Hot Topic Archives

Find out how your U.S. Representative voted on the Labor-HHS-Education Appropriations Bill.

July 25, 2007 - Reading First Update on Capitol Hill. Following a number of reports and revelations about Reading First in 2006 and 2007, the vigorous oversight and heated debate have now moved to Capitol Hill.

House & Senate Education Committees: Both the House Education and Labor Committee and the Senate Health, Education, Labor & Pensions (HELP) Committees are conducting oversight of Reading First as part of the reauthorization of the program in the No Child Left Behind Act.

House & Senate Appropriations: Further, the House and Senate Appropriations Committees sent a strong message about Reading First to the U.S. Department of Education by drastically reducing funding for the program in their pending FY 2008 appropriations bills for Labor-HHS-Education. Accompanying the funding cuts are strong admonishments to the Department for its mismanagement and warnings that funding will not be restored until congress is satisfied that the problems with the program have been corrected.

A side-by-side comparison of the two appropriations reports is available and includes Administration-directed earmarks, conflict of interest, Reading First and Reading Recovery. These two versions will ultimately be combined in a single bill, with new Report language, but these statements are powerful indicators of what could come:

U.S. Department of Education Response: The Department reported its first public data in April 2007 and concluded that Reading First is effective. However, a thoughtful review of the data reveals that:

• The public data are limited to only two of the five essential components of reading instruction required by Reading First (fluency and comprehension) and are silent on vocabulary, phonics, and phonemic awareness.
• The data have no control group and the conclusions are not based on scientific research.
• The data reveal nothing about struggling readers, including their identification, intervention, or outcomes.

White House response: The White House issued a Statement of Administration Policy in July regarding the House Labor-HHS-Education funding threatening a veto of the bill if it exceeds the President’s recommended spending, while at the same time objecting to the cut in Reading First funding:
The Administration strongly opposes the $629 million reduction in the Reading First program. While the Administration recognizes the significant issues outlined in several Inspector General reports, the Department has addressed these problems and implemented all the OIG’s recommendations. Moreover, as a result of Reading First, reading proficiency, on measure of reading fluency in 26 States with a few years of data, has increased for third graders by 15 percent and for economically disadvantaged first graders by 28 percent. Outstanding results such as these, particularly among at-risk students, call for sustaining investments in this effective program.

Next Steps: Negotiations will continue at least until fall, and Reading Recovery advocates should be prepared to communicate their support to congress for Reading Recovery and Title I funding for literacy instruction in the final bill.

For more information contact Lucy Gettman, director of government relations, Reading Recovery Council of North America, 614.310.7329, lgettman@readingrecovery.org.

June 5, 2007-- 300 Advocates go to Capitol Hill. A record number of Reading Recovery professionals and advocates met with congressional members and staff from 37 states on June 5, 2007. Funding for education, the reauthorization of NCLB and the positive review of Reading Recovery research by the What Works Clearinghouse are just a few of the topics discussed. See a few photos below, and send us yours!

 Advocates arrive                                                                                 
   on Capitol Hill        

Congressman David Obey (D-7th WI)
receives the 2007 Teacher Leader Award
from Jackie Heinz and Marggie Pempek

U.S. Senator Susan M. Collins (R-ME), second from right,
meets with Sue Lander, Anne Jordan, and Mary Rosser

Hill Visitors Photo Gallery

May 7, 2007-- NCLB Reauthorization heats up with Margaret Spellings' appearance before the U.S. House Education and Labor Committee to discuss ethical abuses in the department’s oversight of Reading First and the student loan industry. Spellings appeared on May 10, 2007. Link to the House Education and Labor Committee website.