30 Oct2023
By Kaitlyn Brennan
This weekly Washington Update is intended to keep members informed on Capitol Hill activities impacting the educator preparation community. The views expressed in this post do not necessarily reflect the views of AACTE.
Editor’s Note: This is the final Washington Update published on the Ed Prep Matters blog. The updates on federal policies and legislation will now be included in the biweekly member-exclusive AACTE Talks Policy newsletter from AACTE President and CEO Lynn M. Gangone. To read the latest issue, visit aacte.org/federal-policy-and-legislation.
On Wednesday, after three weeks of chaos, the United States House of Representatives elected Rep. Mike Johnson (R-LA) as speaker. Speaker Johnson was first elected to the House in 2016 after practicing constitutional law for two decades. Before his election as speaker, Johnson served as vice chair of the GOP Conference. Speaker Johnson was one of eight House members who served on former President Trump’s defense team during the first impeachment trial in the Senate. He also played a key role in assembling the House Republican case for objecting to the certification of former President Trump’s 2020 loss on January 6, 2021 — recruiting colleagues to support that effort and helming a legal brief seeking to overturn the 2020 election.
17 Oct2023
By Kaitlyn Brennan
This weekly Washington Update is intended to keep members informed on Capitol Hill activities impacting the educator preparation community. The views expressed in this post do not necessarily reflect the views of AACTE.
As of the writing of this update, the House has been without a speaker and effectively paralyzed for ten days.
Meanwhile, eyes around the world are focused on the horrific events occurring in Israel. The uptick in acts of antisemitism and Islamophobia at colleges and universities has prompted new pressure on the Department of Education to release a proposal that, as reported by Politico, would potentially force college administrators to investigate claims of discrimination against ethnic groups or risk losing federal money.
Congress will need to act swiftly to pass an aid package for both Israel and Ukraine and still needs to pass an FY24 spending bill before November 17 to avoid a potential government shutdown.
With Congress caught up in the selection of a new Speaker of the House, today’s newsletter focuses on several recent announcements from the Biden-Harris Administration.
10 Oct2023
By Kaitlyn Brennan
As teacher shortages continue to impact schools across the nation, some schools in Montana are turning to virtual teachers due to the increasing number of vacancies.
For the first time, some Florence-Carlton High School math classes are being taught by virtual teachers provided by the state-funded Montana Digital Academy. Classes like pre-calculus and geometry had always been taught by in-person teachers at the school.
09 Oct2023
By Kaitlyn Brennan
This weekly Washington Update is intended to keep members informed on Capitol Hill activities impacting the educator preparation community. The views expressed in this post do not necessarily reflect the views of AACTE.
Because Kevin McCarthy was ousted as Speaker of the House, the House is effectively paralyzed until a new Speaker is chosen. House Majority Leader Steve Scalise, the number two House Republican, announced his candidacy, along with Rep. Jim Jordan (R-OH), chairman of the House Judiciary Committee and a founding member of the conservative House Freedom Caucus. The election process begins today with a closed-door Republican meeting and voting on a new Speaker by the full House is scheduled for Wednesday.
03 Oct2023
By Kaitlyn Brennan
This weekly Washington Update is intended to keep members informed on Capitol Hill activities impacting the educator preparation community. The views expressed in this post do not necessarily reflect the views of AACTE.
On Saturday evening, with just hours to spare and with bipartisan action, Congress extended current government funding for 45 days – to November 17, preventing a government shutdown that otherwise would have occurred at the start of the new fiscal year on Sunday, October 1.
The bill is described as a relatively “clean” continuing resolution (CR), without the deep funding cuts to most domestic programs that some hardline conservatives sought or the emergency funding for Ukraine that many Democrats and some Republicans wanted. It remains to be seen what the decision to move forward with bipartisan action could mean for House Speaker Kevin McCarthy.
03 Oct2023
By Kaitlyn Brennan
The “In the States” feature by Kaitlyn Brennan is a weekly update to keep members informed on state-level activities impacting the education and educator preparation community.
Students across the Lee County School District in Florida are not receiving services they are entitled to through the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA).
On September 20, Principal Cherry Gibson of Gateway Elementary informed a group of parents that, “Our district is experiencing a speech-language pathologist shortage. This will impact speech and or language services for the students at our school.”
26 Sep2023
By Kaitlyn Brennan
The “In the States” feature by Kaitlyn Brennan is a weekly update to keep members informed on state-level activities impacting the education and educator preparation community.
Seventy-three percent of school districts across the state of Oklahoma report they anticipate a shortage of substitute teachers will impact their capacity to deliver instruction this school year.
