Capitol Report: December 2016

By Della B. Cronin

November has been full of surprises. The biggest was that Donald Trump was elected to be the 45th President of the United States. That development has had the STEM education community scrambling to discover what he or his cabinet members might do in the realm of education next year. Not surprisingly, there aren’t many answers. To date, President-Elect Trump has nominated a Secretary of Education with little on her STEM education record. Betsy DeVos, a long-time conservative advocate for school choice and vouchers and a prolific Republican fundraiser, has said little on the topic. The community knows that Trump and Republican campaign collateral mention “STEAM” and “vocational” education as important elements in policies that produce a prepared workforce. Apprenticeships are also touted, as is encouraging STEM (and other business) professionals to enter teaching. But, beyond that, there isn’t much detail.

A Trump Education Department is supposed to be leaner than the Obama one, since Trump said that he would like to “cut” or even eliminate the agency. That leaves the STEM education community wondering if the STEM education office started by the current president will be left empty by the next one. But, if the candidate remains true to his commitment to ensure that the U.S. workforce is put to work in open, lucrative, 21st Century jobs, STEM subjects and skills have to be part of that effort. As a result, many STEM groups, including NCTM, are busy conveying their ideas and requests to the Trump transition team—even though personnel is shifting often. 

While the community prepares for the incoming White House team, there is still business before the 114th Congress. House Speaker Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) and Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) are busy devising the details of a plan for funding the federal government through December and well into 2017. The government is currently funded by a temporary continuing resolution that will expire on December 9. The Congress is widely expected to approve another, longer-term temporary spending bill before then and keep the government open through the end of April. That’s right—a temporary spending bill to keep the federal government going seven or more months into the fiscal year, which started on October 1. Why so long? Well, a new White House means a lot of work early in the year. 

There’s the Presidential Inauguration on January 20, as well as the changes that come with the beginning of any new Congress—committee assignments, office moves, etc. Then, there’s educating new members of Congress on the ways of Capitol Hill and getting new members of committees up to speed on issues and bills. Add to all of that a new president who will deliver a State of the Union Address as well as a budget proposal in February or March. And, if that’s not enough, both the House and Senate are preparing for a sweeping “reconciliation bill” that will likely be the vehicle for the new Trump Administration’s efforts to rescind and revise Obamacare, offer an infrastructure and jobs package, and maybe even get some tax changes enacted. The Senate will also have the tasks of holding confirmation hearings for the cabinet nominees and voting on their approval, as well as vetting a Supreme Court nominee. That’s a lot, and Senator McConnell knows it. Thus, he supports pushing an FY 2017 continuing resolution as late as possible.

At the Department of Education, Secretary of Education John King is still releasing regulatory guidance on the implementation of the Every Student Succeeds Act. Most recently, a package on Title I accountability requirements was released. The community is still waiting on the guidance related to assessments and the controversial “supplement, not supplant” package. Of course, with a Trump Administration in charge of enforcing those regulations, it’s almost certain that they won’t. Either the SNS package will be totally ignored or just not enforced. The Congress has a few mechanisms for nulling the work of Secretary King’s team, and they will almost certainly use them.

There’s much information to be gathered in coming weeks. The start of a new Administration and a new Congress always means one thing for NCTM and the STEM education community—lots of work.

Della B. Cronin is a principal at Washington Partners, LLC.