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New Evidence on Investments in Improving Teacher Quality

By
Emilie Deans

March 24, 2011

States and school districts across the country have been trying to figure out new and innovative ways to attract high quality teachers into their schools. Washington state, for example, has a policy of providing national board certified teachers (NBCT) with $5,000 bonuses each year and an additional annual bonus of $5,000 to NBCTs who work in “challenging” (low-income) schools. This week, the Center on Reinventing Public Education (CRPE) released a report that studied these efforts, titled What Does Washington State Get for Its Investment in Bonuses for Board Certified Teachers? by Jim Simpkins. Simpkins finds that this policy does, in fact, lead to more teachers getting certified. However, the bonuses for teaching in challenging schools do not appear to act as an incentive for NBCTs to transfer or persist in those schools. The current federal Teacher Incentive Fund (TIF) provides grants to entities attempting to improve instruction in high-need schools through programs like the one in place in Washington. Congress should consider studies like this one as they shape the role the federal government will play in improving teacher compensation structures.

Washington State began a pilot program in 2001 that provided annual bonuses of $3,500 to NBCTs. The pilot program ran through the 2006-07 school year. In 2007 the state legislature adopted a bill that increased the annual bonus to $5,000 and added the challenging schools bonus of $5,000. The bill defines a “challenging school” as having at least 70 percent of students eligible for free and reduced-price lunch (FRPL) in elementary schools, 60 percent FRPL eligible students in middle schools, and 50 percent in high schools. The program cost $10 million in its first year.

Simpkins found that the number of NBCTs in Washington has nearly tripled since the 2007-08 school year. In addition, the proportion of NBCTs in challenging schools has increased from 14.8 percent in 2007-08 to 22.5 percent in 2009-10. However, less than 1 percent of NBCTs with full-time jobs in non-challenging schools have switched to challenging schools each year, with an almost equal number of NBCTs switching out of challenging schools. Most of the increase in NBCTs in challenging schools stems from the increase in the number of schools qualifying as challenging schools and from teachers already teaching in challenging schools receiving their certification. In other words, no real increase in the quality of instruction in challenging schools has occurred as the National Board Certification process simply identifies teachers who are already effective. In addition, NBCTs are no more likely to remain in challenging schools than non-NBCT certified teachers, so the additional bonus for NBCTs in challenging schools does not appear to be effective.

Based on his findings, Simpkins questions whether this policy is the best way for Washington State to spend education dollars. Governor Chris Gregoire has proposed cutting the program in her 2011-13 budget request. With the program rising in cost by about $10 million each year, state legislators should closely examine the program and consider alternatives.

The federal Teacher Incentive Fund (TIF) program provides competitive grants to LEAs, states, or partnerships with nonprofit organizations to implement financial incentive programs like Washington’s NBCT program for teachers and principals that increase their effectiveness and help improve student outcomes in hard-to-staff schools and subjects. With federal dollars for education at a premium, the federal government should take a close look at the incentives provided under TIF to ensure that grants monies are actually contributing to greater numbers of highly effective teachers in those schools that need them most. They should use findings from studies like this one from CRPE and others regarding the effectiveness of these programs to develop more targeted incentives to improve instruction in high-need schools.

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Friday News Roundup: Week of March 14-18

By
Emilie Deans

March 18, 2011

At Ed Money Watch, we discuss and analyze major issues affecting education funding. In our Friday News Roundup, we try to highlight interesting stories that might otherwise get overlooked. These stories emphasize how federal and state policy changes can affect local schools and districts.

North Carolina Legislators Consider Merging Preschool Programs

Florida Senate Proposes Suspending Prepaid College Program

Iowa House Votes for More Flexibility for Charter Schools

North Carolina Legislators Consider Merging Preschool Programs
Republicans in the North Carolina legislature this week considered consolidating the state’s early childhood education and health programs. More at Four, the early education program, is currently funded through lottery revenues and is administered by the state. Smart Start, the early childhood health program, is funded through the appropriations process. Smart Start funds go to community-based nonprofit organizations that also collect private funds. If the programs were consolidated, it would allow the state legislature to use only lottery funds to support the early childhood program, freeing up tax dollars for other purposes. Combining the two programs would be complicated, but many Smart Start centers currently administer More at Four in their regions. More here…

Florida Senate Proposes Suspending Prepaid College Program
The Florida Senate higher education budget committee this week approved a plan that would end new enrollments in the Florida Prepaid College Program. The program, which has sold 1.4 million plans, allows parents to pay for college upfront and lock in present-day tuition rates for their future students at any time before they enroll. The state then invests the prepaid tuition in government securities. Senator Evelyn Lynn, chair of the higher education budget committee, questioned the long-term viability of the program because of market volatility. Other legislators are concerned about the program’s sustainability because of rising tuition costs. The program was designed assuming around a 7-8 percent increase in tuition each year. But tuition went up 15 percent last year and is expected to increase by the same amount in the current year. Under the plan approved by the committee, no new enrollments would be allowed, but those parents who have already bought in would not be affected. More here…

Iowa House Votes for More Flexibility for Charter Schools
The Iowa House of Representatives this week approved a bill that would increase flexibility in the state’s charter school law. Under current law, charter schools must be created from existing public schools and are overseen by the local school board, leaving them with little flexibility compared with charter schools in other states. Only seven charter schools have been formed in Iowa under current law. The House’s approved bill would lift many of the restrictions on the creation and management of charter schools. It would allow different types of entities to apply for charters, including private schools, colleges and universities, and private nonprofit organizations. It would also eliminate the requirement that the state board of education approve charter applications and would allow charter schools to opt out of collective bargaining agreements. Opponents worry that the bill would eliminate existing quality controls on public charter schools and would leave teachers unprotected. More here and here…

Briefly Noted

Idaho Governor Butch Otter signs teacher merit pay bill, phasing out teacher tenure and limiting collective bargaining rights.

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Friday News Roundup: Week of March 7-11

By
Emilie Deans

March 11, 2011

North Carolina Republicans Lay Out Potential Spending Cuts

Alabama Legislature Approves Spending Cap for Education Budget

Pennsylvania Governor Proposes Deep Cuts to Education Budget

North Carolina Republicans Lay Out Potential Spending Cuts
This week, the North Carolina legislature’s joint committee on education debated how to cut $760 million from the fiscal year 2012 K-12 education budget. Republicans in the legislature have resolved not to extend certain sales and income tax increases that are scheduled to expire at the end of fiscal year 2012. Without the extra revenue from these higher sales and income taxes, they must make deep spending cuts. Lawmakers debated a range of options, including teacher layoffs, eliminating state funding for teacher assistants, raising community college tuition, or eliminating certain early education programs. Under the direst scenario, state support for 6,062 teaching positions and 17,741 teacher assistant positions could be cut. Democrats in the state legislature argue that some of the tax increases should be extended to help offset the need for budget cuts. More here…

Alabama Legislature Approves Spending Cap for Education Budget
The Alabama Senate this week approved a bill previously approved in the state House of Representatives that would cap future spending on public education. Starting in fiscal year 2013, the bill would cap state spending from the Education Trust Fund. The cap would be based on the average annual percentage change in trust fund revenues over the previous 15 fiscal years. The bill is intended to keep spending in check during times of strong fiscal health and set aside funds that could be drawn upon when tax revenues are lower than expected. More here…

Pennsylvania Governor Proposes Deep Cuts to Education Budget
Pennsylvania Governor Tom Corbett this week released his fiscal year 2012 budget proposal. Under Governor Corbett’s plan, basic state aid for public education would be cut by $550 million. He proposes that schools make up for the cuts by furloughing teachers – which would require a change in state law – and through a statewide one-year pay freeze for teachers. His budget would also cut $259 million from block grants to school districts, which are used to finance programs like all-day kindergarten. Funding for special education would remain flat under Governor Corbett’s plan, while preschool funding would be cut slightly. More here…

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Friday News Roundup: Week of February 28-March 1

By
Emilie Deans

March 4, 2011

Kansas House Speaker Proposes Constitutional Amendment on School Funding

New Jersey Governor Proposes Changes to Teacher Evaluation, Compensation

Mississippi Governor Vetoes Community College Funding Bill

Bill in Washington Legislature would Allow School Districts to Shorten School Year, Furlough Teachers

Kansas House Speaker Proposes Constitutional Amendment on School Funding
This week, Kansas State House of Representatives Speaker Mike O’Neal introduced an amendment to the state’s Constitution that would put the legislature in charge of how much state aid goes to schools each year. Currently, the Constitution states that “The Legislature shall make suitable provision for finance of the educational interests in the state.” A 2005 decision by the Kansas Supreme Court required the legislature to increase funding for schools to meet this provision of the Constitution. The amendment proposed by Speaker O’Neal would allow the legislature to set school funding levels as it sees fit. The amendment would have to pass both the state House and Senate by a two-thirds majority and be approved by voters in the state to be adopted. More here…

