Congress returned to the nation's capital last week, ready to tackle a packed agenda in a short legislative calendar. Within 15 days the goal is to complete action on the FY 2010 federal budget, including a $100 billion reconciliation proposal; complete action on a massive health care overhaul bill that has yet to be drafted; complete action on climate change legislation; and finish the time-consuming vetting process for the remaining Obama administration nominees. It is an ambitious agenda that few believe will be completed before Sept. 30, the last day of the current fiscal year. In spite of the best efforts of Rep. David Obey (D-Wis.) and Sen. Daniel Inouye (D-Hawaii), Appropriations Committee chairs, a continuing resolution will likely be needed to keep government agencies operating after that date.

Although the recess was lengthy, because of this pressing business, many legislators and their staff members feel as though they never left town. They were also hounded by the contentious debate about health care reform that erupted in town meetings across the country - acrimonious events for members seeking some time off from political firestorms. The death of Sen. Edward M. Kennedy (D-Mass.) in mid-August also had a great impact on activity in and around the Capitol this week. The loss of his leadership is a severe blow to the Obama agenda and deeply felt by members on both sides of the aisle.

Sen. Harry Reid (D-Nev.), Senate majority leader, was quick to announce Sen. Tom Harkin (D-Iowa) as successor to Kennedy as chairman of the Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee. This came on the heels of Sen. Chris Dodd's (D-Conn.) announcement that he intends to remain chairman of the Banking Committee rather than move into the HELP Committee's head seat. Dodd will remain in charge of health care reform, but the education and labor agendas will be under Harkin's purview. As a longtime champion of IDEA, ESSCP, Title I and Pell Grants and because of his role as chairman of the Appropriations Subcommittee on Labor, Health and Human Services and Education, Harkin is well-known and well-liked by the education community.

In the House of Representatives, all appropriations bills were voted on prior to the August recess. With only five out of 12 appropriations measures adopted by the Senate, that chamber has some catching up to do. Three bills will move to the floor in rapid succession. They include Defense; Interior and the Environment; and Commerce, Justice and Science. There was no mention of the Labor, Health and Human Services and Education bill, both the largest and most contentious appropriations measure on the list. Senate leaders conceded that "because of GOP obstruction" they may be forced to create an omnibus bill to complete action on the budget later this fall.

Obama Addresses Students on the Importance of an Education: On Sept. 8, President Obama addressed the nation's students, telling them that the responsibility for a better education was theirs. The speech was broadcast and delivered online to students across the country but provoked criticism from some who argued that the president might use the speech to persuade children to support his political agenda. Obama urged students to stay in school, work hard and study hard. Obama said, "You need to show up to those schools; pay attention to those teachers; listen to your parents, grandparents and other adults; and put in the hard work it takes to succeed." Steven Chu, secretary of the Department of Energy, also spoke to students on Tuesday and addressed the importance of science and technology. Watch the speech.

Secretary Of Education To Host Televised Town Hall Meeting: Secretary of Education Arne Duncan will discuss education issues with parents, educators and students across the country in a televised town hall on Sept. 15 from 8-9 p.m. Eastern. This is the first broadcast of the fall season for ED's monthly TV show, "Education News Parents Can Use." It is also part of the "Listening and Learning Tour," which has taken Duncan across the country to engage Americans in a conversation about education and federal policy. Tuesday's broadcast will include a discussion about the reauthorization of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act. A list of viewing options is available at www.ed.gov/edtv. In addition, the program will be available as an archived webcast at www.connectlive.com/events/ednews.

National Academy of Engineering Holds Symposium and Releases Report on Engineering in K-12 Education: The National Academy of Engineering and the National Research Council recently held a symposium to release their new report, "Engineering in K-12 Education." The report examines the status and nature of efforts to teach engineering in schools. According to the report and symposium panelists, "Engineering education at the K-12 level should emphasize engineering design and a creative problem-solving process. It should include relevant concepts in mathematics, science and technology, as well as support the development of skills many believe essential for the 21st century, including systems thinking, collaboration and communication." The report finds that the engineering component of science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) education is often absent in policy discussions and in the classroom. Panelists emphasized the importance of clarifying the meaning of "STEM literacy" and of developing curricula that would particularly appeal to groups typically underrepresented in engineering, such as girls, African-Americans and Hispanics. Read the full report.

