Committee on Appropriations
U.S House of Representatives
Washington, DC 20515
Dear Representative:
We are pleased that President Biden’s FY2024 budget proposal would continue to make historic investments in schools with high poverty rates through Title I funding, in children with disabilities through IDEA, and in community schools. Specifically, we urge you to support these elements of the budget, including:
- $20.78 billion for Title I, a $2.4 billion increase over FY2023 enacted levels, for schools with high poverty rates among students.
- $16.59 billion for IDEA, Part B, a $3 billion increase over FY2023 enacted levels, for special education and related services to children with disabilities.
- $400 million for Full-Service Community Schools, a $218 million increase over FY2023 enacted levels, to help meet students’ needs through integrated academic, health, nutrition, and economic services.
- $93 million for Supporting Effective Education Development, a $13 million increase over the FY2023 enacted level, to address the educator shortage that is already at crisis levels, especially in certain subjects.
- $578 million to increase the number of school-based counselors, psychologists, social workers, and other health professionals in K-12 schools to address the mental health crisis among students and educators created by the COVID-19 pandemic and its aftermath.
- $405 million for the Education Innovation and Research program to help identify ways to recruit and retain educators.
- $1.47 billion for Perkins career and technical education grants, $43 million over the FY2023 enacted level, to support access to dual enrollment and work-based learning.
- $429 million over the 2023 enacted level for Historically Black Colleges and Universities, Tribal Colleges and Universities, and Minority-Serving Institutions to support inclusive higher education and expand institutional capacity.
Tight budget controls severely constricted education funding for many years. As a result, ongoing education programs receive $8.3 billion less than they did a decade ago in inflation-adjusted terms. We urge you to help reverse this tragic trajectory by supporting increases in education funding.
Additionally, we call on you to resist cutting or capping non-defense discretionary (NDD) funding in a manner that reduces education funding during the FY2024 appropriations process.
Sincerely,
Marc Egan
Director of Government Relations
National Education Association
