The surprises just keep on coming in the 111th Congress. While Hill watchers waited for the outcome of the Minnesota Senate race between Norm Coleman (R-Minn.) and Al Franken (D-Minn.) to finalize committee assignments and party head counts, Sen. Arlen Specter (R-Pa.) was contemplating his own surprise move across the aisle. Specter began political life as a Democrat 30 years ago. As he announced his decision to the press, Specter noted the growing conservatism in the Republican party and the reality that he would lose in the upcoming Pennsylvania primary if he stayed on the Republican ticket. Specter is not ready to retire, and losing apparently was not an option either, so he shocked his colleagues and his constituents by announcing his immediate switch to the Democratic party. The decision appeared final as the desk he has used since joining the Senate was moved to the Democratic side of the Senate chamber and nailed to the floor.

The impact on vote counts with Specter's surprise move is immediate. The Democrats are now hopeful that by early summer, with the conclusion of the Minnesota court case, they will have the necessary 60 votes to prevent Republican filibusters. That calculation is far from fool-proof as Specter demonstrated hours after his announcement by voting against the FY 2010 Budget Resolution. Committee assignments for Specter will not change in this Congress. He is now senior to Tom Harkin (D-Iowa), current chair of the Labor, Health and Human Services Appropriations Subcommittee, and has made it clear he would like to take over the subcommittee, although that will not happen before the next election cycle. With Specter's departure from the Republican ranks, Sen. Thad Cochran (R-Miss.) will step in as ranking Republican on the subcommittee.

Between Specter's surprising move and the constant reflection on President Obama's accomplishments during his first 100 days in office, little attention was given to the swift passage of the FY2010 Budget Resolution, which appeared far from compromise just a few days earlier. On a vote of 233-193, with 17 Democrats joining all Republicans in opposition, S. Con. Res. 13 was passed in the House on April 29. On April 30, the Senate followed suit with similar Republican opposition. Four Democrats said no as well. The bill encompasses many of Obama's key priorities, allows for reconciliation for both health care and education reform and would spend $1.6 trillion on discretionary domestic programs, $10 billion less than was requested.

The budget process now turns to the Appropriations Committees. Allocations will be made as early as next week, and the work of the subcommittees to draft the 12 necessary spending bills will begin in earnest. Also next week the detailed recommendations for the budget from the Obama administration will be released. The ultimate surprise would be if the 111th Congress finishes its budgetary work on time, meeting the Sept. 30 end date.

The Center on Education Policy (CEP) held a briefing, "Economic Stimulus Package and the Future of the Federal Role in Elementary and Secondary Education" on April 30. The forum was held as part of CEP's larger initiative to rethink the federal role in education, for which the organization has commissioned a series of papers on key federal education policy topics.

The event highlighted spokespersons representing the key constituencies involved and affected by the $100 billion investment in education included in the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA). Jack Jennings, president and CEO of CEP, asked speakers to share what they're hearing from their members on how stimulus money is being spent, the challenges in meeting the ARRA requirements and then to think about the future impact this unprecedented amount of federal spending will have on the U.S. education system. While all of the speakers were extremely grateful for the enormous federal investment in education in the ARRA, they were also a bit concerned with the "schizophrenic" nature of the spending guidance that has been provided.

Mary Kusler, assistant director of advocacy and policy at the American Association of School Administrators, noted that the message from ED has been loud and clear to spend the stimulus dollars quickly and to create jobs but at the same time to push reform. She posed the difficult question, "What if to create reform you need to actually cut jobs?" Spending the money quickly and thoughtfully to demonstrate real results is on the minds of individuals at all levels of government and the education system.

When asked specifically about the tension between using the ARRA funds to maintain jobs versus implementing reform, Gene Wilhoit, executive director of the Council of Chief State School Officers, noted that "real" reform will come out of the "Race to the Top" funds, which will be competitive and provide recipients the resources needed to make giant leaps without having to focus on filling the holes. Looking at the overall impact of the role of the federal government, all the speakers agreed that the assurances and priorities articulated by ED through its ARRA guidance will provide the platform for the administration's blueprint for reauthorization of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act.

On April 30, the Schott Foundation held a briefing to present policy recommendations designed to increase the federal role in ensuring that all children have an equitable opportunity to learn. The foundation has launched a five-year Opportunity to Learn (OTL) campaign to increase resource accountability and ensure that "race is no longer a significant predictor of educational resource access or outcomes."

John Jackson, Schott Foundation president, explained that OTL focuses on ensuring all students have a guaranteed right to four core resources needed to provide a fair and equal education. These four resources include: 1) highly effective teachers, 2) early childhood education, 3) college preparatory curricula and 4) equitable instructional resources. Jackson noted President Obama's commitment that the United States produce the highest proportion of college graduates in the world by 2020. He believes we will only achieve this goal by providing all students a "fair and substantive opportunity to learn." Jackson urged Congress to institutionalize access to education resources needed to provide students the opportunity to learn.

