US Federal Update 2012

US Federal Update 2012

• 1.
  Tight Budgets &Election Politics Status of FY 2013 Budget and Education Legislation March 30, 2012
• 2.
  Welcome •  Ellen Fern,Senior Vice President, Washington Partners, LLC •  John Segota, Associate Executive Director for Public Policy & Professional Relations, TESOL International Association
• 3.
  Agenda •  Department ofEducation •  Congress –  Congressional  Leadership  and  Commi1ee  Membership   –  Issues   •  Federal FY 2013 Budget –  Process   –  Overview  of  Themes   •  Congressional Education Agenda –  ESEA   –  WIA   –  Dream  Act  
• 4.
  Department of EducationLeadership   Office  of  the  Undersecretary  –  Martha  Kanter   Oversees  policies,  programs  and  acDviDes  related  to  vocaDonal  and  adult   educaDon,  postsecondary  educaDon  and  college  aid.       –  Office  of  VocaDonal  and  Adult  EducaDon        Dr.  Brenda  Dann-­‐Messier,  Assistant  Secretary     –  Office  of  Community  Colleges   •  Frank  Chong  Ed.D.,  Deputy  Assistant  Secretary   –  Division  of  Adult  EducaDon  and  Literacy  (DAEL)    Cheryl  Keenan,  Director  
• 5.
  Congress – DemocraticMajority
 U.S. Senate Leadership •  Majority Leader – Senator Harry Reid (D-NV) 
 51:47:2 •  Minority Leader – Senator Mitch McConnell (R-KY) •  Appropriations Committee •  Chairman  –  Senator  Daniel  Inouye  (D-­‐HI)   •  LHHS  Subcommi1ee  Chairman  –  Senator  Tom  Harkin  (D-­‐IA)   •  Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee •  Chairman  –  Senator  Tom  Harkin(D-­‐IA)   •  Judiciary Committee •  Chairman  –  Senator  Pat  Leahy  (D-­‐VT)  
• 6.
  Congress – RepublicanMajority
 U.S. House Leadership   Republican Majority – Speaker John Boehner (R-OH) 242:190 (3 vacancies)   Minority Leader – Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D-CA)   Appropriations Committee   Chairman - Rep. Hal Rogers (R-KY)   LHHS Subcommittee Chairman – Rep. Denny Rehberg (R-MT)   Education and Workforce Committee   Chairman – Rep. John Kline (R-MN)   Judiciary Committee   Chairman – Rep. Lamar Smith (R-TX)
• 7.
  DC Environmental Assessment • Partisanship has impacted all debate and legislative schedule. •  Unprecedented dysfunction in the legislative process. •  Issue landscape changing rapidly – has evolved from stimulus, job creation, war in Afghanistan and financial reform to huge emphasis on the deficit and 2012 elections. •  Super Committee failed. Sequestration to go into effect January 2, 2013.
• 8.
  Overview of President’sFY 2013 Budget Request
• 9.
  Budget Process •  Annualtimeline –  State  of  the  Union   –  PresidenDal  budget  request  release   –  Congressional  budget  resoluDon   –  Annual  appropriaDons  process   –  Floor  debate   –  PresidenDal  approval  
• 10.
  President’s FY2013 BudgetProposal •  An Economy Built to Last. •  Overall budget requests $3.8 trillion in discretionary spending. •  Adheres to the Budget Control Act spending limits, although it ignores sequestration.
• 11.
  President’s FY2013 BudgetProposal •  Four Pillars: 1.  EducaDon  and  Skills  for  the  American  Workforce   2.  InnovaDon  and  Manufacturing   3.  Clean  Energy   4.  Infrastructure  
• 12.
  Education and Skillsfor the
 American Workforce •  Department of Education (ED) requested $69.8 billion. –  $1.7  billion  or  2.5  percent  increase  from  FY2012   –  Largest  increase  in  funding  of  any  non-­‐security   agency  
• 13.
  Education and Skillsfor the
 American Workforce •  ED Proposal Has Five Core Areas: 1.  Increasing  College  Affordability  and  Quality   2.  ElevaDng  the  Teaching  Profession   3.  Aligning  Job  Training  and  EducaDon  Programs   with  Workforce  Demands   4.  ProtecDng  Formula  Programs  for  At-­‐Risk   PopulaDons   5.  ConDnue  on  the  Path  of  Reform  and  InnovaDon    
• 14.
