Posts Tagged ‘federal issues’

House Republicans Introduce ‘Parent Bill of Rights’ … Again

In February, the House Education and Workforce Committee held their first hearing: “American Education in Crisis.” During the chairwoman’s opening remarks, Virginia Foxx (R-NC)  expressed her support for H.R.5 , more commonly referred to as “The Parent Bill of Rights.” The legislation was first introduced in the 117th Congress and would require K-12 school districts receiving federal funding to publicly post their curriculum and annually provide parents with a list of books in the school library, a breakdown of school expenditures, the ability to opt their child out of all data collection, and more. As anticipated, on Wednesday, House Republicans reintroduced the bill.

Meet the New Leaders of the Appropriations Labor HHS-Education Subcommittee

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.

This week Senators Patty Murray (D-WA) and Susan Collins (R-ME), chair and vice chair of the Senate Appropriations Committee, announced the Appropriations Subcommittees chairs, ranking members, and full rosters for the 118th Congress.

Washington Update: An Address, a Hearing, and New Resources for Educators

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.

This week, President Biden delivered his annual State of the Union address — touting economic and legislative achievements made throughout his first two years in office. This year’s State of the Union address was the first time since 2019 that the President and Congressional leaders were permitted to bring guests to the event, which is generally attended by every member of the House and Senate. Five of the Supreme Court’s nine justices were in attendance, along with most of the President’s Cabinet and the Diplomatic Corps. Throughout the speech the President called on Congress to work together to address key legislative priorities and to “finish the job.” The President highlighted education issues, many of which he campaigned on in his 2020 Presidential run — including increasing in teacher pay and universal Pre-K. Following the speech, the President again expressed his support for teachers, tweeting “Let’s give public school teachers a raise.” Teacher pay was again a focus on Capitol Hill on Monday, February 13 when Senator Sanders, Chairman of the Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee hosted a town hall on the state of teacher pay in America that was livestreamed on Senator Sanders’ official Twitter and Facebook pages.

President Biden Gives State of the Union Speech

President Joseph Biden gave his State of the Union address on February 7 to a Joint Session of Congress.  The President touched on numerous subjects, including a call to increase the salaries of public-school teachers, support student and educator mental health, lower student debt, and pass the bipartisan Equality Act to “ensure LGBTQ Americans, especially transgender young people, can live with safety and dignity.” 

As is customary, the president invited members of the public to attend the speech. Among his guests were Maurice “Dion” Dykes, who is working to become a teacher through a Registered Apprenticeship Program in Tennessee. As you may know, AACTE is working with a coalition of partners to develop a National Guideline Standards (NGS) for registered apprenticeship programs in teaching.  When approved by the U.S. Department of Labor, these standards will serve as guidance for all organizations seeking federal recognition of an apprenticeship program in teaching.

House Education and Workforce Committee to Hold First Hearing

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.

Nearly a month into the 118th Congress, Democratic and Republican leadership are finalizing committee and subcommittee assignments. Senate Democrats announced committee assignments last week — including a few changes. In the Senate HELP and Appropriations committees, the changes from the last Congress are as follows: Senate Appropriations Committee —Senator Patrick Leahy (D-VT) has retired, and Senator Gary Peters (D-MI) is now on the Committee. Senator Peters priorities include affordable higher education, student loan debt relief, funding for STEAM research, career technical education, and apprenticeship programs. Senate HELP Committee Senator Jacky Rosen (D-NV) is no longer on the Committee, and Senator Ed Markey (D-MA) has joined the HELP Committee. Republicans in the Senate have not yet finalized committee and subcommittee assignments. In the House, Republicans and Democrats have finalized rosters for all Appropriations subcommittees. Additionally, the final roster of all House Education and the Workforce Committee members has been finalized and can be found here.

IRS Increases Teacher Tax Deduction

The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) recently announced that it is increasing the educator expense deduction for the first time since 2002, when it was first implemented. 

Previously the maximum amount educators could deduct from their taxes was $250 for school supplies, including books, supplies, and other materials used in the classroom as well as COVID-19 protective items. However, the IRS will allow up to $300 in qualified expenses to be deducted for 2022.  The limit will rise in $50 increments in future years based on inflation adjustments.

Washington Update: Education Priorities, Parents Bill of Rights, and Supreme Court Arguments

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.

