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Fiscal Year 2005 Budget Update
The House was tentatively scheduled to markup the FY 05 Budget Resolution on
Thursday. We will provide more information in next weekıs Policy Update.
The Senate is now debating the FY 05 Budget Resolution, S. Con. Res. 95. Several
education amendments may be offered. The following is a list of amendments that
may come up for votes shortly. All amendments would be offset by scaling back
the tax cuts for the top 1% of income earners and would reduce the deficit:
§ Senator Kennedy (D-MA) Higher Education Amendment: to increase the Pell
Grant Maximum Award from $4,050 to $5,100 for a cost of $9.8 billion. It would
reduce the FY 05 deficit by $4.9 billion.
§ Senator Murray (D-WA) NCLB Amendment: to fully No Child Left Behind by
providing an $8.6 billion increase over FY 04.
§ Senator Bill Nelson (D-FL) Parental Assistance Amendment: to increase
the Parent Assistance program by $100 million.
CEC will provide further information on additional education amendments as soon
as we are able.
Senators Murray, Kennedy Introduce Amendment to Fully Fund NCLB
Senators Patty Murray (D-WA) and Edward Kennedy (D-MA) have introduced an amendment
to the Senateıs proposed FY 2005 budget to add $8.6 billion to fully fund No Child
Left Behind and improve overall funding for education programs.
³Today, our state and local budgets are stretched thin,² Sen. Murray said in introducing
the amendment. ³Our local communities cannot afford to make up the difference
between what our schools were promised and what this budget proposal actually
provides. Thatıs why Iım offering my amendment to fully fund the No Child Left
Behind Act. My amendment tells students, teachers, and parents that the federal
government will be a full partner with our local schools as they work to carryout
the new law. Iım not asking for some unheard of amount of funding. Iım just asking
that we provide the funding that we promised our schools two years ago.²
³Now the Republicans will tell you that their budget increases funding for NCLB
by $1.2 billion over last year. And it does but it is still $8.6 billion short
of what our schools need. That shortfall will have a real and painful effect on
our students.
³As we all know,² Murray continued, ³the No Child Left Behind Act increased accountability
for schools to ensure that all children would receive a high quality education.
But accountability is a two-way street. We canıt demand that schools follow all
these new mandates and then look the other way when itıs time to write a check.
If we expect our schools to uphold their part of the bargain, then weıve got to
do our part and fund these requirements.
³Letıs not forget that the funding levels in the No Child Left Behind Act were
based on a bipartisan agreement on what it would take to implement the new law.
Itıs hard to believe, but here we are two years later and the federal government
is still not doing its part.
In his statements supporting the amendment, Senator Kennedy said that despite
the lack of adequate funding for NCLBıs requirements, he remains strongly supportive
of the fundamental principles adopted in the No Child Left Behind Act.
³They are the right reforms for our schools,² Kennedy explained, ³but it takes
resources to bring those reforms to life.
³The Murray amendment will pay for smaller classes in neighborhood schools, where
teachers can teach, instead of spending their time on crowd control. It pays for
better teachers, trained in the best methods of reaching difficult-to-teach children.
If a child is having trouble in reading or mathematics, this amendment will help
provide trained teachers to help. It pays for after-school programs where children
can go in the afternoons to be safe from drugs and gangs and receive extra tutoring.
³And most of all, Kennedy added, ³the Murray Amendment ensures that those children
who are most left behind get the help they need by increasing funding for the
Title I program children with learning disabilities, poor children, and immigrant
children. For them, this amendment means a fair chance.²
³We can do better,² Senator Murray agreed, ³and my amendment shows us the way.
My amendment will live up to the commitments we made to our students when NCLB
was passed. It fully funds programs like Title I, English Language Acquisition,
after school, and rural education. If this amendment passes, more than 2 million
additional needy children will be served by Title I, as promised in NCLB. My amendment
will mean more than 38,000 children in Washington State -- and 1.4 million students
nationwide -- will have access to safe, adult-supervised after school programs.
³My amendment is also fiscally responsible because it seeks $8.6 billion for deficit
reduction. Our priority should be educating our students not giving tax breaks
to the wealthy. This amendment reflects that priority because both the education
increase and deficit reduction funding are taken from closing tax loopholes.
The Murray/Kennedy Amendment Would:
· Increase funding for NCLB by $8.6 billion, to fund it at authorized levels;
· Reduce FY 2005 deficit by $8.6 billion; and
· Offset $17.8 billion by reducing tax breaks for the wealthiest 1% of Americans.
Along with Senator Kennedy, other co-sponsors of the amendment include Senators
Lieberman, Mikulski, Corzine, Levin, Dodd, Stabenow, Clinton, Kerry, Harkin, Schumer,
Prior, Reed (R.I.), Kohl, Dayton, and Landrieu.
