Legislation and Guidance
News
- Presidential Candidates’ Policies Discussed at Forum
- House Panel Looks at STEM Partnerships
- Spellings Holds Final Higher Education Summit
Reports
Legislation and Guidance
Appropriators Working on New Supplemental
Despite a lack of movement on most fiscal year 2009 (FY09) appropriations bills, Congress is preparing to move forward with a second economic stimulus package. As of now, the estimated cost of a second stimulus bill could reach up to $50 billion. President Bush and his Republican supporters, who want to wait and see the true impact of the first stimulus package, are asking Democrats to turn their attention back to the annual appropriations bill before moving on to a second stimulus bill.
The upcoming stimulus bill is reported to include housing and infrastructure funding, as well as another extension of unemployment benefits. The National Education Association (NEA) is reporting that the bill may include provisions to extend the Secure Rural Schools and Community Self-Determination Act, tax deductions for educators' out-of-pocket classroom supply expenses, and an extension for the Qualified Zone Academy Bonds (QZAB) school modernization program. The Senate Appropriations Committee scheduled a markup for this week, but Chairman Robert Byrd (D-WV) postponed the hearing until further pre-markup negotiations take place. At this point, appropriators do not expect to move on the bill until after the August recess.
Meanwhile, President Bush is asking Democrats to give the first stimulus package time to have an impact before moving on to a second effort. Republicans in the House are accusing the majority of ignoring annual spending procedures while working on supplemental priorities. Democrats are already discussing efforts for a long term continuing resolution to supply federal funding until a new administration takes over. While some Congressional leaders were considering attaching a continuing resolution to the Defense Spending bill, Senator Daniel Inouye (D-HI), chairman of the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Defense, said he will oppose using this bill as a vehicle for a continuing resolution. Either way, Congress will not likely move forward with a second stimulus bill or a continuing resolution until they return to Washington in September.
Resources
Vicki Needham, “House, Senate Leaders to Meet Today on Crafting Second Supplemental Spending Bill,” Congress Now, July 22, 2008.
Ashley Roque, “Inouye Throws Cold Water on Using Defense Spending Bill as Vehicle for CR,” Congress Now, July 22, 2008.
Transit Officials Pick Bad Time for New Rules
Last month, the Federal Transit Administration (FTA) issued a policy statement regarding rules related to school bus operations. In light of rising fuel prices, school administrators are even more afraid of an already disliked federal policy. FTA officials claim the final rules will be issued soon, but will not affect the 2008-09 school year.
As it related to public transportation, the new proposed rules from the FTA would allow a grantee to (1) utilize ‘‘various fare collections or subsidy systems,’’ (2) modify the frequency of service, and (3) make de minimus route deviations from existing route paths in the immediate vicinity of schools to stops located at or in close proximity to the schools. For example, a public transportation entity would be permitted to provide more frequent service on an existing route to accommodate increased student ridership before and after school. Creating an entirely new route for the sole purpose of benefiting students or school personnel, even though the new route would be open to the public, would be considered non-compliant with school bus operation rules aimed at protecting private bus companies.
In a time when states are severely strapped for funds, forcing school districts to drastically change their bus operation, especially in light of rising fuel costs, would create even more problems. Recent reports show that states all over the country are facing large budget cuts, especially to education. Forcing many school districts to forgo their arrangements with public transportation authorities, and entering into new agreements with private companies could be devastating to budgets that are already unable to support their community.
In a letter jointly submitted by the American Public Transportation Association, the National School Boards Association, the American Association of School Administrators, the Council of the Great City Schools, and the National Association of Secondary School Principals, opponents to the new proposed policy note that, “one transit agency reports the change would affect some 40 percent of its routes, another reports over 80 percent of its supplemental-service trips would be impacted, many schools report this proposal would result in a complete disruption of service, and in at least one case, an entire state system would suffer.” Although districts will have at least a year to come into compliance with the new rules, most states do not have an optimistic budget forecast for that timetable.
Resources
Christina A. Samuels, “Proposed Federal Transit Rules Upset Districts,” Education Week, July 15, 2008.
News
Presidential Candidates’ Policies Discussed at Forum
On Thursday, the New America Foundation held an event to discuss the candidates’ positions on education with Lisa Graham Keegan, education advisor to Senator John McCain (R-AZ), and John Schnur, education advisor to Senator Barack Obama (D-IL). Keegan formerly served as a superintendent in the Arizona Public School system, while Schnur currently serves as CEO of New Leaders for New Schools.
