Education Week - August 26, 2015 - 16

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As Congressional Budget Battle Looms,
Duncan Warns Against Early-Ed. Cuts
POLITICS K-12 | The U.S. Department of Education has gone
on the offensive to protect federal education programs ahead of
looming spending battles in Congress to stave off a government
shutdown prior to the end of the fiscal year, Oct. 1.
Specifically, the department took aim last week at the
appropriations bills that passed through the U.S. Senate and
the U.S. House of Representatives that would slash funding
for federal education programs by $1.7 billion and $2.8 billion,
respectively.
Those bills, which passed through appropriations committees this
summer, have not been voted on by the full chambers.
In a press release, Secretary of Education Arne Duncan blasted
the Republicans' intention to slash the Obama administration's
Preschool Development Grant program, arguing it would pull
funds away from states in the last two years of the grant.
Eliminating the pre-K program would jeopardize state and local
plans to serve nearly 60,000 additional children, the release said.
The cuts would leave another 43,000 children to attend preschool
in programs in need of important quality improvements. Though
both bills would nix the Obama administration's pre-K initiative,
they would both pump more than $100 million into Head Start,
an early education program for low-income families, over current
funding levels.
Republican appropriators in both chambers have said repeatedly
that they'd prefer to put even more money into early-childhoodeducation initiatives if there was more to spend. And that's the
bigger issue at play here-limited federal resources.
Both chambers' funding plans were largely pegged to the
congressionally mandated across-the-board spending caps,
known as sequestration. But President Barack Obama has said
he'd veto any appropriations plans that lock in sequester-level
funding.
When lawmakers return to Washington in September, they'll have
just 10 legislative days to hash out a spending plan before the end of
the fiscal year.
-LAUREN CAMERA

GOP Candidates for White House
Delve Into Ed.-Policy Discussion
CONTINUED FROM PAGE 15

Ed. Dept. Aiming to Accelerate Process
For Evaluating Educational Technology
MARKETPLACE K-12 | The U.S. Department of Education is
asking for bids to design a prototype system to quickly evaluate
ed-tech in K-12 schools, in hopes of making it easier for educators
to figure out what works in products they buy with federal
funding.
The research and implementation team chosen through the
department's Aug. 12 request for proposals will tackle those and
other questions in its design of one- to three-month tests of edtech software. Beyond getting feedback on technology purchased
with funds available under the Elementary and Secondary
Education Act, the department wants to help schools and parents
"make evidence-based decisions when choosing which apps to use
with their students," according to its announcement.
School leaders look for research-based evidence about what works,
but they are often skeptical of studies underwritten by the companies
that are trying to sell the products.
Ultimately, the department is interested in moving the field
forward from a "kicking the tires" approach to piloting products, to
taking educational apps for "a real test drive," according to Katrina
Stevens, a senior adviser in the department's office of educational
technology.
-MICHELE MOLNAR
|

Illinois Law Requires State College Credit
For Those Scoring 3 or Better on AP Exam
HIGH SCHOOL & BEYOND | Illinois has joined a growing group of
states that require all their public colleges and universities to use one
method of awarding students college credit for Advanced Placement
or other advanced coursework.
A new law signed earlier this month by Illinois Gov. Bruce
Rauner requires the state's higher education institutions to award
credit for scores of 3 or better, on a scale of 1 to 5, on AP exams.
Like many colleges and universities around the country, those in
Illinois vary widely in their policies for accepting AP credit. Some
permit scores as low as 2, while others demand that students score
a 5 to earn credit.
According to the Education Commission of the States in Denver,
16 states currently have statewide policies for awarding college
credit for AP work (and other advanced work such as International
Baccalaureate) in high school.
-CATHERINE GEWERTZ
|

16 | EDUCATION WEEK | August 26, 2015 | www.edweek.org

is at least some basis for measurement of students' progress." Bush
added that decisions on how to use
testing for accountability should be
left up to states and should be based
on gains in learning.
The former Florida governor also
said that he supports allowing
Title I dollars for low-income children to follow them to the school of
their choice, and the same for the
federal investment in the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act.
Former Hewlett-Packard Co.
CEO Carly Fiorina-the only nongovernor or former governor in
the group-said she'd prefer the
Republican-backed House ESEA
overhaul, mainly because it preserves students' right to opt out of
federally mandated state tests.
Christie also said he would like
to see some sort of accountability
in the final ESEA legislative overhaul, but would not support policies that go as far as the accountability amendment offered by Sens.
Chris Murphy, D-Conn., and Cory
Booker, D-N.J. That amendment
would, among other things, require states to set academic goals
for subgroups of students and then
ensure schools hit those goals, and
require states to identify their
poorest performing schools and
those with especially low graduation rates.

