1. W ASHINGTON U PDATE N ANCY R EDER D EPUTY E XECUTIVE D IRECTOR, NASDSE Idaho Special Education Conference March 4, 2013

2. W HAT T HIS P RESENTATION W ILL C OVER Impact of election Washington update

3. W HAT I MPACT DID THE E LECTION HAVE ON E DUCATION ?

4. I MPACT OF THE E LECTION New ranking member of Senate HELP Committee 8 fewer Republicans in the House All the bills have to be reintroduced =

5. I SSUES Sequestration/Budget/Appropriations ESEA reauthorization What’s new with IDEA implementation? Other education issues Seclusion and restraint Office of Civil Rights document on extra-curriciular activities Equity and Excellence Cmmission Common Core issues Implementation issues Assessment issues Virtual schools/online learning Universal Design for Learning (UDL)

6. S TILL M ORE I SSUES Reauthorization of the Workforce Investment Act School choice (charter schools and vouchers) Early childhood Child welfare and students with disabilities

7. O VERALL A NALYSIS OF THE 112 TH CONGRESS

8. N OW TO THE D ICEY S TUFF ….. S EQUESTRATION

9. S O W HAT ’ S THE F ISCAL C LIFF ?

12. D EFICIT R EDUCTION S INCE 2010 $1.5 T primarily from discretionary funding $.6 T in increased revenues $.03T in interest savings =$2.3 T in total deficit reduction Remainder needed to stabilize the debt: $1.4 T ($1.2 T savings + $0.2 T in interest savings

13. W HAT C AN I T ELL Y OU A BOUT S EQUESTRATION ? Where did it come from? Why is the deficit so big and why does it matter? Projected deficits would rise to more than 100% of GDP in 2027 Budget Control Act of 2011 (August, 2011) Established Joint Select Committee on Deficit Reduction Established two separate mechanisms: (1) Sequestration and (2) spending caps imposed on annual appropriations through FY 2021. Sequestration is supposed to reduce spending already provided for in FY 2013 (more about FY appropriations in a minute) Was supposed to kick in October 1 with 8.2% cut Modified by American Taxpayer Release Act (January 2, 2013) – pushed sequestration to March 1 st and reduced cut to approximately 5.1% Cuts are uniform across-the-board and leave little room for adjustments Projected cuts to IDEA -- $596 M $725 M in Title I cuts

14. M ORE ON S EQUESTRATION So to figure amount of cuts, look at FY 13 funding levels and take 5.1% off that amount BUT….on March 27 th, the Continuing Resolution for FY 13 ends – if not extended, means there is NO funding for federal government at all. What’s the impact of the spending caps? Don’t know yet. The aggregate funding for FY 2013 cannot exceed spending caps put into place by the Budget Control Act (of course, caps could be waived, increased, cut – but there is discretion on where to make cuts

15. W HEN D O C UTS K ICK IN FOR IDEA? IDEA is forward funded – cuts don’t kick in until July 1. Are the sequestration warnings real? Go to: www.cef.org www.cef.org

16. LOCAL Scenario One Scenario Two Cut staff & services Increase Local Spending FAPE not met Due Process & Lawsuits Staff, Service & programs maintained MDE Problems STATE Scenario One Scenario Two $ for Services Legislature Cut state programs & services Programs & Services continue MSFS Programs & Services not provided FAPE not met for some Progress halted Oversight diminished State Determination Problems Solution Don’t Have Sequestration Impact of Sequestration

17. W HAT P ROGRAMS A RE E XEMPT ? Short list (not exhaustive) Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) Some Pell grants Medicaid SNAP (food stamps) Supplemental Security Income Program TANF

18. G OOD R ESOURCES ON S EQUESTRATION White House fact sheets: www.whitehouse.govwww.whitehouse.gov Dept of Education website: www.education.govwww.education.gov AASA survey on sequestration: http://www.aasa.org/uploadedFiles/Policy_and_A dvocacy/files/AASA%20Sequestration%20July%2 02012.pdf http://www.aasa.org/uploadedFiles/Policy_and_A dvocacy/files/AASA%20Sequestration%20July%2 02012.pdf NEA fact sheet: http://www.nea.org/assets/docs/Disastrous_Impac t_of_Sequestration_on_Education.pdf http://www.nea.org/assets/docs/Disastrous_Impac t_of_Sequestration_on_Education.pdf Center on Budget and Policy Priorities: www.cbpp.org www.cbpp.org Report from Senator Harkin (www.senate.gov)

19. B UDGET /A PPROPRIATIONS – H OW I T ’ S S UPPOSED TO W ORK President submits budget to Congress House passes budget resolution Senate passes budget resolution House and Senate pass 12 appropriations bills Conference committees iron out differences House and Senate vote on conference reports President signs into law

20. O THER I MPORTANT S TUFF President’s budget for FY 14 supposed to come out March 25 th House Rs to introduce new CR March 11 – will keep basic funding levels (separate bill for Defense) In the Senate -- Mikulski to introduce all 12 bills in a straight CR (same week)

21. ESEA R EAUTHORIZATION – N EWS F LASH : G LACIERS M OVING B UT ESEA IS N OT

22. ESEA R EAUTHORIZATION Last Congress, Education and Workforce Committee introduced five ESEA bills – one passed (charter school bill) Senate HELP Committee passed a bill – never made it to the Senate floor Anticipate that Rep. Kline will introduce same five bills Anticipate that Sen. Harkin will introduce comprehensive bill

