A bipartisan bill introduced by Reps. Suzanne Bonamici and Brian Fitzpatrick would create the National Center for Advanced Development in Education (NCADE), a DARPA-modeled agency inside the Institute of Education Sciences to fund high‑risk, high‑reward education research. The proposal comes as the Education Department has reduced staff and canceled large research contracts, prompting lawmakers and researchers to seek new models to accelerate classroom-ready innovations. Proponents argue NCADE would bridge research and practice with faster, more ambitious grants; critics warn about concentrating resources and diverting funds from existing evidence-building programs. The proposal responds to concerns that traditional grant timelines — often multi-year, incremental projects — are ill-suited to rapid innovation demands, especially for digital adaptive tutoring and AI-enabled instruction. If enacted, NCADE could reshape federal education research priorities, redirecting federal funding toward shorter, risk-inclined projects aimed at rapid translation into classroom tools. The change would prompt universities and research centers to adjust grant strategies and partnerships to compete for a different funding model.