K-12 Education

Democratic and Republican Committee Members are working on a bipartisan reform of the nation’s primary federal education law, the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) – currently known as No Child Left Behind.

Five decades after Brown v. Board of Education, we still do not offer all children the same educational opportunities. In addition to the achievement gap between low-income and minority children and their peers, American students suffer from a second kind of achievement gap when compared globally. Across income and background levels in math and science, our children go from among the top students in the world in the fourth grade to near the bottom by the twelfth grade. We have one of the highest dropout rates in the world. The Committee on Education and Labor is working to close the achievement gap so all children are able to get the skills they need to succeed.

Key Legislation:

Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) Reauthorization -- currently known as No Child Left Behind (NCLB)
The Graduation for All Act of 2009
21st Century Green High-Performing Public Schools Facilities Act »
American Recovery and Reinvestment Act »
No Child Left Inside Act »
WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Rep. George Miller (D-CA), the chairman of the House Education and Labor Committee, and U.S. Rep. Rush Holt (D-NJ), issued the following statement after the National Assessment Governing Board released its report on the 2009 12th Grade National Assessment of Education Progress (NAEP), which measures the progress of high school seniors across the country in math and reading. For the first time this year, the report showed the performance of high school seniors in 11 states. The report shows that 12th graders nationwide improved in math and reading since 2005, but the average reading score was lower as compared with scores from 1992. 

National School Lunch Week: News of the Day

This week is National School Lunch Week (October 11-15), as proclaimed by President Obama:

"No child should have to learn on an empty stomach.  Nearly 65 years ago, America made protecting the health of our children a national priority by developing the National School Lunch Program.  This groundbreaking program has prevented hunger and promoted education by enabling our young people to have access to safe, balanced, and affordable meals at school.  It has also supported their development, encouraged their learning capacity, and instilled life-long healthy habits.  This year, during National School Lunch Week, we recognize the vital importance of this historic program, and we recommit to serving meals that will contribute to the health and well-being of a new generation."

...

"NOW, THEREFORE, I, BARACK OBAMA, President of the United States of America, do hereby proclaim the week of October 10 through October 16, 2010, as National School Lunch Week.  I call upon all Americans to join the dedicated individuals who administer the National School Lunch Program in appropriate activities that support the health and well-being of our Nation's children."

The Committee passed the Improving Nutrition for America’s Children Act (H.R. 5504) on July 14, 2010 to dramatically improve children’s access to nutritious meals, enhance the quality of meals children eat both in and out of school and in child care settings, implement new school food safety guidelines and, for the first time, establish nutrition standards for all foods sold in schools.
Chairman Miller, alongside NFL representatives, visited Pinole Valley High School on Monday to talk to students and parents in his congressional district about the dangers of concussions and unveil a new CDC poster that helps athletes understand the signs and symptoms of a concussion. The West County Times reported:

“A national campaign aimed at curtailing the number of brain injuries suffered by student athletes was introduced Monday at Pinole Valley High School, where a concussion awareness poster was unveiled at a news conference held by federal officials and representatives of the National Football League.

“‘There was a time when athletes who left the field because of a concussion were told to suck it up and go back out and play,’ said Rep. George Miller, D-Martinez. Instead, he said, athletes should be told, ‘When in doubt, sit it out.’

“The poster being distributed by the federal Centers for Disease Control is similar to one now found in NFL locker rooms and describes possible symptoms on brain injuries that could be worsened if not diagnosed.”

Chairman Miller also spoke about legislation he recently introduced, the Protecting Student Athletes from Concussions Act. San Francisco’s ABC affiliate, KGO, reported:

“Miller has introduced legislation that would set safety standards for public schools in dealing with concussions. This after hearing horror stories from student athletes during a Congressional hearing.

“‘In one case, a student is fully disabled because of an injury in a softball game with multiple concussions [which were] improperly diagnosed,’ says Miller.

“The stories were enough to move Miller to carry the ball on the danger of concussions.”

Watch a Contra Costa Times report on Chairman Miller's press conference below:


“This country keeps talking about – they want a moon shot, they want a Sputnik moment. Folks, this is it. Education is more gradual than a moon shot, but remember how the moon shot happened. It was free fellowships for the brightest people in this country to go to universities without borrowing money, without a job, just a focus on what this nation needed to land a man on the moon and bring him back. And we did it.”
-- Chairman George Miller at NBC's Education Nation Summit.


Chairman Miller was in New York City on September 28 taking part in NBC’s Education Nation Summit. Before discussing his views on education reform with other policymakers, teachers, students and parents he appeared on The Today Show, Squawk Box, and Morning Joe to discuss education policy and jobs.
 

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy


Watch Chairman Miller on Morning Joe, the Today Show and Squawk Box:


 
 

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy



In early March, the House approved legislation to protect children from harmful restraint and seclusion in school. The Keeping All Students Safe Act was a response to a 2009 GAO report that uncovered hundreds of allegations that schoolchildren have been abused, and some even died, as a result of inappropriate uses of seclusion and restraint in classrooms. These practices have been used disproportionately on children with disabilities. A recent article by NBC 8 of Grand Rapids, Mich. demonstrates the importance of this legislation:

“The family of a pre-schooler filed a lawsuit against the Mona Shores School District for restraining the disabled child in a chair for the entire school day for one semester, according to the suit.

“Ethan Holden was a special ed student at Ross Park Elementary School, documents say. His mother came to a class Christmas party in December 2008 and saw her son strapped in a chair, his feet lifted off the ground.

“She later learned this is how Ethan spent his days, the lawsuit says. Alan and Nichole Holden claim they were never informed of their son's restraint. Ethan has a speech problem and couldn't communicate easily with his teachers and other staff.

“The child had fallen over while strapped in the chair as he tried to escape, according to the suit, filed in July in U.S. District Court in Grand Rapids.”

The Holden family traveled to Washington, D.C. to speak with Chairman Miller about their experience in late 2009. The Keeping All Students Safe Act would establish minimum safety standards in schools to protect children like Ethan from this abuse.

Chairman Miller at NBC's Education Nation Summit

On September 28 at 11:30am ET, Chairman George Miller will join Education Secretary Arne Duncan and other elected officials in hearing from teachers, parents, students and principals at NBC's Education Nation Summit.  The panel, "Taking Our Ideas to the Policymakers," will be moderated by Brian Williams.  Watch live on MSNBC or on Education Nation's website.

Concussion Safety and Awareness is a Priority: News of the Day

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In the past four years, there were nearly 400,000 reported concussions in high school athletes. These young athletes are at the highest risk for long-term brain damage from concussions and often are not even aware that the injury has occurred.

The Education and Labor Committee today held a hearing on legislation that would better educate students, parents and coaches about the danger of concussions in young athletes. Witnesses included a former NFL player, a neurologist, a high school athlete and a mother grieving the loss of her young son. CNN reported on the hearing:

“The House Education and Labor Committee's hearing came after news last week about the first active college football player known to have a debilitating condition usually seen in retired or aging athletes who've suffered repeated head injuries.

“Researchers at the Boston University School of Medicine Center for the Study of Traumatic Encephalopathy revealed that a 21-year-old defensive lineman, Owen Thomas, had mild stages of a type of brain damage called chronic traumatic encephalopathy.

“Thomas, a captain of the University of Pennsylvania football team and a student at the Wharton School of Business, hung himself in his room in April.

 “Owen Thomas, 21, was found to have mild stages of a type of brain damage called chronic traumatic encephalopathyCTE, which is a type of brain damage, has been more typically seen in older former athletes and can cause neurobehavioral disorders and bizarre behavior, including suicide. It is impossible to determine whether Thomas' brain condition and suicide were linked.

“‘The only possible explanation we can see for the presence of CTE is that Owen started to play football at the age of 9,’ his mother, Rev. Katherine Brearley of Allentown, Pennsylvania, said in her testimony at the hearing.”

The Protecting Student Athletes from Concussions Act would help improve concussion safety and management for student athletes by requiring school districts to develop and implement a community-based plan for concussion safety and management.

And it’s not just football players who are at higher risk, as witness Alison Conca-Cheng showed. USA Today wrote:

“That point was brought home by Alison Conca-Cheng, a 17-year-old high school soccer player and honors student from Ellicott City, Md., who suffered a concussion when she collided with a teammate's head in a practice game.

“‘I had tunnel vision,’ she told the committee. ‘Then I had severe balance problems and lingering headaches. I was dazed and confused.’

“Conca-Cheng had taken a pre-season computerized baseline concussion test, which she was required to repeat after the injury. In two attempts, she failed to match her pre-injury scores on tests of short-term memory and reading and was kept out of practice for two weeks.”
WASHINGTON, D.C. – New legislation to set minimum safety standards for concussion management in public schools across the country would help protect student athletes, witnesses told the House Education and Labor Committee today. At the hearing, the National Football League (NFL) endorsed the legislation in a letter to U.S. Rep. George Miller (D-CA), chairman of the House Education and Labor Committee, noting, “The NFL is grateful for the opportunity to work closely with you in developing this important legislation which will further our shared goals of increasing concussion awareness and preventing these injuries among our youngest athletes, not only in football but in all sports.” 

H.R 6172, Protecting Student Athletes from Concussions Act

Full Committee Hearing 10:00 AM, September 23, 2010 2175 Rayburn H.O.B.
Washington, DC
On, Thursday, September 23, the House Education and Labor Committee discussed legislation to reduce and more safely manage concussions in student athletes.  At the request of several members of the Education and Labor Committee, the Government Accountability Office (GAO) investigated the prevalence of concussions in high school athletics and found that concussions often go unrecognized. Recent research shows that concussions can have serious repercussions for student athletes both on the field and in the classroom. During the 2005-2008 school years, an estimated 400,000 concussions occurred in high school athletics – brain injuries that often go unnoticed and untreated.

The Protecting Student Athletes from Concussions Act would establish minimum standards in K-12 schools on concussion safety and management, including educating students, parents and school personnel about how to recognize and respond to concussions. The Education and Labor Committee held a full committee hearing on the issue in May and hosted a field hearing in Long Island, New York in early September.

Protecting Student Athletes from Concussions Act

School sports are a great way for students to stay healthy while learning important team-building skills.  However, some students are staying in the game not recognizing the risks of playing hurt — especially when they’ve had a concussion.

Concussions for student athletes are a growing problem that demands immediate attention. According to recent research, high school athletes suffered 400,000 concussions in the 2005-2008 school years and studies show many sports-related concussions go unreported.

Youth athletes are at greater risk of sports-related concussions than college or professional athletes because their developing brains are more susceptible to injury. Female youth athletes are even more susceptible to concussions.

It’s up to parents and coaches to help recognize and make the decision to pull a student athlete off of the field, ice, court, or track if they think a student athlete might have a concussion. The Protecting Student Athletes from Concussions Act would make this decision easier by making sure school districts have concussion management plans that educate students, parents and school personnel about how to recognize and respond to concussions.

Specifically, this legislation will:

Increase Awareness of Concussion Signs, Symptoms and Risks

  • Provide student athletes with information about how to prevent and manage concussions by requiring school districts to develop and implement a standard, community-based plan for concussion safety and management, as well as conduct outreach to parents and students about concussion and the plan.

Improve Concussion Safety and Management for Student Athletes

  • Inform and empower student athletes, parents and school personnel about concussions by requiring schools to post information about concussions in a way that is publicly visible within the school and on the school website.
     
  • Support students’ health and recovery by implementing “when in doubt, sit it out” policies that require a student suspected of sustaining a concussion during a school-sponsored athletic activity to be removed from participation, prohibited from returning to play that day and evaluated by a health care professional. Parents must also be notified. 
     
  • Prevent prolonged recovery by making sure students recovering from concussions have the supports they need as they return to athletic and academic activities in school.

This Week: Hearing on Protecting Student Athletes from Concussions Act

On, Thursday, September 23, the Committee will examine legislation to reduce and more safely manage concussions in student athletes.  The Protecting Student Athletes from Concussions Act would establish minimum standards in K-12 schools on concussion safety and management, including educating students, parents and school personnel about how to recognize and respond to concussions.

At the request of several members of the Education and Labor Committee, the Government Accountability Office (GAO) investigated the prevalence of concussions in high school athletics and found that concussions often go unrecognized. Recent research shows that concussions can have serious repercussions for student athletes both on the field and in the classroom. During the 2005-2008 school years, an estimated 400,000 concussions occurred in high school athletics – brain injuries that often go unnoticed and untreated.

The Education and Labor Committee held a full committee hearing on the issue in May and hosted a field hearing in Long Island, New York in early September.
Today, while members of the Healthy Families and Communities Subcommittee held a hearing on concussions among young athletes, the medical journal Pediatrics published a study that showed a steady increase in traumatic brain injuries among youth basketball players. The authors concluded that, “the large number of injuries in this popular sport is cause for concern.”

CNN Health summarized the report and its implications:

“More and more children and teenagers are suffering traumatic brain injuries while playing basketball, according to a study published Monday in the journal Pediatrics.

“Researchers examined emergency room visits of people under the age of 20 who were treated for basketball related injuries between 1997 and 2007 and found the number of traumatic brain injuries shot up  by 70%.

“Overall the proportion for traumatic brain injury doubled for boys and tripled for girls, said senior study author Dr. Laura B. McKenzie.

“Coaches, athletes and parents need to understand what can cause traumatic brain injuries and learn to recognize a possible concussion  according to McKenzie.”

Rep. Carolyn McCarthy of New York today chaired a field hearing in Long Island to explore the prevalence of concussions among youth athletes and examine the best prevention strategies. Witnesses included two former NFL players, a high school athletic trainer, and a former high school athlete who suffered numerous concussions. After hearing their testimony, committee members concluded “legislative action is needed to ensure safety in all high schools.”

Today’s hearing marks the second time the Education and Labor Committee has investigated the prevalence of concussions in youth sports and its impact on academic outcomes.
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Promoting community involvement and engagement about concussion management can help protect youth athletes from the risks of concussion both on the athletic field and in the classroom, witnesses told the House Education and Labor Committee’s Subcommittee on Healthy Families and Communities. The hearing highlighted best practices for educating schools, parents, and young people about the risk of concussions, protocols for avoiding head injury and procedures for safe care after such injuries.
 
“The risk of concussions for millions of the nation’s young people who play high school sports has received too little attention,” said U.S. Rep. Carolyn McCarthy (D-NY), chairwoman of the Subcommittee on Healthy Families and Communities. “We must change the 'warrior mentality' culture that discourages immediate treatment, and I look forward to working with Chairman Miller, Rep. Bishop and my colleagues on how we can address this issue.”
WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Rep. George Miller (D-CA), chairman of the House Education and Labor Committee, today issued the following statement in response to Governor Schwarzenegger's decision to sign legislation freeing up $1.2 billion in federal school jobs grants for the state of California.

"I am very pleased the Governor has decided to sign legislation to use the money for teachers' jobs in California that Congress approved this summer. Saving teachers' jobs is vital to our economy and to the education of our children, which is why the legislature took decisive action to expedite the bill. The money Congress approved will help 16,500 California teachers stay in their classrooms, and I am glad to see the Governor's support for this critical effort."

Education Jobs Fund Keeping U.S. Teachers on the Job: News of the Day

The Education Jobs and Medicaid Assistance Act, approved by the House during a rare emergency vote in early August, provides critical aid to communities struggling with budget shortfalls by supporting 319,000 American jobs in local communities, including 161,000 teacher jobs. Local news from communities across the country shows that this education funding is allowing school districts to keep teachers in the classroom.


Iowa’s Waterloo Courier reported:

“Iowa school districts will split a pot of $96.5 million in federal funding intended to save or create education jobs.

“Districts will receive monthly payments throughout the 2010-11 fiscal year starting in September or October based on enrollment. In Northeast Iowa, that means a total of $2.35 million for Waterloo Community Schools, $885,245 for Cedar Falls Schools, $386,161 for Waverly-Shell Rock, $300,669 for Independence and $134,235 for Hudson.”

The Salt Lake Tribune has similar good news to share, “The Alpine district already has added more teachers and the Provo district is paying for full-day kindergarten.”

The Austin Daily Herald of Austin, Minn. also reported that many local school teachers are able to keep their jobs due to the Congress’ action:

“More Austin Public School teachers will keep their jobs thanks to an estimated $1 million dollars in federal aid from the Education Jobs Fund.”



