Tuesday, June 23, 2020

House Democrats offer $130B school construction wish list — Pence, DeVos hit the road again to plug school choice — Colleges race toward a sport season like no other

Delivered daily by 10 a.m., Morning Education examines the latest news in education politics and policy.
Jun 23, 2020 View in browser
 
2018 Newsletter Logo: Morning Education

By Juan Perez Jr.

With help from Bianca Quilantan

Programming announcement: Our newsletters are evolving. Morning Education will continue to publish daily for POLITICO Pro subscribers, but starting on July 13th will consolidate to a weekly newsletter for all others. There will be no changes to the policy newsletters available to POLITICO Pro subscribers. To continue to receive Morning Education daily, as well as access POLITICO Pro's full suite of policy tools and trackers, get in touch about a Pro subscription. Already a Pro subscriber? Learn more here.

Quick Fix

House Democrats are calling for $130 billion to upgrade the nation's poorest public schools as part of their sweeping infrastructure proposal.

Vice President Mike Pence says he and Education Secretary Betsy DeVos are headed back to Wisconsin today to talk about school choice.

Billions of dollars are at stake as colleges work toward a coronavirus-tinged fall sports season.

WELCOME TO TUESDAY JUNE 23. President Donald Trump will sign an executive order extending a freeze on green cards and barring most categories of foreign workers through the end of the year. Florida politicians signaled concern over a dramatic uptick in the state's coronavirus infection rate. Here's one look on how America became "the new Italy" of the coronavirus pandemic.

Here's your daily reminder to send tips to today's host at jperez@politico.com — and also colleagues Nicole Gaudiano (ngaudiano@politico.com), Michael Stratford (mstratford@politico.com) and Bianca Quilantan (bquilantan@politico.com). Share your event listings with educalendar@politicopro.com . And don't forget to follow us on Twitter: @Morning_Edu and @POLITICOPro.

 

Get the free POLITICO news app for the critical updates you need. Breaking news, analysis, videos, and podcasts, right at your fingertips. Download for iOS and Android.

 
Driving the Day

A $130 BILLION PROPOSAL FOR SCHOOL INFRASTRUCTURE: House Education and Labor Chair Bobby Scott's (D-Va.) office on Monday detailed the "Reopen and Rebuild America's Schools Act," which is included in the broader "Moving Forward Act," H.R. 2 (116). Here are some key provisions, which are further summarized by Bianca Quilantan:

The bill would provide $100 billion in grants and $30 billion in bond authority for high-poverty schools that need upgrades to their buildings for safety.

Fiscal 2020 program dollars would be focused on reopening schools in line with CDC health guidelines and could be used to improve digital learning, including expanding access to high-speed broadband.

The money cannot be used for things like central offices, athletic stadiums, or other buildings that are not primarily used for instruction but are mostly used for events where admission is charged to the general public.

Funds can't be used by public charter schools if the school leases the facilities from a private entity, or is managed by a private entity with a direct or indirect financial interest.

What's next: The legislation to expected to pass the House before the July 4th recess, but it will likely will face opposition from Senate Republicans.

 

BUILDING A SUSTAINABLE FUTURE - A DIFFERENT KIND OF NEWSLETTER : Are you interested in creating a sustainable future for generations to come? Our sustainability newsletter, "The Long Game," is designed for executives, investors and policymakers who lead crucial conversations about how society can continue to thrive. Join the sharpest minds for a discussion about the most significant challenges from pandemics to plastics, climate change to land use, inequality and the future of work. Winners play the long game, subscribe today.

 
 
DeVos Today

ON THE ROAD AGAIN: Pence tweeted that he and DeVos would travel to Wisconsin today "for a roundtable on the importance of school choice in our Country." They will visit Waukesha STEM Academy, which is about 25 minutes west from Milwaukee, according to Wisconsin Radio Network.

— "No family in America should be denied the ability to choose their child's school because of their zip code or income," Pence said. DeVos also joined him in Wisconsin in January to deliver remarks at the Wisconsin School Choice Student Showcase.

Remember President Donald Trump's words last week? "We're fighting for school choice, which really is the civil rights of all time in this country," the president said while signing a separate executive order.

DeVos is also scheduled to talk about the department's controversial Title IX rule during a 1 p.m. webcast with The Federalist Society . Robert Eitel, senior counselor to DeVos, and Candice Jackson, deputy chief of staff for policy and deputy general counsel at the department, are also scheduled to join. The event is closed to the press.

House Oversight Chair Carolyn Maloney (D-N.Y.), along with panel members Jackie Speier (D-Calif.), Brenda Lawrence (D-Mich.) and Ayanna Pressley (D-Mass.), submitted an updated demand to DeVos' administration for documents related to the Title IX rule on Monday.

K-12

CHICAGO'S SCHOOL BOARD TO ADDRESS COPS ON CAMPUS: A resolution before the Chicago Board of Education for its monthly meeting on Wednesday would terminate the school system's relationship with the Chicago Police Department, which places hundreds of police personnel in city campuses at an annual cost of up to $33 million.

A separate measure would require public schools chief Janice Jackson to find "alternatives" to the school resource officer program. WTTW's Matt Masterson reports that the school district itself opposes the move, saying decisions on school police should be made at the campus level.

