U.S. Department of Education: Promoting Educational Excellence for all Americans

Fiscal Year 2010 Budget Summary — May 7, 2009

 

Section III. A.  Elementary and Secondary Education

 

Overview

The 2010 request for elementary and secondary education builds on the historic increases for education provided by the Recovery Act, and on the significant State level reforms promoted by the Recovery Act, to provide more targeted support in areas that President Obama has identified as critical for reforming our schools. For example, the request includes $800 million as part of a down payment on the President's Zero-to-Five initiative to improve early childhood education: $500 million for a new program of Title I Early Childhood Grants and $300 million for the first phase of the Early Learning Challenge Fund.

Another reform priority is supporting and rewarding teachers. Here, a key proposal is to provide a $420 million increase for the Teacher Incentive Fund—for a 2010 total of $517 million. These new resources would increase the incentive for States and school districts to reform educator compensation systems in order to reward successful teaching and school leadership, and to expand financial incentives for our best teachers and principals to work in our most challenging schools.

The 2010 request also supports turning around low-performing schools, with a special emphasis on comprehensive, research-based interventions in chronically low-performing schools, including the roughly 2,000 high school "dropout factories" that contribute disproportionately to the Nation's dropout crisis. The request provides $1.5 billion for Title I School Improvement Grants, an increase of $1 billion over the regular 2009 level, to continue helping States and school districts to expand their capacity to identify and implement effective turnaround strategies. The request also would require States to ensure that 40 percent of these funds are spent on improvement activities in middle and high schools. The Budget also includes an additional $100 million for the What Works and Innovation Fund, which will help identify, evaluate, and scale up proven strategies for improving student achievement and closing achievement gaps in low-performing schools.

Together with the Recovery Act, the 2010 request for elementary and secondary education would promote the reforms and improvements that show the most promise for improving student achievement and closing achievement gaps so that LEAs and schools can meet annual State proficiency targets.

Highlights of the 2010 budget for elementary and secondary education programs include:

 

Title I Grants to Local Educational Agencies

  2008 2009 2010
Request
 
B.A. in millions $13,898.9 $14,492.4 $12,992.4

The $13.0 billion request is $1.5 billion below the regular 2009 level, reflecting the unprecedented increase for Title I Grants to LEAs provided in the Recovery Act, much of which will be available in fiscal year 2010 (States received half of the $10 billion provided by the Recovery Act for Title I Grants to LEAs on April 1, 2009; the second half will be awarded in September 2009, and fiscal year 2010 begins October 1, 2009.). The 2010 request would maintain historically high levels of support for Title I Grants to LEAs while making available $1.5 billion for activities that focus more closely on efforts to turn around low-performing schools.

Title I Grants to LEAs provide supplemental education funding, especially in high- poverty areas, for locally designed programs that offer extra academic support to help raise the achievement of students at risk of educational failure or, in the case of schoolwide programs, to help all students in high-poverty schools meet challenging State academic standards. This formula-based program serves more than 20 million students in nearly all school districts and more than 54,000 public schools—including two-thirds of the Nation's elementary schools.

Title I schools help students reach challenging State standards through one of two models: "targeted assistance" that supplements the regular education program of individual children deemed most in need of special assistance; or a "schoolwide" approach that allows schools to use Title I funds—in combination with other Federal, State, and local funds—to improve the overall instructional program for all children in a school. More than 30,000 participating schools use the schoolwide approach.

Both schoolwide and targeted assistance programs must employ effective methods and instructional strategies grounded in scientifically based research, including activities that supplement regular instruction, such as after-school, weekend, and summer programs. Schools also must provide ongoing professional development for staff working with disadvantaged students and implement programs and activities designed to increase parental involvement.

Participating schools must make adequate yearly progress (AYP) toward annual, State- established proficiency goals aimed at ensuring that all students are proficient in reading and math by the 2013-14 school year. Schools that do not make AYP for at least 2 consecutive years must develop and implement improvement plans, and school districts must permit students attending such schools to transfer to a better-performing public school, with transportation provided by the district.

Schools that do not improve are subject to increasingly tough corrective actions—such as replacing school staff or significantly decreasing management authority at the school level—and can ultimately face restructuring, which involves a fundamental change in governance, such as conversion to a charter school or placement under private management. Students attending schools that have not made AYP for 3 or more years may obtain supplemental educational services (SES)—paid for by the district—from the public- or private-sector provider selected by their parents from a State-approved list.

Under section 1003(a) of the ESEA, States must reserve 4 percent of the Title I funds allocated to their LEAs for school improvement activities, and must subgrant 95 percent of these funds to LEAs with schools identified for improvement, corrective action, or restructuring. At the request level for Title I, States would reserve up to $520 million for school improvement activities. Additional funding for school improvement is available through the section 1003(g) Title I School Improvement Grants program described below.

School Improvement Grants
(BA in millions)

  2008 2009 2010
Request
 
School Improvement State Grants $491.3 $545.6 $1,515.6
Gulf Coast Recovery Grants 30.0
Total
491.3

545.6

1,545.6

The $1 billion increase requested for Title I School Improvement Grants (SIG) reflects the strong priority that the Administration is placing on identifying and implementing effective strategies for turning around low-performing schools and making sure that States and LEAs have the resources needed to meet the ambitious proficiency goals set by the ESEA. In addition, the request would require States to ensure that least 40 percent of their SIG allocations are spent on school improvement activities in their middle and high schools, unless the State can serve all eligible middle and high schools with a lesser amount. This targeting request reflects the Administration's determination to take immediate action to begin addressing the factors that contribute to the high school dropout crisis in American education.

The latest data from the "Promoting Power" project at the Johns Hopkins University's Center for Social Organization of Schools suggests that there are more than 2,000 high schools that graduate 60 percent or fewer of each entering 9th-grade class. These schools enroll an estimated 2.6 million students and, thus, account for nearly all of the roughly 1 million young people who drop out of high school each year. Nearly 60 percent of these so-called "dropout factories" have poverty rates of 40 percent or higher, and the Department believes that one-third or more are Title I schools that are virtually certain to be identified for improvement, corrective action, or restructuring. In addition, increasing the share of SIG funds used in middle schools makes sense because middle schools are almost twice as likely as elementary schools to be identified for improvement, corrective action, or restructuring (22 percent vs. 13 percent).

