Education and Labor Committee RSS Articles

Hearing Highlights Successful State Efforts to Expand Parental Engagement

Wed, 16 May 2012 19:30:00 GMT

The Subcommittee on Early Childhood, Elementary, and Secondary Education, chaired by Rep. Duncan Hunter (R-CA), today held a hearing to examine state and local efforts to increase parental engagement and options.

In his opening statement, Rep. Hunter said, “We know increased parental engagement leads to higher grade point averages, better attendance, improved behavior and social skills, and a stronger interest in more challenging academic programs. Recognizing these positive results, many states are taking steps to ensure parents have additional opportunities to make decisions not only about where their children attend school, but also about what happens during the school day.”

Connecticut Parents Union President Gwendolyn Eaddy-Samuel testified about the importance of helping parents play a more active role in the local school system. “We will only improve outcomes if we build effective partnerships among parents and schools; spend our resources effectively; and provide meaningful high-quality choices for families,” she said. “This is a much more realistic and just choice than burdening our society with failed schools, overcrowded prison and juvenile systems, and an overreliance on safety nets and social services.”

One of the greatest ways to improve engagement is to offer parents choices about their children’s education. Across the country, a growing number of states are enacting private school scholarship programs to help students escape low performing schools. According to Kevin Chavous, Senior Advisor for the American Federation for Children, these programs “show that parental engagement via school choice improves educational outcomes for participating students, puts students in safer schools, and gives parents more satisfaction with their child’s learning environments.”

More than 40 states now support charter schools as another way to provide education options and enhance parental engagement in the classroom. As National Alliance for Public Charter Schools' Vice President for State Advocacy and Support Todd Ziebarth explained, “Charters partner with parents in other unique ways, most notably by involving them in the decision-making and governance of the school…We are encouraged that many states are significantly strengthening their charter laws to support high-quality public charter school growth. These schools will not only provide more options to parents and students, but they will also serve as laboratories of innovation to positively influence the larger traditional public school system.”

“The fight to improve our nation’s education system cannot happen in Washington, D.C. alone,” concluded Rep. Hunter. “It is critical states continue to lead the charge by engaging parents and providing options in the local education system.”

To read witness testimony, opening statements, or watch an archived webcast of today’s hearing, visit www.edworkforce.house.gov/hearings.

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Duncan Statement: Hearing on "Exploring State Success in Expanding Parent and Student Options"

Wed, 16 May 2012 04:00:00 GMT

As a father, I know my children don’t stop learning just because the school day has ended. We have a responsibility as parents to continue to challenge our kids outside the classroom. Parents who make a concerted effort to promote reading, help with homework, and discuss school with their children can inspire a better overall education experience.

We know increased parental engagement leads to higher grade point averages, better attendance, improved behavior and social skills, and a stronger interest in more challenging academic programs. Recognizing these positive results, many states are taking steps to ensure parents have additional opportunities to make decisions not only about where their children attend school, but also about what happens during the school day.

Over the last two decades, we have seen a strong surge in state efforts to expand access to high-quality charter schools – which is something members on both sides of the aisle have supported. Not only do charters present an opportunity for parents to choose the school that best meets their children’s unique needs, many of these schools also help parents learn to play a more active role in their children’s coursework and classroom activities.

Forty-one states and the District of Columbia have adopted laws to support charter schools. According to the National Alliance for Public Charter Schools, there were more than 5200 charter schools in the 2010-2011 school year. Additionally, some states have begun lifting arbitrary caps on the allowable number of charter schools, helping more students access these innovative institutions.

Like charter schools, private school scholarship programs also open doors to better education options. Here in Washington, the D.C. Opportunity Scholarship Program continues to help disadvantaged students in the nation’s capital escape failing schools. The program is extremely successful, boasting a 91 percent graduation rate for scholarship students. Other states have adopted similar scholarship programs; roughly 81,000 students currently benefit from school scholarship programs underway in eight states, as well as D.C. and Douglas County, Colorado.

