A r c h i v e d  I n f o r m a t i o n

A weekly look at progress on the Secretary's priorities

BUDGET

On January 26, the President signed into law P.L. 104-99, the latest continuing resolution (CR) that provides funding for the U.S. Department of Education and certain other federal Departments and agencies until March 15, 1996. The "Balanced Budget Downpayment Act, I", as it is called, generally extends the same formula for Department funding as did the prior CR.

New provisions in P.L. 104-99...

• increase the maximum Pell grant award $100 -- from $2340 in 1995 to at least $2440 in 1996.
• make $3.5 million available annually from ESEA Title I funds for collecting and analyzing new data required to administer the program.
• terminate certain programs for the period covered by this CR, allowing funding at only the minimum necessary to accomplish orderly termination. These programs, for which the Administration requested zero funding and for which both the House and Senate recommended no appropriation in 1996, are:

  Law-related Education, Dropout Prevention Demonstrations, Endowment Grants for non- Historically Black Colleges and Universities, and Evaluation in the Aid for Institutional Development program, Native Hawaiian and Alaska Native Cultural Arts, Innovative Projects for Community Service, Cooperative Education, and Douglas Teacher Scholarships.

• freeze funding for certain programs at no more than 75 percent of the "prior monthly rate." Six Department programs are frozen at this rate:
• Title I State School Improvement, Safe and Drug-Free Schools National Program, Women's Educational Equity, Bilingual Support Services, Faculty Development Fellowships, and School, College, and University Partnerships.

IN A PRESS CONFERENCE on Thursday, February 1, Secretary Riley warned that if Congress extends the current CR funding levels for the rest of the fiscal year, Title I would be cut by "$1.1 billion, deny extra help in the basics to more than a million children, and could throw out of work as many as 40,000 to 50,000 teachers and teacher aides across the country." He said that by resorting to a series of temporary CRs, "Congress seems content to keep local school officials in the dark, unable to plan effectively for the coming academic year." The text of the Secretary's remarks at the press conference -- as well as a table showing state-by-state Title I allocations (under the current CR) and descriptions of the impact of Title I cuts on more than a dozen school districts -- are available in the Online Library.

GOALS 2000

The Utah State School Board approved the first round of Goals 2000 applications last month, "setting aside the majority of funds to prepare teachers to teach in inner- city classrooms and students who speak little English," reports the Salt Lake Tribune. The Salt Lake and Tooele school districts will use their $50,000 grant to arrange *internships* for teachers, counselors, and administrators with businesses and industries (to help educators learn what students need to know and be able to do when they enter the workforce). Six southern Utah districts will use Goals 2000 funds to train teachers whose students speak limited English. "The long-range goal," says the Tribune, "is to offer 1,500 teachers in the 6-county area the opportunity to get ESL certification using the state's EDNET classes and 2- way interactive technology." Eight urban districts will use a grant to provide teachers with mini-sabbaticals, so that they improve instruction for low-achieving students.

MORE THAN 3000 TEACHERS IN MAINE have gathered twice in the last six months to translate the state's academic standards into action. Says Barbara Wicks, a teacher and member of the Maine Goals 2000 Planning Team: "Some teachers have said the effect [of these 2 meetings] on their classroom environments and activities is among the most productive and professionally worthwhile of their careers."

SKILL STANDARDS

The National Skill Standards Board (NSSB) will hold a public meeting on February 22 in Washington, D.C. at the Madison Hotel, 8:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m. Seating is first come, first served. Patricia McNeil, Acting Assistant Secretary for Vocational and Adult Education will facilitate a 3:00 p.m. session focusing on the question, "How will the NSSB enlist educators' support for the voluntary skill standards system?"

Voluntary skill standards were released last month for Advanced High Performance Manufacturing Technical Workers. Developed by the National Coalition for Advanced Manufacturing, these standards are based on input from successful and forward-looking firms and front-line production workers. Participants in the project hope these standards will form a basis for clear and specific communication among the manufacturing industry, education, and students of all ages. This project is one of 22 occupational skill standards projects supported by the U.S. Departments of Labor and Education. (For more information on skill standards projects, please see the Dec.4,1995, issue of ED Initiatives -- http://www.ed.gov/pubs/EDInitiatives/95/12-04.html or gopher.ed.gov -> Updates -> ED Initiatives).

ADULT ED FactsLine

Adult education/literacy information is available any time -- from the nearest fax machine -- thanks to the Office of Vocational and Adult Education and Literacy Clearinghouse's "FactsLine." This fax-on-demand service enables customers to order faxes, using a touch-tone phone, from a menu of 100 brief documents. Fact sheets, research summaries, and newsletters can be faxed to you on a range of topics -- adult basic education research, technology in ESL instruction, workplace literacy, Even Start, the National Adult Literacy Study, correctional education, volunteerism, adults with disabilities, and more. Directories of state literacy centers and contacts are also available. To try it, please call (202) 401-9570.

FLEXIBILITY and WAIVERS

Texas became the 5th "Ed-Flex" state last week (Jan. 29), when Secretary Riley gave the Lone Star State authority to waive federal education rules and regulations that get in the way of community efforts to improve teaching and learning.

To qualify for this sweeping new waiver authority, Texas submitted a comprehensive school improvement plan to help all students reach the state's challenging academic standards. "Academics 2000," as the plan is called, was developed with input from parents, educators, community members and the private sector. The state also pledged to waive numerous state requirements that apply to education and to hold schools and districts accountable for students' academic performance.

This new authority means schools and school districts in Texas may seek waivers from requirements of the Perkins Act and the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (including Title I, the Safe and Drug-free Schools and Communities provisions, and other programs). Civil rights requirements may not be waived, and the state will be accountable for the impact of waivers on all children affected, including limited English proficient and low-income children. Likewise, waivers are not allowable under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA).

Ohio, Oregon, Kansas, and Massachusetts have also been designated Ed-Flex states. A total of six states may earn this status under the Goals 2000 Act.

TWO-THIRDS OF K-12 REGS ELIMINATED

Last week the Under Secretary noted *early results* of the Department's efforts to streamline regulations the past few years: For those elementary and secondary education programs that have been reauthorized during the Clinton Administration (including bilingual education programs), two-thirds of the regulations have been eliminated. Almost all remaining regulations (for those programs) have been revised to reflect the Secretary's emphasis on flexibility and results.

FAMILY INVOLVEMENT

At the annual Christian Educators Conference last month, leaders of the Progressive National Baptist Convention joined Assistant Secretary Mario Moreno in challenging local churches to sign on to the Family Involvement Partnership for Learning. Each church joining the Partnership makes a commitment to: provide timely information on programs, services, and materials that will help families carry out their role as the first teachers of their children; carry out one or more activities in support of family involvement in learning; designate a point of contact for education and learning issues; and reflect annually on family activities in order to continually improve service to families. Local churches are encouraged to consider using the READ*WRITE*NOW! program as part of their after-school activities and their mentoring programs.

ONLINE LIBRARY

January 1996 was the busiest month ever for the Department's Online Library. Its contents (number of electronic files) doubled, compared with a year ago; and its usage tripled, compared with January 1995, with well over 65,000 individuals accessing its files a total of more than 1.5 million times. Recent additions to the Online Library include:

• Model Strategies in Bilingual Education: Professional Development,
• the 1996-1997 Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) Express (available for downloading),
• and two "Idea Books" designed to support implementation of the new Title I ("Raising the Educational Achievement of Secondary School Students" and "Extending Learning Time for Disadvantaged Students").

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[Past Issues of ED Initiatives]

Last Updated -- Feb. 6, 1996, (pjk)