CD135: Education is Big Business (Every Student Succeeds Act)

The Every Student Succeeds Act was signed into law at the end of 2015 and is a major overhaul of education policy in the United States. In this episode, find out how the new law will likely lead to a massive transfer of taxpayer money into private pockets. Executive Producer: David Waldstein Please support Congressional Dish: to contribute with PayPal or Bitcoin Mail Contributions to: Congressional Dish 5753 Hwy 85 North #4576 Crestview, FL 32536 Thank you for supporting truly independent media! Bill Highlights Section 4: Transition Ends previous funding programs on The created by this law will be effective Title I: Improving basic programs operated by State and local educational agencies Funding Provides an for 2017-2020 At least and granted to local educational agencies, who for "improvement activities" States are , which includes AP courses, college courses, transportation to another school as needed, and tutoring. 50 local educational agencies will be allowed to of distributing funds State Plans , States must submit a to be approved by the Secretary of Education. Plans will be but the . Academic standards are can be developed for students with disabilities. Testing States and is allowed to test in any other subject. are required each year from grades 3 through 8, and once in high school. will be required once during grades 3 through 5, once during grades 6 through 9, and once during grades 10 through 12. will be reported by race, ethnicity, wealth, disability, English proficiency status, gender, and migrant status. State and local educational agencies must include a policy that of mandated tests. School Choice and the local education agency is allowed to pay for student transportation, but there is a funding cap. Secretary of Education's Role The Secretary of Education is from intervening or adjusting State plans The Federal Government . Accountability The State will publish a on the State's educational agency's website. Local Educational Agency Plans Local educational agencies Parents Right to Know Local educational agencies that receive Federal funds will have to , including if the teacher has met State qualifications for the grade level and subject and if the teacher is teaching under emergency or provisional status. Parents will also be informed if a student has been taught for by a teacher who does not meet State certification for the grade level or subject. in order for their child to participate in any mental health assessment, except for in emergencies. Children as a condition for attending a Federally funded school. Funds from Federal, State, and local grants can be consolidated and used to of schools where at least 40% of the children come from low income families. Schoolwide programs by the Secretary of Education from regulations governing education grant programs. mental health counseling, mentoring services, "specialized instructional support" services, college courses, activities for teachers, and for children under 6 years old. High schools can use the money for dual enrollment of and can teacher training, tuition and fees, books, "innovative delivery methods", and transportation to and from the program. the criteria that determines which kids are eligible Funds can before and after school programs, summer programs, "activities", academic courses, and this law added . Upon request, local educational agencies including testing, counseling, mentoring, one-on-one tutoring, dual or concurrent enrollment, radio equipment, televisions, computer equipment, and other tech to "address their needs" "Educational services and other benefits for such private school children in comparison to services and other benefits or public school children..." to ensure equity for private school children and teachers A will be created for those who think the private school kids are not getting their share of money. Private school children's share of funds will be who attend private schools. Funds to private school children State educational agencies services to private school children if the local agencies don't, and they can do so by contracting with private organizations. Creates a which will award certificates or degrees equivalent to Masters degrees. The Federal funding provided is . Contracts can be given to for teacher testing, training, technical assistance, program administration, and mentoring. by local education agencies to develop and implement processes for hiring and paying teachers. between schools and private mental health organizations may be formed. The Federal government is States, local educational agencies, and non-profit organizations will be given to for teachers, principals and other school leaders . Government agencies and charter schools and Civics Courses 12 grants will be awarded to create that will inform them how to teach American history and civics. will also get intensive civics courses Funding Between per year through 2020. Some grant money will go to "institutions of higher education or public or private entities" for a that will train & certify teachers, and pay for tuition, fees, and books. Process All students who may be English learners will be assessed . To determine how much money each State gets, data from the , conducted by the Department of Commerce will be used. Funding Grants will be awarded to States to on technology, computer science, music, arts, foreign languages, civics, geography, social studies, environmental education and other experiences that contribute to a well rounded education. Local education agencies to get the money Local education agencies Funding Purpose for to operate Community Learning Centers for extra education programs. State applications will be if the Secretary of Education takes no action within 120 days. the purpose of the Community Learning Centers they will operate and must include that information in their application. tutoring, mentoring, financial and environmental literacy programs, nutritional education, physical education, services for the disabled, after school English learning classes, cultural programs, technology education programs, library services, parenting skills programs, drug and violence prevention programs, computer science, and career readiness programs. Purpose "To of high-quality charter schools available to students across the United States" "To encourage States to provide support to charter schools in an amount more nearly commensurate to the amount States typically provide for traditional public schools" Funding will be awarded to The Secretary of Education is to award at least three charter school grants per year and give out every penny allocated for the first two years. will go