“As long as there’s a teacher shortage, there’s going to be a substitute shortage, as well,” said Aaron Espolt, superintendent of Shawnee Public Schools said in a recent interview.
Currently, pay at the largest Oklahoma City-area districts ranges between $85-$125 per day for substitutes with a teaching license and $70-$110 for those who are uncertified. Yet, many substitute teachers say this pay rate is not sustainable, particularly when other hourly jobs in the area offer higher wages.
Rather than paying more, some school districts face the possibility of cutting their substitute pay. Putnam City and Oklahoma City schools both increased their daily rates for substitutes with federal COVID-19 relief money — funding that will expire next year. It is reported that all of Oklahoma City Public Schools’ (OKCPS) substitute pay comes from pandemic relief dollars. District administrators have not decided what rate their schools will pay next year.
26 Sep2023
By Kaitlyn Brennan
This weekly Washington Update is intended to keep members informed on Capitol Hill activities impacting the educator preparation community. The views expressed in this post do not necessarily reflect the views of AACTE.
The alarm bells are beginning to sound in the nation’s capital as Washington D.C. lawmakers and federal employees prepare for a possible government shutdown.
Since Monday, House Republicans have postponed a vote on their proposed continuing resolution (CR) that would have extended government funding for one month but with an 8% cut to non-defense discretionary (NDD) funding, which includes education funding. The bill did not have enough support to pass after all Democrats opposed it and some Republicans sought deeper spending cuts.
The Republican House bill would slash education funding by nearly $64 billion or 28%. In a letter to House leadership, the Coalition for Teaching Quality described the bill as a direct attack on the educator workforce that will harm professionals at all levels, impacting students, families, and communities.
Whether the government shuts down after next Saturday, feedback to lawmakers on the importance of education funding is critical.
21 Sep2023
By Kaitlyn Brennan
This weekly Washington Update is intended to keep members informed on Capitol Hill activities impacting the educator preparation community. The views expressed in this post do not necessarily reflect the views of AACTE.
As expected, it was another busy week in our nation’s capital with agenda items ranging from appropriations to artificial intelligence. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) held a forum on artificial intelligence (AI) for members of the upper chamber with c-suite tech giants like Elon Musk, Mark Zuckerberg, and Bill Gates joining to offer insights into the rapidly developing technology.
As you will recall, last week Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-LA), ranking member on the HELP Committee, released a white paper on AI and a request for comment from stakeholders. Expect artificial intelligence to continue to be a topic of conversation on the Hill as members grapple with the role of Congress in regulating this ever-changing technology.
The House Education and Workforce Committee marked-up and approved a slate of bills and resolutions including one that would block the new income-driven repayment plan known as Saving on a Valuable Education (SAVE), (H.J. Res. 88). Another measure (H.R. 4259) would require schools or state education agencies to notify a parent who has a child with a disability that they have a right to bring an advocate or personnel to individualized education program meetings. It is a bipartisan bill with Rep. Marc Molinaro (R-NY) leading the bill and Rep. Tony Cárdenas (D-CA) co-sponsoring.
The number of legislative days remaining for Congress to pass a FY2024 budget or a continuing resolution to keep the government open, funded, and avoid a shutdown continues to dwindle.
20 Sep2023
By Kaitlyn Brennan
Last week, the U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights (OCR) announced Nash County Public Schools in North Carolina entered into a resolution agreement to ensure compliance with Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972 with respect to responding to reports of sexual harassment and when enforcing its dress code.
The complaint alleged that during the first week of the 2022-23 school year, an individual posted on social media an anonymous threat of sexual violence against freshman girls at a district high school and that the district was aware of the posting but did not respond consistent with Title IX. Additionally, OCR’s investigation discovered the school held an assembly only for girls, without holding an assembly for boys, to address dress code compliance. During that assembly, the district communicated to the girls that they were “opening the door” to harassment with their manner of dress and then “wonder why they [boys] disrespect you.”
12 Sep2023
By Kaitlyn Brennan
The “In the States” feature by Kaitlyn Brennan is a weekly update to keep members informed on state-level activities impacting the education and educator preparation community.
Last month, the Clark County School District in Las Vegas, Nevada — the nation’s fifth-largest school district —was forced to cancel classes at two elementary schools due to teacher vacancies. Currently, Clark County has upwards of 1,100 teacher vacancies; however, that number nearly doubles when you account for positions being filled by substitute teachers, many of whom are often un or underqualified for the role.
Additional disruptions to the academic year occurred the Friday before Labor Day when another elementary school was forced to cancel classes due to a high volume of teachers calling in sick leading to staffing concerns. Similarly, a Las Vegas middle school reported combining classes due to the lack of personnel.
