Posts Tagged ‘federal issues’

AACTE Joins National Coalition to Combat SPED Shortages

AACTE has joined the National Coalition on Personnel Shortages in Special Education and Related Services (NCPSSERS) to continue advancing toward solutions for the nationwide PK-12 special educator shortage. 

NCPSSERS is a national coalition composed of more than 30 participating member organizations. Since 2006, NCPSSERS has been dedicated to addressing the issue of shortages in special education and related services personnel in schools. 

Biden-Harris Administration Announces More Than $6 Million in New Grants to Address Community Violence and Impacts on Student Mental Health

On January 11, Vice President Kamala Harris announced $6.4 million from the U.S. Department of Education (Department) to address community violence. The funding is being awarded to seven school districts across the country as part of the Project Prevent grant program. The Vice President will make the announcement in Charlotte, North Carolina, where she will be joined by U.S. Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona to highlight the Biden-Harris Administration’s efforts to reduce gun violence and expand access to mental health services for students. 

“Every child deserves the freedom to live safe from gun violence in their school and throughout their community. President Biden and I are committed to protecting this freedom and continuing to address an epidemic of gun violence that has become the leading cause of death for children across America,” said Vice President Harris. “With today’s announcement, we are reaffirming our Administration’s dedication to preventing this senseless violence and keeping our children, families, and communities safe. As we call on Congress to pass commonsense gun safety policies, we are proud to fund proven solutions like those supported by Project Prevent that help schools increase access to mental health and other resources for their students.” 

Biden-Harris Administration Announces $47 Million in New Funding to Support School Infrastructure Investments

The Biden-Harris Administration announced eight new grant awards today totaling more than $37 million over five years under the Supporting America’s School Infrastructure (SASI) program and one new grant for $10 million over five years under the National Center on School Infrastructure (NCSI) program. This $47 million investment, issued by the U.S. Department of Education (Department), bolsters the capacity of states to support school districts in improving school facilities with the goal of more equitable access to healthy, sustainable, and modern learning environments for all students.

“These new investments in modern, healthy, and sustainable school infrastructure reflect the Biden-Harris Administration’s commitment to both promoting student success and protecting our planet for generations to come,” said U.S. Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona. “Research has shown that modern, well-maintained facilities and healthy learning environments can help schools Raise the Bar by increasing student achievement, reducing absenteeism, and improving teacher retention. At the Department of Education, we’re going to keep fighting to provide every student in every community with access to safe and healthy 21st-century schools that inspire learning, unleash imagination, and motivate children and youth to bring their best each day.”

Biden-Harris Administration Awards $44.5 Million to Improve Postsecondary Education Access and Completion for Students in Rural Communities

The Biden-Harris Administration announced $44.5 million in grants to 22 institutions of higher education to improve rates of postsecondary education enrollment, persistence, and completion among students in rural communities. The Rural Postsecondary and Economic Development (RPED) grant program promotes the development of high-quality career pathways aligned to high-skill, high-wage, and in-demand industry sectors and occupations in the region.

In America’s rural communities, only 29% of individuals between the ages of 18 and 24 are enrolled in higher education, compared to almost 48% of their counterparts in urban areas and 42% in suburban areas. In addition to navigating how to pay for college and the application process, students in rural areas face other barriers to accessing and completing college, including reliable transportation, food and housing insecurity, and access to health care and high-speed internet.

“The grants announced today by the Biden-Harris Administration reflect our commitment to empowering rural communities to build on their strengths, attract new investments, and prepare students for the high-skill, high-wage jobs of tomorrow,” said U.S. Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona. “When we invest in postsecondary attainment in rural communities, we create pathways for students to find rewarding careers that do not require them to leave their hometowns for economic opportunity. These grant awards will help rural institutions Raise the Bar for student success and the attainment of valuable degrees and credentials that lead to brighter futures and greater prosperity.”

A full version of the press release is available on the U.S. Department of Education’s website.