To read Sen. Kennedyıs complete statement, go to http://kennedy.senate.gov/~kennedy/statements/04/03/2004310D18.html
Bush Administration Officials to Announce Progress on New Freedom Initiative
On Thursday, Bush Administration officials joined more than 350 leaders from the
disability community, businesses, federal government and communities to announce
progress on the President's New Freedom Initiative. The proceedings took place
at the Ronald Reagan Building and International Trade Center in Washington, D.C.
The President's New Freedom Initiative is the blueprint for federal policy to
improve the education, employment and independent living outcomes for persons
with disabilities through the use of technology.
Among the officials who presided over the announcement include:
v Margaret Spellings, assistant to the president for domestic policy;
v Acting Deputy Secretary of Education Gene Hickok;
v Social Security Administration Commissioner Jo Anne Barnhart;
v U.S. Secretary of Veterans Affairs Anthony Principi; and
v U.S. Secretary of Transportation Norman Mineta
ED Offers More Guidance to States to Implement NCLB
(Following is an excerpt from an ED press release)
In an effort to further help states implement the provisions of the No Child Left
Behind (NCLB) Act, the U.S. Education Department Wednesday added a new page to
its Web site that provides links to more than 50 policy letters that help explain
the law. The policy documents explain and clarify a variety of topics and are
designed to help parents, educators, and administrators better understand the
two-year-old law that promises a quality education to all students in America.
The decision to provide the public with even easier access to important information
on how to implement the provisions of NCLB follows a concerted effort by the department
to explain the nuances and intricacies of the new legislation.
Assistant Secretary Ray Simon and other senior officials in the Office of Elementary
and Secondary Education wrote the policy letters. Among the material now accessible
are links to: decisions on state accountability plans; questions about determining
adequate yearly progress; local and state flexibility issues; and information
on highly qualified teachers.
"We hope that these policy letters will show how receptive we are to providing
states and local school districts even more flexibility in implementing the provisions
of NCLB," Paige said. "I am sure that this will prove to be helpful to educators
across the country who want to share their information with others who might be
dealing with the same issue."
To view the policy letters, visit http://www.ed.gov/policy/elsec/guid/stateletters/index.html
Federal Register Documents
Regional Resource Centers; Notice Inviting Applications for New Awards for
Fiscal Year (FY) 2004
Source: Federal Register: March 10, 2004 (Volume 69, Number 47)
Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services; Overview Information;
Technical Assistance and Dissemination To Improve Services and Results for Children
With Disabilities--Regional Resource Centers; Notice Inviting Applications for
New Awards for Fiscal Year (FY) 2004
Purpose of Program: This program provides technical assistance and information
that (1) support States and local entities in building capacity to improve early
intervention, educational, and transitional services and results for children
with disabilities and their families; and (2) address goals and priorities for
changing State systems that provide early intervention, educational, and transitional
services for children with disabilities and their families.
DATES: Applications Available: March 11, 2004.
Deadline for Transmittal of Applications: April 26, 2004.
Deadline for Intergovernmental Review: June 25, 2004.
For more information go to http://www.ed.gov/legislation/FedRegister/announcements/2004-1/031004c.html
Community Parent Resource Centers; Notice Inviting Applications for New Awards
for Fiscal Year (FY) 2004
Source: Federal Register: March 10, 2004 (Volume 69, Number 47)
Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services; Overview Information;
Training and Information for Parents of Children with Disabilities--Community
Parent Resource Centers; Notice Inviting Applications for New Awards for Fiscal
Year (FY) 2004
Purpose Of Program: The purpose of this program is to ensure that parents of children
with disabilities receive training and information to help improve results for
their children.
DATES: Applications Available: March 11, 2004.
Deadline for Transmittal of Applications: April 16, 2004.
Deadline for Intergovernmental Review: June 15, 2004.
For more information, go to: http://www.ed.gov/legislation/FedRegister/announcements/2004-1/031004d.html
Early Reading First; Notice Inviting Applications for New Awards for Fiscal
Year (FY) 2004
Source: Federal Register: March 8, 2004 (Volume 69, Number 45)
Office of Elementary and Secondary Education; Overview Information; Early Reading
First; Notice Inviting Applications for New Awards for Fiscal Year (FY) 2004
Purpose of Program: This program supports local efforts to enhance the oral language,
cognitive, and early reading skills of preschool-age children, especially those
from low-income families, through strategies, materials, and professional development
that are grounded in scientifically based reading research.
For more information go to: http://www.ed.gov/legislation/FedRegister/announcements/2004-1/030804a.html
Federal Business Opportunities
An Evaluation of States' Monitoring and Improvement Practices under the Individuals
with Disabilities Education Act - Draft Statement of Work 01 and Synopsis
Source: FBO posting update - March 9, 2004
Solicitation number : ED-04-R-0011
Title : B -- An Evaluation of States' Monitoring and Improvement Practices under
the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act
A Draft Statement of Work 01 and Synopsis are available at http://www.eps.gov/spg/ED/OCFO/CPO/ED%2D04%2DR%2D0011/listing.html