Federal Legislative Update Archives
January 2000

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January 28, 2000
January 14, 2000

1/28/00
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News from Capitol Hill...

CONGRESS RETURNS

-- The State of the Union --
The second session of the 106th Congress got underway this week. The United States Constitution mandates that, "from time to time," the President report to Congress on "the state of the nation" and recommend a course of action for Congress. Last night, President Clinton did that, in his eighth and final State of the Union Message.

-- Education - Opportunity and Responsibility --
The President's recommendations focused largely on education and health care. National and independent pollsters confirm that with the nation's economy booming and unemployment low, education surpasses jobs - and even health care - as a national concern.

The President urged Congress to use this window of opportunity wisely and well. Reading, math, and college entrance scores are up, the President noted. "It's time to support what works and stop supporting what doesn't…As we demand more than ever from our schools, we should invest more than ever in our schools."

"Let's double our [$15 billion national] investment to help states turn around their worst performing schools. Let's double our investment in pre-school and after-school programs that keep people off the street and out of trouble."

The President asked for

• increased funding toward the seven-year goal of 100,000 additional teachers to reduce class size;
• $1 billion increase for Head Start;
• a new teacher quality initiative to recruit additional talented people;
• rewards to retain good teachers; and
• professional development opportunities for all teachers.

-- College - Opportunity and Affordability --
President Clinton urged Congress to double the bipartisan GEAR UP program to mentor 1.4 million disadvantaged young people for college. Sixty-seven percent of high school graduates now go on to college, the President said, "Yet millions of families still strain to pay college tuition. They need help." The President proposed "an opportunity tax cut," a tax deduction for up to $10,000 in college tuition costs.

-- Modernizing America's Schools --
The President put special emphasis on repairing America's schools. "We cannot finish the job [of connecting our schools to the Internet] when a third of all our schools are in serious disrepair. Many of them have walls and wires so old, they are too old for the Internet." He proposed:

• grants and loans to help local communities with immediate and urgent repairs and to get students out of trailers, and
• zero-interest bonds for longer-term repair, renovation, and construction.

EDUCATION FUNDING - CHAPTER 2001

Last year, Congress completed its budget assignment weeks late. Most likely, the road from the State of the Union address to the Fiscal Year (FY) 2001 budget will also be marked with speed bumps.

-- NEA Priorities for FY 2001 Funding --

• School Modernization - Subsidize interest costs on $25 billion in zero-interest school bonds with federal tax credits.

• Title I - Increase the funding level from one-third to 40 percent of full-funding. Over the past three years, Title I funding has increased -- on average -- less than three percent per year, essentially a freeze after factoring in inflation and student population growth.

• Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) - Increase funding by $7 billion to raise the federal contribution level to 15 percent, with a goal of measured progress towards the 40 percent promised when the program first went into effect. In 1998, Congress funded only nine percent of the excess costs of educating children with disabilities.

• Class Size Reduction/100,000 Teachers - Fund 45,000 teachers in year three (FY2001) of the program to add 100,000 teachers over seven years.

• Teacher Preparation/Professional Development - Increase funding for a range of programs that improve teacher preparation and provide high quality professional development. These include the Higher Education Act Title II Teacher Quality Program, Eisenhower Professional Development Program, technology teacher training, bilingual professional development, and support for the National Board for Professional Teacher Standards.

• In addition, NEA supports increased funding for education technology, Safe and Drug-Free Schools, 21st Century Community Learning Centers (after-school learning programs), vocational education, Pell grants, and education research.

BE INFORMED!

NEA Legislative Action Center [www.nea.org/lac] offers the latest information on legislative issues and how they impact your school and classroom. Check it out today!
NEA Legislative Hotline (800-424-8086) offers Update briefs each week.

1/14/00
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News from Capitol Hill...

BIRTH/ADOPTION LEAVE

More parents may have an opportunity for paid leave following the birth or adoption of a child. In response to a directive from the President, the Department of Labor has proposed a regulation that allows states to use unemployment compensation for leave following birth or adoption. No Congressional action is required. The Administration hopes to finalize the proposed rule by spring.

Impact on the States - The program is voluntary. States that choose to implement it have substantial flexibility in designing a state-specific program. States already have the authority to levy tax and use the proceeds to provide any level of paid leave they choose. This program merely allows - following birth or adoption - paid leave within the existing framework of unemployment insurance.

NEA was a major advocate of the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) and played a major role in achieving its enactment. The unemployment compensation option improves FMLA benefits following birth or adoption.

State Action - The proposed rule with model state legislation has been made available to state affiliates.

CLASS SIZE REDUCTION

Staying the Course - Communities will be able to keep the 29,000 teachers hired this school year to implement the class size reduction program and to hire more under the FY (Fiscal Year) 2000 budget agreement. The funds continue to be targeted to high-poverty communities. The goal is still to achieve a nationwide average class size of 18 in the early grades with 100,000 additional teachers by the year 2005.

Teacher Quality - The agreement specifically ensures that all teachers hired under the class size reduction program be fully qualified. Teachers must be certified (NO emergency certificates) and must demonstrate knowledge of their subject matter and teaching skills. Districts may spend up to 25 percent of the funds on professional development for current teachers and for testing new teachers.

Relief for Rural Schools - Rural schools whose grant is too small to fund an additional teacher will have broad flexibility to co-mingle federal dollars with local dollars to hire a new teacher or to use the funds for professional development.

Reward for Effort - States that already have set a goal of 20 or fewer students in a class will have more flexibility to fund professional development for current teachers.

Where the Dollars Go - Under the agreement, schools and districts are held accountable for reporting to parents on progress in reducing class size with fully qualified teachers.

State Action - State affiliates will receive an implementation guide in early spring.

CENSUS DAY -- APRIL 1, 2000

Get Organized! -- Get Moving! -- Lend a Hand!

The total 1990 Census undercount was an estimated 8.4 million, 52 percent of whom were children.

Three Cities, Three Lost Opportunities

• San Antonio: 16,679 kids not counted. The price: 29 schools staffed by 1,042 teachers.
• Milwaukee: 8,650 kids not counted. The price: 21 schools staffed by 541 teachers.
• Portland (OR): 3,147 kids not counted. The price: 7 schools staffed by 161 teachers.

Participate in the Census in the Schools program. For free curriculum kits -- K-4, 5-8, or 9-12 -- [kits include a colorful, oversize national map], call 1-800-296-5923.

AGENDA 2000

Protecting Children’s Health and Safety

• School Modernization -- A bipartisan majority in the House of Representatives supports the major school modernization bills (H.R. 1660 [Rangel, D-NY] and H.R. 1760 [Johnson, R-CT]).

• School Safety -- The Senate and House juvenile justice bills are mired in conference committee and can yet see action by this Congress in 2000. The Senate-passed juvenile justice bill includes provisions to outlaw the possession by or transfer to juveniles of semiautomatic assault rifles.

Maximizing Student Learning

• Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) - Look for reauthorization of the 40+ ESEA programs to be the catalyst for a debate on education policy and a lightening rod for election-year rhetoric.

• The Fiscal Year (FY) 2001 Budget

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