1. CEC-CAN Summer Policy Series ▪ July 2013 WHAT’S HAPPENING IN WASHINGTON?!

2. TODAY’S AGENDA  ESEA Reauthorization & Waivers  Update on Legislative & Policy Proposals  Next Generation of Assessments  Teacher Evaluation  Special Education Funding Outlook 2

3. 3 3

4. 4 44 Representatives are past educators 7 Senators are past educators

5. 2007…2008…2009…2010…2011…2012…2013? What a difference 7 years makes!!

6. CEC’S ESEA GUIDING PRINCIPLES 6 Supporting a Well Prepared Successful Educational Workforce Improving Outcomes for All Children Through the Collaboration of All Educators Strengthening Assessment and Accountability for ALL Meaningful Systems that Encourage Collaborative and Supportive Measurement, Evaluation, and Reward of Professional Performance Developing Improved Strategies that Create Positive School Reform Meeting the Unique Needs of Gifted Learners Providing Full Funding to Execute the Goals and Provisions of ESEA

7. Senator Lamar Alexander (R-TN) Senator Tom Harkin (D-IA) LOTS OF TALKING… 7

8. American Association of Administrators, Policy Insider Oct 2011 8

9. 9 White House Announces Waivers September, 2011

10. ESEA WAIVERS 10 – Remove 2014 AYP deadline – Funding Flexibility – Changes to Accountability – Flexibility for HQT Plans

11. 11 4 Conditions: – Adopt College & Career Ready Standards – Develop Assessments that Measure Student Growth – Develop Differentiated Accountability System – Develop Guidelines for Local Teacher and Principal Evaluations Based on Effectiveness ESEA WAIVERS

12. 42 States + Washington, DC have waivers 12 ESEA WAIVERS

13. 13

14. 2013 HOUSE VS. SENATE ESEA BILLS 14 Total Opposites!!

15. WHERE ARE WE IN THE LEGISLATIVE PROCESS?? Passage by House Education Committee Passage by Senate Education Committee President Signs! Conference Committee Works Out Differences! Passage by Full House of Representatives Passage by Full Senate

16. July 19, 2013: Passed House by 221-207 vote; all Democrats and 12 Republicans voted against Two days of debate – 18 amendments passed – 4 amendments defeated – 4 withdrawn Student Success Act (HR 5) House Version of ESEA CEC Opposed, as did most of the education & disability communities

17. 17 Student Success Act (HR 5) House Version of ESEA Provisions in Student Success Act (HR 5) CEC Supports Eliminates AYP & 2014 Deadline Maintains Disaggregation of Subgroup Data

18. 18 CEC Expressed Serious Concerns with Student Success Act (HR 5) Reduces Accountability for Students with Disabilities Eliminates Highly Qualified Teacher Provisions Lacks focus on Professional Development Reduces, Caps and Eliminates Funding; Locks into place sequestration Increases Privatization Ignores High-Ability Students Student Success Act (HR 5) House Version of ESEA

19. Passed Senate Health, Education, Labor, Pensions (HELP) Committee June 12, 2013 Passed with only Democrat support Two days of debate and amendments Strengthening America’s Schools Act Senate Version of ESEA CEC supported with some reservations, as did most of disability community; education community split

20. 20 Provisions in Strengthening America’s Schools Act CEC Supports Focus on early learning for entry “ready to learn” Encourage equity through greater transparency and fair distribution of resources Limits Use of Alternate Assessment Changes to Accountability System, Focus on Bottom 15%, Low Performing Subgroups, Maintains Subgroup Disaggregation, Student Growth & Performance Targets; Eliminates AYP & 2014 Deadline Early Intervening Services in General Ed, UDL, PBIS Mental Health Supports Includes Key Provisions of CEC-Endorsed, TALENT Act for High-Ability Students Strengthening America’s Schools Act Senate Version of ESEA

21. 21 Provisions in Strengthening America’s Schools Act That Concern CEC New Requirements without Adequate Resources Accountability System Focus on Bottom 15% of Schools and Only Reporting for Remaining 85% Includes “Turnaround” Models that Promote Firing of Staff and Other Interventions Overemphasis of Teacher Evaluation from Federal Level Defining “Highly Qualified” to Include Individuals Still Enrolled in Alternate Route to Certification Programs Strengthening America’s Schools Act Senate Version of ESEA

22. WHAT’S NEXT FOR ESEA? 22

23. COMMON CORE STATE STANDARDS & THE FUTURE OF TESTING New Assessments, Adaptive Assessments, & Racing to the Top 23

24. RACE TO THE TOP ASSESSMENT CONTEST 24 Next Generation of Assessments 1% Dynamic Learning Maps 1% National Center & State Collaborative 99% Smarter Balanced Consortia 99% PARCC Consortia Aligns to the Common Core State Standards

