Transcript Legislative Update

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Legislative Update
Julia Martin
[email protected]
Brustein& Manasevit, PLLC
Spring 2012 Forum
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Agenda
•Where Congress Stands
•Budget Battles
• Last year’s outcome
• Coming up this year
•Legislative Action
• ESEA
• WIA, IDEA, and more
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Where Congress Stands
• Politically divided
▫ Also: splits within parties
• Historic levels of partisanship
• Historically low approval rating
• Huge nationwide fiscal and debt issues
• Huge potential for change in
Congressional/agency makeup after
2012 election
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Source: Senator Michael Bennet, Oct. 2011
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Budget Battles
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FY 2012 Budget
• Not a real budget – full-year Continuing
Resolution
• Completed almost three months late,
against looming shutdown deadline
• Cut ED funding by $233 million
▫ All programs subject to .189% across-theboard cut
• Some increases: IDEA, Title I
• President’s priorities, including Race to the
Top
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Budget Control Act
• August 2011
• Raised the debt ceiling temporarily
• Reduced spending caps by $891
billion over the next ten years
• Created Congressional debt
Supercommittee
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The Supercommittee: Not So Super
• Tasked with cutting $1.5 trillion in
spending over next decade by
Thanksgiving 2011
• If at least $1.2 trillion in cuts were not
agreed to by November 23, automatic
cuts triggered in that same amount
• Total failure to come to an agreement
▫ Blamed on lack of agreement generally,
and on issue of taxes vs. cuts
• Failure of Supercommittee means
automatic cuts through “sequestration”
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Sequestration: a Big Hairy Mess
• Failure of Supercommittee means
automatic cuts through “sequestration”
• Cuts take effect January 2, 2013
▫ Cuts to some programs may take effect
immediately (mid-year)
• Cuts to education of
up to $4.1 billion this
coming year
• Never really intended to
happen?
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Sequestration Step-by-Step
• Adjust total for interest to reflect lesser debt
principal
▫ $1.2 trillion  $984 billion
• Divide by year from 2013 through 2021
• Split by function between defense and nondefense spending (about $54.5 billion each
per year)
• Take exempt programs out of the equation
• Spread cuts equally among remaining
programs in 2013 (accomplished by reducing
spending caps for 2014 and beyond)
• Estimates on final cuts range from 5.5% - 9.1%
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Sequestration
• What’s exempt?
▫ Some low income assistance programs:
 Social Security
 Medicaid
 TANF
 SNAP
 Many child nutrition and commodity food
programs
▫ Veterans benefits
▫ Pell grants, in first year
• What’s not exempt?
▫ Defense spending, among other items
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Impact of Sequestration
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How to Avoid Sequestration?
• Must be rescinded by an act of
Congress through:
▫ Regular- year appropriations legislation
passed by House and Senate with
specific rescission language;
▫ An alternate spending plan with
rescission language; or
▫ Special legislation rescinding
automatic cuts
• All options must be approved
by House, Senate, and
President
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The Search for Plan B
• Alternative to sequestration is to pass a
budget bill that undoes automatic cuts
• Potential alternatives
▫ President’s budget proposal
▫ The Ryan budget
• Other input
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The President’s Proposal
• Overall, 2.5% increase in education spending
($1.72 billion)
• New Race to the Top proposals for college
affordability and completion, improving
matriculation and reducing remediation ($1.55
billion)
• Increases to Promise Neighborhoods, IDEA Part C
• Legislative proposal would provide:
▫ $30 billion to modernize schools
▫ $25 billion to help hire and retain teachers
▫ $1 billion for career academies
• Other programs frozen at FY 12 levels (no cuts)
▫ Includes: Title I, SIG, 21st CCLC, IDEA Part B
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The Ryan Budget
• Proposed by House Budget Committee Chairman
Paul Ryan (R-WI), resolution passed House in March
• Lowers spending caps by 5% in FY 2013; by 19% in
FY 2014
• Huge cuts in almost all areas except defense
▫ Education could lose $115 billion in the next decade
• Restructuring of tax code, entitlements
• Balances budget by 2040?
