Legislative Outlook 112th Congress

1st Session

Ellen Fern Washington Partners, LLC

efern@wpllc.net March 18, 2011

112th Congress Overview

  Department of Education   Congress

  Congressional Leadership and Committee Membership   Issues

  Federal FY 2011 Budget Status   Federal FY 2012 Budget

  Budget Outline   Education Overview

  Congressional Education Agenda   Overview   WIA   ESEA   Dream Act

Department of Education Leadership

  U.S. Secretary of Education – Arne Duncan   Jo Anderson, Jr. – Senior Advisor   Focus on outreach to teachers and teacher

organizations

  Office of the Deputy Secretary (ODS) – Tony Miller Handles K-12 policy including ESEA, ELL, Innovation and Improvement, IDEA

  Office of English Language Acquisition   Assistant Deputy Secretary Dr. Rosalinda Barrera

  Office of Elementary and Secondary Education   Assistant Secretary Thelma Meléndez

Department of Education Leadership

  Office of the Undersecretary – Martha Kanter Oversees policies, programs and activities related to vocational and adult education, postsecondary education and college aid.  Office of Vocational and Adult Education

  Dr. Brenda Dann-Messier, Assistant Secretary

 Office of Community Colleges   Frank Chong Ed.D., Deputy Assistant Secretary

  Division of Adult Education and Literacy (DAEL)   Cheryl Keenan, Director

Congress – Democratic Majority U.S. Senate Leadership

  Senate Majority Leader – Senator Harry Reid (D-NV) 51:47:2

  Senate Minority Leader – Senator Mitch McConnell (R-KY)

  Appropriations Committee   Chairman – Senator Daniel Inouye (D-HI)   LHHS Subcommittee Chairman – Senator

Tom Harkin (D-IA)   Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP)

Committee   Chairman – Senator Tom Harkin(D-IA)

  Judiciary Committee   Chairman – Senator Pat Leahy (D-VT)

Congress – Republican Majority U.S. House Leadership

  Republican Majority – Speaker John Boehner (R-OH) 241:192

  Minority Leader – Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D-CA)   Appropriations Committee

  Chairman - Rep. Hal Rogers (R-KY)   LHHS Subcommittee Chairman – Rep. Denny

Rehberg (R-MT)   Education and Workforce Committee

  Chairman – Rep. John Kline (R-MN)   Judiciary Committee

  Chairman – Rep. Lamar Smith (R-TX)

Washington Environmental Assessment   Partisanship has impacted all debate and legislative

schedule.

  Unprecedented dysfunction in the legislative process.

  Issue landscape changing rapidly – has evolved from stimulus, job creation, war in Afghanistan and financial reform to huge emphasis on the deficit.

  Fiscal Year 2011 appropriations process delayed.

  Federal government running on a Continuing Resolution.

  Complete FY 2011 budget.

  Mandate to cut the budget because of deficit.

  Smaller government.

  Focus on earmark elimination.

Congressional Focus

Congressional Action on FY 2011   Fiscal Year began October 1,

2010   No appropriations bills passed.   5th Continuing Resolution until

March 18th.   6th Continuing Resolution until

April 8th passed.   Can Congress agree on a long-

term Congressional Resolution?

FY 2011 Continuing Resolutions English Language Acquisition

  President’s FY 2011 Request - $800 million

  FY 2011 Continuing Resolution - $750 million

  FY 2010 - $750 million   FY 2009 - $730 million   FY 2008 - $ 700.4 million

FY 2010 Final and FY 2011 CR: Adult Basic and Literacy Education

  State Grants   FY 2010 - $639.6 million   FY 2011 CR - $639.6 million   Includes level funding for English Language and

Civics Education grants ($75 million)

  National Leadership Activities   FY 2010 - $11.3 million   FY 2011 CR - $11.3 million

FY 2011 Continuing Resolution: Additional Programs of Interest

  Even Start - $0 ($66.5 million FY 2010)

  Striving Readers Comprehensive Literacy Program – $0 ($200 million FY 2010)

  Teacher Quality State Grants - $2.94 ($2.95 billion FY 2010)

  Career and Technical Education (state grants) – $1.272 billion

  Migrant Education (Title I) - $394.8 million

  Foreign Language Assistance (K-12) - $26.9 million

  TRIO and GEAR UP - $853.1 million and $323.2 million

Winning the Future

FY 2012 Budget: President’s Outline

  Budget Goals   To win the future, “we have to out-innovate, out-

educate and out-build the rest of the world.”   Take responsibility for our deficit, “by investing in

what makes America stronger and cutting what doesn’t.”

  Reform government so that it’s “smarter, leaner, and better able to take on the challenges of the 21st century.”

FY 2012 Budget Detail

  $3.73 trillion request which cuts the deficit by $1 trillion over the next decade.

  $1.65 trillion deficit in FY 2012.

  5-year freeze to most discretionary spending.   Maintains priority investments to critical areas

including education.

  Must work together to make hard choices.

FY 2012 Budget Outline Education Overview

  $77.4 billion for ED - $2 billion increase over FY 2010.

  Creates educational reform that emphasizes “cutting where we can, to invest where we must.”

  Investments made in innovative, outcome-orientated programs that build on Race to the Top.

  Consolidates 38 K-12 programs into 11.   Eliminates 13 programs.

