Washington Update, April 28, 2023
Dear Colleagues:
It was another busy week in Washington. The Department of Education co-hosted the 2023 International Summit on the Teaching Profession (ISTP), welcoming more than 22 member countries of the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD). The theme for this year’s summit was “Poised for the Future: Transformative Teaching for Global Engagement, Sustainability, and Digital Access.” Building on discussions held during past summits, 2023 focused on elevating and enhancing the teaching profession, educating for global and cultural competence and civic engagement, and leveraging digital technologies to ensure equitable access and enhanced learning for all. Dr. Biden and Secretary Cardona
both participated in the convening using the opportunity in part to tout President Biden’s commitment to educators. This comes on the heels of President Biden announcing his 2024 reelection campaign. In his first two campaign videos President Biden has referred to Republican-led efforts to restrict what’s taught in schools - we expect education will continue to be a major theme throughout this election cycle.
On Capitol Hill this week, AFT President Randi Weingarten testified before House Select Subcommittee on the Covid-19 Pandemic. While the hearing was intended to focus on the AFT’s involvement in the CDC guidance surround school closures during the pandemic; Wednesday’s proceedings ultimately devolved into debate over the debt-limit, stimulus spending packages, culture wars, the AFT’s political donations and policy priorities, and school shootings. “I’ve been to some weird hearings in this Congress...But this one might be the weirdest because it’s convened in order to accuse a federal agency of the crime of consulting with American citizens.” said Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-MD).
1. House Republicans Pass Bill that would Cap Federal Funding at FY22 Levels
On Wednesday, House Republicans passed a bill would raise the debt ceiling by $1.5 trillion or through the end of next March, whichever happens first, in exchange for a wide range of proposals to decrease government funding. The bill passed 215-217 along party lines and ties the debt limit to the appropriations cycle and would cap federal funding at fiscal year (FY) 2022 levels- a nearly 22% cut- while also limiting spending growth to 1 percent every year over the next decade.
Democrats have been referring to the measure as the “Default on America (DOA) Act”.
“That’s what the Default on America Act does. And not just that, it would eliminate over 142,000 new jobs, including 18,000 manufacturing jobs, that have been created since the Inflation Reduction Act was passed...If you’re a parent struggling to pay for child care, the Default on America Act will eliminate more than 105,000 child care slots across the country — making it harder for parents to find work, finish their education, or even provide for their families,” said Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY)
Senate Democrats have said they would refuse to negotiate over spending until Republicans agreed to pass a debt limit increase without conditions. House Republicans for their part see the measure as their opening offer in negotiations with President Biden to raise the debt limit.
As you will recall, last month, Ranking Member on the House Labor-HHS-Education Appropriations Subcommittee Rep. Rosa DeLauro (D-CT) sent a letter to all federal agencies asking the respective Secretaries to detail what a roll back to the FY22 levels would mean for their agency. Secretary Cardona responded to Rep. DeLauro’s request outlining in detail just how devastating these cuts would be for students and educators across America. Highlights from the letter include:
• ESEA Title I Grants to LEAs – a reduction to the FY 2022 enacted level would cut $850 million in funding from this program – a cut equivalent to removing more than 13,000 teachers and service providers from classrooms serving low-income children; a 22 percent reduction from the currently enacted level would cut approximately $4.0 billion in funding, impacting an estimated 25 million students and reducing program funding to its lowest level in almost a decade – a cut equivalent to removing more than 60,000 teachers and related service providers from classrooms serving low-income students.
• IDEA Grants to States – a reduction to the FY 2022 enacted level would cut $850 million in funding from this program – a cut equivalent to removing more than 13,000 teachers and service providers from classrooms serving low-income children; a 22 percent reduction from the currently enacted level would cut more than $3.1 billion in funding, impacting an estimated 7.5 million children with disabilities and reducing Federal support to its lowest share since 1997 – a cut equivalent to removing more than 48,000 teachers and related services providers from the classroom.
