((a)) ** Establishment** There is established in the Institute a National Center for Education Statistics (in this part referred to as the “Statistics Center”).

((b)) ** Mission** The mission of the Statistics Center shall be—

((1)) to collect and analyze education information and statistics in a manner that meets the highest methodological standards;

((2)) to report education information and statistics in a timely manner; and

((3)) to collect, analyze, and report education information and statistics in a manner that—

((A)) is objective, secular, neutral, and nonideological and is free of partisan political influence and racial, cultural, gender, or regional bias; and

((B)) is relevant and useful to practitioners, researchers, policymakers, and the public.