Here is Tuesday’s CEF update. There’s some good stuff in here: See #7, FSA's Dear Colleague letter on Title IV Eligibility for Students Without a Valid High School Diploma Who Are Enrolled in Eligible Career Pathway Programs. The letter includes detail on the statutory definition of an eligible career pathway program for purposes of Title IV aid eligibility and an alternative Pell Grant disbursement schedule for ATB students. If you follow ESEA reauthorization at all, the CRS report noted in item #4 is a useful summary. OMB has published its annual Unified Agenda of Regulatory and Deregulatory Actions. Link in #10 below. I have no idea if any of us follow any of these other than WIOA, but it’s useful to have all this stuff in one place. Finally, at the bottom of the message you’ll note that Joel mentions my upcoming job change, which many of you already know - I’m leaving my job at Digital Promise on June 12th to become the next Executive Director of NAEPDC/NCSDAE, beginning July 1. Jeff > Begin forwarded message: > > From: Joel Packer <jpacker@cef.org> > To: Joel Packer <jpacker@cef.org> > Subject: Tuesday Update > Date: May 26, 2015 at 4:45:26 PM EDT > > > No CEF Meeting: With Congress on recess this week, there will not be a meeting this Friday! > CEF Gala Award Nominations: We are accepting nominations for awards for this year’s Gala. If you would like to nominate someone for one of our awards, please submit his form <https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B19p6j32JwToRmtqd0d5ckplbW8/view?usp=sharing> by COB on June 12 to Anais Duran (ADuran@cef.org <mailto:ADuran@cef.org>). Please note that nominations should be based on what the individual has done to help support increased investments in education. You can nominate the same person for more than one award. The process then is the Gala Committee will meet to discuss the nominations and make recommendations for issuing awards to the CEF Board. The Board then submits to the full membership the names of proposed awardees, which are then voted on at a CEF membership meeting. We plan to vote on any proposed awardees at the CEF meeting on June 26. If necessary, we might extend the nomination form deadline, if the gala committee decides we need more nominations. As a reminder, we have already approved giving an award to FCC Commissioner Jessica Rosenworcel for her leadership on increasing funding for the E-Rate. > > To see a list of all previous CEF awardees, click here <https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B19p6j32JwTod1RBSTRDOURzaFk/view?usp=sharing>. > FY 2016 Appropriations: When the House returns next week, it is expected to take up on the floor both the THUD and CJS appropriations bills. The following week, it is expected to take up the defense appropriations bill. In a meeting I had today with the full committee staff director, Will Smith, he reiterated that their plan is to get all 12 bills through Committee prior to the July 4th recess. If they stick to that, and L-HHS-ED is last, it would have to be marked up in subcommittee the week of June 15 in order to go to full committee the week of June 22. > > It is not clear yet when the Senate will start considering appropriations bills. > > CQ proceed this helpful chart <https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B19p6j32JwTod1dfcE9laGt4d1E/view?usp=sharing> on the 302(b) allocations. > ESEA: Still no definitive word yet on when the Senate will take up the ESEA bill. There are reports that it might be the 2nd or 3rd week of June, but Majority Leader McConnell has to decide the June schedule from among ESEA, the annual National Defense Authorization Act.(NDAA), the Export-Import bank reauthorization (current law expires on June 30), appropriations bills, and possible additional action on the Patriot Act. The Committee report has still not been filed. > > CRS has released a new report: ESEA Reauthorization Proposals in the 114th Congress: Selected Key Issues <https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B19p6j32JwToUmhUUTI3WTRqRzg/view?usp=sharing>. It covers the following: > Accountability for student achievement > Distribution of Title I-A grants/portability > Fiscal accountability (MOE and SNS) > Educator quality, equity, and effectiveness > Grants to states and LEAs to support teachers and leaders > Targeted support versus block grants > > The report also compares which programs are authorized in current law compared to both HR 5 and S. 1177. The only currently funded programs not reauthorized by S. 1177 are: > · School Leadership > · Math and Science Partnerships, though S. 1177 creates a new