New Jersey Governor Proposes Changes to Teacher Evaluation, Compensation
A task force commissioned by New Jersey Governor Chris Christie’s administration this week released recommendations for reforming the way teachers in the state are evaluated and compensated. Governor Christie expressed his support for the task force proposal to use student test outcomes to determine 50 percent of each teacher’s evaluation score. These evaluations would be used to determine how much teachers are paid, to decide whether or not they receive tenure, and to make firing and layoff decisions. Under current law, school districts can decide how to conduct their teacher evaluations. New Jersey’s largest teachers union, the New Jersey Education Association, opposes the measure. They believe that student test scores are not a reliable enough measure to be used in teacher evaluations and compensation decisions. Governor Christie says some of the proposed changes can be implemented through regulations promulgated by the state’s education commissioner, while others will have to be approved in the legislature. More here…

Mississippi Governor Vetoes Community College Funding Bill
Mississippi Governor Haley Barbour this week vetoed a bill that would set state aid for community colleges in fiscal year 2012 at the same level they received in the current fiscal year. The bill, which originated in the state Senate, was intended to go to conference committee with other appropriations bills, instead of to Governor Barbour’s desk for signature. But the state House of Representatives decided to vote on the Senate version and approved it. Though Governor Barbour vetoed the spending plan this time, he said he would support funding for community colleges at the proposed level if it comes to him again as part of a complete and responsible budget for all areas of state spending. Community college leaders have lobbied state lawmakers to increase their appropriation to help them deal with rising enrollment. More here…

Bill in Washington Legislature would Allow School Districts to Shorten School Year, Furlough Teachers
A bill under consideration in the Washington State Senate would allow school districts to shorten the school year by up to five days and furlough teachers to cope with large cuts in state aid. The legislature expects to make further cuts to the state education budget in fiscal year 2012 since the state will face a budget shortfall of almost $5 billion over the coming two years. Currently, state law requires a 180-day school year unless districts obtain a waiver from the state. The proposed bill would allow districts to shorten the school year to 175 days without a waiver. Opponents of the bill worry that the flexibility for school districts will disproportionately affect students living in poverty. In poorer districts, they argue, there are fewer options for making up for cuts in state aid. More here…

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Friday News Roundup: Week of February 21-25

By
Emilie Deans

February 25, 2011

Kansas Legislature Struggles to Resolve Special Education Funding Issue

Idaho Passes Two Bills Reforming Teacher Pay

Georgia House Will Consider Cuts to HOPE Scholarship

Kansas Legislature Struggles to Resolve Special Education Funding Issue
Kansas state legislators this week debated two plans to satisfy federal requirements to maintain state special education funding. Kansas used funds from the federal American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 to prop up state funding for special education in recent years, but the federal government recently warned the state that they are currently failing to comply with the law’s maintenance of effort requirement and could lose federal funding for special education. This requirement states that states must ensure that current year funding for special education is not less than 90 percent of the funding level provided two fiscal years earlier. To comply with the law, Kansas must boost its spending on special education in the current fiscal year 2011 by more than $26 million. The state House of Representatives has proposed a plan that would delay a payment to the state’s teacher pension fund in the current fiscal year. After the start of fiscal year 2012, the plan would replace the pension payment with funds shifted from the state’s base aid to schools, reducing per pupil funding by $40 in fiscal year 2012. The state Senate proposed a plan that would divert the funds from the teacher pension fund, replacing them with cash reserves in fiscal year 2012 and leaving base aid intact. More here…

Idaho Passes Two Bills Reforming Teacher Pay
The Idaho state Senate this week approved two bills that would change the way teachers are compensated. The first bill would eliminate tenure for new teachers and restrict collective bargaining. Instead of tenure, teachers would be offered one- to two-year contracts following an initial probationary period. The second bill would introduce a merit pay system, where teachers would receive bonuses for taking hard-to-fill positions or taking on leadership roles. A third education reform bill was returned to committee for revisions before the Senate could vote on it. It would require students to take four online courses to graduate, would increase the minimum teacher pay from $29,655 to $30,000, and would increase class sizes in grades four through 12. The class size increase and online course requirement would help to fund the teacher merit pay bill that was approved. The two bills that passed must now be voted on in the state House of Representatives, while the third bill will likely come up for a vote in the Senate next week. More here…

Georgia House Will Consider Cuts to HOPE Scholarship
The Georgia House of Representatives Appropriations Committee this week approved a plan that would make deep cuts to Georgia’s HOPE scholarship program. The program currently covers in-state tuition at public colleges and universities and provides scholarships of $4,000 for private university tuition to students who demonstrate academic achievement in high school. Under the new plan, only students with at least a 3.7 grade point average and a 1200 on the SAT would qualify for full scholarships to public institutions. Those with slightly lower grade point averages would have a portion of their tuition covered. Students attending private institutions would see their scholarships reduced to $3,600. Legislators estimate that 200,000 current students would see reductions to their HOPE awards. The cuts are proposed as a way to keep the program afloat over the long term as lottery proceeds – the main funding stream for the grants – have not been able to keep up with rising costs and enrollment. More here…

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Friday News Roundup: Week of January 7- January 11

By
Emilie Deans

February 11, 2011

North Dakota Governor Proposes Commission on Higher Education Funding

IndianaLawmakers Begin Work on Teacher Merit Pay Bill

Missouri Colleges to Cut Degree Programs to Save Money

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Education

Friday News Roundup: Week of January 31-February 4

By
Emilie Deans

February 4, 2011

Delaware to Limit Spending on SEED Scholarship

Nevada Education Officials Grapple with Governor’s Proposed Cuts

Missouri Governor Releases $10 for School Transportation

Idaho Legislature Considers Reform Plan that Would Cut Teacher Force

Delaware to Limit Spending on SEED Scholarship
Delaware Governor Jack Markell recently released his fiscal year 2012 budget proposal. The plan would limit funding for the Student Excellence Equals Degree (SEED) scholarship program to $3 million, the program’s actual annual appropriation. The appropriation amount is unchanged from fiscal year 2011 levels, but Governor Markell’s plan would prevent the state’s Department of Education from awarding grants to all eligible students as it has in the past, pulling money from other programs to cover the additional cost. The $3 million appropriation would cover 1,100 students’ full tuition at DelTech or the University of Delaware’s associate of arts degree program for students who maintain a 2.5 GPA. It would exclude about 275 eligible students. It will be up to DelTech and the University of Delaware to determine the criteria for selecting students for the scholarship. More here…

Nevada Education Officials Grapple with Governor’s Proposed Cuts
Last week, Nevada Governor Brian Sandoval proposed cutting $162 million from the state’s higher education budget in his fiscal year 2012 budget plan. This week, the state’s Board of Regents for higher education voted unanimously to oppose the cuts. However, they also instructed university officials to begin preparing plans for how they would cope with such cuts. Ron Knecht, chairman of the finance committee for the Board of Regents, suggested that one strategy might be to declare “financial exigency,” which is similar to a private company declaring bankruptcy. It would allow universities to break contracts, including union contracts, and reorganize spending. The Board of Regents says the cuts cannot be made up in tuition increases or staff and faculty layoffs alone. More here…

Missouri Governor Releases $10 for School Transportation
Missouri Governor Jay Nixon recently released $10 million in additional transportation aid for public schools. Citing higher than expected income tax revenues, Governor Nixon was able to restore some of the $70 million he cut from the $153 million transportation budget in the current fiscal year to balance the state budget. State budget director Linda Luebbering said she does not anticipate that the state will be able to provide any more additional transportation funding in the current fiscal year. Governor Nixon has proposed $98 million in school transportation aid for the coming 2012 fiscal year. More here…

Idaho Legislature Considers Reform Plan that Would Cut Teacher Force
The Idaho state Senate is currently considering a reform plan put together by the state’s Department of Education. The plan would require high school students to take six online course credits. It would also tie a portion of teacher pay to merit and provide bonuses to teachers that take on hard to fill positions and leadership roles. It would do away with the current teacher tenure plan. To pay for the plan, the state would reduce the teaching force by 770 jobs and increase class sizes. Idaho public schools chief Tom Luna explained that the plan is a necessary measure to control state spending on public education. He said the only alternatives are to continue cutting teacher pay or to cut more days from the school calendar. More here...

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Friday News Roundup: Week of January 24-28

By
Emilie Deans

January 28, 2011

Delaware Governor Proposes Increases in State Higher Education Aid, Won’t Make Up for Loss of Stimulus Funds

Iowa Governor Proposes Ending Free Preschool Program

Texas Senate Considers Slashing Aid for Schools, Medicaid in 2012 Budget

Delaware Governor Proposes Increases in State Higher Education Aid, Won’t Make Up for Loss of Stimulus Funds
Delaware Governor Jack Markell this week released his fiscal year 2012 budget proposal. In it he requested $219.8 million in state aid for higher education, an increase of roughly 1.5 percent from the $216.5 million the state spent last year. However, without the federal stimulus funds from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act that have propped up the higher education budget over the past two years, Delaware’s public universities will actually see a decrease of about $18 million, or 6 percent, in overall aid. University officials say they knew the federal funds would expire and were able to consolidate administrative departments and trim spending on athletics programs to maintain their budgets. More here…

Iowa Governor Proposes Ending Free Preschool Program
Iowa Governor Terry Branstad this week submitted a fiscal year 2012 budget proposal to the state legislature. In the budget, he proposed cutting a state program that provides free universal preschool for the state’s four-year-olds. Iowa lawmakers approved the universal preschool program in 2007 to ensure that all four-year-olds had access to preschool services. If continued, the program is projected to cost $71 million in fiscal year 2012. Instead, Governor Branstad would provide preschool vouchers on an income-based sliding scale to parents of four-year-olds. Families at the lowest end of the income scale would receive larger vouchers. His proposal is estimated to cost $39 million in the coming fiscal year, a 39 percent reduction from the universal preschool plan. More here…

Texas Senate Considers Slashing Aid for Schools, Medicaid in 2012 Budget
Texas State Senator Steve Ogden this week submitted a $158.7 billion budget plan for the 2012-13 fiscal biennium that would cut state and federal spending in Texas by $28.8 billion, or 15 percent, from current levels. Ogden’s budget would not introduce any new taxes or tap the state’s rainy day fund. Instead, it would cut $9 billion from what K-12 schools would have received under the current funding formulas over the two fiscal years. Ogden’s plan would also eliminate some Medicaid benefits for poor adults. Federal law prevents state lawmakers from restricting eligibility without losing federal funds, so reducing services is the easiest way to cut Medicaid costs. More here…

Briefly Noted

Washington state legislators consider shortening the school year by three days.

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Exploring the Rural Competitive Preference in the Investing in Innovation Program

By
Emilie Deans

January 25, 2011

In the Blueprint for Reform, the Obama administration set support for rural schools as one of its “cross-cutting priorities” for education reform. In that document, the administration pledged to include rural schools in new competitive grant programs, ensuring that they are not at a disadvantage compared with other schools, consortia, nonprofits, and institutions in these grant programs. Toward that end, the administration included a rural competitive preference in the recent Investing in Innovation (i3) grant program created by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009. This meant that projects focusing on rural education would be awarded two bonus points on the competition’s 100-point scale. Nineteen of the 49 grant final recipients claimed that their grants were eligible for the Rural Competitive Preference. But it looks like the administration didn’t do enough to ensure that this competitive preference benefited the rural school districts it tried to target.

The Rural School and Community Trust this week released Taking Advantage: The Rural Competitive Preference in the Investing in Innovation Program, a policy paper analyzing whether the grant recipients who claimed the Rural Competitive Preference had adequately addressed the unique needs of rural school districts in their grant proposals. They found that very few of those applicants who claimed the Rural Competitive Preference had submitted proposals that focused on serving the needs of rural districts. Instead, most of these applicants appear to have included rural school districts as an afterthought in an effort to claim the two bonus points.

The Rural Competitive Preference in the i3 grant competition was one of several competitive preferences that applicants could claim to beef up their applications. While the other competitive preferences were each worth one bonus point, the Rural Competitive Preference was worth up to two. Applications that received two bonus points “would implement innovative practices, strategies, or programs that are designed to focus on the unique challenges of high-need students in schools within a rural LEA…”

The report concludes that only three of the 19 grant recipients who claimed the Rural Competitive Preference actually focused on rural challenges. It was both easy and attractive for applicants not focusing on rural school districts to include a token reference to these populations in order to claim the competitive priority. Additionally, application reviewers did not have a specific rubric by which to measure whether proposals met the requirements of the competitive priority, which may have led them to be overly willing to award these points.

Rural school districts also face particular challenges that made it nearly impossible for rural school districts to compete as lead applicants for i3 grants to begin with. They often lack the capacity to complete applications or hire and retain consultants to help them. The i3 competition’s 20 percent matching requirement was also outside the grasp of many rural school districts.

The Rural Competitive Preference was not an adequate way to give rural school districts a leg up over larger institutions and nonprofits in the i3 grant competition. More must be done if the Obama administration intends to stay true to its commitment to support rural school districts. In future competitive grant competitions, the administration must do more to account for the specific challenges facing rural school districts.

The Rural School and Community Trust suggests that future grant competitions set aside a separate pool of funding that is only available to applicants whose proposals address the needs of rural schools and districts. Within that pool, preference should be given to proposals where the lead applicant is a rural district or collaboration of rural districts rather than a non-profit or institution of higher education.

But setting aside money specifically for rural school districts does not address the quality of the applications these districts put forth. Rural school districts often lack the capacity for extensive grant writing campaigns, particularly those that require rigorous research and evaluation plans. Without the funds to do such research and evaluation, however, these districts will continue to face a dearth of quality research on innovations targeted at solving their specific challenges. Given this, the U.S. Department of Education should provide technical assistance to rural school districts before and during the grant application process to help applicants design quality research plans.

Given the Obama administration’s stated goal of addressing the needs of students in rural areas, future grant competitions must do more to make rural school districts competitive with larger districts, nonprofit organizations, and institutions of higher education. In the Blueprint for Reform, the administration encourages the U.S. Secretary of Education to set aside funds for technical assistance and research on innovations that will help rural school districts overcome capacity constraints. This is an admirable goal, and has yet to be accomplished by the i3 grant competition’s Rural Competitive Preference or otherwise. We’ll be interested to see if future competitive grant competitions include better methods of keeping rural school districts competitive.

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Friday News Roundup: Week of January 17-21

By
Emilie Deans

January 21, 2011

New Hampshire Bill Would Narrowly Define ‘Adequate Education’

Faced with Deep Cuts, South Dakota Universities Consider Layoffs

Arizona Lawmakers Propose Cutting the School Year for Cost Savings

Colorado Budget Panel Votes to Deny Supplemental Funding for School Breakfast Program

New Hampshire Bill Would Narrowly Define ‘Adequate Education’
New Hampshire State Representative Ralph Boehm this week introduced a bill that would narrowly define what constitutes an “adequate education” in the state. Under his bill, only English, math, science, social studies, and physical education would be included in this definition. The definition matters because a state court ruling required lawmakers to determine what constitutes an adequate education and fully fund it. Although lawmakers determined that an adequate education costs $3,450 per student, Boehm believes the amount is actually much higher. To prevent a significant rise in state funding for education, Boehm proposes that state money should go only toward core subjects that will prepare students to enter the workforce. He claims that local school boards will foot the bill for excluded programs like art, technology, health, or foreign languages. Opponents worry that, given the difficult choices facing communities, local voters won’t be able to prioritize funding for these education programs over other needs. Boehm’s bill also would require the legislature to approve New Hampshire’s use of Common Core standards before implementing them because he believes the state should determine its own standards. More here…

Faced with Deep Cuts, South Dakota Universities Consider Layoffs
South Dakota Governor Dennis Daugaard has vowed to eliminate the state’s $127 million budget deficit by making cuts across every state agency. The proposal would cut the state’s higher education budget for fiscal year 2012 by $17 million cut from current levels. Schools won’t likely be able to make up for the cuts through tuition and fee hikes, and have already instituted hiring freezes due to cuts made over the past two years. In addition, a pay freeze over the past two years means that cutting staff salaries is not an option either. Now, university presidents feel there is nothing left but to lay off staff and faculty. Governor Daugaard’s cuts represent a worst-case scenario for colleges and universities. Before they make any decisions about their budgets they’ll wait for the state legislature to finalize its 2012 budget later this year. More here…

Arizona Lawmakers Propose Cutting the School Year for Cost Savings
Two Republican lawmakers in Arizona have crafted a piece of legislation that would provide districts with new flexibility for cutting costs. The most controversial piece of the legislation would cut the public school year by 10 days, to 170 school days per year. The proposal would maintain the same number of hours students are in school by extending the school day. Opponents worry that school districts would cut teacher salaries due to the shortened school year, despite the longer work day. They also point out that this would mean 10 more days every year when parents would have to find a way to supervise their children. The bill would also allow schools to use money from individual gifts toward staff development, supplies, and other one time costs. Gifts are currently restricted to use for extracurricular activities. More here…

Colorado Budget Panel Votes to Deny Supplemental Funding for School Breakfast Program
The Colorado legislature’s Joint Budget Committee this week voted to deny a state Department of Education request for additional funding for the school breakfast program. The program provides free breakfast at schools to poor students. But growing numbers of students that qualify for free breakfasts and an increase in the number of schools that participate in the program mean that program funds have been used more quickly than expected. The state Department of Education requested an additional $124,229 in the current budget year to help pay for the estimated $768,210 cost for this school year. With the request denied, students participating in the program will have to start paying 30 cents per meal starting in March. More here…

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Examining the Data: Where do Federal TEACH Grants Go?

By
Emilie Deans

January 20, 2011

This blog post has been updated to reflect TEACH grant data for the entire 2009-10 award year. The previous version reflected data from quarter 4 of the same year. The overall trends remain the same.

In 2007 Congress created a new grant program that helps cover the cost of students’ undergraduate or graduate education if they serve as a teachers in high-needs schools after graduating. The program’s second year is now underway – the first grants didn’t go out until the 2008-09 academic year – so we at Ed Money Watch decided it was time to take a look at which schools are using this new federal student aid program.

First some background information on how Teacher Education Assistance for College and Higher Education (TEACH) grants work. The program provides grants of up to $4,000 per year for bachelor’s studies or $8,000 total for master’s studies toward tuition, fees, and other housing costs to students who commit to teaching high-need subjects in low-income schools after completing their postsecondary education.[1] The grants convert to federal student loans if a recipient does not ultimately fulfill the teaching requirement. Because TEACH grants are an entitlement program, the federal government does not place a ceiling on the number or amount of grants awarded each year.

