2011 Federal Education Budget update

The 2011 Federal Education Budget reflects the Obama administration’s dizzying array of policy and funding changes, and we expect more may be on the horizon.

On February 1, 2010, President Obama released the FY 2011 budget proposal. The budget proposal is built around the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) reauthorization. In fact, the proposal would require the passage of a reauthorized bill before the funds could be appropriated because much of the requested funding is for the new programs. Many question whether it is realistic to think that the ESEA could be reauthorized so quickly. Listed below are some highlights of the potential changes in the budget proposal.

 The proposal consolidates 38 programs into 11 funding streams and eliminates many programs.
 With regard to early childhood programs, the President’s budget proposal creates record-setting increases for childcare.
 The budget proposal focuses all new money on competitive grants rather than formula grants.
 The proposed budget would also include a substantial boost for the Title I School Improvement Grants, a program that helps districts target interventions to schools struggling to meet the goals of the ESEA law.
 The proposal includes funds for Effective Teachers and Leaders Grants, which would provide formula grants aimed at helping districts recruit, prepare, reward, support, and retain highly effective teachers.

Federal dollars devoted to education for the 2009 and 2010 budget years remained flat at $45.4 billion and $46.2 billion, respectively, with the exception of stimulus funding. The 2011 budget request made by the Obama Administration shows an increase of $3.5 billion. Most of that increase is allocated to a few select programs, namely an increase of $355 million in School Turnaround (formerly School Improvement) grants, plus new funding for Race to the Top (RTTT), $1.35 billion, and Investing in Innovation (i3) programs. (The complete 2011 budget request is at: http://www2.ed.gov/about/overview/budget/budget11/index.html.)

Congress will be working on the proposed 2011 budget throughout the summer to have it ready before the new federal fiscal year, which begins on October 1 (though in recent years, final resolution generally has come after that date). This year’s proposal warrants special attention because it lays out the Administration’s priorities for the reauthorization of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA); see section that follows.

Noticeably absent from the 2011 proposal is the Enhancing Education Through Technology (EETT) program. This shift indicates it’s time to stop thinking of technology as a stand-alone goal and budget item within the education process and to start treating it as an integrated component within learning solutions. This is a fundamental change in how states, districts, and schools will consider technology purchases, and we view this as a positive trend since it means technology is being looked at as “must have” as opposed to “nice to have.”

Title I (that is, the ESEA Basic Grant Program) was allocated the same dollars in the 2011 proposal as in 2010; however, the Administration has renamed the program as College- and Career-Ready Students to better reflect the significant change in direction of the $14.5 billion program. Under the proposed new program, states will be required to adopt new college- and career-ready standards with aligned assessments and also to commit to working toward a system that links student achievement with the effectiveness of their teachers. New as well would be the replacement of “adequate yearly progress” with a broader measurement of school performance that accounts for improvements in other areas like school climate and high school graduation rates.

The 2011FY budget also includes many other important programs that offer lucrative opportunities for education companies. There are predominant themes throughout all of the programs within the proposed reauthorization of ESEA—student outcomes, competition, innovation, and a focus on the schools and students of the greatest need. New programs being proposed that we are tracking closely include:

Effective Teaching and Learning: Literacy – $450 million to improve K-12 literacy instruction

Effective Teaching and Learning: STEM – $300 million to improve teaching and learning in science, technology, engineering, and math

Effective Teaching and Learning: Well-Rounded Education – $265 million to develop and expand innovative teaching and learning in the arts, foreign languages, civics and government, history, geography, economics, financial literacy, as well as other subjects

College Pathways and Accelerated Learning – $100 million for college-level and accelerated courses, gifted and talented programs

Expanding Educational Options – $490 million to support charter schools and public school choice

Promise Neighborhoods – $210 million for neighborhood services

In addition, the National Education Technology Plan 2010 was released in the middle of March. Entitled “Learning Powered by Technology,” the plan for using technology to improve education is based on the themes of learning, assessment, teachers, infrastructure, productivity, along with research and development. All stakeholders are encouraged to review the document and provide feedback on the Plan. The complete 2010 Plan is at http://www.ed.gov/technology/netp-2010.