22 Sep2021
By Michael Rose
One of the important coalitions AACTE is a member of is the Committee for Education Funding (CEF), which is the oldest and largest coalition of education associations and calls for an increase in federal funding for education. CEF’s current campaign is “5 Cents Makes Sense,” which calls for 5 cents of every federal dollar to be spent on education. The campaign’s official hashtag is #5Cents4EdFunding.
Each year, CEF publishes a Budget Book, which analyzes the President’s budget proposal and its impact on federal education programs. AACTE contributed two articles to the Book. One is on TEACH Grants, the federal program that supports the recruitment of high-quality teacher candidates for hard-to-staff fields and schools. The other article is on the Teacher Quality Partnership program, which is the only federal initiative designed to strengthen and reform educator preparation at institutions of higher education.
22 Sep2021
By Regina Grossman
The National Association for Secondary School Principals (NASSP) is calling on federal officials to provide support for school leaders being threatened and undermined by those who disagree with school guidelines on COVID-19 best practices.
While the pandemic has impacted every one—school leaders are bearing the brunt of conflicts over masks, quarantines, vaccines, and other highly charged issues. They have been faced with hostile community members, threats to their own safety or safety of the school, and with non-compliance with rules that are meant to keep us all safe.
Teresa M. Hill, Principal at Walden Grove High School in Arizona and NASSP member, tells of her experience with threats at her school: “One month ago, seven people refused to leave our campus demanding a quarantined student attend class. After a lockdown of the front office for three hours, we were forced to arrest three of them. This has resulted in multiple threatening and intimidating voice messages, emails, and social media comments directly targeting me. Calling me a Nazi, a fascist, using profanity, and being told to ‘eat the end of a shotgun’ is beyond disturbing. Two weeks later, three men threatened and intimidated an elementary principal in my area by demanding a citizen’s arrest while holding zip ties in their hands.”
20 Sep2021
By Jane E. West and Kaitlyn Brennan
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.
Members of Congress are in a Race Against the Clock with Critical Deadlines Looming this Fall
Members of Congress are in a race against the clock to get four major pieces of legislation passed and ultimately to keep the government running. The big four are the bi-partisan infrastructure bill, the reconciliation bill, a continuing resolution to avoid a government shutdown, and legislation to raise the debt ceiling to avoid the government from heading into default on its obligations.
The first bill, the bi-partisan infrastructure bill, passed the Senate before the August recess. It is now up to the House to act. However, the bill’s progress is tied to the fate of the second bill—reconciliation (which is a Democrat only initiative)—which is described further below. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) promised Democrats that she will hold a vote on the Senate-passed bipartisan infrastructure bill by September 27. She also pledged to approve the partisan reconciliation bill—a $3.5 trillion plan for social programs (including education)—in conjunction with the bi-partisan infrastructure bill. By tying those two bills together she is hoping to keep her caucus on the same page, with both moderates and liberals supporting them both.
17 Sep2021
By Reginald H. Williams
As a former early childhood public school prekindergarten teacher in rural South Carolina, I have always engaged in advocacy for better educational policies. I have been engrossed in issues such as reduced recess, teacher professional development policies, parent access, and teacher training since I was in the classroom. I continue to serve as a point of inspiration as a 13-year veteran teacher educator at a historically black college and university (HBCU). Such personal connections and identified issues led me not only to serve on the AACTE Committee on Government Relations and Advocacy but also to engage in AACTE’s “Day on the Hill.”
AACTE’s Government Relations and Advocacy Committee is as way for me to provide support, experience, and advice in an area that I feel honored to have some expertise in—early childhood teacher education—to affect change at the highest level of the United States Government through the AACTE community. I have always said, “I trust my leaders, but they always need to have access to all of the information and the right information to make a comprehensively informed decision.” I lay that same claim to politicians and other policy makers and enforcers. This committee has given me much additional excitement because I not only see changes happening, but also, I believe that my small, humble contributions help make a difference.
17 Sep2021
By Michael Rose
On September 9, the House Education and Labor Committee began work on its part of the reconciliation package that would make historic investments in American families, students, and the workforce. The legislation passed on a party line vote (28-22) and will be considered by the full House of Representatives in the coming weeks.
