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| Last updated on 1/17/12 News to Use NowHouse Releases Draft Education BillsJanuary 16, 2011—On January 6 the Republicans from the House Education and the Workforce Committee released two draft education bills meant to overhaul the current ESEA. Unlike the Senate ESEA bill, the House legislation is not bipartisan. It focuses on limiting the power of the Department of Education and the Secretary of Education, opening up flexibility in federal funding, and removing federal intervention for low-performing schools. Student Success Act highlights
Encouraging Innovation and Effective Teachers Act highlights
In a statement, House Committee on Education and the Workforce Chairman John Kline (R-MN) said, "There is a strong sense of urgency that the heavy-handed law must be reformed to ensure more children have access to the quality education they deserve. Today, I'm pleased to release draft legislation that will change the status quo and put more control into the hands of the teachers, principals, superintendents, and parents who know the needs of children best. This is not final legislation. It is a step forward in the ongoing debate on the best way to improve education in America." Emphasizing the lack of bipartisan input on the draft, House Committee on Education and the Workforce Ranking Member George Miller (D-CA) responded, "While parties in both Houses working together is the tried and true way to accomplish education reform, House Republicans have now opted to walk away from bipartisanship and craft partisan legislation. By abandoning efforts to reach a consensus, this partisanship shuts the door on NCLB reform in this Congress. And the end of the rewrite of this law means our nation’s children will be stuck under an outdated law for the foreseeable future." More information "Kline Releases Draft Accountability, Teacher Effectiveness Legislation" "House GOP NCLB Proposal Would Scale Back Federal Role" "Ten Years Later, A Better Way Forward for K-12 Schools" "Miller Statement on 10th Anniversary of No Child Left Behind Act"
FY2012 Funding Omnibus Includes Previously Endangered Ed. ProgramsJanuary 16, 2011—On December 23, 2011, President Obama signed the FY 2012 Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2012, which will fund the federal government through Sept. 30, 2012. "After weeks of tough negotiations with our Senate counterparts--and several tenuous days this past week--we were able to complete a bipartisan, bicameral compromise that rolls back federal budgets, makes smart investments in programs people rely on, and implements policy changes that will bolster American business and our economy. As with any compromise, this bill isn't perfect, but it represents the kind of responsible governing that will help move our country forward," House Appropriations Chairman Hal Rogers (R-KY) said. Unlike ESEA efforts, the bill was developed through bipartisan discussion, which may be one reason why it retains funding for several education programs, such as RTT, that the House initially wanted to cut.
One of the biggest surprises was the inclusion of the Striving Readers program, which received $160 million. The program was defunded in 2011. Funding was eliminated, however, for both Teaching American History grants and the Foreign Language Assistance program. The Education and Science Partnerships program was cut to $150 million. View the most recent budget tables from the Department of Education. More information "Chairman Rogers Applauds House Approval of Final Fiscal Year 2012 Appropriations Legislation" "Summary: Fiscal Year 2012 Final Consolidated Appropriations Bill" "Education Funding Details Emerge in 2012 Omnibus Bill" "Budget Bill: Tiny Increase for Title I, Obama Ed. Programs Survive" "Literacy Wins, History Loses in Federal Budget"
Evolving Policies in Texas Reflect "New Normal"Dec. 14, 2011—At the 2011 CEO Roundtable, Game Changers, Jay Diskey, Executive Director of AAP, School Division, said that members of the education community should stop asking when things will get back to normal for school budgets and instructional materials purchases. Evolving policies at the state level, due to economics, Common Core Standards, and the rise of technology, mean that we will continue to see more funding flexibility and choices when buying learning resources and technology. Using Texas as one example of the evolution in school buying processes, Diskey advised the attendees to get used to the "new normal." Highlights
Texas will probably have a new science proclamation in 2012, but publishers are asking, why should they invest in Texas? Listen to Diskey speak about the changes in Texas in more detail.
Texas School Districts Suing Over Lack of FundingNov. 2, 2011—The education community has continued its focus on Texas now that several school districts have sued the State Board of Education over an "arbitrary hodge-podge of approaches" to school funding. One lawsuit, lead by Equity Center, looks at inequities brought about by a 2006 law that reduced property taxes but said that no district would get less than the amount of money they received at that time. According to the lawsuit, this has resulted in huge differences in yields for similar tax effort that gave property-wealthy districts unconstitutionally greater access to educational dollars." Moreover, the plaintiffs say the inequity has been compounded by a change in school formulas resulting in an additional $4 billion in cuts. Superintendent Scott Elliff, Corpus Christi Independent School District, told the blog site caller.com that the range of funding in Texas for 2011 is $5,000-$12,000 per student; his district expects $5,448. A second lawsuit, led by school finance lawyer David Thompson, is focusing more on the property tax issues and the districts' lack of control both raising taxes and how to use the revenue. More information "Texas Districts Sue Over School Funding System" "Texas Facing at Least Two School Funding Lawsuits" "CCISD trustees approve to join more than 250 other districts in school finance lawsuit" The Texas Taxpayer & Student Fairness Coalition, et al vs. Robert Scott, Commissioner of Education, et al
Senate ESEA Bill Receives Pushback from Education OrganizationsOct. 20, 2011—On Oct. 17 Senators Tom Harkin (D-IA) and Mike Enzi (R-WY), the Chairman and Ranking Member of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee, agreed to move ahead with a bipartisan effort to reauthorize ESEA. Enzi pointed out in a statement that while there are still details that they disagree on (such as the extent of local control), he does not think the Department of Education's NCLB Waivers are the way to correct the law, and he believes the Senate can comprise and present a strong bill to the House and the President. However, a group of five education organizations believes that the Senate is moving too quickly to counteract the waivers and, in the process, might be including unreasonable provisions. Key Objections Teacher and Principal Evaluations: They are concerned about the "capacity of states and local school districts to develop meaningful evaluation systems that do not become mechanisms for forced teacher and principal distribution." In the meantime, Education Week reports that the legislation has passed the HELP Committee; Senator Harkin would like to put get the legislation to the Senate floor before Thanksgiving. More information "Harkin, Enzi Announce Bipartisan Support for Moving Forward with Education Reform Bill" "Enzi: ESEA Bill Represents Good Starting Point in Legislative Process" "Key Ed. Groups to Harkin: Let's Slow Down on ESEA" Letter to Senators Harkin and Enzi (Oct. 16, 2011) "Senate Education Panel Approves ESEA Rewrite Bill" |
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