This week, Governor John Carney delivered his State of the State address and presented his FY22 recommended budget.

Gov. Carney started the education portion of his address by thanking the hard work and dedication of educators, school leaders, child care providers, and all school staff during the pandemic. He acknowledged that they continue to put their students’ needs above their own. He also acknowledged parents and caregivers for stepping in to help support children and fill the gaps this year.

Gov. Carney celebrated the important work spearheaded by the Delaware Department of Education and Department of Technology and Information to expand high-speed broadband access to students and close the digital divide. Over 25,000 low-income students are now connected with reliable internet access thanks to this initiative.

Unlike many other states, Delaware is not currently facing a budget shortfall. The proposed budget is based on the state’s most recent economic forecast of 3.5 percent growth. While Gov. Carney recommended growing the overall budget and the education budget, he emphasized that “directing surpluses into savings and one-time investments allowed for continuation of essential state services.”

On top of the challenges of the pandemic, Gov. Carney reiterated that his FY22 priority is to ensure the most vulnerable students get the education they need and deserve remains. Here are the education highlights that relate most closely to Student Success 2025 and the Vision Coalition’s 2021 legislative priorities that we heard, and resources to learn more.

1) Additional Funds for High-Needs Students; But Need for Holistic Fix Remains

What Governor Carney Proposed: Governor Carney ‘s top education priority is expanding the state’s Opportunity Funding investment in English learners and low-income students by $10 million this year, with the goal of reaching $60 million by 2024-25 school year per the terms of the school funding settlement reached in October. Carney highlighted that the existing Opportunity Funding investment has already made a difference in classrooms across the state to support low-income students, English learners, and the teachers that work with these students every day. The governor also proposed an additional investment in K-3 basic special education funding.

What Else You Need to Know: While it is true that Opportunity Funding does provide additional per-pupil funding for English learners and low-income students, it does not address or change Delaware’s underlying (inequitable) funding system. Delaware does not have a weighted funding system or formula, although some advocates, like Education Equity Delaware, are trying to change that. Join Education Equity Delaware by sending a letter directly to your legislator urging them to provide additional funding for students AND update Delaware’s out-of-date funding system.

2) Future Additional Financial Investments in Pre-K

What Governor Carney Proposed: Gov. Carney proposed doubling the state’s financial investment in the Early Childhood Assistance Program (ECAP), the state-funded mixed delivery pre-K program for three- and four-year-olds, by the 2023-24 school year. This would bring investments from $6 million to $12 million.

What Else You Need to Know: This proposed pre-K increase was catalyzed by the school funding settlement from the fall, which means the legislature must approve it in order to take effect. Though there is no additional funding for pre-K in the budget this year, legislators will have the opportunity to fund pre-K sooner than 2023-24, and increase funding to serve more students as many early learning advocates like First State Pre-K have called for. Delaware currently ranks 41st nationally for access to state-funded pre-K. We only serve 845 (four percent) three- and four-year-olds. Even doubling our pre-K investment to reach eight percent access, Delaware would still rank only 33^rd, behind all our neighboring states.

3) Early Childhood Workers are Essential but Future Funding Uncertain

What the Governor Said: Carney included early childhood workers when thanking the state’s essential workers and shared that the administration has invested $135 million to date in federal CARES funding to keep providers open.

What Else You Need to Know: Given the times, reliable child care is more critical than ever. Yet, the industry has been severely impacted by the pandemic, with providers nationally and locally being forced to shut down. Local providers have raised concerns that without continued funding, they will have to lay off staff, close their doors, and stop serving children and families. Advocates have urged Gov. Carney through the #FundOurFuture campaign to continue investing based on enrollment figures (instead of attendance), and more in-line with the true cost of care to sustain and support early child care providers during the pandemic and through future budget years. As of January 29, increases in funding were only secured through the end of January 2021.  Advocates are still waiting to hear a commitment of sustained funding.

As groups like the Delaware State Chamber of Commerce and others have noted, child care is a key ingredient in our economic recovery.

4) Funding for Career Pathways

What the Governor Said: Gov. Carney recommended a $1 million investment to Delaware Technical Community College to support the Office of Work-Based Learning and sustain career pathways in high-demand fields with immersive work experience. Broadly, the governor spoke about the importance of workforce development during the COVID-19 pandemic.

