RRCNA Advocacy Update - May, 2008

Dear RRCNA Members:

As schools and universities transition to summer, Washington provides a number of interesting things to contemplate:

1. “Make It Great in 2008” is on the RRCNA website! See 8 things everyone can do to make a difference, and tell us your stories!
    
2. Reading First Impact Study Interim Report released: A look beyond the headlines.
    
3. Other Reports: “Children’s Budget 2008,” by First Focus, ““Thinking Outside the University,” by the Center for American Progress and “Education Pays,” by The College Board.
    
4. Legislative/USDE updates: Higher Education Act extension, USDE issues draft regs for ESEA and IDEA.

Thank you for your advocacy on behalf of Reading Recovery, and let me know if I can be of assistance.

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1. Make It Great in 2008 – Have you found an interesting education blog or website? Hosted or informed an education stakeholder? Let us know! Contact Lou Ann Racher, Government Relations Coordinator at: lracher@readingrecovery.org.

2. Reading First Impact Study Interim Report released – Commissioned by the USDE Institute for Education Sciences, the report has some interesting findings of relevance to early intervention that didn't make it into the headlines. A link to the full report is below, but a few examples include:

• Reading First had mixed effects on student engagement with print. The program reduced the percentage of students engaged with print by a statistically significant 8.42 percentage points in grade two. The impact on student engagement with print in grade one (4.64 percentage points) was not statistically significant (p. Exec. Summary xiv).
   
• Comprehension acknowledged as the measure of academic achievement - "Reading comprehension was selected, rather than other dimensions of early reading skill, because comprehension is perceived as “the essence of reading” (p. 28).
   
• - “It is important to note that the Reading First program is neither a specific intervention, nor a uniformly implemented program. Rather, Reading First is, at its core, a funding stream” (p. 31).
   
• - Impact findings: The impact on reading comprehension in first grade was not statistically significant (p. 38).

The executive summary and the full report are available.

3. Other Reports:

“Children’s Budget 2008” – published by First Focus. A comprehensive guide to federal spending for children. For the past five years, only one penny of every new, real non-defense dollar spent by the federal government has gone to children and children’s programs, including those for health, education, child welfare and juvenile justice. This and other information is available. 

“Thinking Outside the University” – published by the Center for American Progress, April 2008. This provocative report on traditional teacher preparation and state policies for alternative teacher certification receives a rigorous response from Sharon Robinson (AACTE), who points out that colleges of education can be locations of innovation. The transcript of her remarks is available on the CAP website and also the report itself.

“Education Pays” – published by The College Board, September 2007. Documents both personal and social benefits, including correlations between higher education and higher income for individuals, lower dependency on social safety net programs and higher civic participation.

4. Legislative/USDE updates:

• Higher Education Act – Extended again until Memorial Day while conference discussions continue to reconcile House and Senate version of the bill.
   
• USDE draft regs on Title I, Title III and IDEA – In the absence of a reauthorization of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act, the U.S. Department of Education is doing its best to institutionalize as many changes as possible through regulation. A package of draft regulations on Title I was issued in April and could become final in November 2008. Topics include accountability provisions, growth models, highly qualified/special education teachers, and supplemental education services. Public meetings are scheduled this month to take public comment on the draft in Boston, MA, Dunwoody, GA, Kansas City, MO and Seattle, WA.
   
• Title III (English language acquisition) - The Department issued draft regs on May 2, 2008 to require states to further standardize the criteria they use to report how well such students are learning English. The Department will take pubic comment until June 2, 2008.
   
• Supplemental IDEA draft regulations for Part B were issued May 14, 2008 in the Federal Register. The draft regs address: (1) parental revocation of consent after consenting to the initial provision of services; (2) a State's or local educational agency's (LEA's) obligation to make positive efforts to employ qualified individuals with disabilities; (3) representation of parents by non-attorneys in due process hearings; (4) State monitoring, technical assistance, and enforcement of the Part B program; and (5) the allocation of funds, under sections 611 and 619 of the Act, to LEAs that are not serving any children with disabilities. This NPRM also proposes minor modifications to the consent provisions to correct an inadvertent omission.