FED
ED
Advocating for Suburban Schools
THE LATEST FED ED NEWS
FED ED GOES TO WASHINGTON D.C. October 5-7, 2011
Your FED ED Co-Directors just returned from a busy trip to Washington D.C. where we attended sessions with the following Members of Congress and Congressional staff members: Representative Chris Van Hollen (MD), a member of the Joint Select Committee on Deficit Reduction; Representative Ruben Hinojosa (TX), Education and Workforce Committee; Representative Steny Hoyer (MD), Democratic Whip; Congressman George Miller (CA), Education and Workforce Committee; Senator Patty Murray (WA), Co-Chair, Joint Select Committee on Deficit Reduction; and Senator Tom Harkin (D-IA), Chairman of the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committee. We also met with both Illinois Senators Richard Durbin and Mark Kirk.
Illinois Congressmen and Congresswomen with whom we met included Bob Dold, Randy Hultgren, Judy Biggert (Education and Workforce Committee), Peter Roskam, Dan Lipinski, Danny Davis and Jan Schakowsky. During all of these meetings we promoted the FED ED Legislative Priorities (attached) and gathered the following information regarding education finance and policy issues:
ESEA Reauthorization- While we still doubt that ESEA will be reauthorized before the Presidential election there is renewed energy in both the Senate and the House to hammer out the details of the bill. Significantly, Senator Harkin has now posted the Senate Education Committee’s version of the reauthorization bill (http://help.senate.gov/legislation). We are pleased to report that FED ED has been asked to provide our comments on the bill directly to committee staff in a meeting to be held this Friday. We will keep you posted on our analysis. At first glance, this version looks to be a big improvement over NCLB as it removes the nonsensical sanctions and includes growth model assessments.
President Obama’s Jobs Bill- The intensely partisan climate makes passage of the President’s jobs bill problematic with many Republicans calling it “dead on arrival.” You will note that today the President and Senate are breaking the bill into discrete pieces in hopes of getting the more popular pieces past. The education portion is still in play but we are skeptical that it will go anywhere.
We will update you on other aspects of the trip in a subsequent update. Needless to say, it was a busy and productive trip and we’re pleased to be providing FED ED’s recommendations on ESEA.
FY 12 EDUCATION FUNDING
As we have said so often, the federal government continues to avoid their long-term fiduciary responsibility regarding funding by passing a series of Continuing Resolutions (CRs). The latest one will be in effect until November 18th at which time we hope that Congress will finally pass a budget. For FED ED districts the good news is that the FY12 budgets we have seen leave IDEA and Title I in relatively good shape. Indeed in the current House Budget Bill, IDEA and Title I have small increase. We will continue to lobby for as much funding as the political environment will bear.
More News- FED ED Fall Luncheon
The FED ED Fall Legislative Luncheon will be held on Friday October 21, 2011 at 12 noon at the Rosewood Restaurant, 9421 W. Higgins Rd., Rosemont, IL.
We are proud to be presenting the FED ED Champion of Public Education Award to Dr. Chris Koch, Illinois State Superintendent of Education, for his national leadership on ESEA and common core standards on behalf of the chief state school officers. Importantly, Chris should be able to give us the latest information about the waiver regulatory relief process. We are awaiting confirmation of Congresswoman Judy Biggert’s attendance as well as a staffer from Senator Kirk’s office. E-mail FED (see contact us) if you would like to register.
NEA's Mary Kusler (center) receives the FED ED Champion of Public Education award from Dave Peterson (L) and Harry Rossi (R)
Champions of
Public Education
L to R: FED ED Co-Director Dave Peterson, Congresswoman Jan Schakowsky, FED ED Co-Director Harry Rossi and NSSEO Supt. Judy Hackett