U.S. House of Representatives Subcommittee Marks Up Bill for Education Appropriations – Includes Provision on Proposed Teacher Prep Regulations
The U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Appropriations Subcommittee on Labor, Health & Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies marked up its draft bill on Wednesday, June 17. The bill passed on party lines with a vote of 9-5, including both the chair and ranking member of the full committee. All amendments offered by the Democratic members of the subcommittee were voted down. The bill now moves to the full committee next week.
View video coverage here of the markup; read the Subcommittee’s summary here and the bill here.
In the bill, the U.S. Department of Education is funded at $64.4 billion, which is $2.8 billion below the fiscal year 2015 level and $6.4 billion below President Obama’s budget request. The bill would eliminate funding for 20 education programs.
Of particular interest to AACTE members, this bill would cut funding for the Teacher Quality Partnership (TQP) grants (see p. 112 for various titles of HEA – but Title II is not included). During the markup, Ranking Member Rosa DeLauro (D-CT) offered an amendment that included reinstating funding for TQP grants, but the amendment was defeated along party lines.
In addition, the bill contains policy riders on various issues, including one prohibiting the promulgation or enforcement of the proposed teacher preparation program regulations (see p. 121, lines 10-16).
Your continued communication with your senators and representatives on the proposed teacher preparation regulations is vital in ensuring that this particular policy rider remains in the bill.
For more information on what you can do to stay engaged as this bill moves through the process, please contact me at dkoolbeck@aacte.org.
Tags: federal issues, funding, teacher quality
