Articles in the Federal Programs category

NSBA, Impact Aid districts warn of consequences of federal budget cuts

Federal budget cuts are coming for every school district this fall—but the reality of teacher layoffs and program cuts already are here for school districts that receive Impact Aid.

Two district officials who already have endured the first round of scheduled cuts shared their experiences in a teleconference organized by the National School Boards Association (NSBA) and the National Association of Federally Impacted Schools (NAFIS).

NSBA is continuing to lobby Congress through its grassroots network to stop or mitigate sequestration, the automatic, across-the-board cuts that took place when Congress failed to pass a budget in March.

“We urge Congress to develop a plan that not only protects education as a civil right but also as a national security interest,” said NSBA President David A. Pickler, who added that while “federal dollars are going away, the mandates remain.”

Pickler, a member of the Shelby County school board in Memphis, said his district plans to lay off instructional coaches, who work with struggling learners and help prepare students for tests, and behavioral interventionists, who help students with significant behavioral issues.

Impact Aid, the fund that reimburses school districts that lose tax revenue because of federally controlled land, was the only major K-12 program that saw immediate budget cuts; other K-12 programs will be pared down about 5 percent beginning Oct. 1 and will see scheduled decreases over the next 10 years. Some Impact Aid districts have had to cut academic programs, teachers, and paraprofessionals in the middle of the school year.

Karen Gray, the president of the Silver Valley Unified School District’s board, said the district’s preschool that serves many special-needs children had seen the brunt of this year’s cuts. The Yermo, Calif., school district includes a military base, and educating students whose parents are deployed creates additional challenges, Gray noted.

“Our board and staff continuously adjust our finances,” she said. The district has avoided teacher layoffs so far by eliminating jobs through attrition.

Roy Nelson, a school board member in the Red Lake Independent School District in Red Lake, Minn., said his district had eliminated seven teacher jobs and three paraprofessional jobs and scaled back elementary music and tutoring programs.

Parents, though, are concerned about school safety given last year’s shootings in Connecticut and a shooting in 2005 that killed seven students at a Red Lake high school, Nelson said. But the district cannot afford to hire more security guards.

More than 700 school boards have passed resolutions asking Congress to pass a budget that fully funds K-12 education programs. Go to NSBA’s Stop Sequestration webpage for more information and sample resolutions.

 

Joetta Sack-Min|May 23rd, 2013|Categories: Arts Education, Board governance, Budgeting, Educational Finance, Educational Legislation, Federal Advocacy, Federal Programs, Legislative advocacy, Policy Formation, School Boards|Tags: , , , , |

Marketplace Fairness Act could help schools gain sales tax revenues, NSBA says

The National School Boards Association (NSBA) is urging lawmakers to pass the Marketplace Fairness Act, which would require all online or catalog companies collect taxes from internet purchases. The measure would allow states and local governments to collect an estimated $23 billion per year that could be used to address budget shortfalls in education and other priorities.

The U.S. Senate passed its version of the legislation on May 8. The bill is sponsored by Senator Mike Enzi (R-Wyo.), and would require online retailers to collect and remit sales and use taxes to states and local governments, commensurate to brick-and-mortar businesses. Overall, S. 743 seeks to level the playing field between online retailers and local “Main Street” retailers, thereby establishing a level of parity and addressing erosion of local and state tax systems.

The bipartisan bill would allow states and local governments to collect an estimated $23 billion per year that could be used to address budget shortfalls in education and other priorities. S. 743 would exclude small online retailers with annual revenues less than $1 million.

Under the legislation, each state that is a part of the Streamlined Sales and Use Tax Agreement would be authorized to collect remote sales and use taxes. Likewise, states that are not a member under the Agreement could collect remote sales and use taxes, provided they implement simplification requirements such as establishing a single entity responsible for tax administration, return processing and audits and establishing a uniform sales and use tax base among a state and its local taxing jurisdictions.

 

 

Joetta Sack-Min|May 3rd, 2013|Categories: Board governance, Budgeting, Educational Finance, Educational Legislation, Federal Advocacy, Federal Programs, Policy Formation|Tags: , |

More lawmakers sign on to NSBA bill

The National School Boards Association’s (NSBA) legislative proposal which would establish a framework for improved recognition of local school board authority when the U.S. Department of Education acts on issues that impact local school districts unless specifically authorized in federal legislation, the Local School Board Governance and Flexibility Act (H.R. 1386), has now garnered 16 co-sponsors.