FY 2012 Budget Education Overview

  Five priorities for ED: 1.  Early learning programs; 2.  Elementary and secondary innovation and

reform; 3.  Recruitment of top teachers and

professionals; 4.  College completion; and 5.  Supporting at-risk student populations, e.g.,

English language learners.

FY 2010 Budget Education Overview: K-12 Focus

  Rewarding excellence and promoting innovation

  $900 million Race to the Top (District level).   $300 million i3 Fund.   $90 million ARPA-ED (Advanced Research Projects

Agency).   Support for effective charter schools and comprehensive

school choice.

  Great teachers and leaders.   $3.25 billion Excellent Instructional Team initiative

(consolidates 9 programs).   $835 million Effective Teachers and Learning.

FY 2010 Budget Education Overview: K-12

  All students college- and career-ready.

  $750 million for ELL program to ensure these students reach same college- and career-ready goals as other students.

  $420 million to help States improve quality of assessment systems.

FY 2012 Budget Outline Education Overview: Adult Learners

  Variety of programs targeting adult learners.   $635 million for Adult Basic and Literacy

Education State Grants.   8 percent of funds used for Workforce

Innovation Fund (WIF) – joint initiative with DOL to improve WIA programs by testing and validating innovation.

  $23 million National Leadership Activities – new evaluation and technology infrastructure.

FY 2012 Budget Response

  The response on Capitol Hill to the President’s budget not enough.

  Still working on FY 2011.   Education budget not written to statute.   Tea Party members will demand fiscal

discipline.

FY 2012 Budget: Congressional Action

  Both chambers have begun to have hearings.   Senate Budget Committee has heard testimony

from Secretary Duncan.   House Ed and Workforce Committee has heard

testimony from Secretary Duncan.   House LHHS Appropriations Subcommittee has

heard testimony from Secretary Duncan.

Congressional Education Agenda Overview   Workforce Investment Act/Adult Education

  Long overdue – hasn’t been reauthorized since 1998.

  Title II – Adult Education and Family Literacy Act .

  Senate HELP Committee has draft.

  House Education and Workforce Committee has many new members – must educate them.

Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) Reauthorization

  President Obama Priority – speech at Kenmore Middle School on Monday.   Wants Congress to send him bill to “fix” law before

new school year.   Secretary Duncan Priority.

  Law is broken; must fix it to make it more “fair, flexible and focused.”

  Focus on lowest performing schools and students most at-risk.

ESEA: TESOL Recommendations

  Widespread recognition of benefits and problems for ELL learners

  ESEA has shined a light on ELL learners and forced schools to educate these students.

  Teaching has improved.   Major issues with language of law and state

implementation.   Slow guidance from Department of Education.

ESEA: TESOL Recommendations Accountability – Title I

  Include accountability for the development of academic English language proficiency.

  Incorporate English language proficiency level as weighted factor into content area achievement.

  Distinguish among students within ELL English language proficiency level within age groups.

  Require disaggregation of graduation rates based on subgroup.

ESEA: TESOL Recommendations Accountability – Title III

  Require uniform statewide criteria for identification and classification of English Language Learners.

  Require states to develop and implement system to monitor and report on effectiveness of language instruction programs.

ESEA: TESOL Recommendations Assessment and Accommodations

  Require states to use valid and reliable assessments and to submit evidence of validity and reliability of assessments.

  Require states to report on accommodations used and provide guidance to districts.

  Allow use of multiple measures for assessment.

  Codify ED regulation allowing 1-year exemption from ELA assessment for recently arrived ELLs and lowest proficiency level.

ESEA: TESOL Recommendations Advancing Expertise – Title II

  Define ESL as core academic subject.   Require states to provide unique licensure

credentials for ESL/bilingual as well as other educators who work with ELLs.

  Require states to demonstrate core academic content teachers also prepared to meet needs of ELLs.

  Incentives to give funding priority to prof development programs focused on ESL/bilingual educators.

ESEA: TESOL Recommendations Advancing Expertise - Title III

  Reinstate fellowship program to support new generation of teachers and researchers to support ELLs.

  Provide incentives to districts to develop career ladder programs for ESL/bilingual.

  Develop new discretionary grant program for “new-growth” districts.

  Provide funding for further research.   Establish funding to develop English language

proficiency standards linked to Common Core.

ESEA: TESOL Recommendations Promoting Innovation – Title I

  Allow states to measure linguistic and academic progress in more than 1 language.

  Provide resources to promote family literacy so families of ELLs have access to effective early childhood and adult education programs.

ESEA: TESOL Recommendations Promoting Innovation – Title III

  Allow Title III funds to support development of native language literacy.

  Create competitive grant for innovative programs to serve ELLs.

  Establish new grant program targeted to high-need areas to support programs that maintain and develop learners’ native languages.

  Provide funding to develop content-area assessments in native/heritage languages.

Other Education Priorities

  STEM education

  Comprehensive birth-grade 12 literacy initiative

  Middle school and high school reform

The Dream Act Status

  Did not pass in 111th Congress.

  Will be introduced by Sen. Richard Durbin (D-IL) and Rep. Howard Berman (D-CA) in April.

  President has expressed support for bill in past.

What Will Get Done? Will partisanship rule the day?

Will President be able to sign a new ESEA?

Will WIA ever be introduced?