Ellie Klein, Intern

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My Take

Why the "Student Success Act" Puts Schools and Their Students on the Wrong Course

Posted by Ellie Klein, Intern | Posted on: July 18, 2013 at 10:37 am

When the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) was signed into law by Lyndon B. Johnson in 1965, its goal was to enhance educational opportunities for disadvantaged children. As Senator Tom Harkin, Chair of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions committee, asserted in an Education Week blog last month, ESEA was meant to help lift children out of poverty by making high-quality education accessible to all.

That is still the goal today. And while the 2001 reauthorization of the law, also known as No Child Left Behind, was well intentioned and helped expose the stark disparities in our education system, leaders from both parties acknowledge that the law needs improvement. Republicans and Democrats in the both the House and the Senate have come up with their own revised versions of ESEA this summer (New America’s blog put out a helpful side by side comparison here [PFD]).

Today, the House will begin debate on the so-called “Student Success Act” (SSA), the version of ESEA reauthorization proposed by John Kline, chairman of the Education and Workforce Committee. Despite the clever title, the bill is a giant step in the wrong direction for students.

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Tags: Congress, Education and Schools, Education Legislation, Education & Title IX | 1 comment

Seven Reasons Why the Senate’s Labor-HHS-Education Funding Bill Has Us Cheering

Posted by Ellie Klein, Intern | Posted on: July 10, 2013 at 04:30 pm

The Senate Subcommittee on Appropriations for Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education and Related Agencies just approved a funding plan for those agencies in Fiscal Year 2014. The full Committee will consider the bill tomorrow.

During the Subcommittee’s consideration of the bill, Senators voiced their appreciation of the bipartisan effort and conversations leading up to the bill. Senator Barbara Mikulski (D-MD), Chair of the Subcommittee, expressed her commitment to get the bill on the Senate floor saying “If we move this bill, America and the people who live in it will be in a better place.”  Senator Mikulski explained that the appropriations bill laid the groundwork for expanding opportunity in America through empowering students, investing in education and getting people to work in the 21st century.

We agree. The bill not only rejects the painful cuts from sequestration—it provides additional funding in several key areas, especially early childhood education. Here are seven reasons we were dancing in our offices when we saw the details of the Senate Subcommittee’s FY 2014 Labor, Health and Human Services Education and Related Agencies appropriations bill:

  1. Early Childhood Education: A $1.43 billion increase for Head Start, including Early Head Start - Child Care Partnerships, plus a $171 million increase for existing Head Start and Early Head Start programs; a $176 million increase for the Child Care and Development Block Grants, including $110 million for new quality improvement grants and $66 million for child care assistance as well as $750 million for Preschool Development Grants.
  2. Implementing the Affordable Care Act (ACA): $5.2 billion to the Centers for Medicare and Medicare Services to implement the Affordable Care Act, an increase from $3.9 billion in FY 2013.  The ACA will help nearly 30 million Americans, including nearly 15 million women, to access high-quality, affordable health insurance.
  3. Mental Health: $40 million for Project AWARE State grants, which will focus on making schools safer and connecting young people with mental health services, and $40 million in new funding to address shortages in the behavioral health workforce.
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Tags: Affordable Care Act (ACA), Budget, Child Care & Early Learning, Early Learning, Federal Budget, FY 14 Budgets, Health Care, Senate, Social Security, Social Security, Tax & Budget | Add new comment

Early Education: Setting the U.S. Up For Success

Posted by
Ellie Klein, Intern
Lauren Meyer, Intern
| Posted on: June 26, 2013 at 09:45 am

"I believe our budget, and the debate around developing a budget, should be about our values and priorities — about what kind of country we want to be in the future. But in recent years, our budget debate has been too focused on averting artificial crises. This has made it extremely difficult to focus on policies that confront real, long-term problems, like maintaining our leadership in the 21st century and continuing to grow our middle class. Expanding access to quality early childhood education is exactly this kind of policy. It is a proven opportunity to help our kids — and therefore our country — succeed in the future. It would help millions of working parents right now. And we’ve got to get it done." – Senator Patty Murray 

With so much focus in Congress on cutting vital programs to reduce a deficit that is already shrinking, Senator Patty Murray’s remarks yesterday at the Center for American Progress on investing in our youngest children were exciting to hear. Her message was clear: expanding access to high-quality early childhood programs is a wise investment, not just because of the economic returns — which are substantial — but also because expanding access to high-quality programs gives children a chance to succeed. 

Senator Murray talked about her own experience as a preschool teacher and explained that she could identify, on the very first day, which children had been in a program for three-year-olds and which ones hadn’t. She discussed the broad range of skills that children develop through their early learning experiences, such as participation during circle time and the ability to hold and use a pencil. These skills are building blocks that children need before entering the K-12 system to ensure they are not behind before they even start kindergarten.

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Tags: Child Care, Child Care, Child Care & Early Learning, Early Learning, Prekindergarten | Add new comment