Student Aid and Fiscal Responsibility Act Approved by House
Last week, the U.S. House of Representatives voted to approve the Student Aid and Fiscal Responsibility Act of 2009 (SAFRA) with a vote of 253-171. Under SAFRA, all new federal student loans will originate from the Direct Loan program. The House bill calls for $8 billion of the savings from redirecting federal student loans to be put towards early education through a new competitive grant program. The Early Learning Challenge Fund will reward states that implement comprehensive reforms of their early learning systems in an effort to improve the school readiness of young children within the state.
CCSSO is pleased to announce that this bill included legislative language allowing for federal funds to be used in the development of enhanced assessment tools to document the developmental and learning progress of children birth to age five. This provision was proposed to the House Committee on Education & Labor by CCSSO’s Director of Early Childhood Tom Schultz. CCSSO’s Advocacy Team is now working to ensure this provision’s inclusion in the Senate version of the bill.
ED to Release $11.37B in ARRA Funding 30 Days Early
On August 3rd, Secretary Duncan announced the US Department of Education's (ED) intention to release $11.37 billion in Title I ($5B), IDEA ($6.1B), and Vocational Rehabilitation ($270M) ARRA funding to states one month earlier than anticipated. In April 2009, the initial 50% of these funding streams in the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA) were released, with the intention of releasing the remaining 50% on September 30. ED has communicated that the decision to release these funds 30 days earlier stems from the Administration�s desire to create opportunities for states and districts to think comprehensively about reform as additional funding will be made concurrently available through Race to the Top, State Fiscal Stabilization Funds, and other ARRA grant programs. For the official ED press release, click here.
ED Hosts ARRA Webcast Series
On August 10, ED hosted a webcast on federal reporting requirements for the ARRA. ED emphasized the importance of not only getting ARRA funds out quickly, but responsibly and transparently. Section 1512(f) of the ARRA requires recipient reporting to begin 180 days after enactment, and for reports to be submitted by recipients 10 days after the end of each calendar quarter. This results in an initial statutory reporting deadline of October 10, 2009, with quarterly reports due 10 days after the end of each calendar quarter thereafter. For more information on reporting requirements, please refer to www.federalreporting.gov and www.ed.gov/recovery.
This webcast was the second in a series that ED will be hosting related to the ARRA, which are intended to help states and districts appropriately implement these funds. Future webcasts in this series will be hosted bi-weekly at 2 pm EST and topics include: Cash Management on August 24; Maintenance of Effort on September 14; and ARRA Reporting on ED Specific Guidance on September 21.
CCSSO Applauds President Obama's Education Reform Efforts
On July 24, at the U.S. Department of Education (ED), the Obama Administration formally announced their effort to use the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, including the Race to the Top fund (RTTT), to support a coordinated and deep-seated reform agenda. CCSSO applauds and supports the ED's comprehensive approach to reform and looks forward to continuing to build a new state-federal partnership dedicated to achieving this important shared goal.
At the event, CCSSO Executive Director Gene Wilhoit highlighed the exemplary state reform efforts from chiefs including the innovative and powerful work already being done by states as part of the Common Core State Standards Initiative. Florida Commissioner of Education Eric Smith also spoke on the critical role of data in education reform. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan referred to education as the civil rights issue of our generation, and the partnership between states and the federal government clearly communicates our nation's focus on increasing the educational opportunities for every student in the country.
President Obama strongly endorsed the Common Core State Standards Initiative being spearheaded by CCSSO and the NGA Center for Best Practices. The Council echoes the Administration�s commitment to high standards and accountability and asks for increased federal investments like RTTT and the freedom to innovate towards those goals in exchange.
ED is seeking public comment on the RTTT priorities, requirements, and selection criteria. CCSSO will be coordinating a collective response for chiefs. ED will also host an in person stakeholders discussion on August 4 to review RTTT as well as the rulemaking notice on Phase II of the State Fiscalization Stabilization Fund, the preliminary grant notice for State Longitudinal Data Systems and new guidance on Educational Technology State Grants. For more information about RTTT please contact Abigail Rogers at abigailr@ccsso.org or Adam Ezring at adame@ccsso.org.
