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Posts Tagged ‘Secondary’

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Legislative Update: American Jobs Act, ESEA, Bills Introduced

Friday, October 14th, 2011

American Jobs Act Fails in the Senate

Earlier this week the Senate voted on a Motion to Invoke Cloture on the Motion to Proceed to S. 1660, the American Jobs Act. However, the motion failed to muster the 60 votes necessary to break cloture and formally consider the bill. As a result, the Senate plans to break the President’s jobs package up into pieces and vote on each one individually. The House has not indicated whether they will vote on the bill in the coming weeks.

Senate Introduces Comprehensive ESEA Draft

On Tuesday Senator Tom Harkin (IA) introduced the long anticipated Elementary and Secondary Education Reauthorization Act of 2011. According to Harkin, the bill will set high expectations for all children to graduate from high school with the knowledge and skills needed for success in college and careers, support teachers and principals to help them provide high quality instruction, ensure disadvantaged students get their fair share of resources, focus federal attention on turning around low-performing schools and closing achievement gaps, and remove federal barriers to give states and communities the flexibility they need to innovate.

The bill would eliminate some of the more controversial vestiges of No Child Left Behind, and it would codify into law some of President Obama’s top education reform priorities:

We are still working through the draft bill to see how it affects the Perkins Act and CTE. We will provide a CTE-specific summary next week. The bill is scheduled to be marked up next week, beginning on Tuesday afternoon. The markup is expected to take four days.

Bills Introduced

Education for Tomorrow’s Jobs Act

Rep. Glenn Thompson (PA) and Sen. Bob Casey (PA) introduced the Education for Tomorrow’s Jobs Act this week, H.R. 3154 and S. 1686 respectively. This bill would amend Title I of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) to allow school districts to use Title I ESEA funds to better integrate academics with CTE through coursework and networks of schools. The bill would encourage school districts to link secondary school programs, including both middle and high schools, and align secondary and postsecondary education. Further, the bill would leverage a variety of school, employer and community partners.

Nancy Conneely, Public Policy Manager

 

 

 

By admin in Legislation
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Legislative Update: Appropriations, WIA, Bills Introduced

Friday, October 7th, 2011

Senate Reluctant to Vote on Education Funding Bill

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (NV) announced this week that he plans to bring three appropriations bills to the floor for a vote this month: Agriculture, Transportation-HUD and Commerce-Justice-Science. However, it is unlikely that the Labor-HHS-Education bill will go to the floor because Senate Republicans are opposed to it.

CTE Highlighted at House WIA Hearing

During Tuesday’s hearing, “Modernizing the Workforce Investment Act: Developing an Effective Job Training System for Workers and Employers,” members of the House Subcommittee on Higher Education and Workforce Training heard a number of suggestions on how to improve the Workforce Investment Act (WIA).

The consensus among witnesses was that the workforce system must be employer driven, flexible and respond to local needs. Witnesses were also concerned about the heavy burden the current system places on providers, as well as the level of federal involvement. “There is a high reporting burden, and in my mind, before you cut any dollar to the customer, you’ve got to cut down the bureaucracy,” said Kristen Cox, Executive Director of the Utah Department of Workforce Services.  

Jaime Fall, Vice President of Workforce and Talent Development Policy at the HR Policy Association, urged Congress to “ensure the skills developed through job training programs meet the needs of employers” by giving priority to “training resulting in employer recognized credentials that document skills.” Fall also voiced HR Policy Association’s support for CTE and Perkins-funded programs, saying:

Our members believe that career and technical education programs funded through the Perkins Act are a critical component of the overall national strategy to develop a skilled workforce. We encourage you to strongly support these programs as you discuss WIA, No Child Left Behind and the Perkins Act.

This is not the first time the HR Policy Association has showed their support for Perkins and CTE on Capitol Hill. This summer they sent a letter to the Senate Appropriations Committee urging them to restore Perkins Act funding.

Bills Introduced

Ready to Compete Act

Rep. John Yarmuth (KY) has introduced H.R. 3036, the Ready to Compete Act, which would amend the Elementary and Secondary Education Act and the Workforce Investment Act to award grants to prepare individuals for 21st century careers. The bill would update the Ready to Learn program under ESEA and create a new Ready to Earn program under WIA. These programs would encourage the use of technology and public television to expand the availability of workforce training programs, GED preparation, and adult education initiatives, while providing new resources for classroom instruction and school readiness efforts.

