Statement from the American Federation of School Administrators President Dr. Leonard Pugliese:
The extreme education budget cuts announced today by the House Appropriations Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies subcommittee represent a grave disservice to America’s children and create a significant setback to the future of our nation.
Education is the cornerstone of a thriving society, and investing in our children’s education should be a top priority. These budget cuts not only undermine the potential of our students, but they also hinder any progress toward