Section 1003(g) of the ESEA authorizes formula grants to States to fund local school improvement activities required by section 1116(b) of the ESEA for Title I schools that do not make adequate yearly progress for at least 2 consecutive years. Authorized activities include the development and implementation of school improvement plans, professional development for teachers and staff, corrective actions such as instituting a new curriculum, alternative governance under a restructuring plan, and the provision of public school choice and supplemental educational services options.

The increasing need for effective school improvement efforts is driven by the growing numbers of schools identified for improvement, corrective action, and restructuring. The likely trend is suggested by preliminary data from the 2007-2008 Consolidated State Performance Reports (CSPR) showing that the number of schools identified for all stages of improvement grew by more than 10 percent, from 11,511 schools in the school year 2007-2008 to 12,737 in school year 2008-2009.

These data mean that States and LEAs will quickly need to build and expand their capacity to support effective school improvement strategies, and, in particular, provide the more intensive and comprehensive interventions that will be required as increasing numbers of schools are subject to ESEA restructuring requirements. The number of schools identified for restructuring has nearly tripled over the past 3 years, from 1,727 schools in school year 2005-2006 to 5,018 in school year 2008-2009. Continuation of this trend could mean that roughly half of all Title I schools identified for improvement by the ESEA will be in restructuring as early as the 2009-2010 school year.

This bar graph shows that 1,727 schools were identified for restructuring in 2005-06; 2,302 schools in 2006-07; 3,923 schools in 2007-08, and 5,018 in 2008-09.

The 2010 request for School Improvement Grants also includes a $30 million set-aside for competitive awards to local educational agencies located in counties in Louisiana, Mississippi, and Texas that were designated by the Federal Emergency Management Agency as counties eligible for Individual Assistance due to damage caused by Hurricanes Katrina, Ike, or Gustav. Funds would be used to improve education through such activities as replacing instructional materials and equipment; paying teacher incentives; constructing, modernizing, or renovating school buildings; beginning or expanding Advanced Placement or other rigorous instructional curricula; starting or expanding charter schools, and supporting after-school or extended learning time activities.

What Works and Innovation Fund

  2008   2009   2010
Request
 
 
BA in millions   $650.0 1 $100.0  

   1Funds were provided under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009.

The What Works and Innovation Fund, first authorized by the Recovery Act, will support competitive grants to LEAs and partnerships between non-profit organizations and LEAs that have made significant progress in improving student achievement or other areas to scale up their work and serve as models of best practices. The additional $100 million requested for 2010, combined with Recovery Act funds, would support (1) the evaluation of promising new initiatives and approaches to determine if they are suitable for scaling up; (2) expanding the implementation of effective practices across districts and States; (3) supporting the development of "model districts" that use multiple evidence-based strategies to increase student achievement; and (4) leveraging partnerships with the private sector and the philanthropic community to develop, scale up, document, and disseminate best practices for improving student achievement.

Title I Early Childhood Grants

  2008 2009 2010
Request
 
B.A. in millions $500.0

This new program would make available $500 million for State matching grant funds that would serve as a powerful incentive for States and LEAs to use Title I Grants to LEA funding to implement or expand high-quality local early childhood education programs. Historically, just 2 percent of Title I funds have been spent on pre-K education, despite the decades of research demonstrating the positive impact of high-quality early childhood education on later academic performance and other economic and social outcomes. The unprecedented increase in Title I funding provided by the Recovery Act creates a unique opportunity for LEAs to make the investments needed to establish or expand high-quality pre-K programs that are fully coordinated with their existing Title I programs.

Under this proposal, the Department would make formula grants to States based on the proportional share of Title I, Part A funds received by their LEAs in fiscal year 2009, including Recovery Act funds. States would then provide matching grants to LEAs, with the match supplied by LEAs through the allocation of Recovery Act Title I funds to eligible early childhood programs.

Early Learning Challenge Fund

  2008 2009 2010
Request
 
B.A. in millions $300.0

This initiative would provide competitive grants to State educational agencies, or the agency in a State that administers early childhood programs, for the development of a statewide infrastructure of integrated early learning supports and services for children, from birth through age 5. This infrastructure would provide a pathway to a high standard of quality across all publicly funded early learning programs in the State. Grants would enable States to raise their standards, build systems that promote quality and ensure the effectiveness of their early learning programs, and monitor all publicly funded early childhood programs' performance against the State's standards. This program, a central component of the President's early education agenda, complements existing and proposed Federal investments in Head Start and Early Head Start, home visitation, the Child Care Development Fund, Title I preschool, and the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act.

States receiving an Early Learning Challenge Fund award would be required to develop and establish a system of research-based metrics and measures for addressing essential aspects of program quality, such as child health and safety, the effectiveness of the early learning environment, the qualifications of early education staff, research- based curricula, and program effectiveness, including child outcomes. Through the implementation of their grants, States would establish a pathway to high quality, beginning with a basic level of standards for licensing, and support the enhancement of programs as they progress to higher levels of quality over time.

This request would be the first of several years of investment. The Administration will propose authorizing language for this program and, assuming that States demonstrate promising results in ensuring the quality of their early childhood programs, will request additional funds in future years so that States can extend quality early childhood education to more children.

High School Graduation Initiative

  2008 2009 2010
Request
 
B.A. in millions $50.0

This new initiative would provide local educational agencies grants to support effective, sustainable, and coordinated strategies that will increase high school graduation rates, particularly in the "dropout factories" (and their feeder schools) that produce the great majority of high school dropouts. This proposal is consistent with the Administration's goal of increasing the number of students who graduate from high school prepared for the challenges of work and postsecondary education in the 21st Century. In addition to supporting a range of local activities, the fiscal year 2010 request would give the Department the opportunity to evaluate approaches to dropout prevention and high school completion in order to determine which are most effective and to identify and disseminate information on best practices.

State Assessments
(B.A. in millions)

  2008 2009 2010
Request
 
State Grants $400.0 $400.0 $400.0
Enhanced Assessment Instruments 8.7 10.7 10.7
Total
408.7

410.7

410.7

The request would maintain funding for State Assessments at the 2009 level to encourage and support State efforts to improve the quality of education through the development and adoption of better standards and assessments. Both the State Grants and Enhanced Assessment Instruments program would help begin the development and implementation of rigorous college- and career-ready standards and high-quality assessments that are valid and reliable for all students and measure not only basic skills, but also whether students possess 21st Century skills like problem-solving and critical thinking, entrepreneurship, and creativity. In particular, the request would support State efforts to improve the quality, transparency, and timeliness of their assessments so as to meet the reform objectives established by the State Fiscal Stabilization Fund.

