SRCD Signs on to a Statement on the NASEM Committee on the Future of Education Research at IES

SRCD signed on to an education research stakeholder statement addressed to the National Academies of Science, Engineering, and Medicine (NASEM) Committee on the Future of Education Research at the Institute of Education Sciences on The Future of Education Research at the Institute of Education Sciences (IES) study.

SRCD, along with organizations from various scientific associations, K-12 and higher education organizations, universities, and organizations serving persons with disabilities, encouraged the Committee to include recommendations that would address long-term underinvestments in the Institute of Education Sciences (IES), U.S. Department of Education. The statement provides the Committee with recommendations to improve the capacity of the National Center for Education Research (NCER) and the National Center for Special Education Research (NCSER) to generate high-quality research, they include: (1) Advance strong, sustained funding levels for the Research, Development, and Dissemination (RD&D) and the Research in Special Education line items in appropriations legislation; and (2) Include robust authorization levels for IES in a future reauthorization of the Education Sciences Reform Act (ESRA).

The statement notes, “We urge you to address funding levels in your recommendations as sufficient resources are necessary for IES to meet its mandated responsibilities under ESRA and to support emerging priorities. The FY 2022 budget request and House bill serve as important steps to restore lost purchasing power that has constrained the ability of IES to award research grants and support training programs to advance essential knowledge on important educational issues and build the education research pipeline... We have joined on these comments to collectively underscore that IES will require significant and sustained investment in order to meet those recognized needs. We thus urge the committee to include recommendations for Congress to increase appropriations and authorization levels to enable NCER and NCSER to support rigorous, timely, and innovative education research and training programs to develop a diverse education research workforce. In addition, we encourage the committee to provide language in the consensus report on the role of the executive branch to advance robust budget proposals for NCER and NCSER.”