The authority would coordinate and administer the delivery of all online courses and degree and credential programs offered by public colleges and universities or by a consortium of state schools.

"Americans want great schools for their children, safe neighborhoods for their families and good jobs for themselves," Trump said in his address from the U.S. Capitol to a packed crowd of onlookers. "But for too many of our citizens, a different reality exists. ... An education system flush with cash but which leaves our young and beautiful students deprived of all knowledge."

Backgrounder on the Trump campaign and policies for higher education
Inside Higher Ed
January 20, 2017

Donald J. Trump will be inaugurated today as the 45th president of the United States. Here is a backgrounder on the new president and higher education.

The Campaign
Late in the campaign, Trump said he would help students with their college costs by forcing colleges and universities with large endowments to use more of those funds to minimize tuition.

The Republican platform called for sexual assaults to be investigated by civil authorities, not campus officials (although Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972 would likely need to be changed for colleges to refuse to conduct such investigations).

Six Education Policy Areas Where Betsy DeVos' Views Still Aren't Clear
Education Week
January 18, 2017

Betsy DeVos gave education policy and politics watchers lots to talk about after her confirmation hearing for education secretary on Tuesday. She provided detailed arguments about Michigan charter schools and school accountability in that state, and for how she'd be a "crusader" for parents and students rather than the education establishment. DeVos also made waves for her comments on special education law and states' responsibilities in that area.

But there were also areas of K-12 policy where DeVos gave general or somewhat limited answers to senators' question. Perhaps it's not surprising that in several respects, DeVos didn't want to spell out detailed views on every issue raised, in part because she might have worried that she would come across as prejudging certain situations. And sometimes, senators left notable issues out of their lines of questioning.
Still, DeVos' comments at the hearing leave some interesting questions about her positions. Here are some areas where questions about DeVos might be lingering:

ESSA Accountability Rules

DeVos told senators that she would faithfully implement the Every Student Succeeds Act as Congress intended. However, Sen. Chris Murphy, D-Conn., asked her specifically about whether she would implement final accountability rules for ESSA issued by President Barack Obama's administration and Murphy noted that these rules had incorporated input from and were suported by state chiefs, administrators and others.

"I think accountability is highly important. I support accountability for all schools," DeVos responded.

Murphy asked the question again, and DeVos said she would review it. "I think that's going to raise a lot of questions" for school administrators trying to implement the law, Murphy said, before moving on. The Trump administration may not stick by those rules, and Senate Republicans have expressed interest in tossing out the regulation anyway, so her thoughts on the rules may become a moot point.

At the same time, DeVos didn't use Murphy's questions to weigh in on the pros and cons of the Obama proposal, or share more detailed views of accountability.

She also told Sen. Tim Kaine, D-Va., in response to his question about whether schools getting taxpayer money should be held equally accountable, especially in special ductaion, reiterated several times that, "I support accountability." But she didn't really flesh out that statement despite pressure from Kaine to give a yes-or-no answer. (In the past DeVos has supported school accountability based on A-F school grades, but she's also recently expressed support for states to opt out of federal accountability mandates.)

• Overall, do you think the funding for public schools in Virginia is enough to meet their needs, or not enough to meet their needs?

• In your opinion, how much does the amount of money spent on the public schools affect the quality of students' education – a great deal, quite a lot, not too much, or not at all?  Would you be willing or not willing to pay higher taxes so that school funding could be increased?
• [Asked of those who said "willing" in response to question 3] What kind of tax increase do you think would be best – sales tax, income tax, real estate property tax, or personal property tax?
• As I mention a few areas that receive money from the state government, tell me if you would be willing or not willing to pay more in taxes in order to keep the program going at its current level. [Programs = a. Public schools; b. Mental health services; c. Universities and higher education; Programs for workforce training and development; Programs for aid to low-income families; Transportation] Would you be willing or not willing to pay more in taxes in order to keep this program going at its current level?
• One of the ongoing policy challenges is low-performing schools. Would you be willing or not willing to pay more in taxes in order to provide additional resources to high-poverty, low-performing schools that are working to increase student performance?
• [Asked of those who said "willing" in response to question 6] Which of the following would be the best use of the increased resources? [Options offered = a. Increasing teacher pay; Hiring more school counselors to provide support to students; Increasing mental health support services for students; Increasing support for community programs that share strategies with parents about improving student achievement]

