Legislative Positions

PUBLIC EDUCATION FUNDING IN THE AMERICAN RECOVERY AND REINVESTMENT ACT

FED ED member school districts are most appreciative of the very significant increases in federal education funding included in the stimulus package. Illinois schools may receive up to $3 billion in education dollars. This includes $420 million in Title I, $506 million in IDEA, and $2 billion in state stabilization funds.

The increases in IDEA will, for the first time in many years, provide real relief in funding needed for special education programs and take pressure off local budgets. It is a giant step on the way to keeping Congress’s promise to fund 40% of the excess costs of special education. Likewise, the Title I increases will enhance our districts efforts to provide effective services to low income students. Finally, we believe that the state stabilization monies will prevent debilitating teacher layoffs and stave off drastic reductions in already tight budgets.

ELEMENTARY AND SECONDARY EDUCATION ACT REAUTHORIZATION
As the new administration and Congress look forward to restarting the ESEA (NCLB) reauthorization process, FED ED wishes to restate our support for meaningful and positive changes in the law. FED ED continues to support federal accountability. However our members do not believe that one size fits all public schools and that governance ought to be local whenever possible.

FED ED recommends that the new law include the following:
Multiple Indicators/Assessments to measure progress. This will allow states to use more than a single test for accountability purposes. States should be able to use multiple, state-developed assessments taken at different points in time to measure AYP. We are especially encouraged by the provision that would allow states to consider more than reading and math assessments in AYP determination.

Growth Model Assessments- This will allow states to integrate measurement of student academic growth into the state’s definition of adequate yearly progress. We support the provisions that lay out principles for growth models, thus allowing for flexibility and innovation as new models are developed. We also strongly support the funding that is provided for states to build capacity in order to appropriately incorporate growth model assessments into their assessment infrastructure.

New provisions for assessing ELL Students- FED ED supports new provisions including:
• Allowing states to use portfolios and other alternate valid and reliable assessment measures to assess English Language Proficiency of ELL students.
• Permitting states and school districts the flexibility to test ELL students using valid and reliable alternate assessments, such as native language assessments for up to five years (up from three years in current law), with the option of providing school districts waivers for an additional two years on a case-by-case basis.
• Allowing states to exclude the assessment results of recently arrived ELL students (those who have been in the country for less than one year) when determining AYP.
• Allowing ELL students to remain in that group for accountability purposes for three years after they exit the program.

New provisions supporting curriculum development- FED ED strongly supports the new program providing funds to low-income districts to support high quality instruction in music and arts, foreign languages, civics and government, economics, history, geography and physical education and health.

Assessment of Students with Disabilities- FED ED supports provisions that provide additional flexibility regarding assessment of students with disabilities. These include allowing special education students to remain in the special education subgroup for accountability purposes for three years after they exit those programs; maintaining the policies allowing alternate assessments for students the most severe cognitive disabilities, and allowing certain districts with high numbers of students with disabilities to get a waiver to change the 2% cap to a 3% cap without such students counting against the state’s overall cap.

FED ED continues to recommend that assessments be driven by the student’s IEP and we continue to recommend that Congress have NCLB accountability provisions determined by the IEP team as provided in IDEA. NCLB must recognize that assessments of students with disabilities must be driven by the student’s IEP just as all other aspects of these students’ education. Schools should be allowed to use testing technologies that measure student growth (CBM measures, MAP assessments) rather than simply comparing special education students to their typically learning peers.

Response to Intervention (RTI) - Response to Intervention (RTI) is a key concept in the IDEA reauthorization and is becoming an important tool for improving the achievement of subgroups of students who need academic and behavioral interventions. FED ED recommends that the reauthorization recognize RTI as a valuable tool and provide additional funds for training and dissemination of best practices.

Highly Qualified Teachers- Work with states to deal with Highly Qualified Teacher issues in areas where teacher recruitment of any kind is difficult. Also, provide incentives to teach in rural and urban areas as well as incentives and flexibility to become highly qualified in areas of special education.

VOUCHERS
FED ED is strongly opposed to any efforts to expand federal voucher programs. It is time to take a strong stand on behalf of public schools and eliminate federal voucher programs.

INDIVIDUALS WITH DISABILITIES EDUCATION ACT (IDEA)
Fully Funding IDEA is Critical– FED ED districts will benefit greatly from the significant increases included in the ARRA and hope this sets the stage for the final steps to full funding of IDEA.

Private/Parochial School Provisions - FED ED members support changing the new Private/Parochial school provisions back to those contained in IDEA ’97. The new provisions make the school district where a private/parochial school is located responsible for all child find and IDEA services for all the children in the private school, not just those that are residents of the districts. This creates enormous inequities in LEA responsibilities. These provisions should be changed back to having local districts only responsible for students who are residents of the district.

MEDICAID CLAIMING
FED ED thanks those members of Congress who worked to make the extension of the Medicaid moratorium part of the ARRA. As a result, FED ED districts will be able to be reimbursed for in-school health care services, transportation and administrative costs for Medicaid-enrolled children with disabilities. This prevents districts across our nation from facing a staggering $3.6 billion in new expenses. It is our hope that this is the final step in eliminating the threats to Medicaid claiming.

MILITARY IMPACT AID
FED ED thanks members who supported the bill sponsored by Congressman Kirk in the House and Senators Durbin and Obama in the Senate that made technical changes in Military Impact Aid that allow school districts in North Chicago, Glenview, Northbrook, and Highland Park to capture increased impact aid for students from the Great Lakes Naval Base residing in their districts. We encourage you to support future legislation that will make these changes permanent.

CLEAN RENEWABLE ENERGY FOR ILLINOIS SCHOOLS
A number of FED ED districts are part of the Illinois Wind Farm Energy Alliance. We were most gratified to see that the Clean Renewable Energy Bond (CREB) program was extended and expanded in the ARRA. If net aggregate metering is approved in the Illinois legislature, school districts will be able to use this bond program to create cooperative wind farms to create inexpensive and clean energy. We thank those Illinois legislators supporting these provisions in the stimulus bill.