Weekly Legislative Highlights: November 5 through November 9, 2007
*Updated November 12, 2007
*ESEA/NCLB reauthorization update / New H.R. 648 co-sponsors
*Education funding update
*Qualified Zone Academy Bonds / Teacher Tax Credits
*Negotiations continue on SCHIP
*Senate to consider school nutrition amendment next week
*Conferees approve reauthorization of Head Start program
*House Education Committee to mark-up Higher Education Act next week
*Secure Rural Schools and Community Self-Determination Act
*ESEA/NCLB reauthorization update / New H.R. 648 co-sponsors
This week, Senator Edward Kennedy (D-MA), Chairman of the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions; and Rep. George Miller (D-CA-7), Chairman of the House Committee on Education and Labor, have announced that their committees will be unable to complete ESEA reauthorization bills during this First Session of the 110th Congress. This will require the committees to intensify their efforts very early during the Second Session—if we are to have new legislation passed before this Congress adjourns at the end of 2008. NSBA is very disappointed with the lack of progress and will need the help of local school board members, particularly in the congressional districts and states of education committee members, to advocate for both a responsive and timely reauthorization bill.
As we all understand, If ESEA/NCLB is not reauthorized this during the 110th Congress, our local schools will be subject to the requirements of the current law that have resulted in:
- Mislabeling of our schools
- Overemphasis on testing that often is not reliable or valid for our students with disabilities and our English Language Learner (ELL) students
- Restrictions from targeting already limited federal funds on those students and schools most in need
- A “one-size-fits-all” approach that fails to recognize students’ and schools’ unique needs
Further, H.R. 648, No Child Left Behind Improvements Act of 2007, includes more than 40 provisions for improving the law based on feedback and input from school districts throughout the country. We want Congress to reauthorize ESEA/NCLB before the end of the 110th Congress and ensure that the provisions included in H.R. 648 are included.
NSBA thanks the 4 newest bipartisan co-sponsors of H.R. 648: Representative Phil English (R-PA-3), Rep. Donna Christensen (D-VI), Rep. Bart Gordon (D-TN-6), and Rep. Frank LoBiondo (R-NJ-2).
*Education funding update
Many thanks to everyone who contacted their members of Congress regarding education funding. Both the House and Senate cleared the conference report for the FY08 Labor-Health & Human Services-Education spending bill (H.R. 3043) this week. The House had to vote on the measure twice because of a procedural motion in the Senate that forced lawmakers to separate the conference report from a legislative package that also included appropriations for military construction and veterans affairs.
On Tuesday, November 6, the House first voted in favor of the conference report for Labor-Health & Human Services-Education (as a part of the initial package with military construction and veterans affairs) by a vote of 269-142. 22 representatives did not vote (11 Democrats and 11 Republicans). Of the 269 members voting in favor of the report, 222 were Democrats and 47 were Republicans.
On Wednesday, November 7, the Senate passed the conference report for H.R. 3043 by a vote of 56-37. View the roll call vote. The vote included a motion offered by Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison to separate the legislation from the proposed spending bills for military construction and veterans affairs, which resulted in the measure being sent back to the House for a final vote on Thursday, November 8. The House voted 274-141 to pass the stand-alone bill. The conference report could be sent to the President next week.
The White House has continued to voice its opposition to the bill because its proposed spending level exceeds the President's budget request. Visit www.nsba.org/opposeveto for additional information. Also, view a state-by-state analysis of how Title I and IDEA funding would be impacted by the FY 2008 appropriations veto threats.
Compared to the total federal budget of about $2.8 trillion, the bill’s proposed increases for education represent less than a one percent increase in spending from FY07. The conference report includes critical increases for a number of key K-12 programs including Title I, special education, teacher quality grants and school improvement grants. For more details on proposed funding levels, refer to the chart.
NSBA continues to oppose a veto of the spending bill, along with more than 1,000 organizations from the education and healthcare communities. We will continue to provide updates and action alerts as the bill moves forward.
*Qualified Zone Academy Bonds / Teacher Tax Credits
The House of Representatives passed the “Temporary Tax Relief Act of 2007” (H.R. 3996) today by vote of 216-193. View the roll call vote. The legislation would provide a one-year extension for a number of tax provisions, including those for Qualified Zone Academy Bonds (QZABs) and teacher tax credits. The QZAB provisions authorize about $400 million per year in bond authority to states for school repairs and modernization, as well as curriculum development. The teacher tax credits allow above-the-line deductions of $250 for classroom supplies and instructional materials. The legislation would also extend enhanced deductions for book and computer donations to schools.
NSBA sent a letter to the full House on Monday, urging passage of the legislation. For additional details about the legislative provisions listed above, please refer to this summary of the Ways & Means Committee report.
*Negotiations continue on SCHIP
Lawmakers continue to negotiate over a State Children’s Health Insurance bill that will garner enough House Republican support to override a likely Presidential veto. Both the House and the Senate already passed a second version of the bill that contained modest changes, but the measure did not gain any additional support. Members of Congress continue to search for a compromise before sending the bill to the White House. Of particular importance to NSBA is a provision in the second bill that would prevent the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) from eliminating school-based Medicaid reimbursements for administration and transportation costs until January of 2010.
