ATPE summary of ESEA flexibility granted to Texas in September 2013
In response to a request from Commissioner of Education Michael Williams and the Texas Education Agency (TEA), the U.S. Department of Education has granted the state of Texas and its schools a...
View ArticleCongressional bill ending government shutdown includes teacher certification...
Last night Congress passed and President Obama signed into law a measure to end the 16-day government shutdown, provide appropriations through Jan. 15, 2014, and raise the debt ceiling through Feb. 7,...
View ArticleNew public, private investments announced for ConnectEd
President Obama highlighted his ConnectEd initiative, unveiled last year, during his recent State of the Union address. Initiative goals include connecting 99 percent of American students with...
View ArticleThe federal budget and education
There has been a lot of buzz around the federal budget over the past few months. First, the U.S. Congress passed a budget resolution and a fiscal year (FY) 2014 spending bill. This week, President...
View ArticleWhat makes public schools public?
ATPE does not have and has never had a position opposing the concept of charter schools. However, ATPE has long been involved in the discussion surrounding this relatively new type of school, so I...
View ArticleSenate congressional committee to discuss teacher preparation
The United States Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) will hold a hearing at 1:30 p.m. CST tomorrow to discuss “Teacher Preparation: Ensuring a Quality Teacher in Every...
View ArticleU.S. Senate committee holds mark up on pre-k legislation
The U.S. Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) held a mark up yesterday, May 14, on S.1697, the Strong Start for America’s Children Act. The committee passed the bill on a...
View ArticleATPE officers make the rounds in D.C.
Things were certainly heated in Washington, D.C. last week—June 16–19—as ATPE State President Ginger Franks, Vice President Richard Wiggins, Executive Director Gary G. Godsey and Governmental Relations...
View ArticleUSDE issues fact sheet on educating immigrant children
The U.S. Department of Education released a fact sheet on Monday detailing the responsibilities of states and districts in educating immigrant children. The Department acknowledged that they have...
View ArticleGOP members of Congress request GAO study of USDE waivers
Senator Lamar Alexander, Ranking Member of the U.S. Senate Committee on Health, Education Labor and Pensions, and Representative John Kline, Chairman of the U.S. House Committee on Education and the...
View ArticleTexas submits ESEA waiver renewal application
The Texas Education Agency (TEA) announced today that Texas has formally submitted the state’s waiver renewal application. The application requests an extension of its waiver from certain...
View ArticleCongress begins ESEA conference work
Education leaders in the U.S. Congress met yesterday to begin the process of brokering a compromise bill to reauthorize the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA), or No Child Left Behind (NCLB)...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Your benefits: Social Security update
Texas public school employees are among a unique group of public servants subject to a set of provisions in federal law very few people ever come in contact with, and even fewer actually know much...
View ArticleTexas receives conditional approval of ESEA waiver extension
The U.S. Department of Education (ED) notified Texas Commissioner of Education Michael Williams today that Texas’s request for renewal of flexibility under the Elementary and Secondary Education Act...
View ArticleClik here to view.
ATPE sends letter to Texas congressional delegation urging ESEA reauthorization
ATPE State President Cory Colby ATPE State President Cory Colby sent a letter yesterday to the 38 members of the Texas congressional delegation in Washington, D.C. The letter asks members of the...
View ArticleESEA conference committee holds first meeting
The U.S. House and Senate Conference Committee to Reauthorize the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA), which is commonly referred to as No Child Left Behind, held its first meeting this...
View ArticleClik here to view.
ESEA conference committee advances reauthorization bill
This morning, after a fairly brief and largely bipartisan markup where lawmakers considered a handful of amendments, the U.S. House and Senate joint conference committee tasked with negotiating...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Congress passes ESEA reauthorization, advances measure to President
This morning, Congress passed a rewrite to the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA). The final measure, designated the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA), comes after almost a year of...
View ArticleClik here to view.
A week of education-related hearings in Washington, D.C.
It was a busy week for education in Washington, D.C., as Congress held four hearings on a variety of topics. Two of those hearings were dedicated to oversight as the Department of Education (ED)...
View ArticleKing confirmed as new Secretary of Education
The U.S. Senate voted Monday to confirm Dr. John B. King as the new Secretary of Education. King has served as the acting secretary of the U.S. Department of Education (ED) since the previous...
View Article
