HI everyone, Here is the latest CEF update. Have a good weekend. Jeff > Begin forwarded message: > > From: Joel Packer <jpacker@cef.org> > Subject: Friday Update > Date: January 29, 2016 at 4:12:00 PM EST > To: Joel Packer <jpacker@cef.org> > > > > 1. FY 2017 Appropriations: The House Appropriations Committee has started posting the Member submission instructions <http://appropriations.house.gov/legislation/memberinstructions.htm> and deadlines for its subcommittees. The deadline <http://appropriations.house.gov/uploadedfiles/01.28.16_lhhs_-_fy_2017_dear_colleague_with_member_submission_instructions.pdf> for House members to submit “programmatic and language” submissions to the Labor-HHS-Education Appropriations Subcommittee is March 24. The Senate Labor-HHS-Education Appropriations Subcommittee has not yet announced its member submission deadline. > > 2. L-HHS-ED 302(b) Letter: If you have not yet signed onto the letter—being circulated throughout the health, education, child development, social services, and workforce communities—urging appropriators you to allocate as high a funding level as possible to the Labor, HHS, Education and Related Agencies Appropriations Subcommittee for Fiscal Year (FY) 2017, please do so. TO SIGN, CLICK HERE BY COB FEBRUARY 5, 2016 <https://docs.google.com/forms/d/17tjXbT_0FsLhhqThv3xy2umG9hRhns6hW9mqDQiXmWc/viewform>. All CEF members and your affiliates/chapters are encouraged to do so! The letter is available here <https://www.luminpdf.com/documents/CJuwbg9cWrT2z8pb6/share?sk=5ca5594b-c9ff-4cac-92fa-a60e6c903338>. See the attached previous email for more details. > > 3. NDD United Town Hall: Budget Bonanza!: Featuring Michael Deich, Senior Advisor for Budget, Office of Management and Budget and Fiscal policy experts from the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities > > February 17, 2016 > 10:00 – 11:30 am > National Education Association > 1201 16th St NW, Main Auditorium > RSVP HERE! <https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1xtHE3SxanKEUDmD-QsxuyO1lGyqW0zkkIXQBRm3Sv80/formResponse> > Note: Call-In Capability Unavailable > > February is budget month! During this timely NDD United Town Hall, Mr. Deich will discuss the President’s budget request and experts from the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities (CBPP) will share more information about the congressional budget resolution and potential threats to nondefense discretionary programs therein. CBPP will also share more about what we might expect from the fiscal 2017 appropriations process. There will be ample opportunity for Q&A with guest speakers. > > Come one come all! Please feel free to share this invitation with your colleagues. > > 4. FY 2017 Budget: On Thursday, February 4, The House Budget Committee is holding its hearing <http://budget.house.gov/hearingschedule2016/cbo-s-budget-and-economic-outlook.htm> on CBO's Budget and Economic Outlook <https://www.cbo.gov/publication/51129>report. > > The expectation is that the Committee will markup its FY 2017 Budget Resolution on February 25, with the Budget Resolution going to the House floor the week of February 29. No definitive word yet on Senate Budget Committee markup. It is expected that the Budget Resolution will include reconciliation instructions, possibly on “welfare reform”. Assuming Republicans stick with their previous framework to balance the budget in ten years, it will require much deeper spending cuts than past budget resolutions. > > “The Congressional Budget Office projects the cumulative or total deficit over the next 10 years at $9.4 trillion, $2.2 trillion more than the cumulative deficit for the 10-year period covered in the previous budget resolution. This means that in order to show a path to wiping out the deficit in 10 years, which most in the GOP want, the fiscal 2017 budget resolution will have to assume even deeper cuts in spending than were in the fiscal 2016 budget resolution.” See: Budget Resolution, Reconciliation Seen as Likely in Senate <http://www.cq.com/doc/news-4824381?2> (CQ). > > 5. Computer Science For All: At 6 AM tomorrow, the White House will announce a major new initiative to expand access to computer science for all, including new funding in its FY 20917 budget. > > 6. Senate Budget Committee Hearing: The Senate Budget Committee will hold a hearing <http://www.budget.senate.gov/republican/public/index.cfm/hearing-schedule?ID=8D6CF318-70C5-4719-842C-66ACECCD948C> Wednesday, February 3, 2016 at 10:00 am focused on spending on unauthorized and expired programs. Testifying will be Congressional Budget Office (CBO) Director Keith Hall, Jessica Tollestrup, Specialist with the Congressional Research Service (CRS), Dr. Paul Posner, Director of George Mason University’s Center on the Public Service, and Dr. James Thurber, Director of the Center for Congressional and Presidential Studies at American University. > > On January 15, CBO issued its annual report, Unauthorized Appropriations and Expiring Authorizations <https://www.cbo.gov/sites/default/files/114th-congress-2015-2016/reports/51131-UAEA-Senate.pdf>. According to the report, among the Programs Funded in FY 2016 With Expired Authorizations of Appropriations are Higher Education Opportunity Act, Carl D. Perkins Career and Technical Education Improvement Act of 2006, Individuals with Disabilities Education Improvement Act of 2004, An act to provide for improvement of federal education research, statistics, evaluation, information, and dissemination, and for other purposes. Senate Budget Committee Chairman Enzi issued a statement in response to tat report: CBO: Government Will Spend Over $310 Billion on Expired Programs <http://www.budget.senate.gov/republican/public/index.cfm/press-releases?ID=A14C130B-EADD-47C0-AEDA-120399B4F915>. > > 7. Federal Spending/Debt Limit Hearing: The House Committee on Financial Services’ Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations will hold a hearing <http://financialservices.house.gov/calendar/eventsingle.aspx?EventID=400205> entitled “Unsustainable Federal Spending and the Debt Limit” on Tuesday, February 2. “This hearing will examine matters within the Committee’s Rule X subject matter jurisdiction relating to the nation’s spending and the debt limit, including the Administration’s debt limit contingency planning and its assessment of the impact of debt prioritization on financial markets and the economy.” > > 8. NCES Reports: The National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) on January 27 released two First Look reports on revenues and expenditures in public education. > Revenues and Expenditures for Public Elementary and Secondary Education: School Year 2012–13 (Fiscal Year 2013)  <http://nces.ed.gov/pubsearch/pubsinfo.asp?pubid=2015301>presents national and state level data on revenues by source, and expenditures by function for public elementary and secondary education for school year 2012-13 (FY 13). Among the highlights of the report: > • Total revenues per pupil decreased by 1.2 percent on a national basis and decreased by 1 percent or more in 26 states from FY 12 to FY 13, after adjusting for inflation. > > • Nationally, expenditures per pupil for public elementary and secondary education were $10,763 in FY 13. Expenditures per pupil decreased by 0.6 percent on a national basis and decreased by 1 percent or more in 20 states between FY 12 and FY 13, after adjusting for inflation. > > • Current expenditures per pupil ranged from a low of $6,432 in Utah to $20,530 in the District of Columbia. After District of Columbia, expenditures per pupil were next highest in New York ($19,529); New Jersey ($18,523); Alaska ($18,217); Connecticut ($17,321); Vermont ($17,286); Wyoming ($15,815); and Massachusetts ($15,321). > > Revenues and Expenditures for Public Elementary and Secondary School Districts: School Year 2012-13 (Fiscal Year 2013) <http://nces.ed.gov/pubsearch/pubsinfo.asp?pubid=2015303> presents findings on public education revenues and expenditures at the local education agency (LEA)/district level using FY 13 provisional data from the School District Finance Survey. Among the highlights of the report: > > • In FY 13, current expenditures per pupil in the 100 largest public school districts ranged from a low of $5,539 in Alpine School District, Utah to a high of $20,331 in New York City School District, New York. > > • Among the 100 largest districts in the nation, those with the highest per-pupil expenditures were New York City School District ($20,331), Boston City Schools, Massachusetts ($19,066); Philadelphia School District, Pennsylvania ($16,381); Anchorage School District, Alaska ($15,391); Montgomery County Public Schools, Maryland ($15,080); Baltimore City Schools, Maryland ($15,050); Howard County Public Schools, Maryland ($14,884); Detroit City School District, Michigan ($14,259); and Prince George’s County Public Schools, Maryland ($14,101). > > • The districts with the highest per pupil expenditure by region were: > > Northeast: Newark City Public Schools, New Jersey ($24,670), Jersey City Public Schools, New Jersey ($21,819), and New York City Public Schools ($20,331) > > South: District of Columbia Public Schools ($17,953), Christina School District, Delaware ($16,664), and Montgomery County Public Schools, Maryland ($15,080) > > Midwest: St. Paul Public School District, Minnesota ($14,286), Detroit City School District, Michigan ($14,259), and Cleveland Municipal School District ($13,980) > > West: Anchorage School District, Alaska ($15,391), Laramie County School District #1, Wyoming ($14,971), and Hawaii Department of Education ($11,823) > > Politico’s Morning Education had this to say about the reports: > > “DECLINE IN PER-STUDENT SPENDING SLOWS: National spending on public school students has fallen for the fourth straight year in a row, but decreases in per student spending are starting to slow down, according to two new school finance reports from the National Center for Education Statistics. That means education spending in the U.S. is starting to get a boost from the gradual economic recovery, said Stephen Cornman, author of the reports. Nationally, spending per student increased steadily each year between 2003-04 and 2007-08, peaking in 2008-09 at $11,621 per student. While it has decreased each year since then, it only decreased by a marginal 0.6 percent between FY 2012 and FY 2013. "I think it's possible that expenditures per pupil will increase in the next fiscal year we report, which is 2014, just because this trend of decreases has been dwindling down," Cornman said. National spending per public school student was $10,763 in FY 2013, ranging from $6,432 per student in Utah to $20,530 per student in D.C. All 50 states and D.C. reported more than $603 billion collected in total funding for public education in 2013, 91 percent of which came from state and local governments. The reports: http://1.usa.gov/1KD7cr0 <http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=2a152679e0fbbba82d6ccc41cceacab3b02544b7819b96cc1fb29fd9d00a5c78> and: http://1.usa.gov/1NyyCht <http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=2a152679e0fbbba815fbf0af50b67d84e1818eeeb97d0a02f81fb79804a08cd0>. > > “- Federal funding comprised 13 percent of all money collected by states for public education in 2010-11, but funds dwindled as the stimulus dried up. In FY 2014, federal funding was down to nine percent of all funding. In FY 2013, Title I funds accounted for $14.2 billion, or more than a quarter of federal revenues for education, special education programs received $11.2 billion or 20 percent, child nutrition programs accounted for $14 billion or 25 percent, and Impact Aid accounted for $1.5 billion or 3 percent. > > “- NCES also looked at spending per student in the 100 largest school districts, ranging from a low of $5,539 in Alpine School District, Utah, to a high of $20,331 in New York City schools for FY 2013. Nationally, and without any geographic cost adjustment, median spending per student was $9,353 in cities, $11,041 in suburbs, $9,214 in towns and $10,347 in rural areas.” > > Also see this Washington Post story: Spending in nation’s schools falls again, with wide variation across states <https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/education/nations-k-12-schools-spending-falls-again-shows-wide-variation-across-states/2016/01/26/0a420ede-c443-11e5-a4aa-f25866ba0dc6_story.html> > > 9. ESSA Implementation: Yesterday, the U.S. Department of Education sent a letter <http://www2.ed.gov/policy/elsec/leg/essa/transition-dcl.pdf> from Senior Advisor Ann Whalen to Chief State School Officers “that addresses pressing questions concerning the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA). Specifically, the letter articulates the flexibilities available to states in the 2016-2017 school year designed to ensure an orderly transition to the ESSA.” As ED continues to analyze the ESSA, it will provide additional information at www.ed.gov/essa <http://www.ed.gov/essa>. Also see: Ed. Dept. Outlines ESSA Transition on Tutoring, School Choice, Teachers <http://blogs.edweek.org/edweek/campaign-k-12/2016/01/ed_dept_outlines_essa_transiti.html> (Politics K12). > > 10. ED Staffing: Yesterday, “Acting U.S. Secretary of Education John B. King Jr. announced … that James Cole Jr., who is currently serving as General Counsel to the Department, will assume the duties of Deputy Secretary.” > > In addition, according to Politics K12 <http://blogs.edweek.org/edweek/campaign-k-12/2016/01/james_cole_jr_tapped_for_numbe.html>, “…coordination of pre-K-12 programs will shift from the deputy secretary's office to Emma Vadehra, King's chief of staff. ‘With the tremendous amount of work ahead of us to implement the Every Student Succeeds Act, she is the ideal fit for this new and larger role at this critical time, and she will be superb in it,’ King wrote in an email sent to department staff Thursday.” > > 11. PreK Spending: The Education Commission of the States (ECS) just issued State Pre-K Funding for 2015-16 Fiscal Year: National trends in state preschool funding <http://www.ecs.org/ec-content/uploads/01252016_Prek-K_Funding_report-4.pdf>. It found that “Nationwide, state funding for pre-k increased by $767 million to a total of nearly $7 billion. This is a 12 percent increase in state investment in pre-k programs, which builds on an additional 12 percent increase during the 2014–15 fiscal year.” > > Also: “In the 2015-16 budget year, 32 states and the District of Columbia raised funding levels of pre-k programs. This increased support for preschool funding came from both sides of the aisle – 22 states with Republican governors and 10 states with Democratic governors, plus the District of Columbia. In contrast, only five states with Republican governors and three states with Democratic governors decreased their pre-k funding. Overall, state funding of pre-k programs across the 50 states and the District of Columbia increased by nearly $767 million, or 12 percent over 2014-15.” > > 12. Update: Balanced Budget Amendment and Constitutional Convention: Please see the attached email from Alex Rugoff, State Project Coordinator at the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities for updates on the balanced budget amendment and constitutional convention work happening across the country. > > 13. Child Nutrition/Hunger; On Wednesday, the White House issued FACT SHEET: Obama Administration Announces Major Investments in Preventing Child Hunger <https://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/2016/01/27/fact-sheet-obama-administration-announces-major-investments-preventing>. Some key points: > · The President’s FY2017 Budget will invest $12 billion over ten years to reduce child hunger during the summer through a permanentSummer Electronic Benefits Transfer for Children (Summer EBT) program <http://www.fns.usda.gov/sites/default/files/ops/FY17SEBTCBudgetFactSheet.pdf> to provide supplemental food benefits during the summer months for all families with children eligible for free and reduced price school meals. > · USDA will announce a new initiative to increase access to school meals for low-income children through a project that will allow interested State agencies that administer the National School Lunch Program (NSLP) to use Medicaid data to certify students for free and reduced priced lunches. > > Also see: An Easier Way to Enroll in School Lunches <http://www.theatlantic.com/education/archive/2016/01/usda-school-lunch-enrollment/431688/> (The Atlantic) > > 14. School Choice Hearing: The House Committee Education and the Workforce next week will hold a hearing to examine school choice efforts at the state and local levels. From the Committee’s media advisory: “On Wednesday, February 3 at 10:00 a.m., the full committee will hold a hearing <http://edworkforce.house.gov/Components/Redirect/r.aspx?ID=472837-14214518> entitled, “Expanding Educational Opportunity through School Choice.” By empowering parents with a variety of educational options, school choice plays a vital role in helping children access a quality education. During Wednesday’s hearing, members will learn more about how states and communities are improving and expanding school choice, as well as discuss how federal policies can support these efforts. The hearing will take place in room HVC-210 of the Capitol Visitor Center.” > > 15. States and Higher Education Spending: Pew’s Stateline recently published The High Cost of Higher Education <http://www.pewtrusts.org/en/research-and-analysis/blogs/stateline/2016/01/25/the-high-cost-of-higher-education>. > > “But while the presidential candidates debate major new investments in public higher education, states will spend 2016 pursuing a more modest agenda. States only have limited funds to work with, even as many lawmakers say they want college to be more affordable and states aim to increase the share of residents who hold a postsecondary degree or certificate. > > “Rather than blockbuster new investments, expect 2016 to bring tuition freezes, tweaks to scholarship programs, and policies that push institutions to do more with existing funding. Even ambitious-sounding changes, such as eliminating tuition for community college students, likely will be targeted to limit state spending.” > > 16. AERA Congressional Fellowship: AERA is currently accepting applications for the newly launched AERA Congressional Fellowship Program. The aim of the Program is to provide education researchers with an opportunity to participate first-hand in the policy making process and bring their expertise and knowledge to their roles on a committee or Congressional member’s staff and to provide Congressional offices with substantive knowledge about education research and data for education policy decisions. > > AERA will bring up to three doctorate-level education researchers to Washington, D.C. The one year fellowship will begin on September 1. The program is open to education researchers at all career stages with a passion for and interest in contributing to and learning from dedicated engagement and public service in policy-making. > > http://www.aera.net/ResearchPolicyAdvocacy/AERACongressionalFellowship/tabid/16173/Default.aspx <http://www.aera.net/ResearchPolicyAdvocacy/AERACongressionalFellowship/tabid/16173/Default.aspx> > > 17. Public Concern About Education In 2016: What The Numbers Say: The American Enterprise Institute issued this interesting brief publication <http://www.aei.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/01/Public-Concern-about-Education-in-2016.pdf> about why education is not getting much attention ion the presidential election. > > > > > Joel Packer > CEF Executive Director > JPacker@cef.org <mailto:JPacker@cef.org> > 202-383-0083 > 202-255-0915 (cell) > www.cef.org <http://www.cef.org/> > www.Twitter.com/edfunding <http://www.twitter.com/edfunding> > NOTE OUR NEW ADDRESS > 1341 G Street, NW > Fifth Floor > Washington, DC 20005 > >