[AAACE-NLA] Education Bills

[Daphne Greenberg]

I thought that some of you may be interested in this (a bit long)



TO:                   Interested Parties

FROM:            Lyndsay Pinkus

DATE:             January 25, 2005

RE:                   Congressional Leadership Introduces Education Bills

Yesterday, Senate leadership honored the tradition of defining each party's
agenda for the new Congress by introducing ten bills that outlined their
priorities. Majority Leader Bill Frist (R-TN) introduced the Republicans'
education bill, The Lifelong Education Opportunities Act (S. 9), which was
the ninth bill on their agenda. Minority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) introduced
the Democrats' education bill, The Quality Education for All Act (S. 15),
which was the fifth bill on their agenda.



This memo highlights proposals in each of the bills.



1.      The Lifelong Education Opportunities Act (S.9)



S. 9 was sponsored by Senator Mike Enzi (R-WY), the Chairman of the Senate
Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee. It was cosponsored
by Frist and Senator Mitch McConnell (R-KY). The bill includes Sense of the
Senate statements on career-technical education, Head Start, elementary and
secondary education, and some aspects of higher education. It also includes
the full text of a reauthorization of the Workforce Investment Act and
reauthorization of teacher quality enhancement grants for states and
partnerships. Summaries of those two pieces will be available shortly.



Ø      Elementary and Secondary Education

  a.. No Child Left Behind: Includes a sense of the Senate statement that
supplemental services should be made available earlier than public school
choice; that Congress should encourage distance education in rural areas,
and that the  federal government should encourage districts to offer
supplemental services after a school has entered its second year of school
improvement.
  b.. Career and Technical Education (CTE): Includes a sense of the Senate
statement that during the Carl D. Perkins Vocational and Technical Education
Act reauthorization process Congress should explore:
    a.. Strengthening the academic focus of CTE programs at both the
secondary and postsecondary levels;
    b.. Improving coordination between secondary and post secondary
programs, including dual enrollment opportunities;
    c.. Supporting partnerships among secondary schools, postsecondary
institutions, area career technical centers, business and industry,
professional associations, and intermediaries;
    d.. Integrating CTE courses with "rigorous and challenging" academic
courses;
    e.. Developing a highly skilled workforce in conjunction with other
federal education and training programs; and
    f.. Supporting continued integration of technology into CTE programs.
  a.. Math and Science: Includes a sense of the Senate that math, science
and reading programs in high school need improvement and that more emphasis
should be placed on ensuring low-income schools offer Advanced Placement and
International Baccalaureate courses.


Ø      Teacher Preparation

  a.. Teacher Loan Forgiveness: Includes a sense of the Senate that Congress
should encourage the use of recently expanded loan forgiveness for math,
science and special education teachers who teach in high need areas.
  b.. Teacher Preparation: Includes a sense of the Senate that institutions
of higher education should be held accountable for producing highly
qualified teachers for every classroom.
  c.. Financial Incentives: Includes a sense of the Senate that teachers
should be rewarded for raising students' achievement and closing achievement
gaps and that incentives should be created for individuals who teach in
low-income schools.
  d.. Tax Credits: Includes a sense of the Senate that Congress should
expand the classroom expense deduction from $250 to $400.


Ø      Higher Education

  a.. Lifelong Learning Opportunities: Includes a sense of the Senate that
Congress should explore efforts to improve and expand access to higher
education and make higher education more affordable by considering a variety
of issues.
  b.. Minority Serving Institutions: Includes a sense of the Senate that
Congress should increase funding for minority serving institutions because
they are a source of accomplishment and pride for their respective
communities and they offer an opportunity for all students to develop their
skills and talents.


2.      The Quality Education for All Act (S. 15)



S. 15 was sponsored by Senator Jeff Bingaman (D-NM), and cosponsored by 17
other Democrats. The bill proposes changes to legislation affecting early
childhood; children with disabilities and limited English proficiency; rural
school districts; math, science and special education teachers; student
loans; supplemental services; highly qualified teachers and
paraprofessionals; and recalculation of adequate yearly progress.



