RRCNA Action Alert & Advocacy Update - December, 2007

Dear RRCNA Members:

Congress is close to completing the first year of the 110th Congress, hoping to finish their work by December 21st and be home until January 15, 2008. This is an opportunity to extend holiday greetings and meet/talk/email/invite them to your school while they are in the district. In the meantime, Washington activity around education includes:

1. Federal funding: Hopes for increased education funding for FY 2008 in jeopardy following veto of Labor-HHS-Education appropriations bill.
    
2. Legislative update: Head Start reauthorization becomes law; Higher Education Act (HEA) reauthorization marked-up by House Education and Labor Committee, hearings on Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) possible early 2008.
    
3. Tracy Justesen nominated for Assistant Secretary for USDE Office of Special Education and Rehabilitation Services (OSERS).
    
4. State budgets tightening according to the National Governor’s Association Fiscal Survey of States.
    
5. Turnover in Congress: 9 House and Senate seats undergo change due to deaths or resignations in the 110th Congress. See below for new faces.
    
6. “Choose Your Candidate” on the Washington Post website – Take this interactive quiz and learn which Presidential hopefuls agree with you the most! NOTE: for fun and educational purposes only. RRCNA does not endorse candidates or engage in electioneering of any kind.
   

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1. Appropriations: As of this writing, Congress and the White House are negotiating an omnibus funding bill that meets the President’s target for domestic spending. Although funding levels for specific programs are unknown, it is feared that increases in previous versions of the Labor-HHS-Education bill for Title I, special education and other programs will not survive. A continuing resolution until December 21st will keep government operations funded at current levels while the bill is finished.

2. Legislative Update:

ESEA: There could be House hearings on the ESEA reauthorization early in 2008 – topics TBA.

Head Start: The "Improving Head Start for School Readiness Act of 2007" (PL 110-134) was signed by the President on December 12th and reauthorizes the Head Start program for 5 years. The definitions of “scientifically valid research” and “principles of scientific research” in the law could become templates for other legislation, such as the HEA and the ESEA. The term ‘scientifically valid research’ includes applied research, basic research, and field-initiated research in which the rationale, design, and interpretation are soundly developed in accordance with principles of scientific research.  The term ‘principles of scientific research’ means principles of research that—
 

‘‘(A) applies rigorous, systematic, and objective methodology to obtain reliable and valid knowledge relevant to education activities and programs;

‘‘(B) presents findings and makes claims that are appropriate to and supported by methods that have been employed; and

‘‘(C) includes, as appropriate to the research being conducted—

‘‘(i) use of systematic, empirical methods that draw on observation or experiment;
‘‘(ii) use of data analyses that are adequate to support the general findings;
‘‘(iii) reliance on measurements or observational methods that provide reliable and generalizable findings;
‘‘(iv) strong claims of causal relationships, only with research designs that eliminate plausible competing explanations for observed results, such as, but not limited to, random assignment experiments;
‘‘(v) presentation of studies and methods in sufficient detail and clarity to allow for replication or, at a minimum, to offer the opportunity to build systematically on the findings of the research;
‘‘(vi) acceptance by a peer-reviewed journal or critique by a panel of independent experts through a comparably rigorous, objective, and scientific review;
and
‘‘(vii) consistency of findings across multiple studies or sites to support the generality of results and conclusions.

HEA: The HEA will not be reauthorized this year, but the House committee-passed bill includes definitions of “literacy coach” and “literacy training.” The definitions are below, along with a link to the House Education & Labor Committee website if you want to look at the bill: http://edlabor.house.gov/bills/HEAReauthorizationText.pdf

“Literacy coach” - A professional ‘‘(A) who ‘‘(i) has teaching experience and a master’s degree with a concentration in reading and writing education; ‘‘(ii) has demonstrated proficiency as determined by the principal of the individual’s school in teaching reading and writing in a content area such as math, science, or social studies; ‘‘(B) whose primary role with teachers and school personnel is to ‘‘(i) provide high-quality professional development opportunities for teachers and school personnel related to literacy; ‘‘(ii) with respect to the areas of reading and writing, collaborate with paraprofessionals, teachers, principals, and other administrators, and the community served by the school; and ‘‘(iii) work cooperatively and collaboratively with other professionals in planning programs to meet the needs of diverse population learners, including children with disabilities and limited English proficient individuals; and ‘‘(C) who may provide students with ‘‘(i) reading or writing diagnosis, instruction, and assessment; and ‘‘(ii) reading and writing assessment, in cooperation with other professionals (such as special education teachers, speech and language teachers, and school psychologists).”

“Literacy training” “Developing and implementing a program to strengthen content knowledge and teaching skills of elementary and secondary school literacy coaches that - ‘‘(A) provides teacher training in reading instruction for literacy coaches who ‘‘(i) train classroom teachers to implement literacy programs; or ‘‘(ii) tutor students with intense individualized reading, writing, and subject matter instruction during or beyond the school day; ‘‘(B) develops or redesigns rigorous evidenced-based reading curricula that are aligned with challenging State academic content standards, as required under section 1111(b) (1) of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965, and with postsecondary standards for reading and writing…(D) provides training and professional development for principals to prepare them to understand the teaching of reading, guide instruction, and foster school improvement.”

3. OSERS nomination: The nomination of Tracy Justesen awaits confirmation in the Senate Health, Education, Labor & Pensions Committee. Mr. Justesen currently serves as Deputy Director of the National Institute on Disability and Rehabilitation Research at the Department of Education. Prior to this, he served as an Attorney-Advisor in the Disability Rights Section at the Department of Justice. Earlier in his career, he served as an Associate Director in the Domestic Policy Council at the White House. OSERS provides funding to programs that serve infants, toddlers, children and adults with disabilities, including special education.

4. State budgets: Although states experienced stable finances in 2007, overall revenue growth has slowed and tighter fiscal conditions are expected in 2008. This could impact education, which accounts for 21% of total state spending on average. The NGA/NASBO Fiscal Survey of States reports continued expenditure pressures from a variety of sources, including increased funding demands related to health care and Medicaid and to long-term challenges such as demographic shifts, employee pensions and infrastructure. In addition, most states will feel the pinch of the nation’s weakening housing market, both directly from lower sales tax revenues and indirectly as local governments struggle with declining property values and decreasing property tax revenues: http://www.nga.org

5. Turnover in Congress: Although we expect new members of Congress after each national election, the 110th Congress has lost a number of members due to deaths and resignations: Below is a list of changes. As with all members of Congress, be sure they know about Reading Recovery!

U.S. Senate: Mississippi Senator Trent Lott will resign by the end of 2007. Successor not determined. Wyoming Senator Craig Thomas passed away in June 2007. John Barrasso (R) was appointed to his seat and will stand for election in 2008.

U.S. House of Representatives:
California Rep. Juanita Millender-McDonald (37th district) passed away in April 2007 and is succeeded by Laura Richardson (D).

Georgia Rep. Charlie Norwood (10th district) passed away in February 2007 and was succeeded by Paul Broun (R).

Illinois Rep. Dennis Hastert (14th district) resigned in November 2007 and a special election will be held in 2008 to choose a successor.

Louisiana Rep. Bobbie Jindal (1st district) will resign in January when he becomes Governor. A special election will be held in March 2008 to choose a successor.

Massachusetts Rep. Marty Meehan (5th district) resigned in July 2007 and is succeeded by Niki Tsongas (D).

Ohio Rep. Paul Gillmor (5th district) passed away in September 2007 and is succeeded by Bob Latta (R).

Virginia Rep. Jo Ann Davis (1st district) passed away in October 2007 and is succeeded by Rob Wittman (R).