OAUC in ESEA Now!

Sen. Harkin, Chair, HELP Committee

ESEA is always on the edge of being re-authorized. And from what I’m hearing, it’s one of those times again.

We have to get over-age, undercredited students integrated into ESEA. It’s the best mechanism for firmly changing education policy to embrace “all students.”  This is even more important with Common Core State Standards looming over states and districts. It’s possible we could see an enormous jump of students that are over-age and under-skilled -- and districts have yet to direct adequate resources to serving this population of our most vulnerable students.

So here are a few ideas:

1) States have to include, in their plans, mechanisms for serving over-age and undercredited students, including budgeting and accountability.

2) In Title I, regarding high schools, competency-based education should be available for all students that are more than two years behind so that they can be released by time-based courses that constrain their progress.

3) Innovation – invest in addressing the design challenges of our time

• accelerating learning for students that enter high school or are in alternative education two or more years behind grade level (or below 7th grade literacy and math skills)

• designing eduployment models that draw on the best of experiential learning, work/career development, STEM, student voice and choice, and education technology for students two or more grade levels behind.  New schools’ designs should make sure they are effective for young men of color, especially those that have been  unable to access the labor market due to concentrated areas of poverty, discrimination by employers, and the ongoing youth employment crisis.

In addition, we might want to introduce the concept of trauma-informed care and support with social-emotional learning into the policies (they are well-organized so I’m sure they are already talking to the hill staffers).

I’ll try to find out what our fearless leaders in DC are proposing for ESEA.  We need to have a unified voice as we go forward.

photo credit: http://www.harkin.senate.gov/