• Negative reaction from Democrats, advocates,
some moderate Republicans
▫ “Thinly veiled social darwinism” (President Obama)
▫ Goes against debt ceiling agreements on spending
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Other input
• Defense industry: Don’t subject
us to cuts
• Chairman Kline (R-MN): Don’t
cut IDEA
• States: State and local revenues
are dropping, can’t take more
cuts at federal level
• Leadership: need accountability
for Supercommittee failure
• Presidential and Congressional
Elections a factor
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What’s Next for the Budget
• House and Senate Appropriations Committees
will draft spending bills
• Debate on spending will be part of election
• Most Likely:
▫ Another Continuing Resolution (CR) and long
budget battle
▫ Continuing signs of schism within Republican
party
▫ Final action on sequestration and
budget will come during lame
duck session
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Legislation
ESEA
Waivers
WIA, IDEA, and more
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ESEA
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The Landscape
• Near-universal unhappiness with
current law
• Pressure on both sides to reduce
size/scope of federal footprint
• Increasing sanctions for schools
▫ In March 2011, Sec. Duncan said 82% of
schools will be labeled “failing” this year.
• Push for reauthorization from
administration, advocates, and Members
of Congress
• Bills passed through Committee in House
and Senate
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The Harkin Bill
• Released October 2011, presented as a
compromise
▫ Not a complete re-write – builds on existing
ESEA structure
▫ More flexibility overall
▫ No more AYP/100% proficiency target
▫ State-based accountability
• Some support, but also early opposition (not
enough accountability, issues with teacher
evaluation)
▫ Groups opposed include ACLU, La Raza,
NAACP, Ed Trust, Chamber of Commerce,
Congressional Tri-Caucus
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The Future of the Harkin Bill
• Not a priority for Senate leadership
• Lack of strong bipartisan support
▫ Senator Rand Paul (R-KY) almost derailed
markup with procedural objection
▫ Senator Lamar Alexander (R-TN)
only voted for it in Committee
to keep it moving
• Harkin says he won’t move
to place on Senate floor
unless House passes
their own bipartisan bill
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The Kline/Hunter Bill(s)
• Setting New Priorities in Education Spending
Act (H.R. 1891)
▫ Eliminates/consolidates some federal
education programs
▫ Passed through Committee
• Empowering Parents through Quality Charter
Schools Act (H.R. 2218)
▫ Promotes expansion and replication of
successful charter models
▫ Passed House with bipartisan support
• State and Local Funding Flexibility Act (H.R.
2445)
▫ Passed through Committee
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The Kline/Hunter Bill(s)
• Student Success Act (H.R. 3989) and Encouraging
Innovation and Effective Teachers Act (H.R. 3990)
▫ Passed Committee in February 2012
▫ Also not a complete re-write: structure similar to
NCLB
 Eliminates AYP, mandatory interventions
 Moves more accountability to State level
 Removes MOE requirement for State/local
funding
 Allows more alternate assessments
 Freezes authorized appropriations
 Requires teacher and principal evaluations
with student achievement as significant
factor
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The Future of the Kline/Hunter Bills
• Lukewarm support from most advocates
▫ “a step in the right direction”
• Concerns about maintaining accountability
for subgroup achievement
• Concerns about teacher evaluations
• No bipartisan support
▫ Strong opposition from
Ranking Member George
Miller, other Congressional
Democrats
• Not a priority for leadership?
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Reauthorization . . . or not
• Failure to move legislation on both sides of the
Capitol
▫ Not a priority for leadership
▫ Lack of strong bipartisan support
• Encroachment of partisan politics in new issue
areas including education
▫ “We’ve never had education dragged into this
vortex. Education has always been above it. Now
we find ourselves sitting in a partisan firefight.”
(Rep. George Miller (D-CA) at CCSSO, March 2012)
• Administration waiver package takes away
urgency for some States, members
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Trends in Current ESEA Legislation
• Moving away from AYP/AMOs
• Greater autonomy on accountability and
standards at State and local levels
• Consolidation of smaller programs into
larger funding streams
• Focus on improving lowest-performing
schools through restructuring and re-staffing
• Increasing “parental choice” options
through charters, parent triggers, vouchers,
etc.
• Teacher/principal evaluations which include
student achievement as a factor
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Waivers
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“We Can’t Wait”
"After trying for months to work with
Congress on education, we've
decided to take matters into our
own hands”
- White House Press Release on Head Start, November 8, 2011
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“We Can’t Wait”: NCLB Waivers
• Increasing pressure on schools to make unrealistic AYP
targets
• Early 2011: CCSSO announces intention to seek
waivers under NCLB
• June 2011: States speak out on need for relief
▫ Idaho: “Idaho does not have the luxury of spending
limited time and limited resources on meeting the rigid
requirements of an outdated accountability system.”
