ACE Act Will Be Considered for Adoption February 28, 2012


Last Updated: February 23, 2012
 

This article appeared in the February 2012 Rural Policy Matters.

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The House Education and Workforce Committee will be considering whether to adopt the All Children are Equal Act (ACE) to the Student Success Bill on Tuesday, February 28. During this "mark-up" process amendments are considered in Committee and a vote is taken on whether to send the bill to the full House.

ACE addresses inequities in the Title I funding formulas that currently provide less funding per eligible child in smaller districts than larger districts, regardless of overall poverty rates. Title I is the main funding mechanism of the federal education law and is intended to improve educational opportunity, especially for low-income children and youth. The Formula Fairness Campaign, headed by the Rural School and Community Trust, has led efforts to bring attention to the Title I inequities.

The Student Success Act, introduced by the Republican Leadership of the House Education and Workforce Committee, addresses other issues that are part of Title I, but it does not address the formulas.

While it is unlikely that the entire Student Success Act will pass out of Committee with significant support from Democrats, ACE has bi-partisan support.

it is the goal of the Formula Fairness Campaign to get ACE adopted with bi-partisan support as an amendment to the Student Success Act. This will provide ACE with a good foundation on which to build through the rest of the legislative process this year and beyond.

You can make a difference by contacting Committee members right away and urging them to support the ACE Act amendment. Committee members and districts are listed online at the Formula Fairness Campaign website.

You can learn more about the Campaign and reach your members by clicking here.

ACE Act receives praise

The ACE Act received praise this month as the House Education and Workforce Committee reviewed two pieces of legislation aimed at reforming the Education and Secondary Education Act, currently known as No Child Left Behind.

Jimmy Cunningham, superintendent of the rural Hampton School District in Hampton, Arkansas, testified at the Committee's 12th oversight hearing. Cunningham described his district and stressed the importance of changing the Title I formulas. The American Farm Bureau also supplied a statement supporting the ACE Act.

ACE was introduced in July 2011 by U.S. Representative Glenn ‘GT’ Thompson, (R-PA). ACE is supported by the Rural Trust’s Formula Fairness Campaign and a diverse group of co-sponsoring organizations.

Read more:

Formula Fairness Campaign website:

Coverage of the January HEW meeting:
Congressman G.T. Thompson's website:

Read more from the February 2012 Rural Policy Matters.