Striving Readers
(B.A. in millions)

  2008 2009 2010
Request
 
Adolescent Literacy Grants $35.4 $35.4 $70.4
Early Literacy Grants 300.0
Total
35.4

35.4

370.4

The request would nearly double funding for activities supported by the existing Striving Readers program, which focuses on improving the skills of adolescent students reading below grade level, who often are at risk of dropping out of school because their poor reading skills affect their performance in all subject areas. The $70.4 million request for Adolescent Literacy Grants would fund up to 87 competitive awards for: (1) the development, implementation, and testing of research-based reading interventions designed to improve the reading skills of students reading significantly below grade level; and (2) rigorous evaluations, including evaluations that use experimental research designs, of reading interventions being implemented in the Nation's secondary schools.

In addition, the request would fund a new Early Literacy Grants demonstration program that would allow LEAs to test a variety of strategies designed to improve children's reading comprehension. Participating LEAs would implement comprehensive and coherent programs of reading instruction for children in the elementary grades that are grounded in scientifically based reading research, with an emphasis on building comprehension skills and on instruction in vocabulary development, oral language fluency, use of academic language, and writing skills. The $300 million request for this initiative would fund up to 70 grants.

Grantees would be required to use funds to: implement an evidence-based reading curriculum that supports differentiated instruction; use formative, diagnostic, and outcome assessments in determining where students need help in learning to read and in tracking student progress; pay salaries for teachers and reading coaches; provide high-quality professional development in reading for teachers, coaches, and administrators; and support reading interventions, including extended learning time, for students who require additional assistance. In addition, grantees would be permitted to provide professional development and technical assistance to non-participating schools within the eligible LEA in order to increase the impact of the project.

Early Reading First

  2008 2009 2010
Request
 
B.A. in millions $112.5 $112.5 $162.5

The $50 million increase requested for this program would support up to 52 new projects to help early childhood programs meet the challenges of preparing pre-school children for success in school by providing high-quality, research-based experiences in language and early literacy. These grants to school districts and non-profit organizations improve the instruction and environment provided by programs primarily serving young children living in poverty, including preschool programs supported by the Title I program, Head Start, and publicly funded or subsidized child care. Moreover, the statutorily required evaluation of the Early Reading First program found numerous positive effects, including improvements in children's print and letter knowledge, which justify an increased investment in the program. This program, along with the Early Learning Challenge Fund (a component of the Zero-to-Five initiative) and existing programs like Head Start, will be of great importance as the Administration pursues the President's commitment to expanding support for quality early childhood education

Improving Teacher Quality State Grants

  2008 2009 2010
Request
 
B.A. in millions $2,935.2 $2,947.7 $2,947.7

The ESEA required States and school districts to ensure that all teachers were highly qualified—as defined by individual States consistent with ESEA requirements—by the end of the 2005-2006 school year. While the States have not yet met this requirement, more than 90 percent of teachers nationwide are now highly qualified, and nearly all States have put in place comprehensive plans for meeting the 100 percent target. The Improving Teacher Quality State Grants program is a major source of flexible Federal funding to help States and school districts strengthen the skills of the teaching force, meet the highly qualified teacher requirement, and ensure the equitable distribution of qualified teachers across all schools. Program funds support high-quality professional development that research indicates can improve teaching skills that raise student achievement.

State-level activities may include changes to teacher certification or licensure requirements, alternative certification, tenure reform, merit-based teacher performance systems, and differential and bonus pay for teachers in high-need subject areas. School districts may use funds for professional development, recruitment and retraining of teachers and principals, merit pay, mentoring, and other activities.

The Department also would continue developing the knowledge base on teacher effectiveness by reserving up to $14.7 million (one-half of 1 percent) of the appropriation for evaluation and related activities.

Teacher Incentive Fund
(B.A. in millions)

  2008 2009 2010
Request
 
Teacher Incentive Fund $97.3 $97.3 $487.3
National Teacher Recruitment Campaign 30.0
Total
97.3

97.3

517.3

This program provides grants to encourage school districts and States to develop and implement innovative performance-based compensation systems that reward teachers and principals for raising student achievement and for taking positions in high-need schools. States and LEAs, either alone or in partnership with non-profit organizations, may apply for competitive grants to develop and implement performance-based compensation systems for public school teachers and principals. These compensation systems must be based primarily on measures related to student achievement.

The $420 million increase from the regular 2009 appropriation would support a significant expansion of State and school district efforts to develop and implement comprehensive strategies for strengthening the educator workforce and driving improvements in teacher effectiveness. Beginning with the competition that the Department will conduct this year with the $200 million in additional funds provided for this program by the Recovery Act, the Department will place a priority on the support of comprehensive, aligned approaches that support improved teacher and principal effectiveness and help ensure an equitable distribution of effective educators, that actively involve teachers (including special education teachers) and principals in the design of human capital and compensation systems, and that use data from emerging State and local longitudinal data systems to track outcomes and associate those outcomes with educator performance. In addition, the Administration is requesting language that would permit support for performance-based compensation to all staff in a school, because research indicates that this approach can be effective in raising performance across a variety of organizations. This proposed language would replace current language limiting performance-based compensation to teachers and principals.

In addition, the request includes $30 million to support the National Teacher Recruitment Campaign, a comprehensive effort by the Department, working with public and private non-profit partners, to reach out to potential candidates (including non-traditional candidates) for teaching positions, provide information on routes they can take to enter the profession, and support the development of training programs to help these candidates become qualified to teach.

Teacher Quality Partnership

  2008   2009   2010
Request
 
 
BA in millions $33.7 1 $50.0   $50.0  

   1Funds were provided for the antecedent program, Teacher Quality Enhancement Grants.

The Teacher Quality Partnership program will help improve the quality of teachers working in high-need schools and early childhood education programs by creating model teacher preparation programs and teaching residency programs. In 2009, the Department expects to award $143 million for 30-40 grants in its first competition under the reauthorized program, including $100 million in Recovery Act funds. The 2010 request would maintain support for 21 continuing grants and would fund 4 new Partnership grants.

