Under the recently enacted amendments to the Goals 2000: Educate America Act, the U.S. Department of Education may award grants *directly* to local school districts in states not participating in Goals 2000 as of October 25, 1995, if the state education agency approves local participation in the program. Five states were not participating in Goals 2000 as of that date -- Alabama, Montana, New Hampshire, Oklahoma, and Virginia. State education commissioners and superintendents in Montana, New Hampshire, and Oklahoma have notified the U.S. Department of Education that their local school districts are being given the option of applying directly to the Department for Goals 2000 funds, which will support the development and implementation of comprehensive local improvement plans designed to help all children reach challenging academic standards. Local education agencies in Montana and Oklahoma that are interested in applying will want to get the "Comprehensive Local Reform Assistance; Notice Inviting Applications," which appeared in the Federal Register on May 28. Local education agencies in New Hampshire will want to watch for a new notice inviting applications, which will be published soon in the Federal Register. Applications are due July 15. Information from these notices is also available in our Online Library (at http://www.ed.gov/legislation/FedRegister/announcements/index.html).Nebraska received 2nd-year funds last week, bringing to 41 the number of states that have received 2nd-year Goals 2000 funding. The deadline for applications is June 30, 1996.
Nine partnerships of tribal organizations, schools, and local employers are using competitively awarded school-to-work grants to build systems that broaden education and career options for American Indian youth. In Washington state, for instance, the Yakima Indian Nation is using its grant to improve student assessment, integrate academic and work-based learning, and expand career exploration through mentoring and job shadowing in tribal industries. (For the list of these 9 partnerships, please see http://www.stw.ed.gov/) Applications for this year's STW Indian Program Grants will be accepted until July 15. More information on this competition is available in our Online Library (at http://www.ed.gov/legislation/FedRegister/announcements/index.html).
More than 300 educators, policy makers, and practitioners gathered in Washington, D.C. last week to explore ways of creating "new American high schools" that better prepare American youth for college and careers. Sponsored by the U.S. Department of Education and the National Center for Research in Vocational Education (and co-sponsored by more than 60 other organizations), the New American High School Conference showcased 10 new American high schools. Selected from a pool of 145 schools nominated by educators, community leaders, and co-sponsoring organizations, these 10 schools are distinguished by the fact that their students...One of the 10 schools is Turner Technical High School in Miami (FL). Turner students graduate with a "2-for-1" diploma, so that they're ready to enter 2-year or 4-year colleges, as well as state-certified career training. Students and teachers belong to one of 7 academies (agriscience, health, public service, industrial technology, and others). Teachers in each academy meet regularly during scheduled planning time and develop thematic units that integrate academic instruction into a career context. Both students and teachers *shadow* employees of the school's business partners, and juniors and seniors have the option of doing internships and apprenticeships. Turner serves 1,537 students, 69% of whom are African American, 27% Latino, and 55% eligible for free or reduced-price lunch. For additional information, please visit our Online Library for the press release, which includes a list of the 10 schools (at http://www.ed.gov/news.html#pr Bulletins, Announcements, and Press Releases).
- achieve high levels of academic and technical skills;
- prepare for college and careers;
- learn in the context of a career major or other special interest;
- learn by doing, in classrooms, workplaces or community service;
- work with teachers in small schools-within-schools;
- receive extra support from adult mentors;
- access a wide range of career and college information;
- benefit from strong links between high schools and postsecondary institutions;
- use technology to enhance learning.
A workshop report and 14 commissioned papers on "the future of networking technology for learning" are now available in the Online Library (http://www.ed.gov/Technology/Futures/). Sponsored by the Office of Educational Technology, these papers look at student work, collaborative inquiry, professional development, digital archives, publishing on the Web, copyright issues, evaluation, and more. In addition, education-minded citizens nationwide have been invited to visit the site and "tell us what you think the future of `networking technology for learning' will be" (through June 7).
