• Urge Congress to Oppose Medicaid Proposal to Eliminate Reimbursement of School-Based Services
• Congress Poised to Slash Funding for Only Federal Program Devoted to Students with Gifts
• House Holds Hearing on Tutoring Services Available Under NCLB; Finds Few are Aware of Service
• Department of Education Issues Letter Outlining Priorities; Includes Standards, Assessments, Growth Models
• Regulations and Flexibility Issued by Department of Education for Limited English Proficient Students

Urge Congress to Oppose Medicaid Proposal to Eliminate Reimbursement of School-Based Services

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) is considering eliminating reimbursements that school districts receive for administrative and transportation expenses from the Medicaid program at a cost of $9 billion over the next 10 years! Ask your members of Congress to object to this elimination!

Under current law, Medicaid reimburses school districts that provide health care services delivered by health professionals to students with disabilities. Dennis Smith, director of CMS, told state Medicaid directors in June that expedited rule making will be issued soon to eliminate schools’ administrative and transportation reimbursement claims. The elimination of this reimbursement would inevitably shift the financial responsibility of medically necessary related services to individual school districts across the nation.

CEC has been working with other advocacy groups to prevent CMS from taking this regulatory action, and we need your help. CEC has asked members of Congress to object to this elimination by co-sponsoring legislation and voicing their opposition to the Secretary of Health and Human Services.

Visit CEC's Legislative Action Center to take action now! -- http://capwiz.com/cek/home/

Congress Poised to Slash Funding for Only Federal Program Devoted to Students with Gifts

This summer, the House and Senate Appropriations Committees voted to slash the only Federal initiative that supports the education of students with gifts and talents -- the Javits program. In fact, the House Appropriations Committee voted to eliminate the Javits program, while the Senate Appropriations Committee voted to drastically cut the program by nearly 50 percent!

The Javits program for students with gifts and talents is the only federally funded program that supports research on gifted education as well as individual grants to provide gifted education. Last year the program was cut by $1.3 million, and as a result no new grants have been made available. This year’s proposed cut of nearly $5 million will limit expansion, growth and sustainability of the program.

All CEC members are urged to tell Congress that funding for the Javits program is critical to supporting and advancing students with gifts and talents in our country. Take action now!

House Holds Hearing on Tutoring Services Available Under NCLB; Finds Few are Aware of Service

On September 21, the House Education and the Workforce Committee heard testimony from members of the education community on the use and effectiveness of supplemental education services (SES) -- such as tutoring and remediation -- available to students who attend schools that have not made adequate yearly progress (AYP) for three consecutive years under the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB). Testimony provided at the hearing echoed claims that there has been some confusion and disorganization surrounding the delivery of SES services.

This hearing follows the Government Accountability Office (GAO) release of the report “No Child Left Behind Act: Education Actions Need to Improve Local Implementation and State Evaluation of Supplemental Education Services”, which found that 80 percent of students eligible to receive SES were not receiving these services and only minimal gains have been made in recent years in expanding participation in the program. The report also found that some SES providers interviewed reported that their tutoring programs were not designed for students with disabilities and any modification of the tutoring programs would be difficult to meet the needs of students with disabilities. (See CEC Public Policy Update, August 18th detailing the GAO report.)

Congressman Buck McKeon (R-CA), Chairman of the House Education and the Workforce Committee, stated “Among the most important features of No Child Left Behind is the priority it places on expanding options for parents whose children attend underperforming public schools. Yet evidence continues to emerge that the SES feature is not being utilized as widely as it should be. Congress has a responsibility to take a thorough and serious look into why - and how we can change it - as we work to renew the law next year. Access to supplemental education services is vital to the success of No Child Left Behind.”

As Congress prepares to reauthorize -- or rewrite -- No Child Left Behind, CEC will be providing recommendations on the law, how it impacts students with disabilities and/or gifts and talent and recommendations on how to improve the law. CEC is seeking the input of its members on how to improve NCLB. Share your views with CEC by filling out an online form or sending in your comments. Click here for more information.

Department of Education Issues Letter Outlining Priorities; Includes Standards, Assessments, Growth Models

Earlier this week, the Department of Education sent a letter to all states highlighting its priorities as the 2006-2007 school year begins across the nation. Stressing the goal of having all students reach grade-level standards by the 2013-2014 school year, the Department highlighted three topic areas of focus: standards and assessment systems, limited English proficient partnership, and growth models. In its letter, the Department informed states that it was in the process of reviewing timelines in relation to the standards and assessment systems. In addition, the Department encouraged states to submit or re-submit proposals for the growth model pilot project. Currently, only North Carolina and Tennessee are approved to implement a growth model as part of their accountability systems for 2005-2006. The Department also renewed its commitment to providing collaboration and support in assessing students with limited English proficiency.

Read the full letter.

Regulations and Flexibility Issued by Department of Education for Limited English Proficient Students

Last week, the U.S. Education Secretary Margaret Spellings announced final regulations for Limited English Proficiency (LEP) students. These regulations are intended to address students who have recently arrived in the United States.

The Department of Education stated the final regulations relate to LEP students who are recent arrivals to the United States:

Defines a recently arrived LEP student as an LEP student who has attended schools in the United States for 12 months or less.
Permits a State to exempt recently arrived LEP students from one administration of the State's reading/language arts assessment.
Requires a State to include recently arrived LEP students in State mathematics assessments and, beginning in 2007-2008, State science assessments; however—
—it permits the State to not count in Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP) determinations the scores of recently arrived LEP students on State mathematics and/or reading/language arts (if taken) assessments.
Requires a State that exempts recently arrived LEP students from the reading/language arts assessment to publicly report the number of students exempted for this reason.
Makes clear that States and Local Education Agencies [LEAs] remain responsible for providing appropriate and adequate instruction to recently arrived LEP students so they will gain English language skills and be able to master content knowledge in reading/language arts and other subjects.
The new regulations also address the concern that States, districts, and schools get credit for the progress of LEP students in AYP determinations. Since LEP is a classification of students that changes as a student gains language proficiency—students who master English are no longer considered LEP—it can be difficult for States, districts, and schools to demonstrate the academic gains these students achieve on State assessments.

Read the Department’s LEP fact sheet

Read the final LEP regulations.