<p> NREAC July Meeting </p><p>Attendees: Don Rogers, John Hill, Jules Waber, Dan Rask, Jon Habben, Fred Nolan, Jerry White, Allison Nys, Scott Turney, Rob Mahaffey, Sasha Pudelski, Leslie Finann </p><p>Next NREAC Call: September 17, 2014 at 2 pm ET</p><p>ESEA: No major updates. The Department continues to make strides with its waivers. AASA will be collaborating with our friends at CCSSO and NGA in September and October to coordinate a strong pro- reauthorization message, focusing on the non-waiver states. Stay tuned!</p><p>E-Rate: As mentioned in an update earlier this month, the long-running E-Rate advocacy efforts paid off when the FCC passed an E-Rate modernization plan that was drastically improved over the Chairman’s initial proposal. You can read AASA’s analysis and response on the blog. Relevant to this group, I want to flag some things that should stick out in your minds:  Per Pupil Funding: This one is a double edged sword. While there are no permanent changes to E-Rate as it relates to per-pupil funding caps, the two-year test project (the infusion of the found funding into WiFi) will include a per-pupil cap. This will drive dollars to rural schools that otherwise may not have received Priority Two funding, while at the same time completely ignoring the cost differentials to very small/rural communities. The victory was in it not being a permanent change; the test program provides two years to see how per-pupil funding caps impact E-Rate  Raising the ERate Cap: Conversation about raising the ERate cap had been removed from the rule making. Having the Chairman introduce another rule focused on the program’s funding needs is a big win. We anticipate that rule to be introduced shortly, with the comment period running in August and September. We will have to run a full court press, generating thousands of replies from the field, making the case for raising the cap. We tell you this so you can anticipate the upcoming call to action.</p><p>School Nutrition: The politics of school lunch are heating up. The First Lady continues to engage on this issue as the flag ship issue of her tenure. She, and USDA, are deeply committed to preserving core tenets of the School Nutrition Program, usually the ones that we find most problematic, including the school personnel certification requirements and competitive food regulations. </p><p> Community Eligibility: The USDA is expanding its successful Community Eligibility Provision from pilot status to national program. That means that any eligible school could serve ALL students free breakfast and lunch. While this provision/flexibility may not be for everyone, it is something that will be helpful to some AASA members, and as such, we are covering it on the blog. The 2014-15 school year is the first time the option will be available to all eligible schools. The change technically takes place on July 1, 2014 and schools have until August 31, 2014 to notify their state agency of their intent to participate. The Community Eligibility Provision (CEP) provides an alternative approach for offering school meals to schools in low income areas. Rather than collecting individual applications for free/reduced price meals, CEP allows schools in communities with higher concentrations of poverty to offer free meals to ALL students, not just those who are eligible. The program launched as a pilot in 10 states and the District (IL, KY, MI, NY, OH, WV, FL, GA, MD, and MA). To be eligible, a school district must have at least 40% of its enrolled students identified as eligible for free/reduced lunch. If that is the case, the school can serve free lunches and breakfasts to ALL students. Household applications for free/reduced price meals are not collected. Full information is available on the blog: http://www.aasa.org/aasablog.aspx?id=33798&blogid=286  Summer Nutrition: AASA endorsed Sen. Patty Murray’s Stop Child Summer Hunger Act (S 2366). The bill proposes an expansion for the already existing Summer Food Service Program (SFSP), which works to provide meals to low-income children during the summer months. The current pilot runs in 14 sites across 10 states. This bill would make it nation wide. Eligible families would receive a pre-loaded EBT card that they can use to obtain food over the summer months. A family eligible for the free/reduced lunch program would be eligible for this summer program. The USDA Secretary will make the cards and any related information, such as details on who is eligible, how to enroll, and information on making more healthful food choices, available to schools, who will work to distribute the cards in a manner they see fit. AASA was pleased to work with Senator Murray’s office to ensure that the burden to schools in implementing a summer program was not unduly burdensome, and is pleased to support the final version of the bill, which reflects key revisions AASA pursued.  School Equipment and Waiver Flexibility: The House Agriculture Appropriations bill included $25 million for school lunch equipment, funding AASA supports. The bill also includes a proposal to require the USDA Secretary to establish a process by which a state can grant a temporary waiver of compliance from the national nutritional standards. The waiver is critical in providing LEAs relief from the soaring operational costs associated with the federal mandates, however unintended, as well as increased plate waste and decreased program participation. AASA applauds this waiver as a flexibility to provide relief to school districts struggling to balance the demands of the higher standards with the lack of adequate federal support. </p><p>Federal Funding: Congress will not complete its appropriations work on time. There will be a continuing resolution. We will not have the opportunity to advocate for targeted funding increases within the LHHS appropriations bill before the election, and it is more likely that LHHS is moved as part of a larger bill. The likely outcome remains largely unchanged: level funding for FY15 would be a win. This would not be pre-sequester levels, and doesn’t allow for the use of RttT and other competitive funds to restore Title I and IDEA to pre-sequester levels. </p><p>Background Checks: The Senate Education Committee may take up background check legislation again in September after they failed to garner enough bipartisan support to move the bill through Committee in July. AASA is hopeful that we can convince Senators to not take up this legislation. The House has already passed bipartisan school employee background check legislation. AASA has the following concerns with the bill:  It’s an unfunded mandate and implies that districts are on the hook for the costs associated with conducting these checks.  It’s unnecessary legislation since most states have comprehensive checks already in place  It requires districts to do an individual review of all employees deemed ineligible to work in their state and requires them to consider mitigating factors that could impact their employability.  It may require districts to keep paying a school employee while they appeal the results of their background check  It requires that all districts conduct the following checks on school employees: FBI, state criminal registry, state child abuse registry and national sex offender registry. </p><p>ALEC Toolkit: Earlier in July, AASA launched the first in a new series of toolkits to help you advocacy home to your communities and states. Our first toolkit focuses on school voucher programs and the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC). As an introduction, it also includes a section on the successes of public education. The toolkit includes frequently asked questions, talking points, sample Tweets, resources, a PowerPoint presentation, and other resources to help you spread the message of public education throughout your community. Please access the toolkit here: http://www.aasa.org/uploadedFiles/Resources/Toolkits/Advocacy/Toolkit_Vouchers_ALEC_full.pdf</p>