This week, Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona is scheduled to deliver a major address at the Department of Education’s Lyndon Baines Johnson building in Washington, D.C.  The speech entitled, “Raise the Bar: Lead the World,” will offer the Secretary the opportunity to lay out the Department’s priorities for 2023 and detail progress made on 2022 initiatives. Afterward, the Secretary will take part in a fireside chat with Executive Director of the National PTA Nathan R. Monell, CAE. The event will be streamed on the Department’s YouTube  page.

Biden-Harris Administration Releases Regulatory Agenda with Renewed Focus on Higher Education

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.

Early Saturday, after a historic 5-day, 15 ballot fight- with major concessions made to the so called “never Kevin” holdouts, Rep. Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) secured his position as Speaker of the House of Representatives. Many analysts and DC insiders believe that the political theatre surrounding the Speaker vote foreshadows just how difficult it could be to govern in an exceedingly narrow Republican majority. However, in speaking with reporters Speaker McCarthy downplayed concerns, saying: “This is the great part … Because it took this long, now we learned how to govern.” I suppose only time will tell if the Speaker’s projection reigns true.

FY2023 Spending Bill Passes with Increases to Critical Programs that Address the Educator Workforce

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.

Just before the holiday break, Members of Congress completed their final task as the 117th Congress — passing the FY2023 omnibus spending package. The bill provides a $3.2 billion increase over the FY2022 level of funding provided to the Department of Education, with several significant increases in programmatic funding to address the educator workforce.

Biden-Harris Administration Proposes New Revised Pay As You Earn (REPAYE) Plan

The Biden-Harris Administration today announced a new proposal to reduce the cost of federal student loan payments, especially for low- and middle-income borrowers.

While AACTE is generally supportive of the proposal, which according to a fact sheet will make college more affordable for perspective educators, additional steps must be taken to address the nationwide shortage of highly qualified, diverse teachers in our classrooms.  AACTE looks forward to working with the Administration, Congress and state officials to develop and implement policies that achieve these goals.

Congress Releases Spending Bills

Congress released the details of the annual spending agreement reached this week that will fund most of the federal government, including the Department of Education, for the remainder of the fiscal year. 

By law, these bills should have been completed by September 30. However, due to disagreements over various spending and other legislative priorities between the two parties and the House and Senate, the government has been funded by a series of continuing resolutions, which financed the government at previously agreed upon levels.

Senate Strikes Efforts to Overturn Rules on Allocating Federal Funds to Charter 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.

On Friday afternoon President Biden signed a short-term funding bill, otherwise known as a continuing resolution or CR, that will keep the government open and funded through December 23. The CR keeps the government open and freezes funding levels at their FY22 levels while appropriators finalize a deal for the FY23 spending bill. Stay tuned as we now have one final busy week in Washington before Members of Congress break for the holiday.

Department of Education Dissolves National Parent and Family Engagement Council

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 final countdown is on for Congress to pass a FY2023 spending bill with the current Continuing Resolution (CR) expiring next Friday. There is considerable speculation on whether or not a bill will pass before January, but many on the Hill remain hopeful that we will see an omnibus package before Christmas. Stay tuned as next week is sure to be a busy week in Washington.

TEACH Grants: Helping to Make the Profession Affordable

Recently, the U.S. Department of Education issued a reminder that TEACH Grants are available to those who are interested in pursuing a career in education. 

The TEACH Grant Program, which was created approximately 15 years ago, provides grants of up to $4,000 a year to students who are completing or plan to complete course work needed to begin a career in teaching. A TEACH Grant-eligible program is a program of study that is designed to prepare you to teach as a highly qualified teacher in a high-need field and that leads to a bachelor’s or master’s degree or is a post-baccalaureate program. A two-year program that is acceptable for full credit toward a bachelor’s degree is considered a program that leads to a bachelor’s degree.

House Judiciary Committee Request Interview with Top Department of Education Advisors

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 countdown is on for Congress to pass a fiscal year (FY) 2023 package before the 117th Congress ends at the end of this month. As you will recall, the government is currently operating on a continuing resolution. Essentially what this means is the government is operating on last fiscal year’s funding levels through December 16. At that time, a budget or another continuing resolution must pass or the government will shut down. While its widely reported that the four corners have not yet agreed on top line numbers, many believe a budget will pass before the 118th Congress begins, even if that means working up to Christmas Eve. Stay tuned!