Regional Advisory Committees

The Regional Advisory Committees, authorized under the Educational Technical Assistance Act of 2002 (ETAA) (Pub. L. 107-279; 20 U.S.C. § 9605), are established to provide advice and recommendations to the Secretary of Education (Secretary) regarding the educational needs of each of the ten regions served by the Regional Educational Laboratories (RELs) for input regarding technical assistance activities described in Section 203 of the ETAA and how those needs would be most effectively addressed.

Request for nominations to serve on the 2023 Regional Advisory Committees

On April 11, 2023, the Secretary of Education (Secretary) published a Request for Nominations to serve on the Regional Advisory Committees (88 FR 21659). The deadline for submitting nominations for appointment of individuals to serve on one of the Regional Advisory Committees (RACs) was May 11, 2023.

On July 18, 2023, the Secretary published a Request for additional nominations to serve on the Regional Advisory Committee: Pacific (88 FR 45893). The deadline for submitting additional nominations for appointment to serve on the Pacific RAC was July 24, 2023.

The Department reviewed all nominations received and the Secretary appointed individuals to serve as members on the RACs in Summer 2023.

Selection of Committee Members

In choosing individuals for membership on the RACs, the Secretary sought recommendations from the chief executive officers of States, chief State school officers, and education stakeholders within each region. 

Section 206(b) of the ETAA requires that the membership of each RAC contain a balanced representation of States in the region and include not more than one representative of each SEA geographically located in the region.  The membership of each RAC may include the following:  representatives of LEAs, both rural and urban; representatives of institutions of higher education, including those that represent university-based research on education and subjects other than education; parents; practicing educators, including classroom teachers, principals, administrators, school board members, and other local school officials; representatives of business; and researchers.  Each RAC will be comprised of not more than 25 members.

Each RAC may be comprised of both representatives of organizations or recognizable groups of persons and Special Government Employees (SGEs). The Secretary appoints members for the life of the committee, which will span not more than 6 months. In the event an individual is appointed by the Secretary to fill a vacancy occurring prior to the expiration of the full term, the RAC member is appointed to complete the remaining term of service of the former RAC member. All appointed RAC members served without compensation.

Purpose of the Regional Advisory Committees (RACs)

The Secretary established RACs, one for each region served by the Regional Educational Laboratories, in order to collect information on the education needs of each region and how those needs may be addressed through technical assistance activities provided by comprehensive centers described in section 203 of the Educational Technical Assistance Act (ETAA).

The RACs sought input regarding the need for the technical assistance activities described in section 203 of the ETAA and how those needs would be most effectively addressed.  In order to achieve this purpose, the RACs sought input from chief executive officers of States; chief State school officers; and, through processes which may include but are not limited to open hearings, in-person meetings, online surveys, and public comment solicitations. The goal of these processes is to solicit the views and needs of schools (including public charter schools), educators, parents, teachers, administrators, members of the regional educational laboratory governing board, LEAs, librarians, businesses, SEAs, and other customers (such as adult education programs) within the region regarding the need for the activities described in 20 U.S.C. sections 9564 and 9602 and how those needs would be most effectively addressed.

Not later than 6 months after each RAC was first convened, it submitted a report to the Secretary based on the assessment of education needs within each region to be served.  Each report contains an analysis of the needs of the region and technical advice to the Secretary regarding how those needs would be most effectively addressed.  Under section 207 of the ETAA, the Secretary shall establish priorities for the comprehensive centers to address, taking into account these regional assessments and other relevant regional surveys of education needs to the extent the Secretary deems appropriate. 

The RAC Regions are:

  1. Appalachia (Kentucky, Tennessee, Virginia, and West Virginia);
  2. Central (Colorado, Kansas, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, South Dakota, and Wyoming);
  3. Mid-Atlantic (Delaware, District of Columbia, Maryland, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania);
  4. Midwest (Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Michigan, Minnesota, Ohio, and Wisconsin);
  5. Northeast and Islands (Connecticut, Massachusetts, Maine, New Hampshire, New York, Puerto Rico, Rhode Island, Vermont, and the Virgin Islands);
  6. Northwest (Alaska, Idaho, Montana, Oregon, and Washington);
  7. Pacific (American Samoa, Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, Federated States of Micronesia, Guam, Hawaii, Palau, and Republic of the Marshall Islands);
  8. Southeast (Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Mississippi, North Carolina, and South Carolina);
  9. Southwest (Arkansas, Bureau of Indian Education, Louisiana, New Mexico, Oklahoma, and Texas); and
  10. West (Arizona, California, Nevada, and Utah).

