By Della B. Cronin

At the end of September, Congress left town until November 14.  Of course, just because they aren’t in Washington doesn’t mean they won’t be working.  During the month of October, they are all likely to be on campaign trails—either stumping for themselves, for colleagues or for presidential candidates.  Or maybe all three.  

Before leaving town, Congress addressed spending—at least temporarily.  They passed a short-term spending bill that funds the federal government through December and delays hard decisions until after the election.  There was lots of bickering in the run-up to passage, but on September 28, the House and Senate left after each approved a bill that would fund the government through December 9 at current levels, minus a .0496 percent cut.  The bill also invests in fighting Zika and disaster relief in Louisiana and other states.  It does not fund Flint, Michigan’s water crisis, which was a point of contention up until the last minute.  House and Senate leaders promised to address the issue when the water bill is debated after the elections.  So, just as the advocacy community was getting used to Congress being back, they were gone again until November 14. 

Other activity of note on Capitol Hill included House passage of legislation that would reauthorize the Carl D. Perkins Career and Technical Education Act. The bill had been unanimously passed by the House Education and the Workforce Committee in July and saw overwhelming support on the floor. The Senate had also hoped to move on a proposal to revise the bill that governs federal investments in high schools and CTE pathways, but after unveiling a partisan proposal to do so and scheduling committee action on the matter, Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee Chairman Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.) had to cancel those plans.  Neither Democrats nor community stakeholders could support the measure, so House and Senate staff hope to negotiate a proposal that could move after elections while their bosses are on the campaign trail.

The House Education and the Workforce Committee also continued its series of hearings focused on implementation of the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA). On September 21, the House Education and the Workforce Subcommittee on Early Childhood, Elementary, and Secondary Education held a hearing titled, “Supplanting the Law and Local Education Authority through Regulatory Fiat” which focused extensively on the proposed regulation released on September 6 from the U.S. Department of Education (ED) regarding “supplement-not-supplant” (SNS)–the requirement that federal funds add to and do not take the place of state and local funds for Title I schools. The hearing had a partisan tenor as Republican lawmakers sharply criticized the regulatory proposal as federal overreach, while Democratic representatives defended it as implementing the congressional intent of ESSA by promoting greater equity for disadvantaged students. Witnesses included: Steve Canavero, Superintendent of Public Instruction, Nevada Department of Education; Ryan Owens, Executive Director, Cooperative Council for Oklahoma School Administration; Scott Sargrad, Managing Director of K-12 Education Policy, Center for American Progress; and Nora E. Gordon, Associate Professor of Public Policy, Georgetown University. 

The three Republican witnesses all concurred with the Republican members of the subcommittee that ESSA explicitly states that school districts only have to show that Title I funds are distributed in a way that does not take into account federal resources, and Congress deliberately chose “not to prescribe a specific approach or outcome.” Several members of Congress and Canavero and Owens stated their concern that the proposed regulations would cause districts to change their hiring practices, relocate teachers, and shift other resources in order to be compliant with the law. Democratic members of the Subcommittee and one Democratic witness, Mr. Sargrad, spoke quite differently about the SNS proposed regulation describing it as being a necessary guardrail “to ensure the integrity of the requirement” as intended, in ESSA – which is a civil rights law describing SNS as “the most important fiscal responsibility provision in the entire law,” and that the Department of Education is tasked with enforcing it. Subcommittee Ranking Member Marcia Fudge (D-Ohio) did note that the SNS proposed rule will be harder for some schools – those that have been chronically underfunded and “those where the inequities have gone unchecked” – but that nothing in the proposed rules goes against what was already in the law.

• While Congress continues to pursue its oversight responsibilities, ED continues to write guidance.  In September, the department released non-regulatory guidance to help states and local school districts implement ESSA successfully. First, on September 16, non-regulatory guidance was released on “Using Evidence to Strengthen Education InvestmentsWhat Works Clearinghouse. The new website includes an enhanced "Find What Works" tool that allows educators and policymakers to find programs and interventions that evidence shows have had a positive impact on student outcomes. 
  

On September 23, ED released non-regulatory guidance to help states, districts, and schools provide effective services to improve the English language proficiency and academic achievement of English learners (ELs) through Title III of ESSA. The guidance is an effort to ensure that ELs receive the high-quality services they need to be college and career ready. (See the news release here.) 

On September 27, ED released more non-regulatory guidance; this time it was to help states and districts make the most of out of more than $2 billion in federal money for Title II, Part A of the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) – which houses provisions for teacher recruitment, preparation, support, and more. ED recommends that states and districts use the funds to make sure that teachers are supported from the time they enter educator training programs, through their early years of teaching, and as they take on leadership positions, including principalship. The guidance reminds states and districts that they have to reach out to teachers, support personnel, community partners, and others when figuring out how to use their Title II funding. The guidance also outlines methods for how states and districts can focus on teacher equity, educator development, and teacher evaluation. Additionally, there are some changes to the way Title II money flows under ESSA. For instance, states can now reserve up to 2 percent of their total Title II funding at the state level to help prepare teachers and principals to work in high-needs schools. And they can reserve up to 3 percent of districts' allocation for principal support. 

Over the next month, additional non-regulatory guidance is expected to be released by ED as they race toward the end of the calendar year and anticipate a new Secretary of Education.  There’s much change ahead.  But, in the meantime, there’s lots and lots of ESSA guidance. 

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