So much of what we hear in the press is that this Congress is not accomplishing much if anything. In many ways, this applies to their work on education, too. But there has been some activity recently that is of importance to private school educators, including action by the U.S. Department of Education. Please join us for a Capitol Hill Education Update webinar for private and religious schools. Participants will learn about all of the following changes and how they impact the implementation of federal education programs for students attending private schools: Appropriation of funds Passage of ESEA in the House Bills for ESEA reauthorization introduced in the Senate New guidance on the use of federal funds of technology Guidance on new method of counting students for Title I Extension of Waivers

1. FEBRUARY 19, 2014
PRESENTED BY MICHELLE DOYLE
Capitol Hill Education Update

2. Do Nothing Congress
 This Congress has not accomplished much
 Evidence of the gridlock in DC
 44 substantive laws enacted this year
• Compared to average of 70 between 1999 and 2012

3. What Has Been Done?
 Appropriation of funds
 Passage of ESEA in the House
 Bills for ESEA reauthorization introduced in the Senate
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 Extension of Waivers
 New guidance on the use of federal funds of technology
 Guidance on new method of counting students for Title I

4. Appropriations—A Look Back
• The sequester is a group of cuts to federal spending set to take
effect March 1, barring further congressional action.
• The sequester was originally passed as part of the Budget
Control Act of 2011 (BCA), better known as the debt ceiling
compromise.
• It was intended to serve as incentive for the Joint Select
Committee on Deficit Reduction (aka the “Supercommittee”)
to come to a deal to cut $1.5 trillion over 10 years. If the
committee had done so, and Congress had passed it by Dec.
23, 2011, then the sequester would have been averted.

5. Impact of Sequestration
 Across-the-board cut of 5.1% for Education Department
programs
 Cuts in each LEAs differed:
• Increase in poverty = application of formula yields less than
5.1% cut
• Decrease in poverty = application of formula yields more than
5.1% cut

6. Appropriators: Omnibus
 Title IA Subgrants to Local Educational Agencies:
• FY 2013 $13,760,219
• FY 2014 $14,384,802
• Percentage change:
+ 4.539%
 This change in appropriations for the 2014-15 school year
nearly restores all of the funds that were lost during the
2013-14 school year due to sequestration.

7. Different Funding Sources Title I
 Basic grants
• FY 2013 $6,232,639
• FY 2014 $6,459,401
• Percentage change:
+ 3.638%
 Concentration grants:
• FY 2013 $1,293,919
• FY 2014 $1,362,301
• Percentage change:
+ 5.285%

8. Funding Sources (cont.)
 Targeted grants:
• FY 2013 $3,116,831
• FY 2014 $3,281,550
• Percentage change:
+ 5.285%
 Education finance grants:
• FY 2013 $3,116,831
• FY 2014 $3,281,550
• Percentage change:
+ 5.285%

9. Titles IIA and III Funding
 Title IIA
• FY 2013 $2,337,830
• FY 2014 $2,349,830
• Percentage change:
+ .513%
 Title III
• FY 2013 $693,848
• FY 2014 $732,400
• Percentage change:
+ 4.259%

10. ESEA Reauthorization
 First signed into law January 2002 for 5 years
 Renewed each year without change
 Several attempts at passage
• Miller proposal
• Kline bill (passed House)
• Harkin bill (passed out of Committtee twice)
• Alexander bill

11. Highlights of Kline bill
 Enhanced consultation language, goal to reach agreement,
added pooling and how $$ calculated, “substantially failed”
added to bypass and complaint
 Calculate private school funding on state level—inform
simultaneously; ombudsman
 Sign off for all programs
 Counseling and mentoring firmed up in Title I

12. Biggest changes
 Title I funds determined prior to any set asides
• Currently 20% or more set aside for public school only purposes
 Title IIA funds determined prior to other uses by LEA
• Currently LEA chooses to spend IIA funds on class size
reduction, teacher recruitment/retention, and professional
development

13. Harkin bill
 Passed the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions
Committee (HELP)
 Did not include any changes to the private school sections