The discussion began with statistics illustrating the U.S. backslide in international educational standings, such as the fact that the U.S. placed behind twenty other industrialized nations in the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA). Panelists acknowledged that this is in spite of U.S. educational progress over the past several years, thus making it clear that progress in international education is accelerating at a much higher rate. Both argued that investment and improvement in early childhood education programs, specifically the evaluation and assurance of the quality of such programs, is vital to student progress across the board.
Panelists noted the importance of high teacher quality and the significant effects it can have on student performance. Keegan cited that Senator McCain wants to “get beyond the needless bureaucratic restraints” holding back educational success, and “bring the brightest in the country into education.” Senator McCain supports a recruitment program that focuses on attracting the top 25 percent of graduates from “any school.”
Keegan illustrated that as of now, colleges of education are attracting an applicant pool with the lowest collective SAT scores out of any group, and that the rigor of teaching preparation must undergo massive redevelopment and improvement. Senator McCain is also highly concerned with teacher performance, and Keegan noted that he wants to “send Title II dollars straight to schools and principals.” This money would be used to promote and reward teachers for working in high-risk schools or subject areas.
Schnur also cited the necessity to take a close look at teacher preparation, and specifically teacher colleges. He stated that “training programs can get much better if they can look at data.” Senator Obama shares this belief and would support it by requiring schools of education to track teacher placement, outcomes, and student success. Senator Obama also supports school participation in grant programs to reward teachers that choose to work in high-need schools and subjects, specifically math and science. However, he stressed that this system would not be imposed and that educators would be heavily involved in the process.
While both candidates support parent involvement in education, Senator McCain believes that parents should have the right to intra-district choice if an entire district is labeled at-risk. While Schnur stated that Senator Obama has not specifically discussed intra-district choice, he noted that “parents must exercise real responsibility for the child’s education.”
Conversely, Senator Obama has laid out a specific plan to begin combating the issue of college affordability through $4,000 grants to students serving at least one hundred hours of community service throughout the year, while Senator McCain has not yet outlined his stance on the issue. As the public continues to demand that more attention be paid to the educational future of the United States, both candidates realize that the topic will play a serious role in the minds of voters this November.
House Panel Looks at STEM Partnerships
On Tuesday, the House Committee on Education and Labor held a hearing to focus on science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) education. Specifically, the committee examined how business partnerships can help to further innovation and progress. This hearing served as a follow-up to the committee’s May hearing where they evaluated a report released by the National Math Panel, which labeled the U.S. teaching system for math as “broken,” and that the system “must be fixed.” Witnesses included:
- Dr. Ramona Chang (Outside Source; PDF; 22KB; 5pp), Director of Curriculum at Torrance Unified School District;
- Melendy Lovett (Outside Source; PDF; 147KB; 12pp), Senior VP & President of Education Technology, Texas Instruments;
- Phil Mickelson, a professional golfer and the co-founder of the Mickelson ExxonMobil Teachers Academy;
- Tom Luce (Outside Source; PDF; 36KB; 4pp), President, CEO & Director, National Math and Science Initiative, Inc.;
- Dr. Carlo Parravano (Outside Source; PDF; 60KB; 8pp), Merck Institute for Science Education;
- Dr. Sally Ride (Outside Source; PDF; 21KB; 2pp), President and CEO, Sally Ride Science;
- Patty Sullivan (Outside Source; PDF; 48KB; 8pp), IBM Education Solutions Executive; and
- Brian Wells (Outside Source; PDF; 52KB; 8pp), Chief Systems Engineer at Raytheon
The witnesses represented educators and business leaders concerned with the current state of STEM education in the U.S. Phil Mickelson stated in his testimony that “U.S. teens ranked 28th out of 40 countries evaluated” by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development in math performance. More notably, he shared that “93 percent of students in grades 5-9 were taught physical science by teachers lacking a major or certification in the physical sciences,” according to the National Center for Education Statistics. In light of current discussions stressing the serious implications that teacher quality has on student performance, such statistics are very troubling.