Two years ago, my home state of California gained national attention for approving the nation’s first “parent trigger” law, which allows parents to spur reform in underperforming public schools. Parent trigger laws give parents the ability to force change at their child’s school by replacing some of a school’s faculty, or even obtaining a scholarship for their child to attend a private school. In Compton, parents banded together to try to turn a struggling public elementary school into a charter school. Today, seven states have enacted their own distinct versions of a parent trigger law, and more than 20 others have considered some variation of the law.

The fight to improve our nation’s education system cannot happen in Washington, D.C. alone. It is critical states continue to lead the charge by engaging parents and providing options in the local education system. I look forward to learning more about state efforts to expand parental involvement and school choice options from our witnesses today.

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ICYMI: The Woody Allen Rule

Tue, 15 May 2012 04:00:00 GMT

Some of the Obama Administration's worst regulatory abuses have arrived via the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB)—think of its lawsuit to stop Boeing from making airplanes in the right-to-work state of South Carolina. But such overreach is too much for at least one federal judge, who on Monday overturned the board's political favor to the AFL-CIO that threw out longstanding union election laws and was designed to make organizing easier.

At issue in the case are so-called "quickie" elections, which allow unions to secretly gather signatures for an election and then ambush management at the 11th hour. Among other ultra-politicized changes, elections could take place in as few as 10 to 14 days from the petition filing, depriving companies of their legitimate rights to express their views on collective bargaining.

As manipulative was the way President Obama's NLRB appointees raced the new rules into the Federal Register and violated the normal standards of administrative procedure. In December 2011, former union lawyer Craig Becker's recess appointment to the labor board was about to expire, which with two seats vacant would have deprived the five-member NLRB of a quorum.

When the final rule came up, the NLRB's lone Republican commissioner, Brian Hayes, did not cast a vote. He was given only a matter of hours on the NLRB's electronic ballot system before the Democratic majority went ahead and published it that day, without anyone requesting a response.

Mr. Becker claimed that Mr. Hayes had "effectively indicated his opposition" and therefore he was "present" even though he was not, in fact, present. Basically, the NLRB argued that the quorum requirement was satisfied because there were three members in office when the rule was "approved."

This novel interpretation earned a stinging rebuke from District of Columbia federal Judge James Boasberg. "According to Woody Allen," he writes, "eighty percent of life is just showing up. When it comes to satisfying a quorum requirement, showing up is even more important than that. Indeed, it is the only thing that matters." He adds that the NLRB's majority position was an attempt to end run "a limit on the agency's power to act" and "would render the three-member quorum requirement meaningless."

Given the NLRB spectacle of the last three years, this probably won't be the only time the commission loses in court—or the only time that judges need to invoke Mr. Allen to describe its absurdity.

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MEDIA ADVISORY Subcommittee to Discuss State Efforts to Expand Parental Engagement

Mon, 14 May 2012 16:30:00 GMT

On Wednesday, May 16^th, at 10:00 a.m., the Subcommittee on Early Childhood, Elementary, and Secondary Education, chaired by Rep. Duncan Hunter (R-CA), will hold a hearing entitled, “Exploring State Success in Expanding Parent and Student Options.” The hearing will take place in room 2175 of the Rayburn House Office Building.

Recognizing parents are in the best position to shape and improve their children’s futures, state education leaders have made great strides to ensure all parents – regardless of income – have an opportunity to make a real choice on behalf of their children’s education. Across the country, states are improving charter school laws, expanding private school scholarship programs, and offering tools such as “parent trigger laws” to help parents become more involved in the local education system.

Wednesday’s hearing will provide members an opportunity to discuss the importance of parental engagement and learn about the successful ways states are encouraging parents to play a more active role in their children’s education. To learn more about this hearing, visit www.edworkforce.house.gov/hearings.

