices with an advance copy of any information to be published under this sec- tion before publication. (c) Peer review All research, statistics, and evaluation reports conducted by, or supported through, the Insti- tute shall be subjected to rigorous peer review before being published or otherwise made avail- able to the public. (d) Items not covered Nothing in subsections 1 (a), (b), or (c) shall be construed to apply to— (1) information on current or proposed budg- ets, appropriations, or legislation; (2) information prohibited from disclosure by law or the Constitution, classified national Page 1727 TITLE 20—EDUCATION § 9582 security information, or information described in section 552(b) of title 5; and (3) review by officers of the United States in order to prevent the unauthorized disclosure of information described in paragraph (1) or (2). (Pub. L. 107–279, title I, § 186, Nov. 5, 2002, 116 Stat. 1973.) § 9577. Vacancies Any member appointed to fill a vacancy on the Board occurring before the expiration of the term for which the member’s predecessor was appointed shall be appointed only for the re- mainder of that term. A vacancy in an office, board, committee, or center of the Institute shall be filled in the manner in which the origi- nal appointment was made. This section does not apply to employees appointed under section 9578 of this title. (Pub. L. 107–279, title I, § 187, Nov. 5, 2002, 116 Stat. 1973.) § 9578. Scientific or technical employees (a) In general The Director may appoint, for terms not to ex- ceed 6 years (without regard to the provisions of title 5 governing appointment in the competi- tive service) and may compensate (without re- gard to the provisions of chapter 51 and sub- chapter III of chapter 53 of such title relating to classification and General Schedule pay rates) such scientific or technical employees to carry out the functions of the Institute or the office, board, committee, or center, respectively, if— (1) at least 30 days prior to the appointment of any such employee, public notice is given of the availability of such position and an oppor- tunity is provided for qualified individuals to apply and compete for such position; (2) the rate of basic pay for such employees does not exceed the maximum rate of basic pay payable for positions at GS–15, as deter- mined in accordance with section 5376 of title 5, except that not more than 7 individuals ap- pointed under this section may be paid at a rate that does not exceed the rate of basic pay for level III of the Executive Schedule; (3) the appointment of such employee is nec- essary (as determined by the Director on the basis of clear and convincing evidence) to pro- vide the Institute or the office, board, com- mittee, or center with scientific or technical expertise which could not otherwise be ob- tained by the Institute or the office, board, committee, or center through the competitive service; and (4) the total number of such employees does not exceed 40 individuals or 1⁄5 of the number of full-time, regular scientific or professional employees of the Institute, whichever is great- er. (b) Duties of employees All employees described in subsection (a) shall work on activities of the Institute or the office, board, committee, or center, and shall not be re- assigned to other duties outside the Institute or the office, board, committee, or center during their term. (Pub. L. 107–279, title I, § 188, Nov. 5, 2002, 116 Stat. 1973.) Editorial Notes REFERENCES IN TEXT GS–15, referred to in subsec. (a)(2), is contained in the General Schedule, which is set out under section 5332 of Title 5, Government Organization and Employees. Level III of the Executive Schedule, referred to in subsec. (a)(2), is set out in section 5314 of Title 5, Gov- ernment Organization and Employees. Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries REFERENCES TO MAXIMUM RATE UNDER 5 U.S.C. 5376 For reference to maximum rate under section 5376 of Title 5, Government Organization and Employees, see section 2(d)(3) of Pub. L. 110–372, set out as an Effective Date of 2008 Amendment note under section 5376 of Title 5. § 9579. Fellowships In order to strengthen the national capacity to carry out high-quality research, evaluation, and statistics related to education, the Director shall establish and maintain research, evalua- tion, and statistics fellowships in institutions of higher education (which may include the estab- lishment of such fellowships in historically Black colleges and universities and other insti- tutions of higher education with large numbers of minority students) that support graduate and postdoctoral study onsite at the Institute or at the institution of higher education. In estab- lishing the fellowships, the Director shall ensure that women and minorities are actively re- cruited for participation. (Pub. L. 107–279, title I, § 189, Nov. 5, 2002, 116 Stat. 1974.) § 9580. Voluntary service The Director may accept voluntary and un- compensated services to carry out and support activities that are consistent with the priorities and mission of the Institute. (Pub. L. 107–279, title I, § 190, Nov. 5, 2002, 116 Stat. 1974.) § 9581. Rulemaking Notwithstanding section 1232(d) of this title, the exemption for public property, loans, grants, and benefits in section 553(a)(2) of title 5 shall apply to the Institute. (Pub. L. 107–279, title I, § 191, Nov. 5, 2002, 116 Stat. 1974.) § 9582. Copyright Nothing in this Act shall be construed to af- fect the rights, remedies, limitations, or defense under title 17. (Pub. L. 107–279, title I, § 192, Nov. 5, 2002, 116 Stat. 1974.) Editorial Notes REFERENCES IN TEXT This Act, referred to in text, means Pub. L. 107–279, Nov. 5, 2002, 116 Stat. 1940, which enacted this chapter