Friends of IES, a new coalition of organizations focused on highlighting the important role of the Institute of Education Sciences (IES) in supporting education research, launched on March 13 with its first meeting. The mission of Friends of IES is to increase the visibility of the research funded by the agency, strengthen IES programs by supporting strong and comprehensive reauthorization bills, and seek adequate and sustained funding for the research IES supports.

AERA is serving as the secretariat for Friends of IES. Felice J. Levine, AERA executive director, commented, “AERA has had a longstanding interest in supporting the IES mission in a bigger way.  By pulling together like-minded scientific organizations and those who see the importance of research in driving education policy, we hope IES will benefit.”

Organizations that joined AERA for the launch of Friends of IES include the American Psychological Association, the American Sociological Association, the American Statistical Association, the Consortium of Social Science Associations, the Council for Exceptional Children, the National Center for Learning Disabilities, and the Society for Research in Child Development.

Organizations that are interested in joining Friends of IES should email govrelations@aera.net.