From Capitol Hill
American Recovery and Reinvestment Acts of 2009 (ARRA, S 1 and HR 1) have been rewritten and merged to become a 407-page law. See Table to view estimated fund allocations for education-related programs.
Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell commented on the Senate floor on Friday, February 13, during the ARRA debate that "this isn‘t Monopoly money. It‘s real. It adds up—and it has to be paid back, by our children and by their children. And the American people still don‘t have the facts about the total cost." —press release, Office of Senator Mitch McConnell, "Three-Point Test," 2/13/09
A new law, the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act of 2009, amends civil rights acts to declare that "an unlawful employment practice occurs … when a discriminatory compensation decision or other practice is adopted, when an individual becomes subject to a discriminatory compensation decision or other practice, or when an individual is affected by application of a discriminatory compensation decision or other practice, including each time wages, benefits, or other compensation is paid." (signed into law by President Obama) —The Library of Congress
Education Opportunity Act of 2009 (S 7), sponsored by Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV), will "expand educational opportunities for all Americans by increasing access to high-quality early childhood education and after school programs, advancing reform in elementary and secondary education, strengthening mathematics and science instruction, and ensuring that higher education is more affordable." (placed on Senate Legislative Calendar)
S 83, sponsored by Senator David Vitter (R-LA), "amend[s] the Internal Revenue Code … to expand the Coverdell education savings accounts to allow home school education expenses." (referred to Senate Committee on Finance)
IDEA Full Funding Act (S 88), sponsored by Senator David Vitter (R-LA), provides "full federal funding" for the IDEA (Individuals with Disabilities Education Act). (referred to Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions)
“Stimulus Bill Takes Aim at Religious Speech.” The ARRA still contain[s] a provision allowing colleges to obtain federal grant money to repair and renovate their schools under the condition that school facilities are not used for religious purposes such as 'sectarian instruction' or 'religious worship.' Additionally, private colleges may not receive such grants if the school is 'subsumed in a religious mission.'
… [Since] the provision remain[s], colleges would only be able to accept funding if they are willing to prohibit the use of their facilities by organizations such as InterVarsity Christian Fellowship and Campus Crusade for Christ. Additionally, colleges could be forced to prohibit the use of their facilities for church services on Sundays, as well as Bible studies or prayer meetings conducted by their own students.
This provision is clearly unconstitutional as it requires the government to regulate speech based on the message it conveys....
… "Among the rights protected by the First Amendment is the right of individuals to associate to further their personal beliefs.‘ Healy v. James, 408 U.S. 169 (1972)" —press release, Advocates for Faith and Freedom, 2/13/09
[Litigation to stop enforcement of this ARRA section has been threatened by American Center for Law and Justice. —Ed.]
“Faith-Based” continued by executive order. President Obama recently issued an Executive Order establishing the Advisory Council for Faith-Based and Neighborhood Partnerships. The Council is a modification of the White House Office of Faith-Based and Community Initiatives that previously was established by President [George W.] Bush.
… "The Obama amendments revised the policy statement of the Bush initiative to emphasize greater accountability for religious institutions receiving federal funds so as to ensure 'measurable results in furtherance of valid public purposes.'" [Of the first 15 of 25 advisory council members, ACSI is on a first-name basis with 5. —Ed.] —press release, Sidley Austin LLP,
Press release from U. S. Department of Education Secretary Arne Duncan.
The ARRA provides more than $100 billion in education funding and college grants and tuition tax credits, as well as billions more for school modernization. It includes
General Education Funding —$77 Billion:
- $40 billion in state stabilization funds to help avert education cuts. Funds will be given to states in exchange for a commitment to begin advancing education reforms. School systems have discretion to use some of this money for school modernization.
- $13 billion for Title I, including $3 billion for Title I school improvement programs. [available to private- and religious-school children]
- $12 billion for Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) programs. [available to private- and religious-school children]
- $5 billion in incentive grants to be distributed on a competitive basis to states that most aggressively pursue higher standards, quality assessments, robust data systems and teacher quality initiatives. This includes $650 million to fund school systems and non-profits with strong track records of improving student achievement. [may be available to private and religious schools]
- $5 billion for Early Childhood, including Head Start, early Head Start, child care block grants [available to private- and religious-school families], and programs for infants with disabilities. (Includes Department of Health and Human Services programs.)
- $2 billion for other education investments, including pay for performance, data systems, teacher quality investments, technology grants, vocational rehab, work study, and Impact Aid.
College Affordability—$30.8 Billion:
- $17 billion to close the shortfall in the Pell Grant program and boost grant amounts by $500 to $5,350 in the first year and more in the second year, serving an estimated 7 million low- and moderate-income young people and adults. [may be available to private- and religious-college students]
- $13.8 billion to boost the tuition tax credit from $1,800 to $2,500 for families earning up to $180,000. [available to private- and religious-college families]
Additional [public] School Modernization—(up to) $33.6 Billion:
- An additional $8.8 billion in state stabilization funds …
- Authority for states and school systems to issue $24.8 billion dollars in bonds over the next 10 years for [public school] renovation, repairs and school construction.
For more private- and religious-school insights, go to CAPE.
Department of Education
News You Can Use
Help a Christian college you believe in! Go to College Reviews and tell your story. You can even constructively criticize your alma mater. This is a good concept using new technology. —Walter S. Mossberg, "Unigo.com Gives Everyone a Say About College Picks," Wall Street Journal, 2/18/09
ARRA grants a “nine-month subsidy of COBRA premiums” for involuntarily terminated employees. "Beginning March 1, 2009, eligible individuals will only be required to pay 35% of the COBRA premium for coverage under a prior employer‘s health plan instead of the full amount… The employer … pays the remaining 65% of the premium" and is reimbursed by the federal government. This assistance is only good between September 1, 2008 and December 31, 2009. See the updated IRS Form 941 that includes COBRA information.
—legal alert, Fisher & Phillips LLP, Economic Stimulus Bill Expands Cobra Requirement," 2/18/09
Charitable-contribution deductions. The president‘s new budget "would limit the deductibility of charitable contributions of individuals earning more than $164,500 and families making more than $208,850." See Wall Street Journal article "$318 Billion Tax Hit Proposed: Upper-Income Americans Would See Deductions Cut on Charity and Mortgage Interest" for more details.
—e-mail, Director of Coalitions and General Counsel for House Republican Conference, 2/26/09