29 Oct2019
By Deborah Koolbeck
Registration is open for the AACTE member exclusive October 2019 Federal Update webinars. AACTE offers these webinars to you on two different days of the week and at two different times to accommodate members’ teaching schedules and time zones.
Even though one might expect activities to slow down in Washington as the year begins to wind down, plenty is happening that impacts the profession. On October 15, Chairman Scott (D-VA) of the U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Education and Labor revealed his proposal for reauthorizing the Higher Education Act. What does it look like for educator preparation? Will Chairman Alexander (R-TN) move his bill through the U.S. Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions? And not to be forgotten is the appropriations process—as the Congress heads toward a November 21 deadline for funding the federal government, what is the outlook? Will there be another short-term Continuing Resolution (CR), or could we see even a year-long CR? Could a government shutdown happen? This webinar will cover these topics, as well as the advocacy steps that you can take to engage in the process, and there will be a Q & A session for you to get your answers to your questions. Register today!
Tuesday, October 29, 2019, 5:00-6:00 p.m. EDT: Register now.
Wednesday, October 30, 2019 11:00 am-12:00 noon EDT: Register now
22 Oct2019
By Jane E. West
This blog post is written by AACTE consultant Jane West and is intended to provide update information. The views expressed in this post do not necessarily reflect the views of AACTE.
November 21 Deadline Looming to Fund the Government: Will Congress Act?
Just before Congress left town for their 2-week recess, they passed a short-term funding bill to keep the government open, but only until November 21. As that deadline comes closer, the pressure to act increases. The ball is in the Senate’s court, as the House has passed 10 of its 12 funding bills.
The Senate is planning to move bills next week, but hot-button issues related to the border wall, homeland security, and abortion will likely crop up, as well as significant funding level differences between the House and the Senate that will likely hold things up.
Possible outcomes include another short-term spending extension (perhaps through December),
18 Oct2019
By Toni Molle
Photo: Courtesy of The California State University
This article and photo originally appeared on The California State University website and are reprinted with permission.
Three California State University (CSU) campuses were awarded nearly $3 million from the U.S. Department of Education’s Teacher Quality Partnership (TQP) program to recruit and prepare science, technology, engineering, mathematics (STEM) and computer science teachers to serve students in low-income and high-need schools throughout the state. California State University campuses in Chico ($1,027,195), Dominguez Hills ($1,028,844) and Monterey Bay ($811,719) have received a total of $2,867,758 in funding for the program.
“Collaboration is a key component among educators,” said Marquita Grenot-Scheyer, assistant vice chancellor for Educator Preparation at the CSU Chancellor’s Office. “By expanding the ongoing collaborative partnerships between the CSU and high-need school districts and through development of engaging STEM and computer science programs, more students will succeed in the classroom.”
18 Oct2019
By Anne Cantrell
Photo by Adrian Sanchez-Gonzalez
This article and photo originally appeared on the Montana State University website and are reprinted with permission.
Montana State University’s Department of Education and its partners have received funding totaling $6.2 million for a program delivered mostly online that is designed to recruit, train and mentor dozens of high-quality educators to work in rural areas of Montana.
The funds include a $3.1 million grant from the U.S. Department of Education and more than $3.1 million in matching funds and services from nearly a dozen partner organizations. They will be used for a five-year project, “Addressing Rural Recruitment and Retention in Montana,” that aims to address a shortage of teachers in rural locations across the state.
“We are excited to provide training and professional development in the first two years of their teaching careers to residents of rural, high-needs communities along with the Montana Office of Public Instruction and our many statewide partners,” said MSU education professor Ann Ewbank, the project’s principal investigator.
“Our common goal is to ensure that every student, from Broadus to Lolo, and from Scobey to Troy, has access to highly effective educators,” Ewbank added. “The Teacher Quality Partnership grant has the potential to strengthen K-12 education in rural communities. When rural schools thrive, Montana thrives.”
11 Oct2019
By AACTE
The American Association of Colleges for Teacher Education (AACTE) celebrates its 20 member institutions that received the 2019 Teacher Quality Partnership (TQP) grants from the U.S. Department of Education announced last week. With grants totaling more than $20 million, the TQP is the only federal initiative dedicated to strengthening educator preparation at institutions of higher education.