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WITNESS LIST

Witnesses to be announced.

Kline Challenges NLRB’s Backdoor Ambush Election Scheme

Wed, 09 May 2012 19:30:00 GMT

U.S. House Committee on Education and the Workforce Chairman John Kline (R-MN) today sent a letter to National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) Acting General Counsel Lafe Solomon demanding additional information on newly implemented policies that require NLRB regional offices to schedule pre-election union representation hearings just seven days after receiving notice of an election petition.

“The NLRB’s unelected and unaccountable acting general counsel recently imposed a significant change on union election procedures without the consent of Congress and without the endorsement of President Obama’s labor board,” said Chairman Kline. “With this change, Acting General Counsel Solomon has taken another step toward implementing a backdoor ambush election scheme that will overwhelm small business owners and deny workers an opportunity to make a fully informed decision in a union election. At a time when job creators are struggling to get by and millions of workers are unemployed, the Obama NLRB continues to put the priorities of union bosses before national interests.”

The NLRB has been pushing to implement an ambush election scheme since June of 2011, when the Obama labor board proposed a plan that would have allowed union elections to occur in as few as 10 days.

Last December, ignoring objections raised by countless organizations representing workers and employers, the board approved several components of its ambush election scheme. However, the NLRB stated at the time that the proposed seven day pre-election hearing requirement merited additional deliberation.

As Chairman Kline notes in the letter:

Despite this clear statement that further deliberation by the board was necessary, on April 26, 2012, you implemented a similar seven day pre-hearing requirement…Under the new guidance, a postponement of seven days or less “will not be granted unless good and sufficient grounds are shown,” and a postponement of more than seven days will only be granted in “extraordinary circumstances.” This new requirement could impede a fair pre-election hearing, particularly for small employers; reduce opportunities for compromise and agreement; and undermine a worker’s ability to make an informed decision.

To read the full letter, click here.

Last year, the U.S. House of Representatives approved bipartisan legislation to protect the rights of workers and employers during a union organizing campaign. The Workforce Democracy and Fairness Act (H.R. 3094) would ensure no pre-election hearing is held in fewer than 14 days and no union election is held fewer than 35 days from the filing of an election petition. To learn more about H.R. 3094, click here.

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ICYMI: The Job Training Mess

Wed, 09 May 2012 17:00:00 GMT

More than a decade ago, Congress established a new workforce investment system to provide individuals with the skills and training necessary to succeed in the workplace. Regrettably, the system has since corroded, shifting from a helpful network of employment support to the confusing maze of bureaucracy and redundant programs detailed in the Wall Street Journal editorial below.

While President Obama continues to talk about the problems with job training and offer conflicting plans for reform, House Education and the Workforce Committee Republicans are moving forward with real solutions. The Workforce Investment Improvement Act of 2012 will streamline and strengthen the nation’s workforce development system by consolidating and eliminating dozens of ineffective or duplicative programs, enhancing the role of job creators in workforce development decisions, and improving accountability over the use of taxpayer dollars.

To learn more about the Workforce Investment Improvement Act of 2012 (H.R. 4297), click here.

President Obama was on the stump in Ohio last month claiming to have discovered a successful federal job training program in the town of Elyria. This deserves congratulations. As millions of unemployed Americans can attest, a federal job training program that puts people back to work is hard to find.

There are no fewer than 49 federal job training programs administered by nine agencies that cost taxpayers some $14.5 billion in 2010. A General Accountability Office performance audit in 2011 looked at fiscal year 2009 and determined that "only 5 of the 47 programs have had impact studies that assess whether the program is responsible for improved employment outcomes."

Of the five programs studied, the positive effect "tended to be small, inconclusive, or restricted to short-term impacts." A 2011 Department of Labor study found that the benefits of job training under one of the most extensive efforts, the 1998 Workforce Investment Act, "were small or nonexistent."

