E-Update for July 8, 2014
E-Update for July 8, 2014
Updates
On June 25, Senator Tom Harkin (D-IA), Chairman of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee, introduced a 785-page discussion draft to rework the Higher Education Act (HEA) entitled the “Higher Education Affordability Act.” The committee is currently seeking stakeholder input on the draft and may unveil an official bill later this summer. The full draft of the proposed legislation can be found here. Chairman Harkin’s office will be accepting submissions for consideration until August 29.
In addition, Representative John Kline (R-MN), Chairman of the House Education and the Workforce Committee, released an 11-page white paper outlining his priorities for the HEA. The white paper can be accessed here. Chairman Kline and several other Republican members of the committee are now in the midst of introducing a series of bills that all address the reform of the HEA. Three bills have already been introduced, including H.R. 3136, “Advancing Competency-Based Education Demonstration Project Act of 2013”; and H.R. 4983, “Strengthening Transparency in Higher Education Act”; and H.R.4984, “Empowering Students through Enhanced Financial Counseling Act.” The committee will mark up these three bills this Thursday, July 10, and several others are expected to be introduced in the coming weeks.
Events
The Office of Head Start and the Administration for Children and Families’ Office of Planning, Research and Evaluation hosted Head Start’s 12th National Research Conference on Tuesday, July 8 in Washington, DC. This conference’s theme was Collaboration and Coordination: Understanding Systems Supporting Young Children and Their Families. Among others, Mathematica’s early childhood experts shared recent research on Head Start.
AASA: The School Superintendents Association hosted its 2014 Legislative Advocacy Conference Tuesday, July 8 through Wednesday, July 10 in Washington, DC. The Conference touched on topics including Perkins CTE and IDEA reauthorization, the Child Care Development Block Grant programs, the budget process for fiscal year 2015, and student data and privacy.
The National Association of State Boards of Education (NASBE) hosted a webinar on Wednesday, July 9 in Washington, DC. The webinar, entitled “College, Career, and Civic Readiness: How Can a State Measure it,” included remarks from Kentucky’s State Board of Education Chair Roger Markum, Associate Commissioner of Assessment and Accountability Ken Draut, and Associate Commissioner of Career and Technical Education Dale Winkler. Participants discussed ways to measure, evaluate, and assess student readiness for college, career, and civic success and highlighted the best practices of several states working to implement various measurement alternatives.
The Center for American Progress hosted a conversation on Wednesday, July 9 entitled: “Rethinking School Finance: A Look At Funding Equity and Effectiveness.” The event coincided with the release of three reports, including “Return on Education Investment: A District-by-District Evaluation of U.S. Educational Productivity” by Ulrich Boser; “America’s Most Financially Disadvantaged School Districts and How They Got that Way” by Bruce Baker; and “Parallel Lives, Different Spending: A Twin Study of Academic Productivity in U.S. School Districts” by Robert Hanna. Carmel Martin (Executive Vice President for Policy, Center for American Progress) and Congressman Chaka Fattah (D-PA) gave remarks. Panelists included Bruce Baker (Professor, Rutgers University Graduate School of Education), Jennifer Alexander (Chief Executive Officer, ConnCAN), and Robert Hanna (Senior Policy Analyst, Center for American Progress). Ulrich Boser moderated the discussion.
The House Education and Workforce Committee will host a full committee markup for H.R. 3136 (“Advancing Competency-Based Education Demonstration Project Act of 2013″), H.R. 4983 (“Strengthening Transparency in Higher Education Act”), and H.R. 4984 (“Empowering Students through Enhanced Financial Counseling Act”). The markup will be held on Thursday, July 10 at 10am in Rayburn HOB.
Results for America, an initiative of America Achieves, will host an event on July 16 at 8:30am in Rayburn HOB entitled, “Social Impact Bonds: A Moneyball Approach to Federal Investment.” Rep. Todd Young (R-IN) and Rep. John Delaney (D-MD) will participate in the conversation. Other speakers include Tom Jenkins (President and Chief Executive Officer, Nurse Family Partnership), George Overholser (CEO & Co-Founder, Third Sector Capital Partners), Sam Schaeffer (CEO Executive Director, Center for Employment Opportunities), and David Buttler (Senior Adviser, MDRC). Please RSVP to Alexandra.Uriarte@AmericaAchieves.org.
U.S Department of Education
New Initiative to Provide All Students Access to Great Educators: As part of its efforts to ensure that all students have equal access to a quality education, today the U.S. Department of Education is announcing the launch of the Excellent Educators for All Initiative. The initiative will help states and school districts support great educators for the students who need them most.
