FEDERAL LEGISLATION: STATUS OF ESEA, IDEA, PERKINS, AEFLA AND WIA REAUTHORIZATIONS JULIA MARTIN, ESQ. [email protected] BRUSTEIN & MANASEVIT, PLLC SPRING

FEDERAL LEGISLATION:STATUS OF ESEA, IDEA, PERKINS, AEFLA AND WIA REAUTHORIZATIONS

JULIA MARTIN, ESQ.

[email protected]

BRUSTEIN & MANASEVIT, PLLC

SPRING FORUM 2014

OVERALL LEGISLATIVE PICTURE

Fiscal issues

Everything else

No time/energy for substantive policy debate


WHY ISN’T EDUCATION A PRIORITY?

• Limited opportunities to move legislation

• Limited time left on legislative calendar• High degree of partisanship

• High number of “must-act” issues and priorities

• Constant crisis situation• Significant possibility of primary challenges, electoral

turnover

• Bottom line: need to take significant, fast action on issues that have maximum press and electoral impact


WHY ISN’T EDUCATION A PRIORITY?


SINGLE-ISSUE POLITICS• What are single-issue voters?

• Voters for whom the determining factor in selecting a candidate is their stance on one specific issue

• Most common single-issue voter issues:• Abortion

• Taxation/federal spending

• Animal rights

• Environment

• Gun politics

• In a 2012 poll, Gallup found that:

• 17% of Americans said they would only vote for a candidate who shared their views on abortion


SINGLE-ISSUE POLITICS

Question: How important should each of the following issues be for the next President – extremely important, very important, somewhat important, or not that important?


SINGLE-ISSUE POLITICS


PROGRESS ON POLICY LEGISLATION


WIA• Supporting Knowledge and Investing in Lifelong Skills

(SKILLS) Act (H.R. 803) passed House of Representatives in March of 2013

• Would “streamline” WIA by combining programs into flexible funding streams

• Makes changes to formula, composition of WIBs, increases employer role

• Partisan conflicts led to Democratic walkout during Committee markup

• Senator Patty Murray (D-WA) has circulated “discussion draft” of WIA reauthorization bill

• Unlikely to move forward in current Congress – lack of time/energy


ESRA• Strengthening Education through Research Act (H.R. 4366)

• Instructs IES to make data and findings available in a timely and accessible format

• Push to use data to inform classroom instruction

• Change focus of State longitudinal data systems to finding ways to use data to inform educational practice

• Collection of new data• Grad rates, school safety, teacher prep, teacher evaluation

• “Scientifically-based” data “Scientifically valid”• National Education Sciences Board must include at least two

teachers• Potential action?

• Not a clear priority for House leadership (questions about cost)• No movement in Senate so far (though members not opposed to

action)BRUSTEIN & MANASEVIT, PLLC

EARLY EDUCATION• Administration plan announced in President’s

State of the Union address

• $77 billion in subsidized universal pre-K for low/middle-income families over next decade

• Federal share paid for through increase in tobacco taxes (maybe)

• States receive funding for adopting certainquality standards

• Including class size, education level and pay of instructors, State-level inspections and audits, etc.

• Federal share drops from 90% to 25% over 10-year period


EARLY EDUCATION• Strong Start for America’s Children Act (S. 1697)

• Focus on universal, voluntary pre-K for low-income three and four-year-olds

• Funds would be disbursed based on a state’s share of four-year olds living at or below 200% of the poverty line.

• States or local entities would first have to provide universal access to four-year olds before serving three-year olds

• Staff qualifications, class size requirements, salaries• States must:

• Have or establish early learning and development standards• Have or will develop the ability to link prekindergarten data with

their elementary and secondary school data• Offer state-funded kindergarten for children• Have or establish a State Advisory Council on Early Childhood

Education and Care.• Preschool Development Grants to help States increase capacity• $4 billion for Early Child Care-Head Start partnerships• No action to date


EARLY EDUCATION: HURDLES AHEAD• In Congress

• Congressional gridlock generally• Specific conflict over expansion of federal role, questions

on effectiveness of Head Start• How to offset federal investment

• At federal level

• Need time/capacity to implement program• At State level

• Not every State will be able to meet standards right away – or be willing to do so

