Fiscal Year 2009 Budget Summary February 4, 2008
Section I. Summary of the 2009 Budget
The No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB) was based on a simple premise and a big idea.
The premise was that when Federal taxpayers invest in education, they should expect
results in return for that investment. The big idea was that all children can learn or, more
specifically, that all students should be proficient in reading and math by 2014. NCLB
called for comprehensive reforms to reach this national goal, including strong assessment
and accountability systems, a highly qualified teacher in every classroom, more choices
for students and parents, a new emphasis on school improvement, and the use of
research-based instructional practices.
President Bush and the Congress delivered on the promise of new investment in
education, as funding for NCLB programs rose from $17.4 billion in fiscal year 2001 to
$24.4 billion in fiscal year 2008, an increase of $7 billion or 40 percent. States and
school districts have used these new resources to put in place the strong accountability
systems required by NCLB, and the hard work of teachers and students across the
country has helped reverse a decade of stagnation in student achievement and make real
progress toward ensuring that all students are proficient in reading and math. The results
of the 2007 National Assessment of Educational Progress confirmed that student
achievement levels are at all-time highs and that the biggest gains are being made by
African-American and Hispanic students.
Now it is time for Congress and the Nation to renew this historic commitment to
America's children by reauthorizing and strengthening No Child Left Behind. The
Administration has developed a comprehensive reauthorization proposal and is
committed to working again with a bipartisan Congress to learn from the experience of
the past six years and make the changes and improvements that will merit even greater
commitment to our Nation's schools.
The 2009 request builds on President Bush's legacy of successful education reform by
supporting programs and policies from pre-kindergarten through postgraduate study that
have produced results for both students and taxpayers.
For 2009, the President is requesting $59.2 billion in discretionary appropriations
for the Department of Education, the same as the 2008 level, and an increase of
$17.0 billion, or 40 percent, in discretionary appropriations for the Department
since fiscal year 2001.
Key priorities in the 2009 budget include the following:
$14.3 billion, an increase of $406 million or 2.9 percent, for a reauthorized Title I Grants to Local Educational Agencies program that would more fairly distribute Title
I resources to the high school level, strengthen assessment and accountability in our
high schools, provide more choices to students and parents, and encourage more
effective restructuring of chronically low-performing schools. The 2009 request is an
increase of $5.5 billion, or 63 percent, over the 2001 level.
$491.3 million, the same as the 2008 level, for a reauthorized Title I School
Improvement Grants program that would help build State and local capacity to
identify and implement effective interventions to turn around low-performing
schools. The rapid growth in funding for this program, from the initial fiscal year
2007 appropriation of $125 million, is justified by the increase in the number of
schools identified for fundamental restructuring reforms.
$1 billion for Reading First State Grants, an increase of $607 million, to restore funding for this program that has proven its effectiveness in using research-based
instructional methods to improve the reading skills of students in high-poverty, low-
performing elementary schools.
$800 million for a reauthorized 21st Century Learning Opportunities program
(replacing 21st Century Community Learning Centers) that would transform the
current program into a scholarship fund enabling poor students in low-performing
schools to enroll in high-quality after-school and summer school programs aimed at
increasing student achievement.
$300 million for Pell Grants for Kids, a new K-12 scholarship program that would allow low-income students attending schools in restructuring or that have high
dropout rates to transfer to local private schools or out-of-district public schools.
$200 million for the Teacher Incentive Fund, an increase of $102.7 million, to encourage States and school districts to reform compensation plans to reward
principals and teachers who raise student achievement, close achievement gaps, and
work in hard-to-staff schools.
$175 million, an increase of $131.5 million, for programs aimed at improving math
and science instruction in K-12 schools as part of the President's American
Competitiveness Initiative.
$11.3 billion for Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) Part B Grants to States, an increase of $337 million that would maintain the Federal contribution
toward meeting the excess cost of special education at about 17 percent of the
national average per pupil expenditure (APPE). Under the request, combined NCLB
and IDEA funding would total $36.9 billion in 2009, an increase of $12.1 billion, or
49 percent, since 2001.
$16.9 billion for Pell Grants, an increase of $2.6 billion that, together with mandatory funds, would raise the maximum Pell Grant award to $4,800. The request level
reflects an increase in total Pell Grant funding since 2001 of $10.1 billion, or 116
percent, that funded a 28 percent increase in the maximum award, from $3,750 to
$4,800, and a 33 percent increase in recipients, from 4.3 million to 5.8 million.