“The incoming aid helps ease the district’s projected $1 to 1.5 million deficit for next year, acting as an insurance against possible job cuts in the immediate future.”
WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Rep. George Miller (D-CA), chairman of the House Education and Labor Committee, today issued the following statement in response to Governor Schwarzenegger's decision to withhold $1.2 billion in federal school jobs grants for the state of California. Miller fought for almost a year for additional aid to keep teachers in the classroom, funding that Congress approved last month in a rare emergency session.

Child Nutrition Legislation Supporters Urge Passage: News of the Day

As children return to classrooms to begin the new school year, nutrition advocates are speaking out about child nutrition legislation before the House of Representatives. The Improving Nutrition for America’s Children Act was passed by the Education and Labor Committee in July and would greatly increase access to school meal programs, both during school and in after-school and community-based programs.

Vicki B. Escara, President and CEO of Feeding America, published an op-ed in the Huffington Post urging passage of Chairman Miller’s bill. She wrote:

“… for low-income families who struggle to overcome hunger, back-to-school season brings an end to the strain of putting additional meals on the table when the free and reduced-price school breakfasts and lunches are unavailable.”



“Every child in America should have enough to eat regardless of the season -- summer, fall, winter or spring. Children need access to nutritious food year-round, so why shouldn't the programs that serve them be able to operate year-round? With a gap of nearly 17 million children unserved by summer feeding programs, we ought to do everything we can to make it easier for food banks and other community-based providers to reach children in the summer. Passage of Chairman Miller's child nutrition bill is an important first step to making sure no child goes hungry next summer.

José Andrés, an internationally-known chef and owner of ThinkFoodGroup, also commented on the need to pass childhood nutrition legislation in a column published in the Atlantic:

“The lunch ladies, the administrators, the people who feed our kids want to do better. But they are limited by one thing: a lack of money. The federal government spends about $2.51 per child per day to feed them lunch. Out of that you have to pay for labor, facilities, and administrative costs, leaving about a dollar for food. Imagine trying to feed yourself a nutritious meal every day with only a dollar. Very difficult. Now imagine trying to do that while satisfying the picky palate of a typical school kid.

“Right now, we have an opportunity to change that. Every five years, Congress takes another look at the issue when the Child Nutrition Reauthorization Act is voted on, opening the door for discussion about possible improvements to these programs as well as increased funding. Among other things, the CNR provides money for and sets nutritional guidelines school for school lunch programs. Every five years it comes up for renewal. It is the most important piece of legislation that no one has ever heard of.”

The Improving Nutrition for America’s Children Act increases the federal reimbursement rate for the first time in 30 years.

Subcommittee to Hold Field Hearing to Explore Concussion Awareness in Schools

On Monday, September 13th, the Healthy Families and Communities Subcommittee, chaired by U.S. Rep. Carolyn McCarthy (D-NY), will hold a field hearing in Long Island, New York to explore how schools and communities can help raise awareness of the risks of concussions and improve concussion management for students.

In May, the committee held a hearing that looked at the effect of concussions on student achievement. Witnesses testified that student athletes’ academic performance in school suffers when concussions are not properly managed. Each year, about 140,000 high school athletes suffer concussions.

WHAT:         
Field hearing on “The Impact of Concussions on High School Athletes: The Local Perspective”

WHO:               
Craig LoNigro, Athletic Trainer, Physical Education and Health Teacher, Comsewogue High School, Port Jefferson Station, N.Y.
Caitlin Monaghan, former high school athlete, Garden City, N.Y.
Dr. Hayley Queller, M.D., Orthopedic Associates of Long Island, East Setauket, N.Y.
Additional Witnesses TBA

WHEN:         
Monday, September 13, 2010
11:00 AM EDT
Please check the Committee schedule for potential updates »

WHERE:      
Babylon Student Center
Suffolk County Community College-Ammerman Campus
2nd floor
Selden, New York

On Friday, the Department of Education authorized $1.2 billion for California as part of the recently passed Education Jobs and Medicaid Assistance Act. That money should help return an estimated 16,500 teachers to their jobs in California.

One school district is already putting that money to good use. With their share, the Vallejo school district has the money to pay the teachers they hired back earlier this month in order to bring K-3 classes back down to 28 students.

District spokeswoman Tish Busselle said:

"The jobs bill has become a great relief because we still don't have a state budget," she said.

In early August, State Administrator Richard Damelio agreed to give 20 laid-off Vallejo teachers their jobs back as a way to prevent K-3 classes from increasing to 31 students.

All told, some 38 teachers were brought back recently, though the unresolved state budget casts uncertainty on school district funding levels.

The teachers were laid off in anticipation of state funding cuts, but were hired back just prior to the start of the new school year.
You can learn more about the emergency teacher jobs bill and see how many estimated teachers will be back in the classroom because of the efforts by Chairman Miller and the rest of the Democratic Caucus.

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Speaker Nancy Pelosi and U.S. Congressman George Miller (D-CA), Chairman of the House Education and Labor Committee, today issued the following joint statement announcing that the U.S. Department of Education approved California’s application to receive $1.2 billion as part of the recently passed Education Jobs and Medicaid Assistance Act, which will fund an estimated 16,500 teacher jobs in California.

Vicki B. Escarra, President and CEO of Feeding America, has a post at Huffington Post about why the House Child Nutrition Bill is Better for Children.

She said:

The House Education and Labor Committee approved a strong bill in July, the Improving Nutrition for America's Children Act of 2010 (H.R.5504). This bill includes many of the same improvements to nutritional quality as the Senate bill but does far more to invest in increased program access. The House bill would significantly increase access to food at breakfast, after-school, on weekends, and during the summer. Children need access to food every day, before, during, and after school, and the House provides much-needed improvements to address these gap periods.

The Improving Nutrition for America’s Children Act of 2010 pays particular attention to increasing access because hunger doesn't take a summer vacation or stop at the end of the school day.

Specifically, the Improving Nutrition for America's Children Act improves access to school meal programs by:

  • Increasing the number of eligible children enrolled in the school lunch programs by using Medicaid/SCHIP data to directly certify children who meet income requirements without requiring individual applications and requiring states to establish and execute a plan to increase rates of direct certification.
  • Providing enhanced universal meal access for eligible children in high poverty communities by eliminating paper applications and using census data to determine school wide income eligibility.
  • Increasing children’s access to healthy school breakfasts by providing competitive grants to school districts to start up or improve their program.
It also improves access to out of school meal programs by:

  • Ensuring fewer children go hungry year round by providing meals for over 225,000 children through seamless meal service for children in school based and community based summer and after-school programs, and in low income rural areas. 
  • Improving access for children in home-based child care by reducing administrative costs for sponsors of child care meal programs.
Learn more about the Improving Nutrition for America’s Children Act of 2010.
WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Rep. George Miller (D-CA), chairman of the House Education and Labor Committee, today issued the following statement after the U.S. Department of Education announced the winners of the second round of the Race to the Top competition.

Report links school meals with higher attendance : News of the Day

As schools return from their summer break, many students will again have their only chance at a healthy meal all day. And those meals are key according to a new report by Georgetown University Assistant Professor of Public Policy Peter Hinrichs. 

According to the Associated Press, Mr. Hinrichs said:

"The research found that the National School Lunch Program (NSLP) has not had a dramatic effect on health into adulthood, but it has had a significant effect on educational attainment," Hinrichs said. "The NSLP today is still broad in its reach, but it targets poorer children. There are higher standards for eligibility and also special funding for poorer schools. Had these elements been in place at the inception of the program, there may have been a more detectable effect on health in its early years."

That is why under H.R. 5504, the Improving Nutrition for America’s Children Act of 2010, the program increases the number of eligible children enrolled in the school lunch programs by using Medicaid/SCHIP data to directly certify children who meet income requirements without requiring individual applications and requiring states to establish and execute a plan to increase rates of direct certification. It also provides enhanced universal meal access for eligible children in high poverty communities by eliminating paper applications and using census data to determine school wide income eligibility. The more eligible students who are having a regular, nutritious lunch the more students will be performing in the classroom.

The bill passed out of committee and is awaiting a vote on the House floor. 

Learn more about H.R. 5504, the Improving Nutrition for America's Children Act of 2010.

News of the Day: Miller Investigates School Turnaround Companies

CQ reported today that Chairman Miller plans to, “hold a hearing this fall to probe companies that contract with school districts to improve failing schools.” Miller issued a statement on the issue yesterday:

“…with increased focus on school reform under this administration, it seems some companies with little or no expertise in education are purporting to be experts in school turnaround to try and take advantage of available federal money. Companies who are hired to help turn around schools as partners should have the best expertise and the best qualifications. I plan to hold a hearing and use the committee’s oversight authority to investigate the process of hiring providers to help turn around schools.”

Turning around under-performing and failing schools is one of the objectives of the committee’s bipartisan rewrite of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (currently known as NCLB). Miller chaired a hearing on successful school turnaround in May and made the importance of the issue clear, saying to his fellow committee members:

“There are 5,000 chronically low-performing schools in this country doing a disservice to
hundreds of thousands of students.

“Two thousand high schools produce 70 percent of our nation’s dropouts.”

Turning around chronically under-performing schools can have significant impact on local communities, and many private companies have begun offering turnaround services to school districts. But, a recent New York Times investigation revealed that some of these companies lack the necessary experience to effectively overhaul a failing school:

“With the Obama administration pouring billions into its nationwide campaign to overhaul failing schools, dozens of companies with little or no experience are portraying themselves as school-turnaround experts as they compete for the money.”



“Many of the new companies seem unprepared for the challenge of making over a public school, yet neither the federal government nor many state governments are organized to offer effective oversight, said Jack Jennings, president of the Center on Education Policy, a nonprofit group in Washington.”

News of the Day: Florida Teachers Go Back to Work

Last week, the House approved H.R. 1586, the Education Jobs and Medicaid Assistance Act. President Obama signed the legislation into law the very same day, sending $10 billion to local school districts to prevent education layoffs and rehire teachers who had already received pink slips. The law is expected to save the jobs of 161,000 American teachers, and is already impacting communities across the county. Today’s Miami Herald reported that the Broward County School Board recently approved plans to rehire nearly 100 teachers due to the influx of federal aid:

“With days to go before classes begin, the Broward County School Board gave the OK Tuesday for its superintendent to start recalling nearly 100 laid-off teachers and other teachers whose work has been curtailed.

“Broward schools will receive about $54 million to rehire teachers and other employees, thanks to a new federal stimulus package with $10 billion earmarked for education jobs.”

Chairman Miller has been a lead congressional advocate for emergency aid to stop teacher layoffs, saying on many occasions, “We can’t allow a child’s education to become a casualty of what is happening in our economy.”

Miller proposed a $23 billion dollar emergency “Education Jobs Fund” in late 2009 and authored the Local Jobs for America Act, which would help save local communities from devastating public sector layoffs. 
WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Rep. George Miller (D-CA), chairman of the House Education and Labor Committee today announced plans for a hearing to review companies who contract with school districts to help improve schools.
WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Rep. George Miller (D-CA), chairman of the House Education and Labor Committee, today issued the following statement after U.S. Education Secretary Arne Duncan announced that California will receive more than $487 million under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA). The recovery dollars will fund teacher jobs and strengthen ongoing education reform efforts in California public elementary and secondary schools.  Chairman Miller authored key education portions of the Recovery Act in 2009, and recovery funding has helped create 47,000 California education jobs from April 1 to June 30, 2010 alone.  California has received approximately $11 billion in education assistance under the Recovery Act since 2009.


News of the Day: Saving Local Jobs

Yesterday, President Obama signed H.R. 1586, the Education Jobs and Medicaid Assistance Act, legislation that will prevent mass teacher layoffs, keep police and firefighters on the job, and close tax loopholes that encourage corporations to ship American jobs overseas. The new law will save or create 319,000 American jobs in local communities, including 161,000 teacher jobs. These much-needed funds are expected to reach the states in 45 days. Communities across the country are already celebrating the passage of this legislation:

The News-Leader of Springfield, Mo. reported:

“The bill would send Missouri $292 million for Medicaid and $189.7 million to help cash-strapped schools rehire staff or prevent future layoffs. The education funding will save 3,000 jobs statewide and more than 1,200 in the 4th, 7th and 8th congressional districts. The Medicaid funding would help states meet other budget needs, such as keeping thousands of police officers, nurses and other public workers employed.”

Montana’s Great Falls Tribune passed on similar news:

“Montana will receive $38 million in Medicaid funding and $30.7 million to avoid layoffs, mostly of K-12 teachers, from the bill. The U.S. Education Department estimates that the money will save about 700 teachers' jobs in Montana.”

California’s Coachella Valley will also benefit greatly, according to The Desert Sun:

“Valley schools may be able to rehire teachers and shrink the size of classes when school starts now that a $26 billion jobs bill has become law.

“‘I guess there is such a thing as Christmas in August,’ said Ricardo Medina, superintendent of Coachella Valley Unified School District.”

Chairman Miller appeared on MSNBC yesterday morning to voice his passionate support for the legislation and discuss why job creation is vital to the economic recovery:

“What we’re talking about is creating jobs for teachers, for firemen, for police, for nurses – the people that hold our public spaces together in this country. And we should not have our children lose a year’s education because the Republicans refuse to create jobs.

“And you know what they call teachers and firemen and nurses and policemen with jobs? You know what small businesses call them? They call them customers.”
Chairman Miller spoke passionately on the floor of the House of Representatives about the importance of H.R. 1586, the Education Jobs and Medicaid Assistance Act because he believes that “with this vote today, we’re taking decisive action to prevent our children from becoming victims of this economy by ensuring more teachers remain in the classroom. This legislation won’t save every job but it will certainly provide much-needed relief and a critical lifeline to schools. It was the right decision to come back to Washington to take this important vote."

“It’s not the first time this Congress has voted to support jobs, teachers and the future of this country. And we are not done working to rescue this economy. Sadly, it is also not the first time Republicans have voted against jobs and against assistance for families across the country.”

WASHINGTON, D.C. – The House of Representatives today approved legislation that will save or create 319,000 American jobs in local communities, including 161,000 teacher jobs, and also discourages American corporations from shipping jobs overseas. By a vote of 247 to 161, the House passed H.R. 1586, the Education Jobs and Medicaid Assistance Act.   President Obama indicated he would sign the legislation into law later today.

“With this vote today, we’re taking decisive action to prevent our children from becoming victims of this economy by ensuring more teachers remain in the classroom. This legislation won’t save every job but it will certainly provide much-needed relief and a critical lifeline to schools,” said U.S. Rep. George Miller (D-CA), chairman of the House Education and Labor Committee.

News of the Day: The Importance of Saving Teacher Jobs

Later today, the House will vote on H.R. 1586, the Education Jobs and Medicaid Assistance Act. It provides $10 billion for additional support to local school districts to prevent imminent layoffs. The latest estimates from the Department of Education are that this fund will help keep 161,000 educators employed this coming school year. It pays for these additional funds by closing loopholes that encourage corporations to ship jobs overseas.

Last week, the Washington Post editorial board didn't think it was important to save teacher jobs. In Chairman Miller's letter to the editor  today, he sets them straight about the importance of saving teacher jobs:

It is disappointing that The Post's editorial board, which consistently supports school reform, opposes efforts to keep teachers in the classroom by way of a $10 billion education jobs package ["Throwing money at education," editorial, Aug. 6]. Across the country, damaging budget cuts have forced school districts to lay off hundreds of thousands of employees, shorten school years and increase class sizes -- to the detriment of students. All of these decisions were based on decreased revenue, largely due to the financial crisis that was no fault of any principal, teacher or student. 

This emergency investment in our schools will save teacher jobs and keep students in their classrooms, learning, growing and succeeding. If we were to take the path suggested by The Post, we would let our schools suffer, stifle our students' futures and reverse the progress made in schools under the Obama administration. Congress won't let that happen.

This morning Chairman Miller appeared on MSNBC to explain why the House is returning from its 6-week district work period to vote on this important piece of legislation. Watch him after the jump:

House to Vote TODAY on Education Jobs & State Aid

The House will reconvene for a rare August vote today to approve H.R. 1586, the Education Jobs and Medicaid Assistance Act, and send it to President Obama for his signature.  The bill is expected to save approximately 161,000 teacher jobs nationwide.

This morning Chairman Miller appeared on MSNBC to explain why the House is returning from its 6-week district work period to vote on this important piece of legislation.





Chairman Miller also wrote a letter to the editor about the importance of saving teacher jobs.