23. ESEA C RITICAL I SSUES Impact of waivers on reauthorization Highly effective teachers vs. highly qualified teachers What to replace AYP with? Use of PBIS/RtI/multi-tiered interventions/UDL Transferability of funds Graduation rate calculations Title I/IDEA working group recommendations – paper available at www.nasdse.orgwww.nasdse.org

24. L ET ’ S T ALK A BOUT H IGHLY Q UALIFIED T EACHERS OR H IGHLY E FFECTIVE T EACHERS What does the current law say? ED’s position permeates all policies Race to the Top Waivers Regulations How did the CR change the definition of HQT? Those in alt cert programs are considered highly qualified; CR asked for data collection on this What will a new ESEA bill do? How to reconcile with language in IDEA? No one seems to be thinking about this

25. ESEA F LEXIBILITY 35 states have been granted waivers (ID approved on 10/18/12) 47 states have requested waivers: TX, PA and WY recently applied for waivers States not applying for waivers: MT, NE, VT CA wants a do-it-yourself model; Documents posted at http://www.ed.gov/esea/flexibility http://www.ed.gov/esea/flexibility Waiver is good for two years – could be an extension Local district flexibility? Question: how will states move from waivers to new ESEA (if there ever is one)?

26. W HAT ’ S N EW WITH IDEA I MPLEMENTATION Results-Driven Accountability (RDA) Shift focus to improving outcomes and reduce emphasis on compliance Part B Medicaid regulation Full funding legislation Going absolutely nowhere Still not talking about IDEA reauthorization

27. O THER E DUCATION I SSUES Seclusion and restraint Office of Civil Rights – Announcement about extra-curricular activities and students with disabilities: http://www.education.gov/news/press-releases/us- department-education-clarifies-schools- obligation-provide-equal-opportunity-s http://www.education.gov/news/press-releases/us- department-education-clarifies-schools- obligation-provide-equal-opportunity-s New PROMISE grants: http://www2.ed.gov/about/inits/ed/promise/index. html (input due March 17) http://www2.ed.gov/about/inits/ed/promise/index. html

28. O THER E DUCATION I SSUES ( CONTINUED ) Equity and Excellence Commission – new report Here’s a link to the report: http://www.ed.gov/blog/2013/02/equity-and- excellence-commission-delivers-report-to- secretary-duncan/ http://www.ed.gov/blog/2013/02/equity-and- excellence-commission-delivers-report-to- secretary-duncan/

29. C OMMON C ORE I SSUES Implementation issues Training on how to deliver Common Core to students with disabilities Assessments Accommodations (go to www.nasdse.org to see our letters)www.nasdse.org Broadband accessibility

30. V IRTUAL S CHOOLS /O NLINE L EARNING NASDSE’s Center on Online Learning and Students with Disabilities Issues: access for students with disabilities Delivering related services

31. U NIVERSAL D ESIGN FOR L EARNING (UDL) NASDSE participates in UDL Task Force and works closely with CAST Is NOT a special education issue We want language in ESEA Best resource is CAST’s National Center for Universal Design for Learning: www.udlcenter.org/ www.udlcenter.org/

32. W HAT M OVES S LOWER T HAN ESEA R EAUTHORIZATION ?

33. R EAUTHORIZATION OF W ORKFORCE I NVESTMENT A CT WIA to be marked up this week in the House Education and Workforce Committee (same bill as last Congress) Probably won’t make it to the House floor Dems have their own bill – not going anywhere Possibility that Vocational Rehabilitation will be pulled out into a separate bill

34. S CHOOL C HOICE ( CHARTER SCHOOLS AND VOUCHERS ) Release last June of GAO report on charter schools and students with disabilities Charter School ‘Summit’ at the Dept of Ed held last September Critical issues Enrollment of students with disabilities in charter schools Capacity of charter schools to serve students with disabilities Training for charter school authorizers and operators Vouchers more active at state level

35. E ARLY C HILDHOOD

36. President’s initiative for pre-school for all For information, go to: www.whitehouse.gov andwww.whitehouse.gov http://www.acf.hhs.gov/programs/ecd/news/what-the- presidents-early-learning-initiative-means-for-acf- programshttp://www.acf.hhs.gov/programs/ecd/news/what-the- presidents-early-learning-initiative-means-for-acf- programs Funding?? Connection to Part C and Section 619?

37. C HILD W ELFARE AND S TUDENTS WITH D ISABILITIES Two key pieces of legislation: Fostering Connections Act Critical issue: who makes decisions about school placements for students in foster care – the IEP team of the child welfare worker who has responsibility under the Fostering Connections Act to keep child in home school or as close to home school as possible Uninterrupted Scholars Act (passed at the very end of the last Congress It amends FERPA to give child welfare workers access to school records Good fact sheet at: http://www.fostercareandeducation.org/portals/0/dmx/ 2013/02/file_20130211_145758_xjnFqt_0.pdf http://www.fostercareandeducation.org/portals/0/dmx/ 2013/02/file_20130211_145758_xjnFqt_0.pdf

38. W HERE TO GO FOR MORE INFORMATION Alliance for Excellent Education: www.all4ed.orgwww.all4ed.org Center on Education Policy: www.cep-dc.org (materials on waivers)www.cep-dc.org Common core standards: www.corestandards.orgwww.corestandards.org Center for American Progress: www.americanprogress.org www.americanprogress.org