25. TWO CONSORTIA: 1% Dynamic Learning Maps Alternate Assessment Program (DLM) – Kansas University $22 million – 13 States - Iowa, Kansas, Michigan, Mississippi, Missouri, New Jersey, North Carolina, Oklahoma, Utah, Virginia, West Virginia, Washington and Wisconsin. – Accessibility - keyboard, drag-and-drop, touch- screen, and compatible with a variety of assistive technologies commonly used by students. 25

26. NATIONAL CENTER & STATE COLLABORATIVE 19 States: Alaska, Arizona Connecticut, District of Columbia, Florida, Georgia, Indiana, Louisiana, Maryland, Massachusetts, Nevada, New York, North Dakota, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Wyoming 26

27. ASSESSMENT CONSORTIA: PARCC 27 Computer Based http://www.parcconline.org/

28. ASSESSMENT CONSORTIA: SMARTER BALANCED 28 Computer Adaptive http://www.smarterbalanced.org/

29. TIMELINE 2012-13 School Year: First year pilot/field testing and related research and data collection 2013-14 School Year: Second year pilot/field testing and related research and data collection – Over-sampling of students with disabilities due to previous under- sampling. 2014-15 School Year: Full operational administration of PARCC / Smarter Balances assessments Summer 2015: Set achievement levels, including college-ready performance levels 29

30. TEACHER EVALUATION It’s a New World!! 30

31. POLICYMAKERS: A SHIFT IN FOCUS Highly Qualified Highly Effective Inputs Outputs 31

32. System Components Complex Role Measure Evidence- Based Practice Recognize Professionalism Incorporate Research CEC’s Position: Components of Special Education Teacher Evaluations 32

33. PROCESS: HOW DID WE GET HERE? The Obama Administration, with bipartisan support from Congress, included incentives to change teacher evaluation systems in signature education programs like Race to the Top and ESEA Waivers. CEC convened an expert advisory workgroup to inform its discussion of new teacher evaluation systems. CEC developed preliminary recommendations for its ESEA Reauthorization Recommendations. CEC worked for over a year with members and experts in the field to draft a Position Statement. Political Context CEC Work Begins - 2009 CEC Drafts Position - 2012

34. CEC MEMBER & OUTSIDE EXPERT INPUT Timeline: 9/2011 – Board of Directors Approved Concept 1/2012 – Small Expert Panel Identified Issues/Challenges 3/2012 – Representative Assembly Commented; – CEC Members and Convention Attendees Commented at 2012 Convention Town Hall 6/2012 – CEC CAN Network Commented; – Over 600 CEC Members Commented Online 7/2012 – PAS Team Developed Draft Position Statement 8/2012 – Close to 40 National Experts Commented 9/2012 – Representative Assembly Commented 10/2012 – Board of Directors Approved Timeline: 9/2011 – Board of Directors Approved Concept 1/2012 – Small Expert Panel Identified Issues/Challenges 3/2012 – Representative Assembly Commented; – CEC Members and Convention Attendees Commented at 2012 Convention Town Hall 6/2012 – CEC CAN Network Commented; – Over 600 CEC Members Commented Online 7/2012 – PAS Team Developed Draft Position Statement 8/2012 – Close to 40 National Experts Commented 9/2012 – Representative Assembly Commented 10/2012 – Board of Directors Approved

35. All educators must be included in one evaluation system. Evaluation systems must identify appropriate professional development opportunities for teachers based on the results of their evaluations. Evaluations must support continuous improvement. Evaluation processes and all measures of teacher effectiveness must be open and transparent to the teacher being evaluated. TEACHER EVALUATION SYSTEMS SHALL: Include Fundamental System-Wide Components

36. Evaluations must clearly identify and be based on a special education teacher’s specific role and responsibilities during a given school year. Evaluations must take into account the population of children and youth and their range of exceptionalities that special education teachers instruct. Evaluations must be conducted by evaluators with expertise related to evidence-based service delivery models and individualized teaching practices and interventions in special education. TEACHER EVALUATION SYSTEMS SHALL: Identify the Complex Role of the Special Education Teacher

37. Evaluations must be based on multiple reliable measures and indicators that support valid measurement of special education teacher effectiveness. Evaluations should never be based solely on student growth. Statistical models that estimate a teacher’s contribution to student growth, such as value-added models, should not be applied to any teacher until there is a general consensus among researchers that the model provides a valid estimate of a teacher’s contribution to student growth. TEACHER EVALUATION SYSTEMS SHALL: Measure the Use of Evidence-Based Practices

38. USE OF IEP Multiple indicators of special education teacher effectiveness may include … IEP development and implementation. Evaluations should not use a student’s progress on their goals, objectives, and benchmarks in the IEP as a measure of a special education teacher’s contribution to student growth.

