Secretary of Education Arne Duncan delivered an address that focused on higher education policy and Administration priorities for a would-be reauthorization of the Higher Education Act. President Obama announced intentions to make prisoners eligible for Federal Pell Grants. Advocates marked the 40th anniversary of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act and the 25th anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act. Representative Chaka Fattah (D-Penn.), who was once a member of the House education committee and has been the Ranking Member of the Commerce, Justice and Science Appropriations Subcommittee was indicted. And education leaders in the House and Senate met for the first time this week to discuss the upcoming conference negotiations on the Elementary and Secondary Education Act reauthorization. That was the education-specific policy news. More generally, the 435 Members of the House left Washington, DC for the August recess, leaving their colleagues in the Senate behind to wrap up a few pieces of legislative business. The 100 Senators left the Capitol early this week, setting the stage for the slow—but hot—days of August in DC. 

While it recently sounds like there was a lot of “news” in education, most of these events were ceremonial or were precursors to larger, more substantial policy discussions expected in the fall. The most examined development was the meeting of Capitol Hill education leaders. House Education and the Workforce Committee Chairman John Kline (R-Minn.), Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee Chairman Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.), Senate Ranking Member Patty Murray (D-Wash.), and House Ranking Member Bobby Scott (D-Va.) met to discuss plans for proceeding with a conference committee to resolve differences between the Every Child Achieves Act (S 1177) and the Student Success Act (HR 5). They agreed that Chairman Kline will chair the proceedings. A committee press statement on the meeting reported that he said of the plan, “There is a lot of work to do in the coming months, and I am confident we will be able to craft a bicameral education bill that reduces the federal role, restores local control, and empowers parents and education leaders. Those are the kind of education reforms the American people expect and we must deliver. I look forward to continuing this important effort and putting in place new policies that will help every child in every school receive an excellent education.”

Chairman Alexander said, “Fifty million children and 3.5 million teachers deserve to get a result, and we should be able to achieve that this fall. While there are important differences, the consensus supporting the framework for the House and Senate bills is the same: Continue the law’s important measurements of academic progress of students but restore to states, school districts, classroom teachers and parents the responsibility for deciding what to do about improving student achievement.”  

Their Democratic colleagues struck slightly different tones. Senator Murray said, “I am proud of the bipartisan work we did in the Senate to reach this point, and I am hopeful that we can build on this bipartisan foundation to take the final steps to get this bill to the president’s desk. As we head toward conference, I look forward to continuing to improve the final bill to make sure all students have access to a good education, regardless of where they live, how they learn, or how much money their parents make.” Ranking Member Scott said, “The right to educational opportunity knows no state boundaries, and federal law must protect this right for all students regardless of race, income, disability, or language status. I am confident that working together, we will produce a comprehensive reauthorization that fulfills the ESEA's original civil rights legacy. I stand committed to producing a bipartisan bill that eliminates resource inequities and effectively addresses achievement gaps.” 

It’s clear even from these quotes that there is a ways to go before the House and Senate are able to develop a compromise bill that both chambers can pass before year’s end. Regardless, staff and advocates are riding the momentum behind a push for revising the law and are busily starting to draft letters to the would-be conferees about their preferences in the two bills. It’s not clear when conferees will formally be appointed or how many there will be, but committee staff are already getting organized. 

As for spending, a continuing resolution (CR) to keep the government running after the end of the current fiscal year is almost a certainty, and some prognosticators are already saying that the drawn out debate will ultimately end in a year-long CR. As a sign of how painful the appropriations process has become, House Appropriations Committee Chairman Hal Rogers (R-Ky.) said recently that he will not try to extend his chairmanship once he is term limited out of the position at the end of this Congress.

