Keeping an Eye on COVID-19 Relief, the Education Workforce

By Jane E. West

This blog post is written by AACTE consultant Jane West and is intended to provide updated information. The views expressed in this post do not necessarily reflect the views of AACTE.

Educators Step Up for Racial Justice

Educators are responding to the killing of George Floyd and the racism it highlights by stepping up with a variety of initiatives and a renewed sense of urgency. Both the University of Minnesota and the Minnesota Public Schools have cut their ties with the Minneapolis Police Department.

The National Association of Secondary School Principals (NASSP) is urging school leaders to address racial disparities in discipline policies and the use of resource officers in response to the George Floyd killing and subsequent events. 

The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights and 400 other organizations, including both teachers’ unions, issued a letter calling on Congress to pass police reform legislation. They urge changes in areas including the use of force, policy accountability, racial profiling, militarization, data collection, and training.

COVID-19 Raises Multiple Education Policy Questions

By Jane E. West

This blog post is written by AACTE consultant Jane West and is intended to provide updated information. The views expressed in this post do not necessarily reflect the views of AACTE.

How Will the Senate Respond to the House Passed $3 Trillion HEROES Act?

Last week the House passed its follow up to the $2 trillion CARES Act by adopting the HEROES Act— the next COVID-19 relief bill. The Senate does not appear to be in a hurry to act and has clearly articulated different priorities from those in the HEROES Act.

Educators and their congressional allies are weighing in for a strong infusion of cash for education in the next bill.  In the House, Reps. Tlaib (D-MI), Hayes (D-CT) and Pressley (D-MA) are circulating a letter to their colleagues that requests $305 billion be targeted to K-12 education in the next COVID-19 bill.  In comparison, the HEROES Act targets $58 billion to K-12 education. Many education organizations are supporting their request, including the National Education Association, American Federation of Teachers, and AASA: The School Superintendents Association.

On the higher education side, almost 80 education organizations have requested that the maximum for the Pell Grant be doubled, anticipating that students will be facing unprecedented struggles when starting the new academic year and beyond.

Education Funding and Next COVID-19 Relief Bill: The HEROES Act

AACTE Responds to COVID-19

By Jane E. West

This blog post is written by AACTE consultant Jane West and is intended to provide updated information. The views expressed in this post do not necessarily reflect the views of AACTE.

Speaker Pelosi Unveils Next COVID-19 Relief Bill with a $3 Trillion Price Tag

The House of Representatives is in town and scheduled to vote late today on the next COVID-19 relief bill—dubbed the HEROES Act. Considered by many to be a messaging bill and the wish list of Speaker Pelosi (D-CA), it is not expected to receive Republican support.  Even so, a number of progressive Democrats believe it does not have enough relief and may vote no.  Likewise, there may well be a few Republicans who cross over to support it. 

The 1815 page bill includes almost $1 trillion to support state and local governments and another $100 billion for education. Key features include the following:

Congress Begins to Reconvene: What’s Next for COVID-19 Relief Funding?

AACTE Responds to COVID-19

By Jane E. West

This blog post is written by AACTE consultant Jane West and is intended to provide updated information. The views expressed in this post do not necessarily reflect the views of AACTE.

Senate Reconvenes in Person; House Next Week?

The Senate reconvened in person this week despite warnings from medical experts and despite the fact that the DC area remains a COVID-19 hot spot.  In order to enable this convening without it violating emergency limitations on large gatherings, the Mayor of DC—Muriel Bowser—anointed members of Congress as “essential workers,” bringing them into the ranks of grocery store workers and front line health care personnel.  

New to the Capitol were plexiglass shields, boxes of masks and hand sanitizer. COVID-19 testing for all Members was made available by President Trump, but in a rare bipartisan move declined by both House Speaker Pelosi (D-CA) and Senate Majority Leader McConnell (R-KY). They recommended that the tests be prioritized for front line workers.

Will Voucher Initiatives Prevail?

By Jane E. West

This blog post is written by AACTE consultant Jane West and is intended to provide updated information. The views expressed in this post do not necessarily reflect the views of AACTE.

Senate to Reconvene May 4 as House Stays Home—Mostly

Congress has been on recess for a month leaving a scant few Members in town to hold down the fort. This week both the House and Senate announced they would return full force on May 4, but only a day later, House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-MD) retracted the announcement for the House saying the Capitol physician advised against it. Members are still regrouping from the whiplash announcement and retraction—assessing the political fallout—but relieved about the health risks had they returned. 

Sen. McConnell (R-KY), Senate Majority Leader, has not backed down despite push back from several Senators, and the full Senate is scheduled to be in town May 4. They will likely be in town until May 22, recessing for Memorial Day. Many unanswered questions remain.  Will staff be required to report to work? Will social distancing be enforced? What are the cleaning procedures for office spaces and the Capitol? Will masks and gloves be worn? We shall see.

Beware the Solution That Is Not About the Problem: Reflections on Education and the COVID-19 Shock

By Jane E. West

A horizontal image of an empty primary school classroom. The setting is typically British.

