Bennet, Van Hollen, Tillis Reintroduce Bipartisan Bill to Boost Innovation in Education

Sep 17, 2026 | Press Releases

Washington, D.C. - Colorado U.S. Senator Michael Bennet led Senators Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.) and Thom Tillis (R-N.C.) to reintroduce the New Essential Education Discoveries (NEED) Act, which would drive evidence-based improvements and innovations for our schools, by making strategic investments in education research and development (R&D). The legislation would create a national center that advances high-risk, high-reward education research projects, similar to the model employed by the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA).

"As a former school superintendent, I know our teachers are doing everything they can to help students succeed," said Bennet. "As social media and a nationwide mental health crisis reshape how students learn and engage in school, educators need better information about what works. Congress can help by investing in cutting-edge education research. This bipartisan bill will help schools, educators, and policymakers make data driven decisions that strengthen education today and in the years ahead."

"To meet the evolving challenges our students face, our educators need access to quality data and evidence-based advancements in teaching and learning," said Van Hollen. "This legislation would help accomplish that by investing in our students' success to better prepare them for the future."

"We owe it to students, parents, and teachers to pass bipartisan legislation that identifies gaps in education and better prepares students to become the next generation of the American workforce," said Tillis. "That's why I am proud to sponsor legislation that invests in education research and development, STEM, and innovative technologies to develop the tools needed to identify these gaps and help teachers better equip students for the future."

The NEED Act would create a National Center for Advanced Development in Education (NCADE) at the Department of Education dedicated to developing and disseminating cutting-edge practices and tools, such as voice recognition software to assess dyslexia and other emerging readiness gaps, to adequately prepare students to meet the challenges of a 21st century economy.

Specifically, the legislation would:

• Make robust investments to establish, staff, and operate NCADE;
• Require the Advanced Development Commissioner to appoint an advisory panel to guide the development and implementation of NCADE projects; and
• Conduct and disseminate the results of periodic evaluations of the effectiveness of NCADE in achieving its mission of expanding education R&D and improving teaching and learning.

The NEED Act would also improve Statewide Longitudinal Data Systems and help states better track students' progress through K-12 and into the workforce while protecting the privacy of students' education records. This data will help policymakers understand and address opportunity and achievement gaps across the country.

This bill is supported by nearly 65 organizations, including: American Association of Colleges for Teacher Education, Accelerate - National Collaborative for Accelerated Learning, Advanced Education Research and Development Fund, All4Ed, Alliance for Learning Innovation, America Forward, American Educational Research Association, American Psychological Association Services, Applied Learning Insights, Beyond100K, Bipartisan Policy Center, Buck Institute Education/PBLWorks, CAST, Committee for Children, Common Cents Education Consulting, Common Sense Media, Consortium for State Education Support, Data Quality Campaign, Digital Promise Global, EDGE Partners, EdTrust, Education Knowledge Broker Network, Education Reform Now Advocacy, Education Reimagined, Educators for Excellence, EdVenture Lab, ExcelinEd in Action, Federation of American Scientists, Foundation for Deeper Learning, FullScale, High Tech High Graduate School of Education, InnovateEDU, Institute for Educational Leadership, KB Stack Consulting, LLC, Knowledge Alliance, Learner-Centered Collaborative, LearnerStudio, Learning Disabilities Association of America, Learning Heroes, LearningForge LLC, National Alliance for Public Charter Schools, National Center for Learning Disabilities, National Council on Teacher Quality, National Girls Collaborative, National Parents Union, National School Boards Association, New Classrooms, New Leaders, reDesign, Reinvention Lab at Teach For America, Results for America, SERP Institute, SETDA, SRI, Teach For America, Teach Plus, Teacher Education Division of the Council for Exceptional Children, The Learning Agency, The Society for Research in Child Development, The Study Group, The Tech Interactive, Thomas B. Fordham Institute, Threadwell Solutions TNTP, Transcend, and the University of Oregon.

