This week, President Obama announced his administration's plans for a comprehensive overhaul of America's public education system. As reported by the U.S. Department of Education, the goal is a 21st century public education system that will "ensure that American children again lead the world in achievement, creativity and success." Key elements of the plan include reforms for:
K-12 Education
The administration's plans for K-12 programs include a wide range of reforms. The plan to reform the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB) begins with funding the law and focusing on improving the assessments that are used to track student progress toward readiness for college and/or the workforce. The administration plans to double funding for charter schools and afterschool programs. To address the nation's high school drop-out crisis, the administration plans to pass legislation to invest in intervention strategies for middle schools, including requiring personal academic plans for students. Teacher preparedness, recruitment and retention are also priorities.
Education of Children with Disabilities
The administration proposes to increase funding for children with disabilities who are eligible for special education under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA). This includes support for Early Intervention services for infants and toddlers.
Early Childhood Education
The President's "Zero to Five" plan focuses on the early care and education of infants to help ensure that children will be ready to enter kindergarten. Early Learning Challenge Grants will be created to support individual states' Zero to Five efforts and to help states to move toward universal pre-school. The plan for early childhood education includes increasing the resources for and improving the quality of Head Start and Early Head Start programs. The plan also includes affordable high-quality child care for working families.
Many of the administration's initiatives can be supported by PCG Education's consulting services, such as CRM, and electronic tools, such as EDplan™, EasyIEP™ and Positive Behavioral Solutions, for monitoring and supporting student progress.
NCLB Assessment Standards
To comply with the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB), most school districts use standardized state tests or assessments to monitor student progress toward academic proficiency. The standards for the assessments can vary significantly between states, making it difficult to determine true achievement for all American elementary and secondary school students. For years, education experts have debated over the issue of whether student assessments in all states should be based on the same national standards.
While it is clear that the new presidential administration and Congress will seek to change NCLB, it is not clear if they will support imposing national standards for assessments. If they do, the change could have a dramatic and perhaps drastic impact on the education of children in America. Students in some states that have been rated proficient under state assessments may be rated as not proficient under a new national assessment, resulting in more students failing to meet required levels of achievement and more schools and states failing to meet adequate yearly progress.
PCG will continue to monitor NCLB developments.
Update on Economic Stimulus Funds for Education
Education Secretary Arne Duncan announced this week that $44 billion in stimulus funds will be distributed to state education agencies in the next 30 to 45 days. The disbursements will include $5 billion for the education of disadvantaged students and $6 billion for the education of special education students. Some states may receive funds by the end of this month.
By the end of March, state Governors can begin applications for 67% ($32.5 billion) of the stimulus funds appropriated for state fiscal stabilization. The Secretary indicated that the funds will be released within two weeks after "approvable" applications are received. To receive the first round of funding, each governor must commit to:
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Raise standards for assessments for all students;
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Use data systems to track student progress over time (longitudinal data bases);
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Improve teacher effectives and the equitable supply and distribution of qualified teachers; and
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Support effective intervention strategies for the state's lowest performing schools.
To receive the second round of funds, governors must provide evidence of and plans for progress on those commitments.
The stimulus funds were made available though the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) that was signed into law by President Obama last month. Under ARRA, a $5 billion fund has been established for the Department of Education in addition to the other stimulus appropriations. The fund includes a $4.3 billion "Race to the Top" fund to help states to improve student achievement. Grants for these funds will be distributed over the next year beginning in October 2009. Grant applications will be available this spring.
The Education Secretary indicated that an additional $35 billion in stimulus funds for education will be distributed to states between July1 and September 30, 2009. He stresses that states must invest stimulus funds in ways that minimize ongoing costs after the funding expires.
The PCG Education team is collaborating internally with our various experts and externally with potential partners to determine ways to best support our education clients and potential clients in meeting the challenges presented by ARRA.
Patsy Crawford,
Director of Legal Services
Education Services Practice Area
Phone: (312) 425-0550
Email: pcrawford@pcgus.com
* Note: This document is not intended as legal advice and is for informational purposes only.
