MENC Legislative Memo
August 26, 2010
Broad Education Coalition Rallies in Support of Jobs Bill
By a vote of 247-161, the U.S. House of Representatives passed H.R.1586, a bill that provides $10 billion to support an estimated 160,000 education jobs nationwide. The U.S. Senate later passed the bill 61-39, and on August 9, President Barack Obama signed the bill into law.
MENC participates in the Committee on Education Funding (CEF), the largest and oldest coalition of education organizations in the United States. U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan contacted CEF Executive Director Joel Packer to thank the education community, including MENC, for its support of the measure.
"With the support of the jobs bill, these educators will be helping our children learn instead of looking for work," Arne Duncan told reporters.
Listen to Duncan's conference call with reporters
Trace Congressional action for H.R.1586
Putting the Jobs Bill Into Action
The $10 billion fund supports education jobs in the 2010-11 school year, and will be distributed to states by a formula based on population figures. States can distribute their funding to school districts based on their own primary funding formula or districts' relative share of federal Title I funds.
Visit ed.gov to read a state-by-state list of teacher jobs.
The Department will streamline the application process so that states can submit applications within days. The Department will award funding to states within two weeks of their submission of an approvable application.
Back to School with Public Policy
Follow the Bus
With schools back in session across the country, Secretary Duncan is conducting a listening tour across the United States beginning this week. The two-week tour is called "Courage in the Classroom: Honoring America's Teachers," and it begins August 26 in Little Rock, Arkansas.
Follow a blog about the tour. Or better yet, should the Secretary visit your town, visit the bus and try to get in a plug about music education in schools.
Race to the Top Phase Two
Secretary Duncan also announced this week that nine states and the District of Columbia won grants in the second phase of the Race to the Top competition.
The winning Phase Two applications are from the District of Columbia, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Maryland, Massachusetts, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, and Rhode Island. MENC's next Legislative Memo will follow up on this topic.
Additional Race to the Top information
Over the summer MENC leaders collaborated on other public policy initiatives in support of music educators. Read recent MENC Legislative Memos that detail MENC's recent public policy efforts.
MENC Works with "Well-Rounded" Colleagues
Have news to report? Contact Roz Fehr.
—Roz Fehr, August 26, 2010. © MENC: The National Association for Music Education
Photo by Becky Spray
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