CEC Policy Insider

CEC Joins National Education, Disability, Mental Health Organizations in Calling for School Safety Framework

This month, CEC joined with numerous national education, disability, and mental health organizations in supporting a framework for improving school safety and increasing access to mental health supports for children and youth.

A Framework for Safe and Successful Schools was created by the American School Counselor Association, National Association of School Psychologists, School Social Work Association of America, National Association of School Resource Officers, National Association of Elementary School Principals and the National Association of Secondary School Principals. 

The Framework challenges the notion that reactionary measures alone will keep children safe in schools, and instead embraces a proactive, interdisciplinary approach that centers on six policy recommendations:

1. Allow for blended, flexible use of funding streams in education and mental health services;

2. Improve staffing ratios to allow for the delivery of a full range of services and effective school–community partnerships;

3. Develop evidence-based standards for district-level policies to promote effective school discipline and positive behavior;

4. Fund continuous and sustainable crisis and emergency preparedness, response, and recovery planning and training that uses evidence-based models;

5. Provide incentives for intra- and interagency collaboration; and

6. Support multitiered systems of support (MTSS).

More than 100 education and children’s mental health groups and experts have endorsed the recommendations outlined in the Framework, including CEC, the National Education Association, American Association of School Administrators, Mental Health America, and many other organizations.

Read the Framework for Safe and Successful Schools

Read CEC/CCBD’s Testimony to Congress on School Safety

Read CEC’s Policy on Safe and Positive School Climate

“Welcome back to another day in paradise”: CEC Celebrates Teachers at the White House Teacher of the Year Ceremony

“Welcome back to another day in paradise,” is how National Teacher of the Year award winner Jeff Charbonneau greets his students every day. For him, school is paradise – he says that the work is a reward of its own.

Yesterday, CEC’s President Christy Chambers, and Associate Executive Director for Policy and Advocacy Deborah Ziegler attended the ceremony at the White House to celebrate this year’s Teacher of the Year. Attendees gathered in the Rose Garden to hear remarks by President Barack Obama as he honored Charbonneau, a science teacher from Zillah, Washington. Charbonneau reinvigorated the science curriculum in Washington State, where students now participate in everything from robotics competitions to drama productions because of the energy and passion Charbonneau brings to his work.

 “Educators like Jeff and everyone up here today, they represent the very best of America – committed professionals who give themselves fully to the growth and development of our kids,” said President Obama during his remarks. “And with them at the front of the classroom and leading our schools, I am absolutely confident that our children are going to be prepared to meet the tests of our time and the tests of the future.”

State Teachers of the Year from all over the country attended the event and were celebrated during the ceremony – an homage to the teaching profession, and to public education. Included among the honorees was National Teacher of the Year finalist, and CEC member, Alex Lopes, a prekindergarten special education teacher who had been named Florida Teacher of the Year by his home state. Also among those honored yesterday was Shannon Shanning, special education teacher for seventh and eighth grade and the Maine Teacher of the Year. CEC congratulates both Lopes and Shanning on this wonderful honor, and applauds all that they’ve done for children and youth with disabilities.

CEC congratulates all of the teachers honored at the Teacher of the Year ceremony on their extraordinary work and contributions to the field of teaching and education.

“The teachers from across the Nation present at the Teacher of the Year Ceremony embody the best of the teaching profession,” says CEC President Christy Chambers. “And I recognize and commend each of them for the work that they do every day to ensure great outcomes for children.”

Education is not an Expense, it is an Investment: Secretary Duncan Testifies about President Obama’s Education Budget

Today, the US Secretary of Education, Arne Duncan, testified before the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Labor Health and Human Services about the President’s budget proposal. He staunchly defended investment in education and urged the Senate to eliminate sequestration cuts.

According to Secretary Duncan, “The big takeaway message here is that education is more than a set of numbers on the ledger line. Education is not just an expense—it's an investment. In fact, it is one of the most critical investments in the future that we, as a Nation, can make. America cannot win the race for the future without investing in education—it's that simple.”

Secretary Duncan highlighted several investments in the President’s Budget proposal including his focus on early childhood and early learning. He also specifically urged Congress to reject the 8% across the board sequestration cuts which are slated to be in place for the next 9 years.

CEC was pleased to hear the Secretary speak out on these important issues and continues to urge members of Congress to reject the coming 9 years of Sequestration. Want to join us? Know your zipcode? Then use CEC’s Legislative Action Center to contact your members of Congress and tell them to invest in education.

Want to know more about what Secretary Duncan told Congress today? Read his statement or watch the full hearing.

Not sure what “sequestration” is? Read our 1 page explainer!

Curious about where we are in the budget process? Read our 1 page quick explanation!

More Early Learning Challenge Race to the Top Grants On The Way!

The U.S. Department of Education and U.S. Department of Health and Human Services announced they will invest the majority of the 2013 Race to the Top funds for a second Race to the Top-Early Learning Challenge competition. About $370 million will be available this year for states to develop new approaches to increase high-quality early learning opportunities and close the school readiness gap. This announcement mirrors the emphasis the Administration placed on this issue in its FY2014 Budget proposal and supports its intention to expand access to high-quality early learning programs for all children, especially those in disadvantaged communities.

"Expanding access to high-quality early learning opportunities is simply one of the best investments we can make in our country, and these funds can help states develop and strengthen programs that serve America's youngest learners," said U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan. "Getting our children off to a strong start not only increases their individual chances for lifelong success, it helps create the conditions for a thriving middle class that will forge the path into a bright future for our entire country."

The Race to the Top-Early Learning Challenge is part of the Obama Administration's comprehensive early learning agenda. The program is jointly administered by the U.S. Department of Education and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, and the two agencies are continuing to work closely together on new initiatives to expand and improve services for children from birth through age 5.

Last week, President Obama detailed his FY 2014 budget proposal, which would invest $75 billion over 10 years in fully offset funding to create new partnerships with states and provide high-quality preschool to more communities, helping ensure that all children enter kindergarten ready to learn. Read CEC’s analysis of President Obama’s budget proposal and our thoughts on the Early Learning Challenge Grants. Finally, want to know more? Read specifics about the Race to the Top-Early Learning Challenge.

Apply Now: U.S. Department of Education Offers 2 New Awards

The U.S. Department of Education is now accepting applications to the Disability and Rehabilitation Research Projects and Centers Program, through the National Institute on Disability and Rehabilitation Research (NIDRR).  The purpose of these projects is to improve the effectiveness of services that advance a wide range of independent living and employment outcomes for individuals with disabilities. Applicants for this award must demonstrate how in whole or in part, the needs of individuals with disabilities from minority backgrounds are met.  

The first award prioritizes projects which will serve as the Center on Knowledge Translation for Technology Transfer (Center). This center will conduct rigorous research, development, technical assistance, dissemination, and utilization activities to increase successful technology transfer of rehabilitation technology products and devices developed by NIDRR-funded technology grantees. For more information on this award and to learn how to apply, please click here.

The second award is to fund NIDRR Rehabilitation Engineering Research Centers which conduct advanced engineering research, develop and evaluate innovative technologies and provide training opportunities. These centers also seek to solve rehabilitation problems and remove environmental barriers to improvements in employment, community living and participation, and health and function outcomes of individuals with disabilities. For more information on this award and to learn how to apply, please click here.