Mathematics and Science Partnerships

  2008 2009 2010
Request
 
B.A. in millions $179.0 $179.0 $179.0

This program supports State and local efforts to improve students' academic achievement in mathematics and science by promoting strong teaching skills for elementary and secondary school teachers, including by integrating teaching methods based on scientifically based research and technology into the curriculum. Grantees may also use program funds to develop more rigorous mathematics and science curricula that are aligned with challenging State and local content standards; establish distance learning programs for mathematics and science teachers; and recruit individuals with mathematics, science, and engineering majors into the teaching profession through the use of signing and performance incentives, stipends, and scholarships.

Troops-to-Teachers

  2008 2009 2010
Request
 
B.A. in millions $14.4 $14.4 $14.4

The Troops-to-Teachers program helps to improve public school education by recruiting, preparing, and supporting members of the military service as teachers in high-poverty public schools. The Department of Defense administers the program through a Memorandum of Agreement with ED. A 2006 report by the Government Accountability Office found that the program contributes significantly to the diversity of the population of new teachers, with high percentages of men and minorities as participants. Teachers recruited through the Troops-to-Teachers program also teach math, science, and special education in significantly higher proportions than do public school teachers in general.

Transition to Teaching

  2008 2009 2010
Request
 
B.A. in millions $43.7 $43.7 $43.7

This program supports alternative routes to teacher certification and other innovative approaches for recruiting, training, and placing mid-career professionals, recent college graduates, and educational paraprofessionals in high-need schools and supporting them during their first years in the classroom. The request would support some 91 grants to help States and communities recruit and retain capable and qualified teachers in our Nation's public schools.

Teaching American History

  2008 2009 2010
Request
 
B.A. in millions $117.9 $119.0 $119.0

This program makes competitive grants to school districts for professional development to strengthen the teaching of traditional American history as a separate subject in elementary and secondary schools. The 2010 request would fund approximately 115 to 125 new awards, and national activities funds are requested to continue the operation of the National History Education Clearinghouse and to continue a 4-year national study launched in 2007 that is examining the relationship between participation in the Teaching American History program, increased teacher content knowledge, and student achievement.

School Leadership

  2008 2009 2010
Request
 
B.A. in millions $14.5 $19.2 $29.2

The request includes a $10 million increase to support district efforts to encourage successful school leaders to work in our lowest-performing schools. This increase reflects the Administration's conviction that there is a strong connection between school leadership and student achievement. The program provides competitive grants to assist high-need LEAs in recruiting, training, and retaining principals and assistant principals. The 2010 competition would support projects that (1) develop and implement incentives for principals with demonstrated effectiveness to take positions in low-performing high- need schools, and (2) provide training and mentoring to highly effective teachers to become principals in those schools.

Advanced Credentialing

  2008 2009 2010
Request
 
B.A. in millions $9.6 $10.6 $10.6

This program supports the development and implementation of advanced credentials based on the content expertise of master teachers. The request would support candidate subsidies and support and outreach activities of the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards, as well as the continued development of the Board's advanced credential for school leadership in elementary and secondary schools.

Teach for America

  2008 2009 2010
Request
 
B.A. in millions $15.0

This program would expand efforts by Teach for America, Inc. to recruit, select, train, and support outstanding recent college graduates who commit to serve as teachers for at least 2 years in high-need schools and districts in low-income urban and rural communities across the United States.

Title I State Agency Programs
(B.A. in millions)

  2008 2009 2010
Request
 
Migrant Education $379.8 $394.8 $394.8
Neglected and Delinquent 48.9 50.4 50.4
Total
428.7

445.2

445.2

Migrant Education State Grants provide formula-based assistance in meeting the special educational needs of approximately 537,000 children of migrant agricultural workers by helping States identify and pay the higher costs often associated with serving such children. The Department also uses a portion of funding to improve inter- and intra-State coordination of migrant education activities, including the Migrant Student Record Exchange System (MSIX), which enables States to exchange migrant student data records efficiently and expeditiously.

The Title I Neglected and Delinquent program provides formula grants to States in order to support education services for neglected and delinquent children and youth in local and State-run institutions, attending community day programs, and in correctional facilities. The request would help an estimated 132,000 neglected and delinquent students return to and complete school and obtain employment after they are released from State institutions.

English Language Acquisition
(B.A. in millions)

  2008 2009 2010
Request
 
Language Acquisition State Grants $649.9 $677.6 $677.6
National Activities 45.5 47.4 47.4
Native American Grants 5.0 5.0 5.0
Total
700.4

730.0

730.0

Title III of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act authorizes formula grants to States based on each State's share of the Nation's limited English proficient (LEP) and recent immigrant student population. Grants help States design and implement statewide activities to meet the educational needs of their LEP students. States must develop annual achievement objectives for LEP students that measure their success in achieving English language proficiency and meeting challenging State academic content and achievement standards.

In order to address the significant year-to-year variation in the child counts prepared by the Census Bureau, the Department is proposing to use counts taken over a 3-year period. In addition to the formula grants to States and the Outlying Areas, the State grants portion includes $5.0 million for competitive grants to assist school districts operated for Native American and Alaska Native children.

The request also would provide continued support for Title III National Activities, including the National Professional Development Project, the National Clearinghouse for English Language Acquisition and Language Instructional Programs, and evaluation activities. The Department funded 3 evaluations in 2008 and 2009, the results of which may inform follow-up studies in 2010.

Educational Technology State Grants

  2008 2009 2010
Request
 
B.A. in millions $267.5 $269.9 $100.0

This program supports State, district, and school efforts to integrate technology effectively into classroom with the goal of improving student academic achievement. The proposed reduction of $169.9 million from the regular 2009 appropriation reflects the significant amount of funds available under the Recovery Act, which provided $650 million for Educational Technology State Grants, that will be available for use through the 2010-2011 school year. The 2010 request would continue the policy of permitting States to use up to 100 percent of their allocations for competitive grants to local educational agencies. Competitive grants are made to high-need districts, or consortia that include such a district, in partnership with an entity having expertise in integrating technology effectively into curricula.

