Guidance, Questions, and the Obama Plan

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The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA)
P.L. 111-5

• Guidance, Questions, and the Obama Plan

Joel Packer, Director, Education Policy and
Practice Jpacker_at_nea.org
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Todays Webcast

• U.S. Department of Education Guidance
• FY 09 Appropriations bill
• President Obamas plan
• Questions to consider
• Whats happening in states
• Future webcasts

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Whats New?
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White House Actions

• 3/5 WH and DOT release 8.4 billion for public
  transportationhttp//www.recovery.gov/?qnode/202
  
• 3/6 WH and DOJ release 2 billion for state and
  local law enforcement http//www.ojp.usdoj.gov/BJ
  A/recoveryJAG/recoveryallocations.html

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White House Actions

• 3/9 USDA announces plans for its 28 billion
  http//usda.gov/wps/portal/!ut/p/_s.7_0_A/7_0_1OB
  ?contentidonlytruecontentid2009/03/0051.xml
• 3/12 Obama and Biden will host a White House
  Recovery and Reinvestment Act Implementation
  Conference for lead officials in each state.

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USED Releases Guidance

• March 7 USED released guidancewww.ed.gov
• Separate fact sheets on State Fiscal
  Stabilization Fund (SFSF), IDEA, and Title I
• Guidance mostly focuses on timing of release of
  funds
• Additional guidance and applications still to
  come

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USED Releases Guidance

• Four Principles
• Spend funds quickly to save and create jobs.
• Pick up pink slips
• Improve student achievement through school
  improvement and reform.  
• Ensure transparency, reporting and accountability.
   
• Invest one-time ARRA funds thoughtfully to
  minimize the funding  cliff.  
• Dont expect to have as much money in FY 2011 or
  2012.

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USED Funding Release Schedule

• State Fiscal Stabilization Fund
• Applications for the initial 67 percent of funds (
  32.6 billion) will be available to Governors by
  the end of March, and funds will be made
  available by the Department within two weeks
  after receipt of an approvable application.
• The Department expects to make available the
  remainder of the funds (16 billion) during the
  period July 1 to September 30, 2009, conditioned
  on states providing additional information.

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USED Funding Release Schedule

• State Fiscal Stabilization Fund
• If a state demonstrates that the amount of funds
  it will receive in phase one (67 percent of its
  total stabilization allocation) is insufficient
  to prevent the immediate layoff of personnel, the
  Department will award the state up to 90 percent
  of its allocation in phase one. In such cases,
  the remaining portion of the state's allocation
  will be provided after the Department approves
  the state's plan.

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USED Funding Release Schedule

• Race to the Top Fund (State Incentive Grants)
• The Department will conduct a national competition
  among states for a 4.35 billion state incentive
  Race to the Top fund.
• Guidelines and applications for the competitive
  funds will be posted expeditiously. Race to the
  Top grants will be made in two rounds -- fall
  2009 (30 percent to be awarded by the end of
  December) and spring 2010 (70 percent during the
  period May 1 to July 31, 2010).

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USED Funding Release Schedule

• Invest in What Works Innovation Fund
• An additional 650 million will be set aside in
  the "Invest in What Works and Innovation" fund
  and be available through a competition to
  districts and non-profit groups. Guidelines and
  applications for the competitive funds will be
  posted expeditiously.

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USED Funding Release Schedule

• ESEA Title I, Part A IDEA Part B-611 619
• The Department will release 50 percent of the
  funds before the end of March 2009 without
  requiring new state applications.
• 5 billion in Title I
• 5.85 billion in IDEA
• The Department expects to make available the
  remainder of the funds during the period July 1
  to September 30, 2009, conditioned on states
  providing additional information.

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USED Funding Release Schedule

• IDEA Part C (500 million)
• A minimum of 50 percent of the funds will be
  available by the end of March as soon as
  guidelines are issued.
• The Department expects to make available the
  remainder of the funds during the period July 1
  to September 30, 2009.

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USED Funding Release Schedule

• Education of Homeless Children (70 million)
• 100 of the funds will be available by the end of
  March.
• Impact Aid Construction (100 million)
• 100 of the formula funds (40 million) will be
  available by the end of March. Funds for
  competitive grants (60 million) will be
  distributed at a later date.