*Senate to consider school nutrition amendment next week
Senators will continue to debate the 2007 Farm bill next week and Senator Harkin (D-IA) remains committed to offer his amendment to establish nationwide school nutrition standards for all foods and beverages sold in schools. NSBA sent out a call to action earlier this week opposing the amendment, because it would restrict the authority of local school boards to address school nutrition by codifying a particular nutrition standard in statute. For example, the amendment would mandate how many calories, and what % of fats and sugars foods could have.
While NSBA believes school nutrition is an important part of fostering a healthy learning environment for children, NSBA opposes additional mandates and regulations outside of the federally subsidized school meals program that would limit local control. NSBA is committed to helping school board members make informed decisions about health issues in their schools.
In a letter sent to the Senate Agriculture Committee, NSBA outlined its complete recommendations on the Nutrition title of the Senate Farm bill, including its support for expansion of the Fruit and Vegetable program, which would help schools to increase their offering of fresh fruits and vegetables to students.
*Conferees approve reauthorization of Head Start program
House and Senate conferees met on Thursday to resolve differences between their Head Start reauthorization bills and quickly approved an agreement to improve the early education program, which currently serves over 900,000 children and their families through a network of 1,600 public and private agencies.
The conference report on the bill, H.R. 1429, contains many of the elements that NSBA lobbied for, including:
- Updated educational standards to promote the development of language and literacy, math, science, and other cognitive skills.
- Enhanced coordination between programs and schools, shared teacher training, and the alignment of curriculum to state early learning standards and kindergarten skills.
- New flexibility to serve additional low income children and families (up to 130% of federal poverty; $26,800 for a family of four).
- Increased funding: authorizes total funding of $7.35 billion for fiscal year 2008, $7.65 billion for fiscal year 2009, and $7.99 billion for fiscal year 2010
- New goals that all Head Start teachers have an associate’s degree and half of all teachers nationwide have a bachelor’s degree by 2013.
The House and Senate are expected to approve the conference report next week and send it to President Bush for his signature.
*House Education Committee to mark-up Higher Education Act next week
One week after President Bush signed the Third Higher Education Extension Act of 2007 that temporarily extends the program until March 31, 2008, House Education and Labor Committee Chairman George Miller (D-CA-7) and Higher Education Subcommittee Chairman Rubén Hinojosa (D-TX-15) introduced the College Opportunity and Affordability Act of 2007, which will serve as the House reauthorization bill of the Higher Education Act (HEA). The committee will mark up the legislation on Wednesday, November 14. View a summary of the bill.
Last month, Committee Ranking Member Howard “Buck” McKeon (R-CA-25) introduced the College Access and Opportunity Act (H.R. 3746), as the committee’s Republican proposal for reauthorizing HEA. View their summary.
NSBA will urge the committee to use the reauthorization to help strengthen teacher preparation programs and their collaboration with local school districts to ensure that future teachers have the subject matter knowledge and classroom skills needed to be successful.
*Secure Rural Schools and Community Self-Determination Act
Legislation to reauthorize the federal forest lands (payment-in-lieu-of-taxes) program to school districts and local governments is pending in Congress. (This program benefits a number of districts in the western and southern regions.) The bill numbers for the “Secure Rural Schools and Community Self-Determination Act” reauthorization are as follows: H.R. 3058, H.R. 17, H.R. 1635, S. 380, and S. 779. These are under the jurisdiction of the House Agriculture and Natural Resources Committees and the Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources. Although the funding for this program has been extended until the end of the year, reauthorization of the law and continuing appropriations are needed in order to continue the fund for school districts and local governments, which operates as payment-in-lieu-of-taxes (revenues). Please urge your senators and representatives to co-sponsor the legislation and ensure that the fund is extended before the end of this Congressional session. If not, the loss in revenue to schools and local governments will be significant.
A provision to continue funding for the program is pending in the FY2008 Interior appropriations bills: H.R. 2643 and S. 1696. The House-passed bill, H.R. 2643, would provide $253 million for the program -- “$20 million above 2007 and $63 million above the President’s request, for payments to local governments that help offset losses in property taxes due to nontaxable federal lands within their boundaries.”
The Senate has not scheduled a date to consider its version of the Interior appropriations bill, S. 1696, which would provide level-funding of $232.5 million “for Payments-in-Lieu-of-Taxes, the same as the fiscal year 2007 enacted level and $42,528,000 over the [President’s] budget request.”
In addition, the an amendment offered by Sen. Hatch to the Labor--Health & Human Services—Education spending bill (H.R. 3043), approved when the Senate passed the bill on October 23, would authorize a study on the fiscal impact of the program in affected states, compared to states without a significant amount of public lands. ``Provided further, That the Secretary of Education shall assess the impact on education felt by students in states with a high proportion of federal land compared to students in non-public land states. The study shall consider current student teacher ratios, trends in student teacher ratios, the proportion of property tax dedicated to education in each state, and the impact of these and other factors on education in public land states. The Secretary shall submit the report not later than 1 year after the date of the enactment of this Act.''