National Coalition for Literacy

—Weekly Recap on Education Policy and Advocacy

State of the Union Address, Presidential Elections, Budget and Appropriations, House Adult Literacy Caucus Briefing, Unemployment Insurance (UI) Extension, ESEA Reauthorization, and Raising the Debt Ceiling

By Ellen Fern and Jackie Taylor

State of the Union Address

Both chambers of the Congress were in Washington this week following an extended recess. President Obama greeted them with a lengthy State of the Union (SOTU) address that was—not surprisingly—praised by Democrats and panned by Republicans. Now…

Building Our Competitive Edge:

How Adult Education Leverages Multi-System Partnerships

for Student Success

February 8, 2012

1539 Longworth House Office Building

Washington, DC  20515

2:45 pm — 4:00 pm

At least 30 million adults in the U.S.  do not have the education or English language skills needed to compete for today’s jobs.  These adults commonly turn to adult education programs to boost their basic skills and obtain employment or prepare for further education.  Due to an increasing demand…

The National Coalition for Literacy is hosting its Quarterly Meeting on December 8, 2011, at the Phoenix Park Hotel (Georgian Room) in Washington, DC. We’re thrilled to welcome several presenters as well as legislative staffs joining us for a Hot Topics Legislative Panel.

The Meeting fee is $30.00 to help cover the cost of the meeting space.

RSVP Here: http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/NCLMtg-LegPanel

Please RSVP by November 28 to reserve your seat, after which we will open the legislative panel up to others who would like to attend.

NCL Quarterly Meeting…

By Heidi Silver-Pacuilla

NCL held its first-ever Congressional Hill Briefing on May 12 in co-sponsorship with the House Adult Literacy Caucus. Thank you to Jennifer Foster, Steve Reder, and Alex Quinn who came to DC to present on their cutting-edge projects and thank you to all who attended. It was great to have so many people there to discuss 21^st Century Solutions to Adult Literacy. That we had both co-chairs there to talk about these issues, take our questions, and provide guidance for our advocacy work was a real benefit. Check out the [ Read More → ]

Adult Education’s Latest on the Hill

By Washington Partners and Jackie Taylor

FY2012 Appropriations

On May 20, the House reached its deadline to submit its programmatic funding priorities to Chairman Rehberg (R-MT), as reported in NCL’s May 22 Update. This was a quick turnaround for signatures, and advocates did well in calling attention to this opportunity to their House Members. Final Copy of Roe-Hinojosa Letter

Several of you received commitments from your House Member to sign on, but given the time constraints…

By Washington Partners and Jackie Taylor

The House Adult Literacy Caucus and the National Coalition for Literacy held a Congressional briefing May 12, 2011, highlighting 21st Century Approaches to Adult Literacy. Approximately 40 were in attendance, including adult education leaders, advocates, and legislative staffs.

The briefing followed the NCL Quarterly Meeting, where Congressman Bill Goodling made a surprise visit after recovering from a serious medical condition.

Heidi Silver-Pacuilla, President of the National Coalition for Literacy, opened the…

—Education Advocates Stay Vigilant, Engaged

By Washington Partners and Jackie Taylor

ESEA Reauthorization

With the House of Representatives in recess, Capitol Hill was relatively quiet last week. Before leaving town for a district work period, House Education and the Workforce Early Childhood, Elementary and Secondary Education Subcommittee Chair Duncan Hunter (R-CA) introduced the first installment for the reauthorization of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA), which would make good on one of the first Republican promises regarding reform of this law—making it smaller and less costly. The bill repeals the authorizations…

—Good News!

By Jackie Taylor and Ellen Fern

Congressman Roe and Congressman Hinojosa have released a Dear Colleague letter inviting House Members to join the House Adult Literacy Caucus. They have also provided us an updated list of Caucus Members. The paperwork that needed to be refiled and processed with the House Administration Committee for the new Congress is now complete, and the Co-Chairs have committed to growing the bipartisan caucus by significant numbers.

Action:

1. Please review the updated list below.
2. If your Congressional Representative is not on the list, then contact the legislative assistant who

…

Save the Date!

May 12, 2011 will be a day to explore innovative approaches to adult literacy solutions!

Mark your calendars to attend the NCL Quarterly Membership Meeting in Washington, DC in the morning and a special Hill briefing in the afternoon, co-sponsored by the National Coalition for Literacy and the House Adult Literacy Caucus.

