20 U.S.C. § 7261: Grants for education innovation and research

create, develop, implement, replicate, or take to scale entrepreneurial, evidence-based, field-initiated innovations to improve student achievement and attainment for high-need students; and rigorously evaluate such innovations, in accordance with subsection (e). early-phase grants to fund the development, implementation, and feasibility testing of a program, which prior research suggests has promise, for the purpose of determining whether the program can successfully improve student achievement or attainment for high-need students; mid-phase grants to fund implementation and a rigorous evaluation of a program that has been successfully implemented under an early-phase grant described in subparagraph (A) or other effort meeting similar criteria, for the purpose of measuring the program’s impact and cost effectiveness, if possible using existing administrative data; and determining whether such impacts can be successfully reproduced and sustained over time; and identifying the conditions in which the program is most effective. A local educational agency. A State educational agency. The Bureau of Indian Education. A consortium of State educational agencies or local educational agencies. A nonprofit organization. a nonprofit organization; a business; an educational service agency; or an institution of higher education. a local educational agency with an urban-centric district locale code of 32, 33, 41, 42, or 43, as determined by the Secretary; a consortium of such local educational agencies; an educational service agency or a nonprofit organization in partnership with such a local educational agency; or a grantee described in clause (i) or (ii) in partnership with a State educational agency. A majority of the schools to be served by the program are designated with a locale code of 32, 33, 41, 42, or 43, or a combination of such codes, as determined by the Secretary. Notwithstanding paragraph (1), the Secretary shall reduce the amount of funds made available under such paragraph if the Secretary does not receive a sufficient number of applications of sufficient quality. the difficulty of raising matching funds for a program to serve a rural area; who are in poverty, as counted in the most recent census data approved by the Secretary; who are eligible for a free or reduced price lunch under the Richard B. Russell National School Lunch Act ( 42 U.S.C. 1751 et seq.); whose families receive assistance under the State program funded under part A of title IV of the Social Security Act ( 42 U.S.C. 601 et seq.); or who are eligible to receive medical assistance under the Medicaid program; and the difficulty of raising funds on tribal land. Each recipient of a grant under this section shall conduct an independent evaluation of the effectiveness of the program carried out under such grant. provide technical assistance for eligibility entities, which may include pre-application workshops, web-based seminars, and evaluation support; and to disseminate best practices.