NAfME News
Quarterly Advocacy Webinar recording and resources available
Thank you to those who joined us for the quarterly advocacy webinar on Tuesday. Updates and materials, including the recording, are availablehere.
Survey Deadline Extended!
Due to the COVID-19 epidemic, the deadline to fill out the 2020 survey for Title IV-A usage in your state has been extended into May. This information is critical for NAfME and the NAMM Foundation, so please circulate it to your colleagues, and/or complete it if you know where Title IV-A dollars have been spent in your district.
State & National News
4/23/2020- ‘Pandemic-related school closures and the halting of all public gatherings for everything including teacher certification tests could put a whole new batch of Oklahoma teacher candidates in limbo.’
WA State education head issues guidance on high school grades
4/22/2020- ‘The pass-fail option for grading high school students in Washington during the COVID-19 pandemic was taken off the table Tuesday by state education chief Chris Reykdal.’
California school districts get extra 5 months to pass local accountability plans
4/24/2020- ‘Gov. Gavin Newsom, as expected, released an executive order Thursday giving school districts more time to complete the annual accountability document in which they set academic and spending priorities. Districts will now have until Dec. 15 to pass their Local Control and Accountability Plan for the fiscal year 2020-21 that will start July 1.’
Facing big enrollment loss, Minnesota State chancellor takes pay cut, rethinks 3% tuition hike
4/22/2020- ‘The coronavirus pandemic is expected to deliver a major financial blow to a Minnesota State higher education system already mired in a decade-long enrollment decline.’
IN- Financial crunch looms for colleges as budgets, enrollment drop after coronavirus
4/26/2020- ‘College campuses across St. Joseph County should be buzzing this time of year.’
Massachusetts becomes first state to test new ways to assess student achievement
4/25/2020- ‘Massachusetts is the first state to gain approval to test new and innovative ways in assessing student achievement.’
The COVID-19 session of the NC legislature: What to expect
4/27/2020- ‘The General Assembly short session starting on Tuesday will be unlike any seen in recent history. For starters, the building won’t be nearly as crowded as usual. Only General Assembly members, staff, and credentialed media are allowed in, and they will have their temperatures taken when they enter.’
Despite coronavirus uncertainty, Chicago school leaders move forward with $125 million budget boost
4/28/2020- ‘Chicago will spend $125 million next school year to boost special education and low-enrollment schools and to add some of the nurses and social workers it agreed to in the latest union contract, officials said Tuesday.’
Research and Analysis
Schools need a big influx of federal money — with strings attached, union think tank argues
The federal government should flood public schools with money — with strings attached — to make up for the rapid declines in state funding caused by the coronavirus.
Coronavirus Relief: These States Have Received Education Spending Waivers
The CARES Act gave the U.S. Department of Education the ability to quickly waive some rules that limit the use of federal education funding, freeing up states to spend that money on needs that have emerged as they’ve closed schools in response to the coronavirus pandemic.
The Impact of the COVID-19 Recession on Teaching Positions
The current economic downturn will put a large number of public school teachers’ jobs at risk. How do I know this? Because it happened to us before, just 12 years ago.
Music Education Policy Roundup compiled by NAfME’s Matt Barusch.