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On Friday, June 24, 2005, the House
passed the fiscal year 2006 Labor-HHS-Education appropriations bill. The bill
maintained the same funding levels that were included in the measure when it
was passed by the full House Appropriations committee, except for an amendment
that increased the Higher Education account by $27 million. This means that
the full House voted to zero-out the Javits Gifted and talented grants program,
and it provided only $150 million in additional funds to IDEA.
CEC is dismayed that the House chose not to fund the Javits Gifted and Talented
grants program, which could signal the end of this much-needed program unless
the Senate includes funding for it in its FY 2006 Labor-HHS funding bill. The
President has consistently not requested any funds for the Javits grant program
in his annual budget request, including this year, but Congress funded the program
at $11 million for FY 2005. Because the Senate Appropriations Committee, and
perhaps the full Senate will vote on its version of the FY 2006 Labor-HHS appropriations
bill shortly after Congress’s July 4 recess, CEC is asking its members
to go to the CEC Legislative Action Center and send a letter to their Senators
requesting that the Senate provide funding for the Javits grants for gifted
and talented students. Tailor the letter to reflect the importance of Javits
grants for gifted and talented students in your experiences.To send a letter
to your Senators, go to http://capwiz.com/cek/mail/oneclick_compose/?alertid=7732916
. You will also find more information on the Javits grant program there. Be
sure to tell your friends to send letters to their Senators as well!
CEC is also outraged that the House only provided an additional $150 million
for the IDEA! This is a travesty, and will take the present full-funding percentage
from 18.6 percent to 18.1 percent if it is allowed to stand. When Congress passed
the IDEA reauthorization bill last year, it outlined a plan to achieve full
funding by 2011. Yet providing just $150 million for IDEA for FY 2006 is actually
a step backward toward achieving full funding! CEC is requesting that all its
members and their friends send letters to the Senate to reverse what the House
has done and provide more funding for IDEA. Even President Bush requested an
additional $508 million for IDEA in his FY 2006 budget. To send a letter to
the Senate on increasing IDEA funding, go to http://capwiz.com/cek/mail/oneclick_compose/?alertid=7783471
. Be sure to personalize the letter with your story of how lack of funding for
IDEA affects you.
Finally, the House Labor-HHS appropriations bill increases overall education
spending by just 2 percent, the smallest increase in education spending in several
years. To view the funding totals for all education programs under the House
Labor-HHS bill, go to http://appropriations.house.gov/_files/LHFCMark.pdf
. The education portion of the document begins on page 12.
CEC will continue to keep you updated on developments surrounding Javits, IDEA,
and education funding.
On June 29, 2005, the Department of Education published proposed regulations on the National instruction materials accessibility standard (NIMAS) in the Federal Register. To read the proposed NIMAS regulations, go to http://www.regulations.gov/fredpdfs/05-12853.pdf . CEC is encouraging its members to read the proposed NIMAS regulations and submit comments to the Department on what is good, harmful, or needs to be clarified in these proposed regulations. You can send your comments to the Department of Education at Osersnimascomments@ed.gov. CEC is also asking its members who submit comments on the proposed NIMAS regulations to send them to CEC at pubpol@cec.sped.org so we may include them in our final comments on the proposed regulations.
On June 9, 2005, Congressman George Miller (D-CA), Ranking Democrat on the
House Education and Workforce Committee introduced HR 2835, the Teacher Excellence
for All Children Act of 2005 (TEACH Act). HR 2835 would provide increased incentives
to recruit and retain high quality teachers so that all children will be taught
by high-quality teachers. The TEACH Act would increase the number of teachers
by providing financial incentives to encourage excellent teachers and principals
to enter and remain in the profession. These incentives include competitive
salaries, tax breaks, and up-front pre-paid tuition assistance for high-achieving
undergraduate students who commit to teaching for four years and for current
and prospective teachers in high-need fields, such as math and science. In addition,
it would provide funding for school districts to pay higher salaries to exemplary
highly qualified teachers and principals who transfer into the hardest-to-staff
schools, with extra incentives for teachers in subjects in which there are shortages,
such as math, science, and special education.
The legislation would also identify and reward the best teachers by recognizing
exceptional veteran teachers through the development and use of data systems
that can track student achievement gains, identify and improve teacher effectiveness,
and inform instruction. It would also promote the establishment of teacher career
advancement ladders by augmenting the salaries of teachers who expand their
knowledge and skills and take on new professional roles such as mentor and master
teachers.
The bill would provide funding for the following initiatives:
· $2.2 billion for premium pay for teachers in high-need schools;
· $300 million for state-of-the-art teacher induction programs;
· $200 million for recruiting math and science teachers;
· $200 million for building teaching career ladders;
· $200 million for developing data systems and training teachers in their
use;
· An increase of $100 million over current funding for improving accountability
in teacher preparation programs;
· $100 million for improving principal training;
· $50 million for improving professional development for veteran teachers;
and
· $50 million for peer mentoring and review programs for veteran teachers.
HR 2835, or some of its components, may likely be included in a larger bill
to reauthorize the Higher Education Act. CEC will keep you updated on any developments
with HR 2835 and HEA reauthorization\