Legislative Hot Topics: Blog

On December 16^th at a White House event convened by the Domestic Policy Advisor, Melody Barnes with Secretaries Duncan (ED) and Sebelius (HHS) the announcement that nine states will be receiving the Race to the Top Early Learning Challenge Grants was made. The states are: CA, DE, MD, MA, MN, NC, OH, RI & WA.

Both secretaries emphasized the importance of linking education, such as pre-reading activities with child care. They view this as a significant policy change. This policy change will not only focus on the mission of early childhood services but their tools as well. This includes “aligning and raising standards for existing early learning and development programs; improving training and support for the early learning workforce through evidence-based practices; and building robust evaluation systems that promote effective practices and programs to help parents make informed decisions.” (From USED press release which can be found at: http://www.ed.gov/news/press-releases/we-cant-wait-nine-states-awarded-race-top-early-learning-challenge-grants-awards

In addition to both secretaries who spoke, James Hechman, Nobel Laureate in Economics spoke on the value and importance of early learning. A paper he has presented on this topic can be read at: http://ftp.iza.org/dp3515.pdf. He spoke of the closing the achievement gap and the “multiplicity of human abilities” that all children have. He called for a focus on the whole child and that this includes cognitive abilities in addition to social and emotional skills. Hechman also cited the need to close the achievement gap as early as possible.

 Barbara Bowman closed the panel presentation calling on education to be part of the care system, and that we need to be looking at making kids ready and having schools ready for all children, including those are living in poverty.

The House Appropriators are proposing to re-fund the Striving Readers Comprehensive Literacy Program to the $160 million level.  This has been done after much work by a group of IRA members and members of the coalition: Advocates for Literacy.  They were able to make the case that the federal government should not be withdrawing from funding every literacy program.  This was one of the outcomes of the funding fight from last year where every federal literacy program was eliminated.  However, while that was happening it had taken US ED two years to develop and spend money from fiscal year 2010.  USED awarded funds to six states.  Earlier 46 states had applied for and received funds for the state literacy teams.  The next step is for the full House to take up the measure and then negotiate with the Senate - where their committee has proposed $183 million for the program.

The following is the language from the proposal.

the language IN THE HOUSE BILL that directs how literacy funding should be used: Starts on page 99 of the bill.

Provided further, That $160,000,000 shall be available under section 1502 of the

1 ESEA for a comprehensive literacy development and edu-

2 cation program to advance literacy skills, including pre-

3 literacy skills, reading, and writing, for students from

4 birth through grade 12, including limited-English-pro-

ficient students and students with disabilities, of which

6 one-half of 1 percent shall be reserved for the Secretary

7 of the Interior for such a program at schools funded by

8 the Bureau of Indian Education, one-half of 1 percent

9 shall be reserved for grants to the outlying areas for such

10 a program, up to 5 percent may be reserved for national

11 activities, and the remainder shall be used to award com-

12 petitive grants to State educational agencies for such a

13 program, of which a State educational agency may reserve ·

14 up to 5 percent for State leadership activities, including

15 technical assistance and training, data collection, report-

16 ing, and administration, and shall subgrant not less than

17 95 percent to local educational agencies or, in the case

18 of early literacy, to local educational agencies or other

19 nonprofit providers of early childhood education that part-

20 ner with a public or private nonprofit organization or

21 agency with a demonstrated record of effectiveness in im-

22 proving the early literacy development of children from

23 birth through kindergarten entry and in providing profes-

24 sional development in early literacy, giving priority to such

25 agencies or other entities serving greater numbers or per-

1 centages of disadvantaged children: Provided further, That

2 the State educational agency shall ensure that at least 15

3 percent of the subgranted funds are used to serve children

4 from birth through age 5, 40 percent are used to serve

5 students in kindergarten through grade 5, and 40 percent

6 are used to serve students in middle and high school in-

7 eluding an equitable distribution of funds between middle

8 and high schools: Provided further, That eligible entities

9 receiving subgrants from State educational agencies shall

10 use such funds for services and activities that have the

11 characteristics of effective literacy instruction through

12 professional development, screening and assessment, tar-

13 geted interventions for students reading below grade level

14 and other research-based methods of improving classroom

15 instruction and practice.

Webinar on Reading Teacher Education Research on January 10 with IRA President Vicki Risko

January 10, 2012
3:00 p.m. to 4:30 p.m. EST
IRA President Vicki Risko--Making Sense of Reading Teacher Education Research and Prospects for Future Research

Join this insider perspective on teacher education research and the body of evidence that supports particular aspects of reading teacher education. Teacher education is being assailed by numerous outsiders. This discussion covers the substantial evidence supporting valuable elements of reading teacher education, including apprenticeship models and tutoring with guided feedback. At the same time, we will note areas where additional research is needed such as, among others, preparing teachers for multicultural and urban settings, and the need for robust and multi-site studies. Will include: Background of studies; Findings focusing on beliefs, knowledge, and pedagogy; Patterns across studies; Conclusions and recommendations. We will email you the webinar log-in information.

Additional panelists: Rita Bean, Linda Wold, Carrice Cummins

Click here to register.