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ACTION ALERT:
Urge Members of the Senate to Sign Sen.
Feingold's Letter Requesting Funding for
the
Elementary and Secondary School
Counseling Program (ESSCP)
ASCA has been working closely with Sen. Russ Feingold's (D-Wis.)
staff to, once again, distribute a "Dear Colleague" letter to all
the members of the Senate urging his colleagues to sign a letter
requesting the Senate Appropriations Committee to provide increased
funding for the Elementary and Secondary School Counseling program
in fiscal year (FY) 2010. By funding ESSCP at an increased level,
monies will be made available to both elementary and secondary
schools to provide comprehensive school counseling services. This is
due to ESSCP's statuary funding trigger; secondary schools (i.e.,
middle and high) are not eligible to participate in the program
until total funding exceeds $40 million.
In fiscal year 2009, Congress appropriated $52 million for ESSCP.
This program has slowly but steadily been climbing and has surpassed
that funding trigger for two years now. It is imperative that we
keep this momentum going as more school budgets are being cut and
more school counseling positions are becoming eliminated. Therefore,
it is critical to show congressional support for ESSCP by having as
many senators as possible sign the Feingold letter.
ACTION NEEDED
Call, write or e-mail both of your senators and urge them to show
support for ESSCP by signing onto the Feingold Dear Colleague
Letter, which requests the Senate Appropriations Committee provide
increased funding for this essential program in fiscal year 2010.
You can call your senator by calling the Capitol switchboard at
(202) 224-3121.If you do not know who your senators are, or you
would like to find the direct line to the appropriate office, you
can
locate that information on the Web. If you
would like to e-mail your senators but are unable to locate the
appropriate addresses please
e-mail Amanda Fitzgerald at ASCA and
include your name and the state in which you reside and the state in
which you are employed (if different).
What should you say? Tell your senators your name and where you are
from; you may be asked for your name and number. As a constituent,
your call is important to your senator's office. Ask to speak with
the education legislative assistant because you want the senator to
sign on to the Dear Colleague letter being circulated by Sen. Russ
Feingold requesting that the Senate Appropriations Committee provide
an increase in funding for the Elementary and Secondary School
Counseling Program in FY 2010. Feel free to emphasize the meaningful
role school counselors play in our students' lives.
If congressional staff have any further questions, they can contact
Amanda Beaumont in Sen. Feingold's office at (202) 224-5323 or
amanda_beaumont@feingold.senate.gov.
If you have additional questions, please do not hesitate to contact
Amanda Fitzgerald.
Please do this today. Deadline for signatures is May 7, 2009.
ESSCP Awards Made: The Department of
Education announced recipients of 52 new 2008 awards.
Get more info.
Loan Forgiveness for School Counselors FAQ
Important New Resource for Borrowers
www.IBRinfo.org
is a new web site that provides independent, reliable information
about Income-Based Repayment and Public Service Loan Forgiveness,
two new federal programs to help make student loan repayment fair
and manageable. The site explains the programs and will be updated
as new information becomes available. Users can register to get
updates on important developments as the U.S. Department of
Education finalizes regulations and creates the systems for managing
the new programs.
If you are hearing from individuals or groups
worrying about student loan payments or those wondering if they can
afford to take a public service job,
www.IBRinfo.org
will be helpful.
Income-Based Repayment (IBR) is a new payment
option for federal student loans. It will help borrowers keep their
loan payments affordable with payment caps (less than 10% of income
for most eligible borrowers) based on income and family size. IBR
also will forgive remaining debt, if any, after up to 25 years of
qualifying payments. Public Service Loan Forgiveness will forgive
remaining debt after 10 years of eligible employment and qualifying
loan payments for people working in key public service professions
such as teaching, government, social work, law enforcement, and
non-profit 501(c)(3) organizations.
These new programs take effect in July 2009. It
will take a while before the U.S. Department of Education has all of
the regulations written and the systems up and running. In the
interim, IBRinfo.org will provide information on these two new
federal programs, as well as other student financial assistance. On
this website, consumers also can sign up to receive alerts about new
developments as they occur.
National Alliance of Pupil Services
Organizations
ASCA is a member of The National Alliance of Pupil Services
Organizations (NAPSO). NAPSO is a coalition of national
professional organizations whose members provide and support a
variety of school-based prevention and intervention services to
assist students in becoming effective learners and productive
citizens.
NAPSO organizations represent over a million
members, including school counselors, school nurses, psychologists,
school psychologists, social workers and school social workers;
occupational therapists, physical therapists, art therapists,
dance/movement therapists, and music therapists; speech-language
pathologists and audiologists; teachers, students, parents, and
administrators.
NAPSO promotes interdisciplinary practice and
collaboration and advocates for ensuring access to quality pupil
services for all students. NAPSO member organizations are bound
together by our common vision to bring all students, in all states,
the programs and professional support services they need to insure
success in school.
Click here
for more information.
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