The SES providers' trade group was "pleased" with state agency testimony before what the Democratic majority in the House re-named the Commitee on Education and Labor (after the Republicans changed it to "Workforce" when they took control).

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The Education Industry Association (EIA) welcomed today’s examination of the supplemental educational services (SES) provision of “No Child Left Behind” (NCLB) by the Subcommittee on Early Childhood, Elementary and Secondary Education of the U.S. House Committee on Education and the Workforce, particularly its focus on accountability, widening access to more students, and ensuring the availability of high-quality SES programs.

• Accountability – EIA fully supports SES accountability, and has called for additional funding to be made available to States to assist with the implementation of comprehensive SES evaluation programs.  The witnesses at the hearing, as well as the Members in attendance, made it clear that while some progress has been made, States must do more to monitor and evaluate the effectiveness of SES.  Meantime, EIA has tracked third-party SES evaluations done to date, and found that federally funded tutoring is highly regarded by parents (with typically 8 in 10 parents citing evidence that the tutoring has helped their children in school), and is having a positive effect on standardized test scores (see report on SES evaluation at www.educationindustry.org).

• Accessibility – EIA was pleased to hear of the efforts of the state of Maryland, as well as the Newport News, VA school district, to make SES available to the greatest number of eligible families possible.  However, both the Government Accountability Office (GAO) and the Citizens Commission on Civil Rights testified that SES enrollment rates continue to be unacceptably low, the latter calling for greater efforts to improve outreach and promotion of SES, including the further opening of school sites to SES programs.

• Quality – Once again, Maryland leads by example, describing State policies that ensure delivery of high-quality SES services.  EIA believes that the current NCLB quality standards which guide the States’ provider approval process are effective and appropriate, including those covering curriculum alignment, instructional methods, tutor qualifications and instructional materials.

To address these two broad issues, EIA encourages the Subcommittee to consider EIA’s NCLB reauthorization policy recommendations, issued on March 29 and available at www.educationindustry.org:

• Increase student access and participation by requiring that unspent SES funds are carried over by states and districts for SES use only.
• Expand administrative resources for States and school districts to better market, manage and evaluate SES programs.  
• Require states to appoint a third-party administrator of SES in situations where school districts are permitted to provide SES services.
• Expand research and evaluation of SES effectiveness at the national level.
• Provide incentives to increase access to services for underserved student groups, including limited English proficiency (LEP) students, students residing in rural areas and those with disabilities.

Finally, while EIA observed the witnesses at today’s hearing offering good and timely information, we hope that Congress will seek comment from some of the hundreds of thousands of families who have been given hope and needed support by the after-school tutoring program. 

Press Release, April 18.
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Certainly parent groups should be heard, but wouldn't EIA like to see some testimoney from providers? It might seem self-serving, but that is true per se of anything said by any trade group. It is an important perspective for Congress to hear, and being asked to appear to give testimony would offer some indication that the Congress considers the industry a legitimate stakeholder in NCLB.

As for EIA's hopes for NCLB II, the only politically realistic proposal for SES is the call for more evaluation.

View the Hearing Here.