The 2009 request for the Department of Education supports these priorities while also
proposing significant mandatory and discretionary savings that are essential to meeting
the President's goal of eliminating the deficit by 2012. For example, the discretionary
request includes the proposed elimination or consolidation of 47 programs for a total
savings of almost $3.3 billion. In addition, the request eliminates 759 earmarked projects
totaling an estimated $328 million. On the mandatory side, the request would save nearly
$6 billion over 5 years by recalling Perkins Loans revolving funds and by making
changes in certain loan repayment provisions of the College Cost Reduction and Access
Act of 2007.
Total Department of Education Appropriations
(in billions of dollars)
|
2007 |
2008 |
2009 Request |
|
Discretionary |
$57.5 |
$59.2 |
$59.2 |
Mandatory |
10.4 |
9.4 |
5.7 |
Total |
67.9 |
68.6 |
64.9 |
Most education funding is discretionary. It is called "discretionary" because Congress has the discretion to make decisions about how much to appropriate annually for each
program within the limits established by authorizing legislation. Other funding is called
"mandatory" because the authorizing legislation itself establishes a fixed funding level or a method for calculating automatic appropriations without further Congressional action.
The largest mandatory programs in the Department's budget are Federally subsidized
loans for postsecondary students, the costs of which are estimated based on assumptions
about interest rates, lender fees, repayments, defaults, and collections. Other education
programs funded in whole or in part through mandatory appropriations include
Vocational Rehabilitation State Grants, Academic Competitiveness Grants, Pell Grants,
and certain programs in the Higher Education account.
An additional factor affecting the display of discretionary appropriations in Federal
budget documents is the use of "advance" appropriations, a method of funding that makes
budget authority available in the fiscal year after it is appropriated. Examples of
Department programs that receive advance appropriations include Title I Grants to Local
Educational Agencies and IDEA Part B Grants to States. As a result of advance
appropriations, some materials published by the Office of Management and Budget for
the fiscal year 2009 President's request will show a 2008 discretionary budget authority
total of $57.2 billion for the Department of Education, instead of the $59.2 billion figure
shown above. This is because the 2008 total above includes $2 billion in advance
funding that will be counted for scoring purposes in 2009.
Federal funding makes up about 8.9 percent of the estimated $626 billion that America is
spending on elementary and secondary education during the 2007-08 school year. The
relatively small size of the Federal investment in education dictates an emphasis on
supporting promising, research-based programs that have the potential to leverage more
effectively the much larger State and local share of national education spending to bring
about real improvement in student achievement. This is the primary goal, for example, of
the strong State accountability systems required by No Child Left Behind and the
research-based approach of Reading First. Under the President's request, funding for
NCLB programs would rise by $127 million in fiscal year 2009, from $24.4 billion to
more than $24.5 billion, for a total increase of $7.2 billion, or 41 percent, since NCLB
was enacted in 2001.
The $59.2 billion discretionary request for 2009 is focused on the following areas.
SUPPORTING THE STRONG ACCOUNTABILITY OF NO CHILD LEFT
BEHIND
A critical goal of the Administration's NCLB reauthorization proposal is to maintain the
strong accountability systems that States have put into place over the past six years, with
a particular emphasis on ensuring that all students are proficient in reading and
mathematics by 2014. The Title I Grants to Local Educational Agencies program serves
as the foundation of this effort, with essential contributions from related programs in the
areas of school improvement, assessment, and data collection:
$14.3 billion for Title I Grants to Local Educational Agencies, an increase of $406 million, or 2.9 percent, for formula grants intended to ensure that high-poverty
schools have the extra resources they need to help all students reach proficiency in
reading and mathematics, as required by No Child Left Behind. The 2009 request
builds on the $1.1 billion increase provided in 2008, for a total of $1.5 billion in new
funds available to implement the Administration's reauthorization proposal for Title
I.
$491.3 million for Title I School Improvement Grants, which would be reauthorized to support strong and effective State leadership in helping to turn around low-
performing schools and school districts. Funding would be continued at the 2008
level, which was a $366.3 million increase over first-year funding of $125 million
provided in fiscal year 2007, and States would be permitted to reserve up to
50 percent of their formula allocations to build their capacity to lead LEA and school
improvement efforts.
$408.7 million for State Assessment Grants to maintain support for strong State assessment systems and support the development and implementation of 2 years of
high school assessments that would be required by the Administration's Title I
reauthorization proposal.
$100 million for Statewide Data Systems, an increase of $51.7 million, to help improve student achievement by helping States create comprehensive P-16
longitudinal data systems for collecting, analyzing, and using performance and
outcome data to guide educational decision-making.
MORE CHOICES FOR STUDENTS IN LOW-PERFORMING SCHOOLS
Expanding choice for students in low-performing schools is a core component of NCLB,
as reflected in the public school choice and supplemental educational services
requirements for schools identified for improvement, corrective action, or restructuring.
However, the effectiveness of these options has been limited in many States and school
districts by capacity constraints within public school systems and, increasingly, the
availability of funding to serve all eligible students. For example, according to the
Consolidated State Performance Report for the 2006-07 school year, just 2.2 percent of
eligible students transferred under Title I public school choice provisions, and only 14.5
percent of eligible students obtained supplemental educational services. The 2009
request would help address this problem through the following two new initiatives:
$300 million for a new Pell Grants for Kids program to expand educational choices by providing scholarships that enable low-income students to transfer to out-of-
district public schools or local private schools. The program would make competitive
awards to States, municipalities, school districts, and public or private non-profit
organizations (including faith-based and community organizations) to develop K-12
scholarship programs for eligible students attending schools that are in restructuring
status or that have a graduation rate of less than 60 percent. Scholarships would
cover tuition, fees, transportation, and other costs, but would be limited to the State
average per-pupil expenditure for education.
$800 million for a reauthorized and renamed 21st Century Learning Opportunities
program, which would radically reform the low-performing 21st Century Community
Learning Centers program into an academically focused after-school and summer-
school scholarship program. Under the revised program, State educational agencies
would make competitive awards to public or private nonprofit organizations to
administer scholarships for students from low-income families who attend schools
that have been identified for school improvement, corrective action, or restructuring.
IMPROVED TEACHING
No Child Left Behind emphasized the importance of ensuring that there is a highly
qualified teacher in every classroom. Six years later, recruiting, training, and rewarding
effective teachers remains a high priority, particularly as increasing numbers of States
and school districts experiment with incentives aimed at rewarding our best teachers for
their performance and attracting them to our most challenging schools. The 2009 request
would support these efforts through the following:
$200 million for the Teacher Incentive Fund, an increase of $102.7 million over the 2008 level, to expand support for State and local efforts to develop and implement
performance-based financial incentives for teachers and principals. This program
helps close the equity gap in access to the best teachers and principals by rewarding
those who raise student achievement, close achievement gaps, and work in hard-to-
staff schools.
$2.8 billion for Improving Teacher Quality State Grants to help States ensure that all teachers of core academic subjects are highly qualified and to strengthen teachers'
subject-matter knowledge and teaching skills. The $100 million reduction from the
2008 level would be used to increase funding for the Teacher Incentive Fund. Most
teachers now are highly qualified; the challenge is to allocate teaching talent more
equitably across low- and high-poverty schools, a goal more directly addressed by the
Teacher Incentive Fund.
$10 million for the Adjunct Teacher Corps, requested as part of the President's American Competitiveness Initiative, to create opportunities for qualified
professionals from outside the K-12 educational system to teach secondary-school
courses in the core academic subjects, with an emphasis on mathematics and the
sciences.
HIGHER-QUALITY, MORE RIGOROUS INSTRUCTION
No Child Left Behind sparked a new focus on the use of research-based instructional
practices and curricula, especially as part of efforts to turn around low-performing, high-
poverty schools. The first program to do this on a large scale was the Reading First State
Grants program, which requires the use of research-based instructional programs and
which has demonstrated positive results in helping young children learn to read. The
2009 request reaffirms the Administration's support for a strong Reading First program
while promoting the expansion of similar programs.
$1.0 billion for Reading First State Grants to restore roughly the 2007 level of funding for this popular comprehensive, research-based reading instruction program
of proven effectiveness in helping young children in high-poverty schools to read
well by the end of third grade. Early Reading First would be continued at the 2008
level of $112.5 million.
$100 million for the Striving Readers program, an increase of $64.6 million over the 2008 level, to expand the development and implementation of research-based
interventions that improve the skills of teenage students who are reading below grade
level.
$95 million for Math Now, requested as part of the President's American
Competitiveness Initiative, to implement research-based practices in math instruction
(including those that will be recommended by the National Math Panel) that focus on
preparing K-9 students for rigorous math courses in high school.
$70 million for Advanced Placement and International Baccalaureate programs, an $70 million for Advanced Placement and International Baccalaureate programs, an increase of $26.5 million requested as part of the President's American
Competitiveness Initiative, to prepare more teachers to teach AP courses and to
encourage more students from high-need schools to take and pass AP courses and
tests. The program can support awards to teachers who become qualified to teach AP
courses or whose students pass the AP and IB tests.increase of $26.5 million requested as part of the President's American Competitiveness Initiative, to prepare more teachers to teach AP courses and to encourage more students from high-need schools to take and pass AP courses and
tests. The program can support awards to teachers who become qualified to teach AP
courses or whose students pass the AP and IB tests.
