In the wake of the largest outbreak of measles in the US in two-and-a-half decades, H.R. 2527 has been introduced to the US House of Representatives by Rep. Fredrica Wilson (D-Fla). Wilson’s proposed legislation, titled the “Vaccinate All Children Act of 2019,” would make it mandatory for children enrolled in public schools to be vaccinated. The bill would become federal law, usurping state authority in the matter of required vaccinations.  Failure to comply with the law would result in a state’s ability to receive certain federal grants.

However, if a physician determines that a child’s health would be jeopardized by a required vaccination, an exception could be made as long as the school district’s physician or other designated school health official would need to concur with any such determination.

As of September 1, 2019, the bill is in the House Committee on Energy and Commerce. 

A report made public on June 18, 2019 and revised on July 11, 2019, the Government Accountability Office (GAO), found that the US Department of Education (USDE) knowingly and repeatedly uploaded incorrect data to the Civil Rights Data Collection (CRDC), which occurs every two years.  According to USDE figures, 70% of school districts reported no incidents of special education students being restrained or secluded in 2015-16. However, in nine of 10 large school districts that listed no incidents, the GAO found restraint or seclusion incidents that were not reported or no data was collected on them. Further, a system error in 2015-16 resulted in the final collection being released with either incomplete or no information for more than 400 of the nation’s 600 juvenile justice schools.

On August, 23, 2019, as a result of the GAO report USDE posted a press release announcing that the “Office for Civil Rights (OCR) and the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) will work collaboratively to improve the information collected in the Civil Rights Data Collection (CRDC). The partnership between OCR and NCES will help to ensure that the CRDC data is valid, reliable and authenticated in a manner that provides a more accurate picture of key civil rights issues in education.”

The need to make the data more reliable has become highly important, since states must now provide detailed report cards as per requirements under the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA), including civil rights data on such things as disciplinary disparities. 

According to new results from a RAND Corporation study, nearly 75% of school principals feel that developing students’ social and emotional skills is a top priority for their schools, with even more teachers supporting the development of specific student skills in those areas. In fact, information gleaned from RAND’s American Educator Panels shows a need to develop such social-emotional learning (SEL) skills as empathy, understanding and managing emotions, and setting and achieving related goals; with the development of these skills resulting in improvements in student achievement, an improved school environment, and improved student behavior.

In support of these findings, the US House of Representatives Appropriations Committee has appropriated $260 million for SEL and “whole-child” approaches as part of its proposed FY 2020 budget. Those funds would provide $170 million for Education Innovation and Research grants, $40 million for full-service community schools to help address students’ non-academic needs, $25 million for mental health professionals and child development experts in schools, and $25 million for SEL-related professional development.

However, President Trump’s proposed budget aims to cut funding for SEL-related professional development funding and to also eliminate the whole-child centered Full-Service Community Schools and Promise Neighborhoods programs.

It appears that a budget fight is looming on this front.

For more information, please go to: https://www.educationdive.com/news/principals-teachers-prioritize-social-emotional-skills-for-students/555744/: