WASHINGTON UPDATE

August 10, 1999

Title I Mark-Up in House Set for Next Month

As part of its strategy to divide up the Elementary and Secondary Education Act, the House Republican leadership plans to introduce a Title I bill in early September. The full House already approved a separate bill on teacher supply and quality.

Key committee staff members from both sides of the aisle are attempting to hash out compromises on several key issues in the Title I reauthorization. A major one is whether or not schools and school districts are held accountable if they do not make enough progress to get all of their students to meeting standards within 10 years. The Center for Law and Education is a strong proponent of such accountability, as explained in previous Washington Updates and in a white paper on “Triggering Educational Accountability”.

On the Senate side, Sen. James Jeffords (R-Vt.), chair of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee, plans to introduce an entire ESEA reauthorization bill in September. Negotiations on its provisions also are underway between Republican and Democratic members of the committee.

Meanwhile, proponents of the Straight A’s bill, which would eliminate most of the requirements in any ESEA legislation for most states and local districts, are continuing to press for this approach. The Clinton Administration has indicated it would be willing to veto Straight A’s if passed as is. (See the July Washington Updates.)

Senators Introduce Bill To Divide Up ESEA

Two Republican senators have introduced a version of the House’s Teacher Empowerment Act which splits some programs out of the full Elementary and Secondary Education Act. Sen. Judd Gregg (N.H.) and Sen. Slade Gorton (Wash.) took a different strategy from that of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions chairman, James Jeffords (Vt.), who is preparing a single ESEA bill.

The Gregg and Gorton version differs from the House bill in that it does not require teachers to hold a bachelor’s degree in an academic field or pass a subject-matter test.

SPEAK UP!

Members of Congress are home until after the Labor Day holiday. Now is the time to meet with them and urge that they make sure Title I requires schools to be accountable to the children they serve. Ask that the members:

· Oppose Straight A’s, a bill which would remove most requirements from Title I and other programs in the Elementary and Secondary Education Act and seriously erode public education for low-income students.

· Preserve current parent involvement requirements in Title I and include authorization and funding for Local Family Information Centers that would provide training, information, and assistance to families trying to improve their Title I schools; and

· Keep the Title I accountability trigger requirement that schools and districts make adequate yearly progress sufficient to ensure all students meet state standards; add to the law a requirement that such progress be obtained within 10 years in all subjects which are assessed by the state.

State Plans under the Perkins Act: Lots of Opportunities and Work to be Done

The recent U.S. Department of Education (ED) review of state vocational education plans under the new Perkins Act has widened the door for people to get involved in improving their state’s planning and implementation for high schools and community colleges.

States were given the option of submitting either a five-year plan or a one-year plan while taking an extra year to complete five-year plans. However, some states that originally submitted for five years received only one-year approval, giving those states additional time to develop fuller or more adequate five-year plans.

The net result is that only 14 states have approved five-year plans -- AL, AR, CO, ID, IL, IN, IA, MN, MS, MO, ND, NJ, OK, VT. Further, even for those 14, ED has given only one-year approval for the “accountability” portion of the state plan. This deals with expected measures and levels of expected student outcomes (including achievement) that become the basis for intervention if the state or local recipients do not make enough progress each year. ED has been working with all the states jointly on the accountability system, which ED says is still at an early stage even in those states that are otherwise fairly far along in Perkins planning.

All other states, including DC, have been approved for one year only. (In the case of the following states, even the one-year approval was conditional on submitting additional information by September 30, 1999: AK, CT, KS, LA, ME, NH, OR, TN, WA, WV.)

This means that between now and next spring, most states will be working on a full Perkins plan to last through the 2003-2004 school year. And all states will be working on their accountability systems. Moreover, even in the 14 states with approved five-year plans outside of accountability, it is not too late to propose changes or additions to the other parts of the plan.

This is an important opportunity to make sure that key parts of the program are well planned and actually get put into practice. This includes, for example, ensuring student achievement, integrating academic and vocational programs, focusing on all aspects of an industry instead of occupational tracking, meeting the needs of special populations, and involving parents and students. These are areas that are often not adequately addressed.

For more information about how to get involved, key issues and strategies in developing a good plan, contact CLE. And ED needs to hear from a wider range of people and organizations about issues arising in planning and implementation. Also, CLE will be publishing additional materials in September to guide Perkins implementation.

Washington Update, a bi-weekly chronicle of education policy and legislative issues for members of Community Action for Public Schools (CAPS), will take a vacation with Congress. The next issue will be dated September 7.