Year in Review

The 111th Congress met for the last time this week, leaving in its wake a year of education highs and lows. Meanwhile, the Obama administration is grappling with how to sell its education reform agenda—outlined over the course of this past year—to an increasingly divided Congress. Here’s ASCD’s take on the nation’s main policy accomplishments (and failures) related to education during the past year, and our quick look at what’s in store when the 112th Congress takes over in January.

ESEA Déjà Vu
The congressional year ends essentially where it began with regard to the most significant piece of federal education legislation, which is more than three years beyond its expiration date.

That isn’t for a complete lack of trying. The past year saw increasing clarity from the Obama administration about its education reform priorities. The March release of A Blueprint for Reform (PDF) outlined the president’s vision for Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) reauthorization, from ensuring that all students are college and career ready to providing great teachers and leaders in every school.

Congress responded by scheduling hearings on ESEA reauthorization, including a Senate hearing that focused on how to support the whole child. Clare Struck, a guidance counselor from Malcolm Price Laboratory School in Cedar Falls, Iowa (the 2010 Whole Child Vision in Action winner), testified at this hearing on ASCD's behalf. Late in the summer, the House and Senate education committees began developing draft reauthorization language. Such efforts, however, fell prey to a contentious election cycle and, ultimately, neither chamber introduced a reauthorization bill.

The Never-Ending FY11 Budget Situation
In early February the Obama administration submitted its FY11 budget request to Congress, which called for a $3.5 billion increase in discretionary education funding, nearly all of which was for competitive K-12 grants tied to the administration’s reform priorities. An additional $1 billion was contingent on Congress completing ESEA reauthorization.

But that financial inducement failed to spur Congress into reauthorizing ESEA or determining the FY11 budget. Instead, Congress was unable to pass the FY11 budget and wound up deffering final funding decisions to the next Congress when the new Republican House majority takes control and is expected to cut programs back to FY08 levels.

On a more positive note, Congress managed to respond to worsening state budgets and resulting threats of looming, large-scale educator layoffs by approving the $10 billion EduJobs bill, which provided emergency education funding to districts for salaries, benefits, and support services for school staff.

Last-Minute Child Nutrition Win
One significant, late-breaking education success for the 111th Congress was its passage of the Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act of 2010, which expands school meal programs and boosts the overall quality of food served in those programs by providing an extra six cents per meal for districts that comply with federal nutrition standards.

President Obama signed the bill last week, which also applies nutrition standards to all food in schools, improving the quality of food offerings available to students through vending machines and school fundraisers; connects more children to healthy produce from local sources, including farms and school gardens; and strengthens local school wellness policies.

Common Core Gains Ground Amid Concerns About the Federal Role
The idea of common academic standards seemed like a pipe dream to many given the revered status of local control and the national controversies that have erupted over previous common standards attempts during the past 20 years. But that impossibility is now becoming a reality in 40 states and Washington, D.C., thanks to the work of the Council of Chief State School Officers and the National Governors Association. ASCD endorsed the common core initiative in the spring.

Congress has largely stayed out of this issue, signaling its preference for states to drive the common core work. But the Obama administration has taken a more active role. Dismayed at the varying quality of academic standards among states and the resulting wide disparities in student proficiency, U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan has made higher state academic standards—and the widespread state adoption of the common core—one of his top reform priorities. States that adopted the standards received extra points on their Race to the Top grant applications and the secretary has dedicated $350 million to help two consortia of states develop the next generation of common state assessments aligned to the new standards. Moreover, the administration’s ESEA blueprint would make Title I funding contingent on states adopting the standards.

The administration’s common core promotion has sparked criticism from both members of Congress and state officials who believe states, not the federal government, should spearhead the standards effort. But such criticism hasn’t slowed the pace of states adopting the standards.

Thirteen States and D.C. Race to the Top
When the Obama administration first introduced the $4.35 billion Race to the Top (RTTT) program as a tool that could be used to spark innovation at the state and district levels, many in Congress applauded the effort and encouraged their states and schools to apply.

Tennessee and Delaware were announced as the first two RTTT winners this spring, prompting grumbling from nonwinning states about the selection criteria and the application review process. Round 2 award winners were announced in August and 11 states (Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Maryland, Massachusetts, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, and Rhode Island) and the District of Columbia found themselves on the receiving end of the funding. This time, dissatisfaction with the process was even more widespread, and New Jersey's narrow loss ultimately cost the state's commisioner of education his job.

A Look Ahead

With a divided 112th Congress, tense relationships between the administration and congressional Republicans, and persistent economic hardships, the outlook for education legislation is uncertain.

We expect schools will be asked to do more with less. Republicans have vowed to cut funding for government programs back to FY08 levels, which would result in reductions of $600 million each for Title I and special education. Continued funding for programs like RTTT and Investing in Education is questionable.

ESEA’s fate could hang on whether Republicans and Democrats stay true to their oft-cited claim that education is a bipartisan issue and show willingness to compromise. Possible areas of agreement between incoming Republican members of Congress and the Obama administration and congressional Democrats include parental involvement and empowerment, accountability, an interest in measuring teacher effectiveness, and an overall dissatisfaction with the No Child Left Behind Act. Nevertheless, vouchers, federal support for the common core, and the federal role versus local control could be potential sticking points.

Many believe that once the new members of Congress have been brought up to speed, there is a chance that ESEA will finally see reauthorization in 2011. However, if either party is unwilling to make accommodations, or sees an advantage in forsaking any legislative accomplishment in the run-up to the 2012 presidential election, ESEA could be stalled until 2013.

—The ASCD policy team wishes you a wonderful holiday season! _____________________________