21st Century Community Learning Centers

  2008 2009 2010
Request
 
B.A. in millions $1,081.2 $1,131.2 $1,131.2

This program enables communities to establish or expand centers that provide extended student learning opportunities, such as before- and after-school programs, and provide related services to their families. The request would support an estimated 10,140 centers in communities across the Nation, which will provide children—particularly those who attend schools that have been identified as in need of improvement under Title I—with after-school care and enrichment that reinforce classroom learning. In addition, centers may provide other services, programs, and activities that complement students' regular academic studies, such as art, music, and recreation. Programs may also offer the families of students served with educational opportunities. At the requested level, the program would serve an estimated 1.6 million children and 250,000 adults. Of the participants who are children, an estimated 870,000 will attend for 30 days or more during the year.

Advanced Placement

  2008 2009 2010
Request
 
B.A. in millions $43.5 $43.5 $43.5

Title I, Part G of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act authorizes two programs: the Advanced Placement Test Fee program and the Advanced Placement Incentive program. The purpose of both programs is to support State and local efforts to increase access to Advanced Placement (AP) and International Baccalaureate (IB) classes and tests for low-income students. The statute requires the Secretary to give priority to funding the Advanced Placement Test Fee program, which helps States cover part or all of the AP or IB test fees for students from low-income families. Remaining funds are allocated to Advanced Placement Incentive grants to help States, LEAs, or non-profit organizations expand access to AP and IB courses through such activities as teacher training, course development, and the provision of course materials. Of the requested amount, an estimated $15.4 million will be required to fully fund State applications for the Test Fee program; remaining funds would support the continuation of Advanced Placement Incentive grants awarded in fiscal year 2008 and fiscal year 2009.

Promise Neighborhoods

  2008 2009 2010
Request
 
B.A. in millions $10.0

This new initiative would provide competitive, 1-year planning grants to non-profit, community-based organizations to support the development of plans for comprehensive neighborhood programs, modeled after the Harlem Children's Zone, designed to combat the effects of poverty and improve education and life outcomes for children, from birth through college. The core idea behind the initiative is that providing both effective schools and strong systems of support to children and youth in poverty and, thus, meeting their health, social services, and educational needs, will offer them the best hope for a better life. Grantees that develop promising plans and partnerships would be eligible to receive implementation grants the following year. The Department will encourage grantees to coordinate their efforts with programs and services provided by other Federal agencies, including the Departments of Housing and Urban Development, Health and Human Services, Justice, and the Environmental Protection Agency.

 

Smaller Learning Communities

  2008 2009 2010
Request
 
B.A. in millions $80.1 $88.0 $88.0

The Smaller Learning Communities program helps LEAs create smaller, more personalized learning environments in large schools. LEAs use the funds to, among other things: (1) study the feasibility of creating a smaller learning community or communities; (2) research, develop, and implement strategies for creating smaller learning communities; and (3) provide professional development for school staff in innovative teaching methods that would be used in the smaller learning community or communities. The 2010 request would support 55 continuation and 7 new awards that would support a total of 174 high schools.

Literacy Through School Libraries

  2008 2009 2010
Request
 
B.A. in millions $19.1 $19.1 $19.1

This program helps school districts improve literacy skills by providing students with increased access to up-to-date school library materials and professionally certified school library media specialists. The 2010 request would fund roughly 60 competitive grants that would support the efforts of libraries to help children learn to read well by making information available to all students, training students and teachers about how to obtain and make use of information, and increasing access to technology and information for students in low-income schools.

Charter Schools Grants

  2008   2009   2010
Request
 
 
B.A. in millions $211.0   $216.0   $268.0  

Charter School Grants increase public school choice options by supporting the planning, development, and initial implementation of public charter schools, as well as the dissemination of information on successful charter school practices. The request includes a $52 million increase that represents the first step in meeting the Administration's commitment to double financial support for the program over the next 4 years as part of its overall strategy of promoting successful models of school reform.

A portion of the appropriation (currently $12.7 million) supports the State Charter School Facilities Incentive Grants program, which assists charter schools with their facilities financing needs by providing matching funds to States that offer per-pupil financial assistance for charter school facilities.

Credit Enhancement for Charter School Facilities

  2008   2009   2010
Request
 
 
B.A. in millions $8.3 1 $8.3 1 $8.3 1

   1Funded through a reservation from the appropriation for Charter Schools Grants.

Expanding the number of charter schools is a key strategy for increasing the options available to parents seeking the best educational opportunities for their children. A major obstacle to the creation of charter schools in many communities is limited access to suitable academic facilities. The Credit Enhancement for Charter School Facilities program, funded through a reservation of $8.3 million from the Charter Schools Grants appropriation, provides competitive grants to public and non-profit entities that help charter schools secure the financing needed to purchase, construct, renovate, or lease academic facilities. For example, a grantee might provide guarantees and insurance on bonds and leases. The request would leverage an estimated $99 million and support approximately 14 charter schools over the course of the grants.

Magnet Schools Assistance

  2008 2009 2010
Request
 
B.A. in millions $104.8 $104.8 $104.8

The request would provide $102.5 million for new awards to approximately 40 local educational agencies to operate magnet schools that are part of a court-ordered or court- approved desegregation plan to eliminate, reduce, or prevent minority group isolation in elementary and secondary schools. Magnet schools address their desegregation goals by providing a distinctive educational program that attracts a diverse student population. The Department would reserve about $2.1 million for evaluation and dissemination activities.

Voluntary Public School Choice

  2008 2009 2010
Request
 
B.A. in millions $25.8 $25.8 $25.8

This program supports efforts to establish intradistrict and interdistrict public school choice programs to provide parents, particularly parents whose children attend low- performing public schools, with greater choice for their children's education. Competitive grants support planning and implementation costs associated with new programs, tuition transfer payments to public schools that students choose to attend, and efforts to expand the capacity of schools to meet the demand for choice. The Department made 14 new awards in 2007, with a priority for projects that provide interdistrict choice and aim to improve the academic achievement of secondary school students. The 2010 request would provide the fourth year of funding for these awards.

Fund for the Improvement of Education
(B.A. in millions)

  2008 2009 2010
Request
 
B.A. in millions $121.9 $116.0 $67.1

The Fund for the Improvement of Education (FIE) supports nationally significant programs to improve the quality of elementary and secondary education at the State and local levels and help all students meet challenging State academic achievement standards. The Budget would provide $47 million for new grant awards in the areas of history, civics, and government; reading readiness; and digital professional development. The goal is to develop projects with demonstrated evidence of effectiveness that have the potential for widespread adoption.

