IRA Legislative Action Team Richard Long, Director of Government Relations International Reading Association Legislative Update
Federal policy on education is focusing on three issues. The first is the waiver program being conducted by US ED. This waiver program is to substitute many of the requirements of No Child Left Behind with revised accountability and key principles. These principles include states adopting the college & career ready standards, making use of revised teacher evaluations, and eight others principles. To see the applications from the 11 states that have applied plus the deadlines for the second round applicants go to: http://www.ed.gov/esea/flexibility
The second areas is on the rewriting of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (in its current form it is No Child Left Behind). The Senate education committee has drafted a bill, voted it out of committee and now it is awaiting full Senate action. The Chair of the committee, Senator Tom Harkin (D-IA) has said that he hopes to bring the bill to a vote before spring. This measure includes a measure to provide funds to states to support professional development for literacy in programs for children age 0 through grade 12 (the Literacy for All Act). However, the timing may be impacted because a final set of agreements need to be made on issues relating to accountability and other key provisions.
Meanwhile, the House education committee chair, Congressman Klein (R-MN) has said he wants to bring a measure to his committee looking at Title I and teacher evaluation/education. This would complete the set of bills the committee is moving as their reauthorization package. As the Congress moved to recessing in December, the talks between Democrats and Republicans broke down. This will mean that it is likely that any proposal that is introduced will be reflective of only one political party.
The third area is funding. In mid-December the Congress completed action on the spending plan for the current fiscal year. As it turns out, most of the elementary and secondary education programs are funded this year for the next school year (this is called forward funding). To see a chart of all the programs funding levels go to:
http://www2.ed.gov/about/overview/budget/news.html#2012action
The president will be sending his new budget request for FY 13 to the Congress within one to two weeks after his State of the Union Message on January 24th.
Also, please see the charts at the end of this communication. The charts provide you with information on which states are receiving money as a part of the Striving Readers program, the early childhood program (a new initiative under Race to the Top), and funds that have been sent to seven states who are working to meet the requirements of Race to the Top (most will be using these funds for implementing the Common Core State Standards).
November 2011 Legislative Update
Debt Panel Breakdown
The Congressional supercommittee did not reduce the federal deficit by at least $1.2 trillion. As a result, across-the-board budget cuts will occur which will deeply hurt literacy and education. In January 2013, a cut of 7.8 % could occur. According to NEA, this cut would mean a reduction of $3.54 billion in education funding. Included in thecuts are:
State legislatures are required to balance the budget despite deep cuts in programs. In Maryland, $62 million will be cut in the special education program and school meals for 2013. Other programs will be affected in 2014. Around the country, education has already taken a big hit with the loss of over 300,000 jobs. Art, music, counselors, literacy coaches, technology positions, and support staff have been cut. According to NEA, 227,000 more education jobs will be lost next year.
Waivers for No Child Left Behind
Since ESEA reauthorization will not occur before 2014, Education Secretary Duncan initiated the waiver program. Apart from Race to the Top, states have applied to the Obama administration for waivers from the current high stakes testing that requires 100% proficiency by 2014 in standardized reading and math tests. In order to get the waivers, states must adopt an index system of multiple measures. These include test score growth over time, graduation rates, evidence that students are college or career-ready, and an evaluation plan for teachers and principals. Schools can avoid the prescriptive improvement strategies that allow students to transfer out of schools labeled as failing and that require private contracting for tutoring struggling students. States have to identify the lowest 5% of schools and make efforts to improve them. In Maryland, intervention programs are underway for the lowest 5 % performing schools, and Maryland’s Breakthrough Center has been established for turning around lowest achieving schools.
Race to the Top News
Common Core State Standards
In a survey conducted by Julie Collins, co-chair of the Oklahoma Reading Association and member of the IRA Govt. Relations Committee, she reported that states are in various stages of implementation with professional development and implementation. With professional development, most respondents replied that their State Departments of Education provided the training. However, state reading councils and local school districts were also at the forefront in leading training.
In Kentucky, the state council reviewed the standards for their LEA and are providing professional development. Maryland and Alaska have aligned their state standards to the CCSS. Montana has representatives from their state councils in all district meetings. Idaho has created a website with resources on the CCSS. Maryland councils have also been instrumental in revising the state curriculum based on the standards and in the development of training models.
New curricular frameworks (preK-gr.12) in E/LA are underway in Maryland. The frameworks prepare students for success in college and the workplace. This year, some teachers are including explanatory, argument, and narrative writing in their lessons.
