President's Advisory Commission on Educational Excellence for Hispanic Americans

Executive Order 13230 of October 12, 2001

President's Advisory Commission on Educational
Excellence for Hispanic Americans

By the authority vested in me as President by the
Constitution and the laws of the United States of
America, and in order to advance the development of
human potential, strengthen the Nation's capacity to
provide high-quality education, and increase
opportunities for Hispanic Americans to participate in
and benefit from Federal education programs, it is
hereby ordered as follows:

Section 1. There is established, in the Department of
Education, the President's Advisory Commission on
Educational Excellence for Hispanic Americans
(Commission). The Commission shall consist of not more
than 25 members. Twenty-one of the members shall be
appointed by the President. Those members shall be
representatives of educational, business, professional,
and community organizations who are committed to
improving educational attainment within the Hispanic
community, as well as other persons deemed appropriate
by the President. The President shall designate two of
the appointed members to serve as Co-Chairs of the
Commission. The other four members of the Commission
shall be ex officio members, one each from the
Department of Education, the Department of Housing and
Urban Development, the Department of the Treasury, and
the Small Business Administration. The ex officio
members shall be the respective Secretaries of those
agencies and the Administrator of the Small Business
Administration, or their designees.

Sec. 2. The Commission shall provide advice to the
Secretary of Education (“Secretary”) and shall issue
reports to the President, as described in section 7
below, concerning:

    (a) the progress of Hispanic Americans in closing
the academic achievement gap and attaining the goals
established by the President's “No Child Left Behind”
educational blueprint;
    (b) the development, monitoring, and coordination
of Federal efforts to promote high-quality education
for Hispanic Americans;
    (c) ways to increase parental, State and local,
private sector, and community involvement in improving
education; and
    (d) ways to maximize the effectiveness of Federal
education initiatives within the Hispanic community.

Sec. 3. There is established, in the Department of
Education, an office called the White House Initiative
on Educational Excellence for Hispanic Americans
(Initiative). The Initiative shall be located at,
staffed, and supported by the Department of Education,
and headed by a Director, who shall be a senior level
executive branch official who reports to the Secretary.
The Initiative shall provide the necessary staff,
resources, and assistance to the Commission and shall
assist and advise the Secretary in carrying out his
responsibilities under this order. The staff of the
Initiative shall gather and disseminate information
relating to the educational achievement gap of Hispanic
Americans, using a variety of means, including
conducting surveys, conferences, field hearings, and
meetings, and other appropriate

vehicles designed to encourage the participation of
organizations and individuals interested in such
issues, including parents, community leaders,
academicians, business leaders, teachers, employers,
employees and public officials at the local, State, and
Federal levels. To the extent permitted by law,
executive branch departments and agencies shall
cooperate in providing resources, including personnel
detailed to the Initiative, to meet the objectives of
this order. The Initiative shall include both career
civil service and appointed staff with expertise in the
area of education.

Sec. 4. Executive branch departments and agencies, to
the extent permitted by law and practicable, shall
provide any appropriate information requested by the
Commission or the staff of the Initiative, including
data relating to the eligibility for and participation
by Hispanic Americans in Federal education programs and
the progress of Hispanic Americans in closing the
academic achievement gap and in achieving the goals of
the President's “No Child Left Behind” education
blueprint. Where adequate data are not available, the
Commission shall suggest the means for collecting the
data. In accordance with the accountability goals
established by the President, executive branch
departments and agencies involved in relevant programs
shall report to the President through the Initiative by
September 30, 2002, on:

    (a) efforts to increase participation of Hispanic
Americans in Federal education programs and services;
    (b) efforts to include Hispanic-serving school
districts, Hispanic-serving institutions, and other
educational institutions for Hispanic Americans in
Federal education programs and services;
    (c) levels of participation attained by Hispanic
Americans in Federal education programs and services;
and
    (d) the measurable impact resulting from these
efforts and levels of participation. The Department of
Education's report also shall describe the overall
condition of Hispanic American education and such other
aspects of the educational status of Hispanic
Americans, as the Secretary considers appropriate.

Sec. 5. Insofar as the Federal Advisory Committee Act,
as amended (5 U.S.C. App), may apply to the Commission,
any functions of the President under that Act, except
that of reporting to the Congress, shall be performed
by the Department of Education in accordance with the
guidelines that have been issued by the Administrator
of General Services.

Sec. 6. (a) Members of the Commission shall serve
without compensation, but shall be allowed travel
expenses, including per diem in lieu of subsistence, as
authorized by law for persons serving intermittently in
the Government service (5 U.S.C. 5701-5707).

    (b) To the extent permitted by law, the Department
of Education shall provide funding and administrative
support for the Commission and the Initiative.

Sec. 7. The Commission shall prepare and submit an
interim and final report to the President outlining its
findings and recommendations as follows:

    (a) The Commission shall submit an Interim Report
no later than September 30, 2002. The Interim Report
shall describe the Commission's examination of:

(i)

available research and information on the effectiveness of current
practices at the local, State, and Federal levels in closing the
educational achievement gap for Hispanic Americans and attaining the goals
established by the President's “No Child Left Behind” educational
blueprint;

(ii)

available research and information on the effectiveness of current
practices involving Hispanic parents in the education of their children;
and

(iii)

the appropriate role of Federal agencies' education programs in helping
Hispanic parents successfully prepare their children to graduate from high
school and attend post secondary institutions.

    (b) The Commission shall issue a Final Report no
later than March 31, 2003. The Final Report shall set
forth the Commission's recommendations regarding:

(i)

a multi-year plan, based on the data collected concerning identification
of barriers to and successful models for closing the educational
achievement gap for Hispanic Americans, that provides for a coordinated
effort among parents, community leaders, business leaders, educators, and
public officials at the local, State, and Federal levels to close the
educational achievement gap for Hispanic Americans and ensure attainment of
the goals established by the President's “No Child Left Behind”
educational blueprint.

(ii)

the development of a monitoring system that measures and holds executive
branch departments and agencies accountable for the coordination of Federal
efforts among the designated executive departments and agencies to ensure
the participation of Hispanic Americans in Federal education programs and
promote high-quality education for Hispanic Americans;

(iii)

the identification of successful methods employed throughout the Nation in
increasing parental, State and local, private sector, and community
involvement in improving education for Hispanic Americans;

(iv)

ways to improve on and measure the effectiveness of Federal agencies'
education programs in ensuring that Hispanic Americans close the
educational achievement gap and attain the goals established by the
President's “No Child Left Behind” educational blueprint; and

(v)

how Federal Government education programs can best be applied to ensure
Hispanic parents successfully prepare their children to attend post
secondary institutions.

Sec. 8. The Commission shall terminate 30 days after
submitting its final report, unless extended by the
President.

Sec. 9. Executive Order 12900 of February 22, 1994, as
amended, is revoked.

    (Presidential Sig.)B

THE WHITE HOUSE,

     October 12, 2001.