Nancy Conneely, Public Policy Manager

By admin in Legislation
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Legislative Update: House Appropriations, Community College Grants, ESEA Markup

Friday, September 30th, 2011

House Labor-HHS-Education Funding Bill Released

As we told you this morning, the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Labor, Health and Human Services and Education released a draft of their FY12 appropriations bill. The bill provides for $153.4 billion in discretionary spending, which is $4 billion below FY11 enacted levels. However, this is a much smaller cut than the $18 billion proposed in Budget Chairman Paul Ryan’s (WI) FY12 budget plan.

Perkins Act funding was maintained in the House’s current proposal, but not all education and workforce programs fared as well. The bill eliminates 31 programs from the Department of Education, including the Elementary and Secondary Counseling Act, High School Graduation Initiative, Race to the Top, Investing in Innovation grants, and FIPSE. The Pell grant maximum award was maintained at $5,550, but eligibility was eliminated for less-than–half-time students and the proposal would reduce the semesters that a student can receive the grant from 18 to 12.

Programs within the Department of Labor saw significant cuts, including:

The bill is not scheduled to be marked up by the Appropriations Committee, but these funding levels will likely be part of a House omnibus bill.

TAA Community College Grants Awarded

Secretary of Labor Hilda Solis and Under Secretary of Education Martha Kanter announced $500 million in Trade Adjustment Assistance Community College and Career Training (TAACCCT) grants to 32 community colleges this week. The grants will be used for targeted training and workforce development to help dislocated workers obtain the skills they need to change careers. The grants support partnerships between community colleges and employers to develop programs that provide career pathways and build instructional programs that meet industry needs. Congress allocated $2 billion for the TAACCCT program to be awarded in each of fiscal years 2011-2014.  A list of grantees can be found here.

Senate ESEA Markup Scheduled

Senator Tom Harkin (IA), chair of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee, announced that they will markup an Elementary and Secondary Education Act bill on October 18. In a statement, Harkin said “This reauthorization is now more than four years overdue, and our students, schools, and communities cannot afford to wait any longer.” Draft language has not yet been released, but we will keep you posted on any further developments.

Nancy Conneely, Public Policy Manager

 

By admin in Legislation
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Legislative Update: Appropriations, Deficit Reduction, American Jobs Act, School Modernization

Friday, September 23rd, 2011

House Passes Continuing Resolution

Late last night, the House passed a continuing resolution (CR) that would fund the government until November 18. The bill passed in a vote of 219 – 203, after failing to pass earlier in the week. The bill proposes a 1.5 percent across-the-board cut to domestic and defense programs, bringing the total FY12 appropriations to $1.043 trillion. The bill now moves to the Senate.

President Releases Deficit Reduction Plan

Earlier this week President Obama unveiled a plan that would reduce the federal deficit by $2 trillion over the next 10 years. The plan consists primarily of tax increases on those making more than $250,000 a year, as well as $580 billion in cuts to mandatory benefit programs, including $248 billion from Medicare. The plan also factors in $1 trillion in savings over 10 years if troops are withdrawn from Iraq and Afghanistan. Notably absent from this plan are additional cuts to education programs. Clearly, the President understands the importance of education in stabilizing our economy.

While this plan has very little chance of passing the Republican-controlled House, the Administration hopes that it will influence the Joint Select Committee on Deficit Reduction which has been tasked with finding $1.5 trillion in savings over 10 years. In addition to reducing the deficit, savings from this plan would help pay for the American Jobs Act – the President’s job creation package.

Republicans Respond to the American Jobs Act

Last week, House Republican leaders sent a memo to fellow Republicans which outlined their views, both positive and negative, on the President’s jobs plan. Unfortunately, Republicans said it would be “harder to find common ground” on some of the aspects in the package that relate to education.

Republicans voiced concern over the provision that would allocate $30 billion for preventing public sector layoffs, including teachers. Referring to a similar stimulus package aimed at preventing layoffs in 2009, the memo stated, “This band-aid approach masked over the true fiscal problems facing states and local governments. Some jurisdictions used the funds to provide one-time raises; others retained employees for a short-period of time, only to lay them off later.” The memo also took issue with the federal government funding school construction, stating, “School construction has historically been a state and local function.”

