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

Questions?Noelle Ellerson

Assistant Director,

Policy Analysis & Advocacy

nellerson@aasa.org