NREAC May Meeting

Attendees: Ray Patrick, John Hill, Phil Gerik, Jules Waber, Dan Rask, Jared Bingham, Jon Habben, Fred Nolan, Jerry White, Sasha Pudelski, Leslie Finann

Information Next Call: Wed. June 18, 2014, 2 pm ET (note: date has changed from our call)  AASA Legislative Advocacy Conference is scheduled for July 8-10, 2014 in Washington DC. We hope to see you there! More information. Register Online or Download the registration form (pdf)

ESEA: Not much is happening. The withdrawal of waivers is the big news, with WA and WY gone. Rumors are that: IN and MI could also lose their waivers, although it’s hard to predict. Given there wasn’t a huge level of consistency in how the waivers were awarded, it’s hard to predict what becomes a stumbling block. In the meantime, USED told state chiefs that it will grant some states extensions on their waivers even if their teacher-evaluation systems aren't yet completely up to snuff. The plan, which is still being developed, would give states that are already making progress on implementing teacher- evaluation systems that conform to the department's principles extra time to tweak and refine those systems. Under the plan, some states will be able to renew their waivers even if they are still seeking "substantive changes" to their teacher evaluation systems. States' waiver extensions requests will be evaluated, instead, on the basis of their performance when it comes to the other big pieces of the waiver puzzle—intervening in low-performing schools and putting in place new college- and career- ready standards and assessments.

Early Ed: The Senate HELP Committee passed its early ed bill. Although the measure has strong backing from the administration—and Sen. Tom Harkin, D-Iowa, the chairman of the Senate panel that oversees K-12 spending and policy—its political prospects are iffy at best. The bill was approved on a 12-10 vote, with no GOP support. We remained neutral on the bill given some small concerns we had about who would be eligible for the grants among other things. It is a good bill, but there are legitimate questions regarding the need for another stand alone bill for pre-school aged children when it is not paid for, the House is not moving theirs AND there is Head Start and CCDBG reauthorization to see through. A similar early childhood bill has also been introduced in the House by Rep. George Miller, but it actually has a couple of GOP sponsors in that chamber—Rep. Richard Hanna of New York was the first Republican to sign on.

House Charter Bill: The House passed their charter bill by a vote of 360 to 45. This is their third version of charter language in two years. We opposed the bill and do not think the Senate will take it up although there is already a companion version of the legislation introduced by key members of the Senate Education Committee and considerable pressure for the Committee to move it in an election year. We opposed the bill. You can read the letter we sent to the House here: http://aasa.org/uploadedFiles/Policy_and_Advocacy/files/AASA%20House%20Charter%20Full%20Floor %20050814.pdf

Here’s the list of the members who opposed (mad props)! If any of these members are yours, please send an email to them and thank them for their vote. UT Rob Bishop NY Timothy Bishop MA Michael Capuano MO Lacy Clay Jr. IL Danny Davis NJ Scott Garrett AZ Raul Grijalva NC Walter Jones Jr. GA John Lewis WA Jim McDermott IL Janice Schakowsky MS Bennie Thompson MA John Tierney NY Nydia Velazquez IN Peter Visclosky FL Debbie Wasserman Schultz MO Emanuel Cleaver II WI Gwen Moore TX Steve Stockman NJ Albio Sires FL Kathy Castor GA Henry Johnson Jr. MN Timothy Walz NY Yvette Clarke GA Paul Broun Jr. MD Donna Edwards FL Alan Grayson WY Cynthia Lummis ME Chellie Pingree NY Paul Tonko OH Marcia Fudge CA Judy Chu FL Theodore Deutch AL Mo Brooks AL Terri Sewell LA Cedric Richmond MI Justin Amash VA Morgan Griffith KY Thomas Massie FL Patrick Murphy FL Lois Frankel MI Daniel Kildee OK Jim Bridenstine IL Robin Kelly MA Katherine Clark

Appropriations: Not much. The Senate and House are both still proceeding as if they will complete their approps work on time. Highlight unlikely we will see anything other than a CR, especially for LHHS. There was a technical calculation error related to FHA loans that means there is even less discretionary authority than originally planned, and that was level funding. Makes it even harder to ensure level funding is a win, let alone to push for Title I and IDEA to be restored to pre-sequestration level.  CEF released its annual FY15 Budget Response. It’s a comprehensive overview of everything in the pres budget, along with a detailed history of funding for each program over the last three years. A great resource! http://cef.org/

E-Rate: The FCC is scheduled to vote on an FCC ERate order in June. This is the one related to the found funding, with implications for long-term programmatic changes and an infusion of funding. To be able to vote by June (Which means the changes could impact schools for this coming school year), the final notice would need to be posted in 9 days. If it is not posted, there will be no vote. UPDATE SINCE CALL: We are hearing that the E-Rate order is slipping, and the vote will now be in July, instead of June.

URGENT: If you have been contacted by Bob Wise to sign an E-Rate letter with the Alliance, PLEASE DO NOT. AASA has a separate letter we (AASA, NREA and NREAC) are signing that we can make available to state associations. We strongly urge you to NOT sign the Alliance letter. They do not represent ERate beneficiaries

Perkins: The on-going negotiations of the WIA bill make it a good bet that neither the House nor Senate will work on Perkins this year. They still express optimism about doing so in a bipartisan manner, but the shortened calendar makes it almost impossible to cobble something together.

School Employee Background Checks: The Senate Ed Cmte may vote on legislation mandating a variety of school employee background checks. We expect this to be a partisan bill and do not think it will make it to the floor. We have serious concerns with the unfunded mandate nature of the legislation and the burden it would create for small school districts, particularly those that struggle to retain staff. If you’d like more details, please email Sasha ([email protected])