With help from Michael Stratford, Bianca Quilantan, Juan Perez Jr. and Bernie Becker
Editor’s Note: Morning Education is a free version of POLITICO Pro Education’s morning newsletter, which is delivered to our subscribers each morning at 6 a.m. The POLITICO Pro platform combines the news you need with tools you can use to take action on the day’s biggest stories. Act on the news with POLITICO Pro.
— The Nation’s Report Card offered another grim set of assessment results today — this time, in social studies — adding to concerns of learning loss while schools are shuttered during the coronavirus pandemic.
— Three of the nation’s wealthiest universities rejected federal stimulus funding from the Education Department amid a growing backlash stoked by the Trump administration against schools with multi-billion-dollar endowments getting a slice of the economic rescue money.
— More than 50 education and related national associations are lining up behind new legislation calling for an additional $2 billion in emergency funding to help students without high speed internet access continue learning at home during the coronavirus pandemic.
IT’S THURSDAY, APRIL 23. WELCOME TO MORNING EDUCATION. Got news to share? Please send tips to your host at [email protected] or to my colleagues, Juan Perez Jr. at [email protected], Michael Stratford at [email protected] and Bianca Quilantan at [email protected]. Share event listings: [email protected]. And follow us on Twitter: @Morning_Edu and @POLITICOPro.
Sign up for POLITICO Nightly: Coronavirus Special Edition, your daily update on how the illness is affecting politics, markets, public health and more.
‘MANY STUDENTS ARE STRUGGLING’: Average scores for eighth-graders on the Nation’s Report Card declined in U.S. history and geography between 2014 and 2018 while scores in civics remained flat, according to the National Center for Education Statistics. The results follow disappointing scores for math and reading released in October.
— “The results provided here indicate that many students are struggling to understand and explain the importance of civic participation, how American government functions, the historical significance of events, and the need to grasp and apply core geographic concepts,” stated Peggy G. Carr, the associate commissioner of assessment at NCES, which runs the National Assessment of Educational Progress, or NAEP, known as The Nation’s Report Card.
— The digitally based assessments were administered from January to March 2018 to a nationally representative sample of eighth-graders from about 780 schools. The results are available at nationsreportcard.gov. They will be discussed at a livestreamed event, beginning at 1:30 p.m.
— Education Secretary Betsy DeVos, in a statement, said “America’s antiquated approach to education is creating a generation of future leaders who will not have a foundational understanding of what makes this country exceptional. We cannot continue to excuse this problem away. Instead, we need to fundamentally rethink education in America.”
— What’s next? Because of the coronavirus, NCES had to postpone the NAEP Long-Term Trend assessment for 17-year-olds. Carr said she expects the Programme for the International Assessment of Adult Competencies to be postponed while discussions are ongoing about the Programme for International Student Assessment. NCES is moving forward, however, with NAEP 2021.
— “We think it is important, more important than ever, for us to have a sense of the impact of Covid-19 on students’ performance and achievement,” Carr said during a conference call with reporters. “Unless there are unforeseen circumstances…, such as schools closing down again, we will be there.” Read more from your host.
THANKS, BUT NO THANKS: Stanford University is withdrawing an application for $7.4 million it would get in federal emergency funding based on its numbers of poorer students. Harvard University is rejecting its $8.7 million share, too, citing “intense focus from politicians,” the day after being sharply criticized by President Donald Trump. Princeton said it won’t accept the $2.4 million that was headed its way, our Michael Stratford, Bianca Quilantan and Juan Perez Jr. report.
— Colleges and universities across the country are grappling with significant financial losses brought on by the coronavirus as they’ve shut down their campuses and moved instruction online. Some schools have been pleading with Congress for more money in recent weeks, saying the stimulus law that provided nearly $14 billion for higher education is not enough to support their students and soften the economic blow they’re seeing from losses in revenue.
— Even though a big chunk of the money set aside by Congress is intended to directly target students with emergency grants for needs like housing and food, the nation’s wealthiest universities are under intense pressure from the Trump administration to reject the funds because of their multi-billion-dollar endowments.
