Monthly Archives: September 2010

Congress Passes Budget Stopgap Legislation

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This morning the U.S. Congress passed a continuing resolution to allow for continual funding of federal programs through December 3, 2010.

The stopgap legislation allows the federal government to continue operations at the FY 2010 funding levels. President Obama is expected to sign the bill this Friday.  

The stopgap legislation was the final act of Congress prior to adjourning to their home districts to campaign. Congress will not return to D.C. until November 15 at which point they have their work cut out for them.

Upon their return, Congress will need to pass all twelve appropriation bills by the resolution’s deadline of December 3, pass an omnibus spending bill (which combines several appropriations bills into one), or pass an additional continuing resolution.

To date the U.S. House has passed two of the twelve appropriations bills. The Senate has not passed any appropriations bills, but the Senate Appropriations Committee has approved eleven of the twelve spending bills.

U.S. Department of Education Releases Strategic Plan for Financial Aid

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This week the U.S. Department of Education released a new strategic plan for the Department’s Office of Federal Student Aid.

The plan, Federal Student Aid: Strategic Plan, Fiscal Years 2011-15, identifies five strategic goals with several objectives for each goal. Each goal is aligned with performance targets to be achieved over the next five years.

  • Provide superior service and information to students and borrowers
  • Work to ensure that all participants in the system of postsecondary education funding serve the interests of students, from policy to delivery
  • Develop efficient processes and effective capabilities that are among the best in the public and private sectors
  • Ensure program integrity and safeguard taxpayers’ interests
  • Strengthen FSA’s performance culture and become one of the best places to work in the federal government

More specifically the plan calls for efforts to increase awareness about the availability of federal student aid and to educate students about the costs and benefits of specific postsecondary programs.  In addition, the plan promises increased oversight of for-profit colleges and a greater focus on the credit risks assoicated with student loans.

Joint WA House Hearing Focuses on Higher Education

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Tuesday morning the Washington House Higher Education Committee joined the House Education Appropriations Committee to discuss several bedrock issues for higher education.

The Committee heard several presentations focused on the state’s current approach to higher education funding, accountability and performance, and the work of the Governor’s Higher Education Task Force.

Ways & Means Committee staff reported that the Legislature will likely need to consider an emerging ARRA Maintenance of Effort (MOE) issue.  Given recent reductions the state is approximately $25-$30 million below the MOE requirement that was tied to the stimulus dollars Washingon received in the 2009-11 biennium.

The accountabilityand performance discussion echoed much of the conversation that has happened over the last several years. Policymakers raised concerns regarding the absence of measurements about the quality of instruction and noted the emphasis on measurements that focus on pushing students through the system. 

Policymakers also dialogued with representatives from the Higher Education Coordinating Board, Council of Presidents, and the State Board of Community and Technical Colleges about the limits of current accountability and performance metrics, such as IPEDs, given the diverse way students approach and interact within the  higher education sector. In addition, policymakers expressed the need for “real” time data and the push to use technology to collect this data.

Finally, questions rose again regarding the use of the six-year graduation rate. Mike Reilly, Executive Director for the Council of Presidents, differentiated between the six-year graduation rate measurement and time to degree and the value of both.  It was also noted that using the 2003 cohort, Washington has the highest completion rate for public baccalaurate institutions in the nation; a rate that has improved by approximatley 9% over the last decade.

The Committees wrapped up their work this morning with a presentation from Governor Gregoire’s staff on the Higher Education Task Force regarding the work to date of the Task Force and next steps.

U.S. Congress to Pass Budget Stopgap Legislation

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Congress is expected to pass a continuing budget resolution in the next week.  The budget resolution is needed to continue government operations after September 30.

Though reports have hinted at the inclusion of extra funding for the Pell Grant or additional funds for implementation of the healthcare overhaul legislation enacted earlier this year, it is unlikely that these measures will be included.

Instead the stopgap legislation will likely be relatively “clean” and limited in duration.

