Page:United States Statutes at Large Volume 108 Part 1.djvu/672

 108 STAT. 646 PUBLIC LAW 103-252—MAY 18, 1994 of any administrative standards of conduct applicable to the employees of the agency to which they are assigned. "(8) REGULATIONS.— The Secretary shall promulgate regulations to carry out this subsection. "(e) MODEL STAFFING PLANS.— Not later than 1 year after the date of enactment of this subsection, the Secretary, in consultation with appropriate public agencies, private agencies, and organizations and with individuals with expertise in the field of children and family services, shall develop model staffing plans to provide guidance to local Head Start agencies and programs on the numbers, types, responsibilities, and qualifications of staff required to operate a Head Start program.". SEC. 116. RESEARCH, DEMONSTRATIONS, EVALUATION. Section 649 (42 U.S.C. 9844) is amended to read as follows: "SEC. 649. RESEARCH, DEMONSTRATIONS, AND EVALUATION. " (a) IN GENERAL.— "(1) REQUIREMENT; GENERAL PunposES.The Secretary shall carry out a continuing program of research, demonstration, and evaluation activities, in order to— "(A) foster continuous improvement in the quality of the Head Start programs under this subchapter and in their effectiveness in enabling participating cnildren and their families to succeed in school and otherwise; and "(B) use the Head Start programs to develop, test, and disseminate new ideas and approaches for addressing the needs of low-income preschool children (including children with disabilities) and their families and communities (including demonstrations of innovative noncenter-based program models such as home-based and mobile programs), and otherwise to further the purposes of this subchapter. "(2) PLAN. —The Secretary shall develop, and periodically update, a plan governing the research, d!emonstration, and evaluation activities under this section. "(b) CONDUCT OF RESEARCH, DEMONSTRATION, AND EVALUATION ACTIVITIES. —The Secretary, in order to conduct research, demonstration, and evaluation activities under this section— "(1) may carry out such activities directly, or through grants to, or contracts or cooperative agreements with, public or private entities; "(2) shall, to the extent appropriate, undertake such activities in collaboration with other Federal agencies, and with non-Federal agencies, conducting similar activities; "(3) shall ensure that evaluation of activities in a specific program or project is conducted by persons not directly involved in the operation of such program or project; "(4) may require Head Start agencies to provide for independent evaluations; "(5) may approve, in appropriate cases, community-based cooperative research and evaluation efforts to enable Head Start programs to collaborate with qualified researchers not directly involved in program administration or operation; and "(6) may collaborate with organizations with expertise in inclusive educational strategies for preschoolers with disabilities. " (c) CONSULTATION AND COLLABORATION. —In carrying out activities under this section, the Secretary shall—

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