GAO reports in the 1990s, in 2000 and in 2003 had similar conclusions, finding that multiple programs duplicated efforts, ran up costs and produced few benefits. The reports did little to stem mission creep.

From 2003 to 2009, Congress added three more programs and spending rose by $5 billion. Don't laugh, but two more programs have been added since, though spending is down slightly because of the end of the 2009 stimulus.

Senator Tom Coburn (R., Ok.), who commissioned the 2011 GAO study, summarized the waste, fraud and graft in a report of his own. Among the incidents: "a Montana trade union tasked with managing a half-million dollar federal job re-training grant" that "was found to be spending four times as much on their own salaries than they were on actual training displaced workers."

Read More…

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Kline Recognizes National Charter School Week

Tue, 08 May 2012 04:00:00 GMT

U.S. House Committee on Education and the Workforce Chairman John Kline (R-MN) issued the following statement in recognition of National Charter Schools Week:

“Leaders on both sides of the political aisle agree charter schools play an invaluable role in our nation’s education system. These schools offer groundbreaking programs, raise parental engagement, and encourage innovation - all in the name of inspiring students to reach new heights – and they deserve our strong support.

“Last September, the U.S. House of Representatives came together to approve legislation to ensure more students have access to the quality learning experience available through our nation’s charter schools. The Empowering Parents through Quality Charter Schools Act will provide new opportunities for students to escape underperforming schools, and encourage parents to play a more active role in their child’s education. As we recognize National Charter Schools Week, I once again urge my Senate colleagues to take action on this important legislation on behalf of students and parents.”

To learn more about the Empowering Parents through Quality Charter Schools Act (H.R. 2218), click here.

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Klilne Statement on April Jobs Report

Fri, 04 May 2012 04:00:00 GMT

U.S. House Committee on Education and the Workforce Chairman John Kline (R-MN) issued the following statement after the Department of Labor released employment data for April:

“The recent slowdown in hiring signals a need for renewed efforts in Washington to advance policies that promote economic certainty and opportunity. Toward that end, House Education and the Workforce Committee Republicans are moving forward with legislation that will help more Americans get back to work.

“Business owners across the country report they are ready to hire, but cannot find workers with the necessary skills. The Workforce Investment Improvement Act of 2012 will revamp the nation’s workforce development system to provide workers with the education and support they need to fill local job openings. Preparing today’s workforce for in-demand jobs is a key component in the fight to rebuild our economy, and I urge my Democrat colleagues to lend their support to this commonsense proposal.”

To learn more about the Workforce Investment Improvement Act of 2012 (H.R. 4297), click here.

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VIDEO RELEASE: Kline Lends Support to Interest Rate Reduction Act

Fri, 27 Apr 2012 17:00:00 GMT

U.S. House Committee on Education and the Workforce Chairman John Kline (R-MN) today offered his support for the Interest Rate Reduction Act (H.R. 4682), legislation introduced by Rep. Judy Biggert (R-IL) that will roll back wasteful ObamaCare spending to pay for a one year extension of the current interest rate on subsidized Stafford Loans made to undergraduate students. The House of Representatives approved H.R. 4682 with bipartisan support in a vote of 215 to 195.

Upon passage, Chairman Kline stated, “The Interest Rate Reduction Act is not a perfect solution, but it will allow us an opportunity to continue working toward a long term solution on student loan interest rates, one based on the free market instead of the whims of politicians in an election year.”

Click below to watch Chairman Kline’s floor remarks on the legislation:

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VIDEO RELEASE: HHS Secretary Admits - Eliminating ObamaCare Slush Fund Won’t End Preventative Care

Fri, 27 Apr 2012 16:00:00 GMT

Just moments ago, the Obama administration threatened to veto Republican legislation that would roll back wasteful ObamaCare spending to provide a one year extension of the current interest rate on subsidized Stafford Loans made to undergraduate students.