After the Senate passed the measure last week, Chairman Miller said:

“I applaud the Senate for passing this emergency legislation that protects not only our teacher jobs but our economic competitiveness. Next week, my colleagues and I in the House will return to Washington to take this important vote -- a vote we’ve taken twice already in the House -- to keep thousands of teachers in their jobs. We need this bill to ensure our teachers remain in the classroom and our students continue to learn. It’s clear our students, our teachers and our country will reap the benefits of our decisive action. This investment will save jobs and help prevent districts from shortening the school year, increasing class sizes and closing libraries in the wake of horrific and damaging budget cuts. While this latest round of funding isn’t enough to avert all layoffs, it is a critical investment in our children and in our future.”
WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Rep. George Miller (D-CA), chairman of the House Education and Labor Committee, today issued the following statement after the Senate passed the “Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act” 
WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Rep. George Miller (D-CA), chairman of the House Education and Labor Committee, today issued the following statement after the Senate passed H.R. 1586, the Education Jobs and Medicaid Assistance Act. The House will reconvene for a rare August vote this coming Tuesday to approve the legislation and send it to President Obama for his signature.  The bill is expected to save approximately 140,000 teacher jobs nationwide. 

Based on analysis from the Council of Economic Advisors of projected State budget shortfalls for FY 2011, we estimated that as many as 100,000 to 300,000 education jobs could be at risk across the country in the upcoming school year.

We know States and districts are working hard to find ways to minimize job losses and keep cuts away from classrooms, but some are making cuts that we know will have an impact on kids. Furlough days, cutting after school programs, and cutting or reducing summer school are some of the tough choices being made when we know we need to be expanding learning time.

We also know these job losses would ripple through the wider economy and undercut ongoing efforts to create jobs.

That is why the House will take a rare August vote to pass this legislation and send it to President Obama for his signature prior to the start of the new school year.


TeacherJobsSavedInfographic.jpeg
See below the fold for a table of each state's allocation and an estimation of teacher jobs saved. [Updated to reflect new projection on August 9, 2010]
WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Rep. George Miller (D-CA), chairman of the House Education and Labor Committee, today issued the following statement after Speaker Pelosi announced the House of Representatives will return to Washington next week to vote on legislation recently moved forward by the Senate to invest $10 billion to save teachers jobs.
First Lady Michelle Obama refers to pending child nutrition legislation as “a major opportunity to make our schools and our children healthier… an opportunity we haven't seen in years, and one that is too important to let pass by” and urges swift passage of a child nutrition bill in a recent Washington Post op-ed. The Education and Labor Committee approved the Improving Nutrition for America’s Children Act on a bipartisan vote in July. The First Lady continues:

“We owe it to the children who aren't reaching their potential because they're not getting the nutrition they need during the day. We owe it to the parents who are working to keep their families healthy and looking for a little support along the way. We owe it to the schools that are trying to make progress but don't have the resources they need. And we owe it to our country -- because our prosperity depends on the health and vitality of the next generation.”

Hers is a sentiment shared by many – that there is no more important investment we can make for our country’s future than feeding our children healthy meals. Television host and author Rachael Ray has also been vocal on the issue, appearing with Chairman George Miller to introduce the Improving Nutrition for America’s Children Act and publishing an op-ed in today’s issue of the Albany Times-Union. Ray also pushes for quick passage of a child nutrition bill and argues passionately in favor of the legislation:

“Nearly 17 million American children struggle against hunger. For these children, school food programs are sometimes the only access they have to food. At the same time, one in three American kids is overweight or suffering from childhood obesity, because their families simply cannot afford fresh, nutritious foods. School food systems are one of the few ways we have to provide good nutrition to all of our kids.


“Child hunger and malnutrition in the world's wealthiest nation is morally unacceptable. The U.S. economy loses at least $28 billion per year due to poor school performance and long-term health care spending due to poor child nutrition. We can pay now or pay a much greater price in every sense later.”

News of the Day: Obese children find options limited

The Portland Press Herald published an op-ed this morning about the importance of reforming the Child Nutrition Act: Overweight recruits hurt our military readiness and national security.

They say:

Being overweight or obese is the leading medical reason why young Americans cannot join the military. Over the last 30 years, child obesity rates have tripled. One study found that 80 percent of children who were overweight at ages 10-15 were obese at age 25.

Here in Maine, 41.2 percent of youths from ages 18 to 24 are overweight or obese. In addition to hindering our military preparedness, obesity also costs the American people billions in medical expenses every year.

From the mid-1990s to 2000, the state of Maine spent $375 million per year on obesity-related medical expenses. This data is 10 years old -- Maine's current expenditures are surely much higher today.

What can we do to address the problem? One way is to improve the quality of food and beverages served in our schools. The school environment is critical for shaping the eating and exercise habits of our youth.

...

The White House has proposed additional resources for a robust child nutrition reauthorization package that would reduce child obesity and improve the diets of children. Current proposals in the House and Senate include provisions that will raise the quality of all foods and beverages served in schools by requiring the secretary of agriculture to establish new nutrition standards that are consistent with the most recent Dietary Guidelines for Americans.

"Mission: Readiness" strongly supports these provisions and urges Congress to enact reauthorization legislation immediately.

By applying increased nutritional standards to all foods sold on school grounds, expanding access to healthier meals, and supporting schools in implementing proven programs that educate children and their families about healthy eating and exercise, we can get junk food and high-calorie beverages out of schools and out of our children's daily diets.

Recent research provides strong evidence that receiving school meals can help low-income children maintain a healthy weight.
Watch Major General Paul D. Monroe, U.S. Army (Ret.) of th Executive Advisory Council of Mission: Readiness, testify at a hearing about H.R.5504, Improving Nutrition for America's Children Act on July 1, 2010 after the jump.

News of the Day: A Quiet Revolution in Public Education

During remarks to the National Press Club, Education Secretary Arne Duncan today observed a “quiet revolution” in our nation’s public education system:

“From journalists and educators to politicians and parents -- there is a growing sense that a quiet revolution is underway in our homes and schools, classrooms and communities.”

During his presentation, Secretary Duncan announced the 19 finalists for the Race to the Top grant program, the impetus behind this education revolution. He continued:

“With a budget of just $5 billion dollars -- less than one percent of total education spending in America -- this minor provision in the Recovery Act has unleashed an avalanche of pent-up education reform activity at the state and local level.

“Forty-eight states voluntarily collaborated to raise the bar and create common college and career-ready standards -- solving the single biggest drawback of NCLB -- without a federal mandate or a federal dollar. So far, 27 states have adopted those standards. Even Massachusetts -- universally viewed with the highest standards in the country -- voted unanimously to adopt last week.”

Race to the Top was enacted as part of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, and provides competitive grants to selected states that commit to key areas of education reform.

The success of Race to the Top has helped encourage education reform across the country and sets the stage for the kind of bipartisan overhaul The Education and Labor Committee is currently undertaking to rewrite the Elementary and Secondary Education Act. This “quiet revolution,” as Secretary Duncan put it, is welcome news for students, parents, and teachers across the country.

News of the Day: Expanding Access to Healthy Meals

boy-lunch-tray.JPGNutritious meals often prove too expensive for families struggling to make ends meet. As an NPR report demonstrated on Tuesday, nutrient-rich foods and drinks are often replaced by cheaper, less healthy substitutes:

"A gallon of milk is $3-something. A bottle of orange soda is 89 cents…Do the math."

The Improving Nutrition for America’s Children Act, recently approved by the Education and Labor Committee on a bipartisan vote, aims to help solve this problem by increasing access to nutritious foods year-round in school, after school, during holidays, on the weekends, and during the summer. Among other improvements to childhood nutrition programs, the legislation increases the reimbursement rate for school lunch for the first time in more than 30 years – a move that will significantly increase the availability of healthy foods to children. Cliff Toomey of the Indian River School District in Delaware attests to the importance of the increase in today’s News Journal:

“‘Higher reimbursement rates would mean more food choices,’ he said. ‘It would allow us to possibly go with more fresh fruits and vegetables.’”

Today, approximately 22 percent of the nation’s children lack access to nutritious food and one in three children is overweight or obese. Pam Fessler of NPR succinctly describes the relationship between hunger and obesity:

 “Hunger in America is complicated. It's not just getting enough food, but getting the right food — and making the right choices.”

Quiz: How many young Americans are too overweight to join the military?

| Comments (1)
Q: How many young Americans are too overweight to join the military?

  • 9 percent
  • 16 percent
  • 27 percent
  • 65 percent

Continue reading for the answer.
The Education and Labor Committee today approved the Improving Nutrition for America’s Children Act with a bipartisan vote of 32 to 13. The legislation expands year-round access to healthy meals in schools, afterschool programs, and other child care settings for our nation’s students. The legislation aims to significantly reduce the interrelated problems of childhood hunger and childhood obesity by recognizing that nutritional needs don’t take a summer vacation.

After the vote, First Lady Michelle Obama released her first-ever formal statement on pending legislation. She praising the committee for its work on her signature issue: reducing childhood obesity. The First Lady stated:

“I congratulate Chairman Miller and the House Education and Labor Committee on the successful bipartisan passage of a child nutrition reauthorization bill out of the Committee today. This important legislation will combat hunger and provide millions of schoolchildren with access to healthier meals, a critical step in the battle against childhood obesity. I urge both the House and Senate to take their child nutrition bills to the floor and pass them without delay. The President looks forward to signing a final bill this year, so that we can make significant progress in improving the nutrition and health of children across our nation.”
WASHINGTON, D.C. – The House Education and Labor Committee today passed bipartisan legislation to support children’s health and reduce childhood hunger by dramatically  improving federal child nutrition programs. The Committee passed the Improving Nutrition for America’s Children Act, H.R. 5504 with a bipartisan vote of 32-13.

The bill includes sweeping reforms to significantly increase access and remove barriers to child nutrition programs, improve the quality of the meals served and implement new school food safety guidelines. The bill would increase the reimbursement rate for schools -- the first increase in over 30 years. Additionally, for the first time, it would require schools to set standards for foods served outside the cafeteria, including vending machines.

Improving Nutrition for America's Children Act

Full Committee Markup 2:00 PM, July 14, 2010 2175 Rayburn House Office Building
Washington, DC


On Wednesday, July 14, and Thursday July 15, the House Education and Labor Committee considered bipartisan legislation to expand access and improve the nutritional quality of meals in schools and child care. The committee examined H.R. 5504, the “Improving Nutrition for America’s Children Act” earlier this month.


The legislation would help set American children on a path of healthy eating and healthy living at a time when approximately 22 percent of the nation’s children lack access to quality food and one in three children are overweight or obese. Today, over 32 million children rely on federal child nutrition programs.

H.R. 5504 would dramatically expand access for millions of children to healthy meals year-round in schools, child care, and community based settings, and for the first time, establish nutrition standards for foods sold outside of the cafeteria.

WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Blanche Lincoln (D-Ark.), Chairman of the Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry and Congressman George Miller (D-Calif.) , Chairman of the House Committee on Education and Labor today sent a letter to President Barack Obama urging him to make child nutrition reauthorization a top legislative priority before current programs expire on September 30 of this year.  

Lincoln delivered the letter to the President during a meeting at the White House where she was joined by other Senate leaders to discuss legislative priorities before the August recess. Lincoln’s “Healthy Hunger-Free Kids Act” passed the Senate Agriculture Committee unanimously in March and now awaits consideration by the full Senate. The House Education and Labor Committee will hold a mark up on its version of child nutrition reauthorization legislation – the “Improving Nutrition for America’s Children Act” – tomorrow, July 14.


“As recent reports have shown, the occurrence of hunger and childhood obesity among our nation’s children is unacceptably high—especially in my home state of Arkansas. We have an historic opportunity to put our country on a path toward ending childhood hunger and reversing the trend of childhood obesity with a strong child nutrition reauthorization. We cannot afford to make American children and families wait any longer for a bill that will make real progress toward ending childhood hunger and obesity. I know that the President shares my goal of addressing this important priority, and I ask him to please join our efforts to ensure that passage of child nutrition legislation is a top legislative priority in the coming months,” said Lincoln.

“In this economy, millions of families rely on the child nutrition programs as a nutritional safety net for their children to ensure they are able to focus and learn in school. Children need healthy meals to be able to grow and thrive in the classroom and in life. If we allow our children’s health to dwindle, if we allow more children to hungry by not taking swift action with this legislation, we fail our children, their families and the future of this country. We have a real opportunity to make dramatic reforms to help prevent hunger, to improve children’s health and increase access to healthy meals. The health and academic success of an entire generation of children is at stake,” said Miller.


Full text of the letter is below:
On Wednesday July 14th, the Education and Labor Committee will vote on H.R. 5504, the Improving Nutrition for America's Children Act. Recognizing that students need access to nutritious meals year round in order to succeed in school, the legislation would provide eligible children with increased access to healthier, nutritious foods. Approximately 22 percent of the nation’s children lack access to quality food and one in three children is overweight or obese-- it’s clear that nutritional needs don’t take a summer break.

Communities around the county are taking steps to provide their students with year-round access to quality meals and are demonstrating why ensuring access to healthy food is vital:

In Sioux City, SD, increasing numbers of children are eating healthy meals through the Summer Food Service Program, which serves children from low-income families. The Argus Leader reported:

“At the YWCA in downtown Sioux Falls on Wednesday, primarily elementary-aged boys and girls filed through a serving line while workers filled their trays with a sloppy joe sandwich, green beans, pineapple and milk. On average, the agency dishes out 220 lunches and 110 breakfasts each weekday, said Karla Johnson, director of child care services.

“‘There's no question in my mind that this program is really helping those children and their families. And we're seeing more of that,’ she said.”

According to the Baltimore Sun, Baltimore’s Pimlico Road Youth Program has been similarly successful and has witnessed increased need for their services. The Baltimore Sun reported:

“Workers at the Northwest Baltimore center say at least half the students have come to depend on the sponsored meals to tide them over for the evening, food that serves as a substitute for the free lunches the children receive during the school year.

“With school out, state and federal officials say about 25 percent of the 328,000 low-income Maryland children who received free school meals during the year got them last summer. The numbers, however, are on the rise.”

WASHINGTON, D.C. – The bipartisan child nutrition reauthorization legislation introduced earlier this month will improve children’s health, increase access to healthy meals, and create more year-round meal opportunities for children, witnesses told the House Education and Labor Committee yesterday. At the hearing, Miller announced that he plans to markup the legislation when Congress returns after the July 4th recess.

“We need to get our country back on a pathway of healthy eating and healthy living – this starts by not only ensuring our children are eating healthy meals in schools, but also teaching them healthy habits that will last them a lifetime,” said U.S. Rep. George Miller (D-CA), chair of the House Education and Labor Committee. “This bill is a great opportunity to improve our school meal programs, to meet children’s nutritional needs at every venture and to change the future of this country.”
WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Rep. George Miller (D-CA), the chairman of the House Education and Labor Committee, tonight issued the following statement on the House passage of H.R. 4899, the Supplemental Appropriations Act of 2010.

H.R.5504, Improving Nutrition for America’s Children Act

Full Committee Hearing 9:15 AM, July 1, 2010 2175 Rayburn H.O.B
Washington, DC
On Thursday, July 1, 2010, the House Education and Labor Committee will examine the “Improving Nutrition for America’s Children Act,” bipartisan legislation to improve the nutritional quality of meals in schools and child care settings introduced earlier this month. The bill would dramatically expand access for millions of children to healthy meals year-round in schools, child care, and community based settings and for the first time, establish nutrition standards for foods sold outside of the cafeteria.

Currently, over 32 million children rely on the federal child nutrition programs.

WASHINGTON, DC – U.S. Rep. George Miller (D-CA), Chairman of the House Education and Labor Committee and U.S. Rep. Dale E. Kildee (D-MI), Chairman of  the Subcommittee on Early Childhood, Elementary and Secondary Education and Democratic Chairman of the House Native American Caucus, issued the following statements after the National Assessment of Education Progress (NAEP) released its National Indian Education Study.  The study showed no significant gains in mathematics performance among fourth and eighth graders since 2005. Reading scores showed a slight increase since 2007 for eighth graders but again showed no significant improvement for fourth graders since 2005. 
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Leading members of the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives released a summary and discussion draft today of major reforms responding to serious health and safety concerns raised by workers and their families since Massey Energy’s Upper Big Branch Mine tragedy and other recent workplace accidents.

The reforms would provide stronger oversight to ensure that employers comply with the law, empower workers to speak up about safety concerns and give the Department of Labor the tools it needs to ensure that all workers go home safely at the end of the day.