More Accountability in Higher Education
Secretary of Education, Arne Duncan, gave a speech at the University of Maryland- Baltimore County, which focused on higher education policy. Specifically, he called for making college more affordable and greater accountability within higher education. “We must shift incentives at every level to focus on student success, not just access,” Duncan said. He criticized accreditors for approving schools that continue to graduate a low percentage of students. He also blamed states for reducing their funding for higher education. “This pattern of state disinvestment — and the expectation that the federal government will cover the shortfall — has to end. States, as well as Washington, need to remember that higher education is a public good,” he said. When talking about college affordability, Duncan touched on making college costs more transparent. He said, “With the launch of the College Scorecard, the voluntary adoption of the Financial Aid Shopping Sheet by more than 3,000 institutions, and additional comparative information on outcomes and college value we will make available later this summer, consumers will have much better information about their college choices. Transparency will also drive accountability to improve results.” One of the more notable points from his speech was that the goal of all in higher education, including those working on student aid, should be to do a better job of helping students complete their studies for a degree or other credential, emphasizing the point that the borrowers most likely to default are those who fail to complete. While attention is often focused on the cases of borrowers having trouble with high loan balances, the data shows that most defaults are on low-balance loans, not by doctors or other professionals who borrowed six figures. The Administration plans to suggest incentives to encourage colleges to get their students to complete their educational program. The Secretary ended his speech by saying, “The degree students truly can’t afford is the one they don’t complete, or that employers don’t value."

#ADA25: Creating and Protecting a Diverse Workforce
Congressman Bobby Scott (D-Va.), Ranking Member of the House Committee on Education and the Workforce, hosted an open press panel event to commemorate the 25th anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and highlight the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission’s (EEOC) ongoing central role in enforcing the law. Representative Scott was joined by Minority Whip Steny Hoyer (D-Md.) and a panel including: Jenny Yang, EEOC chairwoman; Chai Feldblum, EEOC commissioner; Jill Houghton, executive director of the U.S. Business Leadership Network;  Andrew Imparato, executive director, Association of University Centers on Disabilities; and Anne Hirsh, co-director of U.S. Department of Labor, Office of Disability Employment Policy, Job Accommodation Network. Ranking Member Scott opened the event by stating, “Millions of people are now working, living independently, and accessing supports and services yet, compared to other workers, people with disabilities still face discrimination and are unemployed at twice the rate of other Americans.” he concluded, “Progress has been made, but we still have more to do.” Minority Whip Steny Hoyer remarked, “On Sunday, we marked the twenty-fifth anniversary of the ADA. “That law, though named for “Americans with disabilities,” changed the conversation into one focusing on “abilities” and because of the ADA, one is no longer relegated to being judged by what he or she cannot do – instead one ought to be judged by what he or she can do.”  Both Scott and Hoyer welcomed the panel and spoke to the barriers that have been broken down by people with disabilities in the last 25 years, and the importance and impact of having a diverse workforce and other opportunities toward self-sufficiency that the ADA supports across the United States.

Innovative Assessment Strategies for Higher Education
The Educational Testing Service (ETS) held a presentation, “ Innovations in Student Learning Assessments in Higher Education.” ETS is introducing a new suite of assessments for colleges called HEIghten, but they extended this discussion to assessments in general at higher education institutions on measuring student learning outcomes (SLO). In recent years, colleges have dramatically increased their use of assessments as a way of providing evidence of student learning to accreditation agencies. However, many of the assessment tools that institutions are using are not well designed to provide an accurate picture of SLO nor are they being used to improve the way students learn. In particular, many colleges and universities rely on low-stakes surveys that they give to students that are almost entirely based on student perception and are often given to students who are not motivated to complete them thoroughly. Lydia Liu, a Senior Research Scientist at ETS, presented her findings on how the new ETS assessments put a greater focus on both cognitive and non-cognitive competencies such as critical thinking, quantitative literacy, civic competency, and engagement. She also found that if assessments contain more motivational language such as “university rankings are affected by your performance on this test,” then the students will take more time to complete the assessments and perform at a level closer to their learning proficiency. Katrina Crotts, an associate research scientist at ETS, also discussed the value of testing quantitative literacy in the assessments, saying that it is not simply math procedures, but the application of mathematical concepts to real life situations like budgeting or interpreting data spreadsheets that are better indicators of student learning. Javarro Russell, a senior research and assessment advisor at ETS, spoke at the end of the presentation on the need for institutions to actually use the data that they are collecting from these assessments to improve professional development, alter curriculum, and shift student learning. He noted that as funding becomes performance based and more regional stakeholders become invested in the evidence of SLO in these assessments, he believes that colleges and universities will do a better job of using the data from these assessments and reacting to it.

