Tag Archives: federal

Pell Funding by Congressional District

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Yesterday the U.S. House Committee on Education & Labor releasd a list of Pell Grant awards by Congressional district.  The list includes figures for the total Pell Grant amount received as well as the number of recipients who report that district as their residence.

In Washington, the Third Congressional District, which represents The Evergreen State College, ranked second highest in the state for recipients of the Pell Grant (19,414) for AY 2009-2010. TheFifth Congressional District leads the state with 21,372 Pell recipients.

The Fifth Congressional District encompasses the Eastern Washington counties of  Okanogan, Ferry, Stevens, Pend Oreille, Lincoln, Spokane, Adams, Whitman, Walla Walla, Columbia, Garfield and Asotin.

The information is based on AY 2008-09 and AY 2009-2010 data from the U.S. Department of Education.  AY 2009-2010 grant information is estimated.

Washington Receives Funds to Improve College Access

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On Friday, the U.S. Department of Education announced the award of more than $141 million from the College Access Challenge Grant Program to fifty states, five territories, D.C, and the Republic of Palau. 

Washington received $2. 08 million through the Higher Education Coordinating Board. 

The funds are intended to increase college access for low-income students and to help them complete their postsecondary education.  Grantees, such as Washington, are authorized to implement an array of activities and services such as:

  • Providing information to students and families on postsecondary education benefits, opportunities, planning and career preparation, financing options, financial literacy, and debt management;
  • Implementing professional development for guidance counselors at middle and secondary schools and financial aid administrators and college admissions counselors at institutions of higher education, to improve such individuals’ capacity to assist students and parents; and
  • Offering need-based aid to students and repayment or cancellation of student loans, or lowering of interest rates for borrowers who are employed in a high-need geographical area or a high need profession.

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.

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.

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.

Federal Credit Card Law Phased-In

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The last parts of the 2009 federal legislation that overhauled the credit card history will be phased in this year.

Over the last year, as a result of the legislation, credit card companies are banned from raising interest rates on existing balances and prohibiting issuers from raising rates when customers miss payments on an unrelated account.

This year other portions of the bill, specifically relevant to college students will be phased-in. These include banning credit card issuers from providing credit cards to people under age 21 unless another adult co-signs for it or the student can show an independent source of income.

In addition, credit card companies are prohibited from offering free incentives in exchange for signing up for a card on campus or at institution events. Colleges are also required to make public any partnerships they have with card issuers.

Finally, credit card issuers must submit any contracts they have with collegiate groups to the Federal Reserve. The Federal Reserve will compile a report with this information, detailing the nature of these relationships.

Comments Requested on Financial Literacy Competencies

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The Financial Literacy and Education Commission is requesting comments on a proposed set of financial education core competencies.

As a part of the Fair and Accurate Credit Transactions Act of 2003, the Commission is required to review the national strategy to promote basic financial literacy and education. As a part of this review the Commission determined that there is a need to develop core competencies for consumers and financial education providers.

The development of core competencies is a fundamental step in establishing a clear understanding about what individuals should know and the basic concepts program providers should cover. In addition the competencies should establish a baseline of knowledge.

The intention of the competencies is to define what consumers should know and be able to do to successfully understand and make informed decisions about their personal finances. To this end, the Commission has identified five core concept areas: (1) earning, (2) spending, (3) saving, (4) borrowing, and (5) protecting against risk as well as specific core competencies for each area.

The deadline for comments regarding whether the list of Core Competencies is complete and whether there are portions that should be deleted, revised, or expanded is September 12.  The request for comments is one of several steps in the validation phase of the development of the competencies.

Jobs Bill Saves Thousands of Washington Teacher Positions

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Last week President Obama signed into law the Jobs Bill. The bill provides $26 billion to states to support education jobs and fund Medicaid budgets.

The U.S. Senate approved the bill on August 5, followed by the U.S. House of Representatives on August 10.

Washington is expected to receive $530 million. The state will receive $320 million for Medicaid and $208 million to pay salaries for 3,000 teachers who were in line to lose their jobs.

According to the U.S. Deparment of Education over the last two years the federal government has been able to support 300,000 education jobs through stimulus funding under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA).

To date, seven states have drawn down 100% of previously allocated funding under the State Fiscal Stabilizatioon Fund, while 18 states have drawn down 80% or more. According to the Center on Education Policy 75% of school districts that received stimulus funds expect to cut teaching positions in the upcoming school year.

Guidance and applications for the federal dollars have been sent to Governors.