| April 9, 1996 |
Congress returns to Washington next week to resume work on the omnibus appropriations bill for the U.S. Department of Education (ED) and other agencies for the remainder of fiscal year 1996 (which ends September 30). Once again, Congress faces a deadline of April 24 when the current "CR" (continuing resolution) expires.The House Subcommittee on Labor-HHS-ED Appropriations begins hearings next week on the Department of Education's fiscal year 1997 budget request. Officials for the Office of Elementary and Secondary Education (OESE), the Office of Bilingual Education and Minority Languages Affairs (OBEMLA), and the Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services (OSERS) will testify on Tuesday, April 16th. The following day, officials from the Office of Postsecondary Education (OPE), the Office of Educational Research and Improvement (OERI), and the Office of Vocational and Adult Education (OVAE) will testify. Later, on April 30 and May 9 respectively, Secretary Riley will testify on the Department's overall fiscal year 1997 budget before the Senate Labor-HHS-ED Appropriations Subcommittee and the House Subcommittee.
Second-year funding was announced for PUERTO RICO last week and for WISCONSIN today, bringing the number of states receiving 2nd-year funding under Goals 2000 (in addition to Puerto Rico) to 40. Ninety percent of these funds (as in all 2nd-year Goals 2000 awards to states) will go to local school districts. Puerto Rico's 1st-year awards went to 26 school districts for school improvement and teacher professional development. One grantee -- Ramon Power and Giralt High School in San Juan I School District -- is using its award for teacher training and for the development of a *data bank of resources* designed to encourage innovations in teaching and learning.TENNESSEE became the first state to grant Goals 2000 awards to student-initiated projects last month when it used $200,000 in program administrative funds for 22 student- written projects. One project will support a compact computer lab at Elizabethton High School (in Carter County), where 10 high school students will assist 10 younger at-risk students in using the computers and finishing their homework. These students will also participate in monthly enrichment activities (such as attending a symphony). The 22 student- initiated grants were in addition to the 118 grants made to Tennessee schools and school districts (out of more than 600 Goals 2000 applications from across the state).
The National School-to-Work Learning and Information Center offers an array of information on its home page, including a list of 56 "approved technical assistance providers" -- organizations and individuals designated as eligible to receive funds from federal school- to-work grants for providing specialized services to states and localities that are constructing systems to prepare youth for college and careers. Each provider's areas of expertise, experience, and qualifications are summarized, and a *specialty area* matrix allows users to search by their specific needs. For more information, please explore the School-to-Work home page (http://www.stw.ed.gov/).
Last month, the House voted to attach an amendment to the Immigration and Nationality Act (H.R. 2202), which would attempt to overturn a 1982 Supreme Court decision (Plyler v. Doe) that prevents states from excluding undocumented alien children from public elementary and secondary education. The House subsequently voted to approve the bill.Prior to the House action, Secretary Riley wrote key legislators voicing his opposition to legislation that would deny education to children in America. He wrote that such a policy would be shortsighted, because children prohibited from attending school would be more likely to become a burden on their communities. Furthermore, the Secretary expressed concern about the potential impact on local schools, predicting that any policy requiring schools to exclude undocumented children would mean that busy administrators and teachers would have to take on an entirely new role of burdensome immigration responsibilities.
The Senate version of the immigration bill is scheduled for floor action the week of April 15. Currently, no comparable provision on undocumented children is included, but an attempted amendment is considered likely.
On April 16th, at 8:30 p.m. Eastern Time, Secretary Riley and Deputy Secretary Kunin will host a teleconference with a panel of community leaders and educators on how families can prepare themselves financially -- and their children *academically* -- for college. Their discussion will provide practical, hands-on advice for students and families on issues such as: What courses should children take to prepare for college? Where can we find information about applying for financial aid? What are colleges and universities doing to help students make an easy transition from high school? Live via satellite from the U.S. Chamber of Commerce in Washington, D.C., this town meeting -- "Preparing for College, Academically and Financially" -- will also highlight print and online resources (from the U.S. Department of Education) designed to make financial planning for college easier (including "Preparing Your Child for College," which is available at http://www.ed.gov/pubs/Prepare/ and at gopher.ed.gov -> U.S. Department of Education/OERI Publications/ -> ED/OERI Publications - Full Text/ -> Preparing Your Child for College/). For satellite coordinates, please see http://www.ed.gov/inits/stm/stm-9604.html or call 1-800-USA- LEARN.
New additions in the Online Library include:(http://www.ed.gov/news.html#new or gopher.ed.gov -> What's New in This Gopher -> What's New in This Gopher -- Noteworthy Additions)
- Implementing Schoolwide Projects: An Idea Book for Educators (May 1994)
- The Costs and Effectiveness of Educational Technology: Proceedings of a Workshop (November 1995)
- Sites Offering Academic and Skill Standards (March 1996)
- Lessons Learned from FIPSE Projects II (September 1993) ("FIPSE" = Fund for the Improvement of Postsecondary Education)
- The Teacher's Guide to the U.S. Department of Education (Fall 1995)
- "Tracking the Progress" of delays in processing 1996-97 paper Free Applications for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA)
On Saturday, at the Dover Air Force Base ceremony honoring 33 individuals who lost their lives on a mission to Croatia and in the service of our country, the President expressed sympathy so many of us feel for these friends and colleagues, and for their families, when he said:
"The 33 fine Americans we meet today, on their last journey home, ended their lives on a hard mountain a long way from home. But in a way they never left America. On their mission of peace and hope, they carried with them America's spirit, what our greatest martyr, Abraham Lincoln, called `the last, best hope of earth'...."All of them were so full of possibility. Even as we grieve for what their lives might have been, let us celebrate what their lives were, for their public achievements and their private victories of love and kindness and devotion are things that no one -- no one -- could do anything but treasure."
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