The Education Policy Hotlist

Top News in U.S. Education Policy for the Week of July 27

We know one thing for sure: our back-to-school routines are going to look a little (or a lot) different this year. Teacher's may not be salivating over the smell of freshly sharpened pencils or hot-deals at Officemax and this pivot from business-as-usual actually gives us a unique opportunity to explore how we need to pivot.

Last week, I reflected on registering my preschooler for kindergarten during the pandemic. I noted that this task was clerical to me and when I had questions about what website I needed to access I could turn to my established network of adult support within our school community. Many children in our communities, typically those from our untapped, diverse families, may get lost in this system during such unusual times. This is a time for our schools to reframe back-to-school practices by partnering with community organizations who are already embedded in serving families, returning schools back to our communities.

FEDERAL RELIEF FUNDS 

The Senate released their Republican relief package today, the Health, Economic Assistance, Liability Protection, Schools (HEALS) Act, that follows Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell's big pillars totalling $1T. The education component, Safely Back to School and Back to Work Act, includes $105B for education funding. Of the $105B, $69.6B will go to K-12 education allocated through Title 1 funding formulas. One-third of these funds must be awarded to LEAs "not less than" 15 days after the SEA receives funds and two-thirds will be awarded only after LEAs submit school reopening plans to the governor. LEAs will receive varied levels of funding based on a sliding scale of in-person instruction, as defined prior to the coronavirus pandemic. Note that if no in-person instruction is planned then LEAs will receive no funding. Governors will also receive $5.2B aligned with the CARES Act governor provisions. In anticipation of the bill last week, researchers, teachers’ unions, and think tank organizations released advocacy materials about the amount and stipulations of the federal relief dollars for education. 

• The HEALS Act
• Safely Back to School and Back to Work Act
• A Time to Act: The Importance of Investment in Public Education and Other State and Local Services in the Time of COVID-19 
• Why K-12 Education Needs More Federal Stimulus Funding 
• Education researchers come together on what schools need now — starting with more money 
• Kids, Jobs, Healthcare: McConnell on Major Pillars for Next COVID-19 Proposal 
• Park: Politicians Claim Cutting Medicaid Spending Will Ensure Funding for Schools. Our Analysis Shows the Opposite Will Happen 
• NYC sues Trump admin for 'siphoning' COVID-19 funds from public schools 
• To prohibit in-person instructional requirements during the COVID–19 emergency. 

NATIONAL DIALOGUE ON REOPENING SCHOOLS 

The CDC released updated guidance for parents and education leaders on reopening childcare centers and schools last week. A few weeks later than anticipated, the guidance provides evaluative questions for parents and educators making decisions about the impact of returning to school. Meanwhile, NASBE and NAESP shared themes and survey findings on their members’ perceptions of reopening schools. Other articles address growing issues with connectivity, liability, and things like FERPA guidance for COVID-19 screenings.  

• Hearing on Reopening Schools During a Pandemic 
• BRIEF NASBE policy update finds trends in reopening plans 
• CDC on The Importance of Reopening America’s Schools this Fall 
• CDC on School Decision-Making Tool for Parents, Caregivers, and Guardians 
• NAESP releases results on national survey of principals on reopening schools 
• Should schools reopen? Balancing COVID-19 and learning loss for young children 
• Refreshing staff on FERPA essential as districts implement COVID-19 screening 
• 16.9 million children remain logged out because they don't have internet at home 

 STATE AND LOCAL REOPENING PLANS 

State and local education leaders are attempting to make measured decisions about how to reopen schools in the fall. However, upheaval persists around challenging negotiations with teachers’ unions, childcare centers, and virtual academies. Still, there are spotlights on school districts who are grounding in the resilience and strength of their communities.  

• Florida teachers union sues DeSantis, Corcoran over schools’ ‘reckless, unsafe reopening’  
• New Jersey will allow parents to choose remote-only learning in the fall 
• Denver Public Schools to start school year online, transition to classrooms in September at the earliest 
• Muse Knoxville to test out ‘Learning Pods’ in KCS 
• Virtual academy draws nearly half of district’s students 
• Michigan’s reopening economy needs child care. This educator’s struggle shows that rebooting centers won’t be easy. 
• LAUSD expanding community-centered education model districtwide 

LEARNING LOSS AND ASSESSMENT 

Jim Blew from USED and Carissa Moffat Miller from CCSSO both suggested that it is too early to decide whether or not to administer statewide summative tests next year. They, along with many other advocacy organizations, have indicated the value in knowing where students are and achieving comparability across districts within a state. These recommendations dovetail with a broader discussion about how our accountability systems must evolve to better account for equity by focusing on scaling computer adaptive assessments, weighting growth more than proficiency, and investing in assessment innovation.  

• Standardized tests were canceled last school year. Don’t count on that happening again, federal official says 
• Indiana State Board of Education Approves Optional IREAD-3 Administration 
• CCSSO Statement on Assessment 
• 6 Takeaways — and Video — From Our Webinar on Accountability 
• What can leaders do to make sure kids aren’t left behind 

FEDERAL AND STATE POLICY WATCH

• HI HB 2543, Rep Saiki (HI-D), Requires parents or guardians of public school and charter school kindergarten students to disclose information on the student's prior child care program or pre kindergarten attendance, if any, for the purpose of determining areas having the highest need for prekindergarten and child care programs. Requires assessment of public school and charter school kindergarten students.
• MA S 2814, Sen Comerford (MA-D), Cancel summative tests, create grant program to support establishment of pilot evaluation models.
• MI HB 6015, Rep Anthon (MI-D), Excludes 2020-2021 school year from the third grade reading provisions.
• MI HB 6014, Rep Stone (MI-D), Removes requirement to administer the state assessments in 2020-2021 school year.
• MI HB 6013, Rep Carter (MI-D), Removes requirement for letter grade system for ranking public schools in the 2020-2021 school year.
• MI HB 6012, Rep Kennedy (MI-D), Increasing growth percentage to 40% and removing requirement for leadership evaluation at the building and district levels.
• MI HB 5912, Rep Schroeder (MI-R), Amends instructional hours in e-learning settings.
• MN HF 69, Rep Robbins (MN-R), Establishes provisions including interim assessments, timing for communication with parents, science of reading curricula, bonus program for schools who use scientific reading programs and show evidence of improved reading skills.
• MN HF 59, Rep Kresha (MN-R), Calculating average daily membership, establishing board process for redistributing monies, defining learning modalities.
• NJ A 4434, Greenwald (NJ-D), Establishes student wellness grant program in DOE for school-based mental, emotional, and social mental health.
• NY S 8585, Sen May (NY-D), Authorizes school districts to use school transportation aid to pay for the cost and expenses of transporting and delivering meals, homework materials and any other school materials to students during the COVID-19 pandemic.
• OH HB 732, Rep Manning (OH-R), Eliminate retention under the Third Grade Reading Guarantee and to require the Department of Education to seek a federal waiver for the 2020-2021 school year regarding the federal testing requirement for a third grade reading assessment.
• TN SB 1974, Sen Gresham (TN-R), Establishes commission on education recovery and innovation, must submit a report to the legislature by January 1, 2021 about the impact of COVID-19 on the education system.