We reviewed U.S. Department of Education data on which schools’ students received TEACH grants in the 2009-10 academic year and uncovered a few surprises. In particular, we found that the numbers of grantees and the sizes of their grants vary in unexpected ways between different states and types of institutions of higher education. It appears that many students throughout the country are not receiving the TEACH grants for which they are eligible.

We looked at which states had the largest numbers of grant recipients. While we weren’t surprised to see large states like New York, California (2,423 grants) and Texas ranking first, third, and fifth respectively in the number of grant recipients, we were surprised to see Arizona (#2 with 2,770), and Ohio (#4), and Minnesota (#6) ranking so high. Other large states had fewer grant recipients than expected, like Florida which ranked 13th in the number of grant recipients.

Next we examined the proportion of grants going to students at private nonprofit institutions relative to public institutions. One might expect that the majority of TEACH grant recipients would attend public institutions because these schools tend to have large teacher education programs. However, in some of the states with the largest numbers of grant recipients, the vast majority of grant recipients were students at private nonprofit institutions.

For example, a total of 2,423 students in California received TEACH grants in the 2009-10 school year. Of this total, only 429 (17.8 percent) attended public institutions. The remaining 1,994 TEACH grants went to students attending private nonprofit schools – the vast majority of which were at National University at La Jolla. This is especially surprising given California’s extensive state university system. The same is true in Minnesota, where 1,620 students received TEACH grants in 2009-10, with only 214 of them (13.2 percent) attending public institutions.

There are some states that do not follow this trend. In Texas, for example, the breakdown of grants between public and private institutions favors public institutions, as expected. Of the 1,908 TEACH grants awarded in that state, 1,413 (74.1 percent) went to students at public institutions. In some other states, TEACH grants are split nearly evenly between these two types of institutions.

Interestingly, students attending proprietary (for-profit) schools only received TEACH grants in seven states, and the number of awards in each of these states varied widely. Students at proprietary schools in Arizona received the most TEACH grants at 1,241 out of 2,770 total TEACH grants in the state, or 44.8 percent. Minnesota ranked second, with 995 students at proprietary schools receiving TEACH grants. This accounts for 59.0 percent of the 1,620 TEACH grants awarded in the state.

We were also surprised by the breakdown of average grant sizes between different types of institutions. We expected to find that the average TEACH grant would be larger at private institutions and smaller at public institutions because private colleges and universities tend to have higher tuition (in some cases students can get larger grants by attending more expensive schools based on eligibility formulae). However, in several states we found the opposite to be true.

In Connecticut, for example, the average grant size at public institutions was $3,368 – just shy of the $4,000 maximum grant. The average grant size at private institutions was only $2,047, a difference of $1,322 from the public school average. It is possible, however, that private institutions in Connecticut provide more institutional aid to their students, lowering the size of their TEACH grants.

The majority of states did follow the expected trend of having larger average grant sizes at private institutions. In Wisconsin, the average grant size at private institutions was $3,341 while the average at public colleges and universities was only $2,792.

While it’s impossible to know for sure what causes these unexpected findings, the data suggest that the institution students choose greatly affects the likelihood that they will apply for and receive TEACH grants. It is clear, however, that financial aid offices at certain schools in some states do a particularly good job of informing students about TEACH grants and encouraging them to apply, while others do not. As a result, many eligible students are not getting TEACH grants. If the federal government wants TEACH grants to have a greater impact on the future teaching force, it should encourage more institutions, especially those with large teacher education programs, to better advertise and participate in the program.

We’ll continue to follow the progress of this new federal program in the coming months.

[1] To be eligible for a TEACH grant, students must commit to serving as a full-time teacher in mathematics, science, foreign language, bilingual education, special education, or reading teachers in high-need schools for at least four years within eight years of graduating. For more information on TEACH grants, visit our Federal Programs for K-12 Teachers page.

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Friday News Roundup: Week of January 10-14

By
Emilie Deans

January 14, 2011

Missouri Governor Restores Education Funds, Increases Scholarship Maximums

Kansas Governor’s Spending Plan Would Mean Cuts for School Funding

Indiana Colleges and Universities Brace for More Cuts

Missouri Governor Restores Education Funds, Increases Scholarship Maximums
Missouri Governor Jay Nixon this week announced a $7.5 million increase in state funding for school transportation costs in the current 2011 fiscal year. Stronger than expected state revenues allowed Governor Nixon to restore a portion of the $70 million in transportation aid to districts that was cut in fiscal year 2010 to balance the state budget. Districts are free to begin using funds immediately to restore canceled bus routes or other programs that were cut to free up funds for transportation costs. Separately, Governor Nixon also announced this week that maximum awards for the Access Missouri college scholarship program will increase for the spring semester. Maximum awards will rise from $275 to $470 per year for students attending community colleges, from $950 to $1,010 for students attending public four-year institutions, and from $1,900 to $2,160 for students attending private universities. More here…

Kansas Governor’s Spending Plan Would Mean Cuts for School Funding
Kansas Governor Sam Brownback proposed a fiscal year 2012 budget that would cut base per pupil state funding for K-12 education. Much of the current $550 million hole in the state’s budget was created by expiring federal funds from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, which Governor Brownback says the state cannot afford to replace. As a result, he has proposed cutting base per pupil aid by $232 to $3,780. This would represent the lowest level of base state aid for schools since the 1999-2000 school year. Although base per pupil funding will decrease, the governor’s plan does include increases for the state retirement system, special education, and debt payments for capital projects. Governor Brownback’s budget would also cut the Early Childhood Head Start Program by $3.5 million. More here and here…

Indiana Colleges and Universities Brace for More Cuts
Under a budget plan released this week by Indiana Governor Mitch Daniels, the state’s colleges and universities could face a 3 percent annual cut in state aid in the coming 2012-13 fiscal biennium. Most state agencies, including K-12 education, have seen reductions in funding since the state passed its most recent budget. Governor Daniels’ plan would not restore the cut funds to these agencies, but would hold spending at current levels over the coming two years. However, institutions of higher education face a reduction of $37 million per year on top of the 6 percent annual cut they faced in the last fiscal biennium. More here…

Briefly Noted

New Jersey Supreme Court requests “special master” to gather information on legality of Governor Christie’s cuts to state education aid.

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How States Can Help Schools Make Smart Budgeting Decisions

By
Emilie Deans

January 11, 2011

The newspapers are full of stories about school districts in financial straits and state budget cuts coming down hard on education spending. Despite the fiscal stress, policymakers still have a lot of opportunities to make good budgeting decisions according to Stretching the School Dollar, a policy brief released last week by the Fordham Institute.

Authors Michael Petrilli and Marguerite Roza outline the common problems with state education policies that lead to harmful cuts and explain how smart policies can blunt the impact of tight budgets. With several states facing lawsuits regarding funding cuts for K-12 education and at least one considering changing its funding formula as a result, Petrilli and Roza’s four recommendations for revamping state funding formulae are particularly interesting.

The first two recommendations related to funding formulae seek to ensure that funds are efficiently distributed to the students that need them. First, the authors encourage states to move toward weighted student funding formulae. Current state education funding formulae are typically more complicated and rely on a staff-based budgeting system where districts receive funds to pay for teachers and other resources based on the number of students enrolled. For example, a district could receive funds for one teacher salary for every 25 students enrolled in its schools. A weighted student funding formula would mean that school districts and schools receive per-pupil funding amounts, with greater resources following students with greater needs.

A second way the authors suggest changing state funding systems is to eliminate excess spending on small schools and small districts. They encourage the use of technology and the sharing of resources, including staff, across districts to reduce spending on specialized courses without having to eliminate them. They note that this can easily be accomplished under a weighted student funding formula.

The second two recommendations attempt to encourage districts to eliminate excessive spending and provide services to students more effectively. The authors suggest changing the way extra funding is distributed for students with learning disabilities. Currently school districts receive extra funding for each they student identify as having a learning disability, creating incentives for school districts to over-indentify students with learning disabilities. Petrilli and Roza encourage states to switch to a system where they allocate funds for students with learning disabilities based on a flat percentage rate of the student population, rather than on individual student identification. This encourages schools and districts to engage in more early intervention activities rather than allow struggling students to fall into special education placements.

Finally the authors recommend limiting the length of time students can be identified as English Language Learners (ELL). This would provide a clear incentive for schools to move students toward English proficiency quickly, instead of encouraging them to keep students in ELL programs for the extra funding.

By creating statewide funding systems that ensure that funds follow the students that need them and provide incentives for schools and districts to work more efficiently, states can save money without drastically changing the number or quality of course offerings to students. Other recommendations the authors make, including changing staffing and compensation policies and scrapping outdated reporting and classroom requirements would create additional savings.

As state policymakers continue to struggle with budget shortfalls, especially in the face of expiring federal funds from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, they would be wise to examine Petrilli and Roza’s “smart savings” and reform strategies instead of making the all-to-common and politically expedient “harmful cuts” to education spending that are bound to hurt students far more.

