Education advocates are celebrating Congress' passed of HR 1, the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. This legislation represents a historic investment in education and other critical domestic programs. With a price tag totaling $790 billion in tax cuts and spending, it is a bill designed to stimulate the economy by creating new jobs through investing in the nation's infrastructure, providing a lifeline to families that have been crushed by the economic downturn and providing emergency funds to states to prevent teacher layoffs, make college more affordable, modernize schools and support other high priority services.

Conference negotiations took place throughout last week. A high stakes game of chicken unfolded between the Obama administration, the Democratic leadership in the House and Senate and three moderate Republican senators who wanted to support the bill but objected to some of the proposed spending. Claiming the price tag was too high and too many of the investments would not stimulate economic recovery, Sens. Susan Collins (R-Maine), Arlen Specter (R-Pa.) and Olympia Snowe (R-Maine) joined forces with conservative Democrat Ben Nelson (D-Neb.) to persuade their colleagues to reduce funding in the package by more than $100 billion. Their support was critical to overcoming the 60-vote hurdle the bill required in the Senate. The Senate compromise enraged many House members who thought the price for minimal Republican support was too high.

The bill that was called up on Feb. 13 on the floor of the House of Representatives respected the total funding agreed to by the conferees - $790 billion - but funds shifted dramatically on both the tax and spending side of the equation to accommodate Democratic priorities. For the Department of Education, the bill provides approximately $100 billion in funding. An additional $30 billion supports education-related programs, such as Head Start ($2.1 billion), the Childcare Development Block Grant ($2 billion) and the National Science Foundation ($3 billion). Twenty-five billion dollars more is provided through various bonds for school construction.

The debate on final passage was contentious and highly partisan. In the House, the bill passed on a vote of 246-183 without a single Republican supporting the measure. In the Senate, Collins, Snowe and Specter, who took part in the conference negotiations on HR 1, were the only Republicans who voted in favor of the conference report.

Less than 60 percent of African American, Latino, and American Indian and Alaska Native students graduate from high school on time with a regular diploma, and on Feb. 12, the Campaign for High School Equity (CHSE) hosted a Capitol Hill event to outline policy priorities for improving these outcomes, including recommendations related to the implementation of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. The briefing featured remarks from representatives of seven CHSE member organizations, Rep. Chaka Fattah (D-Pa.), Sen. Richard Burr (R-N.C.) and Rep. Mike Honda (D-Calif.).

Michael Wotorson, CHSE executive director, noted there is a "brewing crisis in high schools" across the country and urged stakeholders to act on a call from President Obama in his inaugural address to "join courage to necessity" and apply that principle to securing better and equitable secondary education in the United States. CHSE members' remarks echoed Wotorson's, and they urged the federal government to hold high schools accountable for student achievement and graduation rates and to ensure the allocation of adequate resources to prepare all students for success. Members also called for comprehensive and consistent data systems to report student progress, implementation of a variety of effective high school models supporting different learning styles and strategies to place highly effective school leaders and teachers in high-need schools.

Honda urged the audience to keep fighting for equity. Fattah discussed his concerns related to the qualifications of teachers in high-poverty schools, noting that many of them are teaching subjects in which they did not receive degrees. He voiced intentions to reintroduce the "Students' Bill Of Rights" legislation, which provides a framework for ensuring all students have access to the education resources necessary for them to meet ambitious academic standards. Burr challenged the audience to "ask the right questions" about equity in education and suggested the conversation should not be about "equal share" but "equal opportunity"."

Former Gov. Bob Wise (D-W.Va.), who currently heads up the Alliance for Excellent Education, was the final panelist, and he noted that, with the stimulus legislation close to complete, education advocates could turn to a "post-stimulus" environment. Citing the cost of not addressing the dropout crisis, he said that the "nonperforming asset" that is the unfulfilled potential of high school dropouts costs the country $300 billion in lost income. He contends that equity and a high school diploma is the best economic stimulus package.

On Feb. 12, the House Budget Committee held a hearing on "Building a Foundation for Families: Fighting Hunger, Investing in Children." In his opening statement, Chairman John Spratt (D-S.C.) spoke of federal programs aimed at alleviating child hunger as budget priorities that do not get paid enough attention. Rep. James McGovern (D-Mass.) shared his belief that fighting hunger should be a top congressional and administration priority and that ending child hunger should be an element of every discussion on education and healthcare policy.

