Education Funding

K-12 Panel Advances Budget Bill

By Andrew Ujifusa — July 18, 2017 2 min read
  • Save to favorites
  • Print

House lawmakers who oversee appropriations for the U.S. Department of Education have voted to advance a bill funding the agency for the coming budget year. Reflecting partisan divisions, Republican and Democratic members differed sharply over the impact of the GOP-sponsored bill, which would provide $66 billion to the department, a $2.4 billion cut for fiscal 2018.

In a brief hearing before a House subcommittee last week, Republicans stressed that the proposed legislation would preserve current funding levels for Title I programs for disadvantaged students, increase spending on special education by $200 million, and keep intact current aid for early education and career and technical education.

But Democrats slammed the bill’s elimination of $2 billion in Title II money for teacher training and class-size reductions, and said its increases to other education programs were welcome but not sufficient.

The vote means that the bill advances to the full House Appropriations Committee, which could take up the measure this week. Notably, the bill does not include two signature school choice initiatives in President Donald Trump’s proposed budget: a $1 billion public-school-choice program and a $250 million state grant program to expand private school choice.

Shallower Cuts

The House bill’s cut of 3.5 percent for the Education Department is significantly less than the $9.2 billion reduction—or 13.5 percent—the Trump administration wants. However, the legislation does match the Trump spending blueprint’s move to eliminate Title II aid.Rep. Tom Cole, R-Okla., the subcommittee chairman, said the bill is “continuing to support early-childhood education, particularly for those at risk.” And he noted the bill’s increased support for Title IV, saying, “These funds can be used flexibly by school districts across the country.”

But the subcommittee’s top Democrat, Rep. Rosa DeLauro of Connecticut, took aim at the $2 billion Title II cut. “That appears to me to be anti-teacher,” DeLauro said. And she said that while the $200 million increase in special education grants [bringing total funding up to $12.2 billion] is appreciated, “special education funding continues to fall short of our commitment” to students with special needs.

In other highlights of the House legislation:

• Traditional Title I aid to districts would remain flat at $15.9 billion.

• Charter school grants would get a relatively small bump, to $370 million, up from $342 million.

• Title IV’s block grant, designed to finance a diverse set of education programs, would get a $100 million boost, to $500 million, from current spending. Trump wants to eliminate the block grant entirely.

• Career and technical education spending would remain the same as now, at about $1.1 billion.

• Preschool development grants, which are administered by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, would be flat-funded at $250 million.

In advance of the July 13 hearing, several education advocacy groups singled out the Title II cuts proposed in the House bill for criticism. Executive Director Chris Minnich of the Council of Chief State School Officers, for example, said, “Cutting these funds to zero wouldn’t allow for an opportunity to improve how we spend those dollars and would turn our back on the commitments we have made to teachers and students.”

Related Tags:

A version of this article appeared in the July 19, 2017 edition of Education Week as K-12 Panel Advances Budget Bill

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
Science Webinar
Spark Minds, Reignite Students & Teachers: STEM’s Role in Supporting Presence and Engagement
Is your district struggling with chronic absenteeism? Discover how STEM can reignite students' and teachers' passion for learning.
Content provided by Project Lead The Way
Recruitment & Retention Webinar EdRecruiter 2025 Survey Results: The Outlook for Recruitment and Retention
See exclusive findings from EdWeek’s nationwide survey of K-12 job seekers and district HR professionals on recruitment, retention, and job satisfaction. 
Jobs Virtual Career Fair for Teachers and K-12 Staff
Find teaching jobs and K-12 education jubs at the EdWeek Top School Jobs virtual career fair.

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 These High Schoolers Are Suing for Better Schools. Can They Win?
A new lawsuit joins others currently challenging states to follow constitutional requirements for public education.
8 min read
school funding lawsuits 836865720
z_wei/iStock/Getty Images Plus
Education Funding Rural Schools Are Set to Lose Key Federal Funds—Unless Congress Acts Fast
Thousands of districts near national forest land could lose money as the Secure Rural Schools Act expires.
7 min read
Image of a student about to board a school bus in the morning.
iStock/Getty
Education Funding Public Schools by the Numbers: How Enrollment, Funding, and More Changed in 2024
K-12 enrollment is dropping, funding is lagging economic growth, and other takeaways from newly available data.
4 min read
An illustration of a man standing on top of a large division symbol. There are a couple of coins on each of the circular parts of the division symbol and the man is holding a briefcase in one hand and looking through a magnifying glass with the other hand.
DigitalVision Vectors
Education Funding Will Trump Cut Climate Funds for Schools? Here's What Could Happen
Tax credits for energy-efficient HVAC systems and electric school buses could go away once Republicans take control of Congress.
8 min read
A close up photograph of an electric school bus charging at a charging station.
iStock/Getty