to States that give charter schools the most, including funding for facilities, free or low cost use of public buildings, or first-in-line privileges for buying public school buildings. hiring and paying staff, buying supplies, training, equipment, and educational materials - including development of those materials - building renovations, start up costs for transportation programs, and student and staff recruitment costs. Grant money will go towards for charter school facilities. National Activities Funding $200 million increasing to $220 million per year through 2020 Programs Grants for if they partner with a government organization that coordinate community services if they partner with a government organization to improve students safety during and after the school day The Secretary of Education Awards to provide Awards to for pre-school and elementary school aged children on television and the Internet Money will that will contract with producers. Awards will to go Contracts Title VIII: General Provisions Department of Education Staff Within one year of enactment (December 2016), the Secretary of Education must identify all projects that were consolidated or eliminated by ESSA and who were employed administering or working on those programs. Control of Funds Removes the requirement that States that funds will be controlled by public agencies or Military Recruiters Each local educational agency accepting Federal funds in the district, unless the parents have previously . : Parents must submit a written request to the local education agency that their child's information not be released to military recruiters without the parent's consent. Each local educational agency must notify parents of the option to opt-out of recruitment. State Opt-Out Any State that refuses Federal funds Creates , which Sound Clip Sources Forum: , Forum hosted by Senator Tim Scott (GA), February 9, 2015. Panelists: , American Enterprise Institute , Former Louisiana State Senator, Senior Vice President for Liberty Bank & Trust, President of Louisiana Federation for Children , Executive Vice President of Success Academy Charter Schools Timestamps and Transcripts {14:15} Rick Hess: Sitting immediately next to me, we’ve got Ann Duplessis. Ann’s a former state senator in Louisiana. She’s president of Louisiana Federation for Children, where she partners with local and national policy leaders to promote educational options. She continues to work full time while she does this, as Senior Vice President for Liberty Bank & Trust in New Orleans. Oh! She’s also the chair of the Louisiana State Board of Supervisors. Following Hurricane Katrina, it was Ann who authored a bill which allowed the state to take over the majority of schools in New Orleans Parish, which lead to the thriving charter-school movement that you see in New Orleans today. {40:50} Ann Duplessis:Unfortunately, where we are today is, this is big business. Unknown Speaker: That’s right. Duplessis: Education is big business. We are fighting money; we are fighting tradition; we are fighting people’s jobs; and so until and unless we can get past the issues that this is some tradition that we must maintain, until we can have people understand that we need to create new traditions, until we can get past that the jobs that we’re talking about are not jobs that we need to protect, if those jobs aren’t protecting our kids, we have to get past that. And unless we can get our elected officials to understand that, this will all continue to be more of a challenge. {48:00} Emily Kim-Charters: I want to give one example of a piece of paper that we really, truly dislike, and it’s—every year there is this requirement that teachers who are not certified have to send home in the backpack folder for their scholars a piece of paper saying, just wanted you to know, parents, I’m not highly qualified. So, yes, I’ve been teaching for five years, and my scholars are in the top one percent in the state of New York, but I just wanted you to know that I didn’t have that thing called highly qualified, and somebody thought that I should write you and tell you and let you know. I mean, it’s to a level that is truly, truly absurd; whereas, we would want the teacher to write home and say, look, this is what we are doing to get your scholar to the highest potential, and I’ve been doing it for five years very successfully, and this is what you need to do is bring your child to school on time, pick your child up from school on time, get the homework done, and make sure that they are motivated at school. And that’s what we’d like to do, and we have to do the other thing instead. Hearing: , House Education and the Workforce Committee, February 3, 2016. Witness: : American Enterprise Institute Timestamps and Transcripts {27:15} Gerard Robinson: I can tell you quite clearly that school choice is not a sound bite; it’s a social movement. From 1990 to 2015, over 40 states have introduced different types of school-choice legislation, both public and private. Video: , August 15, 2012 Video: by CGCS Video Maker, 2012. Additional Reading Article: by Garrett Mitchell, The Arizona Republic, September 16, 2016. Article: by Brenda Gazzar, Los Angeles Daily News, September 15, 2016. Article: , Biz New Orleans, August 31, 2016. Article: by Kate Zernike, New York Times, June 28, 2016. Article: by Stephen Vita, Investopedia, March 9, 2016. Article: by Lauren Camera, US News & World Report, March 4, 2016. Article: by Valerie Strauss, The Washington Post, December 29, 2015. Article: by Peter Elkind, Fortune, December 23, 2015. Article: by Colleen Kimmet, In These Times, August 28, 2015. Article: by Thomas Toch, US News & World Report, August 18, 2015. Report: , American Federation of Teachers, June 2015 Article: by Bill Mahoney, Eliza Shapiro, and Jessica Bakeman, Politico, February 20, 2015. Article: by Kristin Rawls, AlterNet, January 21, 2015. Report: by the National Alliance for Public Charter Schools, December 2014. Article: by Scott Beauchamp, The Atlantic, August 12, 2014. Article: by Valerie Strauss, The Washington Post, May 20, 2014. Blog post: by Alan Singer, The Huffington Post, April 7, 2014. Article: by Valerie Strauss, The Washington Post, February 15, 2013. Article: by Gregory Zuckerman, The Wall Street Journal, July 11, 2011. Article: by Susan Saulny, The New York Times, June 13, 2006. Article: by Michael Hoover, Times-Picayune, March 5, 2006. Article: by Susan Saulny, The New York Times, January 4, 2006. Commentary: by Milton Friedman, The Wall Street Journal, December 5, 2005. Additional Information OpenSecrets.org: OpenSecrets.org: Website: () Website: Music Presented in This Episode Intro & Exit: by (found on by mevio) Cover Art Design by