Capitol Hill Education Update

FEBRUARY 19, 2014

PRESENTED BY MICHELLE DOYLE

Do Nothing Congress

This Congress has not accomplished much

Evidence of the gridlock in DC

44 substantive laws enacted this year

• Compared to average of 70 between 1999 and 2012

What Has Been Done?

Appropriation of funds

Passage of ESEA in the House

Bills for ESEA reauthorization introduced in the Senate

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Extension of Waivers

New guidance on the use of federal funds of technology

Guidance on new method of counting students for Title I

Appropriations—A Look Back

• The sequester is a group of cuts to federal spending set to take effect March 1, barring further congressional action.

• The sequester was originally passed as part of the Budget Control Act of 2011 (BCA), better known as the debt ceiling compromise.

• It was intended to serve as incentive for the Joint Select Committee on Deficit Reduction (aka the “Supercommittee”) to come to a deal to cut $1.5 trillion over 10 years. If the committee had done so, and Congress had passed it by Dec. 23, 2011, then the sequester would have been averted.

Impact of Sequestration

Across-the-board cut of 5.1% for Education Department programs

Cuts in each LEAs differed:

• Increase in poverty = application of formula yields less than

5.1% cut

• Decrease in poverty = application of formula yields more than

5.1% cut

Appropriators: Omnibus

Title IA Subgrants to Local Educational Agencies:

• FY 2013 $13,760,219

• FY 2014 $14,384,802

• Percentage change: + 4.539%

This change in appropriations for the 2014-15 school year nearly restores all of the funds that were lost during the 2013-14 school year due to sequestration.

Different Funding Sources Title I

Basic grants

• FY 2013 $6,232,639

• FY 2014 $6,459,401

• Percentage change: + 3.638%

Concentration grants:

• FY 2013 $1,293,919

• FY 2014 $1,362,301

• Percentage change: + 5.285%

Funding Sources (cont.)

Targeted grants:

• FY 2013 $3,116,831

• FY 2014 $3,281,550

• Percentage change: + 5.285%

Education finance grants:

• FY 2013 $3,116,831

• FY 2014 $3,281,550

• Percentage change: + 5.285%

Titles IIA and III Funding

Title IIA

• FY 2013 $2,337,830

• FY 2014 $2,349,830

• Percentage change: + .513%

Title III

• FY 2013 $693,848

• FY 2014 $732,400

• Percentage change: + 4.259%

ESEA Reauthorization

First signed into law January 2002 for 5 years

Renewed each year without change

Several attempts at passage

• Miller proposal

• Kline bill (passed House)

• Harkin bill (passed out of Committtee twice)

• Alexander bill

Highlights of Kline bill

Enhanced consultation language, goal to reach agreement, added pooling and how $$ calculated, “substantially failed” added to bypass and complaint

Calculate private school funding on state level—inform simultaneously; ombudsman

Sign off for all programs

Counseling and mentoring firmed up in Title I

Biggest changes

Title I funds determined prior to any set asides

• Currently 20% or more set aside for public school only purposes

Title IIA funds determined prior to other uses by LEA

• Currently LEA chooses to spend IIA funds on class size

reduction, teacher recruitment/retention, and professional

development

Harkin bill

Passed the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee (HELP)

Did not include any changes to the private school sections

Alexander bill

Minority alternative

Not considered by the Committee

Includes “fix” for Title I

• Funding for private school program determined prior to any set

asides by the LEA

Administrative Initiatives

State of the Union: If Congress can’t get it done, Administration will use Executive Orders

Administration has already been making changes

• Waivers

• Technology

• Community Eligibility Option

Waivers

Began with 2012-13 school year for two years

45 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico and the Bureau of Indian Education submitted requests for ESEA flexibility

42 States, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico are approved for ESEA flexibility

Waived Requirements Include…

Adequate Yearly Progress

Provision of SES

Provision of public school choice transportation

Schools and Districts in Need of Improvement

Requirements Include…

Common Core or other acceptable standards

Assessments tied to standards

Priority and focus schools

Reward schools

Renewal of Waivers 2014-15

This one-year extension will allow SEAs and ED to gather additional information on successes and challenges in the implementation of reforms committed to under ESEA flexibility, in order to improve current systems and better support students and teachers.

Must amend application to address monitoring findings

Private School Implications of Waivers

Difficult to get transparency

No longer (unless in waiver app) have SES, public school choice, SINI, DINI = less set asides

Add common core

Add priority and focus schools = set asides (in some cases)

ConnectED Initiative

High-speed internet to the classroom,

Affordable mobile learning devices,

High-quality learning content, and

Support for teachers to move to digital learning within five years.

Updates Needed

Many of the terms we use today to describe technology-enhanced learning did not exist when laws such ESEA and IDEA were passed (2001 and 2004)

ED: Need to clarify opportunities to use federal grant funds to support digital learning

http://www.ed.gov/edblogs/technology/files/2013/06/Federal-Funds-Tech-DC-.pdf

Innovative Use of Federal Funds

Support teachers using digital learning tools (IIA and IA)

Provide online professional development (IIA)

Adopt digital competency-based professional development (IIA and IA)

Digital resources for Common Core (IIA)

Digital educational resources for English Language Learners and students with disabilities (III and IDEA)

Additional Ideas

Use technology to communicate with parents (IA, III, IDEA)

Connect teachers and STEM professionals with technology (IIA and IIB)

Participate in English Learner focused Communities of Practice (III)

Provide students with mobile learning devices (IA)

Provide assistive technology (IDEA)

Community Eligibility Option

Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act of 2010

Goal to increase meals served

Direct certification

• SNAP, TANF, Medicaid, etc.

Schools with 40% or more directly certified students are eligible

1.6 times # of directly certified = new lunch count

Serve free meals to all

All states eligible 2014-15

Title I Guidance

www2.ed.gov/programs/titleiparta/13-0381guidance.doc

Public and private schools eligible for using CEO

• Unlikely many private schools will use the option

– Need 40% directly certified

– Need to participate in the lunch program

– Need to provide free lunches to those not counted for reimbursement

Implications for Private Schools

CEO could lead to higher public school count

• That’s the goal of the program!

Title I funding does not increase due to use of CEO

Proportional share for private school program will be less if public school count is higher

Bonus Topic!! New Private School Statistics

Private school enrollment declined by 11 percent from 6.1 million in 2005 to 5.4 million in 2010.

About one in ten U.S. elementary and secondary school students is a private school student.

Projected private school enrollment for the next several years is estimated to vary little

The number of full-time equivalent private elementary and secondary school teachers in the fall of 2012 was estimated at 0.4 million, down from 0.5 million in 2007

(Digest of Education Statistics 2012)

THANK YOU!

Questions? Contact Michelle at mdoyledc@gmail.com

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