A bi-weekly e-brief of the DEC Children's Action Network
 
QUICK FIND:
 
washington
WHAT'S
HAPPENING
IN
WASHINGTON
We are about midway through the 2016 presidential primaries, and you may not have heard much about the Republican and Democratic candidates' positions on education, special education, and/or disability rights. To that end,  c heck out  DEC's new 2016 Elections page   for candidate and voter registration information as well as classroom resources.

In December, Congress authorized and the President signed into law the  Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA). This included  several early learning provisions, including a state grant program for early childhood that will be administered through the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) instead of the Department of Education.
 
The President's fiscal year 2017 budget request was released on February 9th. The President's budget request is the first step in the annual budget process. FY 2017 will begin October 1st. The budget request includes:
    • $350 million for Preschool Development Grants- an increase of $100 million from the 2016 enacted level
    • $907 million for Part C and Part B 619- an increase of $80 million from
      the 2016 enacted level
    • $9.6 billion for Head Start- an increase of $434 million from the 2017 enacted level. This includes $645 million for Early Head Start-Child 
      CarePartnerships and an additional $292 million to enable more programs to expand their full day and full year programs
    • $15 billion in new funding over the next 10 years to extend and expand evidence-based, voluntary home visiting programs. Includes $20 million for a new initiative in rural home visiting
    • $209 million for the IES Research, Development, and Dissemination program
Other updates, courtesy of the Council for Exceptional Children:
WHAT YOU CAN DO:
  • Check out the new DEC  2016 Elections page for the presidential candidates' views on education, early childhood, and disability rights; voter information; and classroom resources.
  • We need your voice ! Please go to  CEC's Legislative Action Center and send a letter to your members of Congress and tell them to increase the FY 2017 appropriations for the National Center for Special Education Research (NCSER). You can also tweet your Senators or tweet your Representatives.
states
WHAT'S
HAPPENING
IN 
THE
STATES
 
DEC wants to hear from YOU! In each issue, we hope to highlight major issues from different states and Subdivisions. The DEC national Children's Action Network focuses on what is happening in Washington, while we hope that CAN coordinators in our Subdivisions focus on state-level issues. In order to keep one another informed, we encourage Subdivisions to share what is happening in your states and communities. 

Next on deck
Kansas advocacy to save the Children's Initiatives Fund (CIF)
 
WANT TO SHARE A STORY FROM YOUR STATE?

Contact DEC CAN Coordinator, anlyons@kent.edu to share what's happening in your state or Subdivision. 

news
DEC
POLICY 
&
ADVOCACY
NEWS
The DEC website is pleased to announce that we now have a Policy and Advocacy webpage! If you want to stay up-to-date on what's happening in Washington, explore how policy works in Washington, or learn how you can get involved, be sure to check out the great resources that are now available. The new pages include:

events
UPCOMING DEC POLICY & ADVOCACY EVENTS

1 - DEC Advocacy Webinar
  • WHAT: Webinar focused on the role of the DEC national and state Children's Action Network (CAN), highlighting state Subdivision activities
  • WHEN: Friday April 29th at 4pm ET
  • WHERE: GoToTraining
  • HOW TO ATTEND: Email office@dec-sped.org and/or anlyons@kent.edu to RSVP. Registration instructions will be provided after sign-up.
    • If your Subdivision has been involved in state-level advocacy efforts, let us know! 

2 - DEC planning calls on the Proposed Rule for Preschool Grants for Children with Disabilities
  • WHAT: DEC will hold at least two calls, open to all DEC members, to discuss the U.S. Department of Education's proposed rule regarding preschool grants for children with disabilities. Calls are intended to garner feedback for a DEC public comment on the issue.
  • WHEN
    • Wednesday - April 6,  3 - 4pm EST
    • Monday - April 18,  1 - 2pm EST
  • WHERE: Conference call
  • HOW: RSVP to anlyons@kent.edu.
telluswhatyouthink
TELL US
WHAT
YOU
THINK
In future issues, we will be seeking your feedback on important policy and advocacy questions. We hope you will get involved and share your thoughts!