The document provides an overview of the 112th Congress and federal education priorities and budgets. It discusses: 1) Leadership changes in Congress and the Department of Education. 2) The status of the FY2011 budget, which is operating under a continuing resolution, and outlines for the FY2012 budget. 3) Key education priorities for reauthorizing the Workforce Investment Act, Elementary and Secondary Education Act, and passing the Dream Act. Disagreements around reducing deficits may impact what legislation gets passed.

1. Legislative Outlook
112th Congress
1 st Session
Ellen Fern
Washington Partners, LLC
efern@wpllc.net
March 18, 2011

2. 112th Congress
Overview
 Department of Education
 Congress
 Congressional Leadership and Committee Membership
 Issues
 Federal FY 2011 Budget Status
 Federal FY 2012 Budget
 Budget Outline
 Education Overview
 Congressional Education Agenda
 Overview
 WIA
 ESEA
 Dream Act

3. Department of Education
Leadership
 U.S. Secretary of Education – Arne Duncan
 Jo Anderson, Jr. – Senior Advisor
 Focus on outreach to teachers and teacher
organizations
 Office of the Deputy Secretary (ODS) – Tony Miller
Handles K-12 policy including ESEA, ELL, Innovation
and Improvement, IDEA
 Office of English Language Acquisition
 Assistant Deputy Secretary Dr. Rosalinda Barrera
 Office of Elementary and Secondary Education
 Assistant Secretary Thelma Meléndez

4. Department of Education
Leadership
 Office of the Undersecretary – Martha Kanter
Oversees policies, programs and activities related
to vocational and adult education, postsecondary
education and college aid.
 Office of Vocational and Adult Education
 Dr. Brenda Dann-Messier, Assistant Secretary
 Office of Community Colleges
 Frank Chong Ed.D., Deputy Assistant Secretary
 Division of Adult Education and Literacy
(DAEL)
 Cheryl Keenan, Director

5. Congress – Democratic Majority
U.S. Senate Leadership
 Senate Majority Leader – Senator Harry Reid (D-NV)
51:47:2
 Senate Minority Leader – Senator Mitch McConnell
(R-KY)
 Appropriations Committee
 Chairman – Senator Daniel Inouye (D-HI)
 LHHS Subcommittee Chairman – Senator
Tom Harkin (D-IA)
 Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP)
Committee
 Chairman – Senator Tom Harkin(D-IA)
 Judiciary Committee
 Chairman – Senator Pat Leahy (D-VT)

6. Congress – Republican Majority
U.S. House Leadership
 Republican Majority – Speaker John Boehner (R-OH)
241:192
 Minority Leader – Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D-CA)
 Appropriations Committee
 Chairman - Rep. Hal Rogers (R-KY)
 LHHS Subcommittee Chairman – Rep. Denny
Rehberg (R-MT)
 Education and Workforce Committee
 Chairman – Rep. John Kline (R-MN)
 Judiciary Committee
 Chairman – Rep. Lamar Smith (R-TX)

7. Washington Environmental
Assessment
 Partisanship has impacted all debate and legislative
schedule.
 Unprecedented dysfunction in the legislative process.
 Issue landscape changing rapidly – has evolved from
stimulus, job creation, war in Afghanistan and financial
reform to huge emphasis on the deficit.
 Fiscal Year 2011 appropriations process delayed.
 Federal government running on a Continuing Resolution.

8. Congressional Focus
 Complete FY 2011 budget.
 Mandate to cut the budget because of deficit.
 Smaller government.
 Focus on earmark elimination.

9. Congressional Action on
FY 2011
 Fiscal Year began October 1,
2010
 No appropriations bills passed.
 5th Continuing Resolution until
March 18th.
 6th Continuing Resolution until
April 8th passed.
 Can Congress agree on a long-
term Congressional Resolution?