“AACTE celebrates all of the grant recipients, especially our 20 AACTE member institutions, because our members work year-round to advocate for continual funding for this critical initiative,” said Lynn M. Gangone, AACTE president and CEO. “With so much volatility on Capitol Hill, we view the consensus to support teacher preparation programs as a huge victory. TQP grants empower our members to extend and elevate their innovative and exemplary work.”
11 Oct2019
By Joanna Norris
The University of North Florida’s College of Education and Human Services was awarded a $1.6 million Teacher Quality Partnership (TQP) grant from the U.S. Department of Education to support innovative teacher preparation models that prepare prospective and new teachers to serve students in high-need schools.
The Department of Education made 31 awards totaling $20.1 million, and UNF was the only university in Florida to receive the funding. Recipients include more than two dozen school districts, institutions of higher education, and nonprofit organizations.
“We know a great teacher is the foundation of a great education,” said U.S. Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos. “By ensuring teachers are able to continually grow and improve in ways that excite and challenge them, we can help students succeed. These grants will help foster meaningful professional development opportunities, especially in the often-lacking areas of STEM and computer science-focused training.”
07 Oct2019
By Deborah Koolbeck
The U.S. Department of Education announced its new Teacher Quality Partnership (TQP), grant recipients, funding 31 projects with $20.1 million dollars. TQP is the only federal initiative dedicated to strengthening and transforming educator preparation at institutions of higher education. Of the 31 grantees, 20 are AACTE members.
The grant program addresses the teacher shortage found across the nation by preparing teachers in high needs fields to teach in high need schools. Grantees focus on either the undergraduate or graduate level, extending clinical practice to a full year or creating a residency program. Graduates receive at least 2 years of induction, which research shows supports teachers in remaining in the classroom after their novice years. In fact, a majority of TQP graduates remain in the profession well after the provided induction and drive transformation throughout their schools and even the school district itself.
For this grant competition, priority was given to those applicants who designed programs to prepare computer science teachers as well as the STEM fields overall, and to those programs taking place in a Qualified Opportunity Zone as designated by the Internal Revenue Service.
AACTE annually advocates for TQP funding through the congressional appropriations process, and supports augmenting the capacity and reach of this grant.
The list of awardees can be found in the Department’s press release.
27 Sep2019
By Jane E. West
This blog post is written by AACTE consultant Jane West and is intended to provide update information. The views expressed in this post do not necessarily reflect the views of AACTE.
It’s been a breathtaking week in Washington as minute-to-minute developments unfold in the House’s decision to pursue impeachment of President Trump. Yet, both congressional bodies continue to move on their legislative agendas. The question becomes, how much oxygen will impeachment suck up and will there be any space left for anything else? And remember the Congress leaves town today for a two-week recess, to return with less than 30 legislative days scheduled before the end of the year! Of course, this could change.
23 Sep2019
By Jane E. West
The Office of Special Education Programs of the U.S. Department of Education (DOE) has developed an initiative called “Attract, Prepare and Retain Effective Personnel.” They have requested feedback from the field. Specifically, the invitation states:
“We invite you to share your thoughts on how we can best support States in their work to Attract, Prepare, and Retain Effective Personnel. Sharing your challenges and successes can make a difference for others facing similar challenges.”
The deadline for submitting comments is September 30, 2019. Learn more.
16 Sep2019
By Jane E. West
This blog post is written by AACTE consultant Jane West and is intended to provide update information. The views expressed in this post do not necessarily reflect the views of AACTE.
A Congress is back in session, and bi-partisanship is increasingly looking to be something we see only in the rear-view mirror.
Senate Fails to Move Education Funding Bill
The Senate Appropriations Committee, often considered one of the last bastions of bi-partisanship, fell apart this week— and along with it, hope for passage of a Senate Labor/HHS/Education bill any time soon. In a surprise last-minute move, the scheduled Tuesday subcommittee markup for the Labor/HHS/Education spending bill was canceled. Republicans claimed that Sen. Patty Murray’s (D-WA) intention to offer an amendment blocking President Trump’s limitation of services offered under Title X (most notably abortion services offered by Planned Parenthood) violates the bipartisan budget agreement. That agreement prohibits “poison pill” riders on appropriations bills. Democrats argued that including funding for the President’s border wall in the Homeland Security Appropriations bill is likewise a poison pill. Thus, the Tuesday Subcommittee markup was canceled.
