20 U.S.C. § 9543 — Duties

Page 1714 TITLE 20—EDUCATION § 9541 1 So in original. The period probably should not appear. and 9001 of this title. For complete classification of this Act to the Code, see Tables. PART C—NATIONAL CENTER FOR EDUCATION STATISTICS Editorial Notes PRIOR PROVISIONS Provisions similar to those in this part were con- tained in chapter 71 (§ 9001 et seq.) of this title prior to repeal by Pub. L. 107–279, title IV, § 403(1), Nov. 5, 2002, 116 Stat. 1985. § 9541. Establishment (a) Establishment There is established in the Institute a Na- tional Center for Education Statistics (in this part referred to as the ‘‘Statistics Center’’). (b) Mission The mission of the Statistics Center shall be— (1) to collect and analyze education informa- tion and statistics in a manner that meets the highest methodological standards; (2) to report education information and sta- tistics in a timely manner; and (3) to collect, analyze, and report education information and statistics in a manner that— (A) is objective, secular, neutral, and non- ideological and is free of partisan political influence and racial, cultural, gender, or re- gional bias; and (B) is relevant and useful to practitioners, researchers, policymakers, and the public. (Pub. L. 107–279, title I, § 151, Nov. 5, 2002, 116 Stat. 1957.) § 9542. Commissioner for Education Statistics The Statistics Center shall be headed by a Commissioner for Education Statistics (in this part referred to as the ‘‘Statistics Commis- sioner’’) who shall be highly qualified and have substantial knowledge of statistical methodolo- gies and activities undertaken by the Statistics Center. (Pub. L. 107–279, title I, § 152, Nov. 5, 2002, 116 Stat. 1958.) § 9543. Duties (a) General duties The Statistics Center shall collect, report, analyze, and disseminate statistical data related to education in the United States and in other nations, including— (1) collecting, acquiring, compiling (where appropriate, on a State-by-State basis), and disseminating full and complete statistics (disaggregated by the population characteris- tics described in paragraph (3)) on the condi- tion and progress of education, at the pre- school, elementary, secondary, postsecondary, and adult levels in the United States, includ- ing data on— (A) State and local education reform ac- tivities; (B) State and local early childhood school readiness activities; (C) student achievement in, at a minimum, the core academic areas of reading, mathe- matics, and science at all levels of edu- cation; (D) secondary school completions, drop- outs, and adult literacy and reading skills; (E) access to, and opportunity for, postsec- ondary education, including data on finan- cial aid to postsecondary students; (F) teaching, including— (i) data on in-service professional devel- opment, including a comparison of courses taken in the core academic areas of read- ing, mathematics, and science with courses in noncore academic areas, includ- ing technology courses; and (ii) the percentage of teachers who meet the applicable State certification and li- censure requirements, including any re- quirements for certification obtained through alternative routes to certifi- cation, or, with regard to special edu- cation teachers, the qualifications de- scribed in section 1412(a)(14)(C) of this title.1 in each State and, where feasible, in each local educational agency and school; (G) instruction, the conditions of the edu- cation workplace, and the supply of, and de- mand for, teachers; (H) the incidence, frequency, seriousness, and nature of violence affecting students, school personnel, and other individuals par- ticipating in school activities, as well as other indices of school safety, including in- formation regarding— (i) the relationship between victims and perpetrators; (ii) demographic characteristics of the victims and perpetrators; and (iii) the type of weapons used in inci- dents, as classified in the Uniform Crime Reports of the Federal Bureau of Inves- tigation; (I) the financing and management of edu- cation, including data on revenues and ex- penditures; (J) the social and economic status of chil- dren, including their academic achievement; (K) the existence and use of educational technology and access to the Internet by students and teachers in elementary schools and secondary schools; (L) access to, and opportunity for, early childhood education; (M) the availability of, and access to, be- fore-school and after-school programs (in- cluding such programs during school re- cesses); (N) student participation in and comple- tion of secondary and postsecondary voca- tional and technical education programs by specific program area; and (O) the existence and use of school librar- ies; (2) conducting and publishing reports on the meaning and significance of the statistics de- scribed in paragraph (1); (3) collecting, analyzing, cross-tabulating, and reporting, to the extent feasible, informa- tion by gender, race, ethnicity, socioeconomic 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—