Among the new policies, the House Education and Labor committee calls for investing an additional
13 Sep2021
By Jane E. West and Kaitlyn Brennan
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 following is an interim update on the big development in the House this week—the Committee on Education and Labor’s markup of the long-awaited Reconciliation bill, which features significant investments in the educator workforce.
The House Education and Labor Committee Begins Mark Up on Reconciliation Proposal
As you will recall, several months ago President Biden proposed two significant investments in the nation’s infrastructure—both human and physical: the American Jobs Plan and the American Families Plan. The human infrastructure component is now being developed by Congress, in the form of a reconciliation bill. Yesterday, the House Education and Labor Committee began to mark up its portion of the reconciliation proposal. The 289 page proposal, with a $761 billion price tag—otherwise known as the Build Back Better Act—is part of the larger $3.5 trillion proposal.
As described by the Committee, the proposal would lower costs for families, secure good-paying jobs for American workers, and set a strong foundation of America’s children. The three major education programs in the bill include Universal Pre-K, Tuition-Free Community College, and Child Care.
13 Sep2021
By Michael Rose
As we enter September, we are just weeks away from AACTE’s Day on the Hill, the Association’s premiere advocacy event. Participation in the event is critical to helping advance AACTE’s legislative priorities and highlighting the importance of teacher preparation programs. If you have not participated in Day on the Hill, or if you need a refresher, you may be wondering what attendees will be advocating for during their meetings with Members of Congress and congressional staffers. The AACTE team has posted a variety of Washington Week resources on the to help guide participants.
In many cases, you will be familiar with the issues: the importance of TEACH Grants, which are critical to helping students enter the teaching profession while helping to address shortages in hard-to-staff fields and schools; Teacher Quality Partnerships (TQP), which helps strengthen the teacher pipeline; and a variety of other bills that will help make sure our nation’s classrooms are staffed with profession-ready, diverse group of educators.
While it is helpful to review these materials ahead of Day on the Hill sessions, please know that we will discuss the political landscape and AACTE’s legislative priorities before meeting with members of congress to help you become more comfortable with advocacy. And there will be several other panels to help you understand why advocacy is important and how you can have successful meetings.
If you haven’t already, I hope you will plan to join us for our Day on the Hill. To register, please visit AACTE’s website.
09 Sep2021
By Jim Wolfinger
In a couple of weeks, I’ll participate in my first Day on the Hill as a member of the AACTE Committee on Government Relations and Advocacy. I am really excited by the opportunity and want to invite you to participate. Like many AACTE members, I have worked with city and state elected officials, policymakers, and representatives from state agencies. But speaking with members of Congress and their staffs offers an opportunity for even greater engagement.
As leaders in education, AACTE members all know that we must be outward facing, managing our colleges while we tell our story to many stakeholders. That story is what enticed most of us to get in this line of work in the first place. We all advocate for our needs and interests all the time, and although our interests may not be identical, they are often closely related regardless of our institutions. Some of us push for greater equity in teacher preparation programs. We want to diversify the teacher pipeline and the resultant teacher workforce, knowing how vital representation along the lines of race, gender, ethnicity, religion, and sexual identity is to students across the country.
02 Sep2021
By Jerrica Thurman
Are you following highlights of the AACTE 2021 Washington Week on Facebook and Twitter at #AACTEWW21? In addition to blog posts and testimonial videos, AACTE recently released a Washington Week infographic on social media. Check it out below!
27 Aug2021
By Michael Rose
AACTE’s annual Day on the Hill, the association’s premiere advocacy event, is scheduled for September 21-23. It is a unique opportunity to engage with your Members of Congress about the critical work you do. But some may wonder, “What do I get out of participating?”
First and foremost, you can explain to policymakers the importance of the teaching profession and why it is important to invest in teacher preparation programs to help address the teacher shortage and diversify the profession. Even before the pandemic, the teacher shortage was a critical issue for our nation. Studies and news reports indicate that COVID will make the problem more acute. Fortunately, President Biden has proposed historic funding increases for programs AACTE has long supported, like the Teacher Quality Partnerships, and doubling of the TEACH Grants, which are critical to training student to teach in high needs schools or fields. Your voice is critical to helping this legislation pass.