IRA Hosts International Literacy Day Event: On Sept. 9, the International Reading Association (IRA) celebrated International Literacy Day at the Center for the Book at the Library of Congress. The theme for the event revolved around schools and communities around the world working together to promote literacy. Rotary International, a service organization that dedicates both funding and manpower to promoting literacy around the globe, joined with IRA in hosting the event and informing the audience about their mutual work. Speakers included Bill Harvey, executive director of IRA; Richard Carson, president of Rotary International; David Harvey, president/CEO of ProLiteracy Worldwide; and Faryal Kahn, education specialist from UNESCO. The event featured speakers who described ongoing, successful programs that range from training teachers in Sudan to working with young people in a culinary project to an exchange program between students in the United States and Africa. More info.

ED Sector Hosts Panel Discussion On Higher Education Reform: The Education Sector and Washington Monthly held a panel discussion on Sept. 10 titled, "A New Era in Higher Education Reform?" The discussion focused on the Monthly's new college rankings, where the country's higher education system might be falling short and what the Obama administration's new focus on higher education means for the future of American colleges and universities. Jamie Merisotis, president and CEO of the Lumina Foundation, discussed Obama's goal for America to once again have the highest proportion of college graduates in the world by 2020. Merisotis believes achieving that goal will require more than just a "re-hash" of old ideas and failed solutions. He also mentioned that this month, Washington Monthly released its annual College Guide, which includes "innovative college rankings and articles describing how the ever-more-expensive higher education system is falling short-and what can be done to fix it." Jeffrey Selingo, editor of the Chronicle of Higher Education questioned the panelists about the attainability of the president's goal. All the panelists, except Ben Wildavsky, senior fellow, Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation, agreed that the goal is attainable. Wildavsky cautioned that change occurs much slower than people think, and although he believes the goal is attainable eventually, he does not believe it can be accomplished by 2020. Kevin Carey from the Education Sector stated that this goal will require big and rapid changes in the higher education system. He also noted some barriers exist that could prevent this accomplishment, including the college-readiness of students, the cost of higher education and the lack of options for students to get a degree or credential other than the traditional four-year college route. More info.

OECD Holds Education Briefing: On Sept. 11, the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Economic Development (OECD) held a briefing to discuss its 2009 edition of Education at a Glance. Education at a Glance compares the education systems of all 30 OECD member countries and six partner countries through the analysis of quantitative, internationally comparable indicators. The 2009 edition provides an analysis of the latest available data, which was collected in 2007. At the briefing, Andreas Schleicher, the head of the Indicators and Analysis Division at the OECD Directorate for Education, highlighted the doubling of university graduation from an OECD average of 20 percent in 1995 to 39 percent in 2007. However, he noted that in the United States, education expansion was not at the same pace as a number of OECD countries, with the United States dropping in rank for university graduation from No. 2 to No. 14. Additionally, Schleicher discussed OECD countries' investment in education as a whole with an average spending among countries at 6.1 percent of their GDP on education. The United States surpassed the average with 7.2 percent of GDP being spent on education investments. Interestingly, the analysis showed that U.S. salaries for teachers were lower than a number of countries, such as Korea, while a larger percentage of cost at the primary and secondary level in the United States was attributed to smaller class sizes. Finally, Schleicher discussed how OECD, for the first time, took a look at input from teachers, surveying 90,000 teachers in 23 countries. Although the United States was not one of the countries surveyed, the results were interesting in that they varied widely. For instance, in Italy, more than 50 percent of teachers reported they received no appraisal or feedback in the previous five years, while, in Korea, less than 10 percent of teachers reported not receiving appraisal or feedback in the past five years. A key conclusion from the briefing is that Education at a Glance will play a critical role in the future as it allows U.S. education policy makers and practitioners to see our education system in the context of other countries' performance and is a valuable tool providing a framework for education policy debate. Read the full report.