Reps. Blunt Rochester & Bucshon Introduce Bipartisan Artificial Intelligence Literacy Bill

Rep. Lisa Blunt Rochester (D-Del.) and Rep. Larry Bucshon, M.D. (R-Ind.) introduced the Artificial Intelligence (AI) Literacy Act on December 15, 2023. The bill would codify AI literacy as a key component of digital literacy and create opportunities to incorporate AI literacy into existing programs. 

The adoption of AI has more than doubled since 2017, and the average number of AI capabilities that organizations use doubled between 2018 and 2022. Americans of every age, in every district, and from every background will be impacted by AI, and therefore need AI literacy — an understanding of basic AI principles and applications, the skills to recognize when AI is employed, and awareness of its limits. 

“It’s no secret that the use of artificial intelligence has skyrocketed over the past few years, playing a key role in the ways we learn, work, and interact with one another. Like any emerging technology, AI presents us with incredible opportunities along with unique challenges,” said Blunt Rochester. “That’s why I’m proud to introduce the bipartisan AI Literacy Act with my colleague, Rep. Bucshon. By ensuring that AI literacy is at the heart of our digital literacy program, we’re ensuring that we can not only mitigate the risk of AI but seize the opportunity it creates to help improve the way we learn and the way we work.” 

Biden-Harris Administration Announces $93 Million in Grants

The Grants Will Support Research and Development at HBCUs, TCCUs, and MSIs, and Postsecondary Completion for Underserved Students

The U.S. Department of Education (Department) announced today $93 million in grant awards to 20 colleges and universities to support research and development at Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs), Tribally Controlled Colleges and Universities (TCCUs), and Minority-Serving Institutions (MSIs), and to improve completion rates for underserved students.

The grants are being provided under the Research and Development Infrastructure (RDI) program and the Postsecondary Student Success Grant (PSSG) program. The RDI program provides funds to HBCUs, TCCUs, and MSIs to transform their research infrastructure, including strengthening research productivity, faculty expertise, physical infrastructure, and partnerships leading to increases in external funding. The PSSG program 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.

Biden-Harris Administration Announces Updated Resource to Support the Inclusion of Children with Disabilities in Early Childhood Programs

The U.S. Department of Education and U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (the Departments) today announced the release of an updated joint-policy statement on supporting the inclusion of children with disabilities in early childhood programs.

The HHS-ED Policy Statement on the Inclusion of Children with Disabilities in Early Childhood Programs builds upon a statement originally released in 2015 and includes a renewed commitment and urgency, as children with disabilities continue to face barriers to accessing and fully participating in inclusive early childhood programs. The statement was updated consistent with a directive to both agencies in President Biden’s Executive Order on Increasing Access to High-Quality Care and Supporting Caregivers.

Department of Education, State and Local Organizations Commit to Bolstering Access to Mental Health Supports for Students

The U.S. Department of Education, National Association of State Boards of Education (NASBE), National Conference of State Legislatures (NCSL), State Higher Education Executive Officers Association (SHEEO), National Association of Counties (NACo), and U.S. Conference of Mayors (USCM) released the following joint statement to advance their unified commitment to bolster mental health supports for students:  

“Nationwide, students continue to struggle with mental health challenges. The pandemic’s unprecedented disruptions in their school and social lives exacerbated rates of depression, anxiety, and feelings of hopelessness that were already on the rise. From classrooms to Congress, we all have a role to play in meeting this urgent need. 

Biden-Harris Administration Launches Initiative to Promote Multilingual Education for a Diverse Workforce

As part of its Raise the Bar: Create Pathways for Global Engagement, the Biden-Harris Administration launched “Being Bilingual is a Superpower,” an initiative by the U.S. Department of Education (Department) to promote multilingual education and bolster high-quality language programs and a diverse multilingual educator workforce across the country. 

“Being Bilingual is a Superpower” will promote and further the understanding of bilingualism and biliteracy as an educational and economic imperative for student success, global competitiveness, and engagement. The new initiative under the Department’s Office of English Language Acquisition (OELA) seeks to promote research-based bilingual educational opportunities and language instruction in early learning education settings and beyond. 

