A Primer on the Regional Educational Laboratories & Rural Schools

The U.S. Department of Education makes a substantial expenditure each year for research and development for issues affecting rural schools through its Regional Educational Laboratory system. In 2005 that amount is supposed to be in the neighborhood of $16.5 million, which translates into at least $83 million of the five years of the current contract. Most rural educators are unaware of the responsibilities of the labs to support rural schools and communities and the level of resources they are given to fulfill those responsibilities. Having worked at a lab for 7 years, I’ve put together a short primer on the labs and what they are supposed to be doing for rural schools.

PURPOSE:
The purpose of the Regional Educational Laboratories is to conduct applied research and development, provide technical assistance, develop multimedia educational materials and other products, and disseminate information in an effort to help others use knowledge from research and practice to improve education. They have four responsibilities. (1) Collaborate with the National Education Centers. (2) Consult with the State educational agencies and local educational agencies in the region in developing the plan for serving the region. (3) Develop strategies to utilize schools as critical components in reforming education and revitalizing rural communities in the United States. (4) Report and disseminate information on overcoming the obstacles faced by educators and schools in high poverty, urban, and rural areas. Note the specific mention of rural schools and communities in items 3 and 4.

RESOURCES:
By law, the Director of the Institute of Education Sciences" shall obligate not less than 25 percent to carry out such purpose with respect to rural areas (including schools funded by the Bureau [of Indian Affairs] which are located in rural areas). The total appropriated for the five years of the current contract is $332,357,250. The minimum amount that is supposed to go to rural schools works about to be $83 million for the entire five-year contract. Notice that $83 million is the minimum amount that is supposed to go to rural schools so it could be higher. I have tried unsuccessfully to get the actual dollars spent by the labs on rural educational issues even though the labs report it to the Institute of Education Sciences each quarter.

RETURN ON INVESTMENT:
What have taxpayers gotten in return for this investment? A search of REL Network website found only six products listed under the rural education keyword for the years 2001 through 2005. Moreover, none of the six had anything to do with strategies to utilize schools as critical components in revitalizing rural communities. To be fair, there are probably some products that are not listed on the REL Network website for one reason or another. Even then the return on investment is quite disappointing.

BOTTOM LINE:
It's pretty clear that the labs have been ineffective in conducting research and development for issues specific to rural communities. It's time to look at reallocating those dollars to better serve the rural Americans. At $16 million the Institute of Education Sciences could undertake a rural education research and development program that would complement the work of the National Center on Support of Rural Education. The Department of Education could even reduce that amount and come up with better products and services than what they have now.