Children who live in food-insecure families are not ready to learn in the short-term or earn wages in the long-term. Dr. Deborah Frank, founder and principal investigator of the Children's Sentinel Nutrition Assessment Program and the Growth Development Program, urged the committee to remember that the availability of food, or lack thereof, shapes children's life trajectories and, as a result, affects the country's future. Sheriff Leon Lott from Richland County, S.C., shared his observations that targeted investments in children can reduce the risk of their involvement in crime later in their lives. In particular, he spoke about the importance of programs such as Head Start in cutting the achievement gap for students, increasing the numbers of students who graduate from high school and decreasing criminal inclinations among young people.

Following the witnesses' testimony, McGovern shared his overall impressions of the current state of child hunger and the need to eradicate it. He told his colleagues that food stamp availability may indeed be inadequate, especially as food costs go up, and shared his belief that the United States does not have a coordinated plan to end hunger. He pointed to the many different congressional committees and federal agencies that deal with the issue and suggested the White House oversee a holistic plan to end hunger in the nation.

Duncan Addresses ACE's Annual Meeting: Secretary of Education Arne Duncan delivered remarks at the American Council on Education's (ACE) 2009 Annual Meeting in Washington, D.C. ACE represents accredited, degree-granting colleges and universities and higher education in the United States. During his speech, Duncan stated, "Taken together, the Barack effect, the leadership on the Hill, the proven strategies and the money in the stimulus package, represent what I call "the perfect storm for reform," a historic alignment of interests and events that could lift American education to an entirely new level." He noted that America has lost its global leadership in education and that this is a national crisis that must be addressed. He said to make college more accessible and boost overall success rates we need to recognize our "system of education is not aligned, and every state has different high school standards. If we accomplish one thing in the coming years, it should be to eliminate the extreme variation in standards across America. We need standards that are college-ready and career-ready and benchmarked against challenging international standards," Duncan said. Read the full remarks.

Education Advocate to Head Office for Civil Rights: Russlynn Ali has been nominated to serve as the Education Department's assistant secretary for civil rights. The post heads the department's Office for Civil Rights and oversees enforcement of civil-rights laws affecting education, including Title IX, covering gender discrimination, and Title VII, covering racial discrimination. Ali is currently the vice president of the Education Trust and executive director of its West-Coast-based partner, Education Trust-West. "Russlynn brings passion for, expertise in and dedication to equality and fairness in education, and her tireless work and commitment have changed the lives of low-income students from across the nation," Duncan said. Ali previously served as liaison to the president of the Children's Defense Fund, as the chief of staff to the president of the Los Angeles Unified School District Board of Education and as deputy co-director of the Advancement Project.

House Education and Labor Subcommittee Holds Hearing on WIA: On Feb. 12, the House Education and Labor Subcommittee on Education, Lifelong Learning and Competitiveness held a hearing titled, "New Innovations and Best Practices Under the Workforce Investment Act." Subcommittee Chairman Ruben Hinojosa (D-Texas) opened the hearing with remarks asserting that the reauthorization of the Workforce Investment Act (WIA) is one of the top legislative priorities for the subcommittee. WIA has not been reauthorized since 1998. Hinojosa spoke about the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, noting that this legislation includes a multi-billion dollar investment in job training to help prepare adult workers for jobs in emerging industries. The witnesses all agreed that a larger investment in job training programs through WIA is needed and that the key to restoring U.S. economic prosperity is an educated and skilled workforce. At the close of the hearing, Hinojosa stated that the hearing set the tone for the work ahead and expressed his hope to complete reauthorization before the end of the summer. Read witness testimony.

First Five Years Fund Holds Briefing on Early Childhood Education and Children's Health: On Feb. 12, the First Five Years Fund, along with the American Academy of Pediatrics, the American Academy of Pediatric Dentistry, First Focus, the National Head Start Association and Trust for America's Health, held a briefing, "The Positive Impact of Early Childhood Education and Care on Children's Health." The event featured four experts in childhood health, who all praised early childhood education programs, like Head Start, for their positive impact on children's mental and physical health. Dr. George L. Askew, deputy chief executive officer, Voices for America's Children, founder of Docs for Tots, said that children who participate in early education and pre-kindergarten are less likely to become smokers, less likely to engage in violent behavior and drugs, more likely to have up-to-date immunizations and more likely to have health insurance coverage, among other things. The participants argued, however, that more should be done to protect the health of America's children. Dr. Robert D. Murray, director of the Nationwide Children's Hospital's Center for Healthy Weight and Nutrition, argued that programs like Head Start could serve as a powerful venue for teaching families and children about proper nutrition and health. "It won't cost us a lot. We already have the infrastructure," he said. More info.