What’s Happening in Washington
A summary of recent federal policy actions and a look ahead to the coming weeks
Welcome to Fall! Here’s what’s been happening in federal education policy over September and what’s in store for the month of October.
Appropriations: On September 25th, the House and Senate approved a Continuing Resolution (CR) to avoid a government shutdown on October 1st. This legislation will keep the government funded until December 20, 2024, when they will revisit full year funding bills for FY2025.
Coordinators Appreciation Week (CAW): Thank you for joining us during the week of September 15 to 21st in celebrating our Community School Coordinators! A resolution was introduced in both the House and Senate to recognize this week by Representative Judy Chu (CA-28) and Senator Sherrod Brown (D-OH).
GAO on 2024 FASFA Rollout: The GAO’s report on the 2024 FAFSA form highlights that the technical difficulties led to a 9% drop in submissions by first-time applicants, with the largest declines in low-income students. During 2024 FASFA rollout, most call center inquiries going unanswered and representatives telling students to “try again later.”
National Disability Employment Awareness Month (NDEAM): Led by the U.S. Department of Labor’s Office of Disability Employment Policy (ODEP), October is a month to celebrate workers with disabilities and their contributions to our workforce and economy. It is also to reaffirm commitment to initiatives that promote access to good jobs and increase awareness.
National Youth Justice Action Month (YJAM): Sponsored by Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention’s (OJJDP), the theme “YOUth Are Worth It!” aims to raise awareness and inspire action for youth affected by the justice system.
IEL Policy Highlights
IEL and the Coalition for Community Schools celebrated a successful 8th Annual Community Schools Coordinators Appreciation Week in the beginning of September. In addition to our resolutions introduced in both chambers of Congress designating this week of appreciation, we submitted to Congress our Sign on letter to fund Community Schools with over 300 signatures!
Ryan Hurley, our Midwest Regional Director of Community Schools, joined our Community School partners and Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona at United Way of Greater Milwaukee & Waukesha County in Wisconsin during the U.S. Department of Education Back-to-School bus tour visit there, which highlighted how Community Schools can address chronic absenteeism. This year’s tour was focused on “Fighting for Public Education,” and included a visit to a Full Service Community School in Pittsburgh.
Events & Resources
Webinars and Capacity Building Events
- Creating Harmony and Belonging as a Solution to Chronic Absenteeism on October 29 at 5:00 pm ET. Hosted by Education Week
- Creating a School Culture That Values Student Voice on October 29 at 5:00 pm ET. Hosted by edWeb
- Strategies for Providing and Making it Easier to Access Services Across Federal Agencies: Blending and Braiding Webinar Series on October 30 at 1:00 pm ET. Hosted by the Department of Education
- Save the date! Join us for our December Webinar, Education Policy in the New Congress on December 11 at 2:00pm ET.
New Research, Reports, and Analysis
- ESSER Post-Mortem: How Did Districts Spend $190B in Federal Funds? Did It Work? by The 74
- What’s It Like To Be a Teacher in America Today? by the Pew Research Center
- Equity, Impact, Transparency: Rethinking Ed Vendor Contracts After ESSER by The 74
- The Opportunity Makers: How a Diverse Group of Public Schools Helps Students Catch Up—and How Far More Can by TNTP
- White House Plan Yields 323K Tutors, Mentors to Aid COVID Learning Recovery by The 74
- Early Childhood Program Participation: 2023 by the National Center for Education Statistics