09 Sep2019
By Jane E. West
This blog post is written by AACTE consultant Jane West and is intended to provide update information. The views expressed in this post do not necessarily reflect the views of AACTE.
Money, Money Money … Follow the Money … to a Shutdown?
Congress does not officially reconvene until Monday, September 9. They return to the challenge of funding the government before the end of the Fiscal year, September 30. This means that in 13 legislative days the Senate would have to pass 12 separate funding bills, conference each one with the House and then secure President Trump’s signature on each one. What are the odds of that happening? Well, I’m not really a betting person, but I’d say “zero.”
The House left town in August having passed its funding bills, including a very generous one for
05 Sep2019
By Deborah Koolbeck
As AACTE members and their colleagues return to the classroom, Congress returns to Washington, D.C., after the August recess. It is a crowded agenda for the fall as discussions heat up around the 2020 Census and the election. The U.S. House of Representatives (House) has passed nearly all 12 of its appropriations bills, and the U.S. Senate (Senate) is poised to start the week of September 9, 2019.
This leaves us with several questions:
- With 15 legislative days before the September 30 deadline, will any of the Senate bills be completed?
- With a Continuing Resolution expected, will it go through November or December?
- While the caps were raised for Fiscal Years 2020 and 2021, will the Labor, Health and Human Services, Education and Related Agencies bill receive a sufficient increase to not only raise the NIH budget by $2b, but also maintain the increases the House appropriated to key programs that support the profession?
- Beyond funding, what is the status of the reauthorization of the Higher Education Act?
These questions and more will be covered in the AACTE September 2019 Federal Update webinars. To accommodate teaching schedules and time zones, this member exclusive update is offered on two different days and at two different times. In addition, the webinar is recorded and will be posted on AACTE’s Advocacy Center’s federal page. Use the links below to register today for the time that works best for you!
Tuesday, September 24, 5:00 p.m. – 6:00 p.m. EDT
Wednesday, September 25, 11:00 a.m. – 12 noon EDT
09 Aug2019
By Deborah Koolbeck
The U.S. Department of Education launched an Experimental Sites Initiative focused on the Federal Work Study (FWS) program. FWS is a need-based federal program that provides part-time jobs to students to supplement the financial assistance received from the Federal Pell Grant program and other aid sources. The Experimental Site Initiative for FWS waives several of the statutory and regulatory provisions, including that which would limit the number of hours a student could work, permitting full-time opportunities.
05 Aug2019
By Jane E. West
This blog post is written by AACTE consultant Jane West and is intended to provide update information. The views expressed in this post do not necessarily reflect the views of AACTE.
The Senate left town yesterday following on the heels of the House bringing the five-week summer recess into full bloom. Congress will reconvene in September, and thanks to the passage of the budget deal, move forward in adopting 12 appropriations bills, including one with education spending. However, obstacles remain.
02 Aug2019
By Deborah Koolbeck
Did you miss the July 2019 Federal Update webinar? Not to worry! The recording and the slides are now available on the federal page of the AACTE Advocacy Center for AACTE members to access.
Be sure to sign up for the AACTE Action Alerts to make your voice heard with members of Congress as the appropriations season continues to unfold now that the Bipartisan Budget Agreement for Fiscal Years 2020 and 2021 has been sent to President Trump for his signature. Review the bill here and listen to the webinar recordings to learn more about its impact on education funding.
The AACTE Federal Update webinars will take a hiatus in August, so stay tuned for the next webinars in September. Remember, AACTE currently offers the update twice each month in the same week; one on Tuesday evening at 5:00 p.m. EDT and one on Wednesday morning at 11:00 a.m. EDT. Registration details for the AACTE webinars in September will be available soon.
AACTE wants to hear from you! Is there another format that you would like to receive a monthly federal update? If so, please email me at dkoolbeck@aacte.org and let me know what format you recommend. Thank you!