In the last few weeks U.S. Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos has put forward three initiatives intended to privatize the provision of public education. Given her long known and widely declared conviction that vouchers and related schemes to deliver public dollars into private hands are the panacea for all that ails education, this is not surprising. Watching her leap into the breach caused by the COVID-19 emergency is troubling, though not unexpected.

In her book, Shock Doctrine: The Rise of Disaster Capitalism (2007), Naomi Kline describes the phenomenon of a crisis precipitating the redistribution of public dollars into the waiting hands of private players who offer a seemingly undeniable remedy. Years earlier, economist Milton Friedman popularized the notion that only a crisis produces real change, enabling reforms that were not previously thought possible. “When that crisis occurs, the actions that are taken depend on the ideas that are lying around. That, I believe, is our basic function: to develop alternatives to existing policies, to keep them alive and available until the politically impossible becomes the politically inevitable,” wrote Friedman in Capitalism and Freedom (1962, ix). Kline’s research led her to coin the term “disaster capitalism,” which she describes as “orchestrated raids on the public sphere in the wake of catastrophic events, combined with the treatment of disasters as exciting market opportunities.” (6)

Congress Passed Fourth Pandemic Relief Bill. Will There be a Fifth?

By Jane E. West

This blog post is written by AACTE consultant Jane West and is intended to provide updated information. The views expressed in this post do not necessarily reflect the views of AACTE.

This Week in COVID-19 Relief Funding

Today the President will sign the fourth COVID-19 relief bill. Passed by a voice vote in the Senate and a live vote in the House of 388-5, the bill adds $484 billion bill to COVID relief funding. Funds are to be distributed as follows:

• $321 billion for the Paycheck Protection Program (small business fund which ran out of money last week
• $60 billion in economic disaster loans for small businesses
• $75 billion for emergency relief for hospitals
• $25 billion for more coronavirus testing

When will Educators Receive COVID Relief Funding?

By Jane E. West

This blog post is written by AACTE consultant Jane West and is intended to provide updated information. The views expressed in this post do not necessarily reflect the views of AACTE.

Implementation of the $2 Trillion CARES Act: Where Do We Stand?

It’s hard to keep track of the swirl of information about federal efforts to address the pandemic in the education space. Here is my best shot at a high-level summary of where things stand:

• It’s been three weeks since the $2 trillion third package of funding (COVID-3 or the CARES Act) became law
• The bill includes the following and distribution to date is as noted:
  • $13.5 billion for elementary and secondary education
    • No announced process or timeline for distribution yet
  • $14.25 billion for higher education
    • $6.3 billion is being distributed to IHE’s for students who need emergency financial aid and have expenses related to the pandemic
  • $3 billion for a Governor’s Emergency Education Relief Fund
    • fund now available for distribution

Next Step for Education Funding in Response to COVID-19 Outbreak

AACTE Responds to COVID-19

By Jane E. West

This blog post is written by AACTE consultant Jane West and is intended to provide updated information. The views expressed in this post do not necessarily reflect the views of AACTE.

Implementation of CARES Act – Third COVID Relief Package

The Administration is moving to implement the massive $2 trillion COVID response bill (known now as COVID-3) which was enacted on Friday, March 27 . For education, this means $30.75 billion for an Education Stabilization Fund that includes:

• $13.5 billion for elementary and secondary education (can be used for any activity authorized under major education laws including ESSA, IDEA, CTE and Homeless Education)
• $14.25 billion for higher education; At least 50% is for emergency financial aid to students and expense related to the pandemic
• $3 billion for governors to be used for emergency grants for the most affected local education agencies, institutions of higher education and those deemed essential to providing childcare, early childhood, K-12 or higher education services

How the $2 Trillion COVID-19 Relief Bill Supports Education

AACTE Responds to COVID-19

By Jane E. West

This blog post is written by AACTE consultant Jane West and is intended to provide updated information. The views expressed in this post do not necessarily reflect the views of AACTE.

I am in awe of the incredible work of our colleague educators who are managing their ever-changing personal situations, while still stepping up to creatively deliver for our students.  And hats off to Hill staff who have worked relentlessly and around the clock to put this third COVID-19 response package together. 

Congress Will Pass Third COVID-19 Stimulus Bill with a Boost for Education

The frenzied activity on Capitol Hill has yielded the single largest funding bill in our nation’s history at $2 trillion.The 888 page bill—H.R. 748, the CARES Act—passed the Senate late Wednesday night with a vote of 96-0. (Four Senators were absent due to the virus, including Sen. Rand. Paul (R-KY) who has tested positive, and 3 others who are self-quarantining.) The House is looking to pass the bill today [Friday, March 27], hoping that a voice vote will work—meaning that no Member of the House would object. President Trump has indicated that he will sign the bill.

How Will COVID-19 Emergency Spending Bill Help Education?

AACTE Responds to COVID-19

By Jane E. West

This blog post is written by AACTE consultant Jane West and is intended to provide updated information. The views expressed in this post do not necessarily reflect the views of AACTE.

Washington Continues to Respond to the Coronavirus Epidemic

The Congress and federal agencies are likewise making changes by the moment. A 50,000 foot overview includes the following.

