Policy by the People Agenda 

Summary of federal policy action this past month and a look-ahead to the next few weeks/month 

1. Supreme Court Hears Case on Affirmative Action at Harvard and UNC: On October 31st, the US Supreme Court heard oral arguments in Students for Fair Admissions v. President and Fellows of Harvard and Students for Fair Admissions v. University of North Carolina, two cases that seek to overturn the precedent set in Grutter v. Bollinger (2003) that colleges and universities may use race as a factor in admission decisions. Students for Fair Admissions argues such considerations violate students’ 14^th Amendment Rights in the case of UNC, a public institution, and Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 in the Harvard case, a private institution. 

2. Biden Administration Commits to Equitable Workforce Development for Infrastructure Jobs: On November 2^nd, President Biden celebrated the commitments made by all 50 states and 350 organizations, as part of the Infrastructure Talent Pipeline Challenge, to support equitable workforce development in construction, electrification, and broadband. The Challenge will create opportunities to increase recruitment among historically underrepresented workers in infrastructure, provide supportive services such as child care and transportation assistance to help workers participate in skills development programs, and expand access to apprenticeship programs. 

3. U.S. District Court Rules Biden’s Student Loan Debt Relief Program Unconstitutional: On November 10^th, a U.S. District Court judge stopped the Biden Administration from collecting applications from student debt holders seeking relief, stating the HEROS Act did not grant the Executive branch the power to modify the Federal Student Loan Program without Congressional approval. The Biden Administration has appealed the ruling the 5^th Circuit Court and is expected to reach the U.S. Supreme Court.  

4. Update on FY 2023 Appropriations: Negotiations on the FY23 federal budget continued after the Midterm Elections on November 8^th.  The continuing resolution funds the federal government until December 16^th.  

Policy-related events and resources of interest, including federal funding opportunities 

Events 

• Upcoming Event: EducationWeek will host The School to Workforce Gap: How are Schools Setting Students up for Life & Lifestyle Success? on November 29th from 2:00-3:00 pm ET. More information and registration can be found here. 
• Upcoming Event: The Chronicle of Higher Education will host the webinar Shifting International-Student Trends on November 15th at 2:00 pm ET. More information and registration can be found here. 
• Upcoming Event: The Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs (OIRA) will host the engagement session on how to improve public participation in the Federal regulatory process, including participation from underserved communities on November 17^th from 12-1:00 pm ET. More information and registration can be found here.  
• Upcoming Event: The U.S. Department of Labor will celebrate National Apprenticeship Week on November 15th from 1:00-2:30 pm EDT. More information and registration can be found here.  
• Upcoming Event: WorkforceGPS will host the webinar Yes, WIOA Can! Effectively Leveraging or “Braiding” Multiple Funding Sources with WIOA on November 15th from 1:00-2:0 pm EDT. More information and registration can be found here.  

• Past Event: Center for American Progress hosted the event After We Cancel the Debt featuring Representatives Rosa DeLauro and Robert “Bobby” Scott. More information can be found here. 
• Past Event: New America hosted the webinar Grow your own educators: Opportunities and challenges for strengthening teacher preparation. More information can be found here. 
• Past Event: Family Resource Center hosted the webinar Supporting Teen Parents. More information and registration can be found here.  

Resources 

• The74: Report: ‘Scorecard’ of 4,000 Schools Shows Rural Districts Fared Better in Math, Worse in Reading Than Urban, Suburban Peers 
• McKinsey: Report: Halftime for the K-12 Stimulus: How are District Fairing? 
• EdChoice: National Polling Report: The Public, Parents, and K-12 Education 
• FutureEd: Report: What the Pandemic did to NAEP, State Standardized Test Scores  
• National Governors Association: News Report: Digital Equity and the Future of Work: How Six Governors are Advancing Digital Skills for Equitable Economic Participation 
• Learning Policy Institute: Report: Support Students Experiencing Homelessness: District Approaches to Supports and Funding 

Funding Opportunities 

• Federal Register: Education Department 
• Federal Register: Workforce Development 
  • Academy of Women Entrepreneurs 2023 [AF-WHK-FY23-01] Due 11/17/2022 

IEL Policy Highlights 

• IEL drafted a letter to the leadership of the Appropriations Committees in both the House and the Senate in support of fully funding Full-Service Community Schools in FY23 at $468 million. This letter had well over 200 sign-ons, setting a record for the Coalition for Community Schools and IEL. 
• IEL initiated a Dear Member of Congress Letter in both the House and Senate to encourage lawmakers to support increasing funding for Full-Service Community Schools in the FY23 Appropriations package. 
• IEL staff traveled to San Diego, California to visit local Community Schools and to see collaborative leadership in action as implemented by the Teacher Powered School Network. During this visit, staff learned how these schools were able to deepen connections their communities, including drafting a union agreement, as part of the application process, that requires all community schools to have a collaborative leadership model that they developed locally and the application writing included families, community members, students, and teachers. 

IEL Sign-On Letters to the Hill 

• IEL signed on to the Consortium for Constituents with Disabilities Education Taskforce’s letter to Congressional Appropriations Leadership urging them to “adopt the highest proposed funding levels for the federal programs that support infants, toddlers, children, and youth with disabilities, their families, and the educators and other service providers who serve them.”