NSTA Legislative Update

San Antonio Conference

Tuesday, April 9, 2013

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Budget/Appropriations

FY2013: President recently signed Continuing Resolution (CR) agreement extends funding for education programs for the remainder of the fiscal year through September 30 at Fiscal Year 2012 levels, minus $85 billion in automatic, across-the-board budget cuts, also known as the sequester.

The Department of Education’s share of sequester is $2.5 billion. Non Pell funding for ED now at FY2004 levels

FY2014: President Budget out on April 10 --Good news for STEM education?

FY2014: Anticipate a RTTT STEM High school initiative announced in President SOTU

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Administration Priorities

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Four more years of:Common CoreEducator EffectivenessData systemsSchool turnaroundCompetitive grants•Race to the Top•Investing in InnovationNCLB waivers & flexibility

Priorities for 2013-14•Early childhood education•Principal prep and evaluation•Teacher preparation programs•College affordability and access•High School and STEM

ESEA Reauthorization, Year 1 2 3 4 5 6:

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No Child Left Behind

Now 11 years old and 5 years overdue for reauthorization

•Administration blueprint for reauthorization basis of their yearly budget request

•Senate committee passed bipartisan bill in 2011 last year, never reached floor

•House committee passed bill w only Republican support; state flexibility to use federal $; accountability systems; eliminate Teacher quality provisions, mandatory teacher evaluation; eliminate SIG

Reauthorization this year?

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ESEA Waivers

34 states now have waivers

Duncan Feb Hearing examined how standards have unleashed a wave of state led innovation – improved accountability and evaluation/pd for teachers

Congressional Republicans: Dept is overstepping w waivers -- want the Secretary to “step back from waivers and let the states make their own decisions about whether students are teachers are succeeding or failing.”

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STEM Bills in Congress

• STEM Master Teacher Corps

• Elementary Coaches and State STEM networks

• Immigration legislation w STEM funding

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House of Representatives – STEM Ed

• House Committee on Education and the Workforce hearing April 10. Raising the Bar: Reviewing STEM Education in America. Why so much federal investment in STEM, committee to look at private investments and partnerships in STEM.

• Science Space and Technology Committee: hearings on STEM education. Chairman Smith stated that he wanted to “recognize the importance of private sector and non-profit collaborations in STEM education.” Plans to reauthorize America Competes

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What Else is Going On?

• STEM “Working Group” Gang of 6

• Afterschool STEM agenda

• Comprehensive STEM bill w Senator Merkley. ESEA?

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PCAST Report

STANDARDS: SUPPORT THE CURRENT STATE-LED MOVEMENT FOR SHARED STANDARDS IN MATH AND SCIENCE

TEACHERS: RECRUIT AND TRAIN 100,000 GREAT STEM TEACHERS OVER THE NEXT DECADE WHO ARE ABLE TO PREPARE AND INSPIRE STUDENTS

 TEACHERS: RECOGNIZE AND REWARD THE TOP 5 PERCENT OF THE NATION’S STEM TEACHERS, BY CREATING A STEM MASTER TEACHERS CORPS

 EDUCATIONAL TECHNOLOGY: USE TECHNOLOGY TO DRIVE INNOVATION, BY CREATING AN ADVANCED RESEARCH PROJECTS AGENCY FOR EDUCATION

 STUDENTS: CREATE OPPORTUNITIES FOR INSPIRATION THROUGH INDIVIDUAL AND GROUP EXPERIENCES OUTSIDE THE CLASSROOM

SCHOOLS: CREATE 1,000 NEW STEM-FOCUSED SCHOOLS OVER THE NEXT DECADE

ENSURE STRONG AND STRATEGIC NATIONAL LEADERSHIP

 

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Where the STEM Jobs Will BeProjected Annual Growth of Total STEM Job Openings 2010-2020

* STEM is defined here to include non-medical occupations.

Source: Jobs data are calculated from the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), Employment Projections 2010-2020, available at http://www.bls.gov/emp/.

STEM Jobs

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Thank You

 

 

Jodi Peterson

Assistant Executive Director, Legislative and Public Affairs

National Science Teachers Association

Chair, STEM Education Coalition

W. 703-312-9214

C. 571-308-4949

jpeterson@nsta.org

www.stemedcoalition.org

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