• July 2011: Secretary says ED will take enforcement
action, including possible withholding of Title I funds
• BUT eventually allows Montana re-write history of AYP
targets through any means available, avoiding
withholding of funds
• AND Signals future “flexibility” from NCLB requirements
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“We Can’t Wait”: NCLB Waivers
• President Obama and Secretary Duncan
announce a series of regulatory reforms to
education programs, including
▫ Student loans and Income-Based Repayment
(IBR)
▫ Head Start
Competitive Funding
▫ Veterans Hiring
▫ NCLB Waivers
• Strong negative reaction
from Congress
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The Waivers
• Offer States and districts
relief from most onerous
provisions of NCLB,
including:
▫ 2013-2014 deadline for
proficiency
▫ Requirement to offer
choice/SES
▫ More flexibility in
implementing LEA and
school improvement
▫ More funding flexibility
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No Such Thing as a Free Lunch
• States applying for waivers must adopt four
“principles for reform”
▫ College and career-ready standards
 E.g., Common core
 Aligned with assessments that measure student
growth
▫ New school accountability systems
 With “ambitious but achievable” AMOs
▫ New teacher and principal evaluations
 Used to inform personnel decisions
 Multiple measures, including student achievement
▫ Reducing duplication and unnecessary burden
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Waivers so far
• 11 States applied for and received waivers
in the first round
▫ Including four Race to the Top States
• 26 States plus DC applied in second round
• ED is accepting a third round of applications
due September 6th
▫ Also offering an “AMO freeze” for States who
need additional time
• Some States have not yet committed to
applying, others are not willing to change
policies
▫ District-level waivers a possibility?
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What Do Waivers Mean for
Reauthorization?
• Work for administration priorities
▫ Demonstrate Congressional ineffectiveness on
reauthorization
▫ Encourage States to implement administration
priorities
▫ Frame policy debate on reauthorization
• Take pressure off Congress
▫ Temporary solution for some States – buys time
• But also push Congress to seek its own solution
▫ Annoyed that ED circumvented legislative process,
questioning legality of conditional waivers
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Waivers and Reauthorization?
• First waivers take effect at end of 2011-2012
school year, most begin in 2012-2013
• Current ESEA legislation would take effect in
summer 2012
• Creates potential for situation where schools
are ready to implement waivers
(or have implemented) and
now are faced with new
requirements
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WIA, IDEA, and more
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WIA Reauthorization
• Almost nine years overdue
• Bills released by House
Republicans and Democrats
• House Committee members
and staff say it’s a priority
• Senator Patty Murray (D-WA)
says she will introduce a bill
• But is there enough time and
political will to get it passed?
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WIA Reauthorization
• Workforce Investment Improvement Act
(H.R. 4297)
▫ Representatives Virginia Foxx (R-NC), Howard
“Buck” McKeon (R-CA), Joe Heck (R-NV)
▫ Consolidates 27 programs into main WIA funding
stream
▫ Modifies funding formula at State and local level
to include long-term unemployment figures
▫ Changes to composition of State and Local
WIBs
▫ New common performance measures
▫ Support from Committee Chairman John Kline
(R-MN)
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WIA Reauthorization
• Democratic alternative: The Workforce
Investment Act of 2012 (H.R. 4227)
▫ Representatives George Miller (D-CA), Ruben
Hinojosa (D-TX), John Tierney (D-MA)
▫ Requires Statewide plans that streamline
programs and align ED and DOL
▫ Community College to Career Fund
▫ No support from Republican majority
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IDEA Reauthorization
• Still no movement
• Less fundamental discontent with the way
the law works?
• Funding an issue – even GOP Reps. ask for
more money
▫ But administration proposal would level-fund
IDEA and other programs, create more
competitive grants  loss of focus?
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Overall Predictions
• Substantive policy legislation
highly unlikely to pass House
and Senate before
November election
• Partisan political fights,
debate on spending, and
role of federal government
will be a big part of any
policy discussion
• Voter interest in education
may bring more focus in
election
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Disclaimer
This presentation is intended solely to provide general
information and does not constitute legal advice or a
legal service. This presentation does not create a
client-lawyer relationship with Brustein & Manasevit,
PLLC and, therefore, carries none of the protections
under the D.C. Rules of Professional
Conduct. Attendance at this presentation, a later
review of any printed or electronic materials, or any
follow-up questions or communications arising out of
this presentation with any attorney at Brustein &
Manasevit, PLLC does not create an attorney-client
relationship with Brustein & Manasevit, PLLC. You
should not take any action based upon any
information in this presentation without first consulting
legal counsel familiar with your particular
circumstances.