Education Funding

Budget Measure’s Education Cuts Stinging

By Nirvi Shah — November 01, 2011 1 min read
  • Save to favorites
  • Print

When Congress passed a short-term budget measure that expires Nov. 18, the debate offered little sign of the bill’s potential long-term effects on education spending—although states and school districts noticed the impact right away.

Spending for four programs—special education, Title I aid for disadvantaged students, teacher quality, and career and technical education—was cut for the current school year, presumably well after most states and districts had spending plans for the year in place.

“The states have had the rug pulled out from under them,” said Lindsay Jones, the senior director of policy and advocacy services for the Washington-based Council for Exceptional Children.

The cuts total $329 million, the largest chunks of which are $163 million for Title I and $129 million for special education. Because of the way the current year’s continuing resolution was written, only federal programs that get advance appropriations were affected.

The impression special education advocates, including Ms. Jones, have is that Congress’ action was inadvertent. They point to the U.S. Senate’s spending proposal for the 2012 fiscal year, which would keep special education spending level, and the House proposal that would boost spending by $1.2 billion, albeit by cutting other education programs.

In all, the reductions for the rest of this fiscal year represent a 1.5 percent decrease for each of the four programs being cut. Should spending not be returned to the level it was before the decrease, the gap could grow significantly over time if funding is kept level for the 2012 fiscal year, since “level” will be a reduction. In a letter to House and Senate education committee leaders, the Committee for Education Funding, a Washington-based advocacy group, pressed Congress to take action on both fronts.

“Schools had been anticipating the use of these funds as they had been included in an earlier allocation notification,” the letter says. “We also urge that in the unfortunate event that this cut is not restored, that it not result in the reduction in the level of advanced appropriations provided in the fy 2012 bill ... to avoid permanently lowering the baseline level of funding.”

A version of this article appeared in the November 02, 2011 edition of Education Week as Budget Resolution Delivers Curveball To States, Districts

Events

This content is provided by our sponsor. It is not written by and does not necessarily reflect the views of Education Week's editorial staff.
Sponsor
Assessment Webinar
Reimagining Grading in K-12 Schools: A Conversation on the Value of Standards-Based Grading
Hear from K-12 educational leaders and explore standards-based grading benefits and implementation strategies and challenges
Content provided by Otus
Reading & Literacy Webinar How Background Knowledge Fits Into the ‘Science of Reading’ 
Join our webinar to learn research-backed strategies for enhancing reading comprehension and building cultural responsiveness in the classroom.
This content is provided by our sponsor. It is not written by and does not necessarily reflect the views of Education Week's editorial staff.
Sponsor
Assessment Webinar
Innovative Strategies for Data & Assessments
Join our webinar to learn strategies for actionable instruction using assessment & analysis.
Content provided by Edulastic

EdWeek Top School Jobs

Teacher Jobs
Search over ten thousand teaching jobs nationwide — elementary, middle, high school and more.
View Jobs
Principal Jobs
Find hundreds of jobs for principals, assistant principals, and other school leadership roles.
View Jobs
Administrator Jobs
Over a thousand district-level jobs: superintendents, directors, more.
View Jobs
Support Staff Jobs
Search thousands of jobs, from paraprofessionals to counselors and more.
View Jobs

Read Next

Education Funding A Surge in Funding for Homeless Students Is Waning. What Now?
COVID homeless aid helped schools locate more families and connect them to services. Advocates want to make the increase permanent.
3 min read
A young boy reaches into the open door of a school bus to grab a plastic bag of food handed to him by an adult.
A Jefferson County School District student receives several bags with free meals in Fayette, Miss.
Rogelio V. Solis/AP
Education Funding 4 Ways States Are Trying to Fix How They Fund Schools
Advocates in many places are pushing for reforms that precisely target more robust aid to schools and students in need.
6 min read
one woman and two men with a large calculator and next to large stacks of bills and coins.
DigitalVision Vectors/Getty
Education Funding Pennsylvania School Funding Is Unconstitutional, Judge Says. Here's What Could Happen Next
An appeal could be on the way, but advocates are already gearing up to make the case for funding reform.
6 min read
Stock image of a gavel on top of a pile of money.
iStock/Getty Images
Education Funding 6 Lawsuits That Could Shake Up How States Pay for Schools
Far removed from annual budgets, these lawsuits hold the potential to force states to direct more funds to their schools.
6 min read
Large white hand holding a weighing scale with a bag of money on one side and books with floating letters on the other side showing a balance of knowledge and money
iStock/Getty