E-Update for May 20, 2016
Highlights
- HELP Committee Holds Third Hearing on ESSA Implementation: On May 18, the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committee held a hearing entitled “The Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) Implementation: Perspectives from Education Stakeholders.” The hearing focused on the U.S. Department of Education’s (USED) proposed regulations on the supplement, not supplant (SNS) provision in ESSA. HELP Committee Chairman Alexander (R-TN)’s comments are available here; Ranking Member Murray (D-WA)’s comments are available here.
U.S. Congress
Republican Education Leaders Question Composition of Negotiated Rulemaking Committee: The House Education and the Workforce Committee Chairman John Kline (R-MN), House Subcommittee on Early Childhood, Elementary, and Secondary Education Chairman Todd Rokita (R-IN), and Senate HELP Committee Chairman Alexander (R-TN) sent a letter to USED raising questions about the Department’s Negotiated Rulemaking process. Specifically, the letter asked USED to respond by June 7, 2016, to inquiries about the lack of student voice on the panel, how USED attempted to provide geographic balance in committee representatives, and USED’s criteria in determining which constituencies would be on the committee. The letter is available here.
May 17, 2016
Republican Senators Write Administration Regarding Transgender Guidance: Twenty-five Republican Senators sent a letter to the Administration questioning its authority to release guidance to public schools on transgender issues. The letter said that “every transgender person is someone’s child and should be treated with respect, but that does not justify a federal executive agency acting as a national school board.” The full letter is available here.
May 19, 2016
Senate Appropriations Committee Approves FY2017 Agriculture Appropriations Bill: The Senate Appropriations Committee approved its Fiscal Year (FY) 2017 Agriculture appropriations bill, which includes $23.2 billion for child nutrition programs.
May 19, 2016
House Education and Workforce Committee Holds Markup of Child Nutrition Bill: The House Education and the Workforce Committee held a markup of H.R. 5003, the “Improving Child Nutrition and Education Act of 2016.” The bill passed by a full committee vote of 20 to 14. During committee debate of the bill, House Education and the Workforce Committee Ranking Member Bobby Scott (D-VA) raised concerns that the reauthorization bill could weaken child nutrition programs; his press release is available here.
May 18, 2016
Baldwin, Bonamici, and Clark Join Call for Increased Title IV Funding: Senator Tammy Baldwin (D-WI) and Congresswomen Suzanne Bonamici (D-OR), Katherine Clark (D-MA), and Lucille Roybal-Allard (D-CA) joined a coalition of over 50 organizations in calling for Congress to fund the ESSA Title IV block grant at a higher level than proposed in the Administration’s budget. The groups called for full funding of the $1.65 billion Title IV block grant as Congress moves forward with the FY2017 appropriations process.
May 18, 2016
House Education and Workforce Committee Holds Hearing on Perkins CTE: The House Education and the Workforce Committee held a hearing entitled “Helping Students Succeed by Strengthening the Carl D. Perkins Career and Technical Education (CTE) Act.” The hearing focused on the importance of educating students about the value of CTE programs from a young age, aligning CTE programs to the workforce to close the skills gap, and the role of public-private partnerships in creating CTE opportunities for students.
May 17, 2016
Sens. Murray and Hatch Introduce Legislation to Support Apprenticeships: Senators Patty Murray (D-WA) and Orrin Hatch (R-UT) introduced S.2945, the “Effective Apprenticeships Rebuild National Skills (EARNS) Act,” which aims to strengthen the nation’s workforce development system through registered apprenticeship programs. The EARNS Act would support pre-apprenticeship programs and new or expanding registered apprenticeship programs that provide national, portable credentials.
May 18, 2016
Sen. Ron Johnson Calls for FCC to Address E-Rate Program Issues: Senator Ron Johnson (R-WI) wrote a letter to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) questioning its oversight of the E-rate program, as schools and libraries struggle to apply for funding through the Internet subsidy program. The full letter is available here.
May 12, 2016
Administration
Secretary King Releases Statement on Anniversary of Brown v. Board of Education, Current Funding Inequity: Secretary John King released a statement on the anniversary of the Brown v. Board of Education decision. In the statement, Secretary King noted the continued work to be done to improve achievement for Black and Latino students. He also made connections to the ongoing debate on USED’s proposed SNS regulations, noting that the Department is working to address concerns about funding inequity through the regulations.
