CEC Policy Insider

U.S. Department of Education Office for Civil Rights releases Guidance Package for Title IX Coordinators

This week the U.S. Department of Education Office for Civil Rights released a guidance package emphasizing the responsibility of school districts, colleges and universities to designate a Title IX coordinator. All educational institutions receiving Federal financial assistance must designate at least one employee to coordinate their efforts to comply with and carry out their responsibilities under Title IX. 

The guidance package includes the following three items:

• A Dear Colleague Letter to school districts, colleges, and universities prompting them on their obligation to designate a Title IX coordinator.
• A letter to Title IX coordinators that gives in-depth information on their vital role. 
• A Title IX resource guide that includes an overview of Title IX’s requirements in several key areas which are a variety of topics that frequently confront schools and their Title IX coordinators.

Click here to view the guidance package. 

U.S. Department of Education Report Shows Uneven Access to Preschool Across States

The U.S. Department of Education has released a report about the need for high-quality preschool programs.  The study titled, “A Matter of Equity: Preschool in America,” highlights that six out of every 10 children - about 2.5 million - are not enrolled in publicly funded preschool programs which also includes: programs serving children with disabilities, state preschool programs, and Head Start. 

Data shows access to preschool to be uneven across states. Please see Table 1 for the percentage of 4 year olds enrolled in special education. The federal government has begun investing more in initiatives to expand access but without a much stronger focus on children’s preschool progression in our nation’s education laws, there is as risk of limiting opportunity for children’s futures. 

To read the full report, click here.

U.S. Senate Education Committee Unanimously Approves ESEA Rewrite

On Thursday, April 16, 2015 the U.S. Senate HELP Committee voted out of Committee the Every Child Achieves Act of 2015. The committee debated the bill for 3 days. Eighty-seven amendments were filed, over 50 were considered, and others were withdrawn or never offered in the spirit of bipartisanship. 

CEC’s Advocacy made a difference as many provisions in the base bill were introduced, restored or rejected in the final bill including: 

• restoring the Jacob Javits Act
• eliminating AYP
• maintaining disaggregation of subgroup data
• adding early intervening services in General Ed, UDL, PBIS
• maintaining the 1% cap on alternate assessments based on alternate achievement standards
• prohibiting modified standards and assessments
• supporting early childhood programs
• maintaining MOE
• prohibiting Title I portability provisions
• allowing but not requiring new teacher evaluation systems 

CEC will continue to advocate for accountability for students with disabilities and support for professional development as the bill moves forward. The bill is now headed to the full floor of the Senate but, the Senate calendar is filled already with other competing issues. When the bill comes to the floor it will most likely be a partisan debate as it is expected that many amendments will be introduced on the floor. Stay tuned. 

Sign the Labor-HHS-Education Appropriations 302(b) Letter by April 24

A letter-being circulated throughout the health, education, child development, social services, and workforce communities-urging appropriators to restore the Fiscal Year (FY) 2016 302(b) allocation for the Labor, HHS, Education and Related Agencies Appropriations Subcommittee to at least the FY 2010 level of $163.6 billion. By contrast the final FY 15 302(b) allocation was $156.8 billion. TO SIGN, CLICK HERE BY COB APRIL 24, 2015.   

Please note that in the interest of expediency, and as a courtesy to the hundreds or organizations that will sign, no editorial changes can be made to the letter. Signers must agree to sign the letter "as is." 

Below are some FAQs to help you understand this advocacy effort, and build support for the letter within your organization and throughout the community. 

What is the 302(b) letter? 

The 302(b) allocation is the amount of funding the House and Senate Appropriations Committees provide to the subcommittees. The subcommittees then divvy up the funding between the agencies and programs within their respective jurisdictions. Each year, the Committee on Education Funding, the Coalition for Health Funding, and the Campaign to Invest in America's Workforce partner to circulate a letter throughout our respective communities in support of strong 302(b) allocations for the House and Senate Labor-HHS-Education Appropriations Subcommittees. The bigger the allocations, the better our chances of securing funding for these agencies and programs; or in the current environment, preventing further cuts. 

Why are you circulating the letter now? 

With the House and Senate having each passed their respective budget resolutions and readying for conference, appropriators will soon move forward in preparing to make the 302(b) allocations to the subcommittees. Time is of the essence. Our goal is to secure 1,000+ signatories-the same amount as last year-across our communities so we may have a meaningful impact on these decisions. 

Why should my organization sign the letter? 

At this stage in the appropriations process, discretionary health programs are competing for funding with all of the other nondefense discretionary programs within the spending caps established by the budget resolutions. 

If you care about federal funding for your Labor-HHS-Education priorities, you should sign this letter. Without a strong 302(b) allocation for Labor-HHS-Education, there is very little chance of increasing funding for your priorities. And there is an even greater likelihood that your priorities will be cut. 

What happens once my organization signs? 

All signatures will be added to the letter and sent to the House and Senate Appropriations Committees before April 30. We will forward you a copy of the letter for your records. A copy will also be posted on the CEF website: www.cef.org 

What can I do to help with this effort? 

Sign on, of course and/or forward this message and letter far and wide. We are accepting signatures from national, state, and local organizations, institutions, businesses, companies, etc. Anyone and everyone who cares about funding for programs in the Labor-HHS-Education appropriations bill. But no individuals, please! 

Click here to sign the letter.

New OSERS Grants: Vocational Rehabilitation and Technology, Media, and Materials

The following information regarding OSERS Notices was published in the Federal Register during the week of April 6-10, 2015. 

Applications for New Awards; Vocational Rehabilitation Services Projects for American Indians with Disabilities 

The purpose of this program is to provide vocational rehabilitation (VR) services to American Indians with disabilities who reside on or near Federal or State reservations, consistent with their individual strengths, resources, priorities, concerns, abilities, capabilities, interests, and informed choice, so that they may prepare for and engage in high-quality employment that will increase opportunities for economic self-sufficiency. 

Applications Available: April 7, 2015

Deadline for Transmittal of Applications: June 8, 2015

http://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/FR-2015-04-07/html/2015-07994.htm

Applications for New Awards; Educational Technology, Media, and Materials for Individuals with Disabilities--Research and Development Center To Advance the Use of New and Emerging Technologies to Ensure Accessibility

The purposes of the Educational Technology, Media, and Materials for Individuals with Disabilities Program are to improve results for students with disabilities by:

(1) Promoting the development, demonstration, and use of technology;

(2) Supporting educational activities designed to be of educational value in the classroom for students with disabilities;

(3) Providing support for captioning and video description that is appropriate for use in the classroom; and

(4) Providing accessible educational materials to students with disabilities in a timely manner.

Applications Available: April 8, 2015

Deadline for Transmittal of Applications: May 26, 2015

http://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/FR-2015-04-08/html/2015-08010.htm