— “Schools with large endowments should not apply for funds so more can be given to students who need support the most,” Education Secretary Betsy DeVos said Wednesday. “It’s also important for Congress to change the law to make sure no more taxpayer funds go to elite, wealthy institutions.”
MOMENTUM BUILDS FOR CONNECTING STUDENTS: Education associations, teachers unions and education technology groups urged House leaders in a Wednesday letter to include H.R. 6563 (116), legislation by Rep. Grace Meng (D-N.Y.), as part of a fourth coronavirus relief package.
— The bill would create a special $2 billion Emergency Connectivity Fund administered through the Federal Communications Commission’s E-rate Program for schools and libraries to support remote learning. The funds would be used to purchase wi-fi hot spots, modems, routers and internet-connected devices.
— “Time is of the essence to provide remote and distance learning support,” they wrote. “An estimated 9 to 12 million students and some of their teachers currently lack home internet access and are unable to participate in their classes that have been moved online.”
— Sens. Ed Markey (D-Mass.), Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.), Michael Bennet (D-Colo.) and Maggie Hassan (D-N.H.) said on Tuesday they plan to introduce companion legislation in the Senate. Read more from your host.
A PUSH TO EXPAND 529 PROGRAMS FOR DISTANCE LEARNING: Dozens of conservative groups are throwing themselves behind a proposal from GOP lawmakers to expand tax-advantaged 529 programs to cover learning-at-home costs sparked by the coronavirus.
— 529 accounts are best known for helping families save for college, but they also allow people to use after-tax dollars to offset a range of K-12 education expenses. Rep. Bryan Steil (R-Wisc.) has led the push to attach a 529 expansion for distance learning expenses like curriculum, books and online materials to the next coronavirus relief measure, whenever that might develop.
— “Now more than ever, parents should have access to funds in their 529 plans to afford educational material for their kids,” Steil told Morning Tax in a statement applauding the support from outside groups. “This unprecedented time requires targeted changes to federal regulations to ease the financial burden on families.”
— The 40 groups, which include Americans for Tax Reform and FreedomWorks, wrote in their letter out this morning that boosting 529 plans “should be part of the solution to helping Americans get through the pandemic.”
— It’s not clear yet how much traction that proposal will gain, particularly in these strange times. Teachers unions did oppose a proposal from Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) in the pre-pandemic times last year that would have allowed 529 accounts to be used for homeschooling expenses, all part of a fight that held up a largely unrelated retirement security measure for months.
WHO WANTS TO BE A GRADUATION SPEAKER?: With many in-person graduations likely to be postponed or canceled, Sen. Tim Kaine (D-Va.) is giving Virginia high school seniors a shot at the virtual podium with a video contest. He’s asking students to submit a video of an original graduation speech that’s 10 minutes or less to to [email protected] by May 15.
— He’ll select speeches to feature on his Facebook page and website during May and June to celebrate the graduates. “I’m just declaring, ‘Everybody’s the Graduation Speaker,’” he said in an announcement video.
POLITICO Pro is here to help you navigate these unprecedented times. Check out our new Covid-19 Coverage Roundup, which provides a daily summary of top Covid-19 news coverage from across all 16 federal policy verticals as well as premium content, such as DataPoint graphics. Please sign up at our settings page to receive this unique roundup sent directly to your inbox every weekday afternoon.
— The Urban Institute, in a new report surveying the strategies and challenges in feeding out-of-school students, found that school districts are incurring unanticipated expenses to purchase personal protective equipment for staff, packaging materials, and more refrigeration space.
— McConnell pushes ‘bankruptcy route’ as local governments struggle: POLITICO Pro
— USDA touts major SNAP benefits boost: POLITICO Pro
— Spanish government U-turns over lockdown restrictions on children: POLITICO
— Missouri National Guard to help hand out school meals: Associated Press
- Jane Norman @janenorman
- Michael Stratford @mstratford
- Nicole Gaudiano @ngaudiano
- Bianca Quilantan @biancaquilan
- Juan Perez Jr. @PerezJr
History, geography scores decline in Nation’s Report Card
0 Comments: