aasa advocacy update november 2011 catching up with congress: education policy update
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AASA Advocacy UpdateNovember 2011
Catching Up With Congress: Education Policy Update
Overview• Funding/Appropriations– FY12– Deficit Commission– American Jobs Act
• ESEA– Reauthorization– Waivers– Title I Formula Fairness
• Other Topics• Advocacy Resources
Funding & Appropriations• President’s Proposal: education a highlight• House: Education down over all, huge
increases for Title I and IDEA, cuts for many other ed programs
• Senate: overall increase for education, lack funding increases for Title I and IDEA
• FY12: Started October 1, without a budget– Current CR runs out Nov. 18– Most likely will have a second CR into (if not
through) December– Differing House and Senate Edu Numbers– Role of final approps bills vs. CR vs.
mini/omnibus
Funding & Appropriations• Joint Deficit Commission– Super Committee Roster:• Senate: Murray (WA), Baucus (MT), Kerry (MA), Kyl (AZ),
Portman (OH), and Toomey (PA) • House: Hensarling (TX), Becerra (CA), Camp (MI), Clyburn (SC),
Upton (MI), and VanHollen (MD)– Has to identify $1.5 trillion in cuts over the next 10
years– Has to announce plan by Thanksgiving and take vote by
Christmas– Includes required vote on Balanced Budget Amendment
• American Jobs Act– Full bill defeated in the Senate– First small piece (Teachers and First Responders) didn’t
even get a cloture vote– May have a stand-alone piece including school
construction, but not timeline as of yet
ESEA: ReauthorizationDifferent Chambers, Different Approaches
House: piecemeal3 of five pieces through committee
Senate: comprehensiveSenate GOP vs. Senate HELP
ESEA: Reauthorization
Mandated Standardization v. Focus on Poverty
Formula v. CompetitivePunitive Accountability v. Incentivizing
AccountabilityAssessment: One-Time v. GrowthOverly Prescriptive v. FlexibileCharters: More v. LessAssessing Special LearnersEarly Childhood EducationHealth/Wellness/Total ChildTurnaround Models/School Improvement
ESEA: Regulatory ReliefAdministration unveiled their waiver plan
Sept. 23Conditional, quid-pro-quo deal, with states
having to adopt specific policy priorities I exchange for relief
To date, 39 states have expressed interest in the waivers
ESEA: Regulatory Relief• Flexibility being offered in 11 specific areas• States have to adopt all three policy priorities:– Higher standards– Differentiated accountability system– Teacher/principal evaluation system based on
growth• NCLB Waiver Watch: www.cep-dc.org • AASA position: we agree with the areas in
which flexibility is being provided but are opposed to the conditional nature of the process.
Other IssuesFederal Mandates
RttT, I3, SIGIDEA Full FundingSchool NutritionFoster CareRuralEducation TechnologyCommon Core/Testing Consortia
Get—and Stay—Involved! • Weigh in early, weigh in often• These decisions are made whether or not you
weigh in.• 15 minutes per month is all it takes.• Get to know your Senator/Representative, and
perhaps more importantly, their education staffer.
• Invite the Representative/Senator and staffer to your district. Anecdotes and stories have a lot of sticking power with this Congress. Let the face of your school be the one that sticks in their mind!
AASA Advocacy ResourcesAASA Website: www.aasa.org AASA Blog: www.aasa.org/aasablog.aspx AASA Twitter: @NoellersonAASA Legislative Corps: Weekly NewsletterAdvocacy Network: Monthly Update