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Friday News Roundup: Week of January 3-7

By
Emilie Deans

January 7, 2011

Texas Legislators Consider New Eligibility Requirements for State Higher Ed Grants

New Jersey Supreme Court Hears Case on School Funding Constitutionality

Hawaii Department of Education Requests Restoration of $129 million in Budget Cuts

Governor Sanford’s Final Budget Plan Would Mean State Employee Pay Cuts, Reduction in Higher Ed Aid

Texas Legislators Consider New Eligibility Requirements for State Higher Ed Grants
Texas state legislators are considering a plan that would change the way need-based higher education grants are distributed to students. Currently, the state’s Towards Excellence, Access and Success (TEXAS) grant program, which helps low income students pay for college, is distributed on a first come, first served basis. Under a new plan proposed by Higher Education Coordinating Board Commissioner Raymund Paredes, students would have to meet academic criteria to qualify for the grants. The plan will narrow the number of eligible TEXAS grant recipients because the state’s budget crisis prevented Texas from distributing grants to all eligible students in the 2010-11 school year. More here…

New Jersey Supreme Court Hears Case on School Funding Constitutionality
The New Jersey Supreme Court this week heard arguments in a case charging that decreases in state funding for education in fiscal year 2010 were unconstitutional. The Education Law Center, a group that represents the interests of children in low-income cities, argued that the budget cuts violated students’ constitutional right to a “thorough and efficient education.” A 2009 ruling by the state Supreme Court approved a formula for state education funding, but the state only fully funded the formula in its first year because the state’s budget crisis left New Jersey unable to fully fund the formula in fiscal year 2010. The Education Law Center argues that the budget cuts disproportionately affect low-income students. More here…

Hawaii Department of Education Requests Restoration of $129 million in Budget Cuts
The Hawaii Department of Education submitted a fiscal year 2012 budget request to state lawmakers this week that includes the restoration of $129 million in funds cut from the agency’s budget during the economic recession. The budget request also included $29 million in new spending. While state schools Superintendent Kathryn Matayoshi argued that the request included only the bare necessities, some lawmakers thought the Department of Education could do more to offset increasing costs. For example, they questioned why the Board of Education rejected a proposal to increase the price of school meals to keep pace with costs. Matayoshi argued that working families cannot afford the increase, which would have increased school lunch revenues by $1.3 million in the 2010-11 school year. More here…

Governor Sanford’s Final Budget Plan Would Mean State Employee Pay Cuts, Reduction in Higher Ed Aid
Outgoing South Carolina Governor Mark Sanford this week submitted a $5.4 million budget plan that would help offset an $800 million shortfall in the state’s fiscal year 2012 budget. His plan would cut most state employees’ pay by 5 percent and would not replace federal stimulus funds for institutions of higher education. This would mean that state colleges and universities would have to make deep cuts to their budgets or raise tuition and fees to make up the difference. Governor-elect Nikki Haley has said that she will consider the plan submitted by Sanford, a fellow Republican, and will likely combine some of his ideas with some of her own. Haley has said she does not have the time or resources to develop a comprehensive budget plan of her own. More here…

Briefly Noted

Connecticut Governor Dan Malloy hedges on his campaign promise to maintain state funding for education.

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Friday News Roundup: Week of December 13-17

By
Emilie Deans

December 17, 2010

Oklahoma Superintendent Asks for $381 million Increase in State Aid

Nebraska Lawmakers Propose Deep Cuts to K-12, Higher Education

Montana Governor Says Tax Revenues are Better than Expected

Oklahoma Superintendent Asks for $381 million Increase in State Aid
Oklahoma state schools Superintendent Sandy Garrett this week asked for a $381 million increase in state aid for education in her budget request for fiscal year 2012. The budget increase would bring the total state education budget to $2.6 billion and would replace $139.5 million in federal stimulus funds from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 and $201 million in state funds that were cut in fiscal year 2011. It would also cover increases in program expenses, including a new program to provide remediation for students who fail the state’s high school graduation exams. More here…

Nebraska Lawmakers Propose Deep Cuts to K-12, Higher Education
Nebraska state lawmakers this week released a report outlining options for potential budget cuts for the coming 2012-13 fiscal biennium that would total about $400 million in each year if enacted. The state’s budget forecasters project a $986 million shortfall over the next two years. Under the plan, the largest cut would come from the state’s K-12 education budget, which would be trimmed by $134 million in each year from 2009-10 levels. Having already made spending cuts in previous years as a result of state budget cuts, school districts may have to rely on increased property taxes to balance their budgets. The proposal would also cut $49 million per year from the state’s higher education budget. This would likely lead colleges and universities to raise tuition and fees. More here…

Montana Governor Says Tax Revenues are Better than Expected
Montana Governor Brian Schweitzer announced this week that the state budget picture is better than expected due to improving revenues. He predicts that the state will have $120 million more than expected to spend in fiscal year 2012. Governor Schweitzer encouraged the state legislature to use these extra funds to support the budget proposal he submitted in November that would cut business taxes, give homeowners a tax rebate, and increase state aid for education. Republicans in the state legislature are hesitant to support Governor Schweitzer’s budget and are considering making cuts to the state education budget, claiming that Governor Schweitzer’s plan is balanced by pilfering from state infrastructure projects and other areas to pay for his spending increases. More here…

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Friday News Roundup: Week of December 6-10

By
Emilie Deans

December 10, 2010

Washington Supreme Court Rules that State Special Education Funding is Constitutional

Colorado Schools Will Likely See Cuts to Funding in 2012

Wisconsin State Agencies Request Increase in Funding

South Dakota Supreme Court Set to Hear Case on Education Funding

Washington Supreme Court Rules that State Special Education Funding is Constitutional
The Washington Supreme Court ruled this week that the state’s special education spending structure does not violate the state’s constitution, upholding a previous ruling by the Court of Appeals. A lawsuit filed by the Alliance for Adequate Funding of Special Education argued that state funding for special education was inadequate, forcing school districts to raise special education funds through school levies. However, the state’s Supreme Court found that the state allocated 193 percent of the cost of educating a basic education student for each special education student – slightly more than the 190 percent deemed necessary by expert witnesses in the case. More here…

Colorado Schools Will Likely See Cuts to Funding in 2012
This week, the Colorado Legislature’s Joint Budget Committee announced that K-12 education funding will likely take a hit in fiscal year 2012. Colorado Governor Bill Ritter included a $93.7 million increase for K-12 education in his fiscal year 2012 budget request, but Joint Budget Committee analysts say this is increase will still fall about $92 million short of fully offsetting increasing costs due to inflation and the projected 1 percent enrollment increase. In combination with expected revenue shortfalls in local support for K-12 education, this will amount to about a $40 decrease in per-pupil funding from 2011 levels. More here…

Wisconsin State Agencies Request Increase in Funding
State agencies in Wisconsin this week submitted a request to Governor Jim Doyle for a $3.94 billion increase in funding over the next two years – a 6.2% increase from the current 2010-11 biennium. The requests totaled $67.4 billion in state and federal spending, and were made as part of a report released this week by the state’s Legislative Fiscal Bureau. Large increases would go to the state Department of Health Services for Medicaid and other health care programs, as well as the University of Wisconsin System, prisons, and aid to local governments. Governor-Elect Scott Walker is unlikely to fulfill all of these requests, especially as the state is facing as much as $3.3 billion revenue shortfall in the coming 2012-13 biennium. More here…

South Dakota Supreme Court Set to Hear Case on Education Funding
The South Dakota Supreme Court will hear arguments next month on a constitutional challenge of the state’s K-12 education funding system. The case, which has a handful of students and parents as the plaintiffs, but is supported by about 100 of the state’s 161 school districts, began in 2006. The plaintiffs contend that the state’s current system of funding for K-12 education violates students’ constitutional right to a free, adequate, and quality education. However, in an earlier ruling against the plaintiffs, Circuit Judge Lori Wilbur noted that the constitutional language does not include the word “quality.” Judge Wilbur contended that the current system does ensure that students can become responsible and intelligent citizens. More here…

Briefly Noted

Idaho Board of Education will allow colleges and universities to seek tuition and fee increases of over 10 percent.

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Friday News Roundup: Week of November 29-December 3

By
Emilie Deans

December 3, 2010

Louisiana Colleges and Universities Consider Fee, Tuition Increases to Cover Decreasing Aid

New Mexico Budget Forecast Bleak Despite Uptick in State Tax Revenue

Washington Governor Wants Special Legislative Session

Louisiana Colleges and Universities Consider Fee, Tuition Increases to Cover Decreasing Aid

Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal this week met with the state’s higher education Board of Regents to discuss potential cuts to the state’s higher education budget. Louisiana is facing a projected $1.6 billion shortfall in its fiscal year 2012 budget and Governor Jindal is set to meet with various state officials in the coming weeks to formulate plans to balance the budget without raising taxes. The colleges and universities are in a particularly precarious position as they will no longer have $290 million in federal stimulus funds, which expire after this year, to help prop up their budgets. In his meeting with the Board of Regents, Governor Jindal said he was open to the idea of allowing the public colleges and universities to raise tuition and fees. He stipulated that in the event of a tuition and fee hike, institutions of higher education would have to improve academic performance. More here…

New Mexico Budget Forecast Bleak Despite Uptick in State Tax Revenue

Despite slightly higher than expected tax revenues, New Mexico officials are bracing for a difficult budget negotiation for the coming 2012 fiscal year. According to the state’s Finance and Administration Secretary Dannette Burch, state revenues are about 1 percent higher than expected in the current fiscal year, leaving the state with $56 million more than previously expected. Instead of distributing that money in the current fiscal year to roll back cuts that were made previously, Burch says the state will reserve the funds to help balance the budget in 2012, when federal stimulus funds – which amount to $215 million in the current year’s budget – are no longer available. More here…

