study of purposes and effectiveness of compensatory education programs

study of purposes and effectiveness of compensatory education programs Sec. 821. (a) In addition to the other authorities, responsibilities and duties conferred upon the National Institute of Education (hereinafter referred to as the “Institute”) by section 405 of the General Education Provisions Act and notwithstanding the second sentence of subsection (b)(1) of such section 405, the Institute shall undertake a thorough evaluation and study of compensatory education programs, including such programs conducted by States and such programs conducted under title I of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965. Such study shall include— (1) an examination of the fundamental purposes of such programs, and the effectiveness of such programs in attaining such purposes; (2) an analysis of means to identify accurately the children who have the greatest need for such programs, in keeping with the fundamental purposes thereof; (3) an analysis of the effectiveness of methods and procedures for meeting the educational needs of children, including the use of individualized written educational plans for children, and programs for training the teachers of children; (4) an exploration of alternative methods, including the use of procedures to assess educational disadvantage, for distributing funds under such programs to States, to State educational agencies, and to local educational agencies in an equitable and efficient manner, which will accurately reflect current conditions and insure that such funds reach the areas of greatest current need and are effectively used for such areas; (5) not more than 20 experimental programs, which shall be reasonably geographically representative, to be administered by the Institute, in cases where the Institute determines that such experimental programs are necessary to carry out the purposes of clauses (1) through (4), and the Commissioner of Education is 88 Stat. 600authorized, notwithstanding any provision of title I of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965, at the request of the Institute, to approve the use of grants which educational agencies are eligible to receive under such title I (in cases where the agency eligible for such grant agrees to such use) in order to carry out such experimental programs; and (6) findings and recommendations, including recommendations for changes in such title I or for new legislation, with respect to the matters studied under clauses (1) through (5). (b) The National Advisory Council on the Education of Disadvantaged Children shall advise the Institute with respect to the design and execution of such study. The Commissioner of Education shall obtain and transmit to the Institute such information as it shall request with respect to programs carried on under title I of the Act. (c) The Institute shall make an interim report to the President and to the Congress not later than December 31, 1976, and shall make a final report thereto no later than nine months after the date of submission of such interim report, on the result of its study conducted under this section. Any other provision of law, rule, or regulation to the contrary notwithstanding, such reports shall not be submitted to any review outside of the Institute before their transmittal to the Congress, but the President and the Commissioner of Education may make to the Congress such recommendations with respect to the contents of the reports as each may deem appropriate. (d) Sums made available pursuant to section 151 (i) of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 shall be available to carry out the provisions of this section. (e) (1) The Institute shall submit to the Congress, within one hundred and twenty days after the date of the enactment of this Act, a plan for its study to be conducted under this section. The Institute shall have such plan delivered to both Houses on the same day and to each House while it is in session. The Institute shall not commence such study until the first day after the close of the first period of thirty calendar days of continuous session of Congress after the date of the delivery of such plan to the Congress. (2) For purposes of paragraph (1)— (A) continuity of session is broken only by an adjournment of Congress sine die; and (B) the days on which either House is not in session because of an adjournment of more than three days to a day certain are excluded in the computation of the thirty-day period.