CONGRESS PASSES FISCAL YEAR 2013 SPENDING BILL: Including Sequester Cuts, Bill Reduces Discretionary Funding for U.S. Department of Education by $2.3 Billion: Last week, the U.S. Congress passed a Fiscal Year (FY) 2013 spending package that avoids a government shutdown by keeping the federal government funded through the end of the fiscal year on September 30. The bill provides $65.8 billion in discretionary funding for the U.S. Department of Education—an amount that reflects the 5 percent across-the-board cut mandated by the sequester—compared to $68.1 billion in FY 2012.

KEEPING COLLEGE WITHIN REACH: Alliance for Excellent Education Higher Education Expert Testifies Before House Education and the Workforce Committee on Fixing Federal Student Aid: Federal student aid spending increased to nearly $237 billion this year, but students entering college find the system obtuse and financial support difficult to obtain. This summer, federal student loan interest rates will be up for debate again, and will rise, if Congress does not act. These two issues were the primary focuses of a March 13 U.S. House Education and the Workforce Committee hearing on improving the federal student aid system.

MASSIVE ONLINE OPEN COURSE FOR EDUCATORS: Alliance for Excellent Education and Friday Institute for Educational Innovation Offer First-of-Its-Kind Online Course for School District Leaders: On March 19, the Alliance for Excellent Education and Friday Institute for Educational Innovation at North Carolina State University opened enrollment for a first-of-its-kind Massive Online Open Course for Educators (MOOC-Ed). Titled “Digital Learning Transition,” the free course will examine how the effective use of digital learning can help school districts meet educational challenges, including implementing college- and career-ready standards for all students and preparing teachers to make effective use of technology to enhance teaching and learning.

STATES’ PERSPECTIVES ON WAIVERS: New CEP Report Finds That States Appreciate Relief from NCLB, Express Concern About Long-Term Solutions: States are optimistic that waivers will help ease some of the unrealistic requirements of the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB) and improve learning for all students, but they are concerned about what will happen to the programs and policies in their waiver plans if the law is reauthorized, according a new report from the Center on Education Policy (CEP) at George Washington University.

Feedback on Accreditation Standards for Educator Preparation Due March 29: As the new national accreditor for educator preparation, the Council for the Accreditation of Educator Preparation (CAEP) is seeking public comments on the draft of the next generation of accreditation standards for educator preparation developed by the CAEP Commission on Standards and Performance Reporting. All stakeholders in education and educator preparation are encouraged to review the draft standards and submit feedback by March 29, 2013.

BUILDING A GRAD NATION: As Number of “Dropout Factories” Falls, Nation On Track for First Time to Meet 90 Percent High School Graduation Rate Goal, New Report Finds: For the first time, the nation is on track to meet the goal of a 90 percent high school graduation rate by the Class of 2020, according to a new report from Civic Enterprises, the Everyone Graduates Center, America’s Promise Alliance, and the Alliance for Excellent Education. The report, Building a Grad Nation: Progress and Challenge in Ending the High School Dropout Epidemic, finds that the Averaged Freshman Graduation Rate (AFGR) increased from 71.7 percent in 2001 to 78.2 percent in 2010. It also finds that the number of “dropout factories” fell from 2,007 in 2002 to 1,424 in 2011

THE ENGLISH LEARNER DROPOUT DILEMMA: New Report Examines Consequences, Causes, and Solutions to High Dropout Rate Among English Language Learners: A new report from the California Dropout Research Project at the University of California–Santa Barbara finds that English learner (EL) students make up 11 percent of students nationally, a percentage that climbs to 20 percent when students who were once classified as EL students are included. The report, The English Learner Dropout Dilemma: Multiple Risks and Multiple Resources, examines the consequences, causes, and solutions to the high school dropout crisis among EL students and argues that the social, economic, and health consequences of dropping out threatens both the general population as well as EL students.

Building on Common Core State Standards to Improve Learning for English Language Learners: On February 26, the Alliance for Excellent Education conducted a webinar on the transition to Common Core State Standards and Next-Generation Science Standards and the opportunities and challenges for the growing number of English language learners (ELLs). During the webinar, panelists discussed numerous initiatives underway to help ELLs access grade-level content while building their language proficiency, including Stanford University’s Understanding Language initiative and the Council of Chief State School Officers’ (CCSSO) Framework for English Language Proficiency Development Standards.

STATE OF THE STATE ADDRESSES: Governors Focus on Digital Learning, College Completion, and Reducing High School Dropout Rates:
• Maryland: O’Malley Pushes for Digital Learning
• Mississippi: Bryant Aims to Reduce High School Dropout Rate
• Missouri: Nixon Proposes $150 Million Funding Boost for Education
• Tennessee: Haslam Announces “Drive to 55”; Sets Goal for 55 Percent of Tennesseans to Earn Associate’s Degree or Higher by 2025
• West Virginia: Tomblin Praises Alliance for Excellent Education’s “Project 24” Initiative