Legislative Conference

Legislative Conference 2009 Overview CCSSO convened forty chief state school officers, their senior staff, and many business and education leaders March 8–10, at the 2009 Legislative Conference. Forty-seven states were represented in all. The conference focused on conversations about current and emerging education policy issues, particularly the new political and budgetary landscape states are faced with. The most popular issue was—and still is—the implementation of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) that will channel $100 billion in new money into the public education system. The conference began with MSNBC Senior Political Correspondent Tucker Carlson, an engaging keynote speaker who offered his perspective on the change in Washington, and the conference ended with U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan and his senior staff discussing both big picture and more discrete issues as they relate to the initial ARRA guidance released by the Department on March 6. Between the bookends, conference participants had an opportunity to learn from and talk with heads of national education associations, senior congressional staff, and other leading state and national education experts, on everything from the reauthorization of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) and the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) to the Title I Regulations that were finalized in the fall of 2008. The capstone of the conference was an unexpected visit from President Barack Obama, who assured chiefs of his Administration’s commitment to partnering with them to bring education reform. This state-federal partnership that the President referenced has been a priority of chiefs and CCSSO since at least October 2006 as highlighted in CCSSO’s ESEA Reauthorization Policy Statement. Workbook President Obama visits CCSSO's 2009 Legislative Conference: Video Photos A conversation with Secretary of Education Arne Duncan and Presentation of the Distinguished Service Award: Video Additional Materials Transforming Education (CCSSO Discussion Document) Transforming Education FAQs

Council of Chief State School Officers
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document last updated 3/20/2009