Weekly Legislative Highlights: July 23 through July 27, 2007
Weekly Legislative Highlights
*NCLB Reauthorization
*Funding Update
*Senate passes Higher Education reauthorization
*Department of Education addresses Highly Qualified Teacher requirements
*Administration Set to Issue School-Based Medicaid Rule
*Congress Ironing Out Differences in Head Start Bills
NCLB Reauthorization
It now appears that Chairman Miller of the House Education and Labor Committee will not introduce his NCLB bill until Congress returns from the August Recess. As reported earlier, Chairman Miller has identified nine key areas that the reauthorization will address. View a copy of NSBA’s letter in response to Chairman Miller’s memo. Although we would have preferred to see the bill move before the August recess, this delay gives you time to continue your grassroots efforts. More information on contacting your members of Congress on this issue will be forthcoming in NSBA's recess packet for grassroots members.
If your school board has not yet passed a resolution endorsing the provisions contained in HR 648, the No Child Left Behind Improvements Act, you have a few more weeks to do so. Visit www.nsba.org/nclbcampaign for a copy of a sample resolution and a link to write to your members of Congress. To date, 408 school boards have passed resolutions in support of H.R. 648. View the list of school districts that passed a resolution.
Funding Update
The Senate Appropriations funding bill (S. 1710) is scheduled for floor consideration in September. At this time there is no information about amendments that will be offered on the floor. However, the bill includes a provision for stem cell research that could present challenges during the Senate floor debate. Coupled with a presidential veto threat in the House-passed appropriations bill (H.R. 3043) it is imperative that we urge Congress for swift passage of a spending bill for education. More information on contacting your members of Congress on this issue will be forthcoming in NSBA's recess packet for grassroots members.
Senate passes Higher Education reauthorization
The Senate this week approved the reauthorization of the Higher Education Act, S. 1642, by a vote of 95 – 0. HEA has not been reauthorized since 1998. Of interest to K-12 are changes to Title II’s Teacher Quality Enhancement Grants. Read NSBA’s letter to the Senate on S. 1642.
The legislation essentially ends State Grants in favor of the Partnership Grants that directly involve local school districts. The matching grants are for pre-baccalaureate teacher preparation, establishment and operation of a teaching residency program, or both. Teacher preparation programs must be aligned with academic standards, prepare candidates to meet NCLB's highly qualified provisions, and teach effective use of technology and data for improving instruction, all elements supported by NSBA. The Senate passed an amendment by Sen. Richard Burr (R-NC) that requires traditional teacher prep and alternative certification programs to establish annual goals and publicly report their results for increasing the number of teacher candidates in hard-to-staff subjects and providing training for effective teaching in rural and urban schools and of select groups of students, including those with disabilities, English Language Learners and low-income children.
The teacher residency program would provide recent college graduates or mid-career professionals a one-year stipend or salary to learn alongside a mentor teacher for one school year, while completing a master's program and certification. In exchange, the teacher resident must teach in a high-need school in that school district for at least 3 years, and will continue receiving intensive professional development and mentoring support.
The House Education and Labor Committee has not yet introduced its version of the Higher Education Act but expects to do so later this year.
Department of Education addresses Highly Qualified Teacher requirements
U.S. Secretary of Education Margaret Spellings this week wrote to all state school chiefs indicating that while no state has reached the 100 percent Highly Qualified Teacher threshold, the Department does not plan to withhold federal funding to the states. They will launch another round of state monitoring this fall and will continue to look for states to demonstrate a good faith effort with particular attention to closing the gap between qualified and experienced teachers in high-poverty and low-poverty schools. Read a copy of the Secretary’s letter and view a state-by-state chart on HQT progress plus the high-poverty / low-poverty equity issue.
Administration Set to Issue School-Based Medicaid Rule
It is anticipated that the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services will publish a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) in the coming days that would eliminate reimbursement under the Medicaid program for school‑based administration expenditures and certain transportation costs. The proposed rule, which is likely to be released on July 30, 2007, would establish a Secretarial finding that these activities are “not necessary for the proper and efficient administration of the State plan, nor do they meet the definition of an optional transportation benefit.” As a result, schools would no longer be eligible to receive Federal Medicaid payment for administrative activities performed by school employees or contractors and transportation from home to school and back for school-aged children with an Individualized Education Program (IEP) or Individualized Family Services Plan (IFSP).
Since the Administration announced its intention to restrict reimbursement of school-based Medicaid services in the President’s FY2007 budget, NSBA has been lobbying Congress to prevent such action. For more information, including the introduction of the Protecting Children’s Health in Schools Act, please visit the Medicaid page on our Advocacy web site. In addition, legislation to reauthorize the S-CHIP program that is expected to be voted on next week in the House contains language that would prohibit the Administration from taking any action to restrict payment for school-based services for one year after the enactment of the Act.
Congress Ironing Out Differences in Head Start Bills
House and Senate leaders are working to reconcile their bills to reauthorize the federal Head Start program. After passing legislation (S. 556) in June, the Senate appointed members of the Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions committee as conferees to negotiate their bill with the House-passed version (H.R. 1429) that was approved on May 2. While the House has not yet designated conferees, staff from both chambers have been working to reach agreement on various elements of the bills. For a side-by-side comparison of both measures as well as NSBA’s letter to House and Senate leaders, please visit the Early Education page on NSBA’s Advocacy website.