Educator evaluations are a part of Race to the Top. In Maryland, 30% of a teacher’s evaluation is based on student growth results on the high stakes test. 20% is based on student growth determined by the local school system, and 50% is based on a teacher’s instruction, planning, preparation, and the classroom environment.
Higher Education
Despite limited funding for postsecondary education where costs have risen more than twice the rate of inflation over the past 30 years, Maryland has fared better than most. The Maryland General Assembly has reduced the budget for 4- year public universities only a fraction (9.7 million) out of a 1.6 billion budget. Tuition increases for community colleges will only be 3%. However, funding is limited for community colleges.
Many folks believe that the next Race to the Top program should focus on postsecondary education because of the poor national record of graduation rates:
30% - associate degree programs
50% - four-year schools
(The national high school graduation rate is about 70%.)
Trends in Federal Policy – Rich Long
Rich Long, IRA Govt. Relations Director, has provided an update on national trends. The term “intervention specialist” has replaced the term “reading specialist.” Professional development will emphasize applications to the content areas more than process-oriented instruction. State councils will be working with state agencies to offer professional development on core standards.
Formative Assessment
Members of the Govt. Relations Committee on a panel have completed their work with Rich Long on the development of a “formative assessment” policy statement for IRA. Headed by Peter Afflerbach, chairperson of the IRA Assessment Committee, the panel developed the statement that aligns with the CCSS and provides guidelines for educators and the public. Keep posted for this statement from IRA
Updates and Future Events
Two of Rich Long’s webinars are archived for council use. You can access these on the website: http://www.reading.org/General/Legislative/LegislativeBlog.aspx
- “Trends in National Education Policy that Will Be Impacting the Reading Community,” Nov. 14, 2011
- “How Congress and the US Dept. of Education are Changing Federal Education Policy.” Nov. 10, 2011
March 22, 23, 2012 – a vitual workshop with Rich Long and legislative visits to Capitol Hill Congressional offices.
June 25- 26, 2012 – Rich Long’s legislative workshop with visits to Capitol Hill Congressional offices.
Register for the above two events at
http://www.reading.org/General/Legislative/LegislativeBlog.aspx
Chicago IRA Convention – Govt. Relations Symposium
“Meeting the Demands of Poverty and High Needs Students within the Federal Reform Agenda”
May 1, 2012 - 9:00 – 11:45 a.m.
Suzanne Clewell
IRA & SoMIRAC Govt. Relations Chairperson
IRA initiative in Senate Committee Draft of new ESEA!
The LEARN Act (Literacy for Every American, Results for the Nation) is part of the Senate education committee’s chairman (Senator Tom Harkin (D-IA)) and ranking member (Mike Enzi (R-WY)’s draft proposal to rewrite the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (now called NCLB). The entire measure is scheduled to be part of a three day mark-up by the committee starting next Tuesday, October 18th. To see the entire bill, and/or a summary please go to:
Section by Section Analysis:
http://help.senate.gov/imo/media/doc/Section%20by%20Section.pdf
Redline version showing changes to current law:http://help.senate.gov/imo/media/doc/Redline%20Version.pdf
The 860-page bill is now available: http://help.senate.gov/imo/media/doc/ROM117523.pdf
This is an important milestone. An IRA supported bill, from inception has been included in a major initiative. While this is a long way from passage; and many parts of the education community will be disagreeing with the sections of the measure having to do with Title I accountability; LEARN being in the measure is significant.
This will be part of the Virtual Legislative Workshop on October 20th and 21st. Feel free to sign up at:
http://www.reading.org/General/Legislative/LegislativeBlog/BlogSinglePost/11-09-22/Virtual_Legislative_Workshop_on_October_20_and_21_2011.aspx
Rich
Richard M. Long, Ed.D.
Director, Government Relations
International Reading Association
Suite 524
444 North Capitol Street, NW
Washington, DC 20001
(202) 624-8801
(202) 624-8826 (fax)
rlong@reading.org
IRA Legislative Update
August 31, 2011
- Legislative Information
- Sign up for September 20 Webinar
- New Legislative Action Team Sign Up
- Sign up for Virtual Legislative Workshop – October 20 & 21
Introduction
The Congress will return to Washington on September 7th. It expects to focus on financial issues for the vast majority of the time until the end of the year. But some of these financial issues─and other work─will impact the literacy world. We expect the US Department of Education (USED) to announce the Striving Readers Comprehensive Literacy Program grant awards, and guidance on the soon-to-be issued waivers to No Child Left Behind (NCLB). NCLB is the current name for the Elementary and Secondary Education Act –ESEA. The House education committee is rewriting ESEA, while the Senate says they are hoping to move their version of the bill.
