Thursday, April 30, 2009

Swine Flu: Resources for Educators

This afternoon, the U.S. Department of Education (ED) and U.S. Health and Human Services (HHS) both held public conferences on the flu known as H1N1, or "swine flu." Below is a Webcast briefing from HHS Secretary Sebelius, DHS Secretary Napolitano, and CDC Acting Director Besser.



ACCT has posted important links for community college trustees, presidents and other interested parties at http://www.acct.org/swine-flu-update.php.

ED requests that all school closings due to H1N1 be reported to the Department's Office of Safe and Drug-Free Schools at flu@ed.gov.

As of 12 PM ET today, April 29th, ED had confirmed closures of at least 104 schools nationwide, public and nonpublic, enrolling about 56,000 students. Seventy-four of these schools closed because of confirmed or probable causes of H1N1 flu; the rest closed as a precaution. These schools are scattered among eight states.

So far, the impact on U.S. schools overall remains small—just a tiny percentage of the more than 100,000 schools nationwide, which enroll a total of approximately 55 million students.

For all of them, Secretary Duncan offered this advice earlier today: “All of us involved in schools—school leaders, teachers, parents and students—need to pitch in and do our part to prevent the spread of this flu virus…Do what is appropriate for the health of your communities, your schools and your students.”

Additional Resources:

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Tuesday, April 28, 2009

LAW E-Alert: Congress Poised to Pass Budget

April 28, 2009—Congress is poised to pass a $3.5 trillion fiscal year 2010 budget plan that will back President Obama’s funding priorities. The Conference Committee was able to reach a final agreement on the funding level of the FY2010 budget resolution, which will provide $89.4 billion for the Function 500 account containing the education and labor funding accounts. The Conference Committee also included reconciliation language for education. Reconciliation paves the way for Congress to eliminate the Federal Family Education Loan program and create a single federal-loan program and use the savings to support a Pell Grant mandatory (entitlement) program.

The House and Senate are expected to vote and pass the bill. For more information, please visit: http://www.rules.house.gov/bills_details.aspx?NewsID=4231

In other related Congressional news, Sen. Arlen Specter from Pennsylvania announced today that he is changing parties and will run for re-election as a Democrat. Sen. Specter will retain his seniority in the Senate.

For more Latest Action in Washington, click here.
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Friday, April 24, 2009

LAW E-Alert: Congress Moves to Pass Budget Resolution

April 24, 2009—It now appears that Congress and the Administration have reached a tentative agreement on the parameters for a final budget resolution for FY2010. According to press accounts, the budget resolution will include budget reconciliation language that will pave the way for converting the Pell Grant program into a mandatory (entitlement) program. The reconciliation process would allow Congress to move legislation without a threat of a Senate filibuster and would only require 51 votes to pass in the Senate.

ACCT has come out in support of the Administration’s proposal on converting Pell. ACCT’s letter can be found at: http://www.acct.org/advocacy/letters/

Earlier this week, the Senate announced its conferees for the Budget Conference Committee: Budget Committee Chair Kent Conrad (D-ND), Sen. Patty Murray (D-WA) and Budget Committee Ranking Member Judd Gregg (R-NH). The House also announced its conference members: House Budget Committee chairman John Spratt (D-SC), Rep. Rosa DeLauro (D-CT), Rep. Allen Boyd (D-FL), Rep. Paul Ryan (R-WI) and Rep. Jeb Hensarling (R-TX). The announcement of the conferees is an indication that a tentative agreement has been reached.

The conference committee will likely meet next week and finalize a budget resolution quickly. The Administration has indicated that they would like to have the budget resolution passed by the end of President Obama's first 100 days. The budget resolution does not require the President’s signature. The resolution is vital in shaping the appropriations process for the given fiscal year. Read more!

Thursday, April 23, 2009

Rep. John B. Larson Introduces Community College Technology Access Act

Today, Rep. John B. Larson (CT-01), Chairman of the House Democratic Caucus, along with more than 15 other members of Congress, introduced legislation that will help train our workforce for the jobs of the future and boost our economy. The Community College Technology Access Act, H.R. 2060, will open the doors of community college technology labs and training opportunities to the public in order to provide workers who are lacking key computer skills the opportunity to attain them.

Rep. Larson said, “By broadening their mission, community colleges have the potential to be a hub to train our workforce for the jobs of the future. With this legislation we are helping them fulfill their potential and boost local economies around the country.”

The legislation would provide funding to community colleges that offer technology training and open their computer labs to the public for at least 30 hours each week. Then-Senator Barack Obama included a similar idea as part of his platform during the campaign for the presidency.

ACCT President and CEO J. Noah Brown spoke in support of the legislation by noting, "The Community College Technology Access Act of 2009 will enable the nation’s community colleges to extend service to their communities by allowing workers to retrain or retool their computer skills. Community colleges are on the front lines in our communities and constitute economic engines that are vital to turning around our economy and promoting prosperity."
"Through this legislation, community colleges will able to reach out to those who need access to technology, realizing their mission of service and responsiveness to their communities," said Brown. "The Association of Community College Trustees is pleased to support this critically important legislation and we look forward to its passage and eventual funding by the Congress."
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Wednesday, April 22, 2009

Op-Ed by Secretaries Chu and Solis Highlights Allegheny County Community College

Today, Secretary of Energy Steven Chu and Secretary of Labor Hilda Solis co-authored an op-ed highlighting efforts around green jobs and energy independence. The editorial highlights the role of community colleges, in particular the efforts of Community College of Allegheny County, PA.