The request also would provide $3 million to continue a Data Quality Initiative that is working to improve the quality of Department evaluations and program performance data submitted by grantees in order to help ensure that program decisions are based on sound information; $5 million to pay for the continuation costs of Full-Services Community Schools demonstration grants; and $10.7 million to pay for the continuation costs of other grants awarded in 2009 or earlier. The decrease of $48.9 million reflects the elimination of one-time earmarks.

Foreign Language Assistance

  2008 2009 2010
Request
 
B.A. in millions $25.7 $26.3 $26.3

This program provides 3-year competitive grants to State educational agencies to support systemic approaches to improving foreign language learning in States, and to LEAs to establish, improve, and expand foreign language instruction. The Department has supported State and local proposals to provide instruction in critical foreign languages, defined as Arabic, Chinese, Japanese, Korean, and Russian, as well as languages in the Indic, Iranian, and Turkic families, in addition to the traditional foreign languages.

Congress provided approximately $2.4 million in fiscal year 2008 and an additional $7.4 million in fiscal year 2009 for 5-year grants to LEAs, in partnership with institutions of higher education, to establish or expand articulated programs of study in the critical foreign languages. These grants aim to enable students, as they advance through elementary and secondary school and then college, to attain a superior level of proficiency in languages critical to U.S. national security and economic prosperity. The budget request would expand this initiative in 2010, supporting 34 continuation awards and 9 new awards. The Department intends to also fund continuation awards to LEAs and SEAs under the regular program, plus approximately 38 new awards to LEAs.

Comprehensive Centers

  2008 2009 2010
Request
 
B.A. in millions $57.1 $57.1 $57.1

The Comprehensive Centers provide intensive technical assistance to increase the capacity of State educational agencies (SEAs) to help districts and schools implement ESEA programs and requirements and meet State targets for student achievement. The current system includes 16 regional centers that work with SEAs within specified geographic regions to help them implement ESEA school improvement measures and objectives. In addition, 5 content centers provide in-depth, specialized support in key areas, with separate centers focusing on (1) assessment and accountability; (2) instruction; (3) teacher quality; (4) innovation and improvement; and (5) high schools. Each content center pulls together resources and expertise to provide analyses, information, and materials in its focus area for use by the network of regional centers, SEAs, and other clients. Fiscal year 2009 is the fifth and final year of funding for the current grantees. Fiscal year 2010 funds would support a competition and first-year awards to the new set of grantees.

Parental Information and Resource Centers

  2008 2009 2010
Request
 
B.A. in millions $38.9 $39.3 $39.3

This program awards grants to provide training, information, and support to States, LEAs, and other organizations that carry out parent education and family involvement programs. The request would allow the program to maintain efforts to provide leadership, technical assistance, and financial support to nonprofit institutions and LEAs on the implementation of parental involvement policies, programs, and activities to improve student achievement.

Rural Education

  2008 2009 2010
Request
 
B.A. in millions $171.9 $173.4 $173.4

The Rural Education Achievement Program (REAP) authorizes two programs to assist rural school districts in carrying out activities to help improve the quality of teaching and learning in their schools. The Small, Rural School Achievement program provides formula funds to rural school districts that serve small numbers of students, and the Rural and Low-Income School program provides funds to rural school districts that serve concentrations of poor students, regardless of the district's size. Funds appropriated for REAP are divided equally between these two programs. The request would maintain support for rural, often geographically isolated, districts that face significant challenges in implementing ESEA accountability requirements.

Safe and Drug-Free Schools and Communities National Programs
(B.A. in millions)

  2008   2009   2010
Request
 
 
National activities $137.7   $140.3 1 $250.9  
Alcohol abuse reduction 32.4   32.7   32.7  
Total
170.1
2
173.0
2
283.6
2

   1Reflects a reprogramming of $1.3 million from the Mentoring program to National Activities.
   2Excludes amounts for the Mentoring program funded under Safe and Drug-Free Schools and Communities National Programs in 2008 and 2009, which is proposed for termination in 2010.

Teaching and learning to help students achieve rigorous, academic achievement standards and receive the high-quality education they need to compete in the global economy require that our schools are safe and our students are drug-free. Funds for Safe and Drug- Free Schools and Communities (SDFSC) National Activities support competitive grants and other discretionary activities to foster a safe, secure, and drug-free learning environment, facilitate emergency management and preparedness, and prevent drug use and violence by students at all educational levels. The 2010 request, including funds made available through the proposed elimination of the Character Education Program, provides a $110.6 million increase for National Activities.

Highlights of the request for National Activities include: $100 million for a major new initiative of grant assistance to support new approaches designed to change school culture and climate and thereby improve character and discipline and reduce drug use, crime, and violence; $40 million for school emergency preparedness initiatives forelementary and secondary schools and institutions of higher education; $77.8 million for grants to LEAs for comprehensive, community-wide "Safe Schools/Healthy Students" drug and violence prevention projects that are coordinated with local law enforcement and include mental health preventive and treatment services; $7.8 million for school- based drug testing programs for students; $8 million for drug prevention and campus safety programs at institutions of higher education, and $5 million to provide emergency response services to LEAs and IHEs under Project SERV (School Emergency Response to Violence).

The Alcohol Abuse Reduction program supports competitive grants to local educational agencies for projects in secondary schools to prevent under-age drinking. The request for the Alcohol Abuse Reduction program would fund $31 million in grants, along with $1.7 million in technical assistance from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration to assist grantees in developing and implementing innovative and effective programs.

Elementary and Secondary School Counseling

  2008 2009 2010
Request
 
B.A. in millions $48.6 $52.0 $52.0

This program provides grants to LEAs to establish or expand elementary school and secondary school counseling programs. The statute requires the Department give consideration to applications that demonstrate the greatest need for services, propose the most promising and innovative approaches, and show the greatest potential for replication and dissemination, and that the first $40 million in appropriated funds be used for elementary school counseling programs.

The presence of counselors in schools provides benefits for both students and teachers by helping to create a safe school environment, improve teacher effectiveness and classroom management, increase academic achievement, and promote student well-being and healthy development. The 2010 request would allow approximately 150 school districts to hire or train qualified school counselors, school psychologists, child and adolescent psychiatrists, and school social workers to provide students with beneficial counseling services, as well as support the development of innovative strategies for providing school counseling services that show potential for replication and dissemination.

