Weekly Legislative Highlights: September 4 through September 7, 2007
Updated September 7, 2007
*NCLB Reauthorization Update: NSBA Submits Comments, Will Testifies Before House Education and Labor Committee
*The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services Issue Rule to Cut Funding to School Districts
*Higher Ed bill with teacher scholarships moves closer to final passage
*FY2008 Education Funding
NCLB Reauthorization Update: NSBA Submits Comments, Testifies Before House Education and Labor Committee
As you know, the Miller-McKeon “Discussion Draft” to Amend Title I of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) was released last week. View a draft summary.
NSBA submitted its initial comments on the discussion draft this week. Our comments and recommendations are preliminary as additional bill Titles were not yet available at the time, and we continue to review the language.
Mike Resnick, associate executive director, will testify about NSBA’s initial review of the Title I draft before the House Education and Labor Committee on Monday, September 10. View NSBA's oral testimony.
Thursday night, the Committee released discussion drafts of all the remaining Titles in ESEA programs, and NSBA will submit its preliminary comments by next Friday. View a draft summary of those titles.
The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services Issue Rule to Cut Funding to School Districts
The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) announced that it plans to restrict federal reimbursements for certain school-based Medicaid services provided to students with disabilities. The proposed rule (CMS-2287-P) to be published in the Federal Register on September 7, 2007, would eliminate federal reimbursement under the Medicaid program for the costs of certain administrative activities (such as Medicaid outreach, program planning, referral and monitoring, and certain types of transportation) based on a Secretarial finding that these activities are “not necessary for the proper and efficient administration of the state plan.” As a result, schools would no longer be eligible to receive federal Medicaid payments for the administrative activities performed by school employees or contractors as well as for transporting disabled students from home to school and back.
NSBA is disappointed that the Administration has issued this rule, despite numerous calls and letters from the education community opposing this action. NSBA will be submitting comments within the 60-day window to respond to the proposed rule. In the interim, NSBA urges school board members to contact their members of Congress to object to these cuts. Please visit Reimbursement for School-Based Medicaid Services on NSBA’s Legislative Action Center, select to learn more, select write a message at the bottom of the page, enter your email address to log-in, and check form letter to access the prewritten letter, edit and send.
Your message should be:
“Congress Must Stop CMS from Cutting Funding to School Districts”
- The rule (CMS-2287-P) will impose a significant financial burden on local school districts, which is estimated to cost $3.6 billion over five years. As a result, school districts will be forced to cut education services or replace lost Medicaid dollars with additional state and local taxpayer dollars.
- The rule (CMS-2287-P) will make it more difficult for schools to provide needed services to students with disabilities at a time when the federal government is already woefully behind in their commitment to fund special education.
- The rule will deny federal payment for services such as outfitting buses with specialized equipment, transporting children to school for their medical appointments, identifying students who need screenings and evaluations, and connecting children and their families with other needed services in their community.
Please provide any feedback on your communication to kbranch@nsba.org or call 800.609.NSBA, ext. 6. (Your feedback on your contacts with your members’ offices helps our lobbying efforts tremendously.) For more background information, please go to the Medicaid section of our Advocacy website.
Higher Ed bill with teacher scholarships moves closer to final passage
A House and Senate conference committee completed work this week on H.R. 2669, the College Cost Reduction Act. By Friday afternoon, the Senate had approved the measure 79-12, the House was expected to follow suit and President Bush reportedly has indicated he will not veto the bill. The bill will increase Pell Grants from $4,300 to $5,400 over five years. The final bill also included TEACH Grants, which are undergraduate and graduate scholarships for future and current educators who agree to teach in high-poverty schools and high-need subjects. NSBA urged the inclusion of the grants in the final bill. Read our letter to the conference committee.
FY2008 Education Funding
Congress returned to Capitol Hill this week after its August recess without any indication of when of fiscal year 2008 appropriations for education will be finalized. Given the difference in proposed funding levels between the House-passed appropriations bill (H.R. 3043) and the pending Senate bill (S. 1710), as well as the series of potential vetoes announced by the White House that apply to any spending bills that exceed the President’s budget request, there is speculation that education funding could be included in a consolidated spending bill (or omnibus measure) with proposed funding levels for other domestic programs at the end of the year. As with previous omnibus appropriations bills, it is possible that the progress made in advocating increases for Title I, the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), Title I School Improvement grants and other programs could be compromised in an omnibus spending package.
NSBA strongly urges Congress’ swift passage of H.R. 3043, which would provide $14.4 billion for Title I grants ($453 million more than the President’s budget request) and $11.3 billion for IDEA ($850 million more than that President’s budget). Likewise, NSBA urges Congress to override any veto of H.R. 3043 or a related measure that includes the funding increases critical to education. For a state-by-state analysis of how Title I and IDEA funding would be impacted by the FY2008 appropriations veto threats, please visit here, which includes excerpts from the House Budget Committee’s report.