"Recently, we visited the Community College of Allegheny County in Pennsylvania where workers at the facility are being trained for the types of green jobs those Recovery Act dollars are funding. At the community college, these jobs range from the construction and facility upgrades of green buildings to the installation of energy-efficient street lights to conducting energy audits. In a booming clean energy sector, those jobs will range from research and development to skilled labor jobs like weatherizing to floor shifts at wind and solar facilities. And these are jobs that cannot be shipped overseas. "

Read the full article at: http://www.whitehouse.gov/the_press_office/Op-Ed-by-Secretary-of-Energy-Steven-Chu-and-Secretary-of-Labor-Hilda-Solis-Building-the-American-Clean-Energy-Economy/ Read more!

Tuesday, April 21, 2009

Senate Committee Holds Hearing on Green Jobs

The Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee held a hearing today on Empowering Workers to Rebuild America’s Economy and Longer-Term Competitiveness: Green Skills Training for Workers. As the focus on Green Jobs continues, community colleges' role in this sector is growing. Labor Secretary Hilda Solis, a former community college trustee, testified at the hearing. Additionally, Dr. Lee D. Lambert, President, Shoreline Community College, Shoreline, WA appeared before the committee with a former student from Shoreline.

The hearing and the individual speeches can be viewed at: http://help.senate.gov/Hearings/2009_04_21/2009_04_21.html Read more!

LAW E-Alert: Congress Returns From Break and More Changes

April 21, 2009—With the end of the spring district work period, Congress returns to finalize action on the FY2010 budget resolution. Congress is expected to split the funding differences between their respective bills, but the larger question is whether Congress will include budget-reconciliation language in regards to education, energy and health care. The budget reconciliation is not subject to a filibuster; therefore, it only requires a majority of the votes. If Congress includes budget-reconciliation language for education, this will pave the way for Congress to consider pushing the Pell Grant program into an entitlement and consolidate the federal-loans programs into a single federal-loan program. The budget resolution provides a rough outline of funding areas, though it does deal specifically with all the programmatic funding levels and does not require the President’s signature.

The House resolution provides $533 billion for non-defense discretionary funding, with $88.7 billion in discretionary funding for the Function 500 account for Education, Training, Employment, and Social Services. The Senate resolution provides $525 billion for non-defense discretionary funding, with $89.4 billion in discretionary funding for the Function 500 account for Education, Training, Employment, and Social Services. Both resolutions set a Pell Grant maximum level of $5,550 in FY2010 and include a deficit-neutral reserve fund to allow for Pell Grant increases in line with those proposed in President Obama's budget.

Congress is expected to finalize action in the next weeks. Meanwhile, the Administration is expected to release its full budget request for FY2010 the week of May 4th.

In other news, the Administration continues to appoint individuals for various positions in the federal government. For more information on these nominations, go to http://www.acct.org/advocacy/latest/ Read more!

Friday, April 17, 2009

Middle Class Task Force Meets on College Affordability

The White House Task Force on the Middle Class, headed by Vice President Joe Biden, held a meeting in St. Louis, Missouri to discuss college affordability. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan, Cecilia Rouse, of the Council on Economic Advisers, and Dr. Jill Biden, professor at Northern Virginia Community College were also part of the panel of the event. VP Biden outlined the goal of making college affordable through Pell Grants, student loans, tax credits and other means. VP Biden also called for the Treasury Department and the Secretary of Education to study ways of making 529 accounts more effective and reliable.

Additionally, the task force staff prepared a report outlining importance of higher education and the relative costs per sector. In the report, its states that community colleges play an important role in the affordability discussion. The task force staff report can be found here: http://www.whitehouse.gov/assets/documents/staff_report_college_affordability1.pdf Read more!

National Center for Education Statistics Releases "First Look" Study

The National Center for Education Statistics Released its 2007-08 National Postsecondary Student Aid Study: Student Financial Aid Estimates for 2007-08. The First Look provides an preliminary results of the 2007-08 National Postsecondary Student Aid Study. The study provides an outline of the student aid (including what type of aid) for post-secondary students and by sectors.

The "First Look" can be found at http://nces.ed.gov/pubsearch/pubsinfo.asp?pubid=2009166. Read more!

Wednesday, April 15, 2009

"Green" Community Colleges Showcased in Nation's Capitol


Yesterday, a panel of community college leaders gathered at The Capitol Visitor Center to detail the importance of community colleges in the still-young environmental sustainability marketplace to a room full of Congressional staff representing members of the Congressional Community College Caucus.

On the panel were:

The panel presented a new publication from the National Council for Workforce Education and the Academy for Educational Development showcases new community college programs that train students to work in important new "green" industries.
Going Green: The Vital Role of Community Colleges in Building a Sustainable Future and Green Workforce details a variety of new programs, ranging from harvesting energy from clean, natural sources such as wind and algae to certifying energy efficiency and green interior design experts.
Going Green is available for download at http://www.ncwe.org/documents/GoingGreen.pdf.
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House and Senate Pass Respective Budget Resolutions

April 3, 2009—Yesterday, the House of Representatives and the Senate passed their respective FY2010 Budget Resolutions, paving the way for Congressional leadership to work on a final resolution. The House vote was 233-196 and the Senate vote was 55-43; both votes were divided largely along party lines. The budget resolution provides only a rough outline of funding areas, though it does deal specifically with all the programmatic funding levels.

The House resolution provides $533 billion for non-defense discretionary funding, with $88.7 billion in discretionary funding for the Function 500 account for Education, Training, Employment, and Social Services. The Senate resolution provides $525 billion for non-defense discretionary funding, with $89.4 billion in discretionary funding for the Function 500 account for Education, Training, Employment, and Social Services. Both resolutions set a Pell Grant maximum level of $5,550 in FY2010 and include a deficit-neutral reserve fund to allow for Pell Grant increases in line with those proposed in President Obama’s budget.

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