May 28, 2019
Dr. Mark Schneider DirectorInstitute of Education Sciences
U.S. Department of Education
400 Maryland Ave SW, Room 4109
Potomac Center Plaza
Washington, DC 20202
Re: Docket ID Number ED-2019-IES-0017
Dear Dr. Schneider,
On behalf of the Friends of IES, a coalition of organizations committed to supporting the essential role of the Institute of Education Sciences (IES), thank you for the opportunity to comment on the Proposed Priorities for the Institute of Education Sciences. As you consider the public feedback on the proposed priorities, we want to emphasize the need for appointments to the National Board of Education Sciences (NBES) to review the comments, add their counsel and expertise, and approve the priorities. NBES has not met since November 2016 as appointees have cycled off without additional appointments made to replace the lapsed members. The Friends of IES welcomes the opportunity to discuss both the IES priorities with you and how we might help to encourage appointments to NBES.
We appreciate the inclusion of increasing dissemination and use in the proposed priorities for IES. As a coalition of individual research association, universities, and organizations, we can be a resource as IES ramps up its dissemination activities. We appreciate the importance placed on partnerships (and innovations in partnerships) as an opportunity for IES to augment its efforts to increase dissemination and use. We recommend that IES also encourages partnerships between research institutions, developers, and education agencies.
The individual members of our coalition have addressed specific recommendations related to the proposed priorities, and we hope they will be sincerely considered as you prepare to present the proposed priorities to the NBES. We also welcome any opportunities to provide additional feedback on the priorities as they are implemented, including the Standards for Excellence in Education Research and topics for additional What Works Clearinghouse Practice Guides and Intervention Reports, among others.
Finally, we hope that as IES moves forward, you work with our coalition and individual members to refine the proposed priorities to ensure IES has the greatest possible impact and translate its supported research to the widest possible range of stakeholders.
Thank you for your consideration and for offering a priorities document of importance for our collective consideration.
Sincerely,
American Educational Research Association
American Sociological Association
Association of Population Centers
Consortium of Social Science Associations
Council for Exceptional Children
EDGE Partners, LLC
Federation of Associations in Behavioral & Brain Sciences
Knowledge Alliance
Lehigh University
National Center for Learning Disabilities Population Association of America Tulane University
University of Florida
University of Oregon
University of Washington College of Education
Vanderbilt University