Introduced by Rep. Aaron Schock (R-lll.) on March 21, the bill had as original co-sponsors Reps. Schock, Rodney Davis of Illinois, Ron Kind of Wisconsin, Patrick Meehan of Pennsylvania, and David Valadao of California. Since then, 11 more members of the U.S. House of Representatives have signed on: Reps. Lou Barletta (PA), Jo Bonner (AL), Kevin Cramer (ND), Jim Gerlach (PA), Bob Gibbs (OH), Adam Kinzinger (IL), Cynthia Lummis (WY), Kenny Marchant (TX), Mick Mulvaney (SC), Stevan Pearce (NM.), Ted Poe (TX), and Marlin Stutzman (IN).

School board members are encouraged to contact their House members to become co-sponsors. Increased focus is now being directed to urge senators to introduce a companion bill in the U.S. Senate, and school board members also are encouraged to contact their senators and urge them to sponsor similar legislation.

 

Joetta Sack-Min|May 3rd, 2013|Categories: Board governance, Federal Advocacy, Federal Programs, Governance, Leadership, Legislative advocacy, Policy Formation, School Boards, School Reform|Tags: , |

Not much data available on school turnaround models, new CPE report finds

Turnaround strategies for low-performing schools are getting a lot of attention from states and the federal government—which are spending billions of dollars on those efforts. But do these strategies work?

The National School Boards Association’s (NSBA) Center for Public Education (CPE)  finds that while there have been some successes there’s not much evidence yet that many of these strategies will work on a larger scale.

The report, “Which Way Up?  What research says about school turnaround strategies,” reviews numerous methods of school improvement to determine which, if any, hold the most promise, but finds that in most cases it’s too early to tell.

“With the significant federal investment and mandated models to ‘turnaround’ low-performing schools, we have limited research to date on the effectiveness of these strategies and little guidance on what actually works,” said NSBA Executive Director Thomas J. Gentzel.  “We know that school improvement funding is extremely important, but it should encourage innovation, instead of mandating unnecessary federal restrictions.”

The No Child Left Behind (NCLB) law has placed a larger focus on turnaround strategies by identifying schools with low performance and sizable achievement gaps. The main federal turnaround program, the School Improvement Grant (SIG), targets schools in the bottom 5 percent nationwide with four models of reform ranging from replacing staff to shutting down a school. These strategies are echoed in the federal Race to the Top grants and so-called Parent Trigger laws being introduced in a handful of states.

One federal study showed that two-thirds of SIG grant recipients posted gains with the infusion of federal funds, but because the report was based on only one year’s data, it was too early to draw conclusions.

“The focus on the nation’s lowest performing schools is vitally important so we can make sure all students have the benefit of a solid public education,” said Patte Barth, CPE’s Director. “In these efforts, education policymakers need to balance the need for evidence-based strategies while tapping the potential for local innovation, especially in cases like turnaround strategies where the data is limited.”

In examining research on the impact of school closure, restart, transformation, and turnaround models, the report concludes:

  • Research is limited. There is some evidence of success, primarily for schools undertaking more dramatic turnaround reforms, but data collected over a longer period of time is needed.
  • The vast majority of SIG schools — about three-quarters are choosing the “transformation model” which provides the most flexibility for local planners.
  • Replacing a majority of teachers—required in the turnaround model—presents challenges for some schools. Rural schools are particularly challenged to find enough teachers to meet the replacement requirements.
  • Rural schools also face difficulties with the restart model since they have limited access to private management organizations. The closure model also may not be feasible if they have no other schools in which to send students. Even in urban areas, a closure model seems to be promising only when students can transfer to schools with higher achievement rates.
  • Replacing a principal may show promise, as some studies indicate principals are second only to teachers in their impact on student learning.  But the strategy is new and again, the data is limited.

NSBA has repeatedly voiced concerns about the U.S. Department of Education’s mandates and overreach, which hinder school officials’ abilities to address their unique local needs. In response to NSBA concerns, the Local School Board Governance and Flexibility Act (HR 1386) has been introduced and now has 15 cosponsors in the U.S. House of Representatives. The bill would ensure that the agency engages local school boards much more to preclude federal requirements that are ineffective and beyond local school district capacity.

