I’m pleased to share with you America’s Censored Classrooms 2024: Refining the Art of Censorship, PEN America’s latest annual report on state-level educational censorship laws aimed at colleges and universities. The report outlines a growing and sophisticated campaign to restrict academic freedom and campus free expression in the United States.
The Biden-Harris Administration today is announcing an additional investment of $70 million to expand student access to school-based mental health services across the nation. These grants support the President’s Unity Agenda for the nation and build on the historic levels of funding to address youth mental health provided under President Biden and Vice President Harris’ leadership through the passage of the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act (BSCA). These efforts continue to bolster the U.S. Department of Education’s (Department’s) School-Based Mental Health Services (SBMH) and Mental Health Service Professionals Demonstration (MHSP) grant programs at a time of increased need.
The Department has worked closely with federal, state, and local government agencies, as well as colleges and universities, to build the education system’s capacity to provide mental health services in school. Today’s announcement advances the goal set out by President Biden to double the number of school counselors, social workers, psychologists, and other school-based mental health professionals.
The U.S. Department of Education (Department) is highlighting a series of resources available for students, families, borrowers, and schools and institutions of higher education impacted by Hurricanes Helene and Milton. These resources include guidance, on-the-ground support, technical assistance (including in accessing federal resources), and peer-to-peer connections for state and local leaders; resources for recovery needs such as mental health support for students and educators and to restore learning environments; flexibilities to help institutions of higher education continue to manage the federal financial aid programs; and automatically enrolling affected borrowers with missed payments into a natural disaster forbearance. Thanks to regulations issued by the Biden-Harris Administration, this forbearance will count toward Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) and income-driven repayment (IDR) forgiveness.
The Department is urgently working to support impacted states with recovery efforts. The Department’s Disaster Recovery Unit (DRU) provides leadership, financial and technical resources, and support to assist education communities with recovery following a natural disaster. The DRU also collaborates with Federal recovery partners to support disaster recovery and connects education entities with disaster recovery experts to support specific recovery solutions. Following Hurricane Helene, the DRU reached out to state educational agencies and over 500 institutions of higher education in the impacted disaster areas to inform these entities of financial assistance opportunities, including Project SERV funds, which provide short-term funding for local educational agencies and institutions of higher education that have experienced a violent or traumatic crisis, including weather-related natural disasters, to assist in restoring a safe environment conducive to learning. The Department will conduct similar outreach following Hurricane Milton. The Department is exploring options to offer program flexibilities, including extending grant application windows and waivers.
The U.S. Department of Education (Department) announced $65.4 million in 12 new Magnet Schools Assistance Program (MSAP) awards and $1.7 million for two new awards under the Fostering Diverse Schools Demonstration Grant Program (FDS).
These awards build on the $20 million in MSAP grants the Biden-Harris Administration announced in May ahead of the 70th anniversary of the landmark Brown v. Board of Education decision and further the Administration’s commitment to providing every student with a well-rounded education and improving the opportunities for every student to successfully learn and achieve.
The U.S. Department of Education (Department) announced $46 million in new grants to establish dedicated technical assistance centers through the Comprehensive Centers program to support state and local educational agencies (LEAs) in advancing resource equity in schools, accelerating academic recovery, strengthening the educator workforce, promoting early school success, and supporting English and multilingual learners.
The Comprehensive Centers program provides a national network of support for states, districts, and schools to promote student achievement, increase performance among schools designated for improvement under the Federal Elementary and Secondary Education Act, and equip education leaders with evidence and tools to address emerging challenges facing K-12 schools. The Department is newly awarding funds for one National Center; 14 Regional Centers covering geographic areas of the U.S. aligned to the Department’s Regional Educational Laboratories; and four Content Centers reflecting key priorities from a public input rulemaking earlier this year. Together, these 19 centers form the Comprehensive Center Network and help states and LEAs improve educational opportunities and outcomes for all students, close opportunity and achievement gaps, and improve the quality of instruction, particularly for groups of students who are most underserved, including students from low-income backgrounds and students attending schools in need of additional supports.
On Wednesday, September 25, the Early Childhood, Elementary, and Secondary Education Subcommittee of the House Committee on Education and the Workforce held a hearing on “Innovative Teacher Preparation: Properly Equipping America’s Educators.” Witnesses included AACTE members Carole Basile, Ed.D., dean of the Mary Lou Fulton Teachers College at Arizona State University, and Melba Spooner, Ed.D., dean of the Reich College of Education at Appalachian State University. They were joined by Sharif El-Mekki, CEO of the Center for Black Educator Development, and Greg Mendez, Ed.D., principal of Skyline High School in Mesa, AZ.
CEO of the Center for Black Educator Development Sharif El-Mekki, and AACTE Members Melba Spooner, Ed.D., and Carol Basile, Ed.D. during Wednesday’s hearing.
In addition to describing the teacher shortage, which Chairman Aaron Bean (R-FL) likened to a car dashboard warning light for the education system, the hearing focused on solutions. Witnesses and members described initiatives including Grow Your Own programs for high school students, residencies and apprenticeships, and student loan forgiveness. Members raised concerns about teacher compensation and diversity, staffing for special education, trauma-informed instruction, and the affordability and convenience of educator preparation programs. Several members, including Ranking Member Suzanne Bonamici (D-OR), and Rep. Jahana Hayes (D-CT), described legislation they support to address concerns they raised.
A major focus of the hearing was strategic staffing as a systemic approach to redesigning teaching, the school environment, and educator preparation. Basile and Mendez described how a team-based approach to teaching works and the benefits that it conveys to teachers, students, and schools.