14. Alexander bill
 Minority alternative
 Not considered by the Committee
 Includes “fix” for Title I
• Funding for private school program determined prior to any set
asides by the LEA

15. Administrative Initiatives
 State of the Union: If Congress can’t get it done,
Administration will use Executive Orders
 Administration has already been making changes
• Waivers
• Technology
• Community Eligibility Option

16. Waivers
 Began with 2012-13 school year for two years
 45 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico and the
Bureau of Indian Education submitted requests for ESEA
flexibility
 42 States, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico are
approved for ESEA flexibility

17. Waived Requirements Include…
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

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Adequate Yearly Progress
Provision of SES
Provision of public school choice transportation
Schools and Districts in Need of Improvement

18. Requirements Include…



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Common Core or other acceptable standards
Assessments tied to standards
Priority and focus schools
Reward schools

19. Renewal of Waivers 2014-15
 This one-year extension will allow SEAs and ED to gather
additional information on successes and challenges in the
implementation of reforms committed to under ESEA
flexibility, in order to improve current systems and better
support students and teachers.
 Must amend application to address monitoring findings

20. Private School Implications of Waivers
 Difficult to get transparency
 No longer (unless in waiver app) have SES, public school
choice, SINI, DINI = less set asides
 Add common core
 Add priority and focus schools = set asides (in some cases)

21. ConnectED Initiative
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High-speed internet to the classroom,
Affordable mobile learning devices,
High-quality learning content, and
Support for teachers to move to digital learning within five
years.

22. Updates Needed
 Many of the terms we use today to describe technologyenhanced learning did not exist when laws such ESEA and
IDEA were passed (2001 and 2004)
 ED: Need to clarify opportunities to use federal grant funds
to support digital learning
 http://www.ed.gov/edblogs/technology/files/2013/06/Fed
eral-Funds-Tech-DC-.pdf

23. Innovative Use of Federal Funds
 Support teachers using digital learning tools (IIA and IA)
 Provide online professional development (IIA)
 Adopt digital competency-based professional development
(IIA and IA)
 Digital resources for Common Core (IIA)
 Digital educational resources for English Language Learners
and students with disabilities (III and IDEA)

24. Additional Ideas
 Use technology to communicate with parents (IA, III, IDEA)
 Connect teachers and STEM professionals with technology
(IIA and IIB)
 Participate in English Learner focused Communities of
Practice (III)
 Provide students with mobile learning devices (IA)
 Provide assistive technology (IDEA)

25. Community Eligibility Option
 Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act of 2010
 Goal to increase meals served
 Direct certification
• SNAP, TANF, Medicaid, etc.
 Schools with 40% or more directly certified students are
eligible
 1.6 times # of directly certified = new lunch count
 Serve free meals to all
 All states eligible 2014-15

26. Title I Guidance
 www2.ed.gov/programs/titleiparta/13-0381guidance.doc
 Public and private schools eligible for using CEO
• Unlikely many private schools will use the option
– Need 40% directly certified
– Need to participate in the lunch program
– Need to provide free lunches to those not counted for
reimbursement

27. Implications for Private Schools
 CEO could lead to higher public school count
• That’s the goal of the program!
 Title I funding does not increase due to use of CEO
 Proportional share for private school program will be less if
public school count is higher

28. Bonus Topic!! New Private School Statistics
 Private school enrollment declined by 11 percent from 6.1
million in 2005 to 5.4 million in 2010.
 About one in ten U.S. elementary and secondary school
students is a private school student.
 Projected private school enrollment for the next several
years is estimated to vary little
 The number of full-time equivalent private elementary and
secondary school teachers in the fall of 2012 was estimated
at 0.4 million, down from 0.5 million in 2007
(Digest of Education Statistics 2012)

29. Questions? Contact Michelle at mdoyledc@gmail.com
View the recording of this webinar on Catapult’s site:
www.catapultlearning.com/webinars
Follow Michelle Doyle Educational Consulting on Facebook
Check out Michelle’s blog at www.ask-michelle.com
THANK YOU!