May 17, 2016
USED Releases Fact Sheet on Dual Enrollment Pell Experiment: USED released a fact sheet detailing the Administration’s efforts to expand postsecondary access through the Dual Enrollment Pell Experiment. USED invited 44 postsecondary institutions – most of which are community colleges – to participate in a pilot that would allow students taking college-credit courses to access Pell Grant funds. The fact sheet also detailed the Administration’s efforts to increase college affordability and improve postsecondary outcomes.
May 16, 2016
USED Awards Grants to Improve Services and Outcomes for Students with Disabilities: USED awarded $13.4 million in grants to postsecondary institutions to improve services and outcomes for students with disabilities. The grants will fund personnel preparation programs in the areas of special education, early intervention, and related services.
May 19, 2016
IES Examines Rural Schools’ Implementation of SIG Transformation Model: The Institute of Education Sciences (IES) at USED released a Regional Educational Laboratory (REL) Program study examining the implementation of School Improvement Grants (SIG) in rural regions. The survey specifically examines the local strategies of rural schools in REL’s northwest region.
May 18, 2016
NCES Releases Results from 2014 NAEP Technology and Engineering Literacy Assessment: The National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) released results from the National Assessment of Educational Progress’ (NAEP) Technology and Engineering Literacy (TEL) assessment. In 2014, the NAEP administered the first-ever nationally representative assessment of technology and engineering literacy. Eighth-grade students were presented real-world scenarios involving technology and engineering challenges. Findings indicate that female students scored higher than male students in TEL overall.
May 17, 2016
Events
On May 26, the Alliance for Excellent Education and the New Teacher Center will host a webinar entitled, “Improving Teacher Effectiveness and Student Learning Through Comprehensive Induction.” The discussion will focus on scaling proven approaches for accelerating the effectiveness of new teachers and increasing their retention. Register here.
New Legislation
H.R.5274 : To provide for the refinancing and recalculation of certain Federal student loans, and for other purposes.
Sponsor: Rep Garamendi, John [CA-3] (introduced 5/18/2016) Cosponsors (29)
Committees: House Education and the Workforce
H.R.5275 : To protect the authority of States and local governments to enact and enforce policies regarding the use of sex-segregated bathrooms and sex-segregated locker rooms of educational institutions on the basis of gender identity.
Sponsor: Rep Messer, Luke [IN-6] (introduced 5/18/2016) Cosponsors (10)
Committees: House Education and the Workforce
S.2945 : A bill to promote effective registered apprenticeships, for skills, credentials, and employment, and for other purposes.
Sponsor: Sen Murray, Patty [WA] (introduced 5/18/2016) Cosponsors (5)
Committees: Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions
H.R.5265 : Transparency in Taxpayer-Funded Discrimination Act
Sponsor: Rep Clark, Katherine M. [MA-5] (introduced 5/17/2016) Cosponsors (7)
Committees: House Education and the Workforce
Latest Major Action: 5/17/2016 Referred to House committee. Status: Referred to the House Committee on Education and the Workforce.
H.R.5294 : To invalidate the reinterpretation of title IX through guidance issued by the Department of Education and the Department of Justice on May 13, 2016.
Sponsor: Rep Babin, Brian [TX-36] (introduced 5/19/2016) Cosponsors (1)
Committees: House Education and the Workforce
Latest Major Action: 5/19/2016 Referred to House committee. Status: Referred to the House Committee on Education and the Workforce.
Publications
Envisioning the National Postsecondary Infrastructure in the 21st Century: Developed by experts convened by the Institute for Higher Education Policy, these 11 policy paper address the issue of how to provide better information about the postsecondary system to students, policymakers, and institutions by improving data infrastructure. Specifically, the papers investigate an array of approaches at the state and federal levels that could be pursued in a variety of combinations to get critical information into the hands of students, institutions, and policymakers.
May 18, 2016
How are Teacher Evaluation Data Used in Five Arizona Districts?: This report from IES describes how results from new multiple-measure teacher evaluations were being used in 2014/15 in five school districts in Arizona. The report is informed by interviews with district leaders and instructional coaches, as well as surveys of school principals and teachers.
May 19, 2016