Patty Sullivan stressed “the importance of improving our education, particularly in the STEM fields to better prepare the next generation and the nation.” Businesses such as IBM and Exxon are specifically concerned with equipping the next generation with the proper STEM skill sets, providing U.S. companies the human capital necessary to allow the nation to compete in the global market; a market in which science and math have become increasingly important and central. Mickelson noted that he was inspired with the idea of the Teachers Academy when he recognized “that our status as a scientific leader in the world is at jeopardy unless something is done to address this issue.”
Tom Luce expressed that “math and science are the new foundational literacy for everyone,” a fact he illustrated by sharing a statistic from the National Science Foundation stating that “80 percent of jobs in the future will require some form of math and science skills.” He urged Congress to further support the America COMPETES Act, enacted last year to provide support and education to students and professionals in STEM fields, and called for the body to “approve a significant infusion of funds for more rigorous math and science programs in our schools.”
Business partnerships in education were applauded and encouraged as an important source of innovation in a high-need subject area, and all witnesses agreed that the improvement of STEM education must be a focal point for the nation, as the importance of science and math continues to increase in the global market.
Resources
House Education and Labor Committee Press Release, “Stronger Math and Science Education Key to Boosting U.S. Competitiveness, Witnesses Tell House Education Committee (Outside Source),” Tuesday, July 22, 2008.
Spellings Holds Final Higher Education Summit
U.S. Secretary of Education Margaret Spellings hosted her final summit on higher education last week in Chicago. The summit included state leaders and advocates identifying the biggest problems facing higher education and potential achievable solutions. As has been the case in recent years, most participants agreed on what the problems were, and what goals should be attained. However, there is little consensus on how exactly to achieve these goals, and who should take the lead in getting there.
Ever since Spellings appointed her Commission on the Future of Higher Education in September 2005, there has been widespread agreement about the nature of the problems facing higher education and American society. For the big picture, at least, there was also a relative consensus about what needs to be done. Most interested parties agree that America needs to significantly increase the number of young Americans and adults who enter and succeed in college by strengthening the academic preparation of those emerging from the nation’s high schools and expanding the capacity of colleges and universities. The nation must make higher education more affordable, by simplifying the student aid system and making colleges more cost effective. Advocates agree they must also improve the transparency of higher education, to help policy makers judge the success of postsecondary institutions.
The problem comes when interested parties begin to discuss how to actually implement these ideas. Ultimately, the groups reached fairly widespread agreement that they must begin working on doubling the number of Americans who earn a higher education degree, and align curriculums and standards between high school and college so significantly more young Americans will go into higher education prepared for college-level work. They also agreed that they need to simplify the student aid system and produce more effective ways of measuring how much students learn, and of sharing that and other information about colleges’ performance with the public. Now they just need to find a way to move forward. While most of those involved in the discussion agree that the federal government should maintain a limited role in this overhaul, Secretary Spellings warned those at the summit that if they do not reform higher education, Congress will.
Resources
Doug Lederman, “Who Leads?” Inside Higher Ed, July 21, 2008.
Phuong Ly, “Spellings: Reform Higher Ed From Within, Or Congress Will,” Diverse, July 21, 2008.
Reports
NCSL Releases State Budget Report
While state education budgets were projected to experience significant decreases in fiscal year 2009 (FY09), the budget cuts were much worse than expected. This week the National Conference of State Legislatures released the State Budget Update: June 2008 report and the gaps reported by states in FY09 saw a significant increase, totaling up to over $40 billion, tripling last year’s $13 billion cumulative budget gap total. Although many states have found solutions to balance challenging budget gaps some are still searching for answers.
States have listed financial services, manufacturing, and housing as the three economic areas of greatest concern. While no specific tax has been labeled the most problematic, dwindling sales tax revenues are a major issue. Some states have avoided budgetary complications, with revenues closely tied to natural resources, while others have been forced to enact hiring freezes, cut the size of the state workforce, and pull from other areas of funding.
K-12 education budgets saw cuts in numerous states, while no less than twelve states decreasing funding to public universities and colleges. Although eight states reported the “education services” industry as a portion of their strongest economic sectors, it is clear that education budgets are suffering across the nation. With the growing concern for educational progress in the nation today, more pressure will be put on states to support education in light of continued economic distress.
Resources
Michele McNeil, “States Slash K-12 Funding to Fill Budget Gaps,” Education Week, Published July 23rd, 2008.
National Conference of State Legislatures, “What a Difference a Year Makes: More States are Facing Budget Woes (Outside Source),” NCSL News, July 23rd, 2008,