10. FY 2011 Continuing Resolutions
English Language Acquisition
 President’s FY 2011 Request - $800 million
 FY 2011 Continuing Resolution - $750 million
 FY 2010 - $750 million
 FY 2009 - $730 million
 FY 2008 - $ 700.4 million

11. FY 2010 Final and FY 2011 CR:
Adult Basic and Literacy Education
 State Grants
 FY 2010 - $639.6 million
 FY 2011 CR - $639.6 million
 Includes level funding for English Language and
Civics Education grants ($75 million)
 National Leadership Activities
 FY 2010 - $11.3 million
 FY 2011 CR - $11.3 million

12. FY 2011 Continuing Resolution:
Additional Programs of Interest
 Even Start - $0 ($66.5 million FY 2010)
 Striving Readers Comprehensive Literacy Program – $0 ($200 million FY
2010)
 Teacher Quality State Grants - $2.94 ($2.95 billion FY 2010)
 Career and Technical Education (state grants) – $1.272 billion
 Migrant Education (Title I) - $394.8 million
 Foreign Language Assistance (K-12) - $26.9 million
 TRIO and GEAR UP - $853.1 million and $323.2 million

13. Winning the Future
FY 2012 Budget: President’s Outline
 Budget Goals
 To win the future, “we have to out-innovate, out-
educate and out-build the rest of the world.”
 Take responsibility for our deficit, “by investing in
what makes America stronger and cutting what
doesn’t.”
 Reform government so that it’s “smarter, leaner,
and better able to take on the challenges of the
21st century.”

14. FY 2012 Budget Detail
 $3.73 trillion request which cuts the deficit by
$1 trillion over the next decade.
 $1.65 trillion deficit in FY 2012.
 5-year freeze to most discretionary spending.
 Maintains priority investments to critical areas
including education.
 Must work together to make hard choices.

15. FY 2012 Budget Outline
Education Overview
 $77.4 billion for ED - $2 billion increase over
FY 2010.
 Creates educational reform that emphasizes
“cutting where we can, to invest where we
must.”
 Investments made in innovative, outcome-
orientated programs that build on Race to the
Top.
 Consolidates 38 K-12 programs into 11.
 Eliminates 13 programs.

16. FY 2012 Budget
Education Overview
 Five priorities for ED:
1. Early learning programs;
2. Elementary and secondary innovation and
reform;
3. Recruitment of top teachers and
professionals;
4. College completion; and
5. Supporting at-risk student populations, e.g.,
English language learners.

17. FY 2010 Budget
Education Overview: K-12 Focus
 Rewarding excellence and promoting
innovation
 $900 million Race to the Top (District level).
 $300 million i3 Fund.
 $90 million ARPA-ED (Advanced Research Projects
Agency).
 Support for effective charter schools and comprehensive
school choice.
 Great teachers and leaders.
 $3.25 billion Excellent Instructional Team initiative
(consolidates 9 programs).
 $835 million Effective Teachers and Learning.

18. FY 2010 Budget
Education Overview: K-12
 All students college- and career-ready.
 $750 million for ELL program to ensure these
students reach same college- and career-ready
goals as other students.
 $420 million to help States improve quality of
assessment systems.

19. FY 2012 Budget Outline
Education Overview: Adult Learners
 Variety of programs targeting adult learners.
 $635 million for Adult Basic and Literacy
Education State Grants.
 8 percent of funds used for Workforce
Innovation Fund (WIF) – joint initiative with DOL
to improve WIA programs by testing and
validating innovation.
 $23 million National Leadership Activities – new
evaluation and technology infrastructure.

20. FY 2012 Budget
Response
 The response on Capitol Hill to the
President’s budget not enough.
 Still working on FY 2011.
 Education budget not written to statute.
 Tea Party members will demand fiscal
discipline.

21. FY 2012 Budget:
Congressional Action
 Both chambers have begun to have
hearings.
 Senate Budget Committee has heard testimony
from Secretary Duncan.
 House Ed and Workforce Committee has heard
testimony from Secretary Duncan.
 House LHHS Appropriations Subcommittee has
heard testimony from Secretary Duncan.