News of the Day: Fewer hungry children getting free summer meals

The AP has a story this morning about how fewer hungry children are getting free summer meals.

Mary Clare Jalonick reports:

Hungry children looking for a free meal this summer may not be able to find one.

States and cities have cut funding for summer meal programs as need has skyrocketed, according to a new report from an anti-hunger group that tracked the program in 2009. Budget woes that have left many families hungry are also affecting local governments that find themselves without the needed dollars to feed children while they are out of school.

"Low-income children across the country clearly bore the brunt of budget cuts," said Jim Weill, president of the Food Research and Action Center, which compiled the report to be released Tuesday.

Summer nutrition programs aim to feed children who get most of their nutrition — or sometimes their only real meal of the day — at school. The food research group measures the effectiveness of those summer programs by comparing the number of low-income children receiving meals during the summer with those receiving free and reduced-price school meals during the school year.
One reason why Chairman Miller is pushing so hard for the Improving Nutrition for America’s Children Act of 2010 is because children shouldn't go hungry. This bill would, among other things, improve access to out of school meal programs by ensuring fewer children go hungry year round by providing meals for over 225,000 children through seamless meal service for children in school based and community based summer and after-school programs, and in low income rural areas. It will also improve access for children in home-based child care by reducing administrative costs for sponsors of child care meal programs.

The Committee will hold a hearing on H.R.5504, Improving Nutrition for America’s Children Act on Thursday at 9:15 ET. We invite you to watch via our live webcast.



News of the Day: Cyberbullying and Schools

The New York Times published a page one article today on how Online Bullies Pull Schools Into the Fray and the complicated world of teens and technology.

The Times reports:

Schools these days are confronted with complex questions on whether and how to deal with cyberbullying, an imprecise label for online activities ranging from barrages of teasing texts to sexually harassing group sites. The extent of the phenomenon is hard to quantify. But one 2010 study by the Cyberbullying Research Center, an organization founded by two criminologists who defined bullying as "willful and repeated harm” inflicted through phones and computers, said one in five middle-school students had been affected.

Affronted by cyberspace’s escalation of adolescent viciousness, many parents are looking to schools for justice, protection, even revenge. But many educators feel unprepared or unwilling to be prosecutors and judges.

Often, school district discipline codes say little about educators’ authority over student cellphones, home computers and off-campus speech. Reluctant to assert an authority they are not sure they have, educators can appear indifferent to parents frantic with worry, alarmed by recent adolescent suicides linked to bullying.

Whether resolving such conflicts should be the responsibility of the family, the police or the schools remains an open question, evolving along with definitions of cyberbullying itself.

Nonetheless, administrators who decide they should help their cornered students often face daunting pragmatic and legal constraints.
Confronted with questions such as these, the Healthy Families and Communities Subcommittee held a hearing on Ensuring Student Cyber Safety on June 24, 2010.

Watch Dr. Phil and Dominique Napolitano, a teen member of Girl Scouts, discuss cyber safety after the jump.
On Monday, the Workforce Protections Subcommittee of the House Education and Labor Committee held a field forum in Middletown, Connecticut regarding the Kleen Energy Systems power plant explosion. On February 7, a massive explosion ripped through the natural gas power plant that was under construction killing five workers and injuring dozens.

On Thursday, the entire Committee will hold a hearing on H.R.5504, Improving Nutrition for America’s Children Act, bipartisan legislation to improve the nutritional quality of meals in schools and child care settings introduced earlier this month. The bill would dramatically expand access for millions of children to healthy meals year-round in schools, child care, and community based settings and for the first time, establish nutrition standards for foods sold outside of the cafeteria. Currently, over 32 million children rely on the federal child nutrition programs. 

You can view that hearing via our live webcast.

News of the Day: Dr. Phil testifies on cyber bullying

Yesterday, Dr. Phil McGraw joined 5 other witnesses to talk about ensuring student cyber safety. He told Politico, ""The Wild Wild West is now the Wild Wild Web, with the new gunslingers being the keyboard bullies."

In an interview with CBS Early Show, Dr. Phil said, "So much of what's going on today is beyond parents because our kids are much more computer literate than we are. They can Photoshop pictures and put a child in a humiliating or embarrassing situation. They write e-mails, write letters, and so often we see these kids become isolated, withdrawn, they stop going to school. And they can even, as we have seen so tragically with situations like Phoebe Prince, can wind up actually taking their lives. I mean, this is a terrible burden on these kids. We've got to give the educators the tools they need to prevent this, to intervene in this. It requires training. They need to know how to intervene when it is happening. We've got to raise awareness about this."

CNN reported his testimony, "McGraw told the subcommittee that kids who are cyberbullied are 1.9 times more likely to attempt suicide than the general population.

'I get tens of thousands of letters at 'The Dr. Phil Show' of kids asking for help about this. It is a serious crisis -- 42 percent of kids say they have been bullied on the internet, 35 percent of kids say they have been threatened.'"

Watch Dr. Phil's testimony below the fold and learn more about the ensuring student cyber safety hearing.
WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Rep. George Miller applauded today the release of newly announced federal grants to improve struggling schools in the Bay Area and across California.  

Miller (D-Martinez), chair of the House Education and Labor Committee, said that the new grants for low-performing schools will boost school quality improvement efforts in his congressional district.
WASHINGTON, D.C. –  The Government Accountability Office (GAO) issued a report yesterday that found schools provide students with and without disabilities similar opportunities to participate in physical education (PE), but face serious challenges when serving students with disabilities in general PE classes and extracurricular athletics.  

The report was conducted at the behest of U.S. Rep. George Miller (D-CA), chair of the House Education and Labor Committee, U.S. Rep. Carolyn McCarthy (D-NY), chair of the Healthy Families and Communities Subcommittee, U.S. Rep. Chris Van Hollen (D-MD), Assistant to the Speaker and U.S. Senator Tom Harkin (D-IA), chair of the Senate Health, Employment, Labor and Pensions Committee.
The Contra Costa Times highlights a problem that many communities face as schools finish for the year.

Thousands of Contra Costa County children are eligible for free or reduced-price lunches during the school year. But come summer vacation, many of them no longer have access to regular meals.

"During the summer, they don't have that program and the resources of families are stretched," said Barbara Jellison, food services director for the West Contra Costa Unified School District. "I don't think they get the nutrition that they need."

Chairman Miller's Improving Nutrition for America’s Children Act of 2010 addresses this problem directly. It would ensure fewer children go hungry year round by providing meals for over 225,000 children through seamless meal service for children in school-based and community-based summer and after-school programs, and in low income rural areas.

Learn more about the Improving Nutrition for America's Children Act of 2010.

Supporters of the Improving Nutrition for America’s Children Act

The Improving Nutrition for America’s Children Act (H.R. 5504) will dramatically improve children’s access to nutritious meals, enhance the quality of meals children eat both in and out of school and in child care settings, implement new school food safety guidelines and, for the first time, establish nutrition standards for all foods sold in schools.

Supporters of H.R. 5504 include:


Earlier today, daytime talk show host and author, Rachael Ray joined a bipartisan group of Members of Congress to speak about the importance of the new Improving Nutrition for America’s Children. The legislation, which reauthorizes the Child Nutrition Act, will dramatically improve the quality of meals children eat both in and out of school and in child care settings, support community efforts to reduce childhood hunger and, for the first time, establish nutrition standards for all foods sold in schools.  Nationally, one-third of children are either overweight or at risk of becoming overweight.

“We are on the brink of a national crisis with our children’s health. The barriers that prevent children from accessing quality meals mean more children are at risk of obesity and poor nutrition and this has serious implications for the health and well-being of the future of this country,” said Miller. “This legislation creates a nutritional safety net for millions of children who rely on the child nutrition programs by meeting children’s nutritional needs at every step along the way -- in school, on the weekends and during the summer. Child hunger doesn’t take a summer vacation”

Learn more about the Improving Nutrition for America's Children.

Watch Chairman Miller's statement.



Watch Rachael Ray express her support for this bill.



To view additional excerpts of the press conference visit the Education and Labor YouTube page.

Photos of the event are below the fold.
Huffington Post highlights the plight faced by local communities all across the country tightening budgets and decreasing local tax revenue. Students Fight To Make Sure Their Teachers Aren't Fired details the grassroot efforts by a community in California that is trying to ensure their favorites aren't laid off at the end of the school year.

Tonight, in a little strip-mall office next to the local Safeway, a teenage student from Alameda, California will spend the evening dialing up strangers to make an earnest request: please save my school.

The budget ax is about to fall on this Bay Area city. Seven million dollars in K-12 education cuts are planned this year, nearly $10 million will be lopped off next year, and a massive $17 million cut looms in 2012. A few weeks ago, Alameda's Board of Education handed out pink slips to 130 teachers, administrators and staff.

"This is the worst yet," said Superintendent Kirsten Vital, a 20-year veteran of California's education system. "I've never seen anything like it."
The AP reports that high school students face hard lesson in economics due to increasing cuts in teachers, programs and other important school staff.

Across the country, mass layoffs of teachers, counselors and other staff members — caused in part by the drying up of federal stimulus dollars — are leading to larger classes and reductions in everything that is not a core subject, including music, art, clubs, sports and other after-school activities.

Educators and others worry the cuts could lead to higher dropout rates and lower college attendance as students receive less guidance and become less engaged in school. They fear a generation of young people could be left behind.

...

"Literally tens of millions of students will experience these budget cuts in one way or another," said Education Secretary Arne Duncan, who is urging Congress to provide another round of emergency funding for schools. "If we do not help avert this state and local budget crisis, we could impede reform and fail another generation of children."

Sen. Tom Harkin, D-Iowa, has introduced legislation that would create a $23 billion fund to help schools retain teachers, principals and other staff members. The fate of the bill is uncertain.

The American Association of School Administrators estimates that 275,000 education jobs will be cut in the coming school year, based on an April survey. Other AASA surveys found that 52 percent of administrators plan to cut extracurricular activities, and 51 percent are reducing elective courses not required for graduation.

As Chairman Miller said, "Our responsibility to keep the economic recovery moving forward has not ended. That’s why I introduced the Local Jobs for America Act (H.R. 4812) earlier this year. It will create up to a million jobs quickly in both the public and private sectors and help restore vital services that families rely on. I am pleased to see so many of my colleagues support this legislation and that Senator Sherrod Brown announced he will be introducing a companion bill in the Senate.”
Today, White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs issued the following statement, emphasizing the President’s emphatic support for emergency legislation to help prevent teacher layoffs and create and save 300,000 education jobs.

“As the House prepares to vote on the emergency spending bill today, communities across this country are facing an education crisis with hundreds of thousands of teachers at all levels at risk of losing their jobs.The President shares the concern of millions of Americans  that cuts to state and local budgets are forcing states and localities to cut education spending drastically, impacting the learning and growth of our nation’s children. While some states may not feel the impact yet, there are thousands of teachers who will receive pink slips in the coming months.  The President strongly supports targeted aid focused on preventing these  teacher layoffs in order to stem the education crisis.”

The House Appropriations Committee will vote on the legislation later today. [Note: This vote was postponed.]

U.S. Rep. George Miller, chair of the House Education and Labor Committee, and a lead champion to help save teacher jobs, applauded the White House for their clear message.

“The President knows the desperate situation in our schools. He knows the cost of inaction for our schools, our teachers, our students, our families and our communities. Today, he’s sent us the clear message that Congress has to act now to help prevent these layoffs that would punish teachers, devastate communities and set back the significant progress out students are making in school. ”

Yesterday, the White House released state-by-state estimates of the number of jobs that will be saved or created through the $23 billion Education Jobs Fund.

View the state-by-state job estimates.

View the White House fact sheet, “Keep Our Teachers Working
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today the White House released state-by-state estimates of the number of jobs that will be saved or created through the $23 billion Education Jobs Fund, that is included as emergency spending in the FY2010 Supplemental Appropriations Bill. The $23 billion emergency investment will help fund an estimated 300,000 education jobs across the country, including teachers, librarians, principals, guidance counselors, school cafeteria workers, and janitors, among others.
WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Rep. George Miller (D-CA), chair of the House Education and Labor Committee and author of the Local Jobs for America Act, today issued the following statement applauding U.S. Rep. Dave Obey (D-WI), chair of the House Appropriations Committee, for including key investments in education in the FY2010 Supplemental Appropriations Bill. Specifically, the legislation, which the House Appropriations Committee will vote on tomorrow, includes $23 billion to save education jobs in schools across the country. 
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Student athletes’ academic performance in school suffers as a result of concussions, witnesses told the House Education and Labor Committee today. 

The Impact of Concussions on High School Athletes

Full Committee Hearing 9:00 AM, May 20, 2010 2175 Rayburn H.O.B
Washington, DC
On Thursday, May 20th, the House Education and Labor Committee held a hearing to examine the prevalence of concussions among high school athletes and how the injury can impact academic achievement. In the 2005-2008 school year, an estimated 400,000 concussions occurred in high school athletics. Concussions are notoriously difficult to diagnose due to the wide range of symptoms they produce and, if mistreated or left untreated, can lead to chronic impairment.
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Congress should encourage, incentivize and support the universal elements that research and best practices show are working to turn around the country’s lowest performing schools, witnesses told the House Education and Labor Committee today.  

Research and Best Practices on Successful School Turnaround

Full Committee Hearing 10:00 AM, May 19, 2010 2175 Rayburn H.O.B
Washington, DC
On Wednesday, May 19, the U.S. House Education and Labor Committee held a hearing to explore best practices and research on proven models that work to turn around chronically underperforming schools in communities across the country. According to the U.S. Department of Education, approximately 5,000 U.S. schools have been labeled as chronically low-achieving or underperforming.

This is a continuation of hearings the committee is holding as part of a bipartisan, transparent effort to overhaul the Elementary and Secondary Education Act, currently known as No Child Left Behind.
WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Rep. George Miller (D-CA), chair of the House Education and Labor Committee, issued the following statement today after the Council of Great City Schools released their report “Investing Wisely and Quickly -- Use of ARRA Funds in America's Great City Schools,” highlighting the effects of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) on urban school districts across the country. The report shows the law helped save jobs, build capacity and advance reforms in education

News of the Day: Time for Bold Action to Save Teachers' Jobs

The White House has a blog post about the upcoming financial crisis that many states are facing and the cuts to education they will have to make.

President Obama said:

And it’s why, through our recovery efforts, we’ve provided emergency aid that saved the jobs of more than 400,000 teachers and other education jobs -– and why I believe these efforts must continue. I believe these efforts must continue as states face severe budget shortfalls that put hundreds of thousands of jobs at risk. We need and our children need our teachers in the classroom. We need your passion and your patience, your skill and experience, your determination to reach every single child.
The White House says, "Now we need swift, bold action from Congress to respond to state and local budget cuts that are placing public education at risk and endangering teacher jobs.  Thanks to the leadership of Senator Harkin and Congressmen Miller and Obey, we have legislation to avert this crisis."

Chairman Miller has been making the case that that additional funding for states is vital to our continued economic expansion. He was a co-sponsor of the Jobs for Main Street Act that passed the House in December and waits on Senate action.

Chairman Miller along with House Democrats and a bipartisan group of mayors are behind the Local Jobs for America Act, authored by Rep. George Miller, that will save and create jobs quickly in both the public and private sectors and help restore vital services that families and local communities rely on.

See the Obama Administration’s letter of strong support to Speaker Pelosi and Leader Reid on this legislation.
On Thursday, May 20th, the House Education and Labor Committee will hold a hearing to examine the prevalence of concussions among high school athletes and how the injury can impact academic achievement. In the 2008-2009 school year, an estimated 400,000 concussions occurred in high school athletics. Concussions are notoriously difficult to diagnose due to the wide range of symptoms they produce and, if mistreated or left untreated, can lead to chronic impairment.
 
WHAT:          
Hearing on “The Impact of Concussions on High School Athletes”

WHO:            
Gerard A. Gioia, Ph.D., Chief, Division of Pediatric Neuropsychology, Director, Safe Concussion Outcome, Recovery & Education (SCORE) Program, Children’s National Medical Center, Rockville, MD
Linda Kohn, Ph.D., Director, Health Care Issues, U.S. Government Accountability Office, Washington D.C.
Michael Monacelli, Athletic Director and Head Football Coach, Caledonia-Mumford Central High School, Caledonia, New York
Michelle Pelton, Former High School Athlete, Swansea, MA

WHEN:   
      
Thursday, May 20, 2010
9:00 a.m. EDT (updated May 14)
Please check the Committee schedule for potential updates »

WHERE:      
House Education and Labor Committee Hearing Room
2175 Rayburn House Office Building
Washington, D.C.

