House Must Act on AT Billl Now!

House Must Act on AT Bill NOW!

FY í05 Budget Update

Senate Taking No Action on Perkins

House Must Act on AT Bill NOW!

House Passes Bill to Extend HEA for One Year

House Passes GOP Bill to Shut Down Excess Taxpayer Subsidies for Loan Providers, Use Money to Help Teachers and Poor Schools

Student Test Scores Faltering, Falling in Major States, New Government Data Reveal

FY í05 Budget Update

The House is expected to go out of session today or tomorrow to campaign for the elections once they complete consideration of H.R. 10, the intelligence overhaul bill. The Senate is expected to wrap up their legislative business shortly thereafter.

Republican leadership is aiming to reconvene the week of November 15th to work on must-pass legislation, including the FY ë05 Omnibus Appropriations bill, which will contain the FY ë05 Labor, HHS, and Education appropriations bill.

The current continuing resolution (CR) runs until November 20th, 2004. Should Congress fail to complete action on the FY ë05 Omnibus Appropriations bill, one or more continuing resolutions (CRís) may be needed to keep government agencies funded until the Omnibus is passed.

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Representative Timothy Bishop (D-NY) is circulating a discharge petition in the House that would allow for the consideration of H.R. 4473, the Educational Opportunity for the 21st Century Act, which would increase education funding by a total of $14 billion over the Presidentís FY ë05 budget request. Although this bill hasn't been brought to the floor, it can nevertheless be voted on if 218 or more members of the House sign a discharge petition.

H.R. 4473, sponsored by Representatives Obey (D-WI) and Miller (D-CA), would:
* Fully fund the No Child Left Behind Act by providing an additional $9.5 billion over the Presidentís budget.
* Help fulfill our commitments to 6.9 million children with disabilities who remain most at risk of being left behind. This bill would provide $12.3 billion for IDEA Part B State Grants ($1.2 billion more than Bushís proposed budget) and put it on a path to full funding within six years.
* Fully fund after-school centers at $2 billion increasing learning opportunities for an additional 1.3 million students.
* Boost the maximum Pell Grant award to $4,500 increasing the average award for more than 5 million students and adding 170,000 students.
* Increase English Language Acquisition grants to $750 million to assist 5 million more students who must learn English under NCLB.
* Provide $1.4 billion for Vocational Education grants.

What You Can Do: Since House leadership will not bring H.R. 4473 to the floor for a vote, we need you to write a letter to your Representative urging them to sign the Bishop discharge petition and support H.R. 4473. Even though the House may recess this weekend, Congress will return for one week in November (as noted above), so there is just over one month to get 218 signatures on the discharge petition before the 108th Congress adjourns for good in mid-to-late November. To send your message, go to CECís Legislative Action Center at: http://capwiz.com/cek/mail/oneclick_compose/?alertid=6527521 and enter the information requested. Send your messages TODAY!

Senate Taking No Action on Perkins

CEC has received word from the Senate HELP Committee that they have decided not to go forward with Perkins legislation this year and will not bring S. 2686 to the Senate floor. With no final word from the House on whether or not H.R. 4496 will be brought before the full House for consideration this year, it is likely that we will be starting the reauthorization process over again in the 109th Congress. CEC will, of course, keep you posted if there are any new developments concerning the Perkins Act.

House Must Act on AT Bill NOW!

On September 30, 2004, the Senate passed, under Unanimous Consent, HR 4278, bipartisan legislation to reauthorize the ATA. HR 4278 is now awaiting the Houseís approval. CEC strongly supports HR 4278 and is urging the House to pass it before the October recess. Because the House and Senate education committees reached a bipartisan, bicameral agreement on this important piece of non-controversial legislation, HR4278, as passed by the Senate, should not be tied up in the House before the House recesses.

Although both House and Senate members acknowledge the importance of this legislation, consideration of the bill may be postponed due to all of the other business the House must attend to before it recesses.

What You Can Do. We need you to send a message to your Representatives, urging them to pass the AT bill before the House recesses. To send a message, simply go to CECís Legislative Action Center at: http://capwiz.com/cek/mail/oneclick_compose/?alertid=6527471 and enter the information requested. Time is of the essenceÖ.please write your Representative TODAY!

House Passes Bill to Extend HEA for One Year

The U.S. House has passed a bill, H.R. 5185, to reauthorize the Higher Education Act for one year. Any spending or programs that were authorized under the Higher Ed Act is being held at FY 2004 levels. This is necessary because the House and Senate failed to complete reauthorization of Higher Ed during the 108th Congress. The Senate may take up the bill this weekend.

House Passes GOP Bill to Shut Down Excess Taxpayer Subsidies for Loan Providers, Use Money to Help Teachers and Poor Schools

(Following is a summary of several press releases from the House Committee on Education and the Workforce.)

The U.S. House of Representatives on Thursday passed legislation proposed by Rep. John Boehner (R-OH) and Sen. Judd Gregg (R-NH) that would shut down excess taxpayer subsidies to student loan providers, and use the money to help poor schools address a shortage of qualified teachers in math, science, and special education. The bill, known as the ìTaxpayer-Teacher Protection Actî (H.R. 5186), is strongly supported by the White House. President Bush has called on Congress to provide these incentives to help poor schools meet the high standards called for in the No Child Left Behind Act, which calls for states to have a highly qualified teacher in every public classroom.

ìThis bill will protect taxpayers by shutting down these excess subsidies to lenders, as the President has asked. And it will use the money to help teachers and poor schools across our country,î said Rep. Boehner, Chair of the House Committee on Education and the Workforce, in remarks on the House floor late Wednesday night.

ìWe are short-changing students and we should stop it,î said Sen. Gregg, Chair of the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions. ìThe government is spending millions unnecessarily because some lenders are exploiting loopholes in the federal higher education laws. Not only is this a waste for taxpayers, but these dollars could be put to use in programs that help students.î

Under certain circumstances the federal government guarantees a handful of lenders and note holders a 9.5-percent interest rate for student loans. The guaranteed yield on other federally subsidized student loans is a much lower rate -- roughly 4 percent. The federal government makes up that difference, costing taxpayers hundreds of millions.

The legislation passed yesterday provides an immediate, one-year solution, paving the way for a permanent fix during re-authorization of federal higher education programs next year. "We are putting the lending community on notice," Gregg said. "This loophole will be closed permanently next year when Congress re-authorizes the Higher Education Act and those savings will be used to improve student benefits.î

While CEC is pleased that Congress is taking action to close this loophole, and use the money to help poorer schools attract qualified special education teachers, the Bush Administration did not have to wait for Congress to take action on this issue; the federal government could have addressed it at any time. The Senate will likely pass similar legislation; however, it may not be identical to H.R. 5186.

The Gregg-Boehner plan would:

… Shut down the 9.5-percent interest rate subsidy that has resulted in excess profits for some student lenders. The bill would prohibit lenders from transferring loans within their portfolio, a practice the GAO recently cited as the key cause of abuse.
… Invest anticipated savings of $270 million to more than triple teacher loan forgiveness from $5,000 to $17,500 for teachers of math, science, and -- for the first time -- special education in high-need schools districts. Widespread shortages exist in these disciplines, particularly in inner city and rural communities.
… Pave the way for a permanent fix during congressional reauthorization of the Higher Education Act next year, preserving savings for student benefits.
… Protect non-profit lenders that use funds from existing 9.5-percent loans to finance additional student benefits -- additional loans, loan forgiveness or reduced fees -- so students do not lose existing benefits.
… Honor existing contracts with lenders.

For more information on the Taxpayer-Teacher Protection Act (H.R. 5186), go to: http://edworkforce.house.gov/, or contact the U.S. House Committee on Education & the Workforce at 202/225-4527.

Student Test Scores Faltering, Falling in Major States, New Government Data Reveal

(Following is a press release issued by U.S. Newswire.)

Children's reading scores have stalled or declined in the nation's largest states since Congress passed the No Child Left Behind Act in 2001, according to new data released by governors and state school chiefs.

Traveling the campaign trail, President Bush frequently reiterates support for his controversial "No Child" school accountability reforms. In King of Prussia, Pa. last month, Mr. Bush said, "We're making progress. We're closing the achievement gap."

Yet many states have now released trend data, tracking children's progress in acquiring basic reading skills through last spring's exams. Since passage of Mr. Bush's signature education policy, student performance leveled-off or fell in 11 of the 15 states participating in the study, according to researchers at Stanford University and the University of California.

Tracking achievement trends is proving difficult as state education officials switch to new tests and alter definitions of student "proficiency" to conform to new federal rules. But the university team compiled test results for the biggest states which have successfully tracked reading achievement over several years.

"We could not detect any consistent gains in children's reading scores since passage of Washington's No Child Left Behind reforms," said Aimee Scribner, spokesperson for the university team.

Children's reading scores in elementary schools have remained unchanged or declined in California, Colorado, Iowa, Massachusetts, Missouri, New York, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia, and Wisconsin, according to the data released by each state's education department.

"Important gains in children's reading performance were observed through the 1990s, as many governors advanced their own school accountability initiatives," Scribner said.

These new findings will likely fuel debate over whether Mr. Bush's more aggressive regulation of local schools, along with new funding, is sparking gains in teacher effectiveness and student performance.

Mr. Bush's education secretary, Rod Paige, speaking before the Republican National Convention in New York City, said, "All across America, test scores are rising, students are learning, the achievement gap is closing."

"We hope the Administration's claims some day come true," Scribner said. "But the new state data simply do not support such broad assertions."

National testing and policy experts provided independent review of the study, including Dr. Joan Herman, UCLA (310-206-1532); Prof. Luis Huerta, Columbia University (212-531-1638); and Prof. Robert Linn, University of Colorado (303-492-8280).