Federal Update: February 5, 2021 - Government Affairs (CA ...



From:Michael Brustein, Julia Martin, Steven Spillan, Kelly ChristiansenRe:Federal UpdateDate:February 5, 2021The Federal Update for February 5, 2021 TOC \o "1-3" \h \z \u Legislation and Guidance PAGEREF _Toc63421059 \h 1Senate Committee Holds Hearing on Cardona Nomination PAGEREF _Toc63421060 \h 1Senator Calls to Restrict Funds for Virtual Schools PAGEREF _Toc63421061 \h 2News PAGEREF _Toc63421062 \h 3Lawmakers Introduce New Civil Rights Legislation PAGEREF _Toc63421063 \h 3Letter to Cardona Urges Status Quo on Assessments PAGEREF _Toc63421064 \h 3Biden Administration Announces Political Appointees at ED PAGEREF _Toc63421065 \h 4Legislation and Guidance Senate Committee Holds Hearing on Cardona NominationThe Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) held a nomination hearing on Wednesday to consider Miguel Cardona for the position of Secretary of Education. Throughout the hearing, members of the Committee had an opportunity to question Cardona on various education policies.Overall, the hearing struck a relatively bipartisan tone, especially compared to former Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos’ controversial hearing in front of the Committee in 2017. Prior to the hearing, Cardona had met in-person or virtually with a number of the lawmakers to discuss their education priorities. COVID-19-related questions were frequent during the hearing, including on issues like school reopening and assessments. Several members of the Committee brought up the issue of whether assessments should take place this year and if they do, whether that data should be factored into States’ accountability systems. Cardona showed support for testing students this year to ensure schools have student performance data, but he did not take a hard stance on whether that data should be used for accountability purposes, saying that States should have input over that decision. On the issue of school reopening, he emphasized the importance of returning students to the classroom but also ensuring COVID-19 mitigation measures are used. When asked about his strategy in Connecticut as Commissioner to reopen schools earlier than many States, he noted the importance of partnering with public health experts to make informed decisions. On additional stimulus funding, Cardona advocated for future funding to focus on ramifications from COVID-19 like learning loss and preserving education jobs. Cardona made clear throughout the hearing that the Biden administration considers discrimination of students based on gender or sexual orientation to be illegal, and in a particularly heated line of questioning from Senator Rand Paul (R-KY), and later Senator Roger Marshall (R-KS), on the participation of transgender students in athletics, Cardona struck a conciliatory tone while also clearly stating that “discrimination based on gender is illegal” and schools “have the legal responsibility” to ensure students have an opportunity to participate in activities. When questioned by Senator Tim Scott (R-SC) on the benefit of school choice, Cardona did not outright condemn the idea, but emphasized the importance of ensuring all schools, including public schools, are high quality for students. He also offered support for career and technical education after a question from Senator Tim Kaine (D-VA) – a big proponent of CTE – noting that he attended a technical school himself when he was younger before deciding to enter the field of education, and said that there needs to be better alignment between CTE and the job market, as well as better education of students about CTE offerings at their school or in their district. Chairwoman Patty Murray (D-WA) has scheduled a Committee vote on Cardona’s nomination for next Thursday, February 11th. Cardona has already garnered some bipartisan support from Committee members, including Ranking Member Richard Burr (R-NC), who committed during the hearing to vote yes on Cardona’s nomination. Resources:Andrew Ujifusa, “Miguel Cardona Pressed by Lawmakers on Tests, Reopening Schools, and Transgender Students,” Education Week: Politics K-12, February 3, 2021. Author: KSCSenator Calls to Restrict Funds for Virtual SchoolsOn Wednesday, Senator Josh Hawley (R-MO) introduced an amendment to a budget resolution that would restrict new federal funds from going to schools that do not open for in-person instruction. Hawley cited a recent study from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) that found schools operating in-person have not seen significant differences in in-person school spread of the coronavirus compared to the community.The amendment would tie additional coronavirus aid for elementary and secondary schools directly to the resumption of in-person instruction. The budget resolution on which the amendment was proposed sets the stage for Congress’ plan to pass new coronavirus aid through a process known as reconciliation. However, Hawley’s amendment was not brought to a vote and therefore will not be considered as part of this process. Still, it serves as a reminder that many members of Congress remain interested in conditioning federal funds on in-person instruction.Author: JCMNewsLawmakers Introduce New Civil Rights LegislationDemocrats in the House of Representatives have introduced legislation that would push for increased classroom diversity and stricter accountability standards for discrimination in schools. The Strength in Diversity Act, co-sponsored by Representatives Bobby Scott (D-VA) and Mondaire Jones (D-NY), expands an initiative that offers grants to school districts to help increase diversity through planning and implementation grants for novel initiatives and comprehensive strategies to improve academic outcomes for low-income students and students of color. And the Equity and Inclusion Enforcement Act, sponsored by Scott and Jerry Nadler (D-NY), would restore an individual right of action for students and families under Title VI of the Civil Rights Act. That bill would also create an assistant secretary at the Department of Education tasked with enforcing Title VI, and require schools to have personnel dedicated to enforcing the law.The bills were introduced in the last Congress as well, but did not make progress toward passage.Author: JCMLetter to Cardona Urges Status Quo on Assessments In a