A bipartisan bill would create a DARPA‑style National Center for Advanced Development in Education (NCADE) to fund high‑risk, high‑reward education research as the Institute of Education Sciences (IES) faces staffing and budget cuts. Reps. Suzanne Bonamici and Brian Fitzpatrick introduced the proposal amid concern that the Education Department’s dismantling of IES has weakened federal research capacity. Sponsors say NCADE would accelerate innovation and close the gap between research and classroom practice; critics worry about shifting priorities and the loss of slower, replicable grantmaking models. The effort echoes past calls for mission‑driven R&D structures but comes as IES’s National Center for Education Research has been reduced to minimal personnel. The debate will shape federal support for evidence generation, technical assistance, and educator‑facing research infrastructure going forward.