Washington Governor Wants Special Legislative Session

Washington Governor Chris Gregoire this week announced that she would like to call a special legislative session to deal with a projected $385 million budget shortfall in the current 2011 fiscal year. Democrats in the state legislature are less eager for a special session, saying that there are ways to patch the current budget without a special session. While Governor Gregoire has the authority to call a special session without the consent of the state legislature, she had hoped to come to an agreement with lawmakers on the agenda for the 30-day session ahead of time, leaving more time for actual budget negotiations. Along with cuts to the state’s subsidized medical care programs, Governor Gregoire’s proposal for the special session would include reductions to levy equalization payments, which help K-12 school districts that have low property tax collections. Governor Gregoire says that in order to save enough money by the end of the current fiscal year, her cuts would have to be enacted by December 12th. More here…

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Conflicting Priorities under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act

By
Emilie Deans

December 2, 2010

Bellwether Education Partners this week released a report, Conflicting Missions and Unclear Results: Lessons from the Education Stimulus Funds. The report examines how states and school districts used federal stimulus funds from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA) and how federal lawmakers could have made their priorities clearer to stimulate reform. The authors found that, absent clear guidance from federal lawmakers and the U.S. Department of Education, many states and school districts simply used the funds to fill holes in their budgets from lagging state aid and property tax collections instead of investing in new funding structures and other reforms encouraged in the law.

When federal lawmakers passed the ARRA in February of 2009, their two stated goals for education related funds were to allow states to save teacher and educator jobs and to stimulate reform. They hoped that by tacking reform priorities onto the $100 billion in education-related federal stimulus funds, they could ensure that states and districts would use the funds to reexamine their funding structures as a whole and invest in reforms.

However, according to the report, a lack of clarity in the law and timeliness in the guidance that followed left states and school districts uncertain about how to use the funds, especially those provided through the $48.6 billion State Fiscal Stabilization Fund (SFSF). With a few notable exceptions discussed in the report, most states and school districts simply used the funds to fill budget holes, saving existing education jobs and continuing the status quo. Those school districts that bucked this trend – like Boston, MA, Charlotte-Mecklenburg, NC, and Prince George’s County, MD – all had strong district leaders who were already interested in reform.

The report’s authors find several lessons in their findings for future investments in education reform. Pointing to the $4.35 billion Race to the Top (RttT) program that is part of the ARRA, they note that even a relatively small investment can have dramatic effects on education reform across the country if the goals are clear and specific. The RttT clearly defined what states needed to do to be eligible for these funds, whereas the SFSF included vague reform priorities without specific parameters. Future legislation should include clear and concise priorities, and acknowledge that reform and stimulus can be competing priorities.

The authors also note that it may be more helpful in future legislation to define what states cannot use funds for, rather than how funds can be used. By clearly stating that the federal funds cannot be used to continue programs and policies that are ineffective, legislators could force recipients to invest in new ideas.

In addition, the report suggests that federal education policies should encourage states and districts to address the way K-12 education is funded. In many school districts, property tax revenues have been used to cover increasing costs for education. With the crash of the housing market, this is no longer a viable option. Instead of plugging the holes left in education budgets, federal funds should be used to develop a new, more sustainable funding structure.

Since its passage in 2009, the ARRA has helped states and school districts fill holes in their budgets caused by the economic downturn. However, it has not been as successful in helping school districts implement reforms and cut existing programs that aren’t working. With states and school districts facing the upcoming expiration of ARRA funds and staring the much-discussed funding cliff in the face, many will now have to face the unpleasant realities that ARRA funds allowed them to escape until now.

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Uncertain Future for Education Technology Grants

By
Emilie Deans

November 30, 2010

Earlier this month, the State Educational Technology Directors Association (SETDA) released a report, ARRA Investments in Technology, Innovation, and K-12 Reform. The report examines how states are using $650 million in Enhancing Education through Technology Program (EETT) funds provided by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA). The authors found that states and school districts have been slow to spend the ARRA EETT funds because of uncertainty over the program’s future in 2011 and beyond.

EETT was authorized in 2002 under Title II, Part D of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act. Its purpose is to improve academic achievement through the use of technology in K-12 schools and to ensure that all students are technologically literate by the end of eighth grade. States and school districts can use funds to purchase technology and software to have in classrooms. They can also pay for professional development for teachers and school leaders to gain a better understanding of how to use student assessment data and other tools to hone teaching techniques.

Funds for the program are distributed to states based on their share of Title I funding. Under the original law, state education agencies can reserve up to 5 percent of EETT funds for administrative and technical assistance, and must distribute the rest to local education agencies (LEAs), half according to the Title I formula and half through a grant competition. However, guidance from the U.S. Department of Education (ED) in July 2009 – several months after the ARRA was passed – strongly encouraged states to use 100 percent of the ARRA EETT funds for competitive grants. Only 25 states were able to devote all ARRA EETT funds to a competitive grant process. The rest had already begun to distribute funds and were thus unable to change all their funds to competitive grants.

But the funding situation for EETT in 2011 and beyond is somewhat uncertain. In fiscal year 2009, Congress provided the EETT with $270 million in funding plus a one-time infusion of $650 million in federal stimulus funds through the ARRA that are available through the end of fiscal year 2011. In fiscal year 2010 the program received only $100 million in annual appropriations, and President Obama did not request funding for the program in his fiscal year 2011 budget request. Instead, the program would be folded in with other federal programs aimed at improving instruction and academic standards under a larger competitive grant program. While no information is available on how the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education would fund EETT in fiscal year 2011, the appropriations bill passed out of the Senate Subcommittee funds it at $100 million. With no omnibus spending bill approved in Congress for fiscal year 2011, states can’t be sure what to expect in the current fiscal year.

The SETDA report indicates that states had only drawn down 23 percent of ARRA EETT funds by the end of school year 2009-10, but notes that this does not account for funds that are in the process of being spent but have yet to be drawn down from ED accounts, so the true amount is likely higher. However, the report points out that many states intended to reserve these ARRA funds for the 2010-11 school year in anticipation of significantly reduced federal support for EETT.

With the future of federal support for EETT uncertain, states are encouraging LEAs to create sustainability plans that rely on sources other than the federal government for the future of their technology programs. LEAs are also finding one-time uses for the ARRA funds, including purchasing equipment and software, developing digital content, creating professional development programs for educators, and building a knowledge base for educational technology. These uses of funds do not require a sustained investment from states or the federal government.

The Continuing Resolution, a temporary spending bill passed by Congress in September to extend fiscal year 2010 funding levels into fiscal year 2011 in the absence of an approved appropriations bill, is set to expire on Friday. Save for a last minute reauthorization of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act in the next couple of weeks, it seems likely that Congress will fund EETT at $100 million for fiscal year 2011 – the same amount as in 2010. As EETT ARRA funds run out at the end of 2011, however, states and school districts will face a significant drop in funding, assuming the program continues to exist. With the long-term future of federal support for EETT in jeopardy, we’ll be interested to see how states and LEAs use their remaining ARRA EETT funds.

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Friday News Roundup: Week of November 15-19

By
Emilie Deans

November 19, 2010

Montana Governor’s Proposed Budget Includes Increase for Higher Education

South Carolina Legislators Consider Cutting 10 Days from the School Year

Outgoing Ohio Governor Worries that Race to the Top Funds Are in Jeopardy

Texas Schools No Longer Spared from Budget Cuts

Montana Governor’s Proposed Budget Includes Increase for Higher Education
Montana Governor Brian Schweitzer this week released his proposed budget for the 2012-13 fiscal biennium, which included an increase in aid for higher education. Members of the state Board of Regents for higher education were concerned that the absence of federal stimulus funds in the coming biennium would mean severe cuts in aid to colleges and universities, but Governor Schweitzer’s proposal would more than compensate for the lack of federal funds. Federal stimulus funds from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 accounted for $31 million in spending for higher education in Montana’s fiscal 2010-11 biennium, meaning the state would have to increase state funding by $31 million in 2012-13 to make up for the loss of these funds. Governor Schweitzer’s proposal would increase state aid for higher education by $39 million in 2012-13, $8 million more than needed to cover the gap left by the ARRA funds. The increase is intended to cover increasing enrollment and increasing costs due to inflation. More here…

South Carolina Legislators Consider Cutting 10 Days from the School Year
South Carolina legislators are considering cutting the school year by 10 days as they struggle to fill the state’s projected $1 billion budget shortfall in fiscal year 2011. The move would cut the school year from 180 days to 170 days, which would save an estimated $200 million. State Department of Education Spokesman Pete Pillow warned legislators that dramatically cutting the school year would ultimately hurt the state’s economy more than it would help. He warned that cutting 10 days of teacher and school staff pay would drive down their spending, and that parents would be stuck paying for 10 more days of child care. In addition, Pillow expressed concern that a short school year as it would negatively affect workforce preparation, driving businesses from the state. More here…