Funding
While most public attention has been on the debt ceiling deal and the work of the “Super Committee,” of more immediate importance is the funding for the upcoming fiscal year. The next fiscal year begins on October 1st and no departments of government have their appropriations. As a point of fact, the House of Representatives has allocated 18% less for the Departments of Labor, Health and Human Services and Education; while the Senate has yet to set any amount. This is the step before the committees meet and make their program-by-program spending level determinations. Once each chamber finishes their work they must then come to agreement. The likelihood that this will be done by the end of September is almost zero. This means that the government will need a continuing resolution to stay open. But what spending level will be agreed to? This fall we may well see a fight similar to what we witnessed over last year’s funding level, which happened in the spring and resulted in significant cuts to education.
Elementary and Secondary Education Act
The House Committee on Education and the Workforce passed three of what are expected to be five bills to comprise their reauthorization of the ESEA. They passed a measure to eliminate 43 education programs in May. In June they passed a measure to increase support for charter schools and in July a measure to allow funds from any part of the ESEA to be transferred to any other part of ESEA. This would mean that, in some school districts, funds would flow into Title I or Title III (ELL) or flow out to other sections.
Next, the Committee is expected to focus on teachers and teaching. During a July hearing they talked mostly on alternative paths for teacher certification (such as Teach for America), teacher evaluation, and other mechanisms of change. They may hold a second hearing in Washington, DC in September. In addition, the fifth bill (focused on accountability) is still waiting in the wings. If the House Committee on Education and the Workforce hopes to move their package to the floor this fall, they need to quickly complete their work on the teachers’ bill and then get to the accountability bill. It is possible that they may decide to combine the teacher bill and the accountability bill.
LEARN Act
LEARN Act (Literacy for All Americans, Results for the Nation) is still in the mix. In the Senate the expectation is that the LEARN Act will be an amendment when the ESEA package moves forward. In the House, it is much more likely that all professional development ideas will be in one general area and that the state and school districts would decide which curricular areas to emphasize. This is part of the House majority’s philosophy that the federal government should not be making education decisions better made at the local level. The House majority, however, is still unsure how to balance the ideas of greater flexibility with the traditional federal role in education that sends money to school districts to help them impact high need populations.
USED
USED is expected to announce its requirements for states to apply for waivers to several of the provisions of No Child Left Behind. In February, Secretary Duncan announced that if changes aren’t made, over 80% of the schools in the nation will be in corrective action or improvement because the schools failed to make adequate yearly progress (AYP). While some dispute this number, no one is claiming that this isn’t an issue. Of concern is that this may take pressure off the Congress to rewrite NCLB. Another ─mostly heard in the Congress─is that they do not want the USED to overstep its bounds and grant waivers that can only be changed by Congress. Congress wants to maintain its authority to be the only one who can change many of the key provisions of NCLB. In addition, several advocates are concerned that changing NCLB’s rules might alter how high-need groups are treated.
Between now and the middle of September USED is expected to announce the states that won the Striving Readers Comprehensive Literacy program competition. We understand that 34 states submitted applications for the $179 million program.
- THREE SIGN UP SHEETS FOLLOW:
Literacy Action Team (LAT) Briefing Webinar
Tuesday, September 20, 2011, 8 PM EST
Click here to sign up for the Sept 20 Webinar
Presenter: Rich Long, IRA Director of Government Relations
Reading Related Legislation and Funding
20 minute briefing/20 minute Q&A/Audio and Visual by Internet
Next one – Monday – October 3rd 8:00 PM – Update on the Core Standards, the Assessments and the Plans on Implementation
Virtual Legislative Workshop/Two day event!
Click here to sign up for the Oct 20 & 21 Virtual Legislative Workshop
Thursday October 20, 2011
1:00 – 5:00 PM EASTERN
Virtual Reception from 5:00 – 6:00 PM
and
Friday October 21, 2011
1:00 PM – 5:00 PM EASTERN
Presenters: Rich Long, IRA Director of Government Relations with guest speakers from Congress, the administration, and advocacy groups
Issues impacting state education agencies and IRA state councils and how to cope with these issues:
- Common Core Standards
- Funding Cuts
- NCLB Waivers
- Teacher Evaluations
Audio and Visual by Internet. (Log in details will be emailed to you)
International Reading Association Literacy Action Team (LAT)
Email List
Sign up here to get the latest LAT information on reading-related legislation and funding and to get invitations to LAT webinars and workshops. We are creating a new list. Please sign up even if you have done so before. Thank you!
Click here to sign up for the email list
Want to find your representative? Click here.
