NSBA Issue Brief: Higher Education

BACKGROUND

The Higher Education Act (HEA) includes federal student aid programs, such as Pell Grants, as well as support for teacher education programs. After years of delays, Congress approved a new reauthorization by wide margins on July 31, 2008, and President Bush signed the measure, H.R. 4137, into law in August.

Title II of the HEA authorizes grants aimed at strengthening teacher quality by improving teacher education programs and assisting districts in their teacher recruitment and retention efforts. NSBA was generally pleased with the reforms included in Title II, including a streamlined focus on partnership grants that directly involve local districts, stepped up accountability for teacher preparation programs, the addition of teacher residency programs (modeled after medical residencies) that will pair prospective teachers with a mentor in hard-to-staff schools, and an emphasis on recruiting teachers for shortage areas. In negotiating differences between the House and Senate versions of the bill, a conference committee included more than a dozen NSBA recommendations in the final bill, including emphasizing preparation of general education and special education teachers to effectively instruct children with disabilities and to participate in IEP teams, as well as including programs offering alternative routes to teacher certification as an allowable partner for the grants.

The bill also increases authorization levels for Pell Grants from $4,800 to $6,000 in 2009 and up to $8,000 by 2014, and makes Pell Grants available year-round for low-income students. And, the measure simplifies the federal student aid application process.

Before reauthorizing HEA in 2008, the 110th Congress previously passed and President Bush signed into law, H.R. 2669, the College Cost Reduction and Access Act, which cuts federal student loan rates in half over four years, and included TEACH Grants, to provide tuition scholarships to encourage high-achieving students to become public school teachers in hard-to-staff schools or high-need subjects.

For additional information, please contact Marcus Egan, director of federal affairs at the National School Boards Association at 703-838-6707.

September 2008