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White House
Over the coming
months expect changes to positions in the White House for Obama's
second term. As usual, the turnover is significant and has already
started. On December 1, 2012, it was announced that Russlyn H. Ali
resigned as Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights at
the U.S. Department of Education. She was confirmed by the U.S.
Senate for the position on May 1, 2009.
On January 9, 2013, it was announced that Hilda Solis resigned
as Secretary of Labor. The Administration noted that Solis presided
over a period of high unemployment, as "a tireless champion for
working families" during "the worst economic downturn since
the Great Depression." In a statement Wednesday, the president
said that "her efforts have helped train workers for the jobs of
the future, protect workers' health and safety and put millions of
Americans back to work."
NAPE has worked
closely with Russyln Ali and Hilda Solis. They will be missed.
Finally, President Obama will deliver the first State of the Union
address of his second term on February 12.
Congress
On January 1, 2013, to keep the country from going over
the "fiscal cliff," members of Congress passed a tax bill, The American
Taxpayer Relief Act of 2012, by a 257-167 vote
in the House and by an 89-8 vote
in the Senate. This bill postpones the possibility of sequestration
until March 1.
The Act also reduces the cuts in the current year by $24 billion
(total FY 2013 cuts would amount to $85 billion, but future years
would remain at $109 billion). Congress agreed to cut base
discretionary spending by $12 billion over the next 2 years: by $4
billion in FY 2013, and $8 billion in FY 2014, distributed evenly
between defense and nondefense accounts. Base spending would stay at
2012 levels. Different from the across the board approach of the
sequester, the Administration and Congress have discretion in
allocating the new cuts. Agency planning for sequestration is
ongoing.
Read reviews of the Act by USA Today
and the White House.
There are three additional major
budget deadlines: 1) the possible debt ceiling breach
in February; 2) the sequester on March 1; and 3) the current FY 2013
continuing resolution expiration on March 27.
It is unlikely that the 2014 budget will come in on time. Some are
predicting a March date.
NAPE Meetings
NAPE has been hard at work with its partners. NAPE's Public Policy
Director, Yolanda Comedy, attended the National Coalition
for Girls and Women in Education monthly meetings in
December and January. NAPE CEO Mimi Lufkin and Yolanda began to meet
with a variety of partners on strategic messaging on STEM and Equity
issues for the next Administration.
Reports of Interest
As you will recall, NAPE commented on the first draft of
the Next Generation
Science Standards (NGSS) in June. The next standards
draft was released on Tuesday, January 8, 2013. Feedback will be
accepted until January 29, 2013. This is the last opportunity to
provide feedback before the standards are finalized in the late
winter/early spring. NAPE will again review the standards and provide
feedback.
The Trends in
International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS)
2011 was released in mid-December. TIMSS provides reliable and
timely data on the mathematics and science achievement of U.S. 4th-
and 8th-grade students compared to that of students in other
countries. TIMSS data have been collected in 1995, 1999, 2003, 2007,
and 2011. In 2011, more than 60 countries and other education
systems, including the United States, participated in TIMSS.
The Congressional Research Service released Science, Technology,
Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) Education: A Primer
in November 2012. The report notes that while the United States does
better than some assume in educating students in STEM, there is
concern about achievement gaps between various demographic groups,
STEM teacher quality, the rankings of U.S. students on international
STEM assessments, foreign student enrollments and increased education
attainment in other countries, and the ability of the U.S. STEM
education system to meet domestic demand for STEM labor. The report
describes federal policy and efforts to educate our population in
STEM.
The Administration highlights One Decade, One
Million more STEM Graduates. In mid-December, the
Administration announced that increasing the number of students who
receive undergraduate degrees in STEM by 1 million over the next
decade has been formally designated as a Cross-Agency Priority (CAP)
goal--one of a limited number of such articulated goals designed to
focus cross-agency coordination and encourage sharing of best
practices among agencies with complementary missions.
The National Academy of Engineering released a report of an August
meeting titled Colloquy on Minority
Males in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics.
The meeting followed up on previous research on minority males in
STEM and looks at education and workforce issues.
Other News
On March 22, the National Science Foundation will host
STEM Smart: Lessons Learned from Successful Schools to highlight the
National Research Council report, Successful K-12 STEM
Education. The meeting will be held at the University of
Maryland, Baltimore. Registration opens on January 23, 2013.
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The National Alliance
for Partnerships in Equity (NAPE) is a national,
nonprofit consortium of state and local agencies, corporations, and
national organizations that collaborate to create equitable and
diverse classrooms and workplaces where there are no barriers to
opportunities. Through its Education Foundation, NAPE has been
involved in a number of initiatives to increase diversity in
America's workforce and to increase opportunities in high-skill,
high-wage, high-demand careers. Among these is the National Science
Foundation-funded STEM Equity Pipeline
Project, which works with educational systems to increase the
participation of underrepresented populations in STEM education.
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