The Senate Labor and Human Resources Committee unanimously approved a plan last week that would provide $300 million in competitive grants to states striving to improve their teacher education and recruitment programs.
A part of the reauthorization process for the Higher Education Act, the committee also passed provisions that would ease the debt burden of student borrowers, forgive the student loan of certain teachers, and boost Pell Grant pending.
Congress ha approved teacher training measures in the past, only to leave them largely unfunded during the appropriation process. But some educators hope that this year will be different.
Last Thursday, the Senate approved an amendment to its nonbinding budget resolution that identifies funding for teacher education programs as one of the Senate’s spending priorities for the fiscal year that begins Oct. 1.
The amendment represent a “huge first step” toward gaining funding for a federal teacher education program, said Michelle Buehlman, a program assistant in the government-relations department of the American Association of Colleges for Teacher Education, based here.
Getting Together
Under the Senate labor committee proposal, state education chiefs could pursue $150 million in competitive grants to support a variety of teacher education reforms, including the expansion of alternative teacher certification programs or the establishment of academic-preparation requirements for prospective teachers.
The other 150 million would fund local partnerships that include K-12 schools, postsecondary institutions with education programs, and local education agencies.
The $300 million total proposed in the Senate is far greater than that being discussed in the House, where the education committee last month passed a plan to pay for a $18.5 million teacher training program by cutting federal funding of the National Board for Professional Teaching Standard, a private group that offers voluntary certification for teachers meeting advanced teaching standards.
The Senate labor committee provides no such offset to pay for its proposed teacher education grants.
Secretary of Education Richard W. Riley recently blasted the House committee’s proposal to eliminate federal aid for the Southfield, Mich-based board, calling it “a tragic mistake.”
The chairman of the House Committee on Education and the Workforce, Rep. Bill Goodling, R-Pa., responded by calling the board a failure.
“The federal government shouldn’t be in the business of supporting professional boards, whether it is for doctors, lawyers, or teachers,” Mr. Goodling said.
Schools of Education
As the Senate committee discussed the Higher Education Act, Sen. Jeff Bingaman, D-N.M., introduced an amendment that would cut off all federal funding of schools of education if they did not meet the accreditation standards et by the National Council for Accreditation of Teacher Education, or if 75 percent of their graduate failed to pass state teacher-licensure exams.
“If we’re going to provide federal support for these institutions, we need to be sure the institution is doing a good job,” Mr. Bingaman said.
Though the amendment was not added to the committee’s proposal, Chairman James M. Jeffords, R-Vt., agreed to work on a compromise before the higher education legislation reaches the Senate floor.
Several Democrats expressed dissatisfaction with some aspects of the committee’s plan to reduce student-loan interest rates from 8.2 percent to 6.8 percent. Like the House education committee’s plan, which has been criticized by the Clinton administration, the Senate proposal aim to keep lenders in the federal student-loan program by paying banks substantial government subsidies.
“I’m disappointed that this bill asks taxpayers to pick up part of the savings,” said Sen. Christopher J. Dodd, D-Conn.
The Senate proposal also would forgive up to $10,000 worth of student loans for teacher who agree to teach in low-income area for up to five years or who specializes in early-childhood education.
The plan also would increase the maximum Pell Grant award for qualifying low-income students to $5,000 from $3,000, while expanding access to the grants for independent students and those who work and attend school simultaneously.