July 7, 2014
U.S. Department of Education Accepts Operating Plan from Corinthian Colleges Inc.: The U.S. Department of Education and Corinthian Colleges Inc. have agreed to an operating plan that provides students at the company’s career colleges a chance to complete their education and protects taxpayers’ investment while Corinthian works to either sell or close its campuses across the country in the next six months.
July 3, 2014
U.S. Department of Education Approves Extensions for States Granted Flexibility from No Child Left Behind: The U.S. Department of Education announced today that six states – Arkansas, Colorado, Connecticut, Nevada, South Dakota and Virginia – have received a one-year extension for flexibility from certain provisions of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA), also known as No Child Left Behind (NCLB).
July 3, 2014
Statement by U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan on the 50th Anniversary of the Civil Rights Act of 1964: “We have, indeed, made progress toward fulfilling the goal of the 1964 Civil Rights Act. Black and Latino young people are graduating high school and enrolling in college at much higher rates. Yet crucial work remains to ensure equal opportunity for all students. We still have unacceptable opportunity gaps in America, as our latest release of the Civil Rights Data Collection revealed. Great disparities continue to exist for students of color. Our Office for Civil Rights will continue to vigorously enforce the landmark legislation that banned discrimination on the basis of race, color, and national origin. We must recommit, as a nation, to programs and policies that close opportunity gaps and help all students reach their potential.”
July 2, 2014
Statement from U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan on Harris v. Quinn Ruling: “Collective bargaining is a fundamental right that helped build America’s middle class. I’ve seen firsthand as Education Secretary that collaborating with unions and their state and local affiliates helps improve outcomes for students. The President and I remain committed to defending collective bargaining rights.”
July 1, 2014
Education Department Updates College Affordability and Transparency Lists: As part of the Obama Administration’s efforts to keep college within reach for all Americans and encourage institutions to make the costs of college more transparent, the U.S. Department of Education today updated college costs lists on its College Affordability and Transparency Center. In addition to spotlighting institutions with the highest and lowest tuition and net price, students and families can also search for costs across several categories, including— public and private, for-profit and non-profit, four-year and two-year programs.
June 30, 2014
Congressional Headlines
Broad Support for Harkin’s Higher Education Affordability Act: Following the release of the Higher Education Affordability Act, a broad range of education, student, consumer, labor, and disability advocates expressed their support for provisions of the bill. Released by Senator Tom Harkin (D-IA), Chairman of the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committee, the Higher Education Affordability Act takes a comprehensive approach to rein in rising college costs and ensure the system is better serving students and families. Read a summary of the bill here.
June 26, 2014
Committee Members Introduce Legislation to Strengthen America’s Higher Education System: House Education and the Workforce Committee members today introduced the first in a series of legislative proposals to reform the nation’s higher education system. The bills were introduced following the release earlier this week of a committee white paper outlining key principles for reauthorizing the Higher Education Act.
June 26, 2014
New Legislation
H.R.4982 : Simplifying the Application for Student Aid Act
Sponsor: Rep Bucshon, Larry [IN-8] (introduced 6/26/2014)
Committees: House Education and the Workforce
Latest Major Action: 6/26/2014 Referred to House committee. Status: Referred to the House Committee on Education and the Workforce.
H.R.4983 : Strengthening Transparency in Higher Education Act
Sponsor: Rep Foxx, Virginia [NC-5] (introduced 6/26/2014) )
Committees: House Education and the Workforce
Latest Major Action: 6/26/2014 Referred to House committee. Status: Referred to the House Committee on Education and the Workforce.
H.R.4984 : To amend the loan counseling requirements under the Higher Education Act of 1965, and for other purposes.
Sponsor: Rep Guthrie, Brett [KY-2] (introduced 6/26/2014)
Committees: House Education and the Workforce
Latest Major Action: 6/26/2014 Referred to House committee. Status: Referred to the House Committee on Education and the Workforce.
H.R.5001 : Core Opportunity Resources for Equity and Excellence Act of 2014
Sponsor: Rep Fudge, Marcia L. [OH-11] (introduced 6/26/2014)
Committees: House Education and the Workforce
Latest Major Action: 6/26/2014 Referred to House committee. Status: Referred to the House Committee on Education and the Workforce.
H.R.5012 : Summer Meals Act of 2014
Sponsor: Rep Young, Don [AK] (introduced 6/26/2014)
Committees: House Education and the Workforce
Latest Major Action: 6/26/2014 Referred to House committee. Status: Referred to the House Committee on Education and the Workforce.
H.R.5005 : To end the use of corporal punishment in schools, and for other purposes.
