This article provides an update on the U.S. Senate committees' markup of its Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education (L-HHS-ED) Appropriations bill for fiscal year 2017. Key details about the bill are excerpted below from today's blog post by Elleka Yost, Government Affairs & Communications Coordinator, ASBO International. In her blog, Ms. Yost stated:
- “The Senate L-HHS-ED draft bill provides $161.9 billion in discretionary spending, which is $270 million below the FY2016 level and $2 billion below the Obama Administration’s FY2017 budget request. The bill appropriates $67.8 billion for the Department of Education (ED), which is $220 million less than what was appropriated for ED in FY2016.
- Title I Grants to Local Education Agencies would total $15.4 billion. However, while the proposed Title I level is $50 million above the combined FY2016 level for Title I and School Improvement Grants (SIG), it still represents a cut at the local level. The Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) absorbed SIG into Title I and increased the school improvement set-aside from 4% to 7%. Thus, even with the additional $50 million provided by the Senate L-HHS-ED appropriations subcommittee, $150 million will be cut from actual school district allocations, which means many districts will receive a smaller Title I allocation than they did in FY2016.
- Title IV-A's Student Support and Academic Enrichment Grant (SSAEG) would receive $300 million. ESSA Title IV-A is the new formula block grant to school districts that consolidates approximately 50 prior programs from No Child Left Behind (NCLB) to use for promoting a well-rounded curricula, improving school climates and learning environments, and to implement education technology in classrooms. This represents a $22 million increase over the combined FY2016 funding levels for the 50 consolidated programs. However it is significantly less than what Congress authorized Title IV-A funding at, $1.65 billion, and what the Obama administration requested in its FY2017 budget, $500 million.”
According to the Committee for Education Funding (CEF), proposed federal appropriations are based upon the sequester level cap that essentially freeze funding for nondefense discretionary (NDD) programs. ASBO International along with 117 other national education associations and institutions signed onto a letter drafted by CEF that urged funding be increased for ED and ESSA Title I and IV grants in the final FY2017 L-HHS-ED appropriations bill.
To access the U.S. Senate Majority News Release on this topic dated June 9, 2016, click on the link below.
http://www.appropriations.senate.gov/news/majority/fy2017-labor-hhs-and-education-appropriations-bill-cleared-for-senate-consideration
To access the U.S. Senate Minority News Release on this topic dated June 9, 2016, click on the link below.
http://www.appropriations.senate.gov/news/minority/mikulski-statement-at-full-committee-markup-of-fy17-labor-health-and-human-services-and-education-appropriations-bill
To read the Committee for Education funding letter to the U.S. Senate Appropriations Committee, click on the link below.
http://cef.org/cef-letter-on-fiscal-year-fy-2016-labor-hhs-education-appropriations-bill/