12 Sep2023
By Kaitlyn Brennan
This weekly Washington Update is intended to keep members informed on Capitol Hill activities impacting the educator preparation community. The views expressed in this post do not necessarily reflect the views of AACTE.
The Senate returned on Tuesday from August recess and all eyes quickly turned to appropriations. Members in the House return this coming Tuesday and there will already be a full agenda of action to both enact a necessary extension of government funding to start on October 1 and avoid a government shutdown (otherwise known as a continuing resolution) and passing FY 2024 government funding bills. With only three weeks remaining until the end of the fiscal year this will certainly be a busy and stressful time in Washington. Although Congress has been on recess for the past month, the work in DC doesn’t stop — a lot has happened since our last update. Let’s dive in.
Ranking Member Cassidy Releases Report on the Legislative Role of Congress as it relates to Artificial Intelligence
On Wednesday, Senator Bill Cassidy (R-LA), Ranking Member of the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committee released a white paper, Exploring Congress’ Framework for the Future of AI: The Oversight and Legislative Role of Congress Over the Integration of Artificial Intelligence in Health, Education, and Labor. The paper examines the benefits and risks of artificial intelligence (AI) and how Congress should regulate the technology. The report ends with a call for stakeholder input on “ways to improve the framework in which these technologies are developed, reviewed, and used” by submitting comments to HELPGOP_AIComments@help.senate.gov by September 22. Read the white paper in its entirety.
05 Sep2023
By Kaitlyn Brennan
The “In the States” feature by Kaitlyn Brennan is a weekly update to keep members informed on state-level activities impacting the education and educator preparation community.
Last week, local news media outlets reported that more than 600 students at Chancellor High School in Spotsylvania County, Virginia are taking math and English courses using the online platform, Edgenuity, as the district grapples with vacant teaching positions.
In an email sent to parents just before the end of the first week of classes for students, Principal Abe Jeffers outlined the problem: “At Chancellor, we have over 600 of our students taking math and English courses using the program due to three math vacancies and English vacancies.” Jeffers explained the school has filled one vacant English position and has an interview scheduled with another candidate. “… However, we have had no applicants to fill our three math positions, thus we’re forced to have our students use the teaching program Edgenuity, supervised by a substitute teacher, to learn math.”
29 Aug2023
By Kaitlyn Brennan
The “In the States” feature by Kaitlyn Brennan is a weekly update to keep members informed on state-level activities impacting the education and educator preparation community.
As I have long been reporting, school districts across America are in the midst of a staffing crisis as students across the country return to classrooms for the start of the school year. Several states and districts have turned to long-term or day-to-day substitutes often with little or no teacher training at all to fill vacancies. This week, the Milwaukee Public School District (MSD) announced that in order to address staffing shortages, the district has turned to hiring upwards of 200 teachers from 17 different counties for the new school year.
A representative from the district spoke about the need for a different approach on recruitment saying in part, “As the shortage became national, everybody was short on teachers; we started to look where we could bring teachers from.”
22 Aug2023
By Kaitlyn Brennan
The “In the States” feature by Kaitlyn Brennan is a weekly update to keep members informed on state-level activities impacting the education and educator preparation community.
As the school year begins, teacher vacancies across the state of Florida are a top concern; yet the Florida Department of Education and the Florida Education Association are at odds over whose data is more reflective of the reality. In a press release issued by Florida’s Department of Education (FDOE) last week, the state’s Commissioner of Education, Manny Diaz, touted a near 10% decrease in teacher vacancy slots at the beginning of the new school year versus one year ago. As reported by FDOE, the state currently has roughly 4,776 open teaching positions — an 8% decrease in the number of teacher vacancies reported at the same time last school year. But Florida’s Education Association (FEA), the state’s largest teacher’s union, says that those numbers simply are not accurate. Last week, the FEA reported that nearly 7,000 teaching positions remained vacant at the beginning of the school year. In a statement, a representative from the FEA said:
“Now is not the time to sugarcoat or downplay the teacher and staff shortage. It’s bad, and kids are losing out. The Florida Department of Education can do its best to minimize the staffing crisis facing Florida’s public schools, but the truth is in the numbers. We stand by FEA’s August 7 count of vacancies listed on school districts’ websites, just as we stand by the counts we have conducted over the past several years. Due to low pay and a divisive political climate of fear and intimidation, the teacher, and staff shortage has gone from bad to worse under the DeSantis administration.”
The Florida teacher vacancy numbers from both the FDOE and FEA do not include the number of teachers across the state who are underqualified.