Hammering Teachers' Unions
The GOP candidates blasted the
two national teachers' unions, which
cumulatively represent more than
4 million educators, arguing they're
blockades to the types of school
choice policies the candidates prefer.
Indeed, Christie doubled down on
comments that got him in trouble a
few weeks ago.
"I have no problem with saying
teachers' unions deserve a political

K-12 Funding
Still Disputed
In Wash. State
CONTINUED FROM PAGE 15

least start studying and working on
a plan before the session starts again
in January. "If they come in January,
they'll never get it done," he said.

Will the Sanction Work?
In its August ruling, the state
Supreme Court wrote that a "monetary sanction is appropriate to
emphasize the cost to the children,
indeed to all of the people of this
state, for every day the State fails
to adopt a full plan" by the end of
the 2015 session.

punch in the face because they do,"
he said, adding that they "buy the
legislature-lock, stock, and barrel."
He noted, however, that in the
past, he's worked with American
Federation of Teachers President
Randi Weingarten to overhaul the
teacher-compensation system in
Newark, N.J., and that he will always be willing to work with union
leaders in order get done what needs
to get done.
In response, Weingarten composed
a series of tweets, saying in one that
it's a "sad state of affairs when the
only GOPer willing to talk about
listening to teachers also wants to
punch us in the face."

Teachers unions,
common core, and
the federal role in
education were
prime topics for six
Republican presidential
candidates at a New
Hampshire forum.
Walker, who's best known for rolling back the bargaining rights of
teachers and other public employees
in Wisconsin, ditching teacher tenure, and instituting a new teachercompensation system that pays
teachers based on performance,
warned about the political influence
of the unions.
"They made me the number one
target," said Walker, who survived a
recall election in 2012 prompted by
the collective bargaining changes.
"Why? Because I threaten them."
Even Bush, who hasn't been one to

But, it said, the sanction is
"less intrusive" than other possibilities, including determining a plan
for school funding on behalf of the
legislature.
The funds will be sent to an account reserved, broadly, for education. Such an account does not yet
exist and would have to be created
by the legislature. David Postman, a
spokesman for Gov. Inslee, said that
the state's Office of Financial Management will be tracking the fines in
the meantime.
The court's action has triggered
mixed reaction. State Sen. Matt
Manweller, a Republican, said on
Twitter that the court was "going
rogue" and called for impeaching
its justices. A conservative blogger
described the battle between the judiciary and legislative branches as a
"constitutional crisis."
Meanwhile, Frank Ordway, the
director of government relations

throw fireballs, got in on the action.
"I'd love a day where Randi Weingarten and I could hold hands and
sing 'Kumbaya,' " he said. "She's cordial and she's charming, but she's not
going to change."
Fiorina said she would work to
find a way to better reward excellent teachers, and blasted the policies that unions have historically
pushed.
"What do unions reward? Seniority," she said. "The longer you're in
the job, the better you do [financially], whether you're good or not. It
discourages excellence."
Kasich agreed, adding that the
last-in, first-out layoff policies in
many state laws and union contracts
need to be eliminated.

Dissenting Voices
Outside the high school where the
event was taking place, a group of
about 50 people organized by New
Hampshire's National Education
Association affiliate gathered to
protest the various school choice
policies that the candidates voiced
support for during the forum.
They argued that policies like Title
I portability and increasing caps on
charter schools take money away
from public schools that are already
cash-strapped.
The New Hampshire event was
formatted as a forum, rather than
a head-to-head debate, so the candidates didn't get to press each other
on their nuanced stances. But they
will meet again, alongside their 10
other opponents in the bulging Republican field, for the second primetime GOP debate Sept. 16 at the
Ronald Reagan Presidential Library,
in Simi Valley, Calif., which will be
broadcast on CNN.
The Seventy Four is planning
a Democratic education forum in
Iowa, another primary state, in
October, co-hosted with The Des
Moines Register.

for the League of Education Voters,
an advocacy group in Washington
state focused on education issues
including school funding, said that
the sanctions seemed more symbolic
than anything else, given the size of
the potential penalty in relation to
the state's overall budget.
Still, Alan Burke, the executive
director of the Washington State
School Directors' Association, which
represents local school boards, said
association members are "cautiously
optimistic" that the sanctions might
push legislators to develop a plan
sooner rather than later.
"Districts have been waiting a
long time for an infusion of revenue
from the McCleary case," Burke
said. "The court is making a statement to the legislature that this
needs to get going."
The Associated Press contributed to
this story.

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Education Week - August 26, 2015

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