joint-letter to U.S. Secretary of Education nominee Miguel Cardona, various civil rights and education advocacy groups called for Cardona to refrain from issuing waivers to States that would allow them to bypass student assessment requirements for the 2020-2021 school year. The group’s main concern is that without Statewide assessment data, student leaders will be unable to properly address and serve the learning needs of marginalized students, and parents will be unable to determine “how well” schools are serving students. The letter cites learning interruptions caused by COVID-19 and the resulting “disparate impact” on marginalized students as a compounding factor to “pre-existing inequities.” According to the letter, conditions like systemic racism, disenfranchisement, and unequal access to health care, economic, and criminal justice systems “disproportionately” affect people of color, particularly Black and Latino, as well low-income communities. Citing a report, the group States that the projected impact of interrupted learning for students from low-income backgrounds is more than a year.Assessments and additional student data, the group says, is the key to understanding the effects of the COVID-19 crisis and “ensuring that the pandemic does not undermine the futures of students across the country.” Without data from 2020-2021 assessments, the letter says that State leaders and policy makers will lose “nearly two years” of information on students of color, Native students, English learners, immigrant students, students with disabilities, and students from low-income families. In addition to assessments, the group requests that States and districts provide families and decision-makers with “multiple measures of data, disaggregated and reported” based on applicable demographic group (i.e., race, ethnicity, immigrant, newcomer, and disability status, homelessness and vulnerability to COVID-19). Other data requested by the group includes performance measurements such as student achievement, growth, course completion, graduation rates, school climate indicators (i.e., discipline practices), opportunity-to-learn measures, the teaching workforce, and per-pupil expenditures.In its conclusion, the advocacy groups remind Cardona that school leaders have a duty to serve the nation’s most vulnerable children during times like these and ask, in return for their recognition that assessments are only a part of equitable student outcomes, for Cardona to recognize that waiving them will only make it harder to serve these students.Some of the participating organizations include, National Urban League, National Action Network, and Council of Parent Attorneys and Advocates.A copy of the letter can be found here.Author: ASBBiden Administration Announces Political Appointees at EDThe U.S. Department of Education (ED) issued a press release on Wednesday announcing new political appointees made by the Biden administration. Thus far, appointees have been limited to some deputy assistant secretaries, special assistants, and other senior advisers. President Biden has not yet appointed any assistant secretaries, who will be subject to Senate confirmation. New additions to the ED staff announced this week includes Michelle Asha Cooper to serve as deputy assistant secretary in the Office of Postsecondary Education and as acting assistant secretary in the interim. Cooper has over 20 years of experience in higher education, including through positions at the Institute for Higher Education Policy, an ED Advisory Committee on Student Financial Assistance, the Association of American Colleges and Universities, and others. Other deputy assistant secretaries who will temporarily fill the role of assistant secretary include Ian Rosenblum for the Office of Elementary and Secondary Education and Suzanne Goldberg for the Office for Civil Rights. Rosenblum served as the executive director for Ed-Trust in New York and worked in the administration of New York Governor Andrew Cuomo, and Goldberg was a law professor at Columbia University, focusing on gender and sexuality law, which will be useful for the Biden administration as it moves forward with policy changes to civil rights protections for LGBTQ students. Two deputy assistant secretaries were appointed to the Office of Planning, Evaluation, and Policy Development – Jessica Cardichon and Nick Lee. Cardichon most recently worked as a director at the Learning Policy Institute and also served as education counsel to Senator Bernie Sanders (I-VT). She began her career as a teacher in New York City. Lee’s background includes working at the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation on education issues, and he served at ED and the Office of Management and Budget during the Bush-Cheney and Obama-Biden administrations, focusing on federal student aid programs. The Biden administration will likely begin announcing nominees to fill some assistant secretary positions soon, although they may hold off on filling those spots until Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona is confirmed by the Senate. Resources:U.S. Department of Education Press Release, “Department of Education Announces More Biden-Harris Appointees,” February 3, 2021.Author: KSCTo stay up-to-date on new regulations and guidance from the U.S. Department of Education, register for one of Brustein & Manasevit’s upcoming virtual trainings. Topics cover a range of issues, including COVID-19 related issues, grants management, the Every Student Succeeds Act, special education, and more. To view all upcoming virtual training topics and to register, visit HYPERLINK "" \o "Brustein & Manasevit web page on Virtual Trainings"virtualtrainings/.The Federal Update has been prepared to inform Brustein & Manasevit, PLLC’s legislative clients of recent events in federal education legislation and/or administrative law.? It is not intended as legal advice, should not serve as the basis for decision-making in specific situations, and does not create an attorney-client relationship between Brustein & Manasevit, PLLC and the reader.? Brustein & Manasevit, PLLC 2021Contributors: Julia Martin, Kelly Christiansen, Andrew BallPosted by the California Department of Education, February 2021 ................
................

In order to avoid copyright disputes, this page is only a partial summary.

Google Online Preview   Download