The U.S. Department of Education awarded nearly $50 million to Hispanic-Serving Institutions (HSIs) to support Hispanic and Latino students, and the colleges and universities preparing them for the future.
“Our nation’s Hispanic-Serving Institutions open up new doors to opportunity and success for Hispanic and Latino students every day,” said U.S. Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona. “The grants we’re announcing today double down on the Biden-Harris Administration’s historic investments in Hispanic-Serving Institutions and reflect our determination to raise the bar for educational opportunity and equity in America.”
The U.S. Department of Education (Department) announced more than $28 million in new awards in the Teacher Quality Partnership (TQP) program to recruit, prepare, develop, and retain a strong, effective, and diverse educator workforce for classrooms across the country.
The Department also released new data showing the breakdown of borrowers approved for Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) in every state. The data showcase how every state has borrowers, including educators, that are part of the $69.2 billion for nearly 947,000 borrowers that have seen relief through this program. By contrast, at the start of this Administration, only 7,000 had been approved for PSLF.
The U.S. Department of Education has awarded a seven-year, $35 million GEAR UP (Gaining Early Awareness and Readiness for Undergraduate Programs) grant to Appalachian State University’s College Access Partnerships in the Reich College of Education. The award represents the largest single grant ever awarded to the university.
GEAR UP is a federally funded college access program designed to increase the number of students who are prepared to enter and succeed in postsecondary education immediately after high school. Through a wide range of research-based services to students, families, and teachers, the GEAR UP NC Appalachian Partnership aims to improve college-going mindsets, high school graduation rates, and postsecondary enrollment rates.
The U.S. Department of Education (Department) announced today more than $80 million in grant awards to 26 grantees to improve access to postsecondary education for students from low-income backgrounds. The grants are being provided under the Gaining Early Awareness and Readiness for Undergraduate Programs (GEAR UP) program, which aims to significantly increase the number of students from low-income backgrounds who are prepared to attend and succeed in postsecondary education.
On Tuesday, September 3, U.S. Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona will launch the 2024 Back to School Bus Tour from Sept. 3 to Sept. 6. The week-long, multi-state road trip will showcase the many ways schools, families, and communities are doubling down on accelerating student achievement and raising the bar in public education with investments and other support from the Biden-Harris Administration.
The Back to School Bus Tour will feature stops in Wisconsin, Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, and Pennsylvania. This year’s theme, “Fighting for Public Education,” highlights how school communities are using the Biden-Harris administration’s historic investments in public education to implement evidence-based and promising and innovative strategies and accelerate academic success, to support students of all ages and backgrounds. The 2024 bus tour will celebrate public education as the American system that opened the door for so many of our nation’s success stories: from astronauts to astrophysicists, writers to engineers, musicians to mathematicians, innovative entrepreneurs in the private sector to great leaders in the public sector.
The United States is grappling with a severe teacher shortage, with a notable deficit of Black male educators. This shortfall is raising concerns about its impact on learning outcomes and the academic potential of PK-12 students across the nation.
AACTE board member and dean of the College of Education at Bowie State University, Rhonda Jeter, Ph.D., shared her insights on the Bowie Black Male Educators Project — a proactive initiative to counter the shortage of Black male educators in the U.S. The initiative is supported by the critical funding of the U.S. Department of Education’s Augustus F. Hawkins Centers of Excellence (Hawkins) Program.
According to Jeter, studies have indicated that having a Black teacher significantly increases the likelihood of Black students graduating high school and enrolling in college.
Read the full post on Diverse: Issues In Higher Education‘s website below.
The U.S. Department of Education (Department) announced more than $40 million in grant awards to seven grantees to improve completion rates for underserved students. The grants are being provided under the Postsecondary Student Success Grant (PSSG) program, which aims to equitably improve postsecondary student outcomes, including retention, transfer, credit accumulation, and completion, by leveraging data and implementing, scaling, and rigorously evaluating evidence-based approaches.
“Across the country, colleges and universities are rejecting the old idea that weeding out students was a sign of quality, and instead they are taking responsibility for all of their students’ success,” said U.S. Under Secretary of Education James Kvaal. “These awards will not only help find new ways to help students graduate; they will help change expectations.”
This article was originally published on LinkedIn and was reprinted with permission.
On July 24, 2024, the U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit ruled that the Federal Communications Commission’s (FCC) Universal Service Fund (USF) contribution mechanism is unconstitutional. This decision questions the foundation of a $9 billion a year program that provides essential telecommunication services for schools, libraries, and rural healthcare facilities, putting our nation’s most vulnerable communities at risk.
Background on the Situation
The USF was created to ensure all Americans have access to essential telecommunications services, regardless of their location. Funded by telecommunications providers, the USF supports:
AACTE is one of nearly 70 organizations that supports a bill seeking to make advancements in teaching and learning.
U.S. Senators Michael Bennet (D-CO) and John Cornyn (R-TX) introduced the New Essential Education Discoveries (NEED) Act to create a national center that advances high-risk, high-reward education research projects, similar to the model employed by the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA).
“As a former school superintendent, I know our teachers are doing everything they can to overcome today’s educational challenges – especially as COVID, social media, and nationwide mental health crisis have made their jobs more difficult than ever. They need new tools to overcome these obstacles and educate the next generation of Americans, and Congress can help by investing in cutting-edge education research,” said Bennet. “This bipartisan bill will help schools, educators, and policy makers meet today’s education challenges and make necessary, data-based adjustments in the future.”