  Increasing College Affordabilityand Quality • $1 billion in Race to the Top for states to improve postsecondary education. • $55 million First in the World Fund. (like i3 grant program) • Development of College Scorecard and Financial Aid Shopping Sheet.
• 15.
  Elevating the TeachingProfession •  $5 billion in one-time funds for states and districts targeted at all aspects of the teacher profession. •  25 percent set-aside in Title II for Effective Teachers and Leaders state grant funds.
• 16.
  Aligning Job Trainingand
 Education with Workforce •  $8 billion over three years in Community College to Career Fund. •  $1 billion over three years to expand Career Academies.
• 17.
  Continue on thePath of Reform and Innovation •  $850 million for Race to the Top (increase of $301 million from FY2012). •  $150 million for i3 – new round. •  $100 million for Promise Neighborhoods (increase of $40 million).
• 18.
  FY2013 Budget: Programsof Interest Department of Education FY2012 Final President’s FY2013 Request English Learner Education $732.1 $732.1 (Title III) Assessing Achievement $389.2 $389.2 Adult Basic and Literacy $595 $595 Education National Leadership $11.3 $11.3 Activities (Adult Ed) EL/Civics (Adult Ed) $74.7 $74.7
• 19.
  Overall Philosophy atED •  At the core, Race to the Top [and other competitive grants] are about spurring reform; especially at a time of tight budgets, when we need to make every dollar count . . . formula funds alone cannot drive the transformational reforms our system needs.” -­‐  Secretary  Arne  Duncan  
• 20.
  •  Congress haseliminated funding for 49 programs from FY2010-FY2012. –  Savings  of  $1.2  billion   •  President proposes 21 additional program eliminations and consolidations.
• 21.
  Budget Control Act • What is it? –  Passed  in  August  of  2011   –  Allocated  spending  caps  that  will  lower  deficit  by  $1.2   trillion  over  ten  years   –  Spending  caps—FY2013  =  $1.047  trillion  in  discreDonary   spending   –  FY2013—$536  billion  security/$501  billion  non  security   –  Super  commi1ee  failure  triggered  sequestraDon  –  January   2013    
• 22.
  Caps and Cuts • Sequestration triggers automatic cuts for each of the nine years FY13-21. •  For FY2013 – fixed percentage of across- the-board cuts projected at 9.1 percent (OMB key player in this process). •  FY2014 to 2021 – No across-the-board cuts but the discretionary cap is lowered further. •  Estimated at a $4 billion cut in FY2013 to ED programs.
• 23.
  End Game •  CongressDecides –  Budget  resoluDon   •  House  Budget  Commi1ee  Chairman  Paul  Ryan’s  (R-­‐WI)  budget   –  Cuts  $19  billion  in  discreDonary  spending  from  BCA     •  Senate  will  sDck  with  BCA  cap  for  FY2013    Everyone ignoring sequestration.  Hearings going on now to prepare for appropriations process.  A continuing resolution—or “CR” is the likely outcome until after the November elections.
• 24.
  Reauthorization of the Elementaryand Secondary Education Act
• 25.
  ESEA Reauthorization: Senate • Senate –  Waivers  prompted  acDon   –  BiparDsan  bill   –  Passed  out  of  Commi1ee  on  biparDsan  vote  in   October   –  Unlikely  to  be  on  the  floor  
• 26.
  Highlights of SenateBill •  Consensus bill – product of compromise and negotiation •  Career and college readiness standards •  Closing loophole on comparability •  Providing incentives to improve teacher and principal quality •  Focus on bottom 5% of low-performing schools
• 27.
  Differs from CurrentLaw •  Standards –  Requires  states  demonstrate  college  and  career   ready  standards    and  create  assessments  in   reading,  math  and  science.   –  NO  requirement  to  join  Common  Core  Standards   IniDaDve.   •  Accountability –  Same  tesDng  but  eliminates  AYP.   –  DisaggregaDon  of  data  NO  achievement  targets  
• 28.
