Legislative Corps Newsletter from December 22
Please enjoy this week's edition of the Legislative Corps newsletter. In this newsletter, we keep you updated on activities on the Hill and the Department. If you are a member and are not receiving the newsletter, email me at lfinnan@aasa.org to get added to the list.
The Every Student
Succeeds Act is Signed into Law
On December 10, President Obama signed into law the Every
Student Succeeds Act (ESSA). This marks the end of the No Child Left Behind
era. We have written extensively of the new law here and will continue to provide updates as
more is released through regulations and as more is known in implementation. For
more information, you can also check out an AASA presentation and a webinar on ESSA implementation.
Obama Signs Omnibus
Spending Bill
Last week, President Obama signed a $1.1 trillion omnibus
spending bill for Fiscal Year 2016, officially avoiding a shutdown this year.
The bill includes slight increases to education – a $1.2 billion increase
overall. It includes a $500 million increase to Title I and a $415 million increase
to IDEA as well as increases in Head Start, charter school grants, NAEP, rural
education and others. School Improvement Grant funding was cut and Investing in
Innovation (i3) was flat-funded. The Committee on Education Funding put out a
table of the spending levels, available here.
While not funding-related, the bill also included a two year
delay for the implementation of the Affordable Care Act Excise (“Cadillac”) Tax
and an extension of the E-Rate Anti-Deficiency Act exemption through 2017.
Tax Extender Bill
Along with the Omnibus bill, Obama also signed a law
extending several tax breaks. This law includes three education-related tax
cuts. First is the allowance for teachers who spend their own money on supplies
for the classroom to take a $250 deduction. Also made permanent is the American
Opportunity Tax Credit, which provides up to $2,500 a year in tax credits for
eligible college students. Finally, the tax package includes a two-year
extension of the Qualified Zone Academy Bond program providing $400 million in
QZAB bond allocations per year in 2015 and 2016 to the states and school
districts for school renovation and repair.
AASA Reports
Economic Impact Survey: Education Cuts Have Yet to Heal: How the Economic Recession Continues to Impact Our Nation’s Schools
AASA Releases 5-Year Study on the American School Superintendent
Education Groups Applaud 1-Year Anniversary of FCC Vote to Modernize E-Rate
Looking Ahead to 2016
While Congress got a lot done in the last month of 2015,
they are promising an eventful 2016 as well. The Senate HELP Committee is expected to introduce a
bipartisan proposal to reauthorize the Perkins CTE Act in January. AASA's
Perkins reauthorization recommendations can be accessed here.
The
Senate Agriculture Committee is also expected to release a child nutrition
reauthorization in January or early February.
The Federal
Communications Commission (FCC) will likely shift attention to the Lifeline
Order (related to closing the homework gap, with activity expected in
Feb/March) and the Education Broadband Services (EBS) program, though that
likely falls low on the totem pole.
The
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has emerged, once again, on the issue of
regulations related to PCBs in light ballasts, which would impact municipal
buildings, including schools. Want a refresher? Check out this blog post from
March 2014.
The National
Highway Traffic Safety Administration has indicated an interest in reversing
course on seat belts on school buses, pushing regulation through if districts
don’t abide by their recommendations. We
are concerned about this for a number of reasons, which we will make known.
We
look forward to keeping you updated on these and any other issues in the New
Year. Happy holidays from the whole AASA advocacy team!