“Make no mistake: multilingualism is a superpower. Knowing more than one language, acquiring a new language through school, or learning new languages later in life can provide tangible academic, cognitive, economic, and sociocultural advantages,” said U.S. Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona. “As our nation continues to grow more diverse, and as our global economy becomes more interconnected, we cannot seize our nation’s full potential to compete and lead the world unless we Raise the Bar and provide all students with opportunities to become multilingual.”

PEN America Publishes New Report on 2023 Censorship Efforts in PK-12 and University Classrooms

PEN America’s new report, America’s Censored Classrooms 2023: Lawmakers Shift Strategies as Resistance Rises, written by program director Jeremy C. Young and research consultant Jeffrey Adam Sachs has now been published, highlighting the progress of educational gag orders as a result of state legislative sessions in 2023.

The report finds that, while the threat of gag orders has not diminished this year, the form and structure of such laws have changed dramatically. According to the report, more gag orders became law this year than in 2022, though fewer were introduced.

In PK-12, there was a major shift away from critical race theory (CRT) bans toward “Don’t Say Gay” bills, many of them as a result of Florida’s law last year. These bills attempted to censor any mention of gender, sexuality, or identity in the classroom, including extending some bans all the way through grade 12. In higher education, there was a shift away from classroom restrictions and toward limits on university governance processes that protect academic freedom. Diversity and inclusion bans, curricula, general education courses, accreditation agencies, and even university mission statements were censored, particularly in Florida, and Texas, and a bill still under consideration in Ohio.

In Hawaii: Teaching Kids To Read Is Going Back To Basics

This article was originally published on October 29, 2023, with Honolulu Civic Beat.

At Makakilo Elementary, Christine Carder posed a question to her first graders. “What letters make the sound ‘ea’ as in tea?” The class eagerly scrambled to write down the correct letter combination in their notebooks.

This exercise helps to build students’ phonemic awareness, instructional coach Karen Yogi explained to the group of parents invited to observe Makakilo’s reading lessons for the morning. Older students will later advance to activities such as reading in pairs and assessing each other’s fluency and vocabulary skills, Yogi added.

“This is why my son says he’s famished at dinner, instead of hungry,” said parent Donna Sinclair, noting the improvement she’s seen in her fifth-grader’s vocabulary this year.

Makakilo Elementary is one of about 80 schools in the state to receive funding from a roughly $50 million federal grant awarded in 2019 to improve literacy among the country’s youngest readers.

Department of Education Provides New Raise the Bar Brief and Map Data

The U.S. Department of Education has published a new Raise the Bar Policy Brief, Eliminating Educator Shortages through Increasing Educator Diversity and Addressing High-need Shortage Areas. The brief highlights key Department efforts to support and advance educator diversity and address high-need shortage areas, as well as national and state data on teacher diversity and areas in which states have particular shortages. It includes visualizations spotlighting state and national data on educator diversity, including in a range of roles and the diversity of students enrolled in educator preparation programs, as well as data on states’ projected shortage areas for 2023-24.

The Department is committed to a comprehensive policy agenda to recruit, prepare, and retain a racially, culturally, and linguistically diverse and well-prepared educator workforce. This includes promoting educator diversity while recruiting, preparing, retaining, and supporting teachers, administrators, and other educators and ensuring that education is a profession that people from all backgrounds can pursue. Developing and supporting a diverse educator workforce is critical to strengthening student success. Additionally, addressing high-need shortage areas ensures all students have access to a high-quality, well-rounded education. Through Raise the Bar: Lead the World, the Department is working in partnership with states, tribes, local educational agencies (LEAs), and educator preparation programs (EPPs), including Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs), Tribally Controlled Colleges and Universities (TCCUs), Hispanic-Serving Institutions (HSIs), and other Minority Serving Institutions (MSIs), to eliminate educator shortages in our nation’s schools and to strengthen and diversify the education profession.

Washington Update: Speaker Johnson Elected, Department of Education Awards Grants for Fostering Diverse Schools

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.

Department of Education Launches New Centers, Biden-Harris Administration Announces Grants

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.

McCarthy Voted Out as Speaker and Student Debt Relief Announced

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.