• Increasing level of State support needed – will need to evaluate financial investment


CHILD CARE AND DEVELOPMENT BLOCK GRANT• Last reauthorized in 1996

• Bipartisan bill (S. 1086) passed in Senate on March 13, 2014 would:

• Require States to conduct background checks of employees, including checking state criminal and sex-offender registries and state-based abuse and neglect registries

• Require States to set aside more money to boost program quality (increasing from 4 percent of total now to 10 percent by 2018)

• Ensure that program staff are trained in basic safety measures like CPR• Increased State monitoring and oversight responsibilities• Require States to check family eligibility for subsidies no more than

once a year (focus on continuity of child care)• No action to date in House

• Opposition from some organizations

• Increased costs to States/providers with no additional federal funding


IDEA• No action to date

• Focus is on “full funding” of existing federal obligation

• “Full funding” = 40% of excess cost of educating students with disabilities

• Letters in House and Senate to appropriations Committees asking for increased IDEA formula funding

• Wide support from Democrats

• Some support from moderate Republicans

• Conflicts with party line of reducing federal spending

• Unlikely to move before ESEA


CHARTER SCHOOLS• Success and Opportunity through Quality Charter Schools Act

(H.R. 10)

• Would combine two existing federal programs (Charter School Grant Program and Charter School Credit Enhancement Program)

• 15% can be reserved by ED for charter school financing• 10% can be reserved by ED for “national activities”

• Including disseminating best practices• Priority to States with more open charter laws

• Changes to lotteries:• Would allow grants to go to schools that use weighted lotteries

that “give slightly better chances for admission to …educationally disadvantaged students” (if permitted by State)

• Permits students to go from one charter to another without having to re-enter lottery

• Authorizes an additional $50 million annually for the Charter Schools Program (CSP)


CHARTER SCHOOLS• Priority for leadership

• Bill numbers 1-10 reserved for majority leadership• Numbers 11-20 reserved for minority leadership

• Charter school bill is: H.R. 10

• MOST likely education bill to move in House

• Strong bipartisan support• Can be passed as stand-alone bill• Can provide good electoral boost

• Easy to message

• Easy to understand

• Current issue


ESEA REAUTHORIZATION:SENATEStrengthening America’s Schools Act of 2013 (S. 1094) passed out of Committee on party line vote June 12th

• Based largely on waivers, October 2011 ESEA legislation• Requires States to adopt standards, assessments,

performance targets• Sets “n-size” at 15 students• Increased data/reporting requirements (cross-tabulation)• Interventions in priority/focus schools• Adds personnel expenditures to comparability calculation• States must implement teacher/principal evaluations

Committee Chairman Tom Harkin (D-IA) says he hopes to get it to the floor, but prospects still murky


ESEA REAUTHORIZATION: HOUSE• Student Success Act in (H.R. 5) passed House of

Representatives on July 19th

• Similar to bills passed in 112th Congress• Eliminates AYP, HQT requirements• States would get to set own performance targets, little

federal guidance• Teacher/principal evaluations required (with student

achievement as a significant factor)• Overall smaller federal role


ESEA REAUTHORIZATION: OVERALL

Few similarities between bills mean conference/agreement unlikely

Consensus: reauthorization will wait until 2015 or later

S.S. Senate

S.S. House

ESEA


IMPACT OF ESEA WAIVERS• Large-scale waivers of ESEA requirements

• Offered to States that adopt four “principles for reform”

• College- and career-ready standards and aligned assessments

• New accountability systems• Teacher/principal evaluation systems• Burden reduction

• Currently operating in 42 States plus DC


IMPACT OF ESEA WAIVERS• Double-edged sword for ED

• Benefits to ED• Promote policy priorities

• Don’t require Congressional action

• Get States out of 2014 100% proficiency bar

• Drawbacks for ED• Create tension with Congress/States

• Especially district-level waivers

• Must be seen as offering waivers equitably

• Many States have had problems complying with at least one of the required “principles for reform”


ADDITIONAL WAIVERS• “CORE” District waiver

• Approved in August 2013• Nine California school districts • Questions raised about place of State, accountability

