Center for American Progress

RELEASE: House Republicans’ Proposed Budget Would Eviscerate Public Education Funding
Press Release

RELEASE: House Republicans’ Proposed Budget Would Eviscerate Public Education Funding

Washington, D.C. — A funding bill pushed by Republican leadership in the U.S. House of Representatives would upend federal investments in public education and workforce development, jeopardizing opportunities for the next generation of Americans.

As the House prepares to consider the funding plan, new analysis from the Center for American Progress shows just how severely the proposed budget cuts would affect key federal education and workforce programs, disproportionately affecting students in vulnerable populations.

Specifically, the cuts proposed by House Republicans include:

  • Cutting $14.7 billion—or nearly 80 percent—from Title I of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA), which would greatly deepen resource and achievement gaps for low-income students and students of color.
  • Cutting $35 million from the U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights—or 25 percent of its total budget.
  • Eliminating funding for Title II-A of the ESEA, which in 2023 awarded $2.19 billion in state grants to support teacher and staff recruitment, training, and professional development opportunities.
  • Ending funding for Title III of the ESEA, which supports programs geared toward the more than 5 million English learners who make up 10 percent of the nation’s K-12 population.
  • Removing more than $948 million for the youth program in Title I of the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act, which serves young people ages 16 to 24 who face barriers to employment.
  • Erasing the $1.23 billion Federal Work-Study Program, which in 2022 financed on- and off-campus jobs for more than 600,000 college students.
  • Reducing funds for student aid administration by 13 percent—or nearly $265 million.

Federal programs that support K-12 students, underserved youth, and college affordability are vital to the economic health of the nation and deserve continued improvement and investment. Instead, House Republicans have proposed a funding plan that would do just the opposite. This column outlines why it’s imperative for Congress to reject the House budget plan and ensure America’s future remains bright for the next generation.

“More than one-third of the nation’s K-12 students rely on Title I funds for their education—students who disproportionately identify as people of color,” said Allie Pearce, policy analyst for K-12 Education at the Center for American Progress and co-author of the column. “What’s more, eliminating Title I funds would force schools to lay off as many as 226,000 teachers and staff.”

“Eliminating integral need-based forms of aid for college students would push some students off the path to graduation and saddle others with debt at a time when the nation already has a $1.6 trillion student debt crisis,” said Marcella Bombardieri, senior fellow for Higher Education Policy at CAP and co-author of the column.

Read the column: “House Republican Budget Threatens Public Education and Opportunity for Young People” by Paige Shoemaker DeMio, Allie Pearce, Tania Otero Martinez, and Marcella Bombardieri

For more information on this topic or to speak with an expert, contact Em Espey at [email protected].

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