Linda Darling-Hammond, professor of education at Stanford University, addressed the current student achievement situation in the United States by providing staggering statistics about students in poorly resourced and low-performing schools. She stated that "in an abundance of schools and communities, 'opportunity' is still a dream and not a reality." She noted that specifically students from low-income homes or minority races are often denied access to high-quality education. Brian Fitzgerald, executive director of the Business-Higher Education Forum, agreed with Darling-Hammond saying that minority students and/or those students from low-income homes are often not prepared for high school, college or the workplace. He emphasized that to compete in a global economy and be prepared for high-skill jobs, rigorous college preparatory curriculum is essential for all students. He opined that "college ready is work ready," and students who plan to enter the workforce after graduation need academic skills similar to those needed by students planning to enter college.

Obama Announces Nomination for Deputy Secretary of Education: President Obama has announced the nomination of Anthony Wilder Miller to serve as deputy secretary of education. Miller most recently served as director of Silver Lake, a leading private investment firm, and prior to that, Miller served as executive vice president of operations at LRN Corp. and spent 10 years with McKinsey & Company. In addition to his private-sector experience, Miller has worked extensively with the Los Angeles Unified School District, developing student achievement goals and strategies, aligning budgets and operating plans and designing metrics and processes for monitoring districtwide performance. He undertook similar work with the Santa Monica-Malibu School District.

ED Posts New Resource on ARRA Funds: The Department of Education has posted a new resource for using the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) fund on the recovery Web site. The resource, Using ARRA Funds to Drive School Reform and Improvement includes framing questions for decision-making and examples of potential uses of funds to improve educational outcomes from early learning through high school. The intent is to spark ideas about how school districts and schools might use ARRA funds, particularly those available under the State Fiscal Stabilization Fund, Title I and IDEA, Part B programs. View the new resource.

President Obama Gives speech at the National Academy of Sciences: On April 27, the president delivered an address to members of the National Academy of Sciences (NAS) at their 146th annual meeting, discussing new initiatives and investments in scientific research, development, and education. Obama noted the importance of improving K-12 and higher education student performance in the fields of science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) to increase U.S. international competitiveness. The president spoke about the "Race to the Top" education initiative, designed to improve student achievement in math and science and move U.S. students from the middle of the pack to the top of international benchmarks over the next decade. He also committed to doubling the budgets of the National Science Foundation (NSF), the Department of Energy's Office of Science and the National Institute of Standards and Technology, and he plans to triple the number of NSF graduate research fellowships. Obama also plans to commit 3 percent of the gross domestic product to increasing research and development in STEM fields. The president told NAS members, "I believe it is not in our American character to follow - but to lead. And it is time for us to lead once again." More info.

IES Releases NAEP 2008 Report on Academic Progress: On April 28, the Institute of Education Sciences (IES) released, "The Nation's Report Card: NAEP 2008 Trends in Academic Progress." This report tracks the educational progress of students at ages 9, 13 and 17 in reading and mathematics on the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP). These results, which were last released in 2004, measure long-term trends. Broadly, the results of the most recent assessments of long-term progress show that, in the United States, students at ages 9 and 13 have posted significant gains in both reading and mathematics since the early 1970s, while the average scores for 17 year olds were not significantly different in either subject. David Driscoll, chair of the National Assessment Governing Board's Committee on Standards, Design and Methodology, noted that the news in math is mixed - some good news for 9 and 13 year olds but disappointingly flat scores for 17 year olds. He said the news suggests, "We are losing momentum through the grades as we seek to ensure American students are equipped with a wide range of mathematics skills and knowledge they will need in school and beyond." Susan Pimentel, member of the National Assessment Governing Board, discussed the reading results and noted close examination reveals a "troubling pattern." Since the NAEP series of assessments began, math scores have seen substantial improvements among 9 year olds and more modest gains among 13 year olds. Comparatively, reading gains lag behind - a perplexing result of an emphasis on reading that predates that on mathematics and that does not reflect the public investment, at all levels, in reading and literacy programs. More info.

House Education and Labor Committee Holds Hearing on Academic Standards: On April 29, the House Education and Labor Committee held a hearing to, "examine how states can better prepare their students to compete in a global economy by using internationally benchmarked common standards." The hearing, the testimony offered and committee members' remarks build on the increasing attention being paid to moving states toward common, voluntary standards and how that might affect states, local school districts, administrators, teachers, classrooms and students. North Carolina Gov. James Hunt is a long-time advocate for common standards, and he stated his views that U.S. governors must focus on jobs and, as a result, their education systems and their results. He said every state needs a well-educated workforce to compete in the global economy. Since enactment of NCLB, Hunt contends that progress has been made, but that "standards are all over the place" and that there are too many of them. He called for fewer, clearer and higher standards but said that setting them is "not the federal government's job" and that states must take on the challenge. Randi Weingarten, president of the American Federation of Teachers, also called for states to develop "core standards" around what young people need to know and be able to do. Citing an "intolerable achievement gap" in the United States, she said all young people have a right to an adequate education, regardless of where they live. More info.

