President Obama's Fiscal 2010 Budget

Giving Every Child A World-Class Education

The President’s 2010 Budget seeks to usher in a new era of responsibility – an era in which we not only do what we must to save and create new jobs and lift our economy out of recession, but in which we also lay a new foundation for long-term growth and prosperity. To do this, the Nation must address some of the deep, systemic problems that have been ignored for too long by making critical investments in: education so that every child can compete in the global economy, health care reform so that we can control costs while boosting coverage and quality, and renewable sources of energy so that we can reduce our dependence on foreign oil and become the world leader in the new clean energy economy.

At the same time, we also must restore fiscal discipline, making sure that we invest in what works and do not waste taxpayer dollars on programs that do not work or are duplicative. Taken together – education, health care, clean energy, and fiscal discipline – are the pillars upon which we can build a new foundation for our economy, a foundation that bring opportunity and growth to all Americans for decades to come. The budget will:

Make a new investment in early childhood education. We know that a dollar invested in early education will pay off handsomely as these children grow older. That is why the Administration is proposing to help states strengthen their early education programs by broadening the reach of these programs and boosting their quality; and encouraging new investment, a seamless delivery of services, and better information for parents about program options and quality. In keeping with the commitment, the budget provides a $122 million increase in Head Start funding, allowing the program to reach nearly 1 million children and continue to improve program quality. In addition, through funds from the Recovery Act and this budget, the President will provide funding nearly to double the number of children served by Early Head Start and to expand Head Start, both of which have proven to be successful with younger children. The budget also includes $300 million for an Early Learning Challenge Fund to provide a bridge between the Recovery Act's historic increases for early childhood education programs and the significant federal investment planned for future years. The new fund will help states create comprehensive zero-to-five systems that prepare children for kindergarten and beyond.

Help new parents and newborns with a home visitation program. The President’s budget proposes $8.5 billion in mandatory funds over 10 years for a new home visitation program that provides funds to states for evidence-based home visitation programs for low-income families. The program will provide states with funding primarily to support home visitation models that have been rigorously evaluated and shown to have positive effects on critical outcomes for children and families. Additional funds will be available for promising programs based on models with experimental or quasi-experimental research evidence of effectiveness that will be rigorously tested to assess their impact. Home visitation is an investment that can yield substantial improvements in child health and development, readiness for school, and parenting abilities to support children's optimal cognitive, language, social-emotional, and physical development and reductions in child abuse and neglect.

Support high standards and rigorous assessments aligned with the demands of the global economy. Students need to meet high standards, and tests need to measure the full range of skills that children must learn. Building on investments made through the Recovery Act, the Administration will help states strengthen their standards so they are rigorous and reflect readiness for success in college and a career. Resources will also be available to improve the quality of assessments, including assessments for students with disabilities and English language learners.

Prepare and reward effective teachers and principals. Almost all successful students can remember a teacher who had an outsized impact on their education. The budget builds on the investments funded under the Recovery Act designed to significantly upgrade the skills and effectiveness of the education workforce. The Administration will invest in efforts to strengthen and increase transparency around results for teacher and principal preparation programs, including programs in schools of education, alternative certification programs, and teacher and principal residency programs. By quintupling the Teacher Incentive Fund, the budget provides a $487 million investment in state and local efforts, developed in consultation with teachers and other stakeholders, to implement systems that reward strong teacher performance and help less effective teachers improve or, if they do not, exit the classroom. The budget also provides a $10 million increase to the School Leadership program, to expand efforts to recruit, train, and retain principals and assistant principals in high-need school districts.

Increase support for effective charter schools. The President’s budget will promote successful models of school reform by taking the first major step to fulfilling its commitment to double support for charter schools. The budget increases funding by nearly 25 percent or $52 million from 2009. This expanded support will enable the Department of Education to help create new, high-quality charter schools, ensure that states properly monitor and support these schools, and, in the case of chronic underperformance, close existing charter schools.

Support innovative and effective strategies to improve student achievement. The budget invests in school systems and non-profit organizations with demonstrated track records of success in raising student achievement to expand their work or implement new innovative approaches through the What Works and Innovation Fund.  The President’s plan supports "Promise Neighborhoods," a new effort to test innovative strategies to improve academic achievement and life outcomes in high-poverty areas modeled after the Harlem Children’s Zone. The budget provides $10 million for competitive grants to nonprofit, community-based organizations for the development of comprehensive neighborhood programs designed to combat the effects of poverty and improve educational and life outcomes for children.

Expand service-learning in the nation’s schools. Service learning is an approach that connects classroom lessons with meaningful community service opportunities. The budget includes additional resources for Learn and Serve America, which supports programs in schools, higher education institutions and community-based organizations that engage students, their teachers, and others in service-learning.