Joetta Sack-Min|May 1st, 2013|Categories: Board governance, Center for Public Education, Charter Schools, Educational Research, Federal Advocacy, Federal Programs, Governance, Leadership, Legislative advocacy, Mayoral Control, School Reform, Student Achievement|Tags: , , , , , |

NSBA seeks to stop erosion of local control

The erosion of local school board authority is on the minds of many board members these days, and NSBA has responded with the Local School Board Governance and Flexibility Act, which seeks to rein in the U.S. Department of Education’s use of rules and regulations to intrude on the role of local school policymakers.

“What local school boards need is the flexibility and freedom to govern education in a way that reflects the needs and values of their own local community,” Michael A. Resnick, NSBA’s associate executive director for federal advocacy and public policy, told attendees at Saturday’s National Network Luncheon at NSBA’s annual conference.

The federal government has engaged in “significant overreach” in the past decade, he said. No longer content to administer federal legislation, federal officials are attempting to implement their own policy agenda.

One strategy to accomplish this has been to write grant rules and regulations so officials can use the promise of federal funding to encourage states and school districts to experiment with charter schools, close so-called failing schools, and adopt unproven teacher evaluation systems.

It’s a carrot-and-stick approach that undermines local school governance and representative democracy, he said. “You as board members represent your community. Our legislation is intended to rectify that problem.”

To do that, the bill, H.R. 1386, would limit the U.S. Department of Education’s authority to issue rules and regulations that impact local schools unless these rules are required to implement federal legislation—and it limits unfunded mandates or rules that unduly conflict with the authority of the school board, Resnick said.

The bill also would require a 60-day comment period so that school boards and others in the education community can comment on the impact of any new rules, and it puts additional restrictions on the department before any rules go into effect.

All of this is necessary because the continuing federal intrusion is a slow but increasing threat to local school board authority, Resnick says. “I liken it to the frog in the kettle. You put it in and turn up the heat one degree at a time, and the frog never realizes he’s being cooked.”

“We believe we’ve got to stand up at this point and really stop this erosion of local control right now.”

Asked about progress on the reauthorization of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA), Resnick was cautious in making predictions. He said that, although there are legislators working to push the legislation forward, there are complex and fundamental issues to the law that lawmakers are still debating.

That said, NSBA would continue to lobby for Congress to act—and deal with a number of issues that would improve provisions of the law for local school boards.

He also encouraged school board members to take a more active role in this lobbying effort. Although NSBA will makes its presence felt on Capitol Hill, “when it comes to the lobbying process, members of Congress are more responsive to the people they’re familiar with.”

So it’s critical that board members, working in conjunction with their state school board associations, “really make a point of telling their federal representatives how necessary this legislation is.”

Del Stover|April 15th, 2013|Categories: Federal Advocacy, Federal Programs, NSBA Annual Conference 2013, Public Advocacy|

Step by step: Creating, building, sustaining relationships with Congress

When school board members sit down with their members of Congress, they often find themselves frustrated by the brief, often controlled, content of the chats. That’s why a trio of NSBA advocacy team members offered a Saturday clinic at NSBA’s annual conference on getting the most out of such meetings, and on sustaining ongoing relationships.

Reginald Felton, assistant executive director for congressional relations, offered a primary on how Congress works – slowly – in part because K-12 issues are tied to what he called “the public education triad” — politics, business, and academics.

“Clearly, the politics of education is there. The academics are to ensure (that) our students are learning and becoming career and college ready,” Felton said. “And there is the business because of the cost. We all know we are being challenged to have sufficient resources.

“Board members who think they only want to work on one part of the triad are often disappointed. The whole issue is that there is a political piece, an academic piece, and a business piece,” he said.

“Our concern is not that we don’t believe that school board members are active; we know you are. If you can have the relationship so they know you, and you’ve built that relationship when there isn’t a crisis, they are more likely to respond,” Felton said.

Kathleen Branch, director of NSBA’s National Advocacy Services, said the national association has a host of resources to help board members in lobbying and meeting with members of Congress.

“You have enough to do in your daily job as board members. We understand that. When you raise your hand and say, ‘I want to advocate as the national level,’ you are not on your own,” she said.

Part of the session involved viewing of a 27-minute NSBA-produced video entitled, “How to Lobby Members of Congress.” The video covers such pointers as:

• Never assume members of Congress know who you are and who you represent

• Look at their past voting record (NSBA has the information)

• Be passionate about issues but be respectful

• Focus on your voice as coming from a community in the Congressman’s district

• Talk about the local impact

• Follow up on the meeting; invite the Congressman to local district events.