Note: This hearing will be webcast live from the Education and Labor Committee website. 
Chairman Miller met with celebrity chef Rachael Ray yesterday to discuss the upcoming reauthorization of the child nutrition laws. Child nutrition reauthorization is a top priority for Chairman Miller and he plans a full reauthorization this year. He is committed to increasing children’s access to the healthy foods, improving nutrition quality, and to make it easier for schools and community based organizations to provide the nutrition programs that children need.

Take a peek behind the scenes at their meeting:



Communities Across the Country Face Devastating Layoffs

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Teachers, firefighters and policemen nationwide are losing their jobs due to local budget shortfalls.  Chairman Miller has urged Congress to pass the Local Jobs for America Act to create or save one million public and private sector jobs.
WASHINGTON, D.C. – In response to an announcement earlier today that New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg’s budget will cut the jobs of 11,000 city workers, including teachers, firefighters and police officers, U.S. Rep. George Miller (D-CA) again called on Congress to act immediately on legislation that would save or create one million public and private sector jobs. Miller is the chair of the House Education and Labor Committee and the author of the legislation, the Local Jobs for America Act.

News of the Day: Saving the Teachers

Both the New York Times and the Washington Post highlighted the looming deficit problems for states and localities and how it could mean a loss of nearly 300,000 teachers' jobs nationwide.

In the New York Times editorial, Saving the Teachers, they say:

Last year’s $100 billion education stimulus plan insulated the public schools from the worst of the recession and saved an estimated 300,000 jobs. With the economy still lagging and states forced to slash their budgets, Congress must act again to prevent a wave of teacher layoffs that could damage the fragile recovery and hobble the school reform effort for years to come.

In March, Representative George Miller, a Democrat of California, introduced a jobs bill that included a $23 billion school rescue plan. Senator Tom Harkin, a Democrat of Iowa, has since introduced a similar plan fashioned as an emergency spending bill. The House version is the better of the two.

The need for a second school stimulus plan was underscored on Monday by a new analysis from the American Association of School Administrators, which reported that cash-strapped districts were prepared to cut as many 275,000 jobs in the 2010-2011 school year.

The loss of that many paychecks — and the resulting decline in consumer spending — could kill off still more jobs in the communities where teachers and other school employees live.
(emphasis added)

Harold Meyerson wrote about the school recession in the Washington Post:

The worst recession since the 1930s is clobbering the nation's schools.

In Indiana and Arizona, the legislatures have eliminated free all-day kindergarten. In Kansas, some school districts have gone to four-day weeks. In New Jersey, 60 percent of school districts are reducing their course offerings. In Albuquerque, the number of school district employees is down 10 percent. In the D.C. suburbs, Maryland's Prince George's and Virginia's Prince William counties have increased their class sizes.
The Local Jobs for America Act allocates $23 billion this year to help states support 250,000 education jobs. And it does a lot more for local communities like funding for firefighters and police.
WASHINGTON, D.C. – As Congress works to reauthorize the Elementary and Secondary  Education Act, lawmakers should focus on reforms that will support teachers and leaders, focus on training and development and use all available resources to help ensure every student has access to a highly effective teacher, witnesses told the House Education and Labor Committee today. 

Supporting America’s Educators: The Importance of Quality Teachers and Leaders

Full Committee Hearing 2:00 PM, May 4, 2010 2175 Rayburn H.O.B.
Washington, DC
On Tuesday, May 4, the U.S. House Education and Labor Committee held a hearing to examine how to best support teachers and leaders in schools. Studies show that teachers are the single most important factor in affecting student achievement.

This is part of a continued series of hearings the committee is holding as part of a bipartisan, transparent effort to overhaul the Elementary and Secondary Education Act, currently known as No Child Left Behind.

Committee to Examine Supporting Teachers and Leaders in Schools

On Tuesday, May 4, the U.S. House Education and Labor Committee will hold a hearing to examine how to best support teachers and leaders in schools. Studies show that teachers are the single most important factor in affecting student achievement.

This is part of a continued series of hearings the committee is holding as part of a bipartisan, transparent effort to overhaul the Elementary and Secondary Education Act, currently known as No Child Left Behind.  

WHAT:         
Hearing on “Supporting America’s Educators: The Importance of Quality Teachers and Leaders”
               
WHO:            
Panel I: 
Deborah Ball, Ph.D, Dean, School of Education, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI
Pamela S. Salazar, Ed.D Assistant Professor, University of Nevada, Las Vegas
Randi Weingarten, President, American Federation Teachers, Washington, DC
Marcus A. Winters, Senior Fellow, The Manhattan Institute, New York, NY

Panel II:
Jeanne Burns, Associate Commissioner of Teacher Education Initiatives, Office of the Governor, Louisiana Board of Regents,
Baton Rouge, LA    
Tony Bennett, Superintendent, Indiana Office of Public Instruction, Indianapolis, IN
Monique Burns Thompson,  President, Teach Plus in Boston, Boston, MA
John Kaplan, President, Walden University, Minneapolis, Minnesota
Marie Parker-McElroy, Instructional Coach, Fairfax County Public Schools, Falls Church, VA
Chris Steinhauser, Superintendent, Long Beach Unified School District, Long Beach, CA
                                            
WHEN:         
Tuesday, May 4, 2010
2:00 p.m. EST
Please check the Committee schedule for potential updates »

WHERE:      
House Education and Labor Committee Hearing Room
2175 Rayburn House Office Building
Washington, D.C.

Note: This hearing will be webcast live from the Education and Labor Committee website.

 
WASHINGTON, DC – U.S. Rep. Ron Kind (D-WI) today with U.S. Reps. Zach Wamp (R-TN), George Miller (D-CA), chair of the House Education and Labor Committee, fitness  guru Richard Simmons, and representatives from the American Heart Association, Sporting Goods Manufacturing Association (SGMA), and the National Association for Sport and Physical Education (NASPE) celebrated the passage of the Fitness Integrated with Teaching (FIT) Kids Act, which combats childhood obesity by strengthening physical education programs in schools across the country. Click here for photos of the event.

Chairman Miller and Richard Simmons Call for More P.E. in Schools

Fitness expert Richard Simmons teamed up with U.S. Reps. Ron Kind (D-WI), Zach Wamp (R-TN), George Miller (D-CA), chair of the House Education and Labor Committee, and representatives from the American Heart Association, Sporting Goods Manufacturing Association, and the National Association for Sport and Physical Education to celebrate the passage of the Fitness Integrated with Teaching (FIT) Kids Act at a press conference Thursday, April 22 at 11:00 a.m. at the House Triangle.

CNN has video of some of Richard Simmon's comments.

The FIT Kids Act, which passed the House of Representatives on April 21, 2010, renews the emphasis on physical education in schools.  The Act would work to ensure kids are active during the school day and are taught to be personally responsible for their health.  As a leading advocate for passage of the FIT Kids Act, Simmons spoke about his findings from the 200 days he spends on the road each year, visiting schools and communities across the country.
WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Rep. George Miller (D-CA), chair of the House Education and Labor Committee, released the following statement today after the U.S. Department of Education’s Office of Civil Rights (OCR) reversed a clarification the Bush administration issued to Title IX  in 2005. The clarification, “Additional Clarification of Intercollegiate Athletics Policy: Three Part Test – Part Three” allowed universities to use an emailed survey to count towards their compliance with equity in athletics and undermined the ability of colleges and universities to assess the interests and abilities of the underrepresented sex in sports.

Elementary and Secondary Education Act Reauthorization: Addressing the Needs of Diverse Students

Early Childhood, Elementary and Secondary Education Subcommittee Hearing 10:00 AM, March 18, 2010 2175 Rayburn H.O.B
Washington, DC
On Thursday, March 18, the House Early Childhood, Elementary and Secondary Education Subcommittee will examine how schools can properly address the needs of diverse students under Elementary and Secondary Education Act, particularly low-income students, minority students, English Language Learners, students with disabilities, Native Americans, and homeless students. This is part of a series of hearings the committee is holding as it works to reauthorize ESEA, currently known as No Child Left Behind.
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Below are the prepared remarks of U.S. Rep. George Miller (D-CA), chairman of the House Education and Labor Committee, for a committee hearing on “The Obama Administration’s Elementary and Secondary Education Act Reauthorization Blueprint”.
WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Rep. George Miller (D-CA), chairman of the House Education and Labor Committee, issued the following statement today after the Department of Education released their blueprint for rewriting the Elementary and Secondary Education Act, currently known as No Child Left Behind. 
Chairman Miller and House leaders are working this week on the Student Aid and Fiscal Responsibility Act and health insurance reform.

There will also be three hearings this week on the Protecting America's Workers Act, the administration's ESEA reauthorization blueprint, and addressing the needs of diverse students.

Subcommittee to Examine the Needs of Diverse Students

On Thursday, March 18, the House Early Childhood, Elementary and Secondary Education Subcommittee will examine how schools can properly address the needs of diverse students under Elementary and Secondary Education Act, particularly low-income students, minority students, English Language Learners, students with disabilities, Native Americans, and homeless students. This is part of a series of hearings the committee is holding as it works to reauthorize ESEA, currently known as No Child Left Behind.

WHAT:        
Hearing on “Elementary and Secondary Education Act Reauthorization: Addressing the Needs of Diverse Students”
               
WHO:           
Dr. Daniel Curry, Superintendent, Lake Forest School District, Felton, DE
Dr. Jack Dale, Superintendent, Fairfax County Public Schools, Falls Church, VA
Arelis Diaz, Assistant Superintendent, Godwin Heights Public Schools, Wyoming, MI
Jacqui Farmer Kearns, Ed.D., Principal Investigator, National Alternate Assessment Center, Lexington, KY
Marcus Levings, Chairman, Three Affiliated Tribes of the Fort Berthold Reservation, New Town, ND
Michael T. S. Wotorson, Executive Director, Campaign for High School Equity, Washington, DC
                       
WHEN:         
Thursday, March 18, 2010
10:00 a.m. EST
Please check the Committee schedule for potential updates »

WHERE:      
House Education and Labor Committee Hearing Room
2175 Rayburn House Office Building
Washington, D.C.

Note: This hearing will be webcast live from the Education and Labor Committee website.
On Wednesday, March 17, U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan will appear before the House Education and Labor Committee to discuss the Obama administration’s blueprint for overhauling the Elementary and Secondary Education Act, currently known as No Child Left Behind.  The committee is currently working in a bipartisan and transparent way to rewrite the law.

WHAT:         
“The Obama Administration’s Elementary and Secondary Education Act Reauthorization Blueprint”

WHO:            
U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan
            
WHEN:         
Wednesday, March 17, 2010
2:30 pm. EST
Please check the Committee schedule for potential updates »

WHERE: 
      
House Education and Labor Committee Hearing Room
2175 Rayburn House Office Building
Washington, D.C.

Note: This hearing will be webcast live from the Education and Labor Committee website.
 
WASHINGTON, D.C. – At a hearing on Capitol Hill today, U.S. Education Secretary Arne Duncan called on Congress to take several steps to build a lasting economic recovery by helping all students get a world-class education. In his second appearance before the House Education and Labor Committee to discuss the Obama administration’s education agenda, Duncan specifically urged lawmakers to take quick action on a bipartisan rewrite of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act – currently known as No Child Left Behind – that focuses on preparing students for the rigors of college and careers. 
ABC News has an excellent story about H.R. 4247, the Keeping All Students Safe Act today. It highlights that under this Act, disabled kids get a break: bill may protect them against restraint in school.

It says:

The Keeping All Students Safe Act in the House would implement minimum federal safety standards for public schools similar to those that exist for hospitals and other community facilities. There is no current federal regulation on how seclusion and restraint can be used in schools, both private and public.

The bipartisan effort is led by Rep. George Miller, D-Calif., and was prompted by a report last year that said two decades of torture-like tactics, mostly on special needs kids, went unregulated on the federal level.
We encourage you to watch the debate on the House floor today, read the entire ABC News article and learn more about H.R. 4247, the Keeping All Students Safe Act.

House Expected to Vote on Keeping All Students Safe Act TODAY

The House began debate on H.R. 4247, the Keeping All Students Safe Act, at 12:30 ET today. The House may vote on the bill as early as 3:30 or 4 pm.

The legislation will – for the first time – protect children from abusive uses of restraint and seclusion in U.S. schools. This legislation is a direct response to recent U.S. Government Accountability Office investigation that found that at least hundreds of kids were being abused in school by misuses of restraint or seclusion. The victims were children as young as three and four, with disabilities and without disabilities, in public and private schools. In some cases, children died.

GAO found that teachers are too often using these practices as frequent discipline. They’re using it when children fidget in their chairs, are unwilling to follow directions or leave a room.

In some cases, these abuses are nothing short of torture: teachers tying children to chairs, taping their mouths shut, using handcuffs, denying them food, fracturing bones, locking them in small dark spaces, and sitting on them until they turn blue.

GAO also found that there are no federal laws on the books to keep this from happening in schools, where kids spend most of their time.  Hospitals and other facilities that receive federal taxpayer dollars do have laws in place to protect kids from these practices. Without a federal standard, state laws are all over the map. Nineteen states have no laws whatsoever – meaning kids have no protections.

The bill has bipartisan support – it was introduced by U.S. Reps. George Miller (D-CA), and Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R-WA), who both serve on the House Education and Labor Committee and are members of their respective party leaderships.

Learn more about the GAO’s shocking investigation into the use of seclusion and restraint in schools around the country.

Read more about H.R. 4247, the Keeping All Students Safe Act.


WASHINGTON, D.C. – As Congress begins efforts to rewrite and strengthen the nation’s federal education laws, lawmakers should examine ways to expand students’ access to high-performing charter schools, witnesses told the House Education and Labor Committee today. 

H.R. 4330, the All Students Achieving through Reform Act of 2009

Full Committee Hearing 10:00 AM, February 24, 2010 2175 Rayburn H.O.B
Washington, DC
To kick off its bipartisan efforts to reform the nation’s federal education laws, on Wednesday, February 24 the House Education and Labor Committee will hold a hearing to examine proposals that would expand access to quality charter schools. The hearing will discuss the “All Students Achieving through Reform Act,” H.R. 4330, legislation that would create a new competitive grant program to expand and replicate successful charter schools to serve additional students, with a priority for low-income students, students in schools with low graduation rates and students in schools in need of improvement.

Earlier today, the committee announced plans for a bipartisan, transparent effort to overhaul the Elementary and Secondary Education Act, currently known as No Child Left Behind. For more information, click here.

News of the Day: College- and Career-Ready Standards

Both the Washington Post and the New York Times are reporting that President Obama wants higher reading and math standards to ensure students are college and career ready as part of the bipartisan reform of the nation’s primary federal education law, the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) – currently known as No Child Left Behind.

The Washington Post said:

President Obama will seek to raise academic standards across the country by requiring states to certify that their benchmarks for reading and mathematics put students on track for college or a career, administration officials said Sunday.

The proposal, part of Obama's evolving blueprint for a revision of the No Child Left Behind law, was expected to be released Monday as the president meets with governors in Washington. It will give a further boost to a state-led movement toward common standards, a groundbreaking development for a public education system in which current expectations for students vary widely from coast to coast.
That matches the testimony that the Committee heard in December and what Chairman Miller said last June:

We won’t be able to build the world-class education system our economy needs and our children deserve unless all students are taught to internationally-benchmarked standards that prepare them for college and good jobs and to compete in a 21st century global economy.
However, this is just one aspect of the larger goal of an open and transparent effort to rewrite No Child Left Behind. It will start with a series of hearings in the coming weeks to explore the challenges and opportunities ahead as we work to ensure an excellent education is available to every student in America.
 
The committee’s first hearing will focus on charter schools and will be held on February 24, 2010.
This morning the Washington Post highlighted the renewed bipartisan effort to rewrite No Child Left Behind.

In a joint statement, Chairman George Miller and Ranking Member John Kline as well as Rep. Dale E. Kildee and Rep. Michael N. Castle pledged "a bipartisan, open and transparent effort to rewrite No Child Left Behind -- a law that we all agree is in need of major reform. It will start with a series of hearings in the coming weeks to explore the challenges and opportunities ahead as we work to ensure an excellent education is available to every student in America."