Improving Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) Instruction and Achievement program in Title II > · Transition to Teaching > · Safe and Drug Free, National Programs, though S. 1177 creates a new Safe and Healthy Students: Grants to States and Local Educational Agencies program in Title IV > · Fund for the Improvement of Education, National Programs, which currently includes funds for Innovative approaches to literacy and Javits gifted and talented students, though S. 1177 provides a separate authorization for Javits gifted and talented students and authorizes a new program - Literacy and Arts Education > · Preschool Development Grants (currently funded under FIE), though S. 1177 authorizes a new preschool program - Early Learning Alignment and Improvement Grants > · Promise Neighborhoods > · Arts in Education, though S. 1177 authorizes a new program - Literacy and Arts Education > > In addition S. 1177 authorizes these new programs in addition to the ones mentioned above: > · Grants for Education Innovation and Research (similar to current Investing in Innovation(I3)) > · Innovative Technology Expands Children’s Horizons (I-TECH) – similar to currently authorized, but not funded, Educational Technology grants > · Native American and Alaska Native Language Immersion Schools and Programs > > 5. Updated Student Loan Data: Last week, the Department of Education’s FSA released new data on its Federal Student Loan Portfolio <https://studentaid.ed.gov/sa/about/data-center/student/portfolio>. As an example of the data available is that the total combined outstanding principal and interest balances for Direct Loans, Federal Family Education Loans, and Perkins Loans in the 2nd quarter of 2015 is $1,174.4 billion with 41 million unduplicated recipients. > > Also see the Portfolio by Loan Type which shows that there are 28.8 million recipients of Stafford Subsidized, 26.5 million recipients of Stafford Unsubsidized, 31.5 million recipients of Stafford (Combined), 1.0 million recipients of Grad PLUS, 3.2 million recipients of Parent PLUS, 2.9 million recipients of Perkins, and 11.9 million recipients of Consolidation loans. > > 6. Campus-Based Aid Allocations: FSA last week released the Campus-Based Funding for the 2015-2016 Award Year <http://www.ifap.ed.gov/cbawards/1516CBAwards.html>, which provides for each IHE that receives funds, its Federal funds and estimated student awards for the FSEOG, FWS, and Perkins Loan Programs, and the Perkins Level of Expenditure for each school listed. > > 7. Ability To Benefit: FSA also released on Friday, a Dear Colleague letter on Title IV Eligibility for Students Without a Valid High School Diploma Who Are Enrolled in Eligible Career Pathway Programs <http://www.ifap.ed.gov/dpcletters/GEN1509.html>. > > 8. Vitter Student Data Privacy Bill: Juliane Baron of AERA asked me to share this information on the Student Privacy Protection Act (S.1341), sponsored by Senator David Vitter (R-LA) introduced on May 14. See attached for the text. We anticipate that this bill will be re-drafted as an amendment to the reauthorization of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA). The bill by Vitter would be the most detrimental to education research. Here is Vitter’s press release <http://www.vitter.senate.gov/newsroom/press/vitter-introduces-student-privacy-protection-act>, and a press release <http://edlibertywatch.org/2015/05/education-liberty-watch-congratulates-senator-vitter-joins-wave-of-national-support-for-data-privacy-bill/> from Education Liberty Watch who supports the bill. > > 9. HELP HEA Hearings: While not yet officially announced, the HELP committee is expected to hold its next HEA reauthorization hearing on June 4. > > 10. Unified Agenda: OMB has published its annual Unified Agenda of Regulatory and Deregulatory Actions <http://www.reginfo.gov/public/do/eAgendaMain>. Here is the link <http://www.reginfo.gov/public/do/eAgendaMain;jsessionid=667B7A3E61457BE4D10D3291347C46CC?operation=OPERATION_GET_AGENCY_RULE_LIST&currentPub=true&agencyCode=&showStage=active&agencyCd=1800> to the Education Department section, which lists 19 different final and proposed rules. > > 11. Updated Websites: Both the HELP <http://www.help.senate.gov/> and Education and Workforce <http://edworkforce.house.gov/> Committees have unveiled updated websites. > > 12. Job Change: Jeff Carter, a member of the CEF Board, will become the next executive director for both the National Adult Education Professional Development Consortium (NAEPDC) and the National Council of State Directors of Adult Education (NCSDAE), replacing Lennox McLendon, who is retiring. He will be joining NAEPDC/NCSDAE on July 1st.