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Posts Tagged ‘federal legislation’

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House Passes Omnibus Appropriations Bill

Thursday, December 10th, 2009

On December 10 the United States House of Representatives passed an omnibus appropriations bill that includes funding for six appropriations bills that have not yet been passed by Congress for FY 2010.  This includes funding for the bill that funds the Departments of Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education.  As expected, all programs funded under the Carl D. Perkins Career and Technical Education Act were flat funded in this bill.  

Because the Federal Fiscal Year began on October 1, these programs have been funded under a continuing resolution (CR) since that date.  Because this CR expires on December 18 it is expected that the Senate will take action on this bill within the week so that it can be sent quickly to the President for his signature. 

The process for developing the FY 2011 Federal budget is underway.  President Obama will announce his budget recommendations in early February.

By admin in Legislation, Public Policy
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ED Stakeholders Forum: College- and Career-Ready Graduates

Thursday, December 10th, 2009

The latest stakeholders meeting hosted by the U.S. Department of Education focused on college- and career-ready graduates in the context of reauthorizing the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA).  Panelists at this week’s forum included Michele Cahill, Vice President for National Programs and Program Director for Urban Education, Carnegie Corporation; and Kathy Havens Payne, Senior Director of Education Leadership, State Farm Insurance Companies.

Under Secretary of Education, Martha Kanter, kicked off the meeting by reiterating President Obama’s call to have the U.S. lead the world in college graduates and have the most educated workforce in the world.  She then gave a broad overview of the issues that the Administration is concerned with as they look at the reauthorization of ESEA: the impact of drop outs and the achievement gap on the economy, standards that prepare students to enter the workforce and college, better assessments, and teacher preparation and professional development.

During the Q&A portion of the forum, one member of the audience raised the issue of job availability once the student enters the workforce.  Undersecretary Kanter said that there are a variety of federal programs that will help students get the experience they need for future careers – WIA Summer Youth programs, Career Clusters, and career pathways.  She emphasized that teachers should be using Career Clusters and pathways in the classroom to expose students to all available careers.

You can watch an archived version of the forum here.

By admin in Legislation
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The Community College Emergency Stabilization Fund Act

Tuesday, December 8th, 2009

Last week, Rep. John Larson (D-CT) and Rep. Ruben Hinojosa (D-TX) introduced H.R. 4196, the Community College Emergency Stabilization Fund Act.  The bill would provide $700 million to states to offer one-time grants to assist community colleges in maintaining, or hiring additional, faculty and staff.  The bill also provides $50 million for a federal competitive grant program for career and technical colleges to maintain, or hire additional, faculty and staff.

This bill comes at a critical time – as people go back to school to upgrade their skills, community colleges are faced with increases in enrollment and a lack of resources.  According to the American Association of Community Colleges, enrollment at community colleges for 2009 is already 10% above 2008 levels. At the same time, 32 states have cut the budgets of their public colleges.  This funding would ease the financial burden of hiring additional faculty to meet the new demand.

Reps. Larson and Hinojosa hope to have the bill attached as part of any jobs package that Congress may introduce in the coming months.  According to Congressman Larson, the bill will “create jobs immediately for teachers, career counselors, and other staff at community colleges that receive the funding. And second, it will help train our workforce to take advantage of the job opportunities in new and emerging fields that come out of our economic recovery.”

By admin in Legislation
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Our First Sit Down With The New Assistant Secretary

Thursday, November 19th, 2009

Kim Green and I were pleased to have our first formal meeting yesterday with OVAE Assistant Secretary Brenda Dann-Messier.  During the course of our 45 minute meeting we spoke broadly about a variety of topics as we all began to get to know each other better and lay the groundwork for a productive working relationship. 

We discussed the progress we are making on following up the ideas presented at the Fall Summit, the Race to the Top and Investing in Innovation (i3) funds, area career technical education centers, the importance of accountability, and leadership development.  We also shared some of our thoughts about the upcoming FY 2011 appropriations process as well as what the future may look like for CTE’s place in legislation such as the reauthorizations of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act and Workforce Investment Act.

The Assistant Secretary that many of us saw present at the Fall Summit in Baltimore is the same person we met with at her office yesterday: forthright, enthusiastic, goal oriented, and supportive of making CTE an important component of education policy. We look forward to a solid, positive relationship with the Assistant Secretary and the rest of the OVAE staff over the next several years.

By admin in Advance CTE Announcements, Public Policy
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Another Continuing Resolution on Federal Appropriations

Tuesday, November 3rd, 2009

Stop me if you have heard this one before.  Last week Congress passed a Continuing Resolution to fund programs for the Department of Education as well as other federal agencies whose Fiscal Year 2010 funding bills have yet to be approved by Congress and signed by the President. 

The most recent resolution was approved on October 29 and provides stopgap funding for the government at FY 2009 levels until December 18, 2009.  This means two things: 1) the government will continue to function without fear of a shut down, and 2) speculation that Congress might stay in session until near Christmas to finish appropriations bills, health care reform and other priorities seems more and more likely.

The House of Representatives passed their Labor HHS Education Appriopriations bill on July 24. It includes flat funding for all programs authorized under the Perkins Act.   The Senate has not yet voted on their version of the bill.  It has only gotten as far as approval by the Senate Appropriations Committee on July 30.  That bill also includes flat funding for Perkins, so it is almost certain that we will see no increase in Perkins funding for FY 10. 