Bills Introduced

American Jobs Act

Senator Harry Reid (NV) has introduced the President’s jobs bill as S.1549, American Jobs Act. The Senate is expected to take up the bill on the floor in October. However, if it does not pass, the Senate will break it up into smaller pieces of legislation. Republicans in the House are also expected to take up the bill in pieces.

Fix America’s Schools Today (FAST) Act

Rep. Rosa DeLauro (CT) and Sen. Sherrod Brown (OH) have announced the Fix America’s Schools Today (FAST) Act. This bill covers the school modernization aspect of the President’s jobs plan. “The FAST Act will create good, well-paying jobs now, strengthening our economy while providing our school districts with the resources they need to make needed improvements to their school facilities.” Rep. DeLauro said.

The FAST Act would provide $25 billion to renovate and modernize public elementary and secondary schools. Forty percent of the funds would be allocated to the 100 largest high-need school districts in the U.S. and the remaining 60 percent would be split among state departments of education to administer through competitive grants. An additional $5 billion would be given to states to modernize community colleges.

Nancy Conneely, Public Policy Manager

By admin in Legislation
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CTE and the Arts: More in Common Than You Think

Wednesday, September 21st, 2011

The National Association of State Boards of Education (NASBE) recently brought together CTE groups and Arts Education groups to help us better understand the similarities that exist between these two worlds. While one primary connection is the career opportunities for students in the Arts, Audio/Video Technology & Communications Cluster, I learned of the more nuanced ways in which these two areas of education overlap, as well as the shared political obstacles. Brad Hull, NASBE’s Deputy Executive Director, did a terrific blog post linking the arts and Career Clusters, but he also laid out the ways in which CTE and the arts converge in other ways:

I was also struck by the seemingly identical stories that both CTE and Arts Education share at the federal policy level. First, both CTE and Arts Education programs were slated for elimination each year by the Bush Administration, but funding was always preserved by Congress. Second, advocates for both CTE and Arts Education want to see a greater connection to the Elementary and Secondary Education Act. Better inclusion of both of these areas of education would lead to more well rounded education for all students. Our priorities also align in terms of dropout prevention strategies and linking to statewide longitudinal data systems.

For even more connections between CTE and the arts, see this blog post by Narric Rome, Senior Director of Federal Affairs and Arts Education at Americans for the Arts.

Nancy Conneely, Public Policy Manager

By admin in Public Policy
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Statewide Longitudinal Data Systems Grant Applications Now Available

Monday, September 19th, 2011

The U.S. Department of Education has announced the 2012 competition for the Statewide Longitudinal Data Systems Grant Program. Grants will range from $1 million to $5 million and will last for a three-year period. Final amounts will depend on the final appropriation and state applications.

State education agencies that did not receive an American Recovery and Reinvestment Act grant are eligible to apply. The grants require states to develop and implement statewide data systems containing the elements specified in the America COMPETES Act. This year’s grants also require states to focus their grant applications on one of the following three priorities:

  1. Early childhood: Grants under this priority may be used to develop and link early childhood data with the state’s K–12 data system. This coordinated early learning data system must include the child, program, and workforce data elements described as Essential Data Elements in the Race to the Top–Early Learning Challenge program. Maximum grant award $4 million.
  2. K–12: Grants under this priority may be used to design, develop, and implement a statewide, longitudinal kindergarten through grade 12 data system. Maximum grant award $5 million.
  3. Postsecondary and/or workforce: Grants under this priority may be used to develop and link postsecondary and/or workforce data to the state’s K–12 data system. At a minimum, this must include the postsecondary data required by the America COMPETES Act elements, and “states are encouraged to develop their own postsecondary data and not simply purchase this data from an organization external to the agencies partnering under this application.” Maximum grant award $4 million.

Within each priority area, states must use grant funds to address minimum capacity requirements in three categories: governance and policy requirements, technical requirements, and data use requirements.

Applications are due December 15, 2011. The anticipated start date for the grants is May 1, 2012.