What Else You Need to Know: Delaware’s Pathways initiative is praised as a national leader for connecting K-12 education with higher education and employers. Delaware has grown from 27 students enrolled in an advanced manufacturing program in 2014 to more than 15,000 students across the state in over two dozen pathways linked to high-growth, high-demand sectors of the state economy. The state has relied largely on private and philanthropic dollars to catalyze the work-based learning component of the pathways program (including investments from Bloomberg Philanthropies, JPMorgan Chase and the DBREC), and this state investment will sustain the work underway and allow students to continue participating.

What Else We Anticipate

Keep an eye on this blog throughout legislative session for updates from our team on the most pressing education issues. In addition to the items listed above, the legislature is poised to consider a number of topics including school referendum reform, student enrollment and registration, student count methods, early childhood governance, and more.

(Read about why we think teacher residencies are becoming the next big thing in teacher prep.)

Anyone interested in submitting written comment or speaking at the upcoming Joint Finance Committee meetings can find more information here. Virtual budget hearings begin February 2^nd.

Back in June, we blogged about how Delaware has approached digital learning during COVID-19. Since then, the state has invested in areas such as access to devices and broadband connectivity, and published a feasibility study to further examine the gaps.

Digital learning is more relevant than ever, as parents, students, and teachers must navigate the complexities of fully remote or hybrid learning environments. While support and training provide challenges in their own right, the first step to ensuring an equitable education for all students is safeguarding broadband and digital access—regardless of income or zip code.

Where are we now as a state?

Since March, Delaware has taken steps to eliminate internet deserts and close the digital divide by making investments in this key area.

At the end of August, Governor Carney, along with Chief Information Officer James Collins, and Delaware Secretary of Education Dr. Susan Bunting, announced that $20 million in CARES Act funding will be used for broadband infrastructure. The funding will:

• Connect more Delaware families to high-speed internet, support remote learning, and establish a statewide speed survey
• Build out additional infrastructure across the state and acquire equipment and services for families in financial need
• Complete 15 towers as part of the Rural Wireless Broadband Initiative in Kent and Sussex for remote learning during COVID-19
• Serve more than 1,500 customers in rural areas

 

Delaware is working to make high speed internet a reality for all Delawareans, and CIO Collins stated that high-speed broadband is “as essential as any public utility, and the COVID-19 pandemic made that need even more evident.” A Clayton resident even described this work as “heaven sent,” stating that prior to having wireless broadband access, she had to drive all of her children to the school parking lot just to have WI-FI access for completing homework.

Delaware school districts have taken varying approaches to resuming leaning for their students. Most districts are remote, and some are open with a hybrid model. Of the districts that are currently remote, many have plans to transition into a hybrid model in late October or early November. A full list of plans by district can be found here.

Fully remote districts:

• Milford and Sussex Tech are fully remote for the first marking period
• Appoquinimink, Brandywine, Capital, Caesar Rodney, Christiana, Delmar, Laurel, New Castle County Vo Tech, and Red Clay began remote and will adapt to a hybrid model

 

Districts with hybrid options:

• Cape Henlopen, Indian River, Polytech, Seaford, Smyrna, and Woodbridge offer a variety of remote and hybrid options
  • Seaford has three groups, one learning entirely from home, and the other two attending in-person classes two days a week
    • Every Wednesday, all students learn from home so custodians can fully disinfect classrooms
    • Around 50% of families chose to keep their children home
  • Cape Henlopen K-5 students have the option to be in classroom 5 days a week, and students in grades 6-12 have the option to be in the classroom 2 days a week
  • Woodbridge is using an A/B model with 50% of students in school each week

 

Local nonprofit Tech Impact released a Feasibility Study to assess the current state and gaps that exist for four core requisites (Devices, Broadband Access, Support and Training, and Content.) The study, which was sponsored by the Vision Grant Program, as part of the Delaware COVID-19 Strategic Response Fund – a partnership of Philanthropy Delaware and the Delaware Community Foundation, worked to provide insight into how to best address digital inclusion in Delaware and stop the spread of the digital divide.

