Administration Proposes New “Transferability” for Perkins Funds
On January 24, 2007, the Department of Education released its priorities for the reauthorization of the No Child Left Behind Act. In the document, “Building on Results: A Blueprint for Strengthening the No Child Left Behind Act,” the Department outlines five key policy proposals:
1. Every Child Performing at or Above Grade Level by 2014
2. Flexibility for Innovation and Improvement
3. Challenging Our Students and Preparing Them to Succeed
4. Helping Teachers Close the Achievement Gap
5. Strengthening Public Schools and Empowering Parents
While several elements of the proposals are in line with priorities ACTE is likely to support during the reauthorization, such as increasing the Title I funding that is available to high schools and focusing more attention on graduation rates, there are also numerous causes for concern.
One of these areas of concern is a new element of “flexibility.” The Department proposes expanding NCLB’s transferability provisions to include 100 percent (up from the current 50 percent) of funds from applicable programs, and Perkins Act funds would be added to the pool of funds that could be transferred. Under the current NCLB law, Perkins was not affected by this provision. The change proposed by the Department would, based on the information available, create a block-grant situation where school districts and states could shift Perkins funds into other NLCB programs and use these funds for activities other than career and technical education. With the severe NCLB funding shortages in many areas, and the pressure to comply with the law’s performance requirements, it is likely that such a proposal would severely dilute funds for career and technical education.
In order to get on record with Members of Congress early about our concern and opposition to this proposal, ACTE has drafted a letter for national organizations to sign to show their support. The letter explains how co-mingling of funds will dilute the important funding and purposes of the Perkins Act. It has been distributed to Chairs and Ranking Members of the education committees, as well as appropriations and budget committees to alert them to possible funding implications. A copy of the letter can be found on ACTE’s Web site at http://www.acteonline.org/policy/legislative_issues/NCLB.cfm.
There is no need for action by the CTE community at this time, but we may issue a call to action in the future if our initial outreach efforts do not yield positive results. We will keep you up-to-date on our progress through this process. For a copy of the Administration’s complete NCLB proposal, visit http://www.ed.gov/policy/elsec/leg/nclb/buildingonresults.pdf.
House to Consider Final FY 2007 Funding Bill
On January 31, 2007, the House is expected to vote on a new funding resolution to provide appropriations for federal programs in FY 2007. Since the fiscal year began on October 1, 2006, most programs (with the exception of defense and homeland security) have been funded under a “Continuing Resolution,” since Congress had not completed its appropriations work on time. The new resolution, H. J. Res. 20, will act much like a continuing resolution and keep most programs funded at FY 2006 levels, although there are some exceptions.
The funding resolution provides approximately $463.5 billion in federal funding. This does include some spending increases for education, veterans’ health care and a few other priorities, although funding constraints approved in 2006 to cap discretionary spending were still in place, so increases were limited.
Reportedly, the increases for education total $1.17 billion above FY 2006 levels. This includes a $260 increase in the maximum Pell Grant for each student, and small increases to Title I of NCLB, the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, and Head Start. At this time, it appears that programs under the Perkins Act will receive the same amount of funding in FY 2007 as in FY 2006. This is a huge victory for career and technical education considering the early threats to eliminate funding for the program completely.
After being passed by the House, the funding resolution will go to the Senate, where it must be completed by February 15, the date the current “continuing resolution” expires. In the meantime, the FY 2008 budget and appropriations process is set to begin Monday, February 5, when the President releases his annual budget request to Congress. We will keep you updated on all of the latest developments in funding for both FY 2007 and FY 2008.