Mental Health Integration in Schools

  2008 2009 2010
Request
 
B.A. in millions $4.9 $5.9 $6.9

This program provides grants to State educational agencies, LEAs, and Indian tribes to increase student access to mental health services by supporting programs that link school systems with the local mental health system. The request, which consolidates funding from the Foundations for Learning program with the Mental Health Integration program, would support new awards for comprehensive efforts that link school-based systems with local mental health service systems to the delivery of prevention, diagnostic, and treatment services as well as crisis intervention and consultation services for children and their families.

Physical Education Program

  2008 2009 2010
Request
 
B.A. in millions $75.7 $78.0 $78.0

This program provides grants to LEAs and community-based organizations to pay the Federal share of the costs of initiating, expanding, and improving physical education (PE) programs (including after-school programs) for students in kindergarten through 12th grade, in order to make progress toward meeting State standards for physical education. Funds may be used to provide equipment and support to enable students to participate actively in physical education activities and for training and education for teachers and staff. Awards are competitive, typically for 3 years, and the Federal share may not exceed 90 percent of the total program cost for the first year of the project and 75 percent for each subsequent year. The request would enable the program to continue 192 grants and make 80-130 new awards, which will support implementation of community-wide strategies to increase child fitness, address the serious issue of childhood obesity, and help children develop more healthy lifestyles.

National Writing Project

  2008 2009 2010
Request
 
B.A. in millions $23.6 $24.3 $24.3

This program makes a single, non-competitive award to the National Writing Project. The National Writing Project is a nationwide non-profit educational organization that promotes and supports K-16 teacher training programs in the effective teaching of writing. The 2010 request would support on-going grantee activities.

Ready-to-Learn Television

  2008 2009 2010
Request
 
B.A. in millions $23.8 $25.4 $25.4

This program makes competitive awards to support the development and distribution of educational video and related outreach materials for preschool children, elementary school children, and their parents that are intended to improve school readiness and academic achievement. Programming grantees are required to develop, produce, and distribute age-appropriate educational programming and curricula that utilize scientifically based reading research for children ages 2 through 8 years old, along with their parents and caregivers. The 2010 request would support between 2 and 3 new awards to support the development of RTL children's television programming content and outreach activities and materials.

Reading is Fundamental

  2008 2009 2010
Request
 
B.A. in millions $24.6 $24.8 $24.8

This program funds a contract with Reading is Fundamental, Inc. (RIF) to provide aid to local nonprofit groups and volunteer organizations that serve low-income children through book distribution and reading motivation activities. RIF is a nonprofit literacy organization promoting book ownership, motivational activities, and family and community involvement in children's reading. In selecting its nonprofit recipients, RIF must give priority to groups that serve children with special needs, such as children from low-income families, homeless children, and children with disabilities. The request would support RIF's activities at over 16,000 sites and help deliver over 14.6 million books to children across the Nation.

Excellence in Economic Education

  2008 2009 2010
Request
 
B.A. in millions $1.4 $1.4 $1.4

This program supports a competitive grant to a national nonprofit education organization to promote economic and financial literacy among students in kindergarten through grade 12. The request would continue support for teacher training; economics curriculum development; evaluations on the impact of economics education on students; research on economics education; the creation of school-based student activities to promote consumer, economic, and personal finance education; and the replication of best practices in the effective teaching of economics and financial literacy education. Program funds must be used to supplement other Federal, State, and local funds spent for economics and financial literacy and subgrant recipients must secure a 50-percent match from non-Federal sources.

Arts in Education

  2008 2009 2010
Request
 
B.A. in millions $37.5 $38.2 $38.2

This program makes grants to support the development, documentation, evaluation, and dissemination of innovative models that seek to integrate and strengthen arts instruction in elementary and middle schools, as well as grants to support the development of model professional development programs for music, dance, drama, and visual arts educators. In addition, the program funds VSA Arts, a national organization that sponsors programs to encourage the involvement of persons with disabilities in arts programs, and the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts for its arts education programs for children and youth. The request would provide approximately $14.7 million for model development and dissemination grants, $7.8 million for professional development, and $15.5 million for VSA Arts and the Kennedy Center.

Indian Education
(B.A. in millions)

  2008 2009 2010
Request
 
Grants to Local Educational Agencies $96.6 $99.3 $99.3
Special Programs for Indian Children 19.1 19.1 19.1
National Activities 3.9 3.9 3.9
Total
119.6

122.3

122.3

Indian Education programs supplement the efforts of State and local educational agencies and Indian tribes to improve educational opportunities for Indian children. The programs link these efforts to broader educational reforms underway in States and localities in order to ensure that Indian students benefit from those reforms and achieve to the same challenging academic standards as other students.

Grants to Local Educational Agencies provide formula grants to public and Department of the Interior/Bureau of Indian Education-supported schools for activities to improve the educational achievement of Indian students. Special Programs for Indian Children includes $8.7 million in competitive grants for the American Indian Teacher Corps and the American Indian Administrator Corps, to support training of Indians to become teachers and administrators in schools that serve concentrations of Indian children, and $10.2 million for competitive demonstration grants to improve educational opportunities for Indian children in such areas as early childhood education and college preparation.

The request also provides $3.9 million for National Activities, which funds research, evaluation, and data collection designed to fill gaps in our understanding of the educational status and needs of Indians and to identify educational practices that are effective with Indian students. The program also provides technical assistance to school districts and other entities receiving Indian Education formula and discretionary grants.

Education for Native Hawaiians

  2008 2009 2010
Request
 
B.A. in millions $33.3 $33.3 $33.3

This program supports the provision of supplemental education services to the Native Hawaiian population by awarding competitive grants to eligible applicants for a variety of authorized activities in such areas as teacher training, family-based education, gifted and talented education, special education, higher education, and community-based education learning centers. The program also supports the activities of the Native Hawaiian Education Council, which helps coordinate the educational and related services and programs available to Native Hawaiians. The request would support approximately 33 new awards.

Alaska Native Education Equity

  2008 2009 2010
Request
 
B.A. in millions $33.3 $33.3 $33.3

The Alaska Native Education Equity program supports supplemental educational programs and services to Alaska Natives by awarding competitive grants to eligible applicants for a variety of authorized activities, including the development and implementation of curricula and educational programs, professional development activities for educators, the development and operation of home instruction programs that help ensure the active involvement of parents in their children's education, family literacy services, student enrichment programs in science and mathematics, and dropout prevention programs. The request would primarily support the continuation of existing grants, but also would fund approximately 19 new grants.

