Here’s a quick look at the news from last week ( February 18 – 22) in Washington.

HOUSE and SENATE
Congress was in recess last week.

The House Education & the Workforce Committee will hold three hearings this week:

• A February 26 subcommittee hearing titled “Putting America Back to Work: Reforming the Nation’s Workforce Investment System.” The hearing will be at 10:00 a.m.
• A February 27 full committee hearing titled “Protecting Students and Teachers: A Discussion on School Safety” at 10:00 a.m.
• A February 28 subcommittee hearing titled “Raising the Bar: How Are Schools Measuring Teacher Performance,” which will be held at 9:00 a.m.

House Republicans introduced a WIA reauthorization bill on Thursday. House Democrats, led by Representative Tierney along with Senior Democratic Member George Miller and Representative Hinojosa, introduced a WIA reauthorization bill on February 15.  It closely resembles the legislative effort pushed by House Democrats last Congress.

ADMINISTRATION
The Equity and Excellence Commission released their final report to the Secretary of Education last week, titled “For Each and Every Child: A Strategy for Education Equity and Excellence.” The Commission was created by congressional directive in 2010. The report lays out a plan to eliminate the achievement gap by addressing these issues: equitable school finance; improved teachers, leaders, and curricula; expanded high-quality early education; mitigation of the effects of poverty; and tackling accountability and governance.

BUDGET
It continues to look likely that the sequestration cuts will go into effect on March 1, as scheduled.