Learn more about school funding at the federal level.
New! from the U.S. Department of Education
The Federal Role in Education - Education in America is primarily a State and local responsibility. The U.S. Department of Education's budget is only a small part of both total national education spending and the overall Federal budget.
Federal Title I Allocations
Department of Education Budget Tables
Minnesota
May 2006 - Show us the money! An update on federal education funding (Power Point), Minnesota Rural Education Association.
March 2006 - Impact of the President’s Proposed 2007 Budget on Minnesota, Minnesota Budget Project.
How the Federal Budget Works
Check these resources for an overview of how the federal budget process works and when you can weigh in:
Center on Budget and Policy Priorities - Works at the federal and state levels on fiscal policy and public programs that affect low- and moderate-income families and individuals.
Budget and Appropriations: Background Information - Coalition on Human Needs.
Budget Advocacy Toolkit - Center for Community Change.
U.S. Department of Education
NCLB Section 9527. Prohibitions on Federal Government and Use of Federal Funds - Nothing in this Act shall be construed to authorize an officer or employee of the Federal Government to mandate, direct, or control a State, local educational agency, or school's curriculum, program of instruction, or allocation of State or local resources, or mandate a State or any subdivision thereof to spend any funds or incur any costs not paid for under this Act, U.S. Department of Education.
Even so, on May 12, 2006, the U.S. Department of Education threatened to withhold federal funds for failure to comply with NCLB highly qualified teacher requirements. Minnesota Department of Education quickly submits additional information showing 97.2% of Minnesota's elementary school classes and 94.8% of secondary school classes were taught by highly qualified teachers in the 2005-06 school year. Approximately 4,000 of 86,000 classes (4.7%) in the State were taught by non-highly qualified teachers. Nonetheless, the U.S. Department of Education was guarded in its May 18 response:
"Thank you for presenting this additional information in such a timely manner. The U.S. Department of Education now agrees that the MDE is, in general, implementing the HQT provisions of the statute and making an effort to meet the HQT goal. As a result, we will not require any grant conditions and do not anticipate imposing any sanctions on the MDE regarding this issue.
Nevertheless, the submitted data show that Minnesota is unlikely to meet the 100 percent HQT goal by the end of the current school year. The Department looks forward to reviewing the revised plan you will submit in July that details the specific steps you will take to reach the HQT goal in the 2006-07 school year."
Source: Improving Teacher Quality State Grants - U.S. Department of Education.
Budget News - Information on U.S. Department of Education funding, including congressional action on appropriations.
Additional Resources
Budget of the United States Government - U.S. Government Printing Office.
White House Office of Management and Budget:
Committee for Education Funding (CEF) - Working to achieve adequate federal support for our nation's education system.
- April 2007 - Budget Response FY 2008 - Congress Must Restore Cuts, Make Education a Top Budget Priority for the Success of America’s Students.
Federal Budget Issue Guide - Public Agenda Online.
Federally Funded Education Programs - Market Data Retrieval (a provider of marketing information and services for the education market).
National Center on Education Finance - Part of the National Conference of State Legislatures.
National Priorities Project - Data on the impact of federal spending policies.
- Income Tax Chart - Enter the amount of federal income tax you paid and see how the government spent the money.
- NPP Database - Federal expenditure data for states, cities, counties and school districts.
Thomas.gov - Legislative information from the Library of Congress.
Who to Contact in Washington - Minnesota's Congressional Delegation, Parents United.
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