Economic Advancement
The National Disability Institute (NDI) held an event to commemorate the 25th anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), “ Economic Advancement and Financial Inclusion Summit.” Retired Senator Tom Harkin (D-Iowa), Congressman Ander Crenshaw (R-Fla.), and Senator Bob Casey (D-Penn.) addressed attendees on the advancements that legislation has achieved for people with disabilities. Congressman Crenshaw (R-Fla.) spoke on the bipartisan success of the Achieving a Better Life Experience (ABLE) Act, and affirmed that “public service is about speaking out for those who can’t.” Senator Bob Casey (D-Penn.) also praised the ABLE Act, calling it a “grassroots victory that came from the people.” Senator Harkin reflected on the passage of the ADA and shared stories of Americans with disabilities who have disproven assumptions about their ability by maintaining jobs of all kinds and exceeding expectations in productivity. Harkin’s brother, for example, far exceeded expectations as a young man with hearing impairment, by proving to be immune to the auditory distractions that slowed down his coworkers on the manufacturing floor. Harkin shared that his brother’s superiors hired more deaf workers after witnessing the extraordinary difference in productivity, and Senator Harkin reiterated the importance of breaking down assumptions and giving people with disabilities the opportunity to work and lead independent lives.

New Student Privacy Bill
Lawmakers Rep. Todd Rokita (R-Ind.) and Rep. Marcia Fudge (D-Ohio) of the House Education and Workforce Committee introduced their plan to update student data privacy laws, with their proposed Student Privacy Protection Act. The bill, which has been circulating in draft form for several months, was a bipartisan break from what has mostly been a partisan committee this Congress. “Mobile applications, cloud computing, and other innovative tools play an increasingly important role in a student’s education,” said Rep. Rokita, who chairs the Subcommittee on Early, Elementary, and Secondary Education. “Unfortunately, legal safeguards over student privacy have not kept pace with the rapid technological changes taking place in America’s classrooms.” Rep. Fudge, ranking member of the subcommittee, also echoed those remarks stating, “The Student Privacy Protection Act clarifies the definition of student records and how they are kept, increases parental access and consent, strengthens accountability and transparency, and protects student records from dangerous data breaches and theft.” The bill would update the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA). It would, among other things, prohibit third parties such as technology vendors from using student records to market to students and ensure parents have the right to opt out of their students’ directory information being shared. The Software & Information Industry Association issued a noncommittal comment on the bill today, saying SIIA “agrees with the need for a review of practices and policies” and will work with lawmakers.

Rethinking School Discipline
Teams of superintendents, principals, and teachers from across the country met for a day-long conference at the White House, titled " Rethink Discipline," on creating positive school climates and implementing effective discipline practices. The conference is part of the ongoing effort to advance the national conversation about reducing the overuse of unnecessary out of school suspensions and expulsions and replacing these practices with positive alternatives that keep students in school and engaged in learning, but also ensure accountability. U.S. Secretary of Education, Arne Duncan, said "[c]reating and sustaining safe, supportive schools is absolutely essential to ensuring students can engage in the rich learning experiences they need for success in college, work and life—that's why rethinking school discipline is critical to boosting student achievement and improving school outcomes." According to data from the Civil Rights Data Collection (CRDC), the number of students losing critical learning time due to out- of-school suspensions and expulsions is staggering. Over 3 million students are suspended or expelled every year. At the event, the Department of Education released new maps based on the CRDC data illustrating out-of-school suspensions across the country to help educators and communities understand the extent of this practice. The maps highlight how southeastern school districts have the highest rates of out-of-school suspension in the nation and demonstrate the widespread and frequent use of out-of-school suspension among students with disabilities. The impact of suspensions and expulsions on students is devastating—suspended students are less likely to graduate on time, and more likely to repeat a grade, drop out of school, and enter the juvenile justice system. School districts across the country have already made progress in transforming policies and school climate to support student learning, including the following districts attending the conference: Oakland, Los Angeles, and Vallejo City, (Calif.); Baltimore (Md.); Broward County (Fla.); and Syracuse and Buffalo (N.Y.). As part of the conference, new resources and initiatives are being announced to assist school leaders in their efforts to reduce suspensions and expulsions and provide school environments that are safe, supportive, and conducive to teaching and learning.

