Washington Update, July 16, 2024
Dear Colleagues:
1.House Labor-HHS-Education Appropriations Committee Approved the FY 2025 Appropriations Bill
This week, the House Labor-HHS-Education Appropriations Committee approved the FY 2025 appropriations bill on a party-line vote. The bill allocates $68.1 billion for the Department of Education, which is $11 billion (13%) less than current levels. Republican members voted to reduce funding for Title I by nearly $5 billion and eliminate funding for:
• Teacher Quality Partnership Grants
• Hawkins Centers of Excellence
• Title II Supporting Effective Instruction State Grants
• Title III English Language Acquisition Grants
The bill maintains funding for the Education Innovation and Research (EIR) fund and IDEA personnel preparation but also cuts funding for the National Registered Apprenticeship program.
Additionally, the bill includes policy provisions that:
• Block nondiscrimination policies based on gender identity or sexual orientation.
• Prevent the implementation of student loan regulations by the Department of Education
• Block funding related to Critical Race Theory
• Halt the Department of Labor’s proposed rule on apprenticeships.
Critical Programs Related to Educator Preparation
The National Center for Special Education Research was also level funded at $64M.
Lawmakers from both parties have clearly stated that IDEA programs will be protected. However, significant cuts to other public-school programs and the persistent underfunding of IDEA will exacerbate the challenges of serving infants, toddlers, children, and youth with disabilities, and worsen existing personnel shortages.
In a press release, Democrats from the House Appropriations Committee highlighted the potential harmful impacts of the bill on education, including but not limited to:
• Kick teachers out of classrooms. Under this bill, during a severe nationwide teacher shortage, 72,000 teachers could be removed from classrooms serving low-income students due to House Republican cuts to Title I.
• Eliminate services for English learners. The House Republican bill eliminates federal support for vital academic services for 5,500,000 English learners through the elimination of English Language Acquisition (Title III).
• Slash Federal Work Study in half. The bill cuts Federal Work Study for 330,000 students who need it to help finance a postsecondary education, limiting their potential earnings and future success in the job market.
• Slash need-based financial aid in half. The House Republican bill takes away need-based financial aid for 833,000 students through deep cuts to Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grants (SEOG).
• Eliminate youth employment opportunities. The bill eliminates WIOA Youth Job Training, which would deny job training and employment services for 134,000 youth who face barriers to finding a good paying job.
• Slash adult employment opportunities. The bill cuts WIOA Adult Job Training, which would deny job training and employment services for 250,000 adults who face barriers to finding a good paying job.
The press release also has a fact sheet for each state indicating exactly the impact these cuts could have. I will use Oklahoma as an example, but I encourage you to check out the fact sheets, using the link above, for your own states and use this during your advocacy efforts.
In Oklahoma, the extreme House Republican bill would:
• Kick teachers out of classrooms. Under this bill, during a severe nationwide teacher shortage, 910 teachers could be removed from classrooms serving low-income students in Oklahoma due to House Republican cuts to Title I.
• Eliminate services for English learners. The House Republican bill eliminates federal support for vital academic services for 66,000 English learners in Oklahoma through the elimination of English Language Acquisition (Title III).
• Slash Federal Work Study in half. The bill cuts Federal Work Study for 3,100 students who need it in Oklahoma to help finance a postsecondary education, limiting their potential earnings and future success in the job market.
• Slash need-based financial aid in half. The House Republican’s bill takes away need based financial aid for 8,000 students in Oklahoma through deep cuts to Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grants (SEOG).
• Eliminate youth employment opportunities. The bill eliminates WIOA Youth Job Training, which would deny job training and employment services for 900 youth in Oklahoma who face barriers to finding a good paying job.
• Slash adult employment opportunities. The bill cuts WIOA Adult Job Training, which would deny job training and employment services for 1,700 adults in Oklahoma who face barriers to finding a good paying job.
The House bill is only an initial step in finalizing FY 2025 funding. The Senate still needs to act, and the final bill must be approved by the President…we have a long way to go with a Presidential election on the horizon and August recess looming. Stay tuned as your advocacy will be critical in the coming months.
2. Democrats Introduce a Bill to Double the Maximum Pell Grant Award
Democrats introduced a bill on Thursday to nearly double the maximum Pell Grant award, index it to inflation, and expand the program for low-income college students. Senators Hirono, Murray, Reed, and Whitehouse introduced the Senate version, while Representatives Pocan and Scott introduced the House version.
Currently, the maximum Pell Grant for 2024-2025 is $7,395. The new bill proposes increasing it to $10,000 for 2025-2026 and nearly doubling it to $14,000 over five years. The bill aims to make Pell Grant funding mandatory, as it is currently discretionary and subject to congressional appropriation each budget cycle.
The bill faces challenges in the GOP-controlled House due to its cost, with the Department of Education requesting $34 billion for Pell Grants in 2025. Critics argue that increasing government spending is problematic. Concerns about a potential shortfall in the program by 2026 have been eased by recent Congressional Budget Office projections, suggesting the shortfall may not be as imminent. The bill's authors aim to stabilize the program and ensure continued support for students.
3. NCSER’s FY2025 Requests for Applications are Now Open
NCSER’s FY2025 Requests for Applications are now open for Special Education Research Grants and Research Training Programs in Special Education competitions. More information about applying for NCSER grants is available on the IES Funding Opportunities webpage. In a Message from the NCSER Commissioner blog, Nathan Jones explains the fiscal context for decisions about the FY2024 awards and FY2025 RFAs.
Congress and Washington Update are on recess next week, returning July 26th.
Until next time, see you on X!
Kait
@brennan_kait
Have a question about Washington Update? Want to talk education policy? Have an interesting story? Ping me, let’s have a virtual coffee: kbrennan@kbstrategies.org
