CEC Policy: IDEA Reauthorization Update

• IDEA Reauthorization Update
• ED Assists English Language Learners Under NCLB
• President to Nominate FDA Chief to Head Medicare, Medicaid
  
  IDEA Reauthorization Update
  
  As we¹ve mentioned in previous Updates, the full House has passed H.R. 1350, its bill to reauthorize the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA). The Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee in early November sent S. 1248, the Senate¹s bill to reauthorize IDEA, to the full Senate for its consideration. This substitute version of the bill contains several technical changes from the Committee-passed bill.
  
  Next Steps. Now that the Senate HELP Committee has passed the substitute bill, the full Senate needs to mark up (consider) the bill. On Friday, November 21, 2003 the Senate passed a unanimous consent (UC) order permitting S. 1248 to be introduced on the floor. It outlines the terms under which S. 1248, the Senate's IDEA reauthorization bill, will be brought to the Senate floor for consideration.
  
  Once the Senate passes its bill, the House and Senate bills will need to be conferenced to iron out the many differences between the two bills. Then, each house must sign off on the new bill, and send it to President Bush for his signature into law.
  
  Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist (R-TN) has issued a tentative schedule that indicates that S. 1248 may be considered by the full Senate in late March. We¹ll let you know if we receive a more definitive schedule.
  
  
  ED Assists States, English Language Learners Under NCLB
  
  U.S. Secretary of Education Rod Paige on February 19 announced two new policies that will help students who are new to this country and the English language, while also giving states and local school districts greater flexibility to help these students and still meet the requirements of the No Child Left Behind (NCLB) education reform law.
  
  The new policies take effect immediately for schools and districts with limited English proficient (LEP) students. A number of states have students representing more than 100 languages, making it very difficult to provide native language assessments for all students. There are 5.5 million LEP students in U.S. public schools.
  
  Under the No Child Left Behind Act, schools must show adequate yearly progress (AYP) in making sure that all students achieve academic proficiency in order to close the achievement gap. So that every child counts, NCLB requires states to include the academic achievement results of all students, including LEP students, in AYP calculations. LEP students new to the United States often have a difficult time participating in state assessments due to language barriers or the lack of schooling prior to coming to the United States from their native countries. Thus, it is often difficult to assess LEP students¹ content knowledge in reading/language arts in their first year of enrollment in a U.S. public school.
  
  According to House Republican leaders, the new rule means schools around the country will not be unfairly identified by states as "needing improvement" as a result of complications relating to the difficulty of testing students who face language barriers or are hindered by inadequate schooling they received prior to arriving in the United States.
  
  The new flexibility will allow LEP students, during their first year of enrollment in U.S. schools, to have the option of taking the reading/language arts content assessment in addition to taking the English language proficiency assessment. They would take the mathematics assessment, with accommodations as appropriate. States may, but would not be required to, include results from the mathematics and, if given, the reading/language arts content assessments in AYP calculations, which are part of the accountability requirements under NCLB.
  
  Since LEP students exit the LEP subgroup once they attain English language proficiency, states may have difficulty demonstrating improvements on state assessments for these students. Accordingly, the other new flexibility would, for AYP calculations, allow states for up to two years to include in the LEP subgroup students who have attained English proficiency. This is an option for states and would give states the flexibility to allow schools and local education agencies (LEAs) to get credit for improving English language proficiency from year to year.
  
  To read the complete statement about the new policies, go to:
  http://www.ed.gov/news/pressreleases/2004/02/02192004.html
  
  
  President to Nominate FDA Chief to Head Medicare, Medicaid
  
  The President intends to nominate Mark McClellan, of the District of Columbia, to be the Administrator of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services at the Department of Health and Human Services. Medicare and Medicaid are the health insurance programs for more than 70 million Americans.
  
  Currently, Dr. McClellan serves as Commissioner of the Food and Drug Administration. He previously served as a member of the White House Council of Economic Advisers. Prior to that position, he worked at Stanford University as an Associate Professor and Director of the Program on Health Outcomes Research. He was also an attending physician for internal medicine at Stanford Health Services.
  
  Dr. McClellan earned his bachelor's degree from the University of Texas, his master's degree from Harvard University, his medical degree from Harvard-MIT Division of Health Sciences and Technology and his Ph.D. from Massachusetts Institute of Technology.