Legislative activity 

• On March 6, Congress passed the first COVID-19 stimulus bill – an $8 billion package to help states and localities address the pandemic.
• On March 18, Congress passed the second COVID-19 relief package, which ensures paid sick leave to certain employees, expands SNAP and Medicaid, and provides emergency assistance.
• Congress is now considering the third COVID-19 relief package, a measure which will total between one and two trillion dollars and may address issues as far reaching as increases in unemployment insurance payments, financial assistance for hospitals and health care providers, a “state stabilization fund,” direct cash payments of $1,200 per qualified person, small business guaranteed loans, and billions in loans for industries, such as airlines. Provisions related to education are also on the menu, as described in the next article.

Washington Works to Address Coronavirus

AACTE Responds to COVID-19

By Jane E. West

This blog post is written by AACTE consultant Jane West and is intended to provide updated information. The views expressed in this post do not necessarily reflect the views of AACTE.

Congress is working to respond to the pandemic on multiple levels. To date seven members of Congress have announced that they have been exposed to someone with COVID-19 and are self-quarantining.  A staff member of Sen. Maria Cantwell (D-WA) has tested positive for the virus and Sen. Cantwell has closed her office. The U.S. Capitol has ceased public tours, both those member and staff led. The Capitol complex, including House and Senate office buildings, is restricted to official business only.  Rep. Dean Phillips (D-MN) noted  “We should encourage people to not travel here right now.”  Washington, DC Mayor Muriel Bowser has declared the District a state of emergency and limited gatherings. Likewise, the Governors of Maryland and Virginia have declared states of emergency and limited gatherings.

Education Funding and HEA Reauthorization in Play on Capitol Hill

By Jane E. West

This blog post is written by AACTE consultant Jane West and is intended to provide updated information. The views expressed in this post do not necessarily reflect the views of AACTE.

The coronavirus outbreak has left us all a bit flummoxed this week.  Higher education, school districts and all of our communities are working to provide informed leadership, but not be alarmist—a tall order when so much is unknown. 

Meanwhile, Congress continues to make progress with education matters and political campaigns continue to unfold.

House and Senate Kick Off FY 2021 Appropriations Season with DeVos Hearings

In the last two weeks Sec. Betsy DeVos has appeared before both the House and Senate Subcommittees on Labor/HHS/Education to defend the Trump education budget proposal for FY 2021. The controversial budget calls for almost a $9 billion cut from last year, a block grant for virtually all elementary and secondary education programs and a familiar $5 billion voucher program (“Education Freedom Scholarships”).

Secretary of Education to Defend Big Education Spending Cuts on Capitol Hill

By Jane E. West

This blog post is written by AACTE consultant Jane West and is intended to provide updated information. The views expressed in this post do not necessarily reflect the views of AACTE.

Secretary DeVos to Defend President Trump’s Budget Proposal before House Labor/HHS/Education Appropriations Subcommittee Next Week

Next Thursday, February 27 at 10:00 a.m., Secretary Betsy DeVos will make her annual appearance before the House Subcommittee on Labor/HHS/Education to defend President Trump’s budget, which calls for a $5.6 billion cut in education spending. If past is prologue, we can expect feisty questions from Chair Rosa DeLauro (D-CT) and other members of the Committee — none of whom have ever warmed to a Trump education budget proposal. There is likely to be high praise for the recommended $763 million increase for Career and Technical Education in the Trump budget, but little else. Even school choice proponents are likely to balk at the recommendation to fold the $400 million federal Charter School program into a block grant. The $5 billion “Education Freedom Scholarship” proposal (aka vouchers) has never gained traction anywhere on Capitol Hill — nor amongst most voucher advocates — who don’t want the federal government and all the regulations it brings in the middle of voucher initiatives.

The President Recommends Big Cuts for Education: Will the Congress Agree?

By Jane E. West

This blog post is written by AACTE consultant Jane West and is intended to provide updated information. The views expressed in this post do not necessarily reflect the views of AACTE.

Bad News for Education in President Trump’s FY 2021 Budget Proposal

The FY 2021 appropriations process was officially launched with the release of the President’s budget proposal on Monday. The budget is thematically similar to previous Trump budgets, in that it calls for big spending cuts all around and proposes federal support for private schools in the form of a tax credit for donations to scholarship programs (called “Education Freedom Scholarships”). The proposal represents an overall 7.8% cut ($5.6 Billion) to the Department of Education.  Key features of the proposal include the following:

Elementary and Secondary Education

• Twenty-nine K-12 grant programs will be consolidated into a single block grant (“Elementary and Secondary Education for the Disadvantaged Block Grant”) designed to provide maximum flexibility for state and local systems at $19.4 Billion – a $4.7 Billion cut from current spending.
• The prized charter school grant program is consolidated into the block grant.
• The big winner in the budget proposal is Career and Technical Education which is slated for $763 million increase.
• Education Freedom Scholarships (tax credits for private schools) would cost $46 Billion over 10 years.
• All IDEA programs are level funded; however, Part B of IDEA receives a $100 million increase.