NSTA Legislative Alert

NSTA Legislative Alert
January 26, 2009

Ask Your Member of Congress to Support the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act

Last week House leaders introduced an economic stimulus package developed in conjunction with the Obama Administration titled the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. It is anticipated the $825 billion bill will be on the House floor the week of January 26. The Senate is also scheduled to release its version of this legislation this week. Congressional leaders want to have this bill before President Obama prior to the Congressional break on February 16.

In great detail the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act discussion draft (PDF) outlines how the money under the stimulus package would be spent. As reported in last week’s NSTA Legislative Update, funding for education initiatives include:

$41 billion to local school districts through Title I ($13 billion); IDEA ($13 billion); a new School Modernization and Repair Program ($14 billion); and the Education Technology program ($1 billion).
$200 million for a teacher incentive fund that would provide financial incentives for teachers and principals who raise student achievement and close the achievement gap in high-need schools. Funding would also be available to allow states and district to develop and implement systems to attract and retain highly qualified teachers and principals.
$100 million for Teacher Quality State Grants under the Higher Education Act which would be used to reform teacher licensing and certification requirements and provide alternative methods of teacher preparation.
$79 billion in state fiscal relief to prevent cutbacks to key services, including $39 billion to local school districts and public colleges and universities distributed through existing state and federal formulas, $15 billion to states as bonus grants as a reward for meeting key performance measures; and $25 billion to states for other high priority needs such as public safety and other critical services, which may include education.
$15.6 billion to increase individual Pell grants by $500.
$6 billion for higher education modernization
$3 billion in additional funding for the National Science Foundation, including $60 million for the Robert Noyce Teacher Scholarship Program; $40 million for the Math and Science Partnership Program.

Robust funding for the sciences includes:

$3.5 billion for the National Institutes of Health
$2 billion for the Department of Energy’s basic research
$400 million for the National Institute of Standards and Technology

Just how much would your school receive under the proposed package? The Congressional Research Service has prepared a document (PDF) which estimates the amount of education funding that each school district will receive under the bill’s program allocations (not including the $79 billion State Stabilization Fund) for Title I, IDEA, and K–12 School Modernization over FYs 2009 and 2010.

THIS BILL LANGUAGE IS SUBJECT TO CHANGE, SO NSTA URGES YOU TO CONTACT YOUR MEMBER OF CONGRESS AND ASK HIM/HER TO SUPPORT THE AMERICAN ECONOMIC RECOVERY AND REINVESTMENT ACT OF 2009.

What you can do: Contact your U.S. House Representative today and urge him/her to support the education and science funding provisions of the American Economic Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009.

By fax or e-mail: Go to www.house.gov. Go to your Representative’s website and you will find a link for constituents to send e-mail. (A sample message is given below.)

By phone: Call your Representative’s office by dialing 202-224-3121 and leave a message that you support this legislation. (sample message below).

PLEASE take a moment to support this legislation. Also forward this message to other groups and ask them to support the stimulus package. Constituent support will be crucial to the outcome of this issue.

Questions or for more information, contact Jodi Peterson, NSTA Assistant Executive Director for Legislative Affairs, at jpeterson@nsta.org. Phone 703-312-9214.

Here is a sample message you can use in your letter or phone conversation. Feel free to personalize this message and PLEASE SEND THIS MESSAGE ON TO OTHERS:

Dear Representative <name>:

As you consider the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, please ensure that this important legislation contains bold investments in education and science research and development that will help both stimulate our economy and provide for the long-term competitiveness of the American workforce.

There are a number of provisions in the proposed American Recovery and Reinvestment Act that demonstrate a strong commitment to education and science, including:

$41 billion to local school districts through Title I ($13 billion); IDEA ($13 billion); a new School Modernization and Repair Program ($14 billion); and the Education Technology program ($1 billion).
$3 billion for the National Science Foundation, including $100 million allocated to NSF’s education programs ($60 million for the Robert Noyce science teacher scholarship program and $40 million to the Math and Science Partnership program)
$200 million in funding for teacher incentive grants

We are hopeful that Congress will expeditiously debate and enact this vitally important bill. Thank you in advance for your consideration of this request, and I look forward to your response.

Sincerely,

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