"This is the best opportunity we have had to have really substantial change in how we meet the educational needs of our kids," Miller said in an interview. "Congress would love to go home and say, 'We fixed No Child Left Behind.' "

The committee’s first hearing will focus on charter schools and will be held on February 24, 2010.

Beginning today, groups and stakeholders can send the committee their input and suggestions at eseacomments@mail.house.gov. The deadline for comments is March 26, 2010.
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Democratic and Republican leaders of the House Education and Labor Committee today made an announcement about their plans for a bipartisan reform of the nation’s primary federal education law, the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) – currently known as No Child Left Behind. U.S. Reps. George Miller (D-CA), the chairman of the committee, John Kline (R-MN), the senior Republican of the committee, Dale E. Kildee (D-MI), the chairman of the subcommittee on elementary and secondary education, and Michael N. Castle (R-DE), the senior Republican of that subcommittee, issued the following joint statement:
WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Rep. George Miller (D-CA), the chairman of the House Education and Labor Committee and a key architect of the education pieces of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, issued the following statement today on the law’s one-year anniversary:
One year ago today, the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) was enacted with the goal of keeping our recession from turning into a deeper Depression, and saving and creating jobs. A year later, it’s clear that the Recovery Act pulled our economy back from the brink of financial collapse, protected teachers, policemen, firefighters, and other vital workers from losing their jobs, and made strategic investments in education reforms and worker training that will help lay the groundwork for a long-term economic recovery. Newspapers from coast to coast have documented how the Recovery Act has helped students, workers and families:

Key Investments in the President’s 2011 Education Budget

President Obama’s 2011 Education Budget continues an impressive funding commitment in education. His budget sends the right message about balancing incentives with resources – spurring major school improvements and providing the resources needed to make them.

The President’s proposed budget includes  a request for $49.7 billion in discretionary funding for the Department of Education, a $3.5 billion increase from last year’s request. It streamlines programs through consolidation and program elimination with an eye on program effectiveness. Specifically, the President’s budget will:


News of the Day: Obama wants to raise bar in education

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In today's USA Today, Greg Toppo writes that Obama wants to raise the bar of No Child Left Behind law. In the budget released yesterday, the Obama administration laid out several proposals. One was to rework the No Child Left Behind Act.

Toppo reports:

The proposal would rework the way the federal government judges public schools, scrapping a requirement that states increase the percentage of students meeting standards each year, though it allows states to set their own standards.

In its place, President Obama wants lawmakers to consider rewarding states that show progress toward internationally benchmarked, nationally developed standards.

...

Obama and Arne Duncan, his Education secretary, have long said No Child Left Behind doesn't hold states to high enough standards. On a conference call Monday, Duncan told reporters the law "often does little to reward progress" of schools that help students achieve — and lets states set standards that are too low to allow U.S. children to get into college or compete internationally.

"In too many states, those standards are too low, and the existing law doesn't provide states with incentives to raise their standards," Duncan said. "In fact, quite the opposite is true."
And the Administration has put their money where their mouth is. In the budget, they requested nearly $3 billion dollars in increased resources to help schools meet this higher standards.

About the budget request, Chairman Miller said:

I applaud the President’s continued funding commitment to early education and our K-12 schools. His budget sends the right message about balancing incentives with resources – spurring major school improvements and providing the resources needed to make them. I agree with his focus on rigorous standards, effective teachers and turning around our lowest performing schools. We will examine these and other key areas as we begin working on a bipartisan rewrite of our federal education laws.
Learn more about the Elementary and Secondary Act and the President's educational budget proposals.

News of the Day: Obama to Seek Up to $4 Billion Boost for Education

Alyson Klein at Education Week has an excellent round up of President Obama's 2011 education budget proposal:

The president’s fiscal year 2011 budget, slated to be released Monday, will seek a 6.2 percent increase to the U.S. Department of Education’s budget, including up to $4 billion more for K-12 education. The department’s discretionary budget for fiscal 2010 is roughly $63.7 billion.

A large piece of the increase, $1.35 billion, would be aimed at extending beyond this year the $4 billion in economic-stimulus program Race to the Top grants and opening up the competition—now limited to states—to school districts. The president highlighted the Race to the Top saying it had “broken through the stalemate between left and right,” and pledged to expand the reform priorities of that competition—among them turning around failing schools and increasing the supply of effective teachers—to all 50 states.

“The idea here is simple,” he said. “Instead of rewarding failure, we only reward success. Instead of funding the status quo, we only invest in reform­—reform that raises student achievement, inspires students to excel in math and science, and turns around failing schools that steal the future of too many young Americans, from rural communities to inner cities.”

...

President Obama also called on Congress to pass legislation that would make sweeping changes to the student loan program and redirect money from the projected savings to building new school facilities and bolstering community colleges, early-childhood-education programs, and Pell Grants, which help low-income students pay for college.
Chairman Miller said after the speech:

“I am especially pleased that President Obama called on Congress to rewrite our nation’s federal education laws. The key to getting this done will be bipartisanship. I plan to begin working on this immediately with this administration, Congressman Kline, our colleagues on the House Education and Labor Committee and all parties that have ideas about how to improve our schools.

“Throughout his speech, President Obama talked about changing the way Washington works. One way we can do just that is by enacting legislation already passed by the House that would invest billions of dollars to help families pay for college – at no cost to taxpayers – by eliminating taxpayer subsidies for student loan middle men. Ending these subsidies will save $87 billion that we can invest directly in our college students and in improving early education and community colleges. It’s a much better use of taxpayer dollars.
We encourage you to read the entire Education Week article. Click on the links to learn more about the Elementary and Secondary Education Act, Race to the Top, and the Student Aid and Fiscal Responsibility Act.

WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Rep. George Miller (D-CA), chairman of the House Education and Labor Committee, issued the following statement today after President Obama and U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan announced plans to strengthen efforts to improve the nation’s schools by expanding the Race to the Top grant program. Their proposal includes a funding request of  $1.35 billion for the program in the FY 2011 budget and allowing districts to apply for funds, along with states. Today marks the deadline for the first round of Race to the Top grants. Thirty states have announced their intention to apply for funding.
WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Rep George Miller (D-CA), chairman of the House Education and Labor Committee, issued the following statement today after U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack announced the release of $25 million in grants for  school food service equipment to help support high quality and safe school meal programs. Congress invested in these grants as part of a one year extension of the child nutrition programs enacted last October to address immediate challenges schools and food service directors are facing amidst state budget cuts.

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today the House passed the Consolidated Appropriations Act, which includes critical investments in education, worker training, job creation, and other priorities that will help the U.S. economy move toward recovery. U.S. Rep. George Miller (D-CA), the chairman of the House Education and Labor Committee, released the following statement:

WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Reps. George Miller (D-CA) and Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R-WA) today introduced legislation that would, for the first time, protect all children in schools from harmful uses of restraint and seclusion. The legislation embodies principles outlined in a letter U.S. Education Secretary Arne Duncan sent to Miller today. U.S. Sen. Chris Dodd (D-CT) is also expected to introduce companion legislation today in the Senate. The lawmakers unveiled the bill at a press conference this morning; click here to watch (67.4 MB file).

Improving Our Competitiveness: Common Core Education Standards

Full Committee Hearing 10:00 AM, December 8, 2009 2175 Rayburn H.O.B
Washington, DC
On Tuesday, December 8, the House Education and Labor Committee held a hearing to learn more about states’ efforts to help improve the nation’s competitiveness by adopting a common core of college and career readiness standards. To date, 48 states have joined the initiative.

Committee to Examine State Efforts to Adopt Competitive Education Standards

On Tuesday, December 8, the House Education and Labor Committee will hold a hearing to learn more about states’ efforts to help improve the nation’s competitiveness by adopting a common core of college and career readiness standards. To date, 48 states have joined the initiative.

WHAT:          
Full Committee Hearing on “Improving Our Competitiveness: Common Core Education Standards”

WHO:            
The Honorable Bill Ritter, Jr., Governor of Colorado
Gene Wilhoit, Executive Director, Council of Chief State School Officers, Washington, D.C.
Doug Kubach, President and CEO, Pearson Assessment and Information, San Antonio, TX
Cathy Allen, Vice Chair for the Board of Education at St. Mary’s County Public Schools, Leonardtown, MD
            
WHEN:         
Tuesday, December 8, 2009
10:00 a.m. EST
Please check the Committee schedule for potential updates »

WHERE:       
House Education and Labor Committee Hearing Room
2175 Rayburn House Office Building
Washington, D.C.

Note: This hearing will be webcast live from the Education and Labor Committee website. Access the webcast when the hearing begins » 
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Democratic lawmakers announced today they will introduce critical legislation to address the high school dropout crisis, which poses a growing threat to the nation’s economic stability and global competitiveness. Nearly one-third of all high school students do not to graduate every year, costing the U.S. economy billions of dollars in lost revenue. 

The Graduation for All Act of 2009

Strengthening Our Schools, Our Community and Our Future Competitiveness

The high school dropout crisis poses one of the greatest threats to our nation’s economic growth and competitiveness. Each day 7,000 U.S. students drop out of high school. More than half of all students who drop out are from the so-called “dropout factories” – the 2,000 high schools with dropout rates above 40 percent. Many of these students come from a struggling middle school. President Obama has challenged Congress and the American people to take action by asking every American to commit to at least one year of higher education or training. This will require addressing our nation’s dropout crisis and dramatically improving graduation rates.

The Graduation for All Act (H.R. 4122) will make a down-payment on our future competitiveness by helping our lowest-performing middle and high schools improve student achievement, increase graduation rates, and promote college enrollment. Specifically, the legislation would:
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Many states have lowered the bar on what their students are expected to learn -- meaning that fewer children are being held to expectations that will adequately prepare them for a competitive economy, according to a new report released today.

Examining Innovative Practices to Improve Child Nutrition

Healthy Families and Communities Subcommittee Hearing 10:00 AM, October 8, 2009 2175 Rayburn H.O.B
Washington, DC
On Thursday, October 8, the House Subcommittee on Healthy Families and Communities held a hearing to examine innovative strategies to ensure children have access to healthy, nutritious and safe school meals.

Temporary Extensions of the Child Nutrition Programs

Today, the House is expected to vote on the Agriculture Appropriations Conference Report which includes temporary extensions of expiring provisions of the laws governing the child nutrition programs resulting in a cost savings of $150 million. These savings will be reinvested to meet critical child nutrition needs across the country to ensure more children have year-round access to healthy and nutritious meals at school, in child care settings, and during the summer months.

Ensuring More Children Have Access to Healthy and Nutritious Meals

ENSURING IMPROVED ACCESS AND QUALITY OF MEALS FOR ALL CHILDREN

Children should not have to go hungry – and they should have access to nutritious foods that will help them thrive physically and academically. In this difficult economic climate, the federal child nutrition programs have an increasingly important role to play in providing children with healthy meals while at school, childcare, or during the summer months. Over 32 million children each year are served by these programs. For many children, these meals may be the only healthy foods they receive during the day.

Research shows that children who are hungry have a harder time paying attention and learning in the classroom. Low-income children are also at greater risk of going hungry or becoming overweight, during the summer months. Providing children with access to healthier, nutritious foods at school, child care, summer programs, or other educational settings is vital to our efforts to help all children learn, succeed and grow.

To ensure that children can continue to benefit from these programs and services, Congress will temporarily extend expiring provisions of the Child Nutrition Act until a more comprehensive reauthorization of the law occurs next year. This one-year temporary extension will generate a savings of $150 million, which will be reinvested to meet critical child nutrition needs across the country. These new investments will address President Obama’s and Congress’ priorities to end hunger and improve child nutrition, increase access to quality school meals, and build program capacity.

Hearing on access to healthy, nutritious and safe school meals

On Thursday, October 9, 2009, the House Subcommittee on Healthy Families and Communities held a hearing to examine innovative strategies to ensure children have access to healthy, nutritious and safe school meals.

Visit the hearing page for the full list of witnesses.
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Students at schools with the highest concentration of poor and minority students do not have equal access to effective teachers as their peers in more affluent school districts, education experts, including teachers, told the House Education and Labor Committee today. Teachers are the most important factor in determining the success of students, yet low-income and minority students are more likely to be taught by less experienced, less qualified teachers than their peers in wealthier communities.

“There’s no question that a great teacher is the key ingredient in a child’s education. It is no longer acceptable to allow our poorest children, who need effective teachers the most, to suffer in a system that is not helping them to achieve,” said U.S. Rep. George Miller (D-CA), chair of the House Education and Labor Committee. “A young person entering the teaching workplace today wants it to look like their friends’ workplace, but don’t receive the same level of structure, support, or professional development opportunities offered in other industries. This is about being on the right side of history, about changing the teaching workplace to help every student and every teacher excel.”

Teacher Equity: Effective Teachers for All Children

Full Committee Hearing 11:00 AM, September 30, 2009 2175 Rayburn H.O.B
Washington, DC
On Wednesday, September 30, the House Education and Labor Committee held a hearing to examine the progress states and schools districts have made toward ensuring that every child is taught by an effective teacher. Current law requires states to make sure teacher talent is distributed fairly in school districts, so that all children – including poor and minority children – have access to outstanding teachers. Several of the witnesses are former teachers.

The Obama administration has already taken steps toward improving teacher equity. In order to be eligible for funding under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, states are required to take steps to place effective teachers in the classrooms that need them most.

Hearing on Teacher Equity: Effective Teachers for All Children

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Today, the House Education and Labor Committee held a hearing to examine the progress states and schools districts have made toward ensuring that every child is taught by an effective teacher. Current law requires states to make sure teacher talent is distributed fairly in school districts, so that all children – including poor and minority children – have access to outstanding teachers.

The Obama administration has already taken steps toward improving teacher equity. In order to be eligible for funding under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, states are required to take steps to place effective teachers in the classrooms that need them most.

The hearing page has a complete list of all witnesses.

WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Rep. George Miller (D-CA), chair of the House Education and Labor Committee, today issued the following statement after U.S. Education Secretary Arne Duncan convened a meeting of stakeholders and education advocates to discuss education reform and the reauthorization of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA). Duncan has visited schools in over 30 states as part of his “Listening and Learning” Tour, which Secretary Duncan launched in May to seek input from stakeholders, teacher and parents on President Obama’s education agenda.

 

News of the Day: GAO audit: Schools slow to get alerts about tainted food

Today's front page story in the USA Today about a recent GAO audit is recommended reading. The audit is in response to an investigation request by U.S. Senator Richard Durbin (D-IL), and U.S. Reps. George Miller (D-CA), Rosa DeLauro (D-CT), and Carolyn McCarthy (D-NY).

The USA Today says:

Federal agencies that supply food for 31 million schoolchildren fail to ensure that tainted products are pulled quickly from cafeterias, a federal audit obtained by USA TODAY finds.

The delays raise the risk of children being sickened by contaminated food, according to the audit by Congress' Government Accountability Office.

In recent recalls, including one this year in which salmonella-infected peanut butter sickened almost 700 people, the government failed to disseminate "timely and complete notification about suspect food products provided to schools through the federal commodities program," the audit says.

Such alerts sometimes took more than a week to reach schools, "during which time (schools) unknowingly served affected products."
Chairman Miller said, “Ensuring that all children have access to healthy and nutritious meals during the school day is vital to our efforts to help all children learn and succeed. Every possible effort must be made to make sure that the foods served to our schoolchildren are safe to eat. As we work toward reauthorizing the school meal programs, it is clear that further actions must be taken to strengthen the communications, planning and procedures needed to prevent recalled or contaminated foods from entering our cafeterias.”

We recommend you read the entire USA Today article, Democratic lawmakers' statements, and the GAO report.
WASHINGTON, D.C. – To ensure that foods served to children in the nation’s schools are safe, the federal agencies that oversee school meals and food safety must work more collaboratively and establish better communications procedures, according to a government report released today by Congressional Democrats.

High School/College Dual Enrollment Programs

Early Childhood, Elementary and Secondary Education Subcommittee Hearing 1:00 PM, September 18, 2009 Northbank Center Ballroom, University of Michigan, 432 North Saginaw Street
Fint, Michigan

Chairman Miller on Bloomberg TV after passage of SAFRA

Chairman Miller appeared on Bloomberg TV to talk about House passage of the Student Aid and Fiscal Responsibility Act by a bipartisan vote of 253 to 171. He highlighted how the bill:

News of the Day: Someday, a Bill Will Pass

Today Gail Collins in the New York Times writes an editorial about how the Student Aid and Fiscal Responsibility Act makes sense and is needed for today's American students:

Let us stop here and recall how the current loan system works:

1) Federal government provides private banks with capital.