Outgoing Ohio Governor Worries that Race to the Top Funds Are in Jeopardy
Outgoing Ohio Governor Ted Strickland this week reached out to U.S. Education Secretary Arne Duncan to express concern about Ohio’s Race to the Top (RttT) funds. Governor Strickland is concerned that Ohio may lose its $400 million RttT grant if Governor-elect John Kasich scraps the evidence-based school-funding model that was part of the state’s RttT application. The school funding model was formulated based on months of research and hearings across the state, and uses research on what schools need to be successful to determine how much money each school district needs to provide those components. According to Governor Strickland, the formula was the centerpiece of the state’s RttT application, and without it Ohio’s score would likely fall below that of New Jersey, which scored three points below Ohio and did not receive a RttT grant. Governor-elect Kasich insists that the formula was only a small piece of the state’s plan and that the grant would not be jeopardized by scrapping it. More here…

Texas Schools No Longer Spared from Budget Cuts
Until now, Texas schools have felt little impact from the economic downturn. However, in the state’s 2012-13 fiscal biennium, that will almost certainly change. Lawmakers will begin work in January to fill a projected $24 billion shortfall in the 2012-13 budget. They warn that they see no way to reduce spending without affecting schools and are likely to cut $3 to $5 billion from the K-12 education budget. While grant programs for teacher incentive pay and prekindergarten programs are likely to be the first to go, state legislators have hinted that the $37 billion Foundation School Program – the state’s basic school funding mechanism – is also likely to see cuts. The K-12 education budget made up about 40 percent of the state’s overall budget in 2010-11, so lawmakers say it would be nearly impossible to trim the budget without affecting schools. More here…

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NEA Encourages Move to Growth Models for AYP

By
Emilie Deans

November 16, 2010

This week, the National Education Association (NEA) added its voice to a group of organizations calling for relief from the regulations of the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB), the most recent version of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA). The NEA and other groups (like the American Association of School Administrators and the National School Boards Association) are calling on the U.S. Department of Education (ED) to ease regulations under the law, giving schools, districts, and states increased flexibility as they await reauthorization.

Citing increased financial pressure on school districts caused by the economic recession, the NEA letter suggests eight ways for ED to relax regulations without compromising the original intent of NCLB. Currently, these regulations place several restrictions on school districts such as requiring 100 percent of students to score proficient or above on NCLB tests by the 2013-14 school year or 100 percent of teachers in classrooms to be considered “highly qualified.” The fourth recommendation in their letter caught our eye. It suggests that ED “expedite the invitation and approval of valid and reliable growth models to measure changes in student performance.” This proposal would enable all states to use student growth models instead of achievement levels to determine whether their schools meet Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP).

Currently, states use assessments developed under NCLB guidelines to test students’ math and reading proficiency in each grade in a given year and determine AYP status. Under this model, a school does not reach AYP if a certain percentage of any subgroup of students does not score proficient or above in a specific grade or subject matter. Progress or growth does not currently factor in to AYP determinations. Many have argued that this system doesn’t adequately measure student achievement because it does not recognize gains in student learning, only whether or not a certain percentage of students have reached a somewhat arbitrary goal. Under a growth model system, AYP would be determined at least in part by growth in student learning throughout the year, allowing educators to measure the degree to which students have made achievement gains in that time span.

ED has already begun to invest in the development of growth models in the states. ED started an NCLB growth model pilot program in 2005. States that had showed progress under the original AYP system were eligible to apply to the pilot program, which would allow them to incorporate growth models into their AYP determinations. Eight states were approved to participate in the growth model pilot program in the first school year, and seven more states were added in subsequent school years for a total of 15 participating states. According to a 2010 ED report on the original eight states in the pilot program, the use of growth models in AYP determinations lead to more schools making AYP each year. The effect was especially great in high-poverty schools (about an 8 percent increase in the number of schools meeting AYP when growth models are used, versus 3 percent in low-poverty schools). According to the report, this could help states and school districts target efforts at schools where both proficiency and growth are low.

Additionally, growth models play a significant role in Race to the Top, a new $4.4 billion federal competitive grant program to encourage state reform efforts. One of the four areas of focus in the Race to the Top (RttT) grant competition was “building data systems that measure student growth and success, and inform teachers and principals about how they can improve instruction.” As a result, several states included plans to integrate student growth models into their teacher assessment systems in their winning applications. For example, Florida will use past research on value-added analysis and the expertise of a special committee to build a measure of student growth as part of its state assessment system. School districts in Florida that are participating in Race to the Top will integrate the student growth model into their teacher and principal assessment systems. Teachers will be able to access their own student growth data through a new data portal that will also be created through the Race to the Top grant.

Both the RttT and the NCLB growth model pilot program have laid a solid foundation for states to develop meaningful growth models. And the Obama Administration made clear in its “Blueprint for Education Reform” that a measure of student growth should be included in the reauthorization of ESEA. No doubt, growth models will play a significant role in educational assessment in the coming years, particularly as the research is more refined and states become more familiar and comfortable with using them. Until ESEA is reauthorized by Congress, however, adjustments to NCLB regulations will just tinker around the edges of a flawed piece of legislation. We hope Congress prioritizes tackling ESEA in the coming months so that growth models and other important reforms can be implemented soon.

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Friday News Roundup: Week of November 8-12

By
Emilie Deans

November 12, 2010

University of Missouri President Warns of Likely Tuition Increases

Florida Voters Reject Class Size Flexibility Measure, Costing the State About $1 Billion

Kansas Schools Face $50 Million Budget Shortfall

Teacher Evaluation Plan Hiccup Could Cost Maryland its Race to the Top Award

University of Missouri President Warns of Likely Tuition Increases
University of Missouri President Gary Forsee this week warned that tuition for the University of Missouri system is likely to increase in the 2011-12 school year. He estimated that the tuition increase would be between 8 and 15 percent. Over the past two years, Governor Jay Nixon has maintained higher education funding at the same level, allowing institutions to keep tuition more or less steady. However, Forsee expects this coming year to be different, estimating that institutions of higher education will see an 8 to 10 percent cut in state aid. In addition to tuition hikes, Forsee said institutions will reduce staff, freeze salaries, and eliminate programs to offset the cuts. More here…

Florida Voters Reject Class Size Flexibility Measure, Costing the State About $1 Billion
Voters in Florida last week rejected a measure that would have allowed more flexibility in the number of students in classrooms around the state. This will cost school districts and the state around $1 billion in classroom fees and teacher salaries. The measure would have amended a 2002 ballot measure passed by Florida voters requiring a certain teacher-to-pupil ratio and increased classroom size requirements for the current 2010-11 school year to 2009-10 school year levels. The measure’s failure will likely mean higher property taxes around the state since state money for classroom size reduction is already maxed out. State legislators say they will work to find a way to restore some flexibility to schools. More here…

Kansas Schools Face $50 Million Budget Shortfall
Kansas education officials this week announced that more cuts to the state’s K-12 education budget are likely in the current 2011 fiscal year. The cuts are a result of a $50 million shortfall in the state’s education budget caused by increases in enrollment and the number of students eligible for free and reduced price lunches, and decreases in statewide property tax revenues. According to officials, this would equate to a $75 drop in per-pupil state aid, which is currently $4,012. Adding to school districts’ anxiety, Kansas Governor-Elect Sam Brownback has vowed to implement a spending freeze across the state budget next year. This would mean that federal stimulus dollars, which expire at the end of the current fiscal year, would not be replaced with state aid. This would mean an additional $300 drop in per-pupil funding. More here…

Teacher Evaluation Plan Hiccup Could Cost Maryland its Race to the Top Award
A change in the way teachers are evaluated could cost Maryland its $250 million in federal Race to the Top funds. In the state’s application for the competitive federal grant program, the state Board of Education said it planned to base 50 percent of teacher evaluations on a measure of student progress. However, a state legislative committee this week changed the student progress portion of the evaluations to 35 percent and explicitly rejected any plan where student progress accounted for 50 percent of the evaluation. While the U.S. Department of Education has not made clear whether this will cost Maryland its grant, U.S. Education Secretary Arne Duncan has encouraged state leaders to “keep moving forward.” State Superintendent of Schools Nancy Grasmick explained that if Maryland does lose points for the change, it is likely that another state would become eligible to receive grant funds instead of Maryland. More here...

