Legislative Updates > Bulletins > Legislative Update Myrna Mandlawitz – Washington Consultant March 1, 2006

I. IDEA

1. Final regulations expected late summer or early fall.
2. Still no proposed regulations for Part C.
3. Regulations on "modified standards" will be added as part of the final regulations, based on comments that were due at the end of February.
4. Expect there will be some non-regulatory guidance after publication of regulations, including on Response to Intervention.

II. No Child Left Behind

1. Reauthorization
   1. Continuing involvement with "Forum for Educational Accountability" – 67 signatures on the principles document - currently developing principles, focusing on capacity building and assessment.
   2. Also, CCD will be developing principles for reauthorization.
   3. Timing unclear, although law expires at the end of the year.
   
   
2. Technical Assistance
   1. OSEP and Office of Elementary & Secondary Education (OESE) may jointly develop technical assistance on some issues, such as Enhanced Assessment Grants – competitive grants to supports States in improving quality and reliability of assessments, especially for students with disabilities and English language learners.
   2. Other Technical Assistance: Comprehensive Centers – provide technical assistance regionally and also in 5 content centers, including High Schools and Teacher Quality (co-funded by OSEP and OSERS)

III. Carl D. Perkins Vocational and Technical Education Act

1. Senate and House bills to reauthorize the Act passed March 2005.
2. Awaiting appointment of conference committee.
3. Key changes proposed:
   1. Developing and implementing model career pathways or course sequences
   2. Increased local accountability, including a uniform definition of "career and technical education student" and separate secondary and postsecondary performance measures.

IV. "65% Solution"

1. Monitoring state-by-state effort to pass legislation requiring that school districts spend at last 65% of their operating budgets on "classroom instruction."
2. Problematic because using the National Center on Education Statistics definition of "instruction expenditures," which does not include any related services personnel, librarians, transportation, food services, school nurses, or school and district administration.

V. Federal Budget

1. President's Fiscal Year 2007 (FY07) budget released on February 6.
2. Overall domestic discretionary (non-security) spending would be cut by $2.2 billion, including elimination and/or reduction of 141 programs.
   1. Health and Human Services: Proposed spending reduced by $1.3 billion (2.3%), with most savings from Medicare and Medicaid.
      • Would eliminate funding for National Children's Study
      • Money for all NIH institutes would be shifted.
   2. Labor: Proposed decrease for employment and training of $648 million, including some cuts in Workforce Investment Act.
   3. Education: Proposed but of 3.8% or $2.1 billion.
      • IDEA Part-B increase of $100 million; level funding for Preschool, Part C, and Part D (cut in Technology/Media)
      • Elimination of Perkins Vocational Education
      • Level funding for Adult Education
      • Large increase for Striving Readers (adolescent literacy), with level funding for Reading First and Early Reading First
      • Small increase for Vocational Rehabilitation (built in cost of living increase).
3. Next Steps:
   1. House and Senate Budget Committees action
   2. Budget Resolution
   3. Appropriations Process

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