 FEDERAL UPDATE
Week of February 10 – 15, 2008
FY09 EDUCATION BUDGET REQUEST RELEASED
The White House has issued its FY09 budget request. For the two main federal K-12 education
programs, the budget would increase funding for Title I by $400 million ($14.3 billion total) and for
special education by $337 million ($11.3 billion total). The other two K-12 programs that would see big
increases under the President’s budget are Reading First, for which the administration is seeking to
restore nearly all of the $600 million that Congress cut last year ($1 billion), and the Teacher Incentive
Fund, which would more than double its current funding to $200 million.
Programs slated for modest bumps in funding include the Striving Readers Program (+$64 million,
$100 million total), English Language Acquisition grants (+$30 million, $730 million total), Charter
Schools (+$25 million, $236 million total), Advanced Placement and International Baccalaureate
programs (+$26 million, $70 million total), Migrant Education (+$23 million, $452 million total), and
Statewide Data Systems (+$52 million, $100 million total.)
The President’s budget contains no increases for State Assessment Grants ($409 million), Rural
Education ($171 million), and Title I School Improvement Grants ($491 million). However, the budget
does propose eliminating the “hold harmless” provision for the school improvement grants (a
recommendation made in the recent NASBE report, Meeting the Challenge: The State’s Role in
Improving Low-performing Schools Through Restructuring,) which should free up some new money for
states to use for this purpose even though total funding would remain constant.
The budget request also included disappointing news for several programs. Among the K-12 programs
that would be completely eliminated are the Perkins Career-Technical Education whose $1.2 billion
would be zeroed out, along with the $103 million Tech-prep program, and the Education Technology
State Grants, whose $267 million would be wiped out. Other programs slated for drastic cuts are Safe
and Drug-free Schools, which would be slashed by $194 million, or nearly two-thirds, to $100 million
total, Teacher Quality State Grants (-$100 million, $2.84 billion), and the 21st Century Learning
Opportunities (-$200 million, $800 million total).
The White House’s budget does propose spending for several new programs that would require
congressional approval, such as the $300 million for Pell Grants for Kids, which is described as
scholarships for private school tuition and transportation for students attending high school dropout
factories or schools in NCLB’s restructuring phase.
Education Secretary Margaret Spellings noted that “the budget process is one where we must balance
process and priorities and I believe this budget does that for education.” She said, “this budget
provides the necessary resources for critical programs that equip American students with the skills they
need to compete and succeed in the knowledge-based economy.”
Predictably, Democrats on Capitol Hill took the opposite view, with the chairman of the Senate
education appropriations subcommittee, Sen. Tom Harkin (D-IA), dismissing the budget request as
“completely irresponsible” and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid saying that the President is “not
living up to what he said he would do in funding” for NCLB. But perhaps the sharpest criticisms came
from House Education Committee Chairman George Miller (D-CA), who is overseeing NCLB
reauthorization. Miller charged that “for workers, students, children, and families, this budget is a
disaster, full of cuts to essential services and wasteful spending on ideological gimmicks.”
The much anticipated national release of the federal government’s FY09 budget on February 4 was
short-circuited somewhat by a software glitch at the U.S. Department of Education. The state and
program budget tables for FY08 were posted on the Department’s website, where a curious and astute
Excel spreadsheet expert downloaded the publicly available files and clicked on the “unhide data”
button to reveal the closely guarded FY09 figures, and promptly forwarded them all over Washington,
a week in advance of the official budget rollout. The online tables were quickly replaced when it was
brought to the Department’s attention.
McELROY TO STEP DOWN AS AFT PRESIDENT
Ed McElroy, president of the American Federation of Teachers (AFT), announced his widely expected
move to step down as head of the union later this summer. McElroy was elected president in 2004 after
serving for twelve years as secretary-treasurer. Randi Weingarten, president of the AFT’s New York
City affiliate, is widely presumed to be the sole front runner to succeed McElroy.
NASBE LEGISLATIVE CONFERENCE – MARCH 13-14, 2008
Will NCLB be reauthorized this year? What impact will the recent ruling by a Court of Appeals about
whether NCLB is an unfunded mandate have on pending legislation and future federal funding? What
are the electoral prospects of congressional Republicans and Democrats, and which presidential
candidates are poised to win their party’s nominations? What will the November election results
portend for K-12 education reform in 2009?
Get the answers to these questions and more at the Legislative Conference, March 13-14, 2008.
And make your reservation at the L’Enfant Plaza Hotel today! The special NASBE group rate is only
available until February 22nd . For reservations, please call 202-484-1000 and let the reservationist
know that you are a part of the NASBE Legislative Conference group. After this date, reservations will
be accepted on a space and rate availability.
QUOTE OF THE WEEK
“On education, we must trust students to learn if given the chance, and empower parents to demand results
from our schools. In neighborhoods across our country, there are boys and girls with dreams -- and a decent
education is their only hope of achieving them. Six years ago, we came together to pass the No Child Left
Behind Act, and today no one can deny its results. Last year, fourth and eighth graders achieved the highest
math scores on record. Reading scores are on the rise. African American and Hispanic students posted all-time
highs. Now we must work together to increase accountability, add flexibility for states and districts, reduce the
number of high school dropouts, provide extra help for struggling schools. Members of Congress: The No Child
Left Behind Act is a bipartisan achievement. It is succeeding. And we owe it to America's children, their
parents, and their teachers to strengthen this good law.” President George W. Bush, 2008 State of the
Union address.
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