Key findings from the study:

• There needs to be a focus on providing one-to-one devices for students
• More than 99% of Caesar Rodney School District students have received school-loaned devices for remote learning
• Interviews showed a trend that multiple districts lost touch with about 10 percent of families, which made distribution of devices to these families impossible
• Since reopening in the fall, several districts across the state are reporting attendance above 90%. Smyrna and Caesar Rodney reported 93% attendance, with Appoquinimink reporting 98% attendance
• Internet currently exists as a privilege, but should be seen as a right like any other utility
• Need for education on effective use of tools, best practices for online delivery, and balancing synchronous and asynchronous instruction across all districts and schools
• According to the Center for Reinventing Public Education, students could expect to lose anywhere from one-third to half of their academic gains from last year, with large racial and class disparities in estimated losses

 

The Feasibility Study also explained the benefits to education, both presently and in the future, that relevant and accessible remote learning can provide:

• Opens the door to leverage technology in a non-COVID-19 environment as well
• Instead of accepting learning losses, remote learning can be utilized for snow days, out of school suspensions, etc.
• Virtual learning can be utilized in an asynchronous method for non-traditional students such as adult learners or school aged students who work during the day. For example, Delaware Technical Community College is migrating content online and intends to keep the option in the future to provide flexibility to students
• Can offer additional programming not traditionally provided, such as mentoring, programs targeting disconnected youth, as well as enrichment and supplemental learning, like the Strive Partnership

 

The report recommended that the state partially fund access for both households with income at or below 100 percent – 200 percent of the Federal Poverty Level, regardless of the presence of school-aged children in the household, and mobile hot-spots for households with school-aged children in the same income range which do not have the ability to get internet access at their residence.

• The two-year budget for this initiative is estimated at $21-$26 million
  • $5 million for devices
  • $10-$15 million for internet coverage (broadband and mobile hotpots)
  • $6 million for distribution and support

 

Tech Impact presented digital access as a four-part process. Providing devices alone may be useful, but broadband access allows users to take advantage of the multitude of information and platforms available online. Additionally, support and training as well as relevant content are imperative to ensure students, teachers, and families can make the most of their digital access.

Delaware teachers, students, and families need support now more than ever. The Tech Impact Report builds upon previous recommendations from the Rodel Teacher Council Memo, which called for consistent broadband and capacity for all learners, devices that give students and teachers the freedom to learn and teach, and curated units and curricular materials to be made available online statewide.

For more information on efforts to close the digital divide and support digital learning in Delaware, follow the resources below:

• DE State Chamber of Commerce: Information Technology Panel
• Delaware Broadband Initiative
• Leading on Tech Article
• Philanthropy Delaware COVID-19 Resources for the Community

On Wednesday, June 15, the State of Delaware announced guidance for reopening of schools for the 2020-21 academic year. Governor John Carney and Secretary of Education Susan Bunting in a press conference emphasized the importance of returning to in-person instruction, while balancing safety for students and the state.

The guidance builds on recommendations from three working groups comprised of a cross-section of education stakeholders including educators, parents, nonprofit and community leaders, and legislators, as well as a state survey of over 20,000 stakeholders, and feedback from the public. It was inspired by Opportunity Labs, a national think-tank behind the Return to School Roadmap, which provides evidence-based advice, resources and support at the intersection of public health and public education to affect a safe, efficient and equitable return to school.

The Rodel team listened in to each meeting of the three working groups and reviewed the guidance.

Here are our key takeaways:

Overview

1. The guidance does:
   • Include recommendations for WHAT districts and charters SHOULD do now, before the school year, and when the school year starts.
   • Apply to districts and charter schools. Private schools are encouraged to follow. Minimum requirements for social distancing, mask-wearing, hand-washing and other basic precautions will apply to all schools.
   • Include planning recommendations for a number of topics within academics/equity, health/wellness, and operations (see below) for three different scenarios depending on the spread of COVID-19:
   • The guidance states “As of July 2020, Delaware is experiencing minimal to moderate community spread, and schools will likely reopen for the 2020-21 school year in a new environment, requiring innovative models for delivering instruction and supporting the social and emotional wellness of students, their families, and staff.”
   • Include Health and Safety Directives that are inclusive of updated public health information as of July 2020, and may be updated if conditions change. They include:

2. The guidance does NOT:
   • Make final judgments for whether school building should be open, closed, or a hybrid. That decision will be made by Gov. Carney and health officials in August.
   • Tell districts and charters HOW to make these recommendations a reality, nor does it require anything of districts and charters.

