Budget Cuts Raise Questions About Federal Commitment to Literacy

Simon Rangel practices writing during Kerry Alexander's 4th grade class at Josephine Houston Elementary School in Austin, Texas. She uses strategies learned from the National Writing Project, which recently saw its federal aid cut.

—Erich Schlegel for Education Week

Obama mute on the subject

By Erik W. Robelen

The elimination of most federal aid for literacy programs at the U.S. Department of Education is raising new questions about the future of the federal commitment to promoting literacy, a role that’s had a bumpy ride in recent years.

Even though some of the more than $350 million in cuts to those programs this month could be reversed, as Congress and the White House wrangle over the budget, some education advocates say the Obama administration doesn’t seem to treat the issue as a high priority. The president himself has devoted far more public attention to the so-called STEM subjects of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics, as he did once again when visiting a Boston public school last week.

“The messaging has been mostly STEM,” said Susan Frost, a former adviser to the Education Department under President Bill Clinton. “If you can’t read and write well, you can’t...