Confirmed speakers:

Jennifer K. Foster, Senior Director for Adult Education and Family Literacy/State Director for GED Testing, presenting on the Shifting Gears work in Illinois

• Shifting Gears, funded by the Joyce Foundation, is

…

By Jackie Taylor

I have a few more policy advocacy updates for you this week:

• House Adult Literacy Caucus
• COABE Meets With Key Staff on the Hill
• Next Steps

House Adult Literacy Caucus

On Wednesday, February 9, Congressman Hinojosa (D-TX) joined Congressman Phil Roe (R-TN) to co-chair the bipartisan House Adult Literacy Caucus. National Coalition for Literacy Members were in DC to welcome Congressman Hinojosa to the Caucus and hear the Caucus co-chairs’ plans for moving forward. The Congressmen set a goal of having 100 House Members to join the Caucus this year; they plan to have…

By Jackie Taylor with Washington Partners Ellen Fern and Ellin Nolan

I am pleased to welcome Washington Partners Ellen Fern and Ellin Nolan as public policy consultants with the National Coalition for Literacy. Not only will they bring much needed information and strategic recommendations to the Coalition for advancing adult education, they are also well-known and respected in education circles on the Hill.

Washington Partners has provided the budget and appropriations update below. Read it carefully. Several key factors are coalescing in Congress that will critically…

By Heidi Silver-Pacuilla

Hello All, we are heading into the end of December, so I’ll start with happy holidays and a wish for a safe, healthy, and more equitable and peaceful 2011.

This has been a busy month for the Coalition.

The elections brought surprises, recounts, and an upset in the newly formed House Adult Literacy Caucus. Follow the fall out of the elections here. We are also monitoring Congress closely to stay on top of shifting funding arrangements that may greatly impact our programs.…

—A Public Policy Update on Adult Education and Literacy, Part IV

By Jackie Taylor

December 13, 2010 Update: Congressman Roe is the sole chair of the House Adult Literacy Caucus. He will be continuing on the Education and Labor Committee and reports that he is happy to continue sponsoring the caucus. His staff have asked NCL for recommendations for a co-chair and we are currently working now to secure a co-chair. We hope to have positive news to report soon.

November 23, 2010 Update: Congressman Dan Maffei formally conceded on Tuesday, November 23 to Republican Ann Marie Buerkle,…

By Jackie Taylor

Vote! Key Legislators and Midterm Elections

Several key legislators who support adult education are up for re-election. See Midterm Elections: what are they? What is at stake?. On page 10, Art Ellison, NH State Director and NCL Executive Board Member, discusses what adult education advocates should know for the coming election. He also lists key House and Senate Members running for re-election.

If you haven’t yet, see Project Vote Smart’s “Vote Easy” website. Vote Smart is a non profit, non-partisan organization helps you sort…

The following Members have joined the House Adult Literacy Caucus to date:

• Dan Maffei (D-NY), Co-Chair and Sponsor
• Phil Roe (R-TN), Co-Chair
• Elijah Cummings (D-MD)
  
• Donna Edwards (D-MD)
• Gabrielle Giffords (D-AZ)
• Alan Grayson (D-FL)
• Raul Grijalva (D-AZ)
• Rubén Hinojosa (D-TX)
• Hank Johnson (D-GA)
• John Olver (D-MA)
• Bill Owens (D-NY)
• Jared Polis (D-CO)
• David Price (D-NC)
• C.A. “Dutch” Ruppersberger (D – MD)
• John Sarbanes (D-MD)
• Harry Teague (D-NM)
• Paul Tonko (D-NY)
• Chris Van Hollen (D-MD)
• Ed Whitfield (R-KY)
• John Yarmuth (D-KY)

Five MD House Members have joined thus far (good work!). Hats off also to…

Adult Literacy Advocates:

We have some exciting news for you! Congressman Dan Maffei (D-NY) is sponsoring an Adult Literacy Caucus in the U.S. House of Representatives!

Congressional caucuses are organizations for Members of Congress to advance causes that are important to them. A House caucus is a group of Members of the U.S. House of Representatives who share something in common, whether personal (ex: the Congressional Hispanic Caucus), related to a district’s needs (the Congressional Rural Caucus) or about House Members’ interests or concerns, like the new Adult Literacy Caucus.

Now that Congressman Maffei has formed the House…