22. Congressional Education Agenda
Overview
 Workforce Investment Act/Adult Education
 Long overdue – hasn’t been reauthorized since
1998.
 Title II – Adult Education and Family Literacy
Act .
 Senate HELP Committee has draft.
 House Education and Workforce Committee
has many new members – must educate them.

23. Elementary and Secondary Education
Act (ESEA) Reauthorization
 President Obama Priority – speech at
Kenmore Middle School on Monday.
 Wants Congress to send him bill to “fix” law before
new school year.
 Secretary Duncan Priority.
 Law is broken; must fix it to make it more “fair,
flexible and focused.”
 Focus on lowest performing schools and students
most at-risk.

24. ESEA: TESOL Recommendations
 Widespread recognition of benefits and
problems for ELL learners
 ESEA has shined a light on ELL learners and
forced schools to educate these students.
 Teaching has improved.
 Major issues with language of law and state
implementation.
 Slow guidance from Department of Education.

25. ESEA: TESOL Recommendations
Accountability – Title I
 Include accountability for the development of
academic English language proficiency.
 Incorporate English language proficiency
level as weighted factor into content area
achievement.
 Distinguish among students within ELL
English language proficiency level within age
groups.
 Require disaggregation of graduation rates
based on subgroup.

26. ESEA: TESOL Recommendations
Accountability – Title III
 Require uniform statewide criteria for
identification and classification of English
Language Learners.
 Require states to develop and implement
system to monitor and report on effectiveness
of language instruction programs.

27. ESEA: TESOL Recommendations
Assessment and Accommodations
 Require states to use valid and reliable
assessments and to submit evidence of
validity and reliability of assessments.
 Require states to report on accommodations
used and provide guidance to districts.
 Allow use of multiple measures for
assessment.
 Codify ED regulation allowing 1-year
exemption from ELA assessment for recently
arrived ELLs and lowest proficiency level.

28. ESEA: TESOL Recommendations
Advancing Expertise – Title II
 Define ESL as core academic subject.
 Require states to provide unique licensure
credentials for ESL/bilingual as well as other
educators who work with ELLs.
 Require states to demonstrate core academic
content teachers also prepared to meet
needs of ELLs.
 Incentives to give funding priority to prof
development programs focused on ESL/
bilingual educators.

29. ESEA: TESOL Recommendations
Advancing Expertise - Title III
 Reinstate fellowship program to support new
generation of teachers and researchers to
support ELLs.
 Provide incentives to districts to develop
career ladder programs for ESL/bilingual.
 Develop new discretionary grant program for
“new-growth” districts.
 Provide funding for further research.
 Establish funding to develop English language
proficiency standards linked to Common Core.

30. ESEA: TESOL Recommendations
Promoting Innovation – Title I
 Allow states to measure linguistic and
academic progress in more than 1 language.
 Provide resources to promote family literacy
so families of ELLs have access to effective
early childhood and adult education
programs.

31. ESEA: TESOL Recommendations
Promoting Innovation – Title III
 Allow Title III funds to support development of
native language literacy.
 Create competitive grant for innovative
programs to serve ELLs.
 Establish new grant program targeted to
high-need areas to support programs that
maintain and develop learners’ native
languages.
 Provide funding to develop content-area
assessments in native/heritage languages.

32. Other Education Priorities
 STEM education
 Comprehensive birth-grade 12 literacy
initiative
 Middle school and high school reform

33. The Dream Act
Status
 Did not pass in 111th Congress.
 Will be introduced by Sen. Richard Durbin
(D-IL) and Rep. Howard Berman (D-CA) in
April.
 President has expressed support for bill in
past.

34. What Will Get Done?
Will partisanship rule the day?
Will President be able to sign a new ESEA?
Will WIA ever be introduced?