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Policy News You Can Use: December 2016
How legislation and policy changes affect children's well-being
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Everyone is entitled to his own opinion, but not his own facts. -Patrick Moynihan
In spite of the many challenges to truth telling during the recent elections, Americans still believe in basing their conversations and decisions on facts.
According to this commentary in Education Week, the United States spends at least $5 billion a year on data collection and research performed at independent institutions and think tanks and many hundreds of billions more at American universities and in the corporate sector. These expenditures, aimed at infusing empirical knowledge into decision-making, spring from the belief, according to the commentary author, that "science [is] essential to the public good" and reflect the
critical competencies needed for the future. However, many current influences have the potential to bend or stretch the independent, objective, nonpartisan evidence meant to inform policy. As a research-based organization, we encourage everyone associated with education to make fact-based inquiry and decision-making a norm.
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Congress has decided to delay final action on this fiscal year's budget (October 1, 2016-September 30, 2017) by passing a continuing resolution (CR). A CR funds the federal government at current levels but does not cover any new or expiring legislation or initiatives after the budget was passed. The current CR began October 1, 2016. The new CR would go in effect December 9 through the end of March or April, by which time the new President and Congress may have formulated a budget plan for the remainder of this federal fiscal year. For any new or expiring initiatives, special provisions called "anomalies" need to be put forward and voted on as part of the CR if continuing or new budget is desired.
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Get to know Donald Trump's education transition team and learn about his nominee for Secretary of Education, Betsy DeVos,
here and his nominee for Secretary of Health and Human Services, House Budget Chair Representative Tom Price,
here and
here. Both nominees will have a large impact on the education, health, welfare, and safety of children.
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Reforms Addressing School Pushout
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The Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA), the legislation passed in December 2015 that governs academics, accountability, and reporting in every school district in the United States, is in a vulnerable position. If Congress passes a CR in December 2016 (see "Do the Math" above), the CR will not include funding for ESSA (unless an anomaly is approved) as it was signed into law after the current budget was adopted; this could affect school district planning and budgeting for the new Title IV activities including social-emotional learning.
Over two dozen GOP members of Congress
signed a letter to the Secretary of the U.S. Department of Education asking the Department to
rescind its proposed spending rules for ESSA. The
Council of Chief State School Officers has offered its own plan to the Education Department on federal funds supplementing, not supplanting state and local dollars. In addition, there are a number of
priorities, both policy and funding, that were raised, but not addressed during discussions prior to ESSA passage that could now be revisited. Finally, President-elect Trump has a school choice plan with a large enough price tag that could only be supported by diverting big bucket items like Title I ESSA or Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) funding. Many of these issues are discussed
here.
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What Is the Future of Education and Health Care?
Just as ESSA is vulnerable under the new administration, the U.S. Department of Education and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services could be in for major changes. President-elect Trump has talked about
eliminating the Education Department or at least making sure it has a
limited role in local public education. At the very least, under Republican majority leadership in the House and the Senate, there are likely to be
new ways to deliver public education that would boost
Trump's education policies. Here are
five things to know about possible new directions in health care under President-elect Trump's nominee for Secretary of Education.
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Ensure Students Are Safe and Supported
An increase in incidences of violence, bias, and bullying following the election has prompted many organizations to issue statements reflecting the belief that schools and school-related organizations are responsible for providing all students with a safe learning environment. A group of national education organizations have issued a
statement and a call to action. Committee for Children has posted a
message explaining what you can do at school and at home to address a safe learning environment.
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New Department for Kids and Families
The Washington State Blue Ribbon Committee on Children and Families, created by governor Inslee in February 2016
to recommend the organizational structure for a new department focused solely on children and families,
has just released its
final report
.
Other states including Indiana, New Jersey, New York, Tennessee, Georgia, and Wisconsin have successfully implemented a separate department of children and families.
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Addressing the Opportunity Gap in Seattle Schools
On November 17, 2016, Seattle Mayor Ed Murray's Education Summit Advisory Group presented him with recommendations aimed at ensuring all Seattle students receive the supports needed for academic success and future careers. The recommendations are based on
community conversations
, online surveys, and a
day-long Education Summit
,
and focus in particular on improving outcomes for African American/Black students in light of a recent Stanford University
study
that ranked Seattle, among major cities, as having the fifth-biggest gap in achievement between African American/Black and White students. Read the full report or the executive summary at this
website
.
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Read:
Webinar:
Conference:
-
January 22-24, 2017 | Washington, D.C.
Be an advocate for education!
Join educators from across the country to learn about the new administration & new leadership in Congress.
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Founded in 1978, Committee for Children is a global nonprofit dedicated to fostering the safety and well-being of children through education and advocacy. We work on the federal, state, and local level to prevent bullying, violence, and child abuse and to encourage teaching social-emotional skills to children and youth. These newsletters will help you learn the latest news affecting our priorities as well as opportunities to advocate for change.
Please forward this newsletter to other colleagues who are interested in these topics. And feel free to submit timely news on these topics from your state or region. I look forward to your feedback!
Carol Wood, Advocacy Specialist
[email protected]
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