July 14, 2009
U.S. House of Representatives Appropriations Subcommittee FY2010 Budget Mark-up
Last Friday, the U.S. House of Representatives Labor, HHS, Education Appropriations Subcommittee approved $64 billion in discretionary spending for the U.S. Department of Education for Fiscal Year 2010. This change represents a $1.2 billion, or 1.8 percent, increase over Fiscal Year 2009 (excluding American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 investments). Early figures for priority accounts coming out of the mark-up include $14.5 billion for Title I (this does not include early childhood set-aside as proposed by the President), compared to the President’s proposed $12.9 billion; $545 million for School Improvement grants, compared to the President’s proposed $1.5 billion; $446 million for the Teacher Incentive Fund, compared to the President’s proposed $517.3 million; and $316 million for Charter School Grants, compared to the President’s proposed $268 million. The full House Appropriations Committee is scheduled to vote on the measure on Friday, July 17. At that time, the full text of the spending bill will be published and CCSSO's Advocacy Team will provide additional information about the spending levels included in the bill for key state priority accounts.
The Senate Labor, HHS, Education Appropriations Subcommittee will mark-up its version of the Fiscal Year 2010 spending bill on Tuesday, July 21. CCSSO's Advocacy Team will continue to provide you with additional updates as numbers from the mark-ups are finalized and the bills are considered by the full House and Senate.
New OMB Recovery Act Guidance on Reporting of Section 1512
On Thursday, July 16th, the U.S. Senate Subcommittee on Employment and Workplace Safety will hold a hearing entitled “Modernizing the Workforce Investment Act (WIA) of 1998 to Help Workers and Employers Meet the Changing Demands of a Global Market.” Witnesses scheduled to testify include Jane Oates, Assistant Secretary of Labor, Employment and Training Administration and Martha Kanter, Under Secretary for the U.S. Department of Education. Several representatives of state Departments of Labor will also testify. To find more information on this hearing, please click here.
Last Thursday, the U.S. Department of Education (ED) released a $47.6 billion budget for FY2010. In a briefing, Secretary Duncan asserted that this budget would build upon the investments of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) and addressed three levels of education: early childhood, K-12, and higher education.
For early childhood, the focus of the budget is to increase access and opportunity to early education services as well as emphasize the importance of literacy at initial stages of education. To that end, the budget includes $500 million for Title I Early Childhood Grants and $300 million for the Early Learning Challenge Fund.
In regards to K-12, the Secretary again reiterated the importance of literacy, not solely for early childhood, but for all students—especially for students in secondary school. ED intends on using forty percent of the $1.5 billion Title I School Improvement funds towards the secondary level. Also in K-12, there is a $420 million increase in the Teacher Incentive Fund (TIF) with $517.3 proposed in the budget, which includes $30 million for a National Teacher Recruitment Campaign. Charter School Grants also received a $52 million increase, raising its funding allocation to total $268 million.
Funds for higher education demonstrate an emphasis on college access and completion. One significant change in this budget would be to convert Pell Grants to a mandatory program, which would increase Pell Grants by approximately $46.7 billion over the next five years.
CCSSO is currently writing its response to the FY2010 budget and a budget request for the allocations to key federal programs. To view the FY2010 Budget, click here.
4/29/09: Upcoming House Hearing on Common Academic Standards
The U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Education and Labor is hosting a Full Committee Hearing on common standards this coming Wednesday, April 29 at 10 a.m. EST. The hearing is titled “Strengthening America’s Competitiveness through Common Academic Standards” and can be accessed by clicking here. CCSSO President and Arkansas Commissioner of Education, Ken James, will be testifying as a witness at this hearing. Other witnesses include: Governor James B. Hunt, Jr., Institute for Educational Leadership and Policy; Greg Jones, chair, California Business for Excellence in Education (CBEE); Dave Levin, co-founder, KIPP: Knowledge Is Power Program; and Randi Weingarten, president, American Federation of Teachers. CCSSO has been working closely with Commissioner James to prepare his testimony and will providing you with an update on the outcome of the hearing.
