: PTA Takes Action: Federal Policy Update - January 2010

• 2010 Public Policy Agenda Released! 
• JJDPA Passes Senate Judiciary Committee
• National PTA Mobilizing for Common Core State Standards
• Congress Passes Consolidated Appropriations Bill for FY2010
• Health Care Reform Bill Passes in Senate

2010 Public Policy Agenda Released!

National PTA has released its 2010 Public Policy Agenda outlining policy priorities and recommendations for the second session of the 111th Congress. Bolstered by research to back up the recommendations, the 2010 Public Policy Agenda focuses on three key priorities:

1. Family Engagement in Education
   PTA looks forward to the opportunity to strengthen parent involvement and family engagement in the upcoming reauthorizations of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA-NCLB) and the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA).
2. Opportunity and Equity for All Children
   PTA will advance its opportunity and equity platform with the implementation of state advocacy efforts for the Common Core State Standards Initiative (CCSSI), the reauthorization of the Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Act (JJDPA), and federal appropriations to support student achievement and family engagement.
3. Child Nutrition Act
   In 2010, PTA will advocate to improve child health and wellness through the reauthorization of the Child Nutrition Act.

   Take the 2010 Public Policy Agenda to the Hill! Educate your members of Congress on our public policy priorities and ask Congress to strengthen federal legislation that addresses these issues. The 2010 Public Policy Agenda is available to download on PTA's Take Action Center.

Selection of these priorities is based on the timeliness of the issue as it relates to actions being considered by Congress and the Administration, opportunities for National PTA to provide leadership and expertise to lawmakers, alignment with National PTA's mission and resolutions, and ability to achieve a meaningful policy change that will produce positive results for children and their families.

Download the full document as a PDF.

Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Act (JJDPA) Passes Senate Judiciary Committee

On December 17, the Senate Judiciary Committee reported the Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Act (JJDPA) from committee. Introduced in March by Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Patrick Leahy (D-VT) and senior committee members Herb Kohl (D-WI), Richard Durbin (D-IL), and Arlen Specter (D-PA), S. 678 is bipartisan legislation that encourages states to make critical reforms to the juvenile justice system.

The bill requires states to phase out the practice of placing "status offenders"—juveniles arrested for offenses that would not be criminal if committed by adults, such as running away or truancy—in secure detention. The legislation encourages states to create more community-based, family focused alternatives and reentry programs and address the overrepresentation of minorities in the juvenile justice system. The bill also provides federal grants for mental health and drug treatment programs focusing on youth offenders, as well as funding for competitive grants administered through the Department of Justice.

First passed in 1974, the JJDPA is the primary law addressing juvenile justice reform. The National PTA has been a vocal supporter of the reauthorization of the JJDPA, and promotes and encourages efforts to have children removed from adult jails and placed in the appropriate facilities. PTA also supports efforts to treat youth in the justice system in an age-appropriate manner and to provide youth with services and supports that are developmentally appropriate and evidence-based.

S. 678 is also cosponsored by Senators Benjamin Cardin (D-MD), Al Franken (D-MN), Susan Collins (R-ME), and Olympia Snowe (R-ME). The Senate is expected to vote on the measure in the coming weeks.

National PTA Mobilizing to Push for Common Core State Standards

In December, National PTA announced a new three-year effort to mobilize parents to advance key education reforms, beginning with the common core state standards initiative (CCSSI), a voluntary, state-led, internationally benchmarked set of high academic standards in English language arts and mathematics. Currently, each state has its own academic standards, which has resulted in students being taught at different levels of rigor depending on where they live. Common core state standards will help ensure that all students receive a high-quality education that prepares them for college or a career.

Beginning in January 2010, National PTA will educate and train PTA members and parents about the common core state standards, focusing early outreach in Florida, Georgia, New Jersey, and North Carolina. Other states and school districts will be included in mid 2010. A $1 million grant from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation will help support this effort.

The long-term goal of the grant is to build PTA's state-level capacity to support other PTA policy priorities, such as family engagement in education or child health. The initiative will allow PTA to advocate in various contexts to increase its advocacy capacity and to share effective strategies across states and local units.

To learn more about the Common Core State Standards, please see the 2010 Public Policy Agenda or the CCSSI webpage.

Congress Passes $447 billion Consolidated Appropriations Bill for FY2010

On December 16, President Obama signed into law H.R. 3288, the year-end omnibus measure that contains six of the seven remaining appropriations bills: Transportation-HUD, Commerce-Justice-Science, Labor Health and Human Service (HHS) and Education, Financial Services, Military Construction-Veterans Affairs, and State-Foreign Operations. The bill includes nearly $67.4 billion for the Department of Education, and provides funding for many of PTA's public policy priorities, including $14.5 billion in Title I grants to Local Education Agencies and $11.5 billion for the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) Part B.

The omnibus package passed the House by a vote of 221-202, and then passed the Senate 57-35 on December 13. While the omnibus flat-funds several education programs, it does contain a few funding increases to suuport the Administration's priorities. For example, the Teacher Incentive Fund, a program that supports efforts to develop and implement performance-based teacher and principal compensation systems in high-need schools, received $400 million, over four times more than it received in FY 2009. The bill also increases funding for after school centers to $1.2 billion and provides $50 million for a new graduation initiative that targets high schools with a disproportionate number of students dropping out.

For a more detailed explanation, please see the following table, which provides an overview of funding for PTA's policy priority areas, and a comparison with the President's budget requests. The bill does not include funding for child nutrition and related programs, which were funded in a separate appropriations bill for Agriculture that was passed in September.

Health Care Reform Bill Passes in Senate

After intensive work in both houses of Congress over the last eight months, both the House and Senate have now passed their own versions of health care reform legislation.

On December 24, 2009, the U.S. Senate's version of a health care reform passed 60-39. Despite much publicized difficulties in achieving consensus, the Democratic majority was able to develop a bill that could pass, despite unanimous Republican opposition.

Disagreement over inclusion of a public health insurance option appeared to be the largest hurdle of this landmark legislation. In the end, the Senate abandoned the public option, but still faced disagreement over other factors. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) agreed to carve-outs for the states of key holdouts within the Democratic caucus to pass the bill. For example, the bill pays for the cost of expanding Medicaid enrollment by 15 million over the next decade by sharing the cost between state and federal governments; to gain the vote of Sen. Ben Nelson (D-NE), the most reluctant supporter of the bill, an agreement was reached to exempt Nebraska from sharing this cost.

Despite the controversy over this and other provisions, which many opponents of the bill have referred to as buying votes, the Senate and House bills are now ready to be debated in conference to develop a single version of the bill to be agreed upon in both houses of Congress and sent to the President to be signed into law.

The differences between the two bills are many. One of the most critical issues is how to fund the approximately $871 billion overhaul. The House bill relies upon a 5 percent tax increase on Americans making more than $500,000 per year, while the Senate version includes an increase in the Medicare payroll tax and creates what has become known as the "Cadillac tax," a 40 percent excise tax on high-end insurance policies. Other differences that will need to be ironed out include the public option, restrictions on indirect abortion funding, and restrictions on access to covered care for illegal immigrants. Senate Democrats, with no votes to spare to pass a health care reform bill, hope to stick closely to the Senate version of the bill that they were able to pass.