June 4, 2011 Legislative Update
Funding
The government deficit is 14.3 trillion, and the US has hit the debt ceiling. Although Congress is reducing spending, talk about raising the debt ceiling is occurring in Congress. August 2 is the deadline. If the debt ceiling is not raised, a default by the US government could occur which could send interest rates soaring, cut off Social Security checks and salaries for our troops.
The Dept of Education’s budget is $45.4 billion in discretionary funding for FY (2011). This amount is a 2.7% decrease from last year.
Rep. Duncan Hunter (CA Rep.), Chairman of the House Ed. and Workforce Committee, introduced a bill (HR 1891) “Setting New Priorities in Education Funding Act” to eliminate 43 federal K-12 education programs, including Striving Readers Comprehensive Literacy, Reading is Fundamental, the National Writing Project, Smaller Learning Communities, High School Graduation Initiative, and Enhancing Education through Technology. The bill passed. An effort is underway to streamline the 80 education programs under ESEA. House Workforce and Education Committee Chairman, John Kline (R MN) said it was time to “weed out programs that are not working.”
A second bill is aimed at giving schools more flexibility in how they spend money by allowing districts to move money out of one funding stream and transfer it to another.
Senator Harkin (Iowa) has objected to the proposed elimination of Striving Readers, and Senator Murray (WA) has just reintroduced legislation, the LEARN Act (Literacy for Every American, Results for the Nation), that would provide continued funding for this program. The Act supports a comprehensive approach (birth to Gr. 12) to literacy teaching and learning that includes teaching teams, professional development, and formative assessment. In 2010, 189 million was awarded to states for Striving Readers. 46 states have working plans; however, MD is not a state that has applied for the grant.
LEARN will become part of the rewriting of ESEA in the Senate.
ESEA Reauthorization
President Obama’s goal of having ESEA reauthorized by the start of next year is dubious. The Senate is having bipartisan talks about what the federal role in school improvement and accountability should be.
President Obama, in a radio address, has highlighted progress that high poverty schools have made with the incentives of NCLB in that graduation rates have improved. However, there is bipartisan agreement that inflexible testing with no growth measures is a major problem. NCLB says that by 2014 all students will be proficient in math and reading but all states have different targets.
A coalition, “Chiefs for Change,” suggests that all schools should be held accountable; all schools should have annual assessments in reading and math to gauge student performance and teachers; all students should be recognized for annual growth; and schools should have tiered interventions based on school performance. Accountability should reflect the true range of performance (e.g., A-F not pass/fail).
Common Core Standards and Race to the Top
Maryland, one of the first states to receive the grant, is working on implementation plans. Also, with the PARCC consortium for assessments, ACHIEVE is working with states to develop the 3 benchmark assessments and 1 summative assessment. Students will be taking the assessments online. A big question is what constitutes the complexity of a text and how complex are the questions. The definition of “on grade level” will become more stringent.
Five states that have adopted the CCS are working on creating an open-source platform to help teachers access, download, and create online resources tied to the CCS. The Council of Chief State School Officers and NY, IL, MA, NC, & CO are taking the lead in designing the platform that will be a resources clearinghouse to support schools in implementing the standards. This will include lesson plans, diagnostic tools, and curricular units The Gates Foundation and the Carnegie Corporation are funding the project.
On Our State Front
Jane Long, Robin Baum, and Carolyn Johnston met with Delegate Norman Conway, MD General Assembly, to discuss conference attendance for credit, demographics, ESEA reauthorization, Race to the Top, and funding. They reported that the Appropriations Committee has kept its commitment to education by partially restoring funding (1.2 % increase) for direct aid to education under BRFA (the Budget Reconciliation and Finance Act). With higher education, the state budget has only been reduced a fraction ($9.7 million) out of a $1.6 billion budget. Funds go to public four-year universities with a limit on tuition increases to 3%.
Suzanne Clewell, representing SoMIRAC, presented at the IRA Govt. Relations Symposium, “Literacy Policies and Connecting for Success.” This symposium had 4 speakers who addressed legislative policies with an emphasis on Striving Readers. Rich Long presented the Legislative Update. Suzanne also chaired the Govt. Relations meeting where 5 subcommittees were set up. Engage, is the new IRA social media website where the Committee will communicate about legislative issues.
Dates to Note
June 27 – 28, 2011 will be the next legislative workshop on Capitol Hill. Visits will be made to our Congressional offices. To register, go to
www.reading.org and click on the Advocacy link.
Suzanne Clewell
IRA & SoMIRAC Govt. Relations Chairperson
