Advocacy

During the week of September 26, NBC News will launch Education Nation, a nationally broadcast in-depth conversation about improving education in America. It begins with an interactive two-day summit at Rockefeller Plaza. The summit will convene leaders such as U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan and New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg, along with teachers, parents, and students from across America. National PTA encourages parents and teachers to sign up and participate on the website for this event at educationnation.com/portal/site/learn/summit.

The U.S. Department of Education has named the following states as winners of the second round of the Race to the Top competition. The Department also announced the amounts that each state would receive in federal funds through the grant.

All of these states will now have the resources they need to implement the common core state standards, such as creating high quality professional development for all educators.

• District of Columbia: $75 million - Score: 450.0
• Florida: $700 million - Score: 452.4
• Georgia: $400 million - Score: 446.4
• Hawaii: $75 million - Score: 462.4
• Maryland: $250 million - Score: 450.0
• Massachusetts: $250 million - Score: 471.0
• New York: $700 million - Score: 464.8
• North Carolina: $400 million - Score: 441.6
• Ohio: $400 million - Score: 440.8
• Rhode Island: $75 million - Score: 451.2

Read the press release from the U.S. Department of Education.

Over two-thirds of the states have adopted Common Core State Standards. Because the largest states, including California and New York, have adopted the standards, over three-quarters of the children in the United States now live in a state that has adopted the common core standards.

National PTA encourages parents and teachers to take an active role in support of the implementation of the standards. Making sure teachers and schools are prepared to raise children up to the level of the new standards is the next challenge.

For more information on the Common Core State Standards Initiative (CCSSI), please visit corestandards.org. To learn about PTA's involvement in CCSSI, visit PTA.org/CCSSI.

Stage set for House action, but the clock is ticking

On Thursday, August 5, the United States Senate unanimously passed S. 3307, the Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act, a bill to reauthorize school meals and other child nutrition programs. Senate passage of this bill is the biggest step forward in updating our child nutrition programs to date. However, the House of Representatives will need to act quickly with programs set to expire on September 30.

The Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act was introduced by Sen. Blanche Lincoln (D-AR), Chair of the Senate Agriculture Committee, on May 5, 2010. This legislation increases access to vital anti-hunger initiatives, improves the nutrition quality of foods served in schools, and provides the supports necessary for school food service workers to meet the needs of American children.

The $4.5 billion increase in child nutrition funding over the next 10 years was provided under the Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act is a substantial investment in a time when both child hunger and obesity are at alarming levels. The bill includes common-sense measures to help ensure that both of these trends can be reversed, including supports for direct certification, updated nutrition standards for all foods served in schools, increased access to local produce and school gardens, and enhanced notification and engagement of parents and the surrounding community in matters that affect the well-being of students.

PTA in Action

National PTA has been heavily involved in urging Congress to pass this reauthorization of critical child nutrition programs. In March 2009, National PTA CEO Byron V. Garrett testified before the Senate Agriculture Committee on the importance of this legislative effort and the need to provide healthier options in our nation's schools. This past July 29, National PTA President Charles J. "Chuck" Saylors spoke at a press conference alongside Chairman Lincoln and several other senators and advocates about the need for the Senate to act swiftly in passing S. 3307. In addition, National PTA has joined ad campaigns, activated a dedicated membership to the cause, and participated in an advocacy campaign in which lunch trays were designed to promote ways that Congress can act to improve nutrition for America's children. These lunch trays were sent to every office on Capitol Hill.

National PTA's recommendations for the Child Nutrition Act reauthorization can be found in our 2010 Public Policy Agenda beginning on page 17.

House Action Needed

Now that the Senate has passed their version of this legislation, it is imperative that the House of Representatives act quickly. On July 15, the House Education and Labor Committee passed H.R. 5504, the Improving Nutrition for America's Children Act, by a vote of 32-13. The House bill would provide an $8 billion increase in child nutrition funding over the next 10 years, focusing on similar priorities as those outlined above for the Senate version.

However, funding offsets for the Improving Nutrition for America's Children Act have yet to be found. While this is normal in House procedure, funding the bill may prove particularly difficult given the reluctance of House leadership and some other Members to accept proposed offsets in the Senate version. The main point of contention is a reduction in emergency funding for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), formerly known as Food Stamps, which was included in last year's stimulus package. Speaker Pelosi and other House Members have publicly shown opposition to this return to regular level SNAP funding scheduled to begin in 2013. However, a similar offset was approved by both chambers of Congress as part of a bill providing emergency funding for education jobs which was signed into law on August 10.

