President Trump used his budget proposal to suggest cuts to the majority of federal agencies in order to enhance the Department of Defense budget without creating a larger deficit. The proposal for the Department of Education specifically includes a $9 billion or 13 percent reduction below the 2017 annualized continuing resolution level, and in a high-level overview of the budget, a quick two-page reference to the Department of Education, it is clear where the priorities for the administration lay.
The proposed budget focuses a great deal test add text for comparitor on charter schools and vouchers, including an increase in investments for public and private school choice by $1.4 billion compared to the 2017 annualized continuing resolution level, ramping up to an annual total of $20 billion, and an estimated $100 billion including matching State and local funds.
Along with additional funds for charters and vouchers, there is a proposed $1 billion increase for Title I, dedicated to encouraging districts to adopt a system of student based budgeting and open enrollment that enables Federal, State, and local funding to follow the student to the public school of his or her choice.
One significant proposed decrease comes from professional development funds by eliminating the $2.4 billion Supporting Effective Instruction State Grants program. For the programs specifically eliminated from this proposal, the reason for doing so is most often because the program is duplicative, or there is no evidence of effectiveness toward closing the student achievement gap.
This is a significant change from past federal funding priorities, and interestingly, the proposed budget makes no mention of the Every Student Succeeds Act. That includes Title IV- the Student Support and Academic Enrichments Grants- which will play an important role in encouraging technology integration in K-12 education. The law authorizes up to $1.65B for Title IV- but it’s up to Congress to allocate the funds.
Now is the time to reach out to your elected officials and help them understand the importance technology plays in transforming education to a meaningful and successful learning environment for students. Since this is only a proposal, there is time to negotiate. Stakeholders must provide their input and thoughtfully explain why technology should be a priority in the budget. Congress spent countless hours crafting the Every Student Succeeds Act, and it ultimately will be left up to Congress to allocate the necessary funds to support the law’s successful implementation- and intentions for improving student achievements.