• Would you favor or oppose changing the Virginia constitution in order to give charter schools more independence from local school boards on decisions about hiring and firing teachers in charter schools?
• Do you think that teachers who are working in low performing schools that do not meet Virginia’s accreditation standards should be paid (MORE) than teachers working in fully accredited schools, should be paid (LESS), or should be paid about the same?
• There are increasing opportunities for students to earn high school credits online over the Internet. Even if you do not currently have kids, would you be willing to have your child earn ALL of their high school credits online, just some or none at all?
• Policymakers are considering various ways to align high school learning with the needs of employers. One proposal is to have students focus on general academic skills in early high school, and classes focused on their desired career in later grades. Would you favor or oppose organizing education in Virginia public high schools this way?
• In general, do you feel the public schools in your community are very safe, safe, not very safe, not at all safe?

1.  As I mention a few areas that receive money from the state government, tell me if you would be willing or not willing to pay more in taxes in order to keep the program going at its current level. [Universities and higher education; Programs for workforce training and development]  Would you be willing or not willing to pay more in taxes in order to keep this program going at its current level?
2. Policymakers are considering various ways to align high school learning with the needs of employers. One proposal is to have students focus on general academic skills in early high school, and classes focused on their desired career in later grades. Would you favor or oppose organizing education in Virginia public high schools this way?
   
3. Thinking about students and their future, please tell me how much you agree or disagree with each of the following statements. Do you strongly agree, somewhat agree, somewhat DISagree, or strongly disagree?
   
• Today’s HIGH SCHOOL graduate is ready for the world of work
  
• Today’s HIGH SCHOOL graduate is ready for college
  
• Today’s COMMUNITY COLLEGE graduate is ready for the world of work
  
• Today’s COMMUNITY COLLEGE graduate is ready for a four-year college or university
  
• Today’s FOUR-YEAR COLLEGE OR UNIVERSITY graduate is ready for the world of work
  
4. Now, thinking about colleges and universities in Virginia…Overall do you think that colleges and universities in Virginia are doing a good job or bad job...
   
• In providing the skills that will be useful in obtaining a job
  
• In developing students’ writing and communication skills
  
• In producing graduates in scientific fields, such as engineering, math and technology
  
• In preparing students for the workforce needs of the future
  
• In preparing students to be engaged citizens
  
5. How much do you know about the process of transferring from a two-year to a four-year school—quite a lot, some, very little, or nothing at all?
   
6. [Asked of those who said "quite a lot" or "some" in response to prior question] How would you rate the process of transferring from a community college to a four-year college or university? Would you say it is very easy, somewhat easy, somewhat difficult or very difficult?
   
7. Virginia’s dual enrollment program gives qualifies students the opportunity to complete courses for college credit while they are still in high school. How much do you know about Virginia’s dual enrollment program?
   
8. Many families struggle to afford a college education. Would you be willing or not willing to pay more in taxes to increase need-based financial aid for college students?
   
9. If a public university has funds donated by alumni or other private, non-taxpayer sources, should the university place the most emphasis on . . .
   
• Building new facilities to attract the highest quality students
  
• Reducing the tuition rate and fees to make attendance more affordable for Virginia residents
  
• Expanding teaching faculty and classroom resources in order to admit a greater number of students
  
10. Based on what you know, how safe are college and university campuses in Virginia?
    
11. Next, when spending state funds on economic development, on which ONE of the following should the Commonwealth place the MOST emphasis?
    
• Using financial incentives to recruit new businesses to Virginia
  
• Retaining and expanding existing businesses in Virginia
  
• Expanding workforce training and education in Virginia

Background: The original school calendar law, passed in 1986, simply stated, “Each local school board shall set the school calendar so that the first day students are required to attend school shall be after Labor Day. The Board of Education may waive this requirement on a showing of good cause.” It was widely known at the time as the “King’s Dominion Law,” due to its enactment at the urging of the Hanover amusement park and other travel and tourism interests.

