Legislative update presentation for TESOL International Association at 2012 TESOL International Convention in Philadelphia, PA

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 of Education
• 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 Education Leadership
 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 – Democratic Majority
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 – Republican Majority
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’s FY
2013 Budget Request

9. Budget Process
• Annual timeline
– State
of
the
Union
– PresidenDal
budget
request
release
– Congressional
budget
resoluDon
– Annual
appropriaDons
process
– Floor
debate
– PresidenDal
approval

10. President’s FY2013 Budget Proposal
• 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 Budget Proposal
• Four Pillars:
1. EducaDon
and
Skills
for
the
American
Workforce
2. InnovaDon
and
Manufacturing
3. Clean
Energy
4. Infrastructure

12. Education and Skills for 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 Skills for 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 Affordability and
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 Teaching Profession
• $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 Training and
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 the Path 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: Programs of 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 at ED
• 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 has eliminated 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
• Congress Decides
– 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
Elementary and 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 Senate Bill
• 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 Current Law
• 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 Current Law
• 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 of Proposed 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 states applied 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
Workforce Investment 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 will get 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