23 Aug2021
By Michael Rose
The nation’s newspapers, websites, and blogs are filled with discussions about what policies Congress should address next. Currently, it seems like all eyes are on Afghanistan; yesterday was all about investing in the nation’s infrastructure; tomorrow the discussion may be on President Biden’s American Families Plan. The president’s proposal calls for historic investments in our nation’s youth, families, and economic future, including a call to invest $9 billion in teacher preparation programs. But it is unclear whether Congress will support the proposal, let alone the $9 billion in long-overdue investments in teacher preparation.
09 Aug2021
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.
Here is what to keep on your radar for Congress’s return to work in mid-September:
Passage of a Continuing Resolution (CR)
Passage of a CR would prevent a government shutdown on September 30 when the current fiscal year expires. While there has been movement in the House and the Senate on FY 2022 appropriations bills, it is impossible that they could all be completed by the September 30 deadline. Thus, a temporary extension of current funding levels will be on the agenda. The dicey political aspect of this is that Senate Democrats may attach the “must pass” debt ceiling limit extension to this bill, putting Republicans in a difficult spot. In recent times Republicans have balked at increasing the cap on the debt limit demanding spending cuts in exchange for their votes. The high wire act here is that a government shutdown is at stake if the bill is not passed by September 30. Who will blink first?
Action on the Bipartisan Infrastructure Bill
If the Senate has passed the bill before they adjourn, all eyes will be on the House. Politically, the bill is in a vise with Democrats seeking to ensure that their own members will hang tight for the next move after this bill passes—which will be the Democrats-only reconciliation bill. Democratic leadership, particularly in the House, has pledged not to move this bill unless the reconciliation bill (see below), is moved simultaneously. At the heart of this is Senate Democrats holding all 50 members—from the liberal and the conservative wings of the party–together to support the reconciliation bill. Without all 50 members, the bill would fail, as no Republicans are likely to support it. Speaker Pelosi (D-CA) believes that tying the two bills together (bipartisan infrastructure and partisan reconciliation), she will ensure the 50 Democratic votes needed in the Senate, as well as her own Democratic caucus, which also holds a slim majority. Her fear is that some Democrats in the Senate may bail after the bipartisan bill is passed. So, the fate of these two is intertwined in the politics of a closely divided Congress.
09 Aug2021
By Michael Rose
AACTE’s virtual Day on the Hill is scheduled for September 21-23. As we prepare for AACTE’s premiere advocacy event, some may wonder, “What legislation should we prioritize?” The simplest answer is whatever you are most passionate about.
The nation is facing a teacher shortage. We are all familiar with the statistics: there were an estimated 100,000 classrooms in 2018 staffed by instructors who did not complete some type of educator preparation program; despite increased need for PK-12 teachers—and growing enrollment in higher education—the number of students completing bachelor’s degrees in education has been declining over the last two decades; in a recent survey, 27% of teachers said they were considering leaving their jobs, retiring early, or taking a leave of absence due to COVID-19.
However, there are legislative proposals that seek to address these issues and more.
02 Aug2021
By Jane E. West and Kaitlyn Brennan
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, Members of the House of Representatives completed debate on a seven-bill appropriations package, which includes the Labor-HHS-Education appropriations bill. As you will recall, the bill includes a 41% increase for the Department of Education, bringing the total to $102.8 billion.
Nearly 200 amendments were filed to the FY2022 Labor-HHS Education bill with 15 education amendments taken up for debate. Three of the amendments added relatively small amounts of funding to programs, but these increases were offset by equal or larger cuts to Departmental Management. The result of the combined amendments cuts the total Department of Education funding by less $89,000. The funding changes include
30 Jul2021
By Michael Rose
This week, the House of Representatives passed an omnibus appropriations bill, which included the funding for the Department of Education. The omnibus bill included seven spending bills; generally, the House and Senate prefer to pass the 12 appropriations bills, which largely fund the federal government, individually. However, a congested legislative calendar caused this course of action.
The omnibus bill proposes a 41% increase for the Department of Education, an unprecedented boast in spending. It also recommends significantly increasing the funding for many of the programs AACTE supports.
The Senate has not started its work on its appropriations bills and it is unclear if senators will support the funding increases provided for by the House. The annual spending bills must be signed into law by September 30, the end of the fiscal year. However, because the process is far behind schedule, Congress will likely pass a continuing resolution before then, which will fund the government at current levels (another option is to pass neither the appropriations bill nor a continuing resolution and allow the government to shut down, but that is unappealing to most members of congress).