House and Senate conferees will soon begin meeting to resolve differences between their respective versions of pending immigration legislation. The House bill contains an amendment which would authorize states to exclude undocumented alien children from public elementary and secondary education. The Senate bill has no such provision.Before Senate action on the bill, Secretary Riley and Attorney General Reno wrote a letter to leading Senators, strongly opposing any provision that would authorize states to exclude undocumented children from public schools. In addition to the hardship faced by affected children and the impact on local schools, Riley and Reno highlighted the possibility that children not in school, without adult supervision, might become engaged in unlawful activity or otherwise burden their communities. In their letter, they pledged to recommend that the President veto the bill if passed with such a provision. A copy of the letter is available in our Online Library (http://www.ed.gov/updates/dole-ltr.html 96/04/15: Letter on Undocumented Children and Schools).
On May 16, Deputy Secretary Kunin testified before the House Subcommittee on Labor-HHS-Education Appropriations on the Department's efforts to reach the 4th priority of our Strategic Plan -- to become a high-performance organization. "We have eliminated 118...regulations -- 612 pages in all, or about 46 percent of our total regulations," she stated. "We are administering Goals 2000 and School-to-Work without issuing a single regulation. And of the 49 programs included in the Improving America's Schools Act, only 8 will require regulatory guidance." The Deputy Secretary also noted the more than 5,000 phone calls that now come to the Information Resource Center (1-800-USA-LEARN) weekly, and the more than 3 million calls that 1-800-4FEDAID is expected to handle this year. For the full text of her testimony, please visit the Online Library (http://www.ed.gov/Speeches/05-1996/960516.html 96/05/16: Deputy Sec'y Testimony on Management Improvements).
Earlier this month, Department staff met with officials from the 7 current "Ed-Flex" states (Maryland, Ohio, Oregon, Kansas, Massachusetts, Texas, and Vermont) to discuss performance issues, accountability, and "how implementation is going." Under this partnership with the Department, the 7 states have authority to waive certain federal education requirements if they present barriers to improving teaching and learning. Among waivers approved so far under Ed-Flex: a waiver allowing a school to become a Title I schoolwide program one year early and another allowing greater use of Eisenhower professional development funds for reading. Some Ed-Flex states are considering similar waivers on a statewide basis. The 1996 Omnibus Appropriations Act (signed into law last month) doubled the number of states that may participate in the demonstration from 6 to 12.
The House Committee on Economic and Educational Opportunities will mark up H.R. 3268, the IDEA Improvement Act of l996, on May 30. The bill reflects many recommendations offered to the House by a coalition of special and regular education groups. Meanwhile in the Senate, its counterpart, S. l578, continues to attract co-sponsors from both sides of the aisle. This legislation, which awaits floor action, was reported favorably by a unanimous roll call vote (l6-0) on March 21.
All are invited to come and "stand for children" at the Lincoln Memorial on Saturday, June 1. The Children's Defense Fund has been joined by some more than 3,000 organizations in sponsoring the event, which aims to reaffirm our commitment and responsibility -- as families, as individuals, as communities, and as a nation -- to improving the lives of children of every race, region, income, age, and faith. For additional information, please see http://www.stand.org/ or send an email to standinfo@mailback.com or call 1-800-233-1200 or 202-234-0095.
On May 23, the Senate completed action on a long series of amendments and passed its version of the fiscal year 1997-2002 concurrent budget resolution by a vote of 53-46. Among the amendments adopted was one to increase funding for non-defense discretionary programs, like education. As reported last week, the House passed its version of the budget resolution on May 16. While the House version is much lower than the Senate, neither comes close to making the investment in education recommended in the President's balanced budget plan. The House and Senate must meet in conference to iron out the differences. Even with a final conference agreement, however, the resolution will set only *overall* spending levels; it will not dictate decisions on program-level funding details for next year.
Have a comment or suggestion on ED Initiatives? Please send it to Kirk Winters in the Office of the Under Secretary at ED.Initiatives@ed.gov.
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[Past Issues of ED Initiatives] 
Last Updated -- April 19, 2002, (cdb)
ED Initiatives...