New Guide to Federal Education Funding

U.S. Deputy Secretary of Education Bill Hansen has released a new guide to education funding, Resources + Reforms = Results: President Bush?s Commitment to Our Nation?s School Children.

?There recently have been several reports that distort the president?s record on education funding,? says Hansen. ?And the American people need to hear the facts about his and Secretary Paige?s strong commitment to our children and our schools.?

The new 14-page guide, which was prepared by the Office of the Deputy Secretary, highlights the major overall increase in Education Department funding, as well as historic investments in key programs such as Title I, special education, teacher quality, reading, English language acquisition and higher education.

The guide is available in both Word format and as a PDF at the U.S. Department of Education Web site, www.ed.gov.

First Lady Announces Character Education Grants

At a conference on character and community held in October, Laura Bush announced that five states and 34 school districts have received a total of $16.7 million in grants to work with communities on helping schools provide lesson plans that promote high moral character. The conference was co-sponsored by the U.S. Department of Education and Court TV.

The recipients of the three-year Partnerships in Character Education grants are Idaho, Maryland, Missouri, Nevada and New Jersey, and school districts in Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Michigan, Missouri, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Texas and Utah.

The recipients will work with organizations to establish character education programs for youth, with a focus on caring, civic virtue and citizenship, justice and fairness, respect, responsibility and trustworthiness.

?Reading and writing are not all we need to teach our children,? Mrs. Bush says. ?Respect and responsibility are just as important. And we need to make sure we?re teaching our children to be responsible citizens who have good values and ethics. These grants will help achieve that.?

For a complete list of the grant recipients and grant amounts, visit www.ed.gov/PressReleases/10-2002/StateEducationAgencies.html.

House Committee Approves Loan-Forgiveness Bill

A measure approved by the U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Education and the Workforce would allow the government to forgive up to $17,500 in student-loan debts of teachers. The current limit is $5,000.

H.R. 5091, the Canceling Loans to Allow School Systems to Attract Classroom Teachers Act (CLASS ACT), was authored by Rep. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) as a means of addressing the growing shortage of teachers in the nation by providing loan forgiveness for Americans who enter the profession. The legislation also places special emphasis on the need for more special education teachers. Elementary and secondary school special education teachers who meet certain requirements are given priority in student-loan forgiveness under the CLASS ACT.

According to Rep. John Boehner (R-Ohio), the chairman of the House Committee on Education and the Workforce, ?By offering additional financial support for teachers who have made a commitment to teach in Title I schools, this bill can make it possible for more disadvantaged students to be taught by caring and competent teachers.?

A statement issued by House Democrats on September 12 noted that, while they were pleased to support H.R. 5091, they believe that, ?the committee should have written a stronger bill that would ensure that all eligible teachers would receive real and immediate assistance.?

The Democrats? statement suggests that, ?A better approach would not require teachers to pay their loans for five full years before receiving any forgiveness.?

An amendment introduced by Rep. Carolyn McCarthy (D-N.Y.) also was approved by the committee during their consideration of the CLASS ACT. The amendment, which would forgive the student loans of the spouses of fire, police, military and rescue personnel who were victims of the attacks on September 11, 2001, was supported by both Republicans and Democrats and passed on voice vote.

In October, the bill was sent to the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions.

DOL Funds for Women in Apprenticeship and Nontraditional Occupations

The Department of Labor?s Women?s Bureau announced in August that funds would be available for Women in Apprenticeship and Nontraditional Occupations (WANTO) grant projects for the fiscal year beginning October 1, 2002.

The program is intended to assist employers and labor unions in the placement and retention of women in apprenticeship and nontraditional occupations, and for the past eight years, WANTO grant funds have been awarded to eligible community-based organizations to provide technical assistance toward that goal.

?Apprenticeship is a great opportunity for women to gain valuable skills that can advance their careers with better paying jobs,? says Women?s Bureau Director Shinae Chun. ?By expanding the skills of America?s working women, we are addressing the needs of our workforce and assisting women in the development of rewarding careers.?

The grants are administered jointly by the Women?s Bureau and the Department of Labor?s Office of Apprenticeship Training, Employer and Labor Services. A copy of the solicitation is available at the Women?s Bureau website at www.dol.gov/wb.

Two New Offices at the Education Department

In September, U.S. Secretary of Education Rod Paige announced the formation of two new offices within the Department of Education.

The Office of Safe and Drug-Free Schools will focus on activities related to safe schools, crisis response, alcohol and drug prevention, health and well-being of students, and building strong character and citizenship. It will also take the leadership role in the department?s Homeland Security efforts.

According to Paige, the new office will help bring programs that are currently scattered in several offices together in a single unit.

The Office of Innovation and Improvement will invest in promising practices and disseminate their results. It will also consolidate programs related to parental options and information in education, including those for charter schools, magnet schools, public school choice, non-public education and family educational rights.

Eric G. Andell, former Texas appeals court justice and current senior advisor to Secretary Paige, will head the Office of Safe and Drug-Free Schools. Nina Shokraii Rees, deputy assistant to the vice president for domestic policy, will lead the Office of Innovation and Improvement.

Creation of the new offices will result in minimal costs, according to the Education Department, since the funds for staff and activities will transfer from their existing offices to the new ones, and less than 200 of the department?s 5,000 employees will be affected by the moves.

New OVAE Policy Analysis Staff Director

In other Education Department news, Assistant Secretary Carol D?Amico has announced Daniel F. Bonner as the new director of the Policy Analysis Staff for the Office of Vocational and Adult Education, where he will be assisting with work on reauthorization of Perkins legislation and the Workforce Investment Act.

Concern in Washington About School Lunch Safety

Two Democratic members of the House Education and the Workforce Committee have written a letter to Agriculture Secretary Ann Veneman expressing their concerns regarding the adequacy of the notice provided to schools and students that food products bound for school lunch programs might be contaminated with listeria. The letter was prompted by the announcement of possible contamination of chicken and turkey products with the food-borne bacteria that can cause severe illness.

?While last week?s announcement by the Department was helpful in reducing the chance that any children become sick,? wrote George Miller (D-Calif.) and Dale Kildee (D-Mich.), ?we are concerned that apparently several days have lapsed between the Department?s first becoming aware of the possibility that food products bound for the school lunch program might be contaminated, and USDA?s alerting states and school districts of the potential hazards.?

The two lawmakers want to know if this experience has caused the USDA to review its procedure for alerting schools and states of such a threat.

Miller and Kildee explained in the letter to Veneman that, ?As we proceed with reauthorization of our child nutrition programs in the coming months, this information will prove useful as we consider how to better safeguard the health of our nation?s children.?