Education Funding Approved With Small Cut to Perkins
After months of debate, Congress finally approved a Fiscal Year (FY) 2008 Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education appropriations bill as part of a larger $555 billion omnibus legislative package (H.R.2764). The bill, expected to be signed by President Bush later this month, includes $59.2 billion for education and $1.175 billion for the Perkins Act, an approximate $11 million cut below the FY 2007 Perkins level.
Approved by the House on December 19 by a 272-142 vote, the bill met two requirements from President Bush: (1) it remained under a threshold of overall discretionary funding that the President set early in the year at $933 billion, and (2) it included $70 billion in increases for funding the Iraq War.
Democrat leaders who pushed for large funding increases for domestic programs throughout the year – often joined by some Republicans – were, in the end, unable to attract enough support. While a reallocation of funds did result in approximately $1.7 billion in increases for the Department of Education, all programs in the bill were subject to a 1.75 percent across-the-board cut.
Perkins funding had been increased by $25 million in an earlier Congressionally-passed bill, but that measure was vetoed by the President and Congress was unable to override the veto which requires a 2/3 majority for passage. The Presidential veto required Congress to reopen negotiations that resulted in the reduced allocation and across-the-board cut.
ACTE would like to thank all members who contacted their Senators and Members of Congress throughout the year requesting a Perkins increase. A complete funding chart and additional details about the budget and appropriations process can be found on ACTE’s Web site.
Departmentof Education Leads Feasibility Study of National CTE Test Item Bank
Under the Carl D. Perkins Career and Technical Education Act of 2006, states are required to report on students’ attainment of challenging technical skill proficiencies that are aligned with industry-recognized standards where available and appropriate, and that are measured in a valid and reliable way. Although a handful of States have established statewide exams or contracted for third-party assessments, a majority lack standardized testing systems and the resources to create such systems.
To assist states in collecting and reporting this information, ACTE is collaborating with the U.S. Department of Education’s Office of Vocational and Adult Education (OVAE), the National Association of State Directors of Career Technical Education Consortium (NASDCTEc), and other technical education stakeholders to explore the feasibility of establishing a Web-based, nationally-validated test item bank.
Working group members are currently focusing on clarifying the purpose of such an item bank and surveying states as to their needs and interest in participating. A Design and Feasibility Report will be created to address such issues as item bank organization and housing, strategies for soliciting and validating test items, assessment development and reporting features, and system design and maintenance costs. The goal is to have a draft of this document completed by March 2008, and a final version printed in April 2008. If conditions warrant, the group will then move forward to secure funding commitments and develop a bidding process, with initial work on the item bank to begin in the fall of 2008.