Hearing on Innovation
The Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) held a hearing, “ Reauthorizing the Higher Education Act: Exploring Barriers and Opportunities within Innovation.” In his opening statement the Committee Chairman, Sen. Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.), explained that the purpose of the hearing was to answer how Congress can end practices by the federal government that discourage innovation and encourage institutions to meet students’ changing needs. Alexander expressed his concern that federal regulations and the current accreditation process are hindering innovation. Committee members agreed with the witnesses that innovations such as competency based education (CBE) and online learning could make college more accessible and useful in today’s work environment. Witness Jamie Merisotis, president and chief executive officer of the Lumina Foundation, urged Congress to broaden their definition of a post-secondary provider and explained that current regulations and legislation are not adapting to the changing higher education environment. Paul LeBlanc, president of Southern New Hampshire University, provided examples of how current legislation often constrains innovation, such as Title I requiring students to have regular and substantive time with faculty members, a rule clearly written before advancements in online education. He also said tying Title IV funds to time and “credit hours” inhibits CBE programs. LeBlanc did not argue for a total overhaul of HEA and warned that many innovations, such as CBE, are still too new to create good policy. Instead, he recommended that Congress create safe innovation environments and expand the Department of Education’s Experimental Site authority. Barbara Gellman-Danley, president of the higher learning commission -a regional accrediting agency- assured the committee that accreditors are not barriers to innovation but that federal regulations and interference by the Department of Education and Office of the Inspector General keep accreditors from assessing and dealing with innovation. Sens. Warren (D-Mass.) and Bennet (D-Colo.) commented on the lack of incentives for colleges to keep costs low, and argued for “skin in the game” policies that hold colleges accountable and pressure schools or improve affordability. Overall, the tone of the hearing was optimistic as both committee members and panelists agree that new innovations such as CBE and non-institutional boot camps have the potential to provide a high quality higher education at a lower price than traditional colleges. LeBlanc stressed that although there is much promise in CBE, it is important for Congress to understand that the innovation is in its infancy and the higher education community still has much to learn about it before the government can create good overarching policy.

Developmental Strategies for Youth
The Afterschool Alliance hosted a webinar, “ Foundations for Young Adult Success: A Developmental Framework.” Researchers from the University of Chicago, Jenny Nagoaka and Stacy Ehrlich, reported on their findings for young adult success after decades of research on the topic to find the best way to help children develop into adults and achieve success in their life. They defined success in a more holistic sense, emphasizing not only academic success but also developing social and developmental skills. Their research focused on the most effective ways that a child was able to develop into a well-rounded adult. The studies found that development is created through experiences that involve both action and reflection. An example of action would be volunteering, which would foster a sense of giving back to the community in a child and a sense that they are capable of helping those in need. Reflection would be a child recognizing the plight of others and becoming more compassionate as a result. Both of these skills together can lead to a child envisioning his or herself in the future and creating long-term goals to achieve that future identity. Both researchers concluded that a child’s development is the sum of these developmental experiences and that there should be support systems created to foster healthy relationships between adults and children to allow them the opportunity to have these important moments in their life. Furthermore, their research found that there were several important stages in the development of a child ranging from early childhood to middle adolescence, highlighting the need for a consistent strong support system through all of these stages as children often develop multiple identities through their childhood that then merge into their adult personality. Without a strong support system, a child may become fragmented and lose their individual identity which can lead to issues for their development. In terms of policy measures, Nagoaka and Ehrlich concluded that relationships should be fostered between adults both in and out of school with the children and there should be a focus on developing non-cognitive skills such as being independent and making meaningful connections. 