There is little time left to find the funding, pass the House bill, conference the two bills to iron out the differences, pass the conference committee version in both chambers of Congress, and have the President sign the bill into law. Nonetheless, there remains hope that this can be achieved and National PTA is working closely with federal decision makers in order to ensure a swift and responsible reauthorization of these critical programs.

On August 11, President Barack Obama signed into law a $26 billion plan to save the jobs of thousands of teachers and other government workers. The legislation specifically provides $10 billion to school districts to rehire laid-off teachers or to ensure that more teachers won't be let go before the new school year begins. The U.S. Department of Education estimates the funding could save more than 100,000 teacher jobs.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) called back House lawmakers from August recess for a one-day session to vote on the education jobs package. More than 20 PTA parents, children, and families from D.C., Maryland, and Virginia watched as the Speaker signed the bill with House Education Committee Chairman George Miller (D-CA), House Appropriations Committee Chairman David Obey (D-WI), Rep. Dale Kildee (D-MI) and other House members looking along. Stella Edwards, President of the Chesterfield County, (Virginia) Council of PTAs/PTSAs was provided these remarks at the press event:

"Today, I am proud to stand alongside Speaker Pelosi and others that were vital to this effort in order to celebrate passage in the House of Representatives. The National PTA has long said that families, teachers, school districts, and communities all have a shared responsibility to work together to close the achievement gap that affects so many of our communities. And teachers — the very same teachers whose jobs need to be saved — know, understand, and continue to emphasize the importance of family engagement in education."

A week earlier, Eric Solomon, president of the Longfellow Elementary School PTA in Maryland, joined Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV), Democratic Conference Secretary Patty Murray (D-WA) and Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committee Chair Tom Harkin (D-IA) for a Senate press conference on August 5 to celebrate the bill's Senate passage. "The education jobs package will eliminate the threat of teacher layoffs, layoffs that will negatively impact students," Solomon stated.

The $10 billion in education jobs funding will support education jobs in the 2010-2011 school year and be distributed to states by a formula based on population figures. States can distribute their funding to school districts based on their own primary funding formula or districts' relative share of federal Title I funds. The House passed the measure by a vote of 247-161, while the Senate passed the measure by a vote of 61-39.

On March 24th, the Senate Agriculture Committee unanimously passed S. 3307, the Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act, moving it to be taken up by the full Senate. However, this bill has yet to be adopted, and time is rapidly running out to pass this important piece of legislation before the programs expire in September. This bipartisan bill updates and improves a number of critical child nutrition programs, including school breakfasts and lunches.  

 The Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act takes many critical steps toward alleviating child hunger and supporting the health and wellness of our nation’s children. This bill contains common-sense measures that will increase access to critical nutrition programs, increase the quality of foods served in schools, and provide the resources, tools, and training necessary to accomplish these goals. If the Senate does not make this issue a priority and act on this legislation soon, then all these improvements will be lost. 

 What you can do:  Contact your Senators today and urge them to pass S. 3307:

Sherrod Brown
(202) 224-2315
http://brown.senate.gov/contact/ 

George Voinovich
(202) 224-3353
http://voinovich.senate.gov/public/index.cfm?FuseAction=Contact.ContactForm

While the pace of local PTA groups slows down during the summer months, the Ohio PTA is monitoring several Ohio House Bills that are pending in Committees:

House Bill 353:  Commercial advertising on school buses  

This bill would authorize school districts to sell commercial advertising space on the outside of school buses.  It is pending in the House Education Committee.

House Bill 270:  Text Messaging

This bill would create a statewide ban on texting or typing on a mobile communication device while driving.  The bill defines "mobile communication device" to include a wireless telephone, text-messaging device, personal digital assistant, computer, or any other substantially similar wireless device that is designed or used to communicate text or data (R.C. 4511.204(D)).  The bill would not prohibit making emergency contacts with law enforcement, hospitals, healthcare providers, fire departments, or other similar emergency entities.  It would also permit people operating public safety vehicles from using these devices in the course of their duties.

Under the bill, whoever violates the prohibition discussed above is guilty of a minor misdemeanor (R.C. 4511.204(C)).  The penalty for a minor misdemeanor is a fine of not more than $150 (R.C. 2929.28, not in the bill).

This kind of ban has already been codified in many local ordinances, including the Cities of Cleveland and South Euclid.  The bill is pending in the House Public Safety & Homeland Security Committee.