PUBLIC LAW 103-227—MAR. 31, 1994 108 STAT. 219 (C) Upon the approval of the Board, the Assistant Secretary shall transmit final standards to the Secretary which meet the requirements of the particular subparagraphs of paragraph (2) for which such standards were developed. Such standards shall be binding upon all activities carried out with funds appropriated pursuant to subsection (m). (j) ADDITIONAL RESPONSIBILITIES OF THE ASSISTANT SEC- RETARY.—In carrying out the activities and programs of the Office, the Assistant Secretary— (1) shall be guided by the Research Priorities Plan developed by the Assistant Secretary working collaboratively with the Board and which has been approved by the Board; (2) shall ensure that there is broad and regular public and professional involvement from the educational field in the planning and carrying out of the Office's activities, including establishing teacher advisory boards for any program office, program or project of the Office as the Assistant Secretary deems necessary and involving Indian and Alaska Native researchers and educators in activities that relate to the education of Indian and Alaska Native people; (3) shall ensure that the selection of research topics and the administration of the program are free from undue partisan political influence; (4) shall ensure that all statistics and other data collected and reported by the Office shall be collected, cross-tabulated, analyzed, and reported by sex within race or ethnicity and socioeconomic status whenever feasible (and when such data collection or analysis is not feasible, ensure that the relevant report or document includes an explanation as to why such data collection or analysis is not feasible); (5) is authorized to administer funds to support a single project when more than 1 Federal agency uses funds to support such project, and the Assistant Secretary may act for all such agencies in administering such funds; and (6) is authorized to offer information and technical assistance to State and local educational agencies, school boards, and schools, including schools funded by the Bureau, to ensure that no student is— (A) denied access to the same rigorous, challenging curriculum that such student's peers are offered; or (B) grouped or otherwise labeled in such a way that may impede such student's achievement. (k) INDEPENDENT EVALUATIONS. —The Secretary shall enter into Contracts. one or more contracts for the conduct of an independent evaluation of the effectiveness of the implementation of the provisions of this title. Such evaluations shall be transmitted to the Congress, the President, and the Assistant Secretary not later than 54 months after the date of the enactment of this title. (1) DEFINITIONS.— For purposes of this title, the following definitions apply: (1) ASSISTANT SECRETARY.— The term "Assistant Secretary" means the Assistant Secretary for Educational Research and Improvement established by section 202 of the Department of Education Organization Act. (2) AT-RISK STUDENT.— The term "at-risk student" means a student who, because of limited English proficiency, poverty,
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