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

By Maureen Tracey-Mooney

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

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.

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

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.

McCarthy Voted Out as Speaker and Student Debt Relief Announced

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.

Government Funding Extended, Shutdown Avoided

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.

Possible Government Shutdown and Attack on Educator Workforce Funding

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.

 Washington Update: AI, Appropriations, and Accelerating Academic Success

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.

Washington Update: The Senate Returns

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.

Biden-Harris Administration Seeks IHE Nominations to Participate in Rulemaking Process on Student Debt Relief

By AACTE

The Biden-Harris Administration has announced the next step in its work to open a new pathway to student debt relief by soliciting nominations for negotiators who will participate in public rulemaking negotiation sessions this Fall. The Department is seeking nominations from 14 different constituency groups for the Student Loan Relief committee, which will meet for three virtual sessions beginning October 10. These nominations are the second step in a process known as “negotiated rulemaking,” which is required under the Higher Education Act for any regulations related to the Federal student financial aid programs.

AACTE Joins Education, Labor Departments in Release of National Guideline Standards for Teaching Apprenticeships

By AACTE

AACTE President and CEO Lynn M. Gangone, Ed.D., CAE, represented the association alongside state and national leaders to unveil the National Guideline Standards (NGS) for K-12 Teaching Apprenticeships released today at a briefing hosted by the U.S. Department of Education and U.S. Department of Labor.

Federal, state, and local workforce and education leaders gathered to set a benchmark for high-quality teaching apprenticeship programs in August 2022. This initiative, launched by First Lady Dr. Jill Biden at the White House in collaboration with the U.S. Departments of Education and Labor, tasked leaders to develop comprehensive guidelines for high-quality educator apprenticeships. One year later, at today’s event, the Department of Labor announced the approval of the NGS, the culmination of an effort led by the Pathways Alliance through a working group co-chaired by Jacqueline King, Ph.D., of AACTE and representatives from Deans for Impact and National Center for Grow Your Own. These guidelines are a framework for states creating a registered apprenticeship program for K-12 teachers, outlining the requirements and responsibilities apprenticeship programs must fulfill.

Senate Appropriations Committee Approves Labor-HHS-Education Spending Bill

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.

By the time this update makes it to your inbox, Members of Congress will be on their way out of Washington, DC for August recess. The Senate leaves town having approved all 12 of their FY2024 appropriations bills on a bipartisan basis. The House Committee has approved 10 bills with only Republican support and has not yet considered its Labor-HHS-Education or Commerce-Justice-Science bills. When Congress returns in September, the House will only be in session for three weeks, while the Senate will be in session for four weeks before the end of the fiscal year. This will be a critical time for advocacy efforts as many suspect we may be heading towards either an October 1 government shut down or a full year continuing resolution.

Democrats Oppose the FY2024 Labor HHS-Education Bill

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.

There is a flurry of activity on Capitol Hill as Members race towards the August recess. This week, Democrats in the House pushed back on the House Labor-HHS-Education Appropriations Subcommittee’s proposed draconian cuts to education funding. Your voices and advocacy efforts are needed more now perhaps than ever before.

Democrats Hold a Virtual Press Conference Opposing the FY2024 Labor HHS- Education Bill

On Friday, Democrats issued a press release and held a virtual press conference opposing the FY2024 Labor HHS- Education Bill. As you will recall, the bill puts forth an overall cut to the Department of Education of $22.1 billion or a 28% decrease compared to the current FY2023 enacted levels. The bill also seeks to use policy riders as a means to block a number of Biden Administration proposals surrounding education and student debt relief.

AACTE Co-Hosts Congressional Briefing on Educator Preparation

By AACTE

The “Strengthening Educator Preparation: Addressing Needs and Exploring Innovative Solutions” congressional briefing organized by AACTE, University of Northern Iowa (UNI), and American Association of State Colleges and Universities (AASCU), took place today, Tuesday, July 18, on Capitol Hill. The briefing brought together a group of university presidents and deans, all AACTE members, from around the country for a candid conversation on issues impacting educator preparation and innovative solutions. 

The issue summary provided to briefing participants stated, “the educational profession is in crisis.” The summary outlined the following four legislative actions necessary to address the crisis:

1. Removing financial barriers to entering the education profession
2. Updating and expanding the Teacher Quality Partnership Grant Program
3. Reauthorizing the Augustus F. Hawkins Centers of Excellence Program
4. Increasing Capacity of Educator Preparation Programs

House Republicans Propose a 15% Cut in Funding for Department of Education

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 Thursday, House Republicans released their FY2024 Labor HHS Education Appropriations bill. The bill provides $67.4 billion in discretionary funding for the Department of Education — a 15% cut. However, when taking into account the additional $10 billion of existing K-12 funding that was rescinded as part of the bill — the overall cut comes to $22.1 billion or a 28% decrease compared to the current FY2023 enacted levels. The bill also seeks to use policy riders as a means to block a number of Biden Administration proposals surrounding education and student debt relief. We won’t have a complete line by line breakdown until the bill goes to a full committee mark up, but as it currently stands the only seeming increase for the Department of Education goes to Charter Schools with a $10 million increase. The bill freezes funding for special education programs, Impact Aid, career technical and adult education, and the maximum Pell grant at the current level of $7,395.

President Biden’s Response to Supreme Court Rulings Impacting Higher Ed

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.

While Congress was on recess, the Supreme Court issued two major rulings impacting higher education: affirmative action and student debt relief. The Supreme Court ruled 6-3 that the Biden Administration’s effort to eliminate nearly $400 billion of student loan debt was an illegal use of executive power. The Department of Education had already approved the relief for upwards of 16 million borrowers with millions of additional applicants pending.