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Friday News Roundup: Week of November 1-5

By
Emilie Deans

November 5, 2010

Oklahoma Officials Seek New Sources for Education Funding

Wisconsin Governor-Elect Asks University Regents for Help Creating Jobs

Washington Governor Considers Special Session to Close Budget Gap

Colorado Governor Submits Budget Proposal that is Hard on Schools

Oklahoma Officials Seek New Sources for Education Funding
Oklahoma voters this week rejected State Question 744, a proposal that would have provided $830 million in additional funds for schools. The proposal would have amended the state constitution to require Oklahoma’s per pupil spending on k-12 education to at least equal that of other states in the region. Accordingly, it would have raised per pupil spending by about $1,300, the regional average. Oklahoma spends less per student than all but two states in the country. Newly-elected schools superintendent Janet Barresi opposed the measure, explaining that she believes the state’s schools can operate more efficiently with the money they already receive. Barresi said her first act as superintendent in January will be to conduct a full audit of the state’s Education Department. More here…

Wisconsin Governor-Elect Asks University Regents for Help Creating Jobs
Wisconsin Governor-Elect Scott Walker this week asked the University of Wisconsin System’s regents to assist him in his goal of creating 250,000 jobs in the state. However, he asked for this help without offering any additional funding to the UW System, which has seen budget cuts in recent years that led to reduced services, increased class sizes, and lower staff salaries. Now Governor-Elect Walker says he expects the UW System to use flexibility and creativity to do more without asking for more money, and UW System regents are seeking changes that would allow them to spend money more efficiently. This includes decreased state regulation of UW System construction projects, salaries, and purchasing of goods and services. They see Governor-Elect Walker’s comments as a signal that he may be open to some of these changes. More here…

Washington Governor Considers Special Session to Close Budget Gap
Washington Governor Chris Gregoire is considering calling a special session of the state legislature to address the state’s $4.5 billion fiscal year 2011 budget gap. Legislators say cuts are likely to come from education, assistance for the disabled and individuals cannot work, health care for low-income residents, and state employee benefits. While the state’s basic education funding formula is written into the constitution and cannot be cut, there are some areas in the education budget that are likely to see reductions. K-12 class sizes are likely to increase, and tuition at the state’s public colleges and universities may go up. In addition, legislators are considering cutting all-day kindergarten. While cuts to K-12 and higher education are likely to be unpopular with voters, lawmakers say they are necessary to balance the budget. More here…

Colorado Governor Submits Budget Proposal that is Hard on Schools
Colorado Governor Bill Ritter this week submitted his fiscal year 2012 budget proposal, which includes an increase of $43 million for K-12 education and holds higher education funding at the same levels as the current 2011 fiscal year. While Governor Ritter doesn’t propose cuts from state funding, his budget does leave the state’s fiscal year 2012 education budget in worse shape than in 2011. For K-12 education, despite the $43 million increase in actual dollars, projected increases in enrollment will leave public schools under-funded by about $92 million. And for higher education, though state funding remains steady, federal stimulus funding that made up about $89 million in fiscal year 2011 is no longer available for the fiscal year 2012 budget. In addition, state lawmakers say Governor Ritter’s budget may include $300 million more in spending that the state expects in revenue, which could lead to more cuts. More here…

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Friday News Roundup: Week of October 25-29

By
Emilie Deans

October 29, 2010

Alabama Education Officials Call for Change to Education Funding Structure

Oregon Higher Education Enrollment Rising Along with Costs

Texas Higher Education Agency Calls for Reinvention of Public Higher Education

Louisiana Governor Orders Cuts to Higher Education, Other Agencies to Rebalance Budget

Alabama Education Official Calls for Change to Education Funding Structure
Alabama Deputy State Superintendent of Education Craig Pouncey this week told the State Board of Education that the Alabama tax system is no longer an adequate funding source for the state’s education budget. Citing stagnant tax collections and budget cuts over the past three years, Pouncey said that relying on tax collections that fluctuate with the economy puts necessary educational services in danger. Pouncey noted that the state will likely have to make across-the-board cuts to the current 2011 budget because tax collections continue to be lower than expected. In addition, unlike other states, local communities rely almost entirely on state funding to support education instead of local property taxes and other sources. Because low income areas have lower property tax revenues than higher income areas, they are especially susceptible to state budget reductions. More here…

Oregon Higher Education Enrollment Rising Along with Costs
Enrollment at all seven of Oregon’s state universities and 17 community colleges is predicted to reach a record high this school year. But with cuts to the state’s higher education grant programs, many students will pay more in tuition. Officials say tuition increases are likely in the 2011-12 school year, but students may feel the effects even sooner. The Oregon Student Assistance Commission’s budget was cut by $7 million in the fiscal year 2011 budget. And with higher than expected enrollment, which led more students to claim the grants for which they qualified, the Commission awarded $76.7 million in grants – significantly more than it could pay for. The Commission may have to cut grant awards for the winter and fall semesters of the current 2010-11 school year and will likely award fewer grants in the 2011-12 school year given its current fiscal year 2011 budget of $22.5 million. More here…

Texas Higher Education Agency Calls for Reinvention of Public Higher Education
The Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board this week recommended that Governor Rick Perry and the state legislature reduce spending on higher education by revising the state funding formulas for institutions of higher education and financial aid. The board’s proposal, which would require legislative action, would make 10 percent of funding for the state’s colleges and universities dependent on student outcomes. For four-year institutions, this would include graduation rates, number of degrees awarded, degrees awarded to students from low-income families or other at-risk groups, and number of degrees awarded in high-need fields like science, technology, engineering, and math. Similar indicators would be used for community colleges. Currently, funding is strictly tied to enrollment numbers. Changes would also be made to the Texas Grants program which provides financial aid to students from low-income families. Under the Board’s proposal, students with strong academic credentials would get priority for aid. More here…

Louisiana Governor Orders Cuts to Higher Education, Other Agencies to Rebalance Budget
This week, Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal cut $107 million from the state’s fiscal year 2011 budget, with most cuts coming from higher education and health care. About one third of the cut – $35 million – would come from the state higher education budget. Most of these cuts would come from the Louisiana State University system, which has said it will cut spending on its animal disease lab and close parts of a new research facility. The Southern University system has said it will have to lay off 36 employees. The $107 million cut is necessary because the state overspent in fiscal year 2010 compared to tax collections for the fiscal year, which ended in June. Since state law doesn’t allow deficit spending, Governor Jindal had to rebalance the current fiscal year 2011 budget to make up for last year’s revenue shortfall. More here…

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Improving Teacher Performance Assessments

By
Emilie Deans

October 26, 2010

The Obama Administration has repeatedly stressed the importance of measuring teacher effectiveness as part of a reform agenda for K-12 education. In both the Blueprint for Education Reform - Obama’s platform for K-12 education policy - and subsequent policy proposals, the Administration has made clear that they want to strengthen the federal government’s role in supporting teacher evaluation systems. The Administration’s focus on teacher evaluation makes last week’s report, Evaluating Teacher Effectiveness, by the Center for American Progress especially timely. It discusses how rigorous teacher performance assessments could be used to measure teachers’ success in the classroom, including an in-depth look at one approach to improving the quality of teachers in every classroom, the Teacher Performance Assessment Consortium.

As the Consortium implements pilot programs and stakeholders begin to better understand how to assess teachers, the Obama Administration and state legislators should take note. States and school districts can use data from the assessments to improve teacher preparation and professional development programs. The federal government can use the data to target grant funds through new or existing federal programs to support effective teacher training and development programs.

The report by Dr. Linda Darling-Hammond describes current efforts among 20 states to create a common teacher assessment system that could be used for teacher certification and evaluation. The teacher performance assessments (TPAs) used to evaluate teachers would be portfolio-based, similar to the National Board Certification process. Teachers would be assessed through classroom videos, teacher self-reflections, content reviews, and student and teacher feedback combined with data on student performance on different types of tests. Pilot programs began in the 2010-11 school year and will be scaled up over the coming years. By 2015, the consortium hopes to have nationally available TPA systems for initial teacher licensing, professional licensing, and advanced certification. Current teacher in-take and evaluation systems do not provide enough information to properly assess teachers’ strengths and weaknesses, but the consortium hopes that with more advanced assessments, principals and other instructional leaders could better place, support, and reward teachers.

Not only can states and school districts use these assessments to make staffing decisions, but experience with the National Board Certification process suggests that teachers can also use the self-assessment process to improve their practice in the classroom. Because the program requires teachers to self-reflect on their own strengths and weaknesses, many who have gone through the National Board Certification program have used this process to improve their teaching strategies and be more responsive to the needs of students. Aggregated results from these evaluations can also help inform professional development and teacher preparation programs.

Darling-Hammond’s report has important implications for the Obama Administration’s proposal for the reauthorization of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) as described in the Blueprint for Education Reform. The Blueprint would attempt to streamline the teacher quality grant programs under current law under a broader, more flexible umbrella program. At present, there are 15 federal programs targeted at improving the quality of teachers in K-12 classrooms and making the teaching profession more attractive to both current and potential new teachers. In fiscal year 2010, these programs cost a total of $3.9 billion, or 5.9 percent of the U.S. Department of Education’s discretionary budget. The Improving Teacher Quality State Grants program, for example, is the largest federal program devoted to K-12 teachers. The $2.9 billion program provides states with formula grants to implement activities that increase the number of highly qualified teachers, principals, and assistant principals in high-need classrooms and schools. Local educational agencies (LEAs) can use funds for activities to improve teacher quality, including implementing and improving teacher assessment programs.

Under the Blueprint, federal support for K-12 teacher programs would be reorganized, combining programs with similar purposes under a few large pools of money. The Effective Teachers and Leaders formula grant program would replace Improving Teacher Quality State Grants, combining the program with others focused on strengthening teacher effectiveness. The Effective Teachers and Leaders grants would be flexible, so that states and school districts can use funds as they see fit to meet the needs of students in their communities.

As the TPA pilot programs progress and stakeholders better understand how to assess teachers, the Obama Administration and state legislators should pay close attention. States and school districts can use the TPA systems to develop teacher preparation and professional development programs, collect quality data on beginning teacher effectiveness, and create coherent assessment systems for all stages of a teacher’s career. The federal government could use new or existing teacher quality grant funds to support these assessments and the training and development programs they show to be effective.

Check back with Ed Money Watch for updates on the progress of these assessments and the data they provide on teacher effectiveness.

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