CEC Policy Insider

Action Alert: The Louder Our Voice, The Stronger Our Impact

Last week, CEC members wrote to Congress seeking a one-time infusion of emergency funds for the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) to directly target and support the needs of states, school districts, and educators.

Despite the many pressing stressors, educators across the country are committed to serving all students during the COVID-19 crisis, including students with disabilities. It is imperative that Congress provide more resources to support school personnel in providing remote, online, and/or tele-education to students with exceptionalities.

CEC members joined together, writing roughly 2,600 letters to Congress.

Action Alert

The louder our voice, the stronger our impact. If you wrote to Congress using our action alert platform last week, thank you. If not, we hope you will join us in making some noise! It is a simple and impactful way to influence the field.

Please follow the simple prompts on CEC’s online platform to contact your Members of Congress today and add your voice in support of IDEA funding, go here.

CEC encourages you to share this alert with your friends and on social media. You do not need to be a CEC member to join us in action.

Action Alert: Support Emergency IDEA Funding

CEC invites you to write to your Members of Congress to provide a one-time infusion of emergency funds for the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) in a stimulus bill in order to directly target and support the need of states, school districts, and educators.

Despite the many pressing stressors, educators across the country are committed to serving all students during the COVID-19 crisis, including students with disabilities. It is imperative that Congress provide more resources to support school personnel in providing remote, online, and/or tele-education to students with exceptionalities.

Please follow the prompts on CEC’s Legislative Action Center to contact your Members of Congress today.

To add your voice in support of IDEA funding, go here.

As this crisis develops, we will continue to engage and keep you updated.

DeVos Testifies Before House Appropriators, Expected Before the Senate on Thursday

On February 27, U.S. Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos testified before the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies (Labor-H) to defend the Administration’s Department of Education (ED) budget proposal for Fiscal Year (FY) 2021.

As expected, much of the focus during the hearing was centralized on DeVos’ proposed Freedom Scholarship voucher proposal. The proposal would create tax credits for individuals and businesses who donate to scholarship-granting organizations in states that chose to implement such a program. Students could use those scholarships to attend private and religious schools.

Democrats on the panel vigorously questioned DeVos about whether schools who receive vouchers through the proposal would be required to uphold federal laws that protect students against discrimination. DeVos declined to say she would require schools receiving scholarships to have nondiscrimination policies, pointing to states as the jurisdictional authorities over that decision and adding that as a tax credit, the program would be supported through the Department of the Treasury, not ED. Democrats disagreed and asserted that she had the jurisdictional authority, should she choose to exercise it.

When pressed further on whether she would fight for students rights on the basis of sexuality, religion or other factors, DeVos responded “the key with school choice and education freedom is, families and students voluntarily choose the place that works and fits for them,” and added, “Many schools have unique missions.”

Lawmakers on the Labor-H panel highlighted proposed cuts to some of programs they champion. Representative Cheri Bustos (D-IL) raised concerns about educator shortages, noting that in her district the shortage trends are worsening. She questioned DeVos about cuts to the Teacher Quality Partnership grant program, Title II Teacher Professional Development, the Public Service Loan Forgiveness program and Supporting Effective Educator Development grant program, noting that educators rely on these programs and eliminating them would further harm the profession.

Representative Jaime Herrera Beutler (R-WA) emphasized the mental health of students in schools, noting that the top concern she hears from teachers is the lack of resources to support student mental health. Herrera Beutler also raised concerns about restraint and seclusion, calling it “so bad.” She questioned DeVos about what the department is doing to proactively prevent incidents and enforce the law around restraint and seclusion.

Secretary DeVos noted that under the budget proposal, most K-12 programs have been rolled into a flexible Elementary and Secondary Education for the Disadvantaged Block Grant. The block grant would give states and school districts the discretion to distribute the funds as they see fit.

DeVos disagreed with deeming the block grant proposal a cut to any program, highlighting flexibility for states and localities to target funding according to local needs. Republicans lauded the needed flexibility. Democrats, however, were quick to point out that the flexibility of the proposed block grant would eliminate existing programs and comes with a proposed cut to K-12 programs of roughly 20 percent, significantly hampering spending power in already cash-strapped states and districts.

DeVos is scheduled to testify again on Thursday, this time before the Senate Labor-H Appropriations panel. Details for that hearing are not yet available.

Why this matters to CEC members: The ED budget proposal for FY 2021 would make significant cuts to public education, hampering the work you support every day.

To take action and join your colleagues in opposition to federal cuts to public education visit the Legislative Action Center and follow simple prompts.

Action Alert: Act Now with CEC to Influence the HEA Reauthorization

Background: The Higher Education Act (HEA) governs federal policy on higher education. Major provisions of HEA include grant and loan programs such as Pell and TEACH Grants; grants to institutions for educator preparation programs; access and affordability of higher education, such as the TRIO and GEAR UP programs, and more. These programs influence the educator pipeline and directly impact schools and classrooms. HEA was last reauthorized in 2008 and is the top education priority for Congress this year.

Because HEA is so crucial to the work you do every day, CEC invites you to join us through advocacy to influence the HEA reauthorization. CEC has created an action alert so that you can lend your voice in support of an HEA reauthorization that strengthens the educator pipeline and strengthens transition to college as well as accessibility and services for students with disabilities enrolled in higher education.

Please click on the link below and follow simple instructions to send an editable, pre-written letter to your Senators. You can make an impact from home or work right now, and it only takes a few minutes.

To take action, go here.

President Trump Releases Budget Proposal for Fiscal Year 2021

On Monday, the Trump Administration released its proposal for Fiscal Year (FY) 2021 spending. Overall, the budget proposal claims to cut the Department of Education (ED) by $6.4 billion, or 8.4 percent. The budget also includes $5 billion for proposed Education Freedom Scholarships, or tax credits for vouchers that could be used toward private school tuition.

Most formula and competitive grant programs authorized by the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) would be eliminated and replaced with a proposed Elementary and Secondary Education for the Disadvantaged Block Grant, resulting in a reduction in K-12 spending by $4.8 billion. Those programs being replaced by the block grant include large programs such as Title I, 21^st Century Community Learning Centers and Student Support and Academic Enrichment Grants, as well as smaller grant programs such as the Javits Gifted and Talented Program, Title II: Supporting Effective Instruction State Grants and Teacher and School Leader Incentive Grants.

Speaking at ED during the release of the budget, Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos remarked that the block grant signifies the “end to education earmarks.” However, those “earmarks” are actually statutory requirements under ESSA that were agreed to by a bipartisan Congress. Among its many cuts, the proposal also eliminates the Public Service Loan Forgiveness program.

Special education funding was largely untouched in the ED budget. Aside from a $100 million increase (equal to less than one percent) to the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), all programs authorized under the IDEA were level funded. With diminishing spending power from year to year, level funding equates to a cut roughly equal in size to the inflation rate.

The funding table below shows CEC’s top budget priorities.

 

The release of the Administration’s budget marks the beginning of the appropriations process on Capitol Hill. Over the next few months, appropriators will hear from Administration officials, stakeholders and their colleagues about priorities for FY 2021. They will then draft legislation to fund the government for next fiscal year.

To view the FY 2021 budget for the U.S. Department of Education, go here.

To send a letter to your congressional delegation and lend your voice in support of public education funding, go here.