DREAM Act Future Uncertain

Posted on September 22, 2010October 17, 2012

The DREAM Act, which would provide a pathway to citizenship for children of undocumented immigrants who attend college or the military and was rolled into the Senate’s defense authorization bill, failed to pass a crucial vote yesterday. Requiring 60 votes to pass, the motion failed by a vote of 56 to 43. Because the motion did not pass, the Senate will not be debating the defense bill in the immediate future, which means that amendments such as the DREAM Act, will not be considered either.

It appears that the defense authorization bill did not pass solely because of the language of the bill but because Majority Leader Harry Reid limited amendments by Republicans which resulted in some moderate Republicans refusing to support the bill due to what they deemed an unfair voting process. Still, the chance that this bill will be reconsidered soon is very small and it’s future will be very much dependent on the outcome of the November elections.

Senate may take action on the DREAM Act

Posted on September 15, 2010October 17, 2012

After reporting on this site yesterday that the DREAM Act was all but dead for this year, the Senate Majority Leader announced that they will try to pass this measure that would grant citizenship to young adults in the country illegally. Senate leadership hopes to attach the DREAM Act to the FY11 defense authorization bill, which is expected to be brought to the Senate floor next week. The DREAM Act is largely a bipartisan, politically popular bill that would allow young illegal immigrants who graduate from US high schools and who were brought to the country as minors to attain citizenship if they go to college or serve in the military for at least two years. Advocates see the DREAM Act as a key step in achieving reform that would enable an estimated 11 million illegal immigrants to gain citizenship. Both Senators Murray and Cantwell (D-WA) have been sponsors of the DREAM Act and will likely support this effort.

Dept. of Education Seeking Input on New Grants Criteria

Posted on August 25, 2010October 17, 2012

The Department of Education is seeking comments, due September 7th, on department-wide priorities that will be used in the awarding of competitive grants. The Department states that priority areas are proposed to focus federal financial assistance on expanding the number of programs and projects department-wide that support activities in areas of greatest educational need. The priority areas will impact grant decisions made for FY11 awards and beyond. The proposed priority areas are listed below.

Proposed Priority 1—Improving Early Learning Outcomes
Proposed Priority 2—Implementing Internationally Benchmarked, College and Career-Ready Elementary and Secondary Academic Standards
Proposed Priority 3—Improving the Effectiveness and Distribution of Effective Teachers or Principals
Proposed Priority 4—Turning Around Persistently Lowest-Achieving Schools
Proposed Priority 5—Increasing Postsecondary Success
Proposed Priority 6—Improving Achievement and High School Graduation Rates of Rural and High-Need Students
Proposed Priority 7—Promoting Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) Education
Proposed Priority 8—Promoting Diversity
Proposed Priority 9—Support for Military Families
Proposed Priority 10—Enabling More Data-Based Decision-Making
Proposed Priority 11—Building Evidence of Effectiveness
Proposed Priority 12—Supporting Programs, Practices, or Strategies for Which There is Strong or Moderate Evidence of Effectiveness
Proposed Priority 13—Improving Productivity

The Federal Register notice provides details on how to respond to the request for public comment. Members of the UW community responding to the notice are asked to also share their input with the Office of Federal Relations.

Senate Staffer Visits UW

Posted on August 24, 2010November 1, 2012

Douglas Clapp, Clerk for the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Energy and Water Development, visited the University of Washington on August 12, 2010. As Clerk, Mr. Clapp is the chief of staff for the influential subcommittee that controls the purse strings for federal energy and water related funding. Pictured is UW Chemical Engineering Ph.D. student Ikechukwu Nwaneshiudu showing Mr. Clapp his nanotechnology-based sensor for detecting trace hydrocarbons in water, a topic made critically relevant by the recent Gulf of Mexico oil spill. Mr. Nwaneshiudu is a Gates Millenium Scholar and National Science Foundation Bioenergy IGERT Fellow working under the guidance of Professors Qiuming Yu and Daniel T. Schwartz.

President Obama: “Education is an economic issue”

Posted on August 20, 2010October 17, 2012

Earlier this month, President Obama delivered a speech on the importance of higher education during tough economic times. With job losses and corporate bankruptcies dominating the headlines in recent years, many have questioned the value and importance of trying to save a financially struggling education system. The President gave the following response while speaking at the University of Texas at Austin:

“In a single generation, we’ve fallen from 1^st place to 12^th place in college graduation rates for young adults…Now, that’s unacceptable, but it’s not irreversible. If we’re serious about making sure America’s workers—and America itself—succeeds in the 21^st century, the single most important step we can take is make sure that every one of our young people has the best education that the world has to offer…education is an economic issue. Education is the economic issue of our time. It is an economic issue when the unemployment rate for folks who’ve never gone to college is almost double what it is for folks who have gone to college. It is an economic issue when almost 8 in 10 new jobs will require workforce training or higher education by the end of this decade. And it is an economic issue when we know, beyond a shadow of a doubt, that countries that out-educate us today will out-compete us tomorrow”.

The President went on to explain that the administration is trying to help the higher education community by shifting all federal student loans to Direct Loans and expanding Pell Grants; reinvesting in community colleges, Historically Black Colleges and Universities, and Hispanic-Serving Institutions; and focusing on college completion by identifying best models.