Weekly Legislative Highlights: November 12 through November 16, 2007
Updated November 19, 2007
*Education Funding Update
*More Co-Sponsors for NCLB Improvements Act
*Congress Approves Head Start Conference Report
*Senate Farm Bill Stalls
*House Ed Committee passes Higher Ed Act
*Education Funding Update
Late last night, the U.S. House of Representatives failed to override the President’s veto of the FY2008 funding bill (H.R. 3043) for the Departments of Labor, Health & Human Services and Education.
The vote was 277 to 141. 15 representatives did not vote. The vote did not meet the two-thirds majority (of House members present) required to override the veto.
NSBA Executive Director Anne Bryant stated, “We hope that during the Thanksgiving recess, the nation’s leaders who have stood in the way of necessary investments in education will reconsider their actions and make it right when they return to Washington in December.” View a copy of the complete statement.
Please contact your representatives and senators during Congress’ Thanksgiving recess (November 16 – December 3), and urge them to reject any cuts to education in the FY08 conference report for Labor, Health & Human Services, Education (H.R. 3043). Also, reference the House roll call for the vote above to thank representatives who voted in favor of overriding the veto; and urge those who voted to sustain the veto to change their position. You may reference the roll call for the Senate’s vote on the House-Senate conference report on November 7.
The House Budget Committee has updated its state-by-state analysis on the impact of the President’s veto for key education programs (Title I, IDEA, 21st Century Community Learning Centers, Career and Technical Education, and Head Start). The state-by-state analysis provides key data about the potential loss of funding per student under IDEA when comparing the President’s budget request to the House-Senate conference report (H.R. 3043), as well as the number of students affected by a cut to Title I funding, among other areas.
Additional talking points about the Labor, Health & Human Services, Education funding bill (H.R. 3043) are as follows:
- H.R. 3043 gives 117,000 more low-income children extra help with reading and math with an increase of $1.8 billion over FY 2007 for Title I. This includes an increase of $1.47 billion for Title I grants and a $375 million increase for school improvement grants.
- The bill would provide a $500 million increase in funding for students with disabilities under the Individuals With Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), which has been underfunded since the federal mandate was passed more than 30 years ago. If Congress adheres to the President’s budget request for IDEA, federal funding for disabled children would be lowered by an average of $117 per child, according to the House Budget Committee. (For example, this would equate to a loss of $91 per student under IDEA in Rhode Island to $167 per student in Wyoming.)
- The appropriations bill would strengthen teacher quality by providing an increase of $150 million over 2007.
- More than 1,000 organizations from the education and healthcare communities are opposed to the veto. For additional information, visit www.nsba.org/opposeveto.
- The legislation cuts earmarks by 27% overall when compared to last year. The dollar amount of earmarks per member is down 40% when compared to FY05 levels.
*More Co-Sponsors for NCLB Improvements Act
NSBA thanks the latest bi-partisan co-sponsors of H.R. 648, the NSBA-backed No Child Left Behind Improvements Act of 2007, which include more than 40 provisions for improving the law based on feedback and input from school districts throughout the country. They are: Representatives Rick Boucher (D-VA-9), Charles Dent (R-PA-15), Jerry Moran (R-KS-1) and Albio Sires (D-NJ-13). NSBA continues to urge Congress to reauthorize ESEA / NCLB before the end of the 110th Congress and ensure that the provisions in H.R. 648 are included.
*Congress Approves Head Start Conference Report
This week Congress overwhelmingly approved the final House-Senate agreement to renew the Head Start program by a vote of 95-0 in the Senate and 381-36 in the House. The “Improving Head Start for School Readiness Act of 2007,” (H.R. 1429) now heads to the President’s desk for his signature.
After false starts in the two previous Congresses, lawmakers finally came together on a bipartisan basis to reauthorize the program, which currently serves over 900,000 children and their families through a network of about 1,600 public and private agencies.
This bill strengthens performance standards for program quality, sets new goals for Head Start teachers, improves coordination with other early childhood education programs, and strengthens program accountability to ensure that children are ready to succeed in school and in life. A side-by-side analysis of the legislation with final details can be found on the Early Education page of NSBA’s Website.
*Senate Farm Bill Stalls
The Senate failed to clear a procedural hurdle on the farm bill late in the week, leaving in doubt the fate of the bill in this Congress. As a result, Senator Harkin’s amendment to enact national school nutrition standards was not offered or voted on. View more information on this issue on NSBA’s website.
*House Ed Committee passes Higher Ed Act
The House Committee on Education and Labor on Thursday unanimously approved H.R. 4137, the reauthorization of the Higher Education Act. The bill increases authorizing levels for Pell Grants to $9,000 a year and will streamline the federal student aid application process. Of interest to K-12, the bill, like the Senate-passed S. 1642, reauthorizes partnership grants that involve local school districts and teacher preparation programs, and includes language to increase accountability and strengthen teacher prep programs. NSBA sent this letter to the committee. The measure may come up for a vote in the full House in December, setting the stage for a conference committee with the Senate bill next year.
To read previous editions of NSBA's Weekly Legislative Highlights, please visit our Weekly Legislative Highlights Archive.