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Department of Education FY10 Budget Request Briefing Materials

Department of Education FY10 Budget Request Briefing Materials

Press Release

The U.S. Department of Education’s FY 2010 $47.6 billion budget proposal will advance President Obama’s agenda to reform the nation’s schools while making fiscally responsible decisions to cut ineffective programs and unnecessary personnel, U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan said in releasing the budget today.

“This budget makes tough decisions, investing in the programs that will deliver results in student learning while ending ones that aren’t working,” Duncan said. “It will give educators the resources they need to turn around the schools in the most trouble, and it will build a foundation for success in school for our youngest citizens.”

The Secretary added that the proposed budget will abolish funding for 12 programs that research has found to be ineffective, saving $550 million. It also will cut 10 positions in the U.S. Department of Education’s regional offices so that resources can be redirected to the Obama administration’s agenda to reform schools.

The Department’s FY 2010 proposed budget will build on the investments already made in the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) to improve teacher effectiveness, turn around struggling schools, and give preschoolers the skills they need to prepare for kindergarten. Specifically, the budget will:

  • Provide $1.5 billion for Title I School Improvement Grants to give states and school districts resources to create and implement comprehensive, research-based plans for the growing numbers of schools identified for improvement, corrective action, or restructuring. The money in the FY 2010 budget proposal will be in addition to the $3 billion available for the program in FY 2009 and FY 2010 through the ARRA.
  • Allocate $517 million to the Teacher Incentive Fund, which stimulates state and local work to improve the education workforce, with an emphasis on rewarding principals, teachers, and other school personnel who raise student achievement, close achievement gaps, and work in hard-to-staff schools. The program received $200 million in the ARRA and $100 million in FY 2009.
  • Create new programs that ensure students are prepared to enter school, including $500 million for Title I Early Childhood Grants, which will encourage districts to spend money under the ARRA to start or expand preschool programs, and the $300 million for the Early Learning Challenge Fund, which will help states create or refine systems for rating and improving the quality of preschool education.

The Secretary noted that the FY 2010 proposed budget will dramatically increase the federal government’s commitment to making college affordable and accessible to all students. In February, the Department announced that it would increase the maximum award under the federal Pell Grant program to $5,500 for FY 2010 and would guarantee that the grant would increase by the rate of inflation plus one percent in future years.

The Department also is committed to improving the reliability, stability, and efficiency of college loans by providing those loans directly from the federal government through the same electronic system that colleges use for Pell Grants. The changes would produce $4 billion in savings by reducing entitlement subsidies currently paid to banks and private companies.

Information on the U.S. Department of Education FY 2010 budget request briefing materials areĀ available.