Nancy Conneely, Public Policy Manager

By admin in Public Policy
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Legislative Update: Appropriations, ESEA

Friday, September 16th, 2011

House Introduces Continuing Resolution to Fund Government through November

The House Appropriations Committee on Wednesday introduced a Continuing Resolution (CR) to keep the government running beyond the end of the fiscal year, September 30. The bill, H.J.Res 79, would fund the government at a rate of $1.043 trillion. This figure represents the amount to which Congress and the Obama Administration agreed in the recent debt-ceiling deal. This is a 1.409% cut from the fiscal year 2011 level, and would mean a cut to Department of Education discretionary programs of $962 million. If passed, the CR will expire on midnight, November 18, 2011.

CTE Highlighted in House Hearing on School Accountability

The House Education and the Workforce Committee held a hearing, “Education Reforms: Examining the Federal Role in Public School Accountability” which examined the appropriate federal role in accountability, namely the Adequate Yearly Progress requirement in ESEA. During the hearing, Rep. Glenn Thompson (PA), co-chair of the Congressional CTE Caucus, asked the panel how they think Congress should define “college ready.” The witnesses agreed that all students should be prepared for higher level math, science and reading, because many careers today require it. Alberto Carvalho from Miami-Dade Public Schools said that while every student should be prepared for college, it should not be done at the expense of “demonizing” CTE. He went to say that CTE in this country has been wasted and that we as a country need to recognize the value of CTE if we want to remain competitive.

Bills Introduced

Senate Republicans Introduce ESEA Bills

This week, a group of Republican Senators — Sens. Lamar Alexander (TN), Richard Burr (NC), Johnny Isakson (GA), and Mark Kirk (IL) — introduced a series of bills that would reauthorize key pieces of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act. These bills would address what the Senators view as major problems with the current law by giving states and local school districts greater flexibility to:

• Improve state accountability systems
• Improve teacher and principal professional development programs
• Consolidate federal education programs to give state and local education leaders more freedom in meeting local needs
• Expand the number of charter schools

For more details on each bill, please see this press release from Sen. Alexander.

Nancy Conneely, Public Policy Manager

By admin in Legislation, Public Policy
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Report Highlights State Directors’ Efforts to Improve CTE through New Vision

Monday, September 12th, 2011

Career Technical Education (CTE) is one education delivery mechanism that is redefining the mission of America’s high schools, according to a recent paper.

In the paper, the Educational Testing Service (ETS), a non-profit organization that creates research-based assessments, lauds NASDCTEc’s new vision for CTE as “a strong indication of the continuing efforts to improve CTE.” Specifically, the authors wrote about the State Directors’ intent to ensure that standards are internationally-benchmarked and a rigorous blend of academic and technical content. While the authors convey that more work is needed to improve CTE, they also support CTE’s integrated approach and opportunities for applied and academic learning.

The tremendous potential of CTE in America is evident when looking at the results shown by CTE internationally. For example, “Twenty-four percent of Japan’s secondary students are in vocational programs, as are 29 percent in Korea, and a whopping 72 percent in the United Kingdom. All of these countries had higher average scores in eighth-grade mathematics than did the United States in the latest TIMSS (Trends in Mathematics and Science Study) assessment.”

While educators in the United States have looked to high-scoring countries for examples of educational excellence, the report says, they often overlook a key point – these countries are using CTE approaches. The results are impressive: “Analysis of international data found that nations enrolling a large proportion of upper-secondary students in vocational programs have significantly higher school attendance rates and upper-secondary completion rates.” Still, the report points out, all students need more guidance and career counseling to help navigate options and prepare for college and careers.

NASDCTEc members, click “Career Technical Education” then “CTE Success Map” to view high-achieving CTE programs across the nation!

Read more about CTE in the “Different Pathways to Life Destinations” chapter of the ETS report.

Kara Herbertson, Education Policy Analyst

By admin in Publications, Resources
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Legislative Update: Obama Jobs Plan, FY12 Appropriations, Bills Introduced

Friday, September 9th, 2011

President’s Jobs Package Focuses on Education

Last night, before a joint session of Congress, President Obama unveiled his proposal to create jobs and grow the economy. With unemployment hovering around 9%, the Administration hopes that this plan turn around the economy. Broadly, the American Jobs Act proposes to extend existing and implement new tax cuts, and invest in areas such as infrastructure, housing aid, and education. This $400 billion plan will be paid for using savings identified by the newly-appointed Congressional deficit reduction committee.