3. Additional context
   • The framework focuses on addressing unfinished learning, which the Delaware Department of Education (DDOE) defines as, “any prerequisite knowledge or skills that students need for future work that they don’t have yet… unfinished learning…seems to inspire action rather than focusing on student deficits.” Read more about unfinished learning in our blog.
   • We know some Delaware districts are working with national partners to plan for reopening school. Many districts and charters are surveying parents and families, and many are putting together their own local working groups for reopening school. For more resource to help districts and charters operationalize these recommendations and plan for the fall, see our other recent blog.
   • In terms of funding, schools and districts suffered some cuts for the upcoming school year, but we know that the FY21 budget largely protects school funding. The general consensus is that schools will face additional expenses next year to meet additional health and safety requirements, as well as the social, emotional, and academic needs of students. Delaware districts, charters, DDOE, and the governor’s office received funding from the federal Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act that must be spent by September 2022. Congress is actively debating further aid packages.

Planning Recommendations: Key issues and Recommendations:

Academics and Equity

Key issues surfaced during working group discussion largely echoed what we heard from our community survey, like the need for Wi-Fi/broadband, mental health supports, supports for English learner students and students with disabilities, low-income and homeless students and professional development and communication for educators and families. Some additional nuance included:

• Needing a specific plan to serve low-income and homeless students
• The importance of assessments to gauge where students are and what they need to learn
• The reality that many important decisions and plans are needed in a short amount of time. A strong instructional start depends on clear communication, orientation, and professional development for educators and families to understand each scenario and plan
• Staffing decisions, especially in a hybrid model: Which students/teachers/staff have to go into schools and which don’t? And how will schools staff remote and in-person classes? How will schedules need to change?
• Timing/flexibility: Needed to meet certain requirements like completing IEPs and meeting professional development hours
• Materials: The need to secure high-quality instructional learning materials, especially for hybrid and online learning.

Health and Wellness

Key issues surfaced during working group discussion included:

• Increased trauma of students and adults
• Challenges with mask usage as it relates to discipline, and special needs populations
• Concerns about attendance and potential for absenteeism, while minimizing the spread of COVID-19
• Balancing the positive effects of school athletics with concerns about safety, equity, and access

Operations

Key issues surfaced during discussion include:

• Staffing: Schools will face the reality that educators and students will not feel comfortable returning to school
• Transportation: Social distancing requirements reduce bus capacity significantly, and the workforce is already understaffed and generally older.
• Regulatory flexibility and guidance: schools will need more flexibility for seat time, purchasing, hiring (expecting staff shortages), teacher roles, attendance, and assessments
• Adequate and flexible funding to cover additional expenses and maximize existing resources
• Technology: The need for universal broadband and support services for educators and families

In a historic legislative session—punctuated by the COVID-19 outbreak that suspended the legislature for most of session starting in March—no new bills related to public education were passed.

While the pandemic triggered statewide budget cuts and little in the way of new investments, the Fiscal Year 2021 Delaware budget maintains its commitment to most educational items, and lays the foundation for work to come. In partnership with the Vision Coalition, the Delaware Business Roundtable Education Committee, the Education Equity Coalition and First State Pre-K, we focused on a handful of key issues:

• To ensure our earliest learners got a good start, particularly those most in need, we advocated for increasing support for early childhood and pre-K. The FY21 budget maintains funding for Purchase of Care subsidies and the STARs Quality Rating System, and includes new commitments to consolidating governance and determining a true cost of child care.
• To more equitably address the needs of low-income children and children who don’t speak English as a first language, we advocated for continued support of Opportunity Funding and a push for a fundamental shift to our funding system. The FY21 budget makes room for the former: Opportunity Funding adds per-pupil amounts for low-income students and English learners across all grade levels.
• To build a stronger, more diverse teacher pipeline, we championed ongoing financial support for our teacher residency programs, which the FY21 budget maintains.
• To help young people build a stronger bridge to college and careers, we are working to ensure that the state’s nationally recognized career pathways gets the sustainable public funding it needs to grow.

Any bills that were introduced and didn’t pass will need to be reintroduced and start the process over again next year if legislators chose. A new legislature will convene in January 2021 after elections in November and after school reconvenes for the new school year. In the coming weeks, the state Department of Education is expected to release a framework to plan for the safe reopening of Delaware school buildings based on the guidance from three working groups and public input

Looking ahead, some promising signals emerged for Rodel and its partners.

