U.S. budget: ‘Fundamental rethinking’ of federal role
Published: March 1, 2010
Editor’s note: The U.S. Department of Education budget proposal for fiscal year 2011 was unveiled Feb. 1. Following are edited excerpts from the department’s five-chapter “FY 2011 Budget Summary.”
The administration is seeking $50.7 billion in discretionary appropriations for the Department of Education, an increase of $4.5 billion over the comparable discretionary total provided in the 2010 appropriations act. The total increase includes up to $1 billion the administration would request in a budget amendment only if Congress completes an Elementary and Secondary Education Act reauthorization that includes the President’s proposed reforms.
The budget promotes increased competition in awarding federal education funds, and asks states and school districts for more in return for formula funds. These principles will be embedded in the administration’s ESEA reauthorization plan, which will be unveiled later this year but which is supported by the fiscal year 2011 budget request.
Key proposals in the 2011 budget include the following:
- $1.35 billion for additional Race to the Top awards. The administration also will ask for authority to run a district-level competition for districts willing and able to tackle comprehensive reform.
- $500 million to continue the new Investing in Innovation program, which makes competitive awards to develop and expand innovative strategies and practices that have been shown to be effective in improving educational outcomes for students. The 2011 request dedicates $150 million to Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics projects.
- $900 million for a reauthorized School Turnaround Grants program, an increase of $354.4 million, or 65 percent, to support the administration’s commitment to help states and local educational agencies turn around their 5,000 lowest-performing schools over the next five years.
- $950 million for the new Teacher and Leader Innovation Fund, which builds on the strengths of the Teacher Incentive Fund to support state and LEA efforts to improve human capital systems. This program would more than double support for state and local efforts to create incentives for effective teachers and school leaders to work in the most challenging schools.
- $405 million for Teacher and Leader Pathways, a new program that would consolidate five current authorities promoting alternative routes to certification for teachers and school leaders and improving existing teacher and principal preparation programs into a more flexible competitive grant program with a greater focus on student outcomes. The request would almost triple funding for the antecedent programs.
- $1 billion for Effective Teaching and Learning for a Complete Education, a new program designed to improve instruction to support college- and career-readiness standards, in part.
- $410 million for a new Successful, Safe, and Healthy Students authority, to consolidate six current authorities into a new program focusing on improving school climate and safety; promoting student physical and mental health, preventing student drug and alcohol use, and expanding family and community engagement. The request is an increase of $45 million, or 12 percent, over 2010 funding for the antecedent program authorities.
Elementary and secondary education
The administration's reauthorization plan reflects a fundamental rethinking of the appropriate federal role in elementary and secondary education. A key priority in the administration's ESEA plan is an emphasis on positive incentives and recognition and rewards for success. In addition, the College- and Career-Ready Students program, which would replace Title I Grants to LEAs, would reward schools or LEAs that are making significant progress in improving student outcomes and closing achievement gaps.
The $14.5 billion regular request for the reauthorized College- and Career-Ready Students program would drive another key priority. States would adopt standards that build toward college- and career-readiness and implement high-quality assessments that are aligned with CCR standards and that measure individual student growth toward those standards. The request would provide $450 million for a reauthorized Assessing Achievement program (currently state Assessments) to support implementation of these new assessments. States would measure school and LEA performance on the basis of progress in getting all students, including minority, low-income, English learners, and students with disabilities subgroups, on track to CCR; and other measures as appropriate. States would use this information to differentiate schools and LEAs, with appropriate rewards and interventions, including recognition and rewards for those showing progress and required interventions in the lowest-performing schools and LEAs. The request includes $900 million for a reauthorized School Turnaround Grants (currently School Improvement Grants) program that would help LEAs carry out rigorous school intervention models in their lowest-performing schools.
The reauthorization proposal supported by the 2011 request would ask states and LEAs to set clear standards for effective teaching and to design evaluation systems that fairly and rigorously differentiate between teachers on the basis of effectiveness. The request also provides a total of $1 billion for new Effective Teaching and Learning authorities under which the Department would make competitive awards focused on high-need districts to improve instruction in the areas of literacy, science, technology, engineering, mathematics and other subjects.
Special education
The $12.8 billion request for special education programs focuses on improving educational and early intervention outcomes for children with disabilities. For the Grants to States program, the administration is requesting $11.8 billion, an increase of $250 million over the 2010 appropriation, to maintain the federal contribution toward meeting the excess cost of special education at about 17 percent of the national average per pupil expenditure, and provide an estimated average of $1,750 per student for about 6.7 million children ages 3 through 21.
Consolidation, elimination
The current ESEA authorizes numerous programs with similar purposes, creating fragmented and inefficient funding streams that too often led to a greater focus on complying with program requirements rather than improving student outcomes. Rather than running large numbers of separate grant competitions and monitoring compliance, the administration's reauthorization proposal would consolidate 38 existing ESEA programs into 11 new authorities that allow the Department to direct funding to proven or promising practices while providing greater support and technical assistance to grantees. In addition, the 2011 request reflects the administration's commitment to ending programs that national evaluations indicate are ineffective or duplicative of other authorities, or are poorly structured to accomplish their objectives.