FEDERAL SPECIAL EDUCATION OFFICIALS RELEASE NEW GUIDANCE: The two "Q&A" documents address coronavirus-era dispute resolution procedures under Part B and Part C of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act.

Is this mandatory guidance? No, says the Education Department. Officials wrote the documents do not "impose any additional requirements beyond those included in applicable law and regulations" and that the responses "generally constitute informal guidance" on the department's interpretation of the law and regulatory requirements. They are "not legally binding" and do not "establish a policy or rule that would apply in all circumstances."

The department's Q&A could still answer some pressing questions for parents and educators, especially when it comes to deadlines and the use of virtual meetings to resolve disagreements about special education concerns.

COURTROOM UPDATE: A federal judge denied the Chicago Teachers Union's request for a preliminary injunction to stop Chicago Public Schools and DeVos from enforcing regulations on creating remote learning plans for special education students due to the coronavirus.

The union had argued the directives created an "impossible burden" for special education teachers, and, without a court-ordered waiver, its members "would be required to conduct a whole scale redrafting" of some 60,000 learning plans. Bianca has the story.

MORE ON MASKS: The California Department of Public Health quietly removed an exemption for K-12 schools and child care centers in the state's mask order, saying the language had been "misinterpreted." That leaves open the possibility that California could still require students to wear masks when they return to campus. POLITICO's Mackenzie Mays has the story.

CUTS ARE COMING: "Many states suffering revenue declines because of the coronavirus outbreak will cut K-12 funding," a recent report from Moody's Investors Service concluded. That will leave school districts having to raise revenue, reduce expenses or draw down reserves.

"Many districts receive a material amount of revenue from property taxes, limiting their vulnerability to cuts , but they also face legal or political challenges to raising revenue and cutting spending," analysts said.

"Positively, many districts that closed this spring expect surpluses in the current fiscal year because of cost savings," Moody's said. "The way in which schools reopen will also have impact on financial risk in the form of added expenses and on social risk with either increased virus transmission risk or the risk of failing to provide an acceptable level of service."

 

JOIN TOMORROW 1 p.m. EDT - THE SPEED OF SCIENCE POST-COVID-19: What does the future of science in a post-Covid-19 world look like? What lessons can we learn to accelerate medical research outside of the coronavirus? How can newly developed drugs and vaccines be distributed equitably? What can we do to minimize misinformation from flawed or inaccurate scientific studies published during a public health emergency? Join Patrick Steel, CEO of POLITICO, and Alexander Hardy, CEO of Genentech, for this critical and timely discussion. REGISTER HERE.

 
 
Higher Education

COLLEGES ARE RACING TOWARD A SPORTS SEASON UNLIKE ANY OTHER: And, so far, it's not going well. Three months after Covid-19 halted March Madness basketball tournaments, college leaders are wading through evolving information about the disease and its ability to spread through contact sports.

But as states reopen, lockdowns lift and infections smolder in some areas, the prospect of a virus-tinged sports season underscores broader tensions between safety and the billions in revenue athletic programs bring in. Read more from your host.

MIXED RULING ON PSLF LAWSUIT: A federal judge dismissed the American Federation of Teachers and its president, Randi Weingarten, as plaintiffs in their lawsuit against DeVos that accuses her of mishandling the Public Service Loan Forgiveness program, while allowing individual borrowers to move ahead with their claims. The judge ruled that the union lacked standing, but the broader case is still alive.

The lawsuit, which was filed last July, also features eight student loan borrowers who are teachers or work in public service jobs as individual plaintiffs. The judge ruled that two of the claims brought by some of those individual borrowers could proceed while siding with the Trump administration in its bid to reject another of their claims.

— "I would be axed from a case any day to keep my members in it," Weingarten said in a statement. Michael Stratford has more.

COLLEGES AND UNIVERSITIES HAVE A NEW WAY TO REPORT FOREIGN GIFTS, CONTRACTS: The Education Department on Monday unveiled a new portal to report such deals. Lawmakers and the Trump administration have intensified their focus on academia's relationships with foreign countries, and China specifically. Bianca has more details on what's next.

 

Advertisement Image

 
Report Roundup

Stand For Children released its "Guide to Preventing a Lost School Year."

Syllabus

— How the coronavirus could change the way Kansas students are taught for decades: Wichita Eagle

— Colorado College president prepares to exit nearly 3 decades in higher education: Colorado Springs Gazette

— Canada's largest school district ended its police program. Now Toronto may be an example for U.S. districts considering the same: Chalkbeat

 

Follow us on Twitter

Jane Norman @janenorman

Michael Stratford @mstratford

Nicole Gaudiano @ngaudiano

Bianca Quilantan @biancaquilan

Juan Perez Jr. @PerezJr

 

Follow us

Follow us on Facebook Follow us on Twitter Follow us on Instagram Listen on Apple Podcast
 

To change your alert settings, please log in at https://login.politico.com/_login?base=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.politico.com

This email was sent to wedidit1@krushx.com by: POLITICO, LLC 1000 Wilson Blvd. Arlington, VA, 22209, USA

Please click here and follow the steps to unsubscribe.

No comments:

Post a Comment