SUPPORT FOR SPECIAL POPULATIONS
A signal achievement of No Child Left Behind was a new focus on the academic
achievement of groups with special needs, such as students with disabilities and limited
English proficient (LEP) students. NCLB calls for holding school districts and schools
accountable for ensuring that these students reach the same high standards as other
students. While the Administration has provided limited flexibility in this area, such as
for students with the most severe cognitive disabilities and newly arrived LEP students,
the following requests for 2009 reflect the Administration's continuing commitment to
the 2014 proficiency goal for students with disabilities and other students with special
needs.
$11.3 billion for Special Education Grants to States, an increase of $337 million, or 3.1 percent, to help ensure that States and school districts have adequate resources to
help students with disabilities meet the requirements of No Child Left Behind. The
request would maintain the Federal contribution toward offsetting the cost of special
education and related services for 6.8 million children with disabilities at 17 percent
of the national average per pupil expenditure, the same level as estimated for fiscal
year 2008.
$730 million for English Language Acquisition, an increase of $29.6 million, or 4.2 percent, to help States and school districts meet the needs of the growing
population of limited English proficient students, and to help these students reach the
same proficiency goals for reading and mathematics as other students. The proposed
increase also reflects recognition of improvements in program management
implemented through the PART process.
$451.7 million for Title I Migrant Education and Neglected and Delinquent State
agency programs, an increase of $23 million or 5.4 percent reflecting the
Administration's policy of providing increases to selected programs serving
disadvantaged populations and programs that have made improvements in
performance, management, or efficiency, as demonstrated through the PART process.
POSTSECONDARY STUDENT FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE
In 2009 the Department of Education will administer nearly $95 billion in new grants,
loans, and work-study assistance to help almost 11 million students and their families
pay for college. These grant and loan programs will help millions of Americans obtain
the benefits of postsecondary education and play a vital role in strengthening our Nation
by providing advanced training for today's global economy. The total includes almost
$19 billion in Pell Grants to nearly 5.8 million students, or 186,000 more recipients than
the 2008 level, and increases the maximum award by $69, to $4,800. The request also
would increase the average Pell Grant to $3,154the highest level ever and the first
time the average Pell Grant has exceeded $3,000.
Most Federal postsecondary student aid is delivered through guaranteed and direct
student loans, which are expected to total $75 billion in new loans in 2009. The 2009
request provides new discretionary resources for student aid in the following areas:
$18.9 billion in combined discretionary and mandatory funding for Pell Grants,
including a discretionary increase of $2.6 billion, to raise the maximum Pell Grant
award to $4,800. The request level reflects an increase in total Pell Grant funding
since 2001 of $10.2 billion, or 116 percent, that funded a 28 percent increase in the
maximum award, from $3,750 to $4,800, and a 33 percent increase in recipients, from
4.3 million to 5.8 million.
Leverage $362 million in Loans for Short-Term Training through a new, market-oriented program, jointly administered by the Departments of Education and Labor.
The new program would help an estimated 377,000 dislocated, unemployed,
transitioning, or older workers and students acquire or upgrade specific job-related
skills through short-term training.
HIGHER EDUCATION PROGRAMS
In addition to student financial assistance, the Administration's fiscal year 2009 request
provides support for a variety of activities designed to improve access to, and success
in, postsecondary education, including increases for initiatives that would benefit adult
and non-traditional students. In both areas, the request proposes targeted increases to
help non-traditional studentsincluding individuals already in the workforcepursue
postsecondary education and upgrade their skills. Highlights include the following:
$37.4 million for the Fund for the Improvement of Postsecondary Education, an increase of $16 million (excluding funds for earmarked projects), including
$10 million to support the development of systems to facilitate transfer of credits
between institutions of higher education, which would reduce the cost and time to
completion for the nearly 60 percent of students who transfer during their college
studies. Funds would also be used for promoting "dual-enrollment" and articulation
partnerships between high schools and community colleges. These activities would
be complemented by a $5 million request under Adult Education National Activities
for a "Bridge to College" demonstration program that would help non-traditional
students enter college prepared to complete college-level work.
$24 million for a new Advancing America Through Foreign Language Partnerships
program, now authorized under the America COMPETES Act, which would make
grants to institutions of higher education for partnerships with school districts for
language learning from kindergarten through high school and into advanced language
learning at the postsecondary level. This program is a key component of the
President's National Security Language Initiative (NSLI).