According to the administration, the Republican plan would harm women. Perhaps Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius can provide a persuasive rebuttal to the administration’s veto threat.

During a hearing held by the committee just yesterday, Secretary Sebelius admitted to Rep. Martha Roby (R-AL) that despite repeal of the ObamaCare slush fund people would still have access to preventative services. The secretary was also forced to admit that the Obama budget cuts funding to the so-called prevention and public health fund.

To view the exchange, click below:

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"A Culture of Favoritism: The Obama Administration's Labor Agenda"

Thu, 08 Jul 2010 19:37:30 GMT

"Strengthening the Economy and Improving the Lives of American Workers"

Thu, 01 Jul 2010 19:40:46 GMT

http://edwork.edgeboss.net/wmedia/edwork/fc/fc020310.wvx

H.R. 4247, "Preventing Harmful Restraint and Seclusion in Schools Act"

Wed, 16 Jun 2010 19:29:36 GMT

"Reducing the Growing Backlog of Contested Mine Safety Cases"

Thu, 01 Jul 2010 19:38:23 GMT

http://edwork.edgeboss.net/wmedia/edwork/fc/fc022310.wvx

H.R. 4330, "All Students Achieving through Reform Act of 2009"

Thu, 01 Jul 2010 19:33:39 GMT

"Improving Children's Health: Strengthening Federal Child Nutrition Programs"

Thu, 01 Jul 2010 19:28:50 GMT

"Building a Stronger Economy: Spurring Reform and Innovation in American Education"

Thu, 01 Jul 2010 19:25:52 GMT

http://edwork.edgeboss.net/wmedia/edwork/fc/fc020310.wvx

H.R. 413, "Public Safety Employer-Employee Cooperation Act of 2009"

Thu, 01 Jul 2010 19:22:55 GMT

http://edwork.edgeboss.net/wmedia/edwork/help/help031010.wvx

"Meeting the Challenges Faced by Girls in the Juvenile Justice System"

Thu, 01 Jul 2010 19:20:46 GMT

http://edwork.edgeboss.net/wmedia/edwork/hfc/hfc031110.wvx

"Protecting America's Workers Act: Modernizing OSHA Penalties"

Thu, 01 Jul 2010 19:13:16 GMT

http://edwork.edgeboss.net/wmedia/edwork/wp/wp031610.wvx

Education and Labor Committee RSS Articles

Hearing Highlights Successful State Efforts to Expand Parental Engagement

Duncan Statement: Hearing on "Exploring State Success in Expanding Parent and Student Options"

ICYMI: The Woody Allen Rule

***MEDIA ADVISORY*** Subcommittee to Discuss State Efforts to Expand Parental Engagement

Kline Challenges NLRB’s Backdoor Ambush Election Scheme

ICYMI: The Job Training Mess

Kline Recognizes National Charter School Week

Klilne Statement on April Jobs Report

VIDEO RELEASE: Kline Lends Support to Interest Rate Reduction Act

VIDEO RELEASE: HHS Secretary Admits - Eliminating ObamaCare Slush Fund Won’t End Preventative Care

"A Culture of Favoritism: The Obama Administration's Labor Agenda"

"Strengthening the Economy and Improving the Lives of American Workers"

H.R. 4247, "Preventing Harmful Restraint and Seclusion in Schools Act"

"Reducing the Growing Backlog of Contested Mine Safety Cases"

H.R. 4330, "All Students Achieving through Reform Act of 2009"

"Improving Children's Health: Strengthening Federal Child Nutrition Programs"

"Building a Stronger Economy: Spurring Reform and Innovation in American Education"

H.R. 413, "Public Safety Employer-Employee Cooperation Act of 2009"

"Meeting the Challenges Faced by Girls in the Juvenile Justice System"

"Protecting America's Workers Act: Modernizing OSHA Penalties"

MEDIA ADVISORY Subcommittee to Discuss State Efforts to Expand Parental Engagement