E-Update for September 25, 2015
With the end of the fiscal year approaching (September 30), Congress must work to pass a spending bill in order to fund the federal government past that point.
U.S Congress
House Speaker John Boehner Announces Resignation: House Speaker John Boehner (R-OH) said, “The first job of any Speaker is to protect this institution that we all love. It was my plan to only serve as Speaker until the end of last year, but I stayed on to provide continuity to the Republican Conference and the House. It is my view, however, that prolonged leadership turmoil would do irreparable damage to the institution. To that end, I will resign the Speakership and my seat in Congress on October 30.”
September 25, 2015
Reps. Bishop and Pocan Introduce Bipartisan Legislation to Extend Perkins Loans: Representatives Mike Bishop (R-MI) and Mark Pocan (D-WI) introduced the “Higher Education Extension Act of 2015,” which would extend the Perkins Loan Program that is set to expire on September 30 for one more year. The bipartisan proposal will provide certainty to students and institutions as policymakers continue to work on the reauthorization of the Higher Education Act. Also, a bipartisan group from the Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee comprised of Senators Tammy Baldwin (D-WI), Susan Collins (R-Me), Rob Portman (R-OH), and Bob Casey (D-PA) introduced a resolution expressing support for the continuation of the Perkins Loan Program on Thursday. Press release.
September 24, 2015
Sen. Alexander Questions USED Authority Regarding Bullying Guidance: In a hearing held by the Senate Homeland Security and Government Affairs Subcommittee on Regulatory Affairs and Federal Management entitled, “Examining the Use of Agency Regulatory Guidance,” Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Chairman Lamar Alexander questioned the authority of the Education Department to issue guidance on bullying. “[W]e didn’t have any agreement on whether we should be telling 100,000 public schools what their discipline or bullying policy should be,” said Chairman Alexander. Watch the hearing here.
September 23, 2015
U.S Department of Education
USED Releases Guidance on Peer Review of State Assessment Systems: The U.S. Department of Education (USED) released guidance to support states in meeting statutory and regulatory requirements under Title I of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) for implementing valid and reliable assessment systems and, where applicable, provide States approved for ESEA flexibility with an opportunity to demonstrate that they have met requirements for high-quality assessments under Principle 1 of ESEA flexibility. Principle 1 of ESEA flexibility calls for States to implement high-quality assessments aligned to those college and career ready standards designed to help educators improve instructional practice, to provide students with the opportunity to demonstrate what they know and are able to do, and to provide parents with useful information about student performance. USED also issued a letter to State Chiefs along with the guidance. Guidance. Letter to Chiefs.
September 25, 2015
USED Awards First in the World Grants to Drive Innovation and Access in Higher Education: USED awarded $60 million in First in the World Grants to 17 colleges, universities, and organizations. “We are pleased to support these educational leaders who are driving exciting innovations to achieve [access and affordability] goals,” said Secretary of Education Arne Duncan.
September 21, 2015
USED Released Guidance for Competency Based Education Experimental Sites: USED released guidance for Competency Based Education (CBE) Experimental Sites. The guidance aims to provide additional detail and clarity for institutions participating in the Experimental Sites Initiative. The guidance is available here.
September 22, 2015
USED’s Office of Civil Rights and the University of Virginia Announce Resolution Agreement: USED’s Office of Civil Rights (OCR) and the University of Virginia (UVA) announced that UVA has entered into a resolution agreement to ensure that the university’s handling of sexual violence and sexual harassment complies with the requirements of Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972.
September 21, 2015
USED and the Department of Justice Release English Learner Tool Kit: USED and the Department of Justice announced the completion of the English Learner (EL) Tool Kit to support states, districts, and schools in meeting their legal obligations to ELs and ensuring access to quality education. The EL Tool Kit is a companion to the English Learner Guidance released in January, and consists of 10 chapters, each chapter aligned to one of the 10 sections of the guidance.
September 21, 2015
USED Announces Grants to Help American Indian Youth Become College and Career Ready: USED announced more than $5.3 million in grants to help Native American youth become college- and career-ready. Each grant will support a coordinated, focused approach chosen by a community partnership that includes a tribe, local schools, and other organizations.
September 24, 2015
Federal Agencies Make Commitments in Support of Hispanic Education: The White House Initiative on Educational Excellence for Hispanics announced a series of commitments, a new report, and a set of education data plans outlining the Administration’s work to improve the lives of the 55 million Hispanics who live in the United States. “Today, nearly one in four students in our nation’s public schools is a Hispanic youth,” said U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan. “Making sure these young people have the opportunity to achieve their dreams isn’t just the right thing to do – it’s also a matter of our shared success as a country.”
September 22, 2015
Events
On September 30, the Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee will hold a hearing entitled, “A Review of the Department of Education and Student Achievement.” The hearing will take place in room 342 of the Dirksen Senate Office Building at 9:30 am. The Under Secretary of the U.S. Department of Education, Theodore R. Mitchell, and the Director of the Center for College Affordability and Productivity, Dr. Richard K. Vedder, will testify as witnesses. More information will become available here.
On September 29, the National Network for State Teachers of the Year (NNSTOY) will host a webinar entitled, “Using Storytelling to Model Effective Social and Emotional Learning.” The webinar will include video presentations of case studies that demonstrate teachers using animated characters to model appropriate, positive behaviors inside the classroom, and how young students are more likely to accept those behaviors as standard, and adapt. Register here.