$110 million for the International Education and Foreign Language Studies (IEFLS)
programs, to help meet the Nation's security and economic needs through the
development of expertise in foreign languages and area and international studies. The
request includes a $1 million increase to support the development of new assessment
tools for measuring improvements in language competency in the IEFLS programs
and $1 million to create, as part of the NSLI, an e-Learning Clearinghouse to deliver
foreign language education resources to teachers and students across the country.
$10.4 million for the Historically Black College and University (HBCU) Capital
Financing program, an increase of $10.2 million that would support an additional $61
million in guaranteed loans for the construction, reconstruction, and renovation of
academic facilities.
$42.4 million for Graduate Assistance in Areas of National Need and the Javits
fellowships program, an increase of $3.3 million for fellowships to graduate students
of superior ability and high financial need studying in priority academic areas,
including $2 million aimed at addressing acute shortages in the field of psychometrics
that have hampered implementation of certain aspects of the No Child Left Behind
Act.
$451.7 million in combined discretionary and mandatory funding for the Aid for
Institutional Development (HEA Title III) programs to maintain support for
institutions that help close achievement and attainment gaps between minority
students and their non-minority peers, including HBCUs and Historically Black
Graduate Institutions.
$174.4 million in combined discretionary and mandatory funding for Developing
Hispanic-serving Institutions to maintain a high level of support for postsecondary
education institutions that serve large percentages of Hispanic students as part of the
Administration's effort to increase academic achievement, high school graduation,
postsecondary participation, and life-long learning among Hispanic Americans.
$885.2 million in combined discretionary and mandatory funding for the Federal
TRIO Programs and $303.4 million for Gaining Early Awareness and Readiness for
Undergraduate Education Programs (GEAR UP), which provide educational
outreach and support services to help an estimated 1.6 million disadvantaged
students to enter and complete college.
PROGRAM PERFORMANCE AND IMPROVEMENT
As part of the President's Management Agenda, the Administration developed the
Program Assessment Rating Tool (PART) to assess and improve program performance
and achieve better results. Each program receives scores for program purpose and
design, strategic planning, program management, and program results, as well as an
overall rating of Effective, Moderately Effective, Adequate, Ineffective, or Results Not
Demonstrated (RND).
In 2007, the Department assessed 4 programs for the first time and reassessed 3
programs, bringing the number of currently funded programs assessed using the PART
since 2002 to 91. Of these, the Administration has rated 5 programs Effective,
7 programs Moderately Effective, 29 programs Adequate, 4 programs Ineffective, and
46 programs RND. Key results of the 2007 PART process included an Effective rating
for the IES Research, Development, and Dissemination program and Adequate ratings
for three programs that received RND ratings in prior years: Child Care Access Means
Parents in School, Neglected and Delinquent State Agency program, and Indian
Education Grants to Local Educational Agencies.
A rating of RND typically identifies a lack of long-term goals, annual performance
measures, or reliable datamanagement issues that often can be addressed by ED
internally, though program statutes sometimes contribute to the problem because they
do not include clear and measurable objectives, results-based accountability
mechanisms, or authority to gather reliable data on program outcomes. The Department
works to improve the effectiveness of its programs to the extent possible under current
law and also works with the Congress on accountability and data quality issues when
statutes are reauthorized. One recent advance was the full implementation of EDFacts,
a centralized information management system for K-12 education programs. EDFacts is
streamlining the collection of timely, accurate program performance data while
facilitating the analysis and use of such data to improve program management.
The PART also contributes to the decision-making required by the President's goal of
eliminating the deficit by 2012, helping to ensure that limited resources are targeted
toward those programs and activities most likely to achieve positive results.
In general, this means investments will continue to be made in programs receiving a
PART rating of Effective, Moderately Effective, or Adequate, while most programs rated
Ineffective will be proposed for elimination or reform. For programs rated RND, the
Administration will generally support continued funding if the programs are likely to
demonstrate results in the future. However, the Administration will propose the
termination of RND programs that unnecessarily duplicate other activities or suffer from
such major flaws in design or execution that they are unlikely to demonstrate improved
performance in the future.
For the year ending on September 30, 2007, the Department's program performance
and improvement efforts achieved "green" ratings for all four quarters on the President's
Management Scorecard. This accomplishment reflects the successful development of
efficiency measures for all programs that have undergone a PART assessment, the
completion of marginal cost analyses of three programs, and ongoing improvement
efforts in all programs evaluated with the PART. With the publication of the President's
Budget, the Department has completed the PART for programs covering 98 percent of
its budget, including $480 million associated with small programs for which the
Department was not required to conduct a PART assessment.
Elementary and Secondary Education
For further information contact the ED Budget Service.
This page last modifiedFebruary 4, 2008
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