• Teacher Evaluations

• Allows states to delay implementation of new teacher evaluations using student growth on State tests

• One additional year (until SY 2016-17)

• Double-testing

• States can give each student either their own tests or a consortium field test

• BUT each student must take a “complete” test in both math and English/language arts

• States can also ask to delay reporting/accountability


WHAT’S NEXT FOR WAIVERS?• Four States (AZ, KS, OR, WA) have waivers designated “high-

risk”

• Secretary Duncan has said he anticipates revoking (or failing to renew) at least one waiver by summer

• Still unclear what happens to post-waiver States

• Start from scratch? Go back to 100% targets? Phase back in?• Revocation and compliance problems have created conflicts

with States

• State leadership likely to shift again in 2014

• Revocation of waivers means even more pressure to get comprehensive reauthorization done


ADMINISTRATION POLICY INITIATIVES


E-RATE / ED TECH• Sen. Rockefeller (D-WV) announced plans in FCC

oversight hearing to pursue changes to E-rate connectivity subsidies

• No further legislative action• President Obama announced “ConnectED” initiative

• Supported in FY 2015 budget proposal• Accompanied by new financial/in-kind contributions from

private companies• Announced in State of the Union

• FCC Released NPRM in July asking questions about how to modernize E-Rate

• New request for additional information about priorities (comments were due April 7th)


PUSH TOWARD EQUITY• Recent Civil Rights Data Collection found black students,

English Language Learners significantly more likely to:

• Have reduced access to early education• Have reduced access to advanced college preparatory

classes• Have reduced access to college counselors• Be suspended (starting as early as preschool)• Be held back/retained in grade


PUSH TOWARD EQUITY• Teacher Distribution Equity

• Suggested additional waiver renewal priority:• Progress toward equity in teacher distribution

• Pulled when clear States not making progress toward original priorities

• But ED has said it will issue regulations giving ESEA comparability more “teeth”

• Especially on issue of teacher distribution

• Closing “comparability loophole” also part of Senate ESEA reauthorization proposal


GAINFUL EMPLOYMENT• It’s ba-aaack!

• Original 2010 rulemaking struck down by a federal judge in June 2012 – said ED did not follow proper notice and comment procedures

• ED attempting to revive same/similar rules through negotiated rulemaking in 2013/14

• State authorization rules now to allow reciprocity agreements

• Easing of rule on cohort default rates• Will issue final rule soon!


COMMUNITY ELIGIBILITY• Provision in Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act of 2010

• Field tested in some States, openly available in 2014-15 school year

• Allows qualifying school to certify whole school as eligible for free meals without collecting forms/information

• Pros:

• Universal qualification for free meals for students• Paperwork reduction for SFAs, school meal personnel

• Cons:

• No FRL data!


LOOKING AHEAD TO 2015


MIDTERM ELECTIONS 2014

• Major Issues:

• Immigration• Federal spending/budget/deficit• Economy• Health Care

• Potential for Significant turnover

• Primary as well as general election challenges

• The big question: Who will control the Senate?


OTHER CHANGES IN 2015• The old guard continues to depart

• Retiring this year:• Sen. Tom Harkin (D-IA)

• Sen. Jay Rockefeller (D-WV)

• Sen. Tom Coburn (R-OK)

• Rep. George Miller (D-CA)

• Rep. Henry Waxman (D-CA)

• Rep. John Dingell (D-MI)

• And many, many more!

• What does this mean?

• Larger share of members has little institutional memory, experience, cross-party relationships


THE FUTURE


DISCLAIMER

This presentation is intended solely to provide general information and does not constitute legal advice. Attendance at the presentation or later review of these printed materials does not create an attorney-client relationship with Brustein & Manasevit, PLLC. You should not take any action based upon any information in this presentation without first consulting legal counsel familiar with your particular circumstances.


Documents

FEDERAL LEGISLATION: STATUS OF ESEA, IDEA, PERKINS, AEFLA AND WIA REAUTHORIZATIONS JULIA MARTIN, ESQ. [email protected] BRUSTEIN & MANASEVIT, PLLC SPRING