Exchanges with Historic Whaling and Trading Partners

  2008 2009 2010
Request
 
B.A. in millions $8.8 $8.8 $8.8

This program supports culturally based educational activities, internships, apprenticeship programs, and exchanges for Alaska Natives, Native Hawaiians, the people of Massachusetts, and any federally recognized Indian tribe in Mississippi. Activities include artifact exchanges, the development of culture-based learning models, collaborative research, teacher-driven curriculum development, and publishing print and web resources. Other, site-specific initiatives include exhibits, internships and apprenticeships, live cultural displays such as music and dance, gallery talks, guided tours, storytelling, and examinations of primary source material.

Education for Homeless Children and Youths

  2008 2009 2010
Request
 
B.A. in millions $64.1 $65.4 $65.4

This program provides formula grants to States, which subgrant most funds to LEAs for tutoring, transportation, and other services that help homeless children to enroll in, attend, and succeed in school. In addition to academic instruction, the program helps ensure access for these children to preschool programs, special education, and gifted and talented programs.

While nearly all States have eased residency requirements and improved transportation and immunization policies to ensure greater access for homeless students over the past decade, those students continue to be at significant risk of educational failure. The request, which would maintain support for State and local activities designed to reduce that risk, would be in addition to the $70 million provided for Education for Homeless Children and Youths by the Recovery Act to help ensure that LEAs have sufficient resources to meet educational needs of growing numbers of homeless students during the current economic decline.

Special Programs for Migrant Students

  2008 2009 2010
Request
 
B.A. in millions $33.3 $34.2 $36.7

Special Programs for Migrant Students include the High School Equivalency Program (HEP), which funds competitively selected projects to help low-income migrant and seasonal farm workers gain high school diplomas or equivalency certificates, and the College Assistance Migrant Program (CAMP), which makes competitive grants to provide stipends and special services, such as tutoring and counseling, to migrant students who are in their first year of college. The 2010 request, a $2.5 million increase, would support approximately 44 HEP projects and 40 CAMP projects, as well as outreach, technical assistance and professional development activities.

Supplemental Education Grants (Compact of Free Association Amendments Act)

  2008 2009 2010
Request
 
B.A. in millions $17.7 $17.7 $17.7

The request would maintain support for Supplemental Education Grants to the Federated States of Micronesia (FSM) and the Republic of the Marshall Islands (RMI), as authorized by the Compact of Free Association Amendments Act of 2003 (P.L. 108-188). Under this program, the Department transfers funds and provides recommendations on funding to the Department of the Interior, which makes grants to the FSM and RMI for educational services that augment the general operations of the educational systems of the two entities.

P.L. 108-188 eliminated RMI and FSM participation in most domestic formula grant programs funded by the Departments of Education, Health and Human Services, and Labor, and created this program to supplement separate education support programs under the Compact. The request would allow the RMI and FSM to support programs that focus on improving the educational achievement of students in the two Freely Associated States.

Impact Aid
(B.A. in millions)

  2008 2009 2010
Request
 
Payments for Federally Connected Children:      
  Basic Support Payments $1,105.5 $1,128.5 $1,128.5
  Payments for Children with
    Disabilities
48.6 48.6 48.6
       
Facilities Maintenance 4.9 4.9 4.9
Construction 17.5 17.5 17.5
Payments for Federal Property 64.2 66.2 66.2
Total
1,240.7

1,265.7

1,265.7

The Impact Aid program provides financial support to school districts affected by Federal activities. The property on which certain children live is exempt from local property taxes, denying districts access to the primary source of revenue used by most communities to finance education. Impact Aid helps to replace the lost local revenue that would otherwise be available to districts to pay for the education of these children.

The $1.1 billion request for Basic Support Payments would provide formula grants for both regular Basic Support Payments and Basic Support Payments for Heavily Impacted LEAs.

The $48.6 million request for Payments for Children with Disabilities would provide formula grants to help eligible districts meet their obligations under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act to provide a free appropriate public education for federally connected children with disabilities.

The Department of Education owns and maintains 24 school facilities that serve large numbers of military dependents. The $4.9 million request for Facilities Maintenance would fund essential repair and maintenance of these facilities and allow the Department to continue to transfer schools to local school districts.

School districts also generally pay for most of their school construction costs using their own resources and rely on property taxes to finance these costs. Districts affected by Federal operations have limited access to those sources of funding. Continuing the policy established in the fiscal year 2008 appropriation, the entire $17.5 million proposed for Construction would be used for competitive grants, rather than the formula grants that are also currently authorized under the program. Unlike the formula grants, the competitive grants are targeted to the LEAs with the greatest need and provide sufficient assistance to enable those LEAs to make major repairs and renovations.

The $66.2 million request for Payments for Federal Property would provide formula-based payments to districts that generally have lost 10 percent or more of their taxable property to the Federal Government.

Training and Advisory Services (Title IV of the Civil Rights Act)

  2008 2009 2010
Request
 
B.A. in millions $7.0 $9.5 $7.0

This program supports 10 regional Equity Assistance Centers, selected competitively, that provide services to school districts on issues related to discrimination based on race, gender, and national origin. Typical activities include disseminating information on successful practices and legal requirements related to nondiscrimination, providing training to educators to develop their skills in specific areas, such as in the identification of bias in instructional materials, and technical assistance on selection of instructional materials. The fiscal year 2009 appropriation included an additional $2.5 million to support school districts affected by the 2007 Supreme Court decision prohibiting student assignment plans that use race as a factor. The Department will make one-time awards that will enable school districts to obtain assistance in developing and implementing student assignment plans that comply with the Supreme Court decision while maintaining integrated and diverse schools. The request would support the third and final year of funding for the current grantees, as well as the annual administration of a customer satisfaction survey and an analysis of its results.

Women's Educational Equity

  2008 2009 2010
Request
 
B.A. in millions $1.8 $2.4 $2.4

This program makes competitive awards to a variety of public and private organizations, agencies, and institutions to promote gender equity in education through projects involving the design and implementation of gender-equity policies and practices. Research, development, and dissemination activities also may be funded. The request would fund continuation awards for grants made in fiscal year 2009.

Recovery Act  Table of contents  Special Education and Rehabilitative Services

 

For further information contact the ED Budget Service.

This page last modified—May 7, 2009 (mjj).