Committee on Appropriations
Subcommittee on Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies
U.S. Senate
Washington, DC 20510
Dear Senator:
On behalf of our 3 million members and the 50 million students they serve, we would like to submit for the record the following comments in connection with today’s hearing on the FY2023 budget for the Department of Education.
We are pleased that President Biden’s FY2023 budget proposal would 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. In particular, we applaud the proposed:
- $20.5 billion for Title I discretionary programs. This 23 percent increase would be a major step toward fulfilling the President Biden’s pledge to triple Title I funding.
- $16.3 billion for IDEA state grants. The federal share would rise from 13 percent—the lowest level in 20 years—to 15 percent. While this amount is still far below the promised 40 percent, it would provide critical services for 7.4 million students in grades Pre-K through 12.
- $468 million for community schools. The largest increase ever in this area, the money would be invested in the Full-Service Community Schools program and in partnerships to provide integrated student supports.
- $2.14 billion for Title II effective instruction state grants. This increase is essential to address the educator shortage that is already at crisis levels, especially in certain subjects.
- $1 billion to strengthen mental health care. The COVID-19 pandemic and its aftermath have created a mental health crisis for students as well as educators.
- $514 million for the Education Innovation and Research program. Nearly 70 percent of the money would be used to identify ways to recruit and retain educators.
Tight budget controls severely constricted education funding for many years. As a result, ongoing education programs receive $7 billion less than they did a decade ago in inflation-adjusted terms.
The education funding increases in President Biden’s FY2023 budget proposal would begin to reverse this tragic trajectory. Please support them.
Sincerely,
Marc Egan
Director of Government Relations
National Education Association