New Legislation
H.R.3561 : Fair Access to Education Act of 2015
Sponsor: Rep Blumenauer, Earl [OR-3] (introduced 9/18/2015) Cosponsors (None)
Committees: House Education and the Workforce
H.R.3566 : To prohibit an alien who is not in a lawful immigration status in the United States from being eligible for postsecondary education benefits that are not available to all citizens and nationals of the United States.
Sponsor: Rep Gosar, Paul A. [AZ-4] (introduced 9/18/2015) Cosponsors (19)
Committees: House Judiciary; House Education and the Workforce
H.R.3570 : STEM Education Opportunity Act
Sponsor: Rep Hanna, Richard L. [NY-22] (introduced 9/18/2015) Cosponsors (1)
Committees: House Ways and Means
H.R.3581 : To require full funding of part A of title I of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 and the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act.
Sponsor: Rep Van Hollen, Chris [MD-8] (introduced 9/18/2015) Cosponsors (None)
Committees: House Education and the Workforce
H.R.3582 : To support the development, implementation, and evaluation of innovative strategies and methods to increase out-of-school access to digital learning resources for eligible students in order to increase student and educator engagement.
Sponsor: Rep Welch, Peter [VT] (introduced 9/18/2015) Cosponsors (1)
Committees: House Education and the Workforce
H.RES.433 : Expressing support for designation of the week of September 21, 2015, as National Adult Education and Family Literacy Week.
Sponsor: Rep Polis, Jared [CO-2] (introduced 9/22/2015) Cosponsors (5)
Committees: House Education and the Workforce
S.2064 : A bill to amend the Higher Education Act of 1965 to expand the definition of eligible program.
Sponsor: Sen Baldwin, Tammy [WI] (introduced 9/22/2015) Cosponsors (3)
Committees: Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions
S.2065 : A bill to amend the Higher Education Act of 1965 to increase the income protection allowances.
Sponsor: Sen Baldwin, Tammy [WI] (introduced 9/22/2015) Cosponsors (3)
Committees: Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions
S.2067 : A bill to establish EUREKA Prize Competitions to accelerate discovery and development of disease-modifying, preventive, or curative treatments for Alzheimer’s disease and related dementia, to encourage efforts to enhance detection and diagnosis of such diseases, or to enhance the quality and efficiency of care of individuals with such diseases.
Sponsor: Sen Wicker, Roger F. [MS] (introduced 9/22/2015) Cosponsors (6)
Committees: Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions
H.R.3594 : To extend temporarily the Federal Perkins Loan program, and for other purposes.
Sponsor: Rep Bishop, Mike [MI-8] (introduced 9/24/2015) Cosponsors (1)
Committees: House Education and the Workforce
H.R.3604 : To establish a grant program to assist States to establish or expand universal prekindergarten in public schools and public charter schools.
Sponsor: Rep Norton, Eleanor Holmes [DC] (introduced 9/24/2015) Cosponsors (None)
Committees: House Education and the Workforce
S.RES.267 : A resolution expressing support for the continuation of the Federal Perkins Loan program.
Sponsor: Sen Baldwin, Tammy [WI] (introduced 9/24/2015) Cosponsors (19)
Committees: Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions
Publications
School Composition and the Black-White Achievement Gap: This NCES report explores eighth-grade achievement as it relates to the percentage of students in the school who were Black. The data used to explore these relationships came primarily from the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) 2011 Mathematics Grade 8 Assessment but also from the Common Core of Data for 2010–11, which provided additional school characteristics. When accounting for factors such as student socioeconomic status (SES) and other student, teacher, and school characteristics, the analysis found:
- White student achievement in schools with the highest Black student density did not differ from White student achievement in schools with the lowest density.
- For Black students overall, and Black males in particular, achievement was still lower in the highest density schools than in the lowest density schools.
- The Black–White achievement gap was larger in the highest density schools than in the lowest density schools.
- Conducting analysis by gender, the Black–White achievement gap was larger in the highest density schools than in the lowest density schools for males but not for females.
September 24, 2015
Evaluation of the Teacher Incentive Fund: Implementation and Impacts of Pay-for-Performance After Two Years: The Teacher Incentive Fund (TIF) provides grants to support performance-based compensation systems for teachers and principals in high-need schools. The study measures the impact of pay-for-performance bonuses as part of a comprehensive compensation system within a large, multisite random assignment study design. The pay-for-performance bonus policy had small, positive impacts on students reading achievement; impacts on students’ math achievement were not statistically significant but similar in magnitude.
September 24, 2015
What Works Clearinghouse Report on Career Academies: Career Academies were developed more than 30 years ago as a dropout prevention strategy for youth considered most at risk of dropping out of high school. Students in Career Academies take both career-related and academic courses and acquire work experience through partnerships with local employers. Since their inception, Career Academies have broadened the kinds of students they serve, integrated rigorous academic curricula with career themes, and now attract students who are preparing for postsecondary education. Career Academies were found to have potentially positive effects on completing school and no discernible effects on staying in school or progressing in school for high-school aged youth.
September 22, 2015