Homeland Security Committee Holds Hearing on Financial Literacy: The Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Subcommittee on Oversight of Government Management, the Federal Workforce and the District of Columbia held a hearing on April 29, "The Federal Government's Role in Empowering Americans to Make Informed Financial Decisions," which examined the progress of the activities of the Financial Literacy and Education Commission and the effectiveness of federal financial education programs. Daniel Akaka (D-Hawaii), subcommittee chairman and a long-time supporter of increasing and improving financial literacy, said too many Americans of all ages and backgrounds lack basic financial literacy. Several of the witnesses testified about the achievements that the Excellence in Economic Education (EEE) program has made in improving financial literacy in the United States. James Shelton, assistant deputy secretary for innovation and improvement at the Department of Education, the office responsible for administering the EEE program, lauded the efforts of the Council for Economic Education for directing more than $7 million in EEE grants to successful financial literacy and economic education programs for K-12 students across the United States. Robert Duvall, Council for Economic Education president, explained in his testimony that the federal government is playing a critical role in providing resources for financial education efforts through the EEE program. Duvall noted that this program is instrumental at improving financial literacy at the K-12 level and encouraged Congress to increase its support for this program. More info.

House Committee Supports New STEM Ed Legislation: The House Science and Technology Committee held a markup on April 29 for the STEM Education Coordination Act of 2009 (H.R. 1709), a bill that would strengthen part of the National Science and Technology Council (NSTC), a science and technology advisory council to the president, to coordinate science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) education activities across the federal government. "The STEM Education Coordination Act of 2009 will improve our efforts to strengthen federally funded STEM education by better coordinating different agencies' efforts," said Rep. Eddie Bernice Johnson (D-Texas). The bill passed the committee by a voice vote. The committee also passed the International Science and Technology Cooperation Act of 2009 (H.R. 1736), which would create a committee under NSTC to coordinate the international science and technology activities across all federal agencies. The Networking and Information Technology Research and Development (NITRD) Act of 2009 (H.R. 2020) was also passed by a voice vote. This bill would amend the High-Performance Computing Act of 1991 by strengthening the strategic planning process across federal agencies by requiring input on the process from experts in the industry and academic community. More info.
Bookshare Announces Partnerships to Increase Accessible Books to the Disabled: On April 29, Bookshare announced two new partnerships with publishers and universities to increase accessible materials for individuals with print disabilities. An individual is considered print disabled if he/she cannot effectively read print because of a visual, physical, perceptual, developmental, cognitive or learning disability. Jim Fruchterman, CEO of Benetch, a nonprofit organization that operates Bookshare, spoke about Bookshare's role in bringing accessible books to people with disabilities worldwide. Bookshare is the world's largest online accessible library for individuals with print disabilities. More than two dozen publishers have partnered with Bookshare to provide digital content to their collection to provide books in accessible formats to students. Fruchterman announced that Bookshare will now be partnering with even more publishers as well as several universities and colleges across the country to allow more individuals with print disabilities access to books. Jim Marks spoke about the Bookshare University Partnership, which aims to increase the availability of materials and textbooks for post-secondary students with disabilities. Currently, 11 U.S. colleges and universities participate in the program. Fruchterman closed the briefing by stating that these new partnerships with publishers and universities are occurring at a time when President Obama is encouraging students to graduate from high school and college in order to compete in a global economy. Fructherman strongly emphasized that all students need accessible books to succeed in school and life. More info.

PCRM Hosts Briefing on Child Nutrition: On April 30, the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine (PCRM) held a briefing on child nutrition titled "Improving the National School Lunch Program." Despite the frightening prevalence of childhood obesity and diabetes, schools have yet to offer nutritious, vegetarian or dairy-free meals to students, said Neal Barnard, PCRM president. Instead, school lunches are loaded with saturated fat, processed carbohydrates, sugar and calories. Brian Byrnes, executive director of the Chez Panisse Foundation, said that whether we intend to or not, we are teaching our children the wrong things about food by serving such poor meals. He argued that schools need higher federal reimbursements for school meals, better kitchen facilities to prepare nutritious meals, training and professional development for kitchen staff and financial support for "edible education." Margaret Stephens-Aliendre, principal of Wilkinson Elementary School in Washington, D.C., pointed to the plethora of studies linking student achievement with good nutrition. She urged Congress to support schools in their efforts to provide healthy options. The Child Nutrition Act, which funds the National School Lunch Program and feeds 30 million children a day, will come up for reauthorization in September 2009. More info.