DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION BUDGET FY2009
The release of the President’s Budget is only the first step in a long and often contentious process of appropriating money to the various Federal agencies. Under the President’s FY2009 Budget, total discretionary funding for the Department of Education would remain unchanged from FY2008 at $59.2 billion. The President’s Budget provides slight increases for No Child Left Behind and IDEA but also calls for the elimination of 50 programs totaling $3.8 billion in funding. Programs proposed to be eliminated include Career and Technical Education, Civic Education, Leveraging Educational Assistance Partnerships (LEAP), Federal Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grants, and Even Start among others.
BUDGET HIGHLIGHTS
NO CHILD LEFT BEHIND (NCLB)
The President’s request calls for a minimal increase in funding for No Child Left Behind programs of $127 million for FY2009. This nominal increase brings total funding for NCLB to $24.5 Billion, up from the $24.4 Billion appropriated in FY2008. As Federal funding makes up only 8.9% of the estimated $626 Billion (Department of Education Estimate) that is spent nationwide on elementary and secondary education, this increase will do little to alleviate the financial burden on states resulting from the implementation of No Child Left Behind.
TITLE I GRANTS TO LEAs
The President’s FY2009 Budget requests funding to be increased by $406 million or 2.9%.
SCHOOL IMPROVEMENT GRANTS
Funding for FY2009 remains unchanged from FY2008 at $491 million.
READING FIRST
A program that provides grants to improve reading instruction at low-income schools. Funding for this program is proposed to be restored to its original FY2008 level of $1 billion after Congress slashed $393 million in funding to Reading First in 2008 following accusations of financial conflicts of interest among some of the contractors and consultants involved with the program.
PELL GRANTS FOR KIDS
A new program that would provide $300 million to provide scholarships to low-income students to transfer from low performing schools to out-of-district public schools and local private schools.
21ST CENTURY LEARNING OPPORTUNITIES
This program replaces the 21st Century Community Learning Centers program with a scholarship fund enabling poor students in low-performing schools to enroll in after-school and summer school programs aimed at increasing student achievement. The President’s request calls for funding the transformed program at $800 million in FY2009—$281 millions less than was appropriated for 21st Century Community Learning Centers in FY2008.
AMERICAN COMPETITIVENESS INITIATIVE
Funding is increased by $131 million to $175 million in FY2009.
IMPROVING TEACHER QUALITY STATE GRANTS
The President’s request calls for funding to be reduced by $100 million to $2.835 billion for FY2009.
SPECIAL EDUCATION STATE GRANTS
Federal grants to states as part of the Individuals with Disabilities in Education Act (IDEA) for meeting the excess cost of special education. The President’s Budget requests $11.3 billion for FY2009, an increase of $337 million from FY2008, but still less than half of what the Congress has promised to meet the needs of disabled students.
CAREER AND TECHNICAL EDUCATION
The President’s FY2009 Budget calls for the elimination of all programs under the Carl D. Perkins Career and Technical Education Act of 2006 totaling $1.271 billion in funding. This includes $1.16 billion in funding for Education Technology State Grants and $103 million in funding for Tech-Prep Education State Grants. The Administration cites the inability to demonstrate effectiveness and narrow focus of these programs as reasons for eliminating them. The administration has previously attempted (unsuccessfully) to zero out this line item through budget proposals and statutory actions.
STUDENT FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE
The President’s Budget requests $22.044 billion in funding for federal student aid in FY2009, a decrease from $23.109 billion appropriated in FY2008. While the President’s request does provide increases to Pell and Academic Competitiveness Grants, it also eliminates funding for LEAP, Perkins Loan Cancellations and Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grants.
PELL GRANTS
Discretionary funding for Pell Grants is increased by $2.6 billion in the President’s FY2009 Budget request. According to the Department of Education under the President’s proposal nearly 5.8 million will receive an average Pell Grant award of $3,154, the first time the program’s average grant has exceeded $3,000.
ACADEMIC COMPETITIVENESS GRANTS
Funding is increased by $565 million to $960 million in FY2009.
TEACH GRANTS
Created by the College Cost Reduction and Access Act—beginning in July, 2008 awards annual grants of up to $4,000 to undergraduate and graduate students who agree to teach at least 4 years in a high-need school within 8 years of graduation. The President’s Budget would increase funding from $7 million in FY2008 to $14 million in FY2009.
LEVERAGING EDUCATIONAL ASSISTANCE PARTNERSHIP (LEAP)
Grants to States to assist in providing need-based grants and work-study assistance to eligible postsecondary students. The President’s FY2009 Budget calls for eliminating this program and its $64 million in funding because the Administration feels that this program has accomplished its objective of stimulating all States to establish need-based postsecondary student grant programs. Formerly know as State Supplemental Improvement Grants (SSIGs)
Department of Education FY2009 Budget Online Version:
http://www.whitehouse.gov/omb/budget/fy2009/pdf/appendix/edu.pdf
For additional information, please contact David Shreve (202-624-8187; david.shreve@ncsl.org) or Robert Strange (202-624-8698; robert.strange@ncsl.org) in NCSL’s Washington, D.C. office.
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