…  

Early Learning. We saw the promise of Senate Bill 187, which passed last session by Sen. Nicole Poore and sponsored in the House by Rep. Kim Williams and is currently being implemented. The bill represented a first step toward unified and streamlined early learning governance in Delaware, connecting the Delaware Stars for Early Success standards with the Office of Child Care Licensing regulations, and moving the Office of Child Care Licensing from the Department of Services for Children, Youth and Their Families to the Department of Education.

Long story short, it’s a win for streamlining government functions toward early childhood leaders working with just one point of contact versus 11 state agencies. And today it’s being operationalized, along with other consolidation efforts, including hiring an Associate Secretary in DDOE to oversee early childhood and consolidating 0-3 early intervention services with the Division of Public Health.

Another step forward in early childhood: the Delaware Department of Health and Human Services is legislatively required to conduct a Cost of Care study for the first time. Information from this new study will shed light on the true cost of providing quality early childhood education in Delaware and will be more accurate than the market rate study that is currently used to set rates to reimburse childcare providers.

Governor Carney also opened the door to expanding pre-K in Delaware in his FY21 recommended budget in January. The governor’s recommended budget included: “increasing state funding to increase ECAP, the Early Childhood Assistance Program, by 50 percent over the next three years.” Though it was cut from the final FY21 budget alongside most proposals for “new” or increased funding, this would have been the first expansion of ECAP, Delaware’s only state-sponsored comprehensive pre-K program, in 25 years.

The $5 million  proposed investment would open up around 155 seats for young learners and increase the number of children served by 50 percent over three years, but we know we can build upon this and aim higher since very few Delaware children have access to state-supported pre-K and Delaware ranks near the bottom nationally in terms of pre-K access.

As advocates have noted, high-quality pre-K programs have the power to shape a child’s future. ECAP currently is only a half-day program, with fewer requirements for teacher qualifications and class size.

However, this is an encouraging sign that Governor Carney and Delaware are committed to a mixed delivery system (which includes districts, private providers and Head Start, all of which currently benefit from ECAP), and supporting the early learning workforce.

Fair Funding. The Education Equity Delaware coalition ramped up its grassroots advocacy by launching the Education Funding Organizer program, a platform for advocates to converge and build their knowledge of education funding and advocate for excellent and equitable opportunities for all Delaware students by working collaboratively with the coalition to engage and educate their communities (see thoughts from one of them below). Separately, a decision on the county track of the lawsuit Delawareans for Educational Opportunity v. Carney provides further momentum for statewide systemic change.

Strong coalitions that we support have elevated voices of the community and forged stronger relationships with legislative champions. Partners in the First State Pre-K campaign advocated through events, testimony to the Joint Finance Committee, and email campaigns to kept pressure on Delaware legislators for investments in Delaware’s youngest learners. The Education Funding Organizers met with their legislators and other education stakeholders to ask questions, raise concerns, and discuss solutions.

We’ve lent our voice to federal advocacy effort. The Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security (CARES) Act, signed into law by President Trump on March 27, provides funding and flexibilities for states to respond to the COVID-19 emergency in K-12 schools, childcare, and higher education. CARES emphasizes career pathways and workforce development, enhanced reimbursement of childcare, and broadband access for remote learning—which Delaware has invested in. To ensure education will continue to be a priority, we’ve:

• In a letter to U.S. Sen. Tom Carper, Rodel president and CEO Paul Herdman urged for a range of COVID-19 supports, including across-the-board education stabilization funds, basic needs for early childhood education, trauma care for children and educators, and a pause on student loan payments.
• Along with dozens of education organizations, we signed a letter to congressional leaders urging them to steer additional stabilization dollars toward K-12 and higher education needs.
• We endorsed the federal Child Care Is Essential Act, a proposed $50 billion childcare stabilization fund that would support childcare providers who experience a drop in revenue or have added expenses during and after the pandemic, including increased compensation for early childhood educators.

What’s next? We look forward to working with our partners on what matters for children. We will keep advocating for solutions to fundamental challenges that have been laid bare in light of COVID-19, such as:

• A sensible, statewide kindergarten registration solution and online platform for student enrollment
• Expanded access to high-quality, mixed delivery pre-K
• A funding system that is more responsive to the needs of individual students
• Strategic ways to engage educators in the smart design of school re-opening and remote learning, including social and emotional supports, and reinvented roles for teachers.
• Building investments in Delaware Pathways and workforce development