by Della Cronin

Washington, DC, hosted NCTM’s Annual Meeting & Exposition in April.  Thousands of math educators, researchers and faculty descended on the nation’s capital to hear from colleagues, experts and researchers on the state of the teaching and learning of mathematics.  Given the location of this year’s meeting, there was a new emphasis on advocacy throughout the event.  Organizers invited attendees to visit Capitol Hill and discuss timely policy issues, as well as the state of affairs in local schools and mathematics classrooms with their elected officials.  After attending a session to prepare them for their visits, which included some tips from Chris Wright, an NCTM member who is currently a fellow on Capitol Hill via the Albert Einstein Distinguished Educator Fellowship, participants eagerly went on their way. NCTM members participated in over 100 meetings with Congressional lawmakers and staff.  Members and staff were happy to see these teachers and discuss the challenges of today’s schools and classrooms and the importance of public investments in K-12 education and teachers.  NCTM looks forward to building on this interest and success in its ongoing advocacy efforts.  

NCTM was among the thousands of advocates on Capitol Hill.  While NCTM and the education community was pleased with the FY 2018 spending bill that was signed in late March, there was no time to waste to both oppose any efforts to rescind those funds and to ensure that the FY 2019 spending bill builds on important investments in programs and agencies that support teachers and schools.  The Coalition for National Science Funding, the Non-Domestic Defense Coalition, the Title IV, Part A Coalition, the STEM Education Coalition and other specific groups like the Council for Undergraduate Research, the American Chemical Society and the Afterschool Alliance were among the hundreds of groups visiting with lawmakers. In coming weeks, the community will see the fruits of those efforts, if appropriators' ambitious plans to develop and debate FY 2019 spending bills come to be. 

The advocacy work includes building a stronger relationship with Senator Jerry Moran (R-KS), who is the new leader of the Subcommittee on Commerce, Justice and Science Appropriations in the Senate due to shifting leadership in the wake of the departure of Senator Thad Cochran (R-MS). Senator Richard Shelby (R-AL), a friend to federal research and science investments, left that post to head the full committee. STEM education and research advocates are eager to make new friends with Senator Moran's team.

At the Department of Education, there have been a series of grant solicitations released that include competitive priorities for applicants addressing STEM and computer science education.  The Education Innovation and Research ( EIR) program, the Supporting Effective Educator Development ( SEED) program and the Innovative Approaches to Literacy ( IAL) all unveiled Notices Inviting Applications (NIAs) that detail the priority, presumably to fulfill the goal of last September's Presidential Memorandum that directed the agency to establish an annual goal of investing at least $200 million in STEM, with a particular focus on computer science. 

In May, in addition to the FY 2019 spending debate, Congress will be focusing on what issues it might address before election season is in full swing.  House Education and the Workforce Committee Chairwoman Virginia Foxx (R-NC) is trying to persuade her colleagues to vote on the PROSPER Act—her partisan plan to reauthorize the Higher Education Act.  (NCTM opposes the bill’s proposal to eliminate the Teacher Quality Partnership program, which invests in colleges of education and teacher preparation, as well as its effort to get rid of student loan forgiveness for certain teachers and the TEACH grant program—points that members made in their April Capitol Hill visits.) Chairwoman Foxx is facing some opposition from some Republicans who don't care for the proposal, which casts some doubt on whether the bill will move forward at all.  The Carl D. Perkins Career and Technical Education Act revision remains on the STEM education community's wish list for Congressional action this year, as do several bipartisan STEM education bills that have been approved by the House Science, Space and Technology Committee.  Let's see what Congress can do before heading to the beaches for the Memorial Day recess.