1) Mark Your Calendars – Annual Education Advocacy Breakfast (8/8/15) – Be sure to mark your calendars to attend the Annual Education Advocacy Breakfast meeting, which will be held on Saturday, August 8th (7:30-9:00 AM) during the APA Toronto Convention. Further details, including location and speakers, will be provided in the coming months.
2) Garrett Lee Smith Memorial Act (GLSMA) Reauthorization of 2015 (H.R.938) Introduced in the House – Working closely with Members and their staff from both sides of the aisle, Education GRO staff has once again taken the lead and gained bipartisan support for the Reauthorization of GLSMA. First authorized in 2004, the GLSMA supports youth suicide prevention grants in States, Tribes or Tribal organizations, and institutions of higher education. In February, Rep. David Jolly (R-FL-13) introduced H.R. 938, along with co-sponsor Rep. Danny Davis (D-IL-7). In the Senate, Education GRO is currently working with the offices of Senators Jack Reed (D-RI) and Lisa Murkowski (R-AK), who have taken the lead on the Senate bill once again. With 16 Senators currently signed on as original co-sponsors, Sens. Reed and Murkowski are expected to introduce the Senate bill soon. Once both bills are introduced, Education GRO staff will ask for your help in gaining additional co-sponsors for GLSMA. Please keep an eye out for an upcoming Action Alert!
3) FY 2016 GPE Appropriations Hill Visits Underway – Once again efforts are underway to gain increased funding for the Graduate Psychology Education (GPE) program. As in previous years, Education GRO has reached out to psychologist-constituents across the country to ask their willingness to participate in meetings with Members of the House and Senate Appropriations Labor, Health, Human Services, and Education Subcommittees, which oversee funding for the GPE program. We are urging support for $9.9 million for GPE in FY 2016, a $2 million increase that will support more than 45 new GPE grants. The increase would enable the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) to build on recent efforts to expand training to increase mental and behavioral health services for underserved populations, with a special emphasis on returning service members, veterans and their families.
You are truly making a difference! Despite ongoing budget battles and sequestration, last year GPE received a $1 million increase in the FY 2015 Omnibus bill, which resulted in $7.9 million in current funding. This tremendous achievement was due in large measure to strong grassroots support from you and other members of the Education Advocacy Grassroots Network, as well as the critically important spring and fall hill visits. We are hopeful that this same strong grassroots support will result in a $2 million increase in FY 2016.
4) Update: Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) Reauthorization – Education GRO has worked closely with all APA Directorates to develop APA’s recommendations for the 2015 ESEA reauthorization, which were submitted in January to the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee and the House Education and the Workforce Committee for consideration. APA’s recommendations draw on psychological science research to inform education policy with the goal of creating better opportunities for learning and achievement for all students. Education GRO staff has also provided the names of psychologists with expertise in education policy to serve as a resources for Congressional staff during the ESEA reauthorization process. Topic areas include: cognition and development; social context for learning; student assessment; student behavior; and student motivation. At this time reauthorization of ESEA continues to be a front burner issue in the 114th Congress. The House effort to reauthorize ESEA (HR 5) is momentarily stalled and the Senate Committee continues to work in a bipartisan fashion to develop a proposal for consideration. Education GRO is continuing outreach to Senate offices to promote the APA recommendations.
5) Higher Education Act (HEA) Reauthorization Update – Senator Lamar Alexander(R-TN), Chair of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee, has indicated a desire to reauthorize HEA following work on the Elementary and Secondary Education Act. To date, the Senate HELP Committee has held one hearing on higher education, focused on excessive government regulation. In preparation of work of the 114th Congress on the reauthorization of the Higher Education Act, Education GRO staff will meet with key stakeholders within APA to develop and refine APA’s recommendations. Education GRO will focus on issues of importance to psychology and graduate education.