RAC Timeline

The RACs were convened beginning in Summer 2023 and submitted their reports to the Secretary in December 2023.

RAC Meetings

RACs met virtually in September, October, and November 2023.

RAC Meeting 1. During the first meeting, RACs (1) reviewed educational data from each region and public comments received and deliberated and made recommendations about the critical education needs of the region; and (2) discussed how those needs can most effectively be addressed through technical assistance activities.

RAC Meeting 2. During the second meeting, RACs (1) reviewed additional input received from stakeholders and public comments received and, based on the information received, finalized their assessment of the critical educational needs of each region; and (2) deliberated on the education needs assessment for their region and finalized recommendations to be included in the assessment.

RAC Meeting 3. During the third meeting, RACs (1) reviewed the RAC subcommittee’s recommendations and (2) voted on the final educational needs assessment report to be submitted to the Secretary for the region.

Recordings and transcripts for each RAC meeting are linked below under “RAC Information and Resources”.

How Can I Participate?

Join RAC Meetings. All RAC meetings were open to members of the public, except that a meeting may be closed or partially closed pursuant to an exemption in the Government in the Sunshine Act, 5 U.S.C. 552b(c). Meeting dates, times, and participation information were published in the Federal Register no less than 15 calendar days prior to each meeting and registration information was posted on this website. See the “RAC Information and Resources” section for RAC meeting dates and times.

Participate in Regional Needs Sensing. The RACs sought input from chief executive officers of States; chief State school officers; and other education stakeholders through processes which included requesting written comments, conducting surveys, focus groups, or open hearings to solicit the views and needs of schools (including public charter schools), educators, parents, teachers, administrators, members of the regional educational laboratory governing board, LEAs, librarians, businesses, SEAs, and other customers (such as adult education programs) within the region.

Submit Written Comments. Members of the public were invited to submit written comments to the RACs between August 18 and October 15, 2023, for consideration as they conducted needs-sensing activities and determined priorities for their region. Comments had to be submitted by 11:59 p.m. ET, two business days before the RAC meeting date. The deadline for written public comments was October 15, 2023.

RAC Information and Resources

Information, meeting recordings and transcripts/minutes for the open meetings for each RAC are listed below. Information gathered related to the needs-sensing activities of each RAC, including RAC reports, is available under the “RAC Needs Assessment Reports” section.

Appalachia (Kentucky, Tennessee, Virginia, and West Virginia)

Central (Colorado, Kansas, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, South Dakota, and Wyoming)

Mid-Atlantic (Delaware, District of Columbia, Maryland, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania)

Midwest (Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Michigan, Minnesota, Ohio, and Wisconsin)

Northeast and Islands (Connecticut, Massachusetts, Maine, New Hampshire, New York, Puerto Rico, Rhode Island, Vermont, and the Virgin Islands)

Northwest (Alaska, Idaho, Montana, Oregon, and Washington)

Pacific (American Samoa, Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, Federated States of Micronesia, Guam, Hawaii, Palau, and Republic of the Marshall Islands)

  • Meeting #2: October 16, 2023, from 6:00 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. ET / 12:00 p.m. to 1:30 p.m. HST / 11:00 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. SST / October 17, 2023, from 8:00 a.m. to 9:30 a.m. ChST / 9:00 a.m. to 10:30 a.m. PONT / 7:00 a.m. to 8:30 a.m. PWT / 10:00 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. MHT.

Southeast (Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Mississippi, North Carolina, and South Carolina)

Southwest (Arkansas, Bureau of Indian Education, Louisiana, New Mexico, Oklahoma, and Texas)

West (Arizona, California, Nevada, and Utah)

Regional Advisory Committee (RAC) Needs Assessment Reports

The RAC needs assessment reports encapsulate the activities and outcomes of each RAC.

The activities discussed in each report took place from August to November 2023. The reports document the educational needs and priorities of region as determined by the RAC and contain each RAC’s recommendations to the Secretary regarding technical assistance activities that would most effectively address these needs and priorities.  

  1. Appalachia RAC Needs Assessment Report 
  2. Central RAC Needs Assessment Report
  3. Mid-Atlantic RAC Needs Assessment Report
  4. Midwest RAC Needs Assessment Report
  5. Northeast and Islands RAC Needs Assessment Report
  6. Northwest RAC Needs Assessment Report
  7. Pacific RAC Needs Assessment Report
  8. Southeast RAC Needs Assessment Report
  9. Southwest RAC Needs Assessment Report
  10. West RAC Needs Assessment Report

Additional Resources

For additional questions about the Regional Advisory Committees, contact OESE.RAC@ed.gov.

Last Modified: 01/18/2024

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