Deborah Rigsby, NSBA’s director of federal legislation, echoed the messages on the video.

“Face-to-face time is important,” Rigsby said, “and it does influence votes.”

Rigsby also encouraged board members to connect with staff in their members of Congress district and Washington, D.C., office, citing an example of one district whose leaders get regular contacts by its Congressman’s staff when education issues are raised.

The NSBA team encouraged board members to get involved in the annual Federal Relations Network (FRN) conference each January.

Brad Hughes

Andrew Paulson|April 13th, 2013|Categories: Federal Advocacy, Federal Programs, NSBA Annual Conference 2013|

NSBA’s Delegate Assembly elects new officers, adopts beliefs and policies

Anne M. Bryne of New York’s Nanuet Union Free School District was named as president-elect of NSBA during Friday’s Delegate Assembly. John Tuttle of Kellyville, Okla., was elected secretary-treasurer.

Under NSBA’s constitution, current President-Elect David A. Pickler of Tennessee’s Shelby County Schools will become board president during Monday’s General Session. C. Ed Massey, the current president, becomes past president.

The Delegate Assembly also elected the following as regional directors: Tim Sivertson of Wisconsin (Central Region), JoDee Sundberg of Utah (Pacific Region), Robert F. Alvey Jr. of Tennessee (Southern Region), Neil G. Putnam of South Dakota (Western Region), and Kristin Malin of Maine (Northeast Region).

In other business, the Delegate Assembly adopted a series of beliefs and policies to help govern NSBA and guide the Board of Directors and association staff in the year ahead. Among them:

• NSBA supports the need for comprehensive strategies to significantly reduce poverty in the U.S. that undermines public education’s ability to educate and fully develop the potential of our student population. NSBA further recognizes and supports the importance of holding high expectations for all children.

• NSBA supports local school boards to consider (1) out-of-school suspensions as a last resort to address behavior issues in schools; and (2) increase the use of other proven strategies and interventions that maximize the opportunities for all students to have a safe and successful in-school experience.

• NSBA opposes any efforts to subsidize tuition or expenses at elementary and secondary private, religious, or home schools with public tax dollars. Specifically, NSBA opposes vouchers, tax credits, and tax subsidies for use at non-public K-12 schools.

The Delegate Assembly also passed a series of resolutions urging Congress:

• To authorize and fully fund Impact Aid.

• To fully fund Title I and the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA).

• To maintain the federal tax exemption for interest on bonds issued by state and local governments, including school districts.

• To support the governance role of local school boards from unnecessary requirements and costs imposed by the U.S. Department of Education.

• To provide greater and sustained resources for locally determined programs that are critical to school safety such as school resource officers, school counseling, emergency preparedness, and response training, interagency coordination, and a comprehensive resource guide on available federal assistance.

• To complete the reauthorization of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act.

• To support research and implementation of local developed strategies to improve teacher and principal effectiveness.

• To strengthen the E-rate program to ensure its efficient operation, improve the quality and speed of connectivity in our nation’s schools, and address the technology gaps that remain.

Del Stover|April 12th, 2013|Categories: Announcements, Federal Advocacy, Federal Programs, NSBA Annual Conference 2013|

Gun lobby pushes to arm school personnel

School resource officers should receive more weapons training and “selected and designated school personnel” should also be trained and authorized to carry arms, according to a National Rifle Association (NRA) task force report, which was reported by Legal Clips, a publication of the National School Boards Association (NSBA).

The report was released last week as President Barack Obama urges Congress to consider several gun-control measures, which could include increased background  checks and bans on certain assault-style weapons. The Senate could announce compromise legislation as early as this week.

Public schools spend billions each year on school resource officers, according to a report on NPR’s Marketplace Morning Report. One officer could cost between $50,000 and $80,000 per year, depending on the district.

Responding to a gun emergency is a complex, multifaceted task that requires the coordination of trained law enforcement officers and other emergency response professionals, NSBA General Counsel Francisco M. Negrón, Jr. told NPR. “It’s not just simply about being able to defend,” Negrón said, “but about being able to address and respond quickly in the whole security scenario that law enforcement officers are trained to do.”