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USED Funding Release Schedule

• ESEA Title I School Improvement Grants (3
  billion)
• 100 percent of the funds will be made available
  beginning in fall 2009, and will be conditioned
  upon receipt of further information that will be
  outlined in future guidance.

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USED Funding Release Schedule

• Educational Technology State Grants (650
  million)
• 50 percent of the funds will be made available by
  July 1, 2009 and the remaining funds by the end
  of September 30, 2009 conditioned upon receipt of
  further information that will be outlined in
  future guidance.
• Statewide Data Systems (250 million)
• 50 percent of the funds will be made available by
  July 1, 2009 and the remaining funds by the end
  of September 30, 2009. Guidelines will be posted
  shortly.

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USED Funding Release Schedule

• TIF (200 million)
• Teacher Quality Enhancement (100 million)
• 100 percent of the funds will be made available
  beginning in fall 2009 based on the quality of
  the applications submitted through a competitive
  grant process. Guidelines will be posted shortly.

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USED Funding Release Schedule

• Federal Pell Grants Federal Work Study
• 100 of the funds will be available, pending
  disbursement, beginning July 1, 2009. Funding
  will be used for academic year 2009-10.

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USED Funding Release Schedule

• Summary
• 45 percent of the total (44.2 billion) will be
  released by the end of March 2009.
• Another 18 percent (17.8 billion) will be
  released by July 1, 2009. Cumulatively 63
  percent (61.9 billion).
• Another 32 percent (31.2 billion) will be
  released by the end of September/beginning of
  October 2009. Cumulatively 95 percent (93.2
  billion).

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State Fiscal Stabilization Fund

• streamlined application by end of March
• (1) must provide assurances that State will take
  actions to
• (a) increase teacher effectiveness and address
  inequities in the distribution of highly
  qualified teachers
• (b) establish and use pre-K-through-college and
  career data systems to track progress and foster
  continuous improvement
• (c) make progress toward rigorous college- and
  career-ready standards and high-quality
  assessments and
• (d) support targeted, intensive support and
  effective interventions to turn around schools
  identified for corrective action and
  restructuring 

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State Fiscal Stabilization Fund

• (2) contains baseline data that demonstrates the
  state's current status in each of the four
  education reform areas and
• (3) includes a description of how the state
  intends to use its stabilization allocation.
• Transparency in calculating state shortfall

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State Fiscal Stabilization Fund

• SFSF phase 2
• Remaining funds released after the Department
  approves the state's plan detailing its
  strategies for addressing the education reform
  objectives described in the assurances. This plan
  must also describe how the state is implementing
  the record-keeping and reporting requirements
• More guidance to come
• phase-two funds will be awarded beginning July 1,
  2009, on a rolling basis

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Title I

• No new application needed for SEA to get first
  50 of funds
• States are encouraged to allocate funds to LEAs
  by end of April
• Funds may be used in the current 2008-09 school
  year (even though guidance doesnt clearly state
  this!)

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Title I

• To get the 2nd half, a state must submit, for
  review and approval by USED, an amendment to its
  Consolidated Application that addresses the
  recordkeeping and reporting requirements of the
  ARRA.
• The second half of the Title I funds will be made
  available between July 1 and September 30, 2009.

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Title I

• Absent a waiver, 85 of combined regular FY 09
  and ARRA Title I funds must be obligated by
  9/30/2010.
• Remainder by 9/30/2011.
• SEA must reserve 4 off the top for school
  improvement grants (which are in addition to
  separate 3 billion School Improvement Grants
  program)

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Title I

• Waivers available for variety of Title I rules
• Maintenance of Effort (MOE)
• 20 set-aside for SES/school choice expenses
• the per-pupil amount for SES
• the limitation that no more than 15 of  Title I
  funds may be carried over into the succeeding
  school year
• LEA waivers sent through SEA 

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IDEA

• No new application needed for SEA to get first
  50 of funds
• States are encouraged to allocate funds to LEAs
  by end of April
• Funds may be used in the current 2008-09 school
  year

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IDEA

• To get the 2nd half by 10/1/2009, a state must
  submit, for review and approval by USED, an
  amendment to FY 2009 application that addresses
  the recordkeeping and reporting requirements of
  the ARRA
• Funds must be obligated by 9/30/2011

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IDEA

• State-level MOE may be waived by the Secretary on
  a state-by-state basis, for a single year at a
  time, for exceptional or uncontrollable
  circumstances, such as a natural disaster or a
  precipitous and unforeseen decline in the
  financial resources of a state
• LEA-level MoE may not be waived

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Fiscal Year 2009 Omnibus

• Senate passed and cleared it for President Obama
  on 3/10 after invoking cloture 62-35
• Bayh (D-IN), McCaskill (D-MO) and Feingold (D-WI)
  voted against cloture
• Alexander (R-TN), Bond (R-MO), Cochran (R-MS),
  Murkowski (R-AK), Shelby (R-AL), Snowe (R-ME),
  Specter (R-PA) and Wicker (R-MS) voted for
  cloture
• Ensign (R-NV) pro-DC voucher amendment defeated
  39-58.