School Improvement Grants in Reforming High Schools
The Alliance for Excellent Education (AEE) held a webinar, “ Reinventing America’s High Schools: SIG-Approved Evidence-Based Whole-School Reform,” to discuss the impact of reform models on low-performing high schools. School Improvement Grants (SIGs) are awarded by the U.S. Department of Education to statewide education agencies (SEAs), who in turn distribute the money to local education agencies (LEAs) that have committed to using approved evidence-based whole-school reform. The Institute for Student Achievement (ISA), one of approved developers of the whole-school reform model, partners with school districts around the country to help implement a framework of practices and strategies that are designed to increase rigor and results in high-needs schools so that students are college and career-ready. Bob Wise, president of AEE, hosted the webinar and was joined by Dr. Gerry House, president of ISA, to help discuss how the ISA framework works and what kinds of results they are seeing in schools and in professional development. House discussed how the individual school is the primary agent of change in any situation, which means that any framework or organizational practice that ISA implements are always customized to fit the specific needs of a school and their leadership team. The goal of the ISA model is not to simply make schools less low-performing, but to truly increase the rigor of learning and the adult support systems so that schools become high-performing, personalized, and collaborative for all students and staff. Carolyne Quintana, principal of Bronxdale High School, was also on hand to talk about how the ISA framework allowed her to implement a system of professional development (PD) to coach up master teachers into PD leaders also also allowed her to see best practices in motion through collaboration with other ISA schools. Furthermore, the ISA framework  helped her institute a more inquiry-based approach to student learning at her school so that students were encouraged to take a more active and engaged role in their comprehensive education. She also discussed the importance of having restorative practices for students—meaning they could write an apology letter or do community service as opposed to being disciplined through suspension or expulsion that would result in less class time and more isolation. Monica Moore, an alumnus of Brooklyn Preparatory Academy—a school that used the ISA framework—spoke to how the culture of ISA schools funded through SIGs truly allowed change from the bottom up and top down. She discussed how students were often asked what they were interested in and efforts were made to truly peak their interests in not only their learning, but also in their feedback for the school as a whole – she said the ISA framework helped her really feel like school was not simply a place to go, but a place to belong. Dr. House spoke briefly at the end of the webinar about how the need to see “quick results” in this day and age does not comport with the ISA model as it takes 5-6 years for a school to successfully implement a school-wide reform.

K–12 Education Reform in California
The Institute for Educational Leadership (IEL) and the American Educational Research Association (AERA) hosted a policy forum titled, “ California’s Independent Approach to Education Reform: National Implications.” The event featured Michael Kirst, president of the California State Board of Education and Professor Emeritus at Stanford University. California has 6.3 million students enrolled in K–12 public schools, and 1.4 of that number are English language learners, which Kirst argued exemplifies California’s complexity and “overload risk” when it comes to federal regulation. He said, “Washington D.C. does not understand us,” and that “local contexts are too variant for federal prescription.” Kirst relayed his top priorities as a commitment to the Common Core State Standards (CCSS) and Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS), increased local control of K–12 education policies and decisions, and improving classroom instruction. He also highlighted the importance of patience, persistence and humility in successful implementation of reforms. Kirst offered his audience a bit of a history lesson as well, noting that public education policy has evolved to support state and local control of K–12 education, explaining that in the 1960s, there was “little cohesion” across schools, districts and states, and said that federal involvement (and dollars) was necessary to catalyze civil rights-centered reforms that otherwise would not have been implemented by states. Since then, however, he feels “we overdid it with categorical programs and specifications.”

Policy Improvements for Children and Youth
The Forum for Youth Investment (FYI) and Results for America (RFA) held a briefing, “ Collective Impact for Children and Youth Policy Summit,” that discussed how policymakers can align efforts supporting young people across government. The Forum’s report, “Collective Impact for Policymakers: Working Together for Children and Youth,” explains that “siloed governmental structures and processes inhibit the development of comprehensive solutions.” The report says that there are 339 federal programs intended to serve disadvantaged youth that are managed by 12 departments, and that  “despite the range of federal services and activities to assist disadvantaged youth, many of these programs have not developed into a coherent system of support,” due to lack of coordination and communication. The report recommends interagency policy coordinating bodies “charged with crafting and implementing an overarching plan for serving children and youth.” When questioned as to specific ways that stakeholders could support efforts to break down barriers between services, Dreama Gentry, executive director for the Partners for Education at Berea College, said like-minded organizations should partner and work together for funding; she also said that initiatives that are results-based should be the ones that win public funds.