Sponsor: Rep McCarthy, Carolyn [NY-4] (introduced 6/26/2014)
Committees: House Education and the Workforce
Latest Major Action: 6/26/2014 Referred to House committee. Status: Referred to the House Committee on Education and the Workforce.
H.AMDT.965 to H.R.4899 Amendment fosters STEM education in the South Atlantic states by allowing colleges, universities and historically black colleges and universities (with a preference to military veteran serving institutions of higher education) to partner with the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management to train the next generation of geological and geophysical scientists to better understand the oil, gas and other hydrocarbon potential of the offshore South Atlantic.
Sponsor: Rep Wittman, Robert J. [VA-1] (introduced 6/26/2014)
Latest Major Action: 6/26/2014 House amendment agreed to. Status: On agreeing to the Wittman amendment (A004) Agreed to by voice vote.
S.2557 : A bill to amend the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 to provide for State accountability in the provision of access to the core resources for learning, and for other purposes.
Sponsor: Sen Reed, Jack [RI] (introduced 6/26/2014)
Committees: Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions
Latest Major Action: 6/26/2014 Referred to Senate committee. Status: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions.
S.2543 : A bill to support afterschool and out-of-school-time science, technology, engineering, and mathematics programs, and for other purposes.
Sponsor: Sen Shaheen, Jeanne [NH] (introduced 6/26/2014)
Committees: Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions
Latest Major Action: 6/26/2014 Referred to Senate committee. Status: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions.
National and State Headlines
FCC Prepares to Vote on E-Rate Overhaul: Schools and libraries hungry for faster and more reliably funded Wi-Fi connections will be watching the July 11 open meeting of the Federal Communications Commission closely. FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler’s long-awaited E-rate modernization plan, which he released in outline form on June 20, will be discussed by commissioners and presumably voted on during the meeting.
Education Week
July 8, 2014
Tennessee on Dogged Path to Race to Top Finish: The mission of Tennessee’s state-run Achievement School District (ASD) is to transform Tennessee’s chronically failing schools into its best schools. The plan is similar to state-run districts in other parts of the country that try to improve schools by turning them into networks of charters. But Tennessee’s strategy goes further than most: The ASD also includes schools that are run directly by the state, and its goal is to catapult them all from the bottom 5 percent to the top 25 percent on state tests in just five years.
Education Week
July 8, 2014
NJ Senate to vote Thursday on slowing Common Core: Gov. Chris Christie may have a bill on his desk by the end of the week that delays by at least two years the use of new student assessments linked to the Common Core state standards. The state Senate has scheduled a vote for Thursday afternoon on legislation (A3081) that establishes an Education Review Task Force to analyze the Common Core standards, the Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for College and Careers (PARCC) assessments and the use of students’ test results in evaluating teachers.
Absury Park Press
July 7, 2014
Washington Superintendent Requests Adequate Yearly Progress Relief: Wants districts not to be required to send letter to parents: A request by the Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction, if granted, would not require districts to send letters to parents about their school(s) not meeting a federal measure. Nearly every school in Washington will not meet AYP, meaning that nearly every school will need to send a letter.
June 30, 2014
Publications
Economic Policy Institute Report: “Segregation and peers’ characteristics in the 2010-2011 kindergarten class”: This paper uses data from a recent representative cohort of U.S. students entering kindergarten—the National Center for Education Statistics’ Early Childhood Longitudinal Study, Kindergarten Class of 2010-11 (ECLS-K:2011)—to better understand how both neighborhood- and school-level segregation affect schools and students in order to more productively guide both future research and policymaking.
June 11, 2014
MFY Legal Services Report: Long-term consequences of kinship care: overcoming obstacles to higher education funding: This report details the difficulties students being raised by grandparents or others outside the formal foster care system face when trying to complete the FAFSA. The report focuses on the way in which “dependency overrides” act as barriers to acquiring need-based aid. The report calls for more guidance counselors and financial aid experts in districts where students not being raised by biological parents tend to cluster.
NCES Report: Baccalaureate and Beyond: A First Look at the Employment Experiences and Lives of College Graduates, 4 Years On: This report presents initial findings about the employment outcomes of bachelor’s degree recipients approximately 4 years after they completed their 2007–08 degrees. These findings are based on data from the second follow-up of the Baccalaureate and Beyond Longitudinal Study, a nationally representative longitudinal sample survey of students who completed the requirements for a bachelor’s degree during the 2007–08 academic year. The study addresses questions related to bachelor’s degree recipients’ education and employment experiences and includes two follow-ups.
July 8, 2014