Ø      Individuals with Disabilities: Includes a sense of the Senate
statement that Congress should fully fund the Individuals with Disabilities
Education Act.



Ø      Transportation for Rural Schools: Authorizes $50 million for 2006 and
such sums as may be necessary for 2007 through 2010 for a federal program
for rural school districts to purchase new buses so that they can retire
substandard buses. It establishes a 75% to 25% federal to local match.



Ø      Elementary and Secondary Education

  a.. Includes a sense of the Senate statement that Congress should fully
fund Title I: $22.75 billion in FY06 and $25 billion in FY07;
  b.. Changes the obligation of a local educational agency to provide the
option to transfer to students so that it is subject to all applicable state
and local health and safety code requirements regarding facility capacity;
  c.. Requires States to ensure that personnel delivering supplemental
educational services have adequate qualifications and allows the state to
require that these personnel are highly qualified teachers;
  d.. Requires every state to implement the High Objective Uniform State
Standard of Evaluation (HOUSSE) to all veteran teachers and
para-professionals. It also codifies the Department of Education's guidance
from March 2004 regarding middle school teachers;
  e.. Requires the Department to improve coordination among teacher quality
programs authorized in NCLB, IDEA, HEA and Perkins and report on the
progress of that coordination to Congress; and
  f.. Requires states and districts to allow for the recalculation of
adequate  yearly progress (AYP) for schools and districts for the 2002-2003
year;


Ø      Improving Assessment and Accountability

  a.. Authorizes $100 million for FY 2006 and necessary sums for FY 2007 and
2008 for competitive grants to the states to develop or increase the
capacity of data systems and to award subgrants to districts to update,
create or manage longitudinal data systems. States receiving these grants
report a 12th grade graduation rate. The graduation rate must mean the
percentage that the total number of students who graduated from secondary
school with a regular diploma by progressing one grade per academic year
represents of the total number of students who entered that secondary school
in the entry level academic year applicable to the graduating students;
  b.. Authorizes $50 million for FY 2006 and necessary sums for FY 2007 and
2008 for competitive grants to states or groups of states to design and
improve assessment for students who are limited English proficient and
students with disabilities. States receiving grants must submit an annual
report on activities carried out under this grant; and
  c.. Requires the Department to collect from each state, district, and
school, on annual basis, aggregated and disaggregated enrollment numbers at
the beginning and end of each school year for grades 7 - 12 and the
graduation rate for the most recent school year. The Secretary will report
on this information annually;
Ø      Higher Education

  a.. Expands funding for TRIO to $1 billion and GEARUP to $400 million;
  b.. Expands loan forgiveness for math, science and special education
teachers to $23,000, financed by converting loans subject to 9.5% floor
special allowance payments to regular SAP loans.  The savings would go first
to certain teachers, then be distributed to non-profit student loan
companies for use in scholarships, as long as the company meets a list of
criteria, including that its chief executive does not make more money than
the U.S. Secretary of Education;
  c.. Provides a hold harmless component on the Administration's change to
the tax table determination and restores the formula for Pell Grants, saving
1.3 million students from receiving decreased funding;
  d.. Includes a sense of the Senate statement to increase the maximum Pell
Grant award to $5,100 starting in FY2006 and that the eligible students
receive the maximum Pell Grant amount;
  e.. Authorizes $500 million to create a Summer Pell Demonstration Program
to facilitate the ability of low-income students to complete their degree
within 150% of the expected time;
  f.. Increases access to HOPE and Lifetime Learning tax credits and makes
these two credits refundable, triples the maximum college tuition deduction
to $12,000 and makes the deduction permanent; and
Creates a tax credit for student loan interest expenses, targeted to low and
middle-income families and increases the current tax benefit for the average
family from $375 to