Plans for the Higher Education Act
Senator Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.) gave a speech to the American Enterprise Institute (AEI) on his plans for reauthorizing the Higher Education Act (HEA). The chairman of the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committee told the audience that he believes his panel’s work on HEA can be completed by October and that work is already being done to implement the recommendations from a Senate-appointed task force’s report.  He outlined what he considers to be the Committee’s four main priorities: (1) reducing overregulation of colleges and universities, (2) ending federal collection and dissemination of “useless” data, (3) improving accreditation, and (4) ensuring colleges share in the risk of lending to students. The chairman noted that once reauthorization of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) is complete, the Committee will move to work on reauthorization of HEA.

Every Child Achieves Ac
The Senate passed S.1177, the Every Child Achieves Act, by a vote of 81-17. In committee, 29 amendments were adopted to the bill before it was sent unanimously to the floor on a vote of 22-0. On the Senate floor, 178 amendments were filed and 66 were ultimately adopted. Notably, a modified version of Senator Richard Burr (R-N.C.)’s amendment (SA #2247) to alter the Title I funding formula was agreed to by a roll call vote of 59-39. The amendment will only impose changes to the formula once Title I funding exceeds $17 billion. Also of note, Senator Chris Murphy (D-Conn.)’s accountability amendment (SA #2241) was not agreed to by a vote of 43-54. The amendment, also cosponsored by Senators Cory Booker (D-N.J.), Chris Coons (D-Del.), Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), Dick Durbin (D-Ill.), Barbara Mikulski (D-Md.), and Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.), would have required states to identify the lowest performing schools and create measurable goals for all students and categories of students on metrics such as academic indicators, graduation rates and other indicators. The Senate bill has not received a specific veto threat from the White House, but the administration is unlikely to sign the bill into law without significant changes. The Secretary of Education applauded the progress made by the Senate toward replacing the "flawed No Child Left Behind Act," noting that the bill would give states more flexibility and reduce the testing burden while still ensuring parents and educators know how students are doing every year. He also said that he was "particularly pleased that the bill would expand access to high-quality preschool and direct taxpayer dollars toward proven innovative strategies". However, he said, the "bill still falls short of truly giving every child a fair shot at success by failing to ensure that parents and children can count on local leaders to take action when students are struggling to learn."

School Choice Survey Results
The American Enterprise Institute (AEI) hosted a presentation and moderated discussion on the results of the annual Schooling in America Survey by the Friedman Foundation for Educational Choice (FFEC). The survey measures public opinion on K–12 education topics and reforms, with a strong focus on school choice and public school alternatives. The presentation began with remarks by Paul DiPerna, research director of FFEC, where he noted the highlights and key takeaways from the 2015 survey. In particular, 77 percent of Americans rate the federal government’s performance in handling K–12 education as fair or poor, with 60 percent saying that K–12 education is going in the wrong direction. Furthermore, when parents were asked what kind of school they would prefer for their children, only 36 percent preferred regular public school–a marked difference from the 84 percent of the nation’s students who are actually enrolled in public school. The main reasons cited for this preference was a desire for better quality education and more individual attention. Other factors include an overall dissatisfaction with the amount of testing going on in public schools and a higher degree of interest in charter schools, school vouchers, or education savings accounts. Many participants on both sides of the political aisle saw these alternatives as a way to provide interventions for low-performing public schools. Gerard Robinson, a new research fellow at AEI after a stint as commissioner of education for the state of Florida, pointed out that the “school choice” movement is not antithetical to public schools nor does school choice seek to dismantle public schools; rather it is to ensure that the majority of kids in the country who go to public schools have options that will result in improved quality of all public education.  That is, that when faced with the idea of “customers” who can “vote with their feet”, all schools will do better. He noted that while federal policy around education is often overwhelmed by other concerns, in 41 of the 50 states, education is the single largest budget item of the state; thus, it is important to state lawmakers to provide a wide variety of options for public school parents and many states are introducing legislation to improve school choice and provide viable funding for public school alternatives. DiPerna also pointed out that the upcoming election cycle would be a catalyst for politicizing and polarizing Common Core and associated testing as well as the respective roles of charter schools and vouchers in public K–12 education.