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Fiscal Year 2009 Omnibus

• USED overall discretionary increase 3.43
  billion (5.8)
• These funds are in addition to the amounts in
  ARRA.
• Together with ARRA increase of 96.8 billion,
  total FY 09 USED increase 100.2 billion
  (169!!)

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KEY RESOURCES
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Key Resources

• Inside NEA ARRA pagehttp//insidenea.nea.org/Sta
  te/ARRA/Pages/Default.aspx
• Contains web links, resources and top documents,
  upcoming events, NEA key staff contacts, ARRA
  timelines, and more!
• Stimulus email box stimulus_at_nea.org
• NEA.org page
• http//www.nea.org/home/ns/29549.htm

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Key Resources

• Learning Points Education Recovery and
  Reinvestment Center
• http//www.learningpt.org/recovery/
• Includes great chart on distribution of funds.

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President Obamas Plan
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Obama Education Speech

• Yesterday, President Obama gave a major education
  speech.
• Text http//www.whitehouse.gov/the_press_office/
  Remarks-of-the-President-to-the-Hispanic-Chamber-o
  f-Commerce/
• Fact Sheet http//www.whitehouse.gov/the_press_of
  fice/Fact-Sheet-Expanding-the-Promise-of-Education
  -in-America/

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Obama Education Components

• Early Education A Strong Foundation for Success
• Research demonstrates that the years before
  kindergarten comprise the most critical time in a
  childs life to influence educational outcomes.
  Its time that our nation make the early
  investments that will transform lives, create
  opportunity and save money in the long term

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Obama Education Speech

• K-12 Fostering a Race to the Top
• To excel in the global economy, we must adopt
  world-class standards, assessments, and
  accountability systems to upgrade the quality of
  teaching and learning in Americas classrooms.
• Teachers are the single most important resource
  to a childs learning. America must re-invest in
  the teaching profession by recruiting mid-career
  professional and ensuring that teachers have the
  worlds best training and preparation. We must
  take action to improve teaching in classrooms
  that need it most, while demanding accountability
  and performance.

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Obama Education Speech

• Driving Innovation and Expecting Excellence
• Americas schools must be incubators of
  innovation and success. Where charter schools are
  successful, states should be challenged to lift
  arbitrary caps and make use of successful lessons
  to drive reform throughout other schools.

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Obama Education Speech

• Americas competitiveness demands a focus on the
  needs of our lowest-performing students and
  schools. Our middle- and high- schools must
  identify students at-risk of dropping out, and we
  must scale-up models that keep students on a path
  toward graduation. Reform in Americas
  lowest-performing schools must be systemic and
  transformational. For some, partnerships and
  additional support can bring about change and
  drive improvement. Others may need to move beyond
  the late 19th century and expand the school
  day.

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Obama Education Speech

• Restoring Americas Leadership in Higher
  Education
• Our competitiveness abroad depends on opening the
  doors of higher education for more of Americas
  students. The U.S. ranks seventh in terms of the
  percentage of 18-24 year olds enrolled in
  college, but only 15th in terms of the number of
  certificates and degrees awarded. A lack of
  financial resources should never obstruct the
  promise of college opportunity. And its
  Americas shared responsibility to ensure that
  more of our students not only reach the doors of
  college, but also persist, succeed, and obtain
  their degree.

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Making ARRA Work in the States
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Whats Happening in States?

• Recovery.gov has updated state information,
  including copies of state certifications
• http//www.recovery.gov/?qcontent/state-recovery-
  page
• 17 states and DC have officially said they want
  funds AR, CT, IL, KS, ME, MA, MI, NE, NC, OH,
  OR, SD, TX, UT, VA, WI, WY
• Has links to 29 states websites

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Questions?