2) Federal government pays private banks a subsidy to lend that capital to students.

3) Federal government guarantees said loans so the banks don’t have any risk.

And now, the proposed reform:

1) The federal government makes the loans.

....

If it all works out, Congress will have come a way toward fixing this problem, at least when it comes to federally financed student loans. There’s already a new law that forgives part or all of the debt for graduates who go into careers in public service. Terms will be easier for low-income debtors.

The House will vote on the Student Aid and Fiscal Responsibility Act today. Stay tuned to our Twitter feed for updates on the debate and the vote.
WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Rep. George Miller (D-CA), chairman of the House Education and Labor Committee, today released the following statement after California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger requested a special session of the California legislature to ensure California will be eligible to receive ‘Race to the Top’ grants. The unprecedented $4.35 billion competitive grant program, included in the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, will incentivize states to make progress in key areas of education reform.

"This is an important step forward to push for real reform for every child in California and, if done correctly, to provide more transparency that will end the educational inequities and improve classrooms all across the state. It's time to ensure that all of California's students have access to the world-class education they need to grow, thrive and succeed.”

For more information on ‘Race to the Top’ funding, click here.
 
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Late last week, U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan sent a letter to state school chiefs asking them to formally submit their policies on seclusion and restraint in schools, as part of larger efforts to prevent abusive uses of these practices in the nation’s classrooms.

A recent report from the Government Accountability Office, conducted at the request of U.S. Rep. George Miller (D-CA), the chairman of the House Education and Labor Committee, uncovered hundreds of allegations of abusive uses of seclusion and restraint practices on schoolchildren over the past two decades. In several of those cases, this abuse resulted in the death of a child.
 

News of the Day: Should Schools Use Restraints on Students?

Parade Magazine will run a story in tomorrow's print edition (available online now) highlighting the use and abuse of seclusion and restraint techniques in schools. Parade reports:

Across the country each year, thousands of schoolchildren—especially disabled ones—are restrained or isolated for misbehaving. The Government Accountability Office reported more than 33,000 incidents of restraint or seclusion last year at schools in Texas and California, two of only six states that track such data. Nineteen states have no regulations at all regarding the use of restraint and seclusion in schools.
The Committee held a hearing in May on the findings of the GAO report and to hear testimony from parents of children that had been abused through the use of restraint techniques. The hearing generated considerable press coverage and Secretary of Education, Arne Duncan, pledged to asking all state school chiefs to submit their plans for using seclusion, restraint and other practices for physical intervention in their schools.

“Children’s safety has to be our number one concern before we begin to think about educating them and doing other things,” said Duncan. “And as we go into the summer and prepare for next school year I want to make sure that as we go into next school year that every state has a real clear plan as to how to do this in a way that makes sense. And doesn’t jeopardize, doesn’t endanger children.”

And again Parade says:

George Miller (D., Calif.) is working on a new set of rules that could limit the use of restraint and seclusion, provide funding to train school staff, and require communication with parents if extreme disciplinary measures are used. Says Miller: “We’re meeting with the Obama Administration and education experts about a federal action to keep kids safe and stop horrific abuses from going unchecked.”
We encourage you to read the entire Parade article and watch Chairman Miller 's recent interview on CNN about this topic.
Chairman George Miller was on The Situation Room with Wolf Blitzer last night discussing the use and abuse of seclusion and restraint techniques in schools. On May 19, 2009, the Committee held a hearing examining the abusive and deadly use of seclusion and restraint in schools. In response to the GAO report delivered at that hearing, Chairman Miller said, “The GAO’s report shows that in too many cases, a child’s life wound up being threatened even though that child was not a threat to others. This behavior, in some instances, looks like torture. The current situation is unacceptable and cannot continue.”

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Legislation that will make college dramatically more affordable for millions of Americans, at no new cost to taxpayers, was approved today by the House Education and Labor Committee by a bipartisan vote of 30 to 17. The full House of Representatives will vote on the bill next.

The legislation, the Student Aid and Fiscal Responsibility Act of 2009, will generate almost $100 billion in savings over the next ten years that will be used to boost Pell Grant scholarships, keep interest rates on federal loans affordable, create a more reliable and effective financial aid system for families, and enact President Obama’s key education priorities.
 
WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Rep. George Miller (D-CA), chairman of the House Education and Labor Committee, issued the following statement on a new report released by the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES): Achievement Gaps: How Black and White Students in Public Schools Perform in Mathematics and Reading on the National Assessment of Educational Progress. The report provides a comprehensive look at progress in closing the achievement gap between black and white students.
Representative McCarthy was on CNN this morning talking about yesterday's hearing regarding Strengthening School Safety through Prevention of Bullying. After you are done watching the interview, check out the photos, videos and some statements from Representatives and witnesses.

WASHINGTON, D.C. – More needs to be done to prevent violence and harassment in schools, witnesses told Congress at a joint hearing held by the House Healthy Families and Communities and Early Childhood, Elementary and Secondary Education Subcommittees. Witnesses today discussed various methods to improve school safety, including better data and reporting, student run programs, and training for faculty and staff.

Strengthening School Safety through Prevention of Bullying

Healthy Families and Communities Subcommittee and Early Childhood, Elementary and Secondary Education Hearing 10:00 AM, July 8, 2009 2175 Rayburn H.O.B
Washington, DC
WASHINGTON, D.C. – On Wednesday, July 8, the House Subcommittees on Early Childhood, Elementary and Secondary Education and Healthy Families and Communities will hold a joint hearing to examine strategies for improving school safety, including ways to prevent violence, bullying and harassment. Recent studies show students are more likely to succeed academically and graduate when learning environments are free from harassment and violence.

News of the Day: Federal Ban Sought On Student Restraint

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The Wall Street Journal ran an article this morning to draw attention to the abusive use of seclusion and restraint within schools. These abuses were brought to national attention during a hearing by the Education and Labor Committee.

In Washington, the effort to limit the use of such techniques is being championed by Rep. George Miller, chairman of the House Committee on Education and Labor. In January, the California Democrat called for the GAO review, and last month his committee held hearings. What was discovered, he said in an interview, is a system "in which children are unnecessarily dying and being harmed."

In testimony before Congress in May, Education Secretary Arne Duncan called such findings "disturbing" and said he is instructing chief school officers in all 50 states to detail their plans for keeping students safe.

...

The scope of any possible federal law is still uncertain. Mr. Miller and others involved in the discussions say they would like it to be crafted so that states are primarily responsible for developing and enforcing policies.

We encourage you to watch the video testimony and to read the entire Wall Street Journal article.

Subcommittees Hold Hearing on Improving School Safety

On Wednesday, July 8, the House Subcommittees on Early Childhood, Elementary and Secondary Education and Healthy Families and Communities will hold a joint hearing to examine strategies for improving school safety, including ways to prevent violence, bullying and harassment. Recent studies show students are more likely to succeed academically and graduate when learning environments are free from harassment and violence.

WHAT:         
Subcommittee Hearing on “Strengthening School Safety through Prevention of Bullying”
 
WHO:            
Witnesses TBA

WHEN:          
Wednesday, July 8, 2009
10:00 a.m. EDT
Please check the Committee schedule for potential updates »

WHERE:       
House Education and Labor Committee Hearing Room
2175 Rayburn House Office Building
Washington, D.C.
 

The Future of Learning: How Technology is Transforming Public Schools

Full Committee Hearing 10:00 AM, June 16, 2009 2175 Rayburn H.O.B
Washington, DC
The House Education and Labor Committee held a hearing on Tuesday, June 16 to examine how technology and innovative education tools are transforming and improving education in America.
WASHINGTON, D.C. – The U.S. House of Representatives today overwhelmingly passed the first federal legislation to keep students safe while on school-sponsored overnight field trips.

Under current laws, there are no requirements for schools to have safety plans in place when students attend off-campus, overnight trips. The legislation, Phylicia’s Law (H.R. 729), authored by U.S. Rep. Steve Rothman (D-NJ), would rectify this. It would require school districts receiving federal funds through the Safe and Drug-Free Schools program to develop a school safety policy for off-campus, overnight field trips and make those policies publicly available. The bill is named after Phylicia Moore, an 18-year-old high school student from New Jersey who tragically died while on a school field trip to Ghana.

News of the Day: More students on free lunch programs

The USA Today ran a story yesterday about the increasing demand for school lunches during this economic downturn.

Nearly 20 million children now receive free or reduced-price lunches in the nation's schools, an all-time high, federal data show, and many school districts are struggling to cover their share of the meals' rising costs.

Through February, nationwide enrollment in free school lunch programs was up 6.3% over the same time last year, to 16.5 million students, based on data from the U.S. Food and Nutrition Service (FNS), which subsidizes the programs. Participation in reduced-price lunch programs rose to 3.2 million students, the data show.

...

Preliminary school lunch data for March suggest that February's record demand may be dipping slightly. Still, Congress should give "serious consideration" to boosting the federal subsidy during the reauthorization this fall of the Child Nutrition Act, says Rep. George Miller, D-Calif., who chairs the House Education and Labor Committee. "For millions of children, this is the nutritional safety net."
This increased demand and other issues related to child nutrition were raised at the hearing regarding improving child nutrition programs to reduce childhood obesity on May 14, 2009.

Committee to Examine Innovation and Technology in the Classroom

The House Education and Labor Committee will hold a hearing on Tuesday, June 16 to examine how technology and innovative education tools are transforming and improving education in America.

WHAT:          
Hearing on “The Future of Learning: How Technology is Transforming Public Schools”

WHO:            
Witnesses TBA

WHEN:         
Tuesday, June 16, 2009
10:00 a.m., EDT
Please check the Committee schedule for potential updates »
                        
WHERE:       
House Education and Labor Committee Hearing Room
2175 Rayburn House Office Building
Washington, D.C.

Access the webcast when the hearing begins at 10:00 am EDT »
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Congress should find a way to replicate and support the successes of outstanding charter schools as it works to improve our public schools, witnesses told the House Education and Labor Committee today.

Some of the most promising and influential public school reform strategies in recent years have been pioneered by the charter movement, including extending learning time, principal autonomy over staff and budget decisions, high expectations for all students, using data-driven research and focusing relentlessly on results.
 

Building on What Works at Charter Schools

Full Committee Hearing 10:00 AM, June 4, 2009 2175 Rayburn H.O.B
Washington, DC
The House Education and Labor Committee will hold a hearing on Thursday, June 4 to examine how supporting outstanding charter schools can help build an innovative, world-class American school system that educates all students to high levels.

President Obama has repeatedly called on states to lift restrictions that limit the growth of successful charter schools and encourage rigorous accountability of them.
WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Rep. George Miller (D-CA), the chairman of the House Education and Labor Committee, issued the following statement today after the National Governors Association and the Council of Chief State School Officers announced that 49 states and territories have joined an effort to develop a set of common academic standards for K-12 students. 

Committee to Hold Hearing on Charter Schools

The House Education and Labor Committee will hold a hearing on Thursday, June 4 to examine how supporting outstanding charter schools can help build an innovative, world-class American school system that educates all students to high levels.

President Obama has repeatedly called on states to lift restrictions that limit the growth of successful charter schools and encourage rigorous accountability of them.

WHAT:          
Hearing on "Building on What Works at Charter Schools”

WHO:            
Steve Barr, founder and chairman of the board, Green Dot Public Schools, Los Angeles, CA
David Dunn, director, Texas Charter School Association, Austin, TX
Jim Goenner, board chair, National Association of Charter School Authorizers and lead authorizer at Central Michigan University, Mount Pleasant, MI
John King, managing director, Excellence Preparatory Network, Uncommon Schools, New York, NY
Barbara O’Brien, Lt. Governor, Colorado
Jim Shelton, Assistant Deputy Secretary, Office of Innovation and Improvement, Department of Education        
                                                                      
WHEN:         
Thursday, June 4, 2009
10:00 a.m, EDT
Please check the Committee schedule for potential updates »
                       
WHERE:       
House Education and Labor Committee Hearing Room
2175 Rayburn House Office Building
Washington, D.C.
WASHINGTON, DC – U.S. Rep. George Miller (D-CA) today issued the following the statement following Governor Schwarzenegger’s recent call to expand learning opportunities for California’s high school students by providing them with free digital textbooks. The textbooks will be aligned with a rigorous core of standards.

“Governor Schwarzenegger has taken a historic step to help prepare California’s high school students to compete in a global, 21st century economy. Research shows that technology-friendly classrooms help teachers teach more effectively and boost student learning. By requiring these digital textbooks to be aligned with California’s high standards, he is raising the bar for students. I hope other states will follow California’s lead and incorporate digital textbooks into their schools, so that all students in this country can benefit from innovative and effective learning tools. As California grapples with this budget crisis, I hope Governor Schwarzenegger will make the education of our students a top priority.”

For more information on the Governor’s initiative, click here.

Story of the Day: Television Coverage

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The committee's hearing about the GAO report regarding the use of seclusion and restraint generated a lot of television coverage. Please take the time to watch the videos below:

News of the Day: Danger to students

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The Las Vegas Sun wrote an editorial over the weekend about the committee's hearing regarding the GAO report about seclusion and restraint techniques used in schools. After recounting some of the horrendous accounts of abuse, the Sun said this:

This is outrageous. Federal law allows workers in hospitals and treatment centers to restrain children only in emergencies, but the law leaves it up to the states to set policies regarding schools. State laws differ greatly. Many states allow teachers to severely restrain disabled children for little reason. To its credit, Nevada does not. The state outlaws the use of restraints on disabled children except where absolutely necessary and requires that school employees who work with disabled students receive training on “positive behavioral intervention.”

The disparity between states and the harshness of some of the restraint techniques has caught the attention of Congress. Rep. George Miller, D-Calif., said the result is that many students “are abused under the guise of punishment.”

Miller has called for legislation to outlaw schools from restraining or secluding students except in emergencies. Congress should act on that before any more students are hurt.

Michigan News also ran a similar editorial today. In it, they mentioned the Secretary Duncan's commitment to evaluate state guidelines, ensuring sensible policies are in place next school year. The Michigan News said:

Confining and restraining a student should be the last resort in every classroom. Training must be a critical part of any state policy. School should be a safe place for students and faculty.
We encourage you to read the Las Vegas Sun and the Michigan News editorials in their entirety.




To learn more about seclusion and restraint, click here.

Examining the Abusive and Deadly Use of Seclusion and Restraint in Schools

Full Committee Hearing 10:00 AM, May 19, 2009 2175 Rayburn H.O.B.
Washington, DC
On Tuesday, May 19, the House Committee on Education and Labor held a hearing to examine abusive and deadly uses of seclusion and restraint in U.S. schools. Seclusion and restraint are physical interventions used by teachers and other school staff to prevent students from hurting themselves or others
On the front page of the USA today, Greg Toppo writes an excellent article about how restraint can dispirit and hurt special-ed students. In it, Mr. Toppo writes:

His case is one of 10 to be highlighted today during a hearing on Capitol Hill over the use of restraint and seclusion in the USA's public and private schools — techniques often used to control children with disabilities.

A new report from the Government Accountability Office, Congress' investigative arm, also out today, finds "widespread" allegations of abuse involving the practices in schools — even when students aren't physically aggressive or dangerous to themselves or others.

Investigators say they uncovered hundreds of allegations of abuse involving restraint or seclusion at public and private schools nationwide between 1990 and 2009.
Today the committee will have a hearing examining the abusive and deadly use of seclusion and restraint in schools at 10 am ET.

Additional stories about this subject can be found at NPR, CBS, and CNN. All are worth your time.
 
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, the U.S. House of Representatives overwhelmingly approved legislation to modernize, upgrade, and green America’s schools by a vote of 275 to 155.

The 21st Century Green High Performing Public School Facilities Act
, (H.R. 2187), invests billions of dollars in school repair and renovation projects that would create safer, healthier, and more energy-efficient learning environments for students. The legislation makes schools part of the effort to revive the U.S. economy and fight global warming by creating clean energy jobs that will help put workers in hard-hit industries back to work. The bill also makes investments in Gulf Coast schools as they continue to rebuild following Hurricanes Katrina and Rita and schools in other areas recovering from natural disasters.
WASHINGTON, D.C. – The U.S. high school dropout crisis poses one of the greatest threats to the nation’s economic growth and competitiveness and must be addressed, witnesses told the House Education and Labor Committee today. Witnesses urged Congress to explore legislative solutions as quickly as possible.

America’s Competitiveness through High School Reform

Full Committee Hearing 3:00 PM, May 12, 2009 2175 Rayburn H.O.B
Washington, DC
On Tuesday, May 12, the House Education and Labor Committee held a hearing to examine how policies for addressing the high school dropout crisis and improving graduation rates can strengthen America’s economic competitiveness.

Nationally, only 70 percent of students graduate from high school with a regular high school diploma. Approximately 10 percent of high schools in this country produce close to half of these dropouts. In his first address to a joint session of Congress, President Obama called on lawmakers to address the dropout crisis.


News of the Day: The Dropout Crisis

In Saturday's New York Times, they have an editorial entitled: The Dropout Crisis. In it, the editorial board noted that:

The soaring dropout rate is causing the United States to lose ground educationally to rivals abroad and is trapping millions of young Americans at the very margins of the economy.
Nationally, only 70 percent of students graduate from high school with a regular high school diploma. Approximately 10 percent of high schools in this country produce close to half of these dropouts. As the NY Times continues:

Many of this country’s large urban high schools are rightly called “dropout factories” because more students leave school than graduate....The dropout crisis presents a clear danger to national prosperity.
There will be a full committee hearing tomorrow at 3pm Eastern to examine how policies for addressing the high school dropout crisis and improving graduation rates can strengthen America’s economic competitiveness.
On Tuesday, May 12, the Committee will hold a hearing to examine how policies for addressing the high school dropout crisis and improving graduation rates can strengthen America’s economic competitiveness.

Nationally, only 70 percent of students graduate from high school with a regular high school diploma. Approximately 10 percent of high schools in this country produce close to half of these dropouts. In his first address to a joint session of Congress, President Obama called on lawmakers to address the dropout crisis.
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Districts across the country would receive billions of dollars to modernize, upgrade, repair and green America’s schools under legislation approved today by the House Education and Labor Committee.

By a vote of 31 to 14, the Committee passed H.R. 2187, the 21st Century Green High Performing Public School Facilities Act, which would make critical investments to provide more students with modern, healthier, more environmentally-friendly classrooms. It would also support hundreds of thousands of new construction jobs and invest more than half a billion dollars for school facility improvements in the Gulf Coast, where many schools still face considerable damage caused by Hurricanes Katrina and Rita.
 

21st Century Green High-Performing Public School Facilities Act

Full Committee Markup 10:00 AM, May 6, 2009 2175 Rayburn H.O.B
Washington, DC

 

Committee to Consider Legislation to Modernize America’s Schools

On Wednesday, May 6, the Committee will consider legislation that will provide the nation’s public schools with billions of dollars in funding for much-needed repair, renovation and modernization projects, while breathing new life into local economies.  

The 21st Century Green High-Performing Public School Facilities Act could create as many as 136,000 new construction jobs nationwide, according to calculations by the Economic Policy Institute, while boosting student achievement by creating healthier, safer, and energy-efficient learning environments. Studies show there is a correlation between facility quality and student achievement. The legislation also would provide significant aid for Gulf Coast Schools still recovering from Hurricanes Katrina and Rita.

WHAT:         
Full Committee Mark-Up of H.R. 2187 “21st Century Green High-Performing Public School”

WHEN:         
Tuesday, May 5, 2009
10:00 a.m. ET
Please check the Committee schedule for potential updates »

WHERE:      
House Education and Labor Committee Hearing Room
2175 Rayburn House Office Building
Washington, D.C.

The 21st Century Green High-Performing Public School Facilities Act

Improving Education, Creating Jobs, Fighting Global Warming

School buildings should be safe and healthy learning environments for children. But according to recent estimates, America’s schools are hundreds of billions of dollars short of the funding needed to bring them up to good condition. Research shows a correlation between school facility quality and student achievement. Modernizing school buildings would help revive our economy by creating jobs and preparing workers for the clean energy jobs of the future. And by upgrading school buildings to make them more energy efficient and more reliant on renewable sources of energy, modernized school buildings can also help reduce the emissions that contribute to global warming. Congress already has endorsed these principles by making green school modernization, renovation and repair part an allowable use of funds under the state fiscal stabilization fund in H.R. 1, the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act.

Click here to download estimates of the amount of funding that each state and school district would receive under H.R. 2187 if it were to be enacted »

The 21st Century Green High-Performing Public Schools Facilities Act (H.R. 2187), passed by the House on May 14, 2009 by a vote of 275-155, would:

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Democratic lawmakers today reintroduced legislation that will help make America’s public school facilities more safe, healthy, energy-efficient and technologically advanced, while creating thousands of new jobs in construction and green industries. The House Education and Labor committee will consider and vote on the bill next Wednesday, May 6.

The bill, the 21st Century Green High-Performing Public School Facilities Act, (H.R. 2187), reintroduced by U.S. Reps. Ben Chandler (D-KY), George Miller (D-CA), Dale E. Kildee (D-MI) and David Loebsack (D-IA) would provide billions of dollars in funding to schools for much-needed modernization, repair, and renovation projects. It would also provide additional support for Gulf Coast schools still recovering from damage caused by Hurricanes Katrina and Rita. The House passed similar legislation last June.
WASHINGTON, D.C. – The federal government should support state efforts to develop a common core of rigorous, internationally benchmarked academic standards, witnesses told the House Education and Labor Committee today. The hearing showed that momentum for stronger, state-developed standards is growing, with teachers, schools, business leaders and stakeholders from across the political spectrum voicing support. 

Strengthening America’s Competitiveness through Common Academic Standards

Full Committee Hearing 10:00 AM, April 29, 2009 2175 Rayburn H.O.B
Washington, DC
On Wednesday, April 29, the House Education and Labor Committee held a hearing to examine how states can better prepare their students to compete in a global economy by using internationally benchmarked common standards.
WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Rep. George Miller (D-CA), chairman of the House Education and Labor Committee, issued the following statement after the National Assessment Governing Board released its report on the National Assessment of Education Progress (NAEP), which measures the performance of 9, 13 and 17 year old students in reading and math. The report, “The Nation’s Report Card: Trends in Academic Progress 2008,” studies long term trends in student achievement and was last issued in 2004. 

Committee to Examine How Common State Standards Can Improve Competitiveness

On Wednesday, April 29, the Committee will hold a hearing to examine how states can better prepare their students to compete in a global economy by using internationally benchmarked common standards.

WHAT:         
Full Committee Hearing on “Strengthening America’s Competitiveness through Common Academic Standards”

WHO:            
The Honorable James B. Hunt, Jr., Former Governor of North Carolina and Foundation Chair, James B. Hunt, Jr. Institute for Educational Leadership and Policy, Durham, North Carolina
Ken James, Commissioner of Education, Arkansas Department of Education, Little Rock, Arkansas
Greg Jones, Chair, California Business for Excellence in Education (CBEE), Sacramento, California
Dave Levin, Co-Founder, KIPP: Knowledge Is Power Program, New York, New York
Randi Weingarten, President, American Federation of Teachers, New York, New York
            
WHEN:          
Wednesday, April 29, 2009
10:00 a.m. EDT
Please check the Committee schedule for potential updates »

WHERE:       
House Education and Labor Committee Hearing Room
2175 Rayburn House Office Building
Washington, D.C.

Photos from Chairman Miller's visit to a DC public school

Today, Chairman Miller and Senator Richard Durbin visited the Shaw-Garnett Patterson middle school in Washington, DC with DC Public Schools Chancellor Michelle Rhee.  Principal Brian Betts and students gave them a tour of several classrooms, including math and literacy, and then the lawmakers had the opportunity to sit down with a group 8th grade students.  Following that meeting, Miller and Durbin also met with a group of teachers from the school.



Lost Educational Opportunities in Alternative Settings

Healthy Families and Communities Subcommittee and Judiciary Subcommittee on Crime, Terrorism and Homeland Security Hearing 10:00 AM, March 12, 2009 2175 Rayburn H.O.B
Washington, DC
The House Education and Labor Subcommittee on Healthy Families and Communities Subcommittee will hold a joint hearing with the Judiciary Subcommittee on Crime, Terrorism and Homeland Security to examine if at-risk youth are missing out on educational opportunities while in foster care, juvenile justice facilities, alternative education settings and other environments.
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Schoolchildren around the country have been subject to abusive – and in some cases fatal – uses of seclusion and restraint by school administrators, teachers and staff, according to a new report released today by the National Disability Rights Network. The report, the first national effort to examine these practices in both public and private schools identified hundreds of cases where the abusive and negligent use of seclusion and restraint injured or traumatized students, many of whom were disabled. In several cases, students died.
The U.S. Department of Education recently released new regulations for the No Child Left Behind Act.

Some of these regulations are steps in the right direction; but others will do little to change the criticism facing NCLB .  It is troubling that the Bush administration has waited until the last possible minute to address some of the serious concerns with No Child Left Behind, in particular the lack of uniformity across the states when calculating their high school graduation rates.  No Child Left Behind law is in need of significant and fundamental improvements -- so that every child has the opportunity to get a world class public education. I look forward to working with the next administration to make the law more fair, more flexible and better funded.


Indian Schools Face Unique Challenges, Witnesses Tell Education Subcommittee

Dr. Willard Sakiestewa Gilbert
Dr. Willard Sakiestewa Gilbert testifies
on September 9, 2008.
The administration should do more to improve academic standards for schoolchildren who attend Bureau of Indian Education (BIE) schools, witnesses told the House Subcommittee on Early Childhood, Elementary and Secondary Education at a hearing on Tuesday.  Specifically, they said the U.S. Department of the Interior and the U.S. Department of Education must work more closely with tribal organizations to develop accountability systems under the No Child Left Behind Act.  The federal government provides elementary and secondary education and educational assistance to Indian children directly through federally-funded schools or through assistance to public schools. Ninety percent of Indian students attend public schools operated by local school districts.  However, 10 percent attend BIE schools, which are schools funded by the Department of the Interior. BIE schools are subject to NCLB with limited exceptions.

"Challenges Facing Bureau of Indian Education Schools in Improving Student Achievement"

Early Childhood, Elementary and Secondary Education Hearing 10:00 AM, September 9, 2008
Witnesses told the Committee at today's hearing on physical education in America's schools that expanding and improving physical education in the nation’s schools is key to fighting child obesity.  Studies show that more than a third of U.S. schoolchildren are now obese, that the physical activity of American children is dramatically decreasing as they move into their teenage years, and that overweight children are now more vulnerable to serious diseases that were once a rarity among young kids, including cardiovascular disease, Type II diabetes, asthma, sleep apnea, and certain types of cancer.

"The Benefits of Physical and Health Education for Our Nation's Children"

Full Committee Hearing 10:00 AM, July 24, 2008

Upcoming Hearing: Improving Physical Education in America's Schools

With the U.S. facing staggering rates of child obesity, the Committee will hold a hearing on Thursday, July 24 at 10 a.m., to examine how to improve physical education in the nation’s schools and strengthen efforts to fight childhood obesity.

“The Benefits of Physical and Health Education for Our Nation’s Children”

Stronger Math and Science Education Key to Boosting U.S. Competitiveness

Improving the teaching and learning of mathematics and science in U.S. schools is vital to maintaining America’s global leadership, witnesses told the Committee in yesterday's hearing.  A report released in March by the National Mathematics Advisory Panel found that the nation’s system teaching math is “broken and must be fixed” if the U.S. wants to maintain its competitive edge. Among other things, the panel called for a comprehensive, systemic effort to strengthen math education, including improving teacher training and professional development.  The panel of experts, which included business leaders, a teacher, and the first American woman to travel in space, recommended expanding partnerships between the business and education communities that focus on bolstering STEM education, and increasing training and support programs for teachers.  The witnesses also urged lawmakers to fully fund the America COMPETES Act, a law enacted by the Democratic Congress last year to provide education and job training for students and workers in math, science, technology, and engineering fields. Last year, Congress approved $193 million in funding for math and science education in the COMPETES Act, but President Bush vetoed that legislation.
The House Education and Labor Committee held a hearing to examine how business-education partnerships can help drive innovation and strengthen math and science education in America’s schools.

A report released by the National Math Panel in March found that the nation’s system for teaching math is “broken and must be fixed” if the U.S. wants to maintain its competitive edge. In May, the Committee first examined the report’s findings and recommendations; this hearing follows up on that hearing.
Tomorrow, July 22 at 2 p.m., the Committee will hold a hearing to examine how business-education partnerships can help drive innovation and strengthen math and science education in America’s schools. A report released by the National Math Panel in March found that the nation’s system for teaching math is “broken and must be fixed” if the U.S. wants to maintain its competitive edge. In May, the Committee first examined the report’s findings and recommendations; Tuesday’s hearing will follow up on that hearing.  Phil Mickelson, professional golfer and co-founder of the Mickelson Exxon Mobil Teachers Academy, will be among the witnesses to testify.
Setting high standards, ensuring that all children have access to outstanding teachers, holding educators accountable for their schools’ progress, and restructuring chronically struggling schools, are vital to creating a world-class public education system, mayors and superintendents of major U.S. cities told the Committee at yesterday's hearing.

Upcoming Hearing: Challenges and Successes in Urban Education Reform

On Thursday, July 17 at 10:00 a.m., the Committee will hear from mayors and school superintendents of major U.S. cities, including New York City, Washington, D.C., Chicago, and Atlanta, at a hearing on their challenges and successes in working to improve public schools.

"No Child Left Inside Act of 2007"

Full Committee Markup 10:00 AM, June 18, 2008
The House Education and Labor Committee held a hearing to examine a recent report released by the National Mathematics Advisory Panel on the state of math education and instruction in the United States. Among other things, the report found that the nation’s system for teaching math is “broken and must be fixed” if the U.S. wants to maintain its competitive edge.

"21st Century High-Performing Public School Facilities Act"

Full Committee Markup 10:00 PM, April 30, 2008

"Environmental Education: Teaching Our Children To Preserve Our Future"

Early Childhood, Elementary and Secondary Education Hearing 11:00 AM, April 22, 2008

"After School Programs: How the Bush Administration’s Budget Impacts Children and Families"

Early Childhood, Elementary and Secondary Education Hearing 10:00 AM, March 11, 2008

"Challenges and Opportunities for Improving School Nutrition"

Full Committee Hearing 3:30 PM, March 4, 2008
The Committee held a hearing to examine how to improve nutrition and food safety in the nation’s schools. Last month, the U.S. Department of Agriculture ordered the largest recall of meat in the nation’s history after investigations revealed that meat from non-ambulatory (or "downer") cows at a California slaughterhouse had been allowed to enter the food supply. More than a third of the tainted meat had gone to federal nutrition programs, including to schools.

"Modern Public School Facilities: Investing in the Future"

Full Committee Hearing 10:30 AM, February 13, 2008

"Miller/McKeon Discussion Draft of ESEA Reauthorization"

Full Committee Hearing 10:00 AM, September 10, 2007

"Building on the Success of 35 Years of Title IX"

Higher Education, Lifelong Learning, and Competitiveness Hearing 10:00 AM, June 19, 2007

"Examining Local Perspectives on the No Child Left Behind Act"

10:00 AM, May 14, 2007 Radnor High School
130 King of Prussia Road
Radnor, Pennsylvania

"ESEA Reauthorization: Boosting Quality in the Teaching Profession"

Full Committee Hearing 9:30 AM, May 11, 2007

"The No Child Left Behind Act's Impact on Indian Education"

9:30 AM, April 28, 2007
Sacaton, Arizona

"Improving the No Child Left Behind Act's Accountability System"

9:30 AM, April 27, 2007
San Rafael, California

"NCLB: Preventing Dropouts and Enhancing School Safety"

Full Committee Hearing 3:00 PM, April 23, 2007

"Mismanagement and Conflicts of Interest in the Reading First Program"

Full Committee Hearing 9:00 AM, April 20, 2007

"Local Perspectives on the No Child Left Behind Act"

11:00 AM, April 12, 2007
Flint, Michigan

"ESEA Reauthorization: Options for Improving NCLB's Measures of Progress"

Full Committee Hearing 10:30 AM, March 21, 2007

"Elementary and Secondary Act Reauthorization: Improving NCLB to Close the Achievement Gap"

Full Committee and U.S. Senate Committee on Health, Education and Pensions Hearing 9:30 AM, March 13, 2007
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