U.S. Subcommittee Passes Loan Bankruptcy Legislation

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Yesterday, the U.S. House Subcommittee on Commerical Adminsitrative Law passed the Private Student Loan Bankruptcy Fairness Act of 2010 (H.R. 5043).

The Act would allow for privately issued student loans in bankruptcy to be treated the same as other types of private debt. Loans made by governmental agencies or loan programs where “substantially all of the funds arre provided by a non-for-profit entity” would not be dischargeable unless borrowers could show an undue hardship.

The Act would restore language that existed prior to changes to the bankruptcy code in 2005.

Across-the-Board Cuts; State Revenues Decline

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Today Governor Gregoire directed state agencies to reduce their 2009-11 budgets by 6.3% beginning October 1. The Governor did not provide any discretion with regard to how the reductions should or would be applied.

The across-the-board cut imposed by the Governor comes on the heels of this morning’s release of the September state economic and revenue forecast.  The forecast shows the state faces a projected shortfall of $770 million for the 2011 fiscal year.  With $250 million in reserves, this creates an immediate deficit of $520 million for the state.

Washington’s Chief Economist, Dr. Arun Raha set the context for the latest reduction in state revenues. According to Raha, job growth is anemic, the housing market is in search of a bottom, and small businesses are still challenged in the credit environment. 

What the state is facing is not risk (defined as the unknown knowns) but uncertainty which are the unknown unknowns.

“Things will eventually get better, but at a slow and uncertain pace,” Raha said. “That cannot be entirely reassuring, but that is the best that I have at this time.”

Governor Issues Across-the-Board Cuts

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Yesterday, Governor Gregoire issued an executive order directing across-the-board cuts to state programs and agencies.

The level of the reductions, as stated in the executive order, are to be based on the September Economic and Revenue forecast.  As a result, the level of reductions to state agencies will not be revealed unitl after the release of the September Economic and Revenue forecast on Thursday.  The reductions will go into effect on October 1, 2010.

Over the last month, Governor Gregoire informed state agencies to prepare for across-the-board cuts that could range from 4 to 7 percent. However, given the continual decline in state revenues since June,  the Governor warned that the cuts could be even higher.

In addition, the Governor has stated that quick action by the 2011 Washington Legislature will be needed to pass a supplemental budget that reduces state support for public services by $500 million from the last six months of the current fiscal year. 

It is also expected that the 2011-13 budget will need to be reduced by 10 percent to bridge an estimated state shortfall of $3 billion.

Consortium Receives Funds; Benefits Washington

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Washington will benefit from Race to the Top Funds, announced today, as a member of a national consortium.

The federal government awarded the SMARTER Balanced Assessment Consortium – of which Washington is a member – $160 million to build on the fast growing movement toward national learning standards for K-12.

The goal of the Consortium is to ensure that all students leave high school prepared for post-secondary success in college or a career through increased student learning and improved teaching.

To achieve this goal the Consortium is expected to use the funds over the next four years to develop an assessment system with the following major deliverables:

  • Online computer adaptive summative assessments that give a snapshot of student performance without a “one size fits all approach.” This assessment can be used to describe student achievement and growth of student learning as part of program evaluation and school, district and state accountability systems. This assessment will measure English language arts and mathematics in grades 3-8 and 11 across the full range of the Common Core State Standards (CCSS).
  • Optional interim and formative assessments that help teachers identify the specific needs of each student so that they can help the students progress toward being career and college ready.
  • Opportunities for Professional Development. Teachers will be involved at all stages of item and test development, including item writing, scoring, and the design of reporting systems. This will ensure the system works well and that teachers can learn from national experts and from each other as they evaluate students’ performance.
  • An online tailored reporting system that supports educators to access information about student progress toward college and career readiness

The SMARTER Balanced Assessment Consortium (SBAC) is a collection of 31 states that have been working collaboratively since December 2009 to develop a student assessment system aligned to a common core of academic content standards to apply for a Race-to-the-Top Assessment grant.