Pain, Some Gains: House Bill on Education Spending

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The House of Representatives unveiled a budget plan on Thursday that would eliminate 31 education programs and tighten eligibility for Pell Grants. Two key formula programs would receive huge increases: Title I grants to districts for education disadvantaged kids would receive $1 billion more, for a total of nearly $16 billion. Also, the bill increases special education funding by $1.2 billion, to $13.7 million.

Education programs that are big priorities of the Obama administration would receive no new money. These programs include:

Race to the Top competition, which got $700 million this fiscal year.
Investing in Innovation Fund, which got $150 million.
Promise Neighborhoods, which got $30 million.
School Improvement Grant program, which got $534 million.

Programs that the proposed bill would eliminate include a $27.2 million program for the arts in education, a $45.9 million program for teaching American history, the $78.8. million Carol M. White Physical Education program and a $43.4 million program for Advanced Placement. In addition, a program called State Grants for Improving Teacher Quality — a principal source of funding for class-size reduction, professional development and similar initiatives — will have its $2.5 billion budget trimmed from $24.7 million.

In regard to higher education spending, the House bill maintains a maximum Pell grant of $5,550 but — in attempt to reduce costs by $3.6 billion in the next year alone — tightens eligibility criteria. Lifetime eligibility for Pell Grants will now be 6 years, down from 9 years. Students who attend school less than half time or students who do not have a high school diploma or GED will not be eligible.

Furthermore, the House bill would end aid to institutions serving Latino/a and black students. Spending on Latino/a-serving institutions would be cut by 83 percent and on historically black colleges by 36 percent. Two vocational-rehabilitation programs and the Fund for the Improvement of Postsecondary Education, or Fipse, would also be eliminated.

EdWeek points out that the House bill is very much in contrast to a spending measure that passed the Senate Appropriations committee earlier this month. The Senate measure included funding for nearly all the 31 programs slated for elimination as well as the Obama administration’s initiatives, but none of the increases for Title I and special education. Rep. Denny Rehberg, Republican of Montana and chairman of the House Appropriations panel that oversees education, has not yet scheduled a vote on the bill and when he will do so is unclear.

As the mother of a autistic teenager, and a mother who has spent too much of the past decade in contention with our school district over our son’s educational needs, it is heartening to see a bill that includes a significant increase in funding for special education and disappointing that the Senate bill does not provide for such.

But the changes in funding for Pell Grants and for institutions serving Latino/a and black students are worrisome.

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Quanta K.

2:18AM PST on Dec 19, 2011

Thanks.

December 19
send a green star

Janine H.

2:27AM PDT on Oct 9, 2011

in germany there seems to be a big interest of the "elite" (people who have money, influence,...) that school is divided into different parts: junior high school / secondary school (Hauptschule) and high school / grammar school (Gymnasium). And there it seems that they do not want to get an own studied population, people from all social levels who could go to university... sad, but true.

October 9
send a green star

J C B.

7:24PM PDT on Oct 3, 2011

Stupid was as stupid shall be!

October 3
send a green star

Tamara D.

7:22AM PDT on Oct 3, 2011

Cheryl - Couldn't have said it better myself. Now, if only more sheeple would open their eyes and minds to this so that "we the people" can take our country back from the MIC and BigCorporate.

Cheryl L.

6:05AM PDT on Oct 3, 2011

Robert H.: ---- It is my belief that the Republicans have overtaken this country and turned it into one huge WAR MACHINE with the military industrial complex being the largest employer in the country. The problems they have caused (encouraged by lack of oversight, etc.) financially is exactly the thing that is making the military look attractive to young teenagers. There is little if anything to help them go to college, parents out of work, cutting back on grants and loans, etc. It is the Republican expectation that kids will turn to the military. It appears that their aim is to control rather than serve the people of the United States AND to CONTROL other countries. They FEAR higher education because Republicans believe that colleges and schools turn out "democrats" and are too liberal. This is why they push for vouchers for private and religious schools. They want their own kind of mind control. It is more than sad. They are letting us turn into a Third World Country and worse.

KS G.

5:37AM PDT on Oct 3, 2011

Thanks for the article.

Alexandra R.

10:29PM PDT on Oct 2, 2011

Really sad. They want a permanent recession with an ignorant slave population that they can control.

October 2
send a green star

Lynn C.

7:12PM PDT on Oct 2, 2011

@Marilyn L. I think you may be right...Anything that sounds good to the disgruntled public will be coming towards us - and I guess it fools some people. Her record is so abysmal that I don't even listen to her anymore - or anyone else in this benighted state.

Suzanne H.

5:36PM PDT on Oct 2, 2011

You want an explanation..check out...The Boehemian Club....A Very Special Club indeed!

Marilyn L.

4:19PM PDT on Oct 2, 2011

Gov. Brewer sent out an e-mail yesterday to, I assume, all Arizonians since I am a registered Democrat She actually sounded like President Obama, writing how important education is for our future. She has some new program she was writing us about. The problem is Ariozna is at the bottom in the list of States regarding education and she has slash the budget here in Arizona for education. So maybe the new Republican work around is to talk like a Democrat on education but act like a Republican and trash funding.