Lawrence Hardy|April 8th, 2013|Categories: Board governance, Federal Advocacy, Federal Programs, Legislative advocacy, School Climate, School Security|Tags: , |

School board legislation gains new support in the U.S. Congress

A bipartisan group of lawmakers has signed on to the Local School Board Governance and Flexibility Act, a measure proposed by the National School Boards Association (NSBA). The bill, H.R. 1386, is designed to protect local school district governance from unnecessary and counter-productive federal intrusion from the U.S. Department of Education.

The bill was introduced in the U.S. House of Representatives on March 21 by Reps. Aaron Schock (R-Ill.) and Patrick Meehan (R-Pa.) It is now cosponsored by Reps. Rodney Davis (R-Ill.), Ron Kind (D-Wis.), and David Valadao (R-Calif.).

NSBA is now seeking an original sponsor for the legislation in the Senate, and it is urging school board members to contact their members of Congress to support the bill while the lawmakers are in their home districts next week.

“As a former school board president, I believe that the combination of parents, educators, employers and the local community must work together to ensure all children develop the skills and acquire the educational tools they will need to become successful. I believe a big part of this is ensuring local school boards do not have their authority eroded by regulators in Washington,” said Schock. “Not all education regulations are misguided, but the ones that are need to be taken off the books. The focus has to be expanding the opportunity to learn; not tying the hands of local administrators with more red tape by federal bureaucrats. My legislation ensures this encroachment does not continue and restores the local authority school boards need.”

Members of Congress are at home in their districts/state until Monday, April 8. This is an excellent opportunity to communicate with your members of Congress the importance of co-sponsoring the Local School Board Governance and Flexibility Act. Make sure you call, email, or meet with your members of Congress to discuss the importance of co-sponsoring this bill.

Joetta Sack-Min|March 29th, 2013|Categories: Board governance, Educational Legislation, Federal Advocacy, Federal Programs, Governance, Policy Formation, School Boards|Tags: , |

Local School Board Governance and Flexibility Act introduced in U.S. Congress

The National School Boards Association (NSBA) praised today’s introduction of the Local School Board Governance and Flexibility Act in the U.S. House of Representatives that would protect local school district governance from unnecessary and counter-productive federal intrusion from the U.S. Department of Education.

“Local school boards and local educators play a vital role in educating our nation’s schoolchildren which should not be eroded by unnecessary federal regulations,” said C. Ed Massey, NSBA President and member of Kentucky’s Boone County Board of Education. “The Local School Board Governance and Flexibility Act would ensure that local school boards have the ability to make decisions to create greater academic success for all students, efficiency, and responsiveness to the desires of local communities.”

This legislation, introduced by Rep. Aaron Schock (R-Ill.) and Rep. Patrick Meehan (R-Pa.), would ensure that the U.S. Department of Education’s actions are consistent with the specific intent of federal law and are educationally, operationally, and financially supportable at the local level. This would also establish several procedural steps that the Department of Education would need to take prior to initiating regulations, rules, grant requirements, guidance documents, and other regulatory materials. The legislation is also supported by the American Association of School Administrators.

“In recent years local school board members and educators have become increasingly concerned that the local governance of our nation’s school districts is being unnecessarily eroded through over reaching federal policies and requirements established by the U.S. Department of Education,” said Thomas J. Gentzel, NSBA Executive Director. “Public education decisions made at the federal level must support the needs and goals of local school districts and the communities they serve. The U.S. Department of Education should not be imposing its rules and priorities to our nation’s more than 13,500 school districts by trying to by-pass Congress and input from the local level. “

Additionally, the legislation is intended to provide the House of Representatives and Senate committees that oversee education with better information regarding the local impact of U.S. Department of Education’s activities. The legislation is also designed to more broadly underscore the role of Congress as the federal policy-maker in education and through its representative function.

“As a former school board president, I believe that the combination of parents, educators, employers and the local community must work together to ensure all children develop the skills and acquire the educational tools they will need to become successful. I believe a big part of this is ensuring local school boards do not have their authority eroded by regulators in Washington,” said Schock. “Not all education regulations are misguided, but the ones that are need to be taken off the books. The focus has to be expanding the opportunity to learn; not tying the hands of local administrators with more red tape by federal bureaucrats. My legislation ensures this encroachment does not continue and restores the local authority school boards need.”

NSBA is encouraging school board members to contact their members of Congress to support passage of this legislation.

Alexis Rice|March 21st, 2013|Categories: Federal Advocacy, Federal Programs|Tags: , , , , |
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