Briefing on STEM and Afterschool
The STEM Education Coalition hosted a briefing on Capitol Hill to examine informal science education and how it connects to STEM education issues and policies. The briefing featured discussion on public policy issues related to “informal STEM education,” a term that is increasingly being used in connection with federal education policies and major legislation such as the America COMPETES Act, Elementary and Secondary Education Act, and other education and workforce bills. The Board on Science Education (BOSE) and the Committee on Successful Out-of-School STEM Learning recently released a report on “Identifying and Supporting Productive STEM Programs in Out-of-School Settings.” Briefing participants included Anita Krishnamurthi, Vice President, STEM Policy, Afterschool Alliance; Michael Feder, Senior Program Officer, Board on Science Education, National Academies of Science, Engineering, and Medicine; Ellen Lettvin, Robert Noyce senior fellow in informal STEM learning, U.S. Department of Education; and Margaret Glass, director, professional development, Association of Science-Technology Centers. James Brown, executive director of the STEM Education Coalition, moderated the panel. To open the discussion, Anita Krishnamurthi shared her contention that afterschool STEM programming should complement school-day learning and not duplicate it. She also noted that research asserts that afterschool is a setting for successfully engaging populations that are underrepresented in STEM fields in these subjects. She went on to point out that recent surveys conducted by the Alliance have found that parents are increasingly aware of whether the afterschool programs their children are attending offer STEM activities and that the demand for afterschool continues to exceed the supply. Michael Feder followed and shared that the recent BOSE report is encouraging in that it shows that participation in quality STEM afterschool programs positively affects learning outcomes. He did note that “quality” varied widely, but the discussion explained that the Alliance and others have resources that can help programs improve their offerings. Ellen Letvin shared that the Department of Education has entered into partnership with other federal agencies, including the National Park Service and NASA, to focus on STEM programming within the 21st Century Community Learning Centers—with much success. She also pointed to a new effort from the STEM Funders Network that is offering the field assistance and resources to build high-quality STEM programming. Margaret Glass discussed science and technology centers, noting their community-based nature and the value they bring to communities as trusted partners. She also highlighted a number of partnerships, including the “Intersections” program that is a partnership with the National Writing Project that focuses on computer science at ten sites across the country. Read more about the BOSE report and access materials from the briefing.

Student Success Act
The House of Representatives began its debate of H.R. 5, The Student Success Act—legislation to reauthorize the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA), currently known as No Child Left Behind. That debate was abruptly halted when it became clear there were not enough votes to pass it.  The House took up the bill again this week and on Wednesday, Members considered and debated a number of new amendments, finished votes for some amendments that were not resolved in February and then approved the bill by the closest of votes. Three of the four new amendments appealed to conservatives who had opposed passage of the bill in February, although only two of the three were approved—one that shortened the authorization of the statute from five years to three, and another that gave parents the right to have their students “opt out” of standardized testing. After the debate of those new proposals, the House quickly disposed of amendments that did not see final votes in February.  Most of those passed or failed along party lines, although an amendment from Representative Dave Loebsack (D-Iowa) that offers support for digital learning efforts surprisingly passed. Ultimately, as the Senate continued to debate its ESEA reauthorization bill on the other side of the Capitol, the House passed H.R. 5 by a vote of 218-213, setting the stage for a House-Senate conference, assuming the Senate is able to pass the Every Child Achieves Act (S 1177) next week, as expected.  It’s worth noting that HR 5 has drawn a veto threat from the White House, while the Senate bill has merely been criticized by the President without an explicit threat to reject it. The Administration hopes the Senate plan improves during floor debate and House-Senate negotiations. There is a still a long road ahead for an ESEA reauthorization bill to get to the President’s desk, but House passage is a step in that direction. For more on the bill, its contents, and the debate, visit the Education and the Workforce Committee website.