House Spending Panel Advances Measure that Cuts Education
On Wednesday, the House Appropriations Committee advanced its proposal for Fiscal Year 2025 for Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies (Labor-H). The bill, approved on a party-line vote with only Republican support, would cut spending for the U.S. Department of Education by $11 billion, or 13 percent. Title I would see a 25 percent reduction, impacting school personnel levels in low-income schools nationwide. According to a press release from Appropriations Committee Chairman Tom Cole (R-OK), additional cuts would be for “teacher training programs that send teachers to expensive weekend workshops, programs that support organizations that seek to undermine the unity of our country and programs that are duplicative or narrowly tailored to a small set of recipients.” Of the programs that CEC advocates for directly:
- IDEA Part B grants to states would receive $14.4 billion, a $20 million increase
Two critical programs would be significantly impacted:
- Mental Health Service Professional Demonstration grants and School-Based Mental Health Services grants would be cut from approximately $107 million each to $25 million each, insufficient to support all continuation awards- funds would be directed to school hardening initiatives and a new school resource officer program.
- Javits Gifted and Talented education grants would be eliminated.
All other programs would receive the same level of funding as last year, including:
- IDEA Part B preschool grants would receive $420 million
- IDEA Part C infants and toddlers grants would receive $540 million
- IDEA Part D personnel preparation would receive $115 million
National Center for Special Education Research would receive $64.3 million Lawmakers on both sides of the aisle have been explicit that IDEA programs would be protected. However, the decimation of other programs within public schools and the chronic underfunding of IDEA will further stress the ability to serve infants, toddlers, children, and youth with disabilities and address current personnel shortages.
The House bill is just one step in the process of finalizing funding for FY 2025. The Senate must still act, and a final bill must be sent to the President for approval.