The law was amended just two years later to define “good cause” reasons for which the BOE could waive the requirement for opening schools prior to Labor Day, the most prominent and widely-used one being for adverse weather conditions that result in multiple missed days of school. In fact, during the 2015-16 school year, more than 60 school divisions (those in blue) in the western two-thirds of Virginia received a weather-related waiver allowing schools to open in late summer prior to Labor Day.

The law has seen only minor amendments the past 20-plus years, though legislation to give control of the calendar to local school boards is introduced annually in the General Assembly. Such bills are supported by the education community, but met with opposition from the hospitality industry, which cites the dollars brought in by travelers to the state through the Labor Day holiday, as well as the need for teenage workers at tourist attractions through the long weekend, as reasons for keeping the status quo.

To this day, their arguments have been successful. After years of failing to even be approved in committee, momentum slowly built in the House of Delegates to approve legislation allowing local school boards to set the school calendar. The House also has endorsed other paths to local school calendar-setting, such as allowing individual schools that have not achieved full accreditation, and school divisions in which a certain percentage of schools were not fully accredited, to start school prior to Labor Day. Another approved measure gave control of the calendar to local school boards, but also required that the Labor Day weekend be a longer, school holiday weekend. Through all of this, however, the Senate Education and Health Committee has remained the barrier to advancing the bills, for years killing the legislation on narrow votes, but turning it back more handily in recent sessions.

Coverage of the Pros and Cons: In past years, debate of similar bills have produced media coverage, including several who interviewed CEPI’s founder, Dr. Bill Bosher. Several are linked here for reference:

• • Brickey, Ian. “ Local Legislators, School Leaders Divided on Future of Kings Dominion Law,” Williamsburg Yorktown Daily, Jan. 29, 2015

What the public thinks: In 2013-14, our poll found support for giving localities the power to start before Labor Day, with 63% of Virginians favoring such a policy. Parents of public school students were less likely to support the change (54%) compared to non-parents (67%).  A slightly higher portion of Virginians (68%) supported giving such power to localities when polled in 2012-13.  

Likely outcome in 2017: Despite an assumption of popular support for a change, little has changed among key players in the General Assembly.  The bill is likely to be set aside in the Senate Education and Health Committee again this year.

Elsewhere on the budget front, state revenue collections through the first six months of the current fiscal year are running about one percent above estimates. Budget writers likely will receive an updated revenue estimate in mid-February (to account for January collections) that can be used by House and Senate budget writers over the final weeks of the session in shaping changes to the state budget.

Education Legislation
The General Assembly began considering legislation this past week, as committees and subcommittees began working on the many bills that were introduced. Most work thus far has been in subcommittees, with full committee action on education bills to hit full stride this coming week. The House Education Committee did take quick action to approve this year’s version of the “Tebow bill,” which was the subject of last week’s spotlight. HB 1578 would allow participation by homeschoolers in public high school athletics and other interscholastic activities governed by the Virginia High School League (VHSL). Earlier in the week, the Committee heard a presentation from the new VHSL Executive Director on the organization’s strategic planning efforts and plans to shuffle its organizational structure. The Committee also has endorsed HB 1392, which authorizes school security officers, under certain conditions, to carry a firearm in the performance of his duties. The bill was supported by school board and superintendent organizations, but opposed by principal and teacher groups, as well as the Administration.
The Senate Education and Health Committee has largely been dealing with health-related bills thus far. It did turn back, on an 8 to 7 party-line vote, a bill to require kindergarten programs to be full-time, effective July 1, 2019 ( SB 1015).

Over 2,350 bills and resolutions were introduced by Friday afternoon’s bill introduction deadline. Here are some additional bills of interest that were submitted prior to the deadline:

HB 2140 requires development of an exit questionnaire for teachers and that each school board administer such questionnaire to each exiting teacher and to provide the results to the DOE.

HB 2142 would delay by one year the implementation of the redesigned high school graduation requirements (“Profile of a Virginia Graduate”) that was enacted last year.