E-Update for November 4, 2016

Highlights

• On November 3, a letter was published to President Obama from 10 bipartisan Senators raising concerns with the U.S. Department of Education’s (USED) proposed Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) regulations for supplement, not supplant provisions and state accountability systems.
• On November 2, USED Secretary John King delivered a speech on the importance of expanding access to quality preschool for children’s growth and development.
• On November 1, House Democrats penned a letter advocating for the restoration of year-round Pell Grants and for the remainder of the Pell Grant surplus to be used solely for the Pell Grant Program.
• Monday, November 7 is the deadline for public comment on USED’s ESSA regulations for supplement, not supplant provisions.

U.S. Congress

10 Bipartisan Senators Send Letter to the President Citing Concerns with ESSA Regulations: The Washington Post published a letter from a group of 10 bipartisan Senators (5 R, 4D, 1I), including Chairman of the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committee Lamar Alexander (R-TN) to President Obama raising concerns with USED’s proposed ESSA regulations for supplement, not supplant provisions and state accountability systems. The letter urged the President to ensure that the regulations reflect the plain language of the law and the intent of Congress. Specifically, the letter states, “We urge you to make certain that the Department of Education regulations stay within the statutory text. We are available to work with you to help achieve that.” Notably, Senate HELP Committee Ranking Member Patty Murray (D-WA) did not sign the letter.
November 3, 2016

House Democrats Write to Appropriators Regarding Pell Grants: 123 House Democrats, including House Education and the Workforce Ranking Member Bobby Scott (D-VA), sent a letter to the leadership of the House and Senate Appropriations Committee and the Labor/HHS Subcommittee to request that they restore year-round Pell Grants through the FY2017 appropriations process and ensure that the remainder of the Pell Grant surplus be used solely for the Pell Grant program.
November 1, 2016

Administration

USED Secretary King Delivers Remarks at the Teach to Lead Teacher Preparation Summit: USED Secretary John King delivered remarks at the Teach to Lead Teacher Preparation Summit hosted by USED, the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards, and ASCD, which focused on leveraging teacher leadership to strengthen teacher preparation programs. Secretary King spoke on teacher leadership and the importance of teacher preparation programs.
November 3, 2016

USED Imposes Penalty on Penn State University Over the Handling of Sexual Misconduct Incidents: USED announced that it is seeking to impose a fine of $2.4 million on Penn State University for failing to comply with the Jeanne Clery Act, which requires colleges and universities to publicly report each year the number of criminal offenses on campus. The penalty – the largest ever assessed for Clery violations – covers 11 serious findings of Clery Act noncompliance related to the university’s handling of former assistant football coach Jerry Sandusky’s on campus sexual offenses.
November 3, 2016

USED Secretary King Delivers Speech on Increasing Access to Quality Preschool: USED Secretary King spoke at the University of Virginia Curry School of Education on the need for expanding access to quality preschool for children’s growth and development. Secretary King stated, “If we don’t provide children of lower- and middle-income families with access to quality programs, our work is failing to reduce inequity and expand opportunity in society.” In the speech, Secretary King also outlined progress under the Obama Administration in increasing early learning access and quality and the evidence base for quality preschool. He also highlighted states that are leading the way in this work.
November 2, 2016

USED Launches EdSim Challenge: USED launched the EdSim Challenge, a competition to design the next generation of education simulations to strengthen career and technical skills. The goal of the challenge is to spur the development of computer-generated virtual and augmented reality experiences that combine existing technologies with skill-building content.
November 2, 2016

USED Secretary King Announces the Expansion of the School Ambassador Fellows Program: USED Secretary King announced the expansion of the School Ambassador Fellows Program (TAF) to include school counselors. The fellows program allows teachers, principals, and other education professionals to bring their perspectives to USED’s discussions of federal policy and programs.
November 1, 2016

USED’s Office for Civil Rights Announces New Civil Rights Data Collection Resources: USED’s Office for Civil Rights (OCR) announced the release of several new resources related to the 2013-2014 Civil Rights Data Collection (CRDC). The new resources include a revamped CRDC website, a directory of the names and contact information for the civil rights coordinators in nearly every school in the country, and updated First Look documents with summary information on national trends. The directory can be found here and the First Look document can be accessed here.
November 1, 2016

Events

On November 7, the American Institutes for Research (AIR) will hold a webinar entitled, “Looking Under the Hood of Competency-Based Education,” which will discuss the highlights from AIR’s “Study of Competency-Based Education.” Register here.

Publications

IES Releases Study on Teachers’ Experiences with Feedback: The Institute of Education Sciences’ (IES) Regional Education Laboratory Program released a study on teachers’ responses to feedback from evaluators, which identifies factors that may influence teachers’ use of feedback.
November 3, 2016

IES Releases Employment and Enrollment Information of First-time Bachelor’s Degree Recipients: IES’ National Center for Education Statistics released information on the employment and enrollment status of first-time bachelor’s degree recipients one year after graduation. The information includes data from studies conducted in 1994, 2001, and 2009.
November 3, 2016

NCEE Releases Study on Teacher and Principal Performance Measures: IES’ National Center for Education Evaluation and Regional Assistance (NCEE) released early implementation findings from a study of teacher and principal performance measurement and feedback. The study looked at the implementation of a set of three performance measures for teachers and principals.
November 2, 2016

NCEE Releases Lessons Learned from Processional Development Studies: IES’ NCEE released an evaluation brief summarizing the lessons learned from three recent impact studies of content-focused teacher professional development in reading and math.
November 2, 2016