• Title II-A (Supporting effective instruction State grants) and Title IV-A (Student support and academic enrichment grants) – a reduction to the FY 2022 enacted level would cut more than $35 million for these activities; a 22 percent reduction from the currently enacted level would cut more than $500 million in annual support for teachers and students, curtailing learning opportunities for teachers and school leaders, and hampering school districts’ efforts to promote a well-rounded education for students in safe schools.
This week, the Department of Education released a fact sheet which outlines in depth what the roll back to the FY22 levels would mean for education. Additionally, the Department provides a fact sheet for each state on what these cuts would mean for education. For example, under the proposal, in the state of Wisconsin the cuts would mean as many as 123,000 children with disabilities would face reduced supports—a cut in IDEA funding equivalent to removing approximately 800 teachers and related services providers from the classroom.
Now is the time to get to the table- CEC's Action Alerts are one easy and efficient way to tell Congress to prioritize funding for education.
2. U.S. Department of Education submitted its 2022 Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) Annual Report to Congress
The U.S. Department of Education submitted its 2022 Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) annual report to Congress this week.
The 44th Annual Report to Congress focuses on children and student with disabilities who received services specific to IDEA Part C for infants and toddlers or IDEA Part B for children and youth.
The report summarizes U.S. progress in:
1. providing a free appropriate public education (FAPE) for children with disabilities under IDEA, Part B and early intervention services to infants and toddlers with disabilities and their families under IDEA, Part C, 2. ensuring that the rights of these children with disabilities and their parents are protected, 3. assisting states and localities in providing for the education of all children with disabilities, and 4. assessing the effectiveness of efforts to educate children with disabilities.
The report also includes information from studies, evaluations, and databases of the Institute of Education Sciences and U.S. Census Bureau.
You can read the 44th Annual Report to Congress preface here or read the full report here.
3. In the States: Texas State Senate Approves Bill that would largely restrict how state Public Universities can promote Equitable Access to Higher Education
Last week, the Texas State Senate approved a bill that would largely restrict how the state’s public universities can promote equitable access to higher education and cultivate diversity among students, faculty and staff. The bill, SB17 would require universities to close their diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) offices; ban any mandatory training surrounding diversity, equity and inclusion; and eliminate the completion of diversity statements as part of the hiring process.
In a statement Sen. Judith Zaffirini,(D-Laredo) said:
“The consequences range from the unknown to the dire...Senate Bill 17 will be a giant step backward in our quest for equal opportunity and equal worth for all. … I worry that stifling diversity, equity and inclusion on our academic campuses … will breed the negative attitudes and behaviors typically attributed to ignoramuses while stifling the development of tolerant, enlightened communities.”
However, Sen. Brandon Creighton, (R-Conroe), who filed both SB17 and SB18 which would eliminate tenure across public universities, dismissed the Senator and Democrats at large concerns saying in part:
“DEI programs have been shown to be exclusive, they have been shown to be ineffective and they have shown to be politically charged...Many of these programs have been weaponized to compel speech instead of protecting free speech.”
Texas is not the first state to put forward such a piece of legislation, just this year at least 19 states have introduced nearly three dozen anti-DEI bills.
Democrats in the Texas state legislature have gone on record stating that they do not believe the measure will pass the House.
4. New Resources for Educators
• The CDC released the results of its most recent Youth Risk Behavior Survey. The survey is based on data from 13,677 students from across the country in 2019 and 17,232 students in 2021. A preliminary release of the survey’s results showed in February that youth mental health had worsened in 2021, with about 30 percent of respondents saying they had poor mental health and more than 40 percent saying they had “persistent feelings of sadness or hopelessness” in the past year.
• OSERS released their next blog in the series entitled Discipline Discussions: The Power of Asking “Why”.
• IES Director Mark Schneider released a blog on IES priorities for the remainder of the year.
Wishing you all a wonderful weekend.
Until next time, see you on Twitter!
Kait @brennan_kait