  Differs from CurrentLaw •  Teachers –  Let’s  states  decide  how  to  evaluate  teachers.   –  Requires  states  that  receive  TIF  grants  to  crak   evaluaDons  based  at  least  in  part  on  student   growth.   •  Low-performing schools –  For  bo1om  5%  of  schools  choice  of  8   intervenDons  based  on  SIG  regulaDons.   –  Bo1om  5%  of  high  schools  and  elem/middle   schools  AND  dropout  factories.  
• 29.
  Reaction from Administration • Appreciate effort but objects to elimination of mandatory teacher/ principal evaluation requirements. •  Critical of lack of required performance targets for subgroups.
• 30.
  Reaction from Stakeholders • Support from Chiefs, administrators and teacher organizations •  Lack of support from civil rights groups, disability groups and business community. –  Lack  of  strong  accountability  measures.   –  Lack  of  performance  targets  for  subgroups.   –  Too  much  lek  up  to  States.  
• 31.
  ESEA Reauthorization: House • House of Representatives –  Last  year   •  TerminaDon  bill   •  Charter  school  expansion  bill   •  Flexibility  bill   –  This  year   •  Student  Success  Act   •  Encouraging  InnovaDon  and  EffecDve  Teachers  Act   •  Both  approved  February  28  on  party  line  votes   •  Might  make  it  to  the  floor  
• 32.
  ESEA Overview ofProposed Changes •  House bill merges Title III into subpart Title I. •  Professional development for teachers of ELLs, is not maintained as a national priority. •  House bill eliminates HQT requirements. •  House bill requires SEA/LEAs to develop teacher evaluation systems; Senate only requires it for those applying for competitive grants. •  House bill includes significant expansion of funding flexibility.
• 33.
  Reaction from Stakeholders • Support from Chiefs and administrators. •  Lack of support from TESOL, civil rights groups, disability groups and business community. –  Merging  Title  III  into  Title  I   –  Lack  of  strong  accountability  measures.   –  Lack  of  performance  targets  for  subgroups.   –  Too  much  lek  up  to  States.  
• 34.
  ED’s ESEA Agenda • “We can’t wait” •  Waivers –  States  must  adopt  and  have  a  plan  to  implement  college   and  career-­‐ready  standards   –  States  must  create  comprehensive  systems  of  teacher  and   principal  development,  evaluaDon  and  support  that   include  factors  beyond  test  scores   –  States  no  longer  have  to  meet  2014     targets  but  must  set  new  performance     targets  for  improving  achievement  and     closing  achievement  gaps  
• 35.
  Waivers •  11 statesapplied in the first round –  Approved  in  February   –  Colorado,  Florida,  Georgia,  Indiana,  Kentucky,  Massachuse1s,   Minnesota,  New  Jersey,  Oklahoma,  and  Tennessee….and,  New   Mexico   •  26 states and DC applied in second round –  Alabama,  Alaska,  California,  Hawaii,  Maine,  Montana,  Nevada,   New  Hampshire,  North  Dakota,  Pennsylvania,  Texas,  West   Virginia,  and  Wyoming  siqng  out   •  Third round of applications due September 6 •  http://www.ed.gov/esea/flexibility/requests
• 36.
  Reauthorization of the WorkforceInvestment Act
• 37.
  •  Long overdue– hasn’t been reauthorized since 1998. –  Title  II  –  Adult  Educa*on  and  Family  Literacy  Act  .   •  Senate HELP Committee drafted bipartisan draft. –  Never  introduced.   •  House –  Democrats  introduced  Workforce  Investment  Act  of   2012   •  Authorizes  ELL/Civics  Program   •  Increased  investment  in  technology  and  digital  literacy   •  Supports  integrated  adult  ed  and  training  
• 38.
  The Dream Act- Status
 •  Rep. Howard Berman (D-CA) introduced in House – 80 cosponsors. •  Sen. Richard Durbin (D-IL) introduced in Senate – 34 cosponsors. •  President has expressed support for bill in past. •  Election year politics.
• 39.
  Outlook •  What willget done? –  Will  House  Republicans  introduce  WIA  bill?     –  ESEA  or  Waivers?   –  ElecDon  results   –  Lame  Duck  
• 40.
  •  http://www.slideshare.net •  http://www.tesol.org/AdvocacyDay2012 • 18-19 June 2012, Washington, DC