39. Evaluations must respect special education teachers’ professional practice and provide them with constructive and actionable feedback, resources, and opportunities to assist in addressing any areas for professional development and lead to well-grounded personnel decisions. Special education teachers must have reasonable case loads and paperwork responsibilities; competitive salaries; benefits; access to resources; and positive working conditions. TEACHER EVALUATION SYSTEMS SHALL: Recognize the Professionalism of Special Education Teachers

40. Leaders of evaluation systems reforms must collaborate to ensure that the development and implementation of evaluation systems are carried out in a systematic, coordinated, and efficient manner. Research should identify reliable measures and indicators of student growth that can be validly used to evaluate special education teachers. Policy makers and leaders should consider the intended and unintended consequences of wide-scale implementation of teacher evaluation systems. TEACHER EVALUATION SYSTEMS SHALL: Continually Incorporate Findings From Research

41. CEC Position on Special Education Teacher Evaluation CEC TOOLS FOR YOU! Teacher Evaluation Toolkit for Special Educators! Visit: www.cec.sped.org Policy & Advocacy

42. Learn, Understand, Navigate New Teacher Evaluation Systems with the Help of your CEC Colleagues Through this Online Dialog! Visit: www.cec.sped.orgwww.cec.sped.org CEC TOOLS FOR YOU!

43. SPECIAL/GIFTED EDUCATION FUNDING The Federal Government is OPEN! The Story of Sequestration How did Special/Gifted Education Fare in FY 2013? What to Expect for FY 2014

44. FEDERAL GOVERNMENT IS…. OPEN! 1 st shutdown in 17 years 16-day shutdown spurred by debate over government funding levels & funding of healthcare law October 1 federal funding for IDEA went to states as scheduled Deal keeps government funded until January 15, 2014; raises debt ceiling until February 7, 2014

45. 3

46. 2010 Congressional Elections Bring Fiscal Conservatives (Tea Party) to Washington August 2011 Budget Control Act Cut $1.2 Trillion November 2011 Super Committee Fails! 2013 Sequestration Takes Effect Lasts from (2013-2021) 5

48. SEQUESTRATION HITS… $1.2 Trillion Cut 2013- 2021 $85 B Cut $600 M from Special Education 2013 Cut $36.6 B from Non- Defense Discretionary Programs 2014 7

49. FEDERAL BUDGET FY 2012 Chart Courtesy of Committee for Education Funding 49

50. Funding Cuts Due to Sequestration 2013 9

51. Special/Gifted Education Funding Levels in FY 2013 2013 IDEA Part B$10.97 Billion Decrease of $602 Million IDEA Part B Section 619 $353.24 Million Decrease of $19 Million IDEA Part C$419.65 Million Decrease of $23 Million IDEA Part D$225.14 Million Decrease of $13 Million Javits$0 SpEd Research$47.30 million Decrease of $2.5 Million

52. Sequestration = Full Funding Plunges to 14.5% 11

53. 53

54. 54

55. Impact of “Sequester“ Budget Cuts on Jobs May be Exaggerated - March 20, 2013 The Overhyped, Overblown, & Overly Politicized Sequester Fears - May 30, 2013 Sequester Scorecard: A Month Later, Effects Still Up In Air - April 5, 2013 55 Tell CEC How Sequestration/Budget Cuts Are Impacting You! Email: pubpol@cec.sped.orgpubpol@cec.sped.org

56. Special/Gifted Education Funding Levels in FY 2014 2014 SENATESENATE HOUSEHOUSE 56 2014 Federal Fiscal Year Began on October 1, 2013 Different Views Led to Shutdown

57. Senate Appropriations Committee Votes to Reject Sequestration! IDEA Part B$11.722 Billion IDEA Part B Section 619 $371.901 Million IDEA Part C$462.710 Million IDEA Part D$237.085 Million Javits$15 Million SpEd Research$69.905 million Special/Gifted Education Funding Levels in FY 2014 2014 Pre-sequestration Levels and some increases! 57

58. CNN Poll conducted by ORC International during November 16-18, 2012 58

59. YOUR HOMEWORK! Tell CEC …. 1.How is Your State’s ESEA Waiver Impacting You and Students with Disabilities? 2.How is Your New Teacher Evaluation System Working? 3.What is the Impact of Sequestration/Other Budget Cuts on You, Your Students, Your School ? Email: pubpol@cec.sped.org Your Stories Help Policymakers Understand the Impact of their Decisions!!

60. CEC RESOURCES CEC Issue Briefs on Funding and ESEAFunding ESEA CEC's 2014 Federal Outlook for Exceptional Children CEC's 2014 Federal Outlook for Exceptional Children Personalized Stories from Your Network! 60

61. 61 CEC Policy Insider Blog Get the latest special/gifted education news www.policyinsider.org

62. @CECADVOCACY Follow us on Twitter for up to the minute policy updates! 62

63. TAKE ACTION: CEC’S LEGISLATIVE ACTION CENTER www.cec.sped.org Choose: Policy & Advocacy Choose: Take Action! www.cec.sped.org Choose: Policy & Advocacy Choose: Take Action! 63

64. THANK YOU!! 64 CEC Policy Staff Deb ZieglerKim HymesRose Haller-Kaplan Associate Executive DirectorSenior DirectorProgram Assistant Policy & AdvocacyPolicy & AdvocacyPolicy & Advocacy debz@cec.sped.org kimh@cec.sped.org rosehk@cec.sped.org