"For too long, education has lacked what nearly every other field takes for granted: a dedicated engine for pursuing bold, high-reward ideas and finding out what works for students," said Sara Schapiro, Executive Director of the Alliance for Learning Innovation. "The NEED Act would build that engine, a national center modeled on DARPA inside the Institute of Education Sciences, supporting researchers and educators with the resources to test promising new approaches to teaching and learning and pursue real breakthroughs for education. ALI is proud to support Senators Bennet, Tillis, and Van Hollen in reintroducing this bipartisan legislation, and we urge Congress to move quickly to get it passed."

"Data Quality Campaign applauds the efforts of Senators Bennet, Tillis, and Van Hollen on the introduction of the NEED Act, which will ensure everyone has the data they need to make informed decisions about their education and career journeys," said Jennifer Bell-Ellwanger, President and CEO, Data Quality Campaign. "By reimagining how statewide longitudinal data systems support transparency and high-quality data, the NEED Act will enable individuals to better navigate their career pathways and policymakers to create policies that invest in the programs, supports, and interventions needed to make that navigation seamless."

"The Bipartisan Policy Center's Commission on the American Workforce called for a Talent Data System and to prioritize research and data on what actually works to support students, teachers, and workers," said Michele Stockwell, president of Bipartisan Policy Center Action (BPC Action). "The NEED Act takes a critical step forward to answer that call. It will modernize state data systems, strengthen our nation's research capacity, and help develop breakthrough tools and solutions that improve student outcomes. We applaud Sens. Michael Bennet (D-CO), Thom Tillis (R-NC), and Chris Van Hollen (D-MD) for crafting a forward-looking, bipartisan bill as a companion to the House version, led by Reps. Suzanne Bonamici (D-OR) and Brian Fitzpatrick (R-PA). Congress must advance this important legislation."

"Through our on the ground partnerships with K-12 institutions across the state, the University of Denver has seen firsthand the appetite and need for additional federal investment in cutting-edge education research," said Jeremy Haefner, Chancellor, University of Denver. "The authorization of a new National Center for Advanced Development in Education is essential to ensuring Colorado educators have access to timely, innovative, and evidence-based practices to help increase achievement for all of Colorado's students. We are grateful to Senator Bennet for his championing of the New Essential Education Discoveries (NEED) Act and hope it advances in Congress."

"Relative to many other countries, the United States spends too little on educational research and development. Indeed, the federal government is investing less in this important work every year. If we want educational policymakers and leaders to make decisions based on evidence, we need much more research on the kinds of innovations that make a difference in all children's outcomes. Senator Bennet's New Essential Education Discoveries (NEED) Act will provide the resources needed to accelerate innovation in teaching and learning and help expand opportunity to all," said William Penuel, Distinguished Professor, School of Education at the University of Colorado Boulder and Director, National Center for Research in Policy and Practice.

"The ability to longitudinally track student outcomes across the school-to-workforce pipeline will significantly increase knowledge on what works robustly and at scale. The Statewide Longitudinal Data Systems (SLDS) in Senator Bennet's New Essential Education Discoveries (NEED) Act will help states do this systematically so that the resultant data can be broadly used to broaden the evidence-base and to increase accountability for federal- and state- funded interventions," said Sidney D'Mello, Professor, Institute of Cognitive Science at the University of Colorado Boulder, and Principal Investigator, National Science Foundation National AI institute for Student-AI Teaming.

Bennet has consistently fought to secure resources and support for schools across Colorado. In December 2025, Bennet joined Van Hollen and Senator Bill Cassidy (R-La.) to introduce a bipartisan, bicameral resolution recognizing the 50th anniversary of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act and the historic step this legislation took by mandating that every child with a disability in America be given equal access to public education. In March 2025, Bennet issued a statement opposing President Trump's executive order dismantling the Department of Education. In July 2025, Bennet demanded that U.S. Secretary of Education Linda McMahon provide answers for DOE's decision to continue withholding $70 million in federal funds from Colorado schools.

The text of the bill is available HERE. A summary of the bill is available HERE.

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