 

 

 

 

By admin in Legislation, Public Policy
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ED Stakeholders Forum: ESEA Reauthorization

Thursday, September 24th, 2009

The U.S. Department of Education hosted its monthly Education Stakeholders Forum this morning.  Today’s meeting was the Department’s kick off for getting ESEA reauthorization started.  The next several forums will focus on specific issued related to reauthorization.

Secretary Arne Duncan spoke about the urgency surrounding reauthorization and why we can’t wait: the United States lags behind other countries in terms of math and science achievement and college completion;   twenty-seven percent of students drop out of school each year; 17-year olds are performing at the same levels in math and reading on the NAEP test as they were in the 1970’s.  The Secretary succinctly put it this way: “We want to be first in the world again and to get there we cannot waste a minute. Every year counts. Every class counts. Every child counts.”

As for next steps, the Department plans on getting input from stakeholders at these forums and from parents, students and teachers during the Secretary’s Listening and Learning Tour.  Based on this feedback, and in conjunction with the Congressional committees with jurisdiction over ESEA (Senate HELP and House Ed and Labor), the Department will draft a proposal for reauthorization.

During the Q&A portion of the meeting, Carmel Martin, Assistant Secretary for Planning, Evaluation and Policy Development said that the four pillars of reform in Race to the Top will be carried forward in ESEA, but that they will not be the bulk of ESEA – it covers much more than Race to the Top.

By admin in Legislation
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House passes Student Aid and Fiscal Responsibility Act

Friday, September 18th, 2009

Yesterday afternoon the House voted 253 to 171 to pass H.R. 3221, the Student Aid and Fiscal Responsibility Act of 2009.  The bill includes the American Graduation Initiative which will provide funding for community colleges and area CTE schools to create innovative and effective programs that lead to the completion of a post-secondary degree, certificate or industry-recognized credential.  The bill also provides funding for secondary and postsecondary schools to use for modernization, renovation and repair of their facilities.

The Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee is scheduled to draft a companion bill this fall.  While no language has been released yet, they are planning to have a bill introduced before the October 15 reconciliation deadline.

By admin in Legislation
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Secretary Duncan Speaks About Innovation Grants

Wednesday, August 26th, 2009

On August 20 Secretary Arne Duncan addressed a symposium sponsored by America’s Choice and ACT.  He laid out some of the details of the upcoming Investing in Innovation grant competition; now know in shorthand as i3.  The Secretary noted that a Notice of Proposed Priorities for the i3 fund will be published in the Federal Register “this fall”. There will be a comment period, followed by an application, and awards will be made in early 2010.  The Secretary stated that grants will fall into three categories:

Eligible grantees for these funds will be local education agencies (including charter schools) and non-profit organizations working in collaboration with one or more LEAs or a consortium of schools.

During his comments the Secretary, as he has done throughout his tenure, spoke about the role of charter schools, and echoed themes related to the importance of addressing the high school drop-out problem, President Obama’s goal of getting more Americans to get at least some postsecondary education, and the importance of American students being able to compete globally. 

The Secretary also stated clearly that he would like to change the relationship between the Department of Education and school districts.  He stated:

“I want the department to become an engine of innovation, not a compliance machine. I want the department to provide powerful incentives to states, districts, and non-profits to innovate–but at the same time leave most of the creative thinking and entrepreneurship for achieving our common goals in local hands. The best ideas will always come from local educators, not from here in Washington.”

A web stream of his 25 minutes presentation as well as the full text of his speech can be found on the U.S. Department of Education’s website at

http://www.edgovblogs.org/duncan/2009/08/i3-fund-goal-help-school-districts-answer-how-can-we-do-that-here/

By admin in Public Policy
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Working to keep CTE in the Senate version of Student Aid and Fiscal Responsibly Act

Tuesday, July 28th, 2009

Last Tuesday the House held a markup of the Student Aid and Fiscal Responsibly Act, so I scheduled a series of meetings with Senate staffers for late last week to make sure they understand the importance of CTE in both education and workforce development and kept CTE provisions in their version of the bill.

The Senate has yet to draft their bill, but staffers indicated that there were going to craft their own bill rather than mirror the House’s language – all the more reason to advocate for CTE to stay in the bill!  If the Senate doesn’t understand CTE’s relevance to the President’s goals of postsecondary education for all and improving our economy, they may not make room for CTE in the bill.  Language for the Senate bill will likely be drafted in August when Congress is in recess.  Because this bill will also be included in budget reconciliation (like in the House) and the Senate has an October 15th deadline for reconciliation, our timeline for advocacy is tight, but we are working hard to communicate that CTE should be a part of the Senate bill.

You can help by contacting your Senator and letting him or her know the importance of CTE in this bill.  Your message is this:

You can reach your Senator’s office through the Capitol Switchboard at 202-224-3121, or you can find their email information at http://www.senate.gov/general/contact_information/senators_cfm.cfm.

If you have any questions or receive any feedback from your Congressional outreach, please contact me at nconneely@careertech.org.

By admin in Legislation
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Washington Public Policy webinar

Thursday, July 23rd, 2009

NASDCTEc hosted Washington Update from Your NASDCTEc Public Policy Team, a webinar which outlined the action happening on Capitol Hill and in the Obama Administration:

If you missed it, don’t worry! You can access an archived version of the webinar at: https://cisco.webex.com/ciscosales/lsr.php?AT=pb&SP=EC&rID=40059942&rKey=96e32f4545197b8e. Download the PowerPoint slides here.

By admin in Advance CTE Resources
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