The major federal education programs that provide funding for kindergarten through 12^th grade education are due to be extended or re-authorized in the 106^th Congress. These programs include the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA), the Improving America's Schools Act of 1994 (IASA), Goals 2000, and Title VII of the Stewart B. McKinney Homeless Assistance Act (Education for Homeless Children and Youth). Although these are separate programs and separate legislation, they are referred to collectively as ESEA.

Both the Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee in the Senate and the Education and Workforce Committee in the House of Representatives have been holding hearings regarding the ESEA reauthorization since March. Both Committees plan to process ESEA-related bills at the full committee level rather than take the traditional approach of first considering bills in the appropriate subcommittee.

The first bill to be considered this year was the Education Flexibility Partnership Act of 1999 (Ed-Flex). Ed-Flex allows states to waive many federal statutory and regulatory requirements, including Title I requirements. Ed-Flex passed both the Senate and House and was signed into law by the President on April 29^th. Although the House and the Senate coordinated schedules in order to pass Ed-Flex, the chambers have much different schedules for the remaining ESEA legislation.

Senate

The Senate plans to continue hearings throughout the end of this congressional term, and to take up the first bills in January of next year. The Senate is likely to consider ESEA as one package of legislation, but no final decision has been announced.

House of Representatives

The story is very different in the House. The Education and Workforce Committee, chaired by Representative Bill Goodling (R-PA), plans to separate the major titles or provisions of ESEA into individual bills. The following order has been set for considering the legislation:

Professional Development. The Teacher Empowerment Act of 1999 (TEA) includes the professional development aspects of ESEA, IASA, and Goals 2000, as well as the President's class-size reduction proposal. TEA consolidates these programs to give states more choice in the kinds of teacher-improvement programs they use, but with the stipulation that schools must improve student achievement. Also, TEA provides grants to allow localities to reduce class size by hiring more teachers and re-authorizes the Reading Excellence Act. The House Education and Workforce Committee passed TEA on June 30^th; full House is expected to consider the bill during the week of July 12^th.

Title I. Title I encompasses the education to disadvantaged students programs, with funds distributed to states via a formula based on the number of impoverished students who attend schools in each state. Although no legislation has yet been introduced to reauthorize Title I, the Education and Workforce Committee plans to consider this issue in the fall. The debate is likely to center around the President's accountability proposals and the Republican priority of increased flexibility and local control. The President's proposals to increase accountability include turning around low-performing schools, ending social promotion, and requiring 95% of teachers in schools receiving Title I funds to be certified.

Safe and Drug Free Schools. The Education and Workforce Committee has not indicated whether a separate bill will be offered to reauthorize the Safe and Drug Free Schools Programs, or if the programs will be included in a larger block grant proposal. Given the recent episodes of school violence and the heightened profile of this issue, it is likely that the Safe and Drug Free Schools Programs may be re-authorized as an individual bill. The President's proposal emphasizes the use of research-based programs; targets funds to communities experiencing high levels of violence, drug use, or both (rather than providing funds to all schools); helps school districts respond to violent crises through School Emergency Response to Violence (Project SERV); and requires a mental health assessment of every student who brings a gun to school.

Straight A's. Under the "Academic Achievement for All Act" (Straight A's Act), states and localities can choose to waive the requirements of most of the remaining ESEA programs in order to spend the money as they see fit. The programs consolidated under this proposal include: Title I, The Even Start Literacy programs, Education for Migratory Children, State and Local Professional Development Grants, School Technology Resource Grants, Safe and Drug Free Schools, Innovative Education Program Strategies, the Emergency Immigrant Education Program, and Education for Homeless Children and Youth. In order to waive the requirements of these programs, states and localities must provide a report to the Department of Education detailing their plan for increasing and measuring student achievement. The states and localities must also provide a report at the end of the five year grant period detailing their success in achieving these goals. Although programs such as Safe and Drug Free Schools and Technology Resource Grants are included in the proposal, the proposal does not require states to meet goals for technology education or school safety. The Straight A's Act was introduced by Chairman Goodling on June 22. The Education and Workforce Committee has not yet indicated when action on the Straight A's Act may occur.

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