House and Senate majorities offer very different visions for (de)funding public education

After a statement from the subcommittee chair and opposition statements from numerous members of the minority Democratic party, the U.S. House Appropriations Subcommittee on Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education voted out its proposed subcommittee language to be added to the House budget bill at a recent meeting. On a party line vote, the subcommittee voted to move forward language that would cut $60 billion, including at least $20 billion in public education spending. Of that, $14.7 billion would come from a whopping 80% cut to Title I funding. The cut to Title I funding alone could force a nationwide reduction of 220,000 teachers from classrooms serving low-income students, including 23,000 Texas teachers.

In addition to the Title I cuts, the proposed language would:

• Eliminate funding for English Language Acquisition, a cut of $890 million that would remove vital academic support for 5 million English language learners (ELL) nationwide.
• Eliminate funding for Title II-A (Supporting Effective Instruction State Grants), a cut of $2.2 billion below the enacted level.
• Eliminate funding for Promise Neighborhoods, a grant program to help at-risk students.
• Eliminate funding for Social and Emotional Learning (SEL) grants within the Education Innovation and Research program.
• Eliminate funding for magnet schools (a public school-based school choice program).
• Eliminate federal ELL funding for 5 million students nationwide.
• Cut funding for Full-Service Community Schools by 33%.

Beyond the direct cuts to pre-k through 12^th grade federal education spending, the bill would also reduce funding relied on by many prospective teachers, including funding for federal collegiate work study programs. In total, the proposal cuts funding for over 50 programs and eliminates 60 more.

In contrast, the Senate—where Democrats hold a slim majority—has proposed an education budget that reduces Title I funding by only $67 million. Most other pre-K through grade 12 programs that would be cut or eliminated in the House proposal would be maintained at or near current funding levels in the Senate proposal.

An archived video of the House hearing can be viewed here, with statements beginning at approximately the 23-minute mark.