U.S. Federal Education and Language Policy Update

John Segota, CAE Assoc. Executive Director for Public Policy & Professional Relations

2013 TESOL International Convention & English Language Expo

Overview

•  113th Congress •  Obama Administration •  Policy

–  Budget & Appropriations –  ESEA –  WIA –  Student Visas –  Immigration –  Language

•  Advocacy

113th Congress

•  House of Representatives –  234 Republicans –  201 Democrats

•  Senate –  53 Democrats –  45 Republicans –  2 Independents

House of Representatives

•  Leadership –  Speaker of the House – Rep. John Boehner (R-OH)

•  Education and Labor –  Chairman – Rep. John Kline (R-MN)

U.S. Senate

•  Leadership –  Majority Leader - Sen. Harry Reid (D-NV)

•  Health, Education, Labor and Pensions –  Chairman – Sen. Tom Harkin (D-IA)

U.S. Department of Education

•  Deborah Delisle, Assistant Secretary, Elementary and Secondary Education

•  Brenda Dann-Messier, Assistant Secretary, Vocational and Adult Education

Budget and Appropriations

•  Continuing Resolution

•  Sequestration –  Approximately 5% cut

FY 13 Federal Budget

FY13 Post-Sequester

ESEA – Title I $14.5 B $13.8 B

ESEA – Title III $732 M $695 M

WIA – Title II $595 M $565 M

Elementary and Secondary Education Act

•  NCLB Waivers – 44 States, DC, Puerto Rico have applied

– 34 States and DC are approved

•  Flexibility on some provisions of NCLB in exchange for State-developed plans

Adult Education

•  Workforce Investment Act Reauthorization

•  HR 803 – Supporting Knowledge and Investing in Lifelong Skills (“SKILLS”) Act –  Rep. Virginia Foxx (R-NC)

•  HR 798 – Workforce Investment Act of 2013 –  Rep. John Tierney (D-MA)

Student Visas

•  Accreditation of English Language Training Programs Act – December 2010 –  Requires all IEPs that serve international students to be

accredited, or to have started the accreditation process, by December 15, 2011 in order to be SEVP certified.

Deferred Action on Childhood Arrivals

•  Eligibility criteria"•  Application procedure"•  Protection from deportation – 2 years"•  Possible employment authorization"•  Not a pathway to permanent residency or

citizenship""

Immigration Reform

•  Key Principles – Obama Administration –  Border Security –  Hiring of Undocumented Workers –  Earned Citizenship

•  Pathway to Citizenship •  Earned Citizenship for Undocumented Students

–  Streamlining Legal Immigration

•  S. 1 – Immigration Reform that Works for America's Future Act

Integration

•  Dept. of Education integration initiative –  Economic –  Civic –  Linguistic

•  HR 1258 - Strengthen and Unite Communities with Civics Education and English Development (SUCCEED) Act –  Rep. Mike Honda (D-CA)

Language Policy

•  HR 997 – English Language Unity Act –  Rep. Steve King (R-IA)

•  S. 464 – English Language Unity Act –  Sen. James Inhofe

Online Resources

•  TESOL’s U.S. Advocacy Action Center –  http://capwiz.com/tesol

E-mail: jsegota@tesol.org Twitter: @JohnSegota

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