TOP THREE
Path Out of The Pandemic: President's 6 point plan released tonight:
Vaccinating the Unvaccinated
Furthering Protection for the Vaccinated
Keeping Schools Safely Open
Increasing Testing and Requiring Masking
Protecting Our Economic Recovery
Improving Care for Those with COVID-19
Key takeaways:
The proposed rulemaking would mandate that all employers with more than 100 employees require them to be vaccinated or test weekly. That would affect an estimated 80 million. Another 17 million workers at health entities receiving Medicare or Medicaid would also be required to be fully vaccinated. Same with Headstart staff.
There's a bit of backtracking on the Administration's earlier commitment to have boosters ready by Sept. 20. Now it's pegged to when the FDA/CDC decide when boosters are recommended which could be as soon as Sept. 20.
The President calls for Governors to require vaccinations for teachers and school staff.
Local school districts will be able to apply to ED to restore funding withheld by state leaders when a school district implements strategies to help prevent the spread of COVID-19 in schools.
The Administration is calling on all schools to set up regular COVID testing in their schools for students, teachers, and staff consistent with CDC guidance.
Will use DPA and other authorities to accelerate availability of at-home testing.
Los Angeles May Require Vaccine for School Children: “All Los Angeles public school children 12 and older would have to be fully vaccinated by January to enter campus — sooner for students involved in many extracurricular activities — under a proposal to be voted on Thursday by the Board of Education,” the Los Angeles Times reports.
Quarantined But Without Instruction: In Hawaii, the education system has clear Covid-19 guidelines about vaccines and testing, but it’s inconsistent regarding how to enable continued learning for isolated students.
FEDERAL
Reconciliation: A few takeaways now that we've had some time to digest the House Ed and Labor Committee draft. A few highlights:
Provides $20 billion for FY 2022, $30 billion for FY 2023, $40 billion for FY 2024; and such sums as are necessary for FYs 2025 for 2027 for early childhood/childcare.
$81 billion for school modernization. Money would flow through states to districts.
$197 million for Grow Your Own Programs to address shortages of teachers in high-need subjects, fields, schools and geographic areas and to increase the diversity of qualified educators. $198 million for teaching residency programs. $198 million to award grants for the development and support of school leadership programs
Establishes a new tuition-free community college program. Funds would flow to states. States allocations decrease over time: they would receive 100% of their allocation for the 2023-2024 year which would drop to 80% by 2027-2028. States must provide the State share of funds to make up this decreasing amount in a given award year. Two interesting conditions:
States must submit a plan to improve transfer pathways to ensure associate degrees are fully transferable to baccalaureate programs at public institutions of higher education
(IHEs) in the State. Note it's only public, not private.States must maintain fiscal support for higher education per full-time equivalent (FTE) student at a level that is equal to or exceeds the average amount of State fiscal support for higher education per FTE student for the three consecutive preceding fiscal years.
Only $9 billion for a retention and completion grant program (original proposal was $62 billion).
Increases the maximum Pell grant by $500 for the 2022-2023 through 2029-2030 award years. Which doesn't meet the original proposal of doubling Pell.
$16 billion for DOL's dislocated workers employment and training program and $15 billion for adult worker employment and training activities. Both sets of funding are required to reserve funds in the following way:
At least 20% must be reserved for career services;
At least 20% must be supportive services and providing needs-related payments;
Not less than 50% for training services of which not less than 60% must be used for individualized training accounts and up to 40% for transitional jobs.
$9.05 billion for youth workforce investment activities
$5 billion for grants, cooperative agreements, contracts or other arrangements to create or expand registered apprenticeship programs.
$10 billion for competitive grants to partnerships for the purposes of expanding workforce development and employment opportunities for high-skill, high-wage, or in-demand industry sectors or occupations.
But...
Politico reports,"We're told the $762 billion envisioned for education — which includes more than $450 billion for child care and universal pre-K, and hundreds of billions more for school infrastructure and free community college — won’t likely make it to the White House intact."
House Majority Whip Clyburn told CNN that $3.5 trillion may not be needed to achieve President Biden’s priorities. “I think that there is a lot of room for people to sit down and negotiate. It may be, when you’re sitting around the table, you may not need $3.5 trillion to do what the president wants done and what the current country needs done." Specifically, he noted there is about $2 trillion of negotiating room.
IES:
Announced FY 2021 Research Network on Building Adult Basic Skills Through Technology
COVID-19 RESEARCH
COVID Cases Steady While Hospitalizations, Deaths Rise: Via Axios
Least Vaccinated States Lead Spike in Children’s Cases: NYT Interactive
Millions Of People Are Missing From CDC COVID Data As States Fail To Report Cases: Via NPR
STATE
Alabama: COVID-19 cases in children rise over 300% in one year.
California: A new NIH funded study with San Diego State University and the Sweetwater Union High School District will start with conducting trials at two middle schools, providing free at-home COVID-19 testing kits to one school and on-site testing to the other.
Louisiana: 250,000 students still unable to return to school due to Hurricane Ida.
RESOURCES
Tracking the Return to Normal: Morning Consult poll finds 43% of parents say they will not send their child to school if vaccinations are required.
Back to School Parent Sentiment Report: Conducted by Survey Monkey and LUCID Marketplace for Varsity Tutors.
81% of parents are spending 4+ hours per week assisting their children’s academics and 15% are spending 10+ hours per week.
Two-thirds of parents (66%) worry that supporting their children academically at home has had or will have a negative impact on their or their spouse’s career.
64% are concerned about the impact on college admissions or standardized test scores
CCSSO Releases Strategic Plan Framework for 2021-2026: Read it here.
Broadband Mapping: Lightbox analyzed internet connectivity of 2 billion Wi-Fi access points. and found that nearly 60 million people lack broadband access.
Remember Nandi Bushell? Who we mentioned in Update #149? She had challenged Dave Grohl to a drum battle. Well, she just performed on stage with him last month in LA.
Here's how it played out behind stage