Related to education, and CTE in particular, there are some promising elements:

• $35 billion to prevent public sector job layoffs – This includes educators, police officers and firefighters. Up to 280,000 education jobs are vulnerable to cuts this school year due to state budget troubles. The fund would support state and local efforts to retain teachers, counselors, tutors, and classroom assistants.
• $30 billion school modernization fund – This fund would support efforts to modernize at least 35,000 public schools. The money could be used to update labs, renovate facilities and increase internet access. Priority will be given to rural schools and schools in the most need. The funding includes $5 billion dedicated to community colleges.
• $5 billion for low-income youth and adults – This funding will focus on expanding employment opportunities for communities that have been hardest hit by the recession. Called the Pathways Back to Work Fund, it will make it easier for workers to remain connected to the workforce and gain new skills for long-term employment. This initiative will include:
o Support for summer and year-round jobs for youth
o Subsidized employment opportunities for low-income individuals who are unemployed
o Support for local efforts to implement promising work-based strategies and to provide training opportunities, including:
 Sector-based training programs
 Acquisition of industry-recognized credentials
 Career academies that provide students with academic preparation and training
 Free evening and weekend basic computer training classes, adult basic education and integrated basic education

FY 12 Appropriations
The House Appropriations Labor-HHS-Education markup scheduled for this morning has been cancelled, with no new date announced. House Majority Leader Eric Cantor (VA) has said that the House will vote on a continuing resolution during the week of September 19 that it will likely run through November 18. Congress is hoping to finalize the appropriations process by that date and will use an omnibus appropriations bill, rather than separate bills by subcommittee.

In the Senate, the Appropriations Committee approved a funding level for Labor-HHS-Education subcommittee that is $17.9 billion above the $139.2 billion set by the House. While the $157.1 billion allocation for the Labor-HHS-Education subcommittee is $23.7 billion below the Administration’s FY12 budget request and $300 million below FY1 levels, this is encouraging news. Despite the fiscal climate, it is clear that the Senate understands the importance of education programs.

Bills Introduced

Technical school training subsidy bill
Rep. John Barrow (GA) introduced H.R. 2851, a bill that would amend the Workforce Investment Act to establish a technical school training subsidy program. The bill would provide competitive grants to the states to provide funds to local workforce investment boards for technical school training subsidies in local areas through the One-Stop system. Subsidies received by individuals shall be used to assist them in paying the cost of tuition for career and technical education at a technical school.

Nancy Conneely, Public Policy Manager

By admin in Legislation, Public Policy
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Rebuilding America’s Schools Act Could Provide Funding for CTE Schools

Friday, September 2nd, 2011

There are two bills moving through Congress that, if passed, would provide funding for school renovation and repair. Rep. Charles Rrangel (NY) and Sen. John D. Rockefeller (WV) have introduced H.R. 2394 and S. 796, respectively. These two bills, also known as the Rebuilding America’s Schools Act, would extend funding for the qualified school construction bond program and the national limitation amounts for bonds issued under the qualified zone academy bond (QZAB) program through 2015. The amount of funding proposed in these bills is $1.4 billion. If the bills are not passed, funding will expire on December 31 of this year.

These competitive programs provide schools districts with noninterest-bearing bonds that can be used for school renovations and repairs as well as other improvements. The school district must pay the principal back within 15 years. A 10 percent match is required from a business or nonprofit partner which can be in cash or in-kind donations. The match partner works with the school district to set up a QZAB Academy that “prepares students for college or workforce.”

Schools are eligible for funds if 35 percent or more of students are eligible for free or reduced-price school meals or if the school is located in an enterprise community or empowerment zone. The funds provide an opportunity for CTE schools that meet this criteria to update and renovate buildings as well as invest in equipment and up-to-date technology.

To voice your support for these bills, contact the Capitol Switchboard at (202) 224-3121 and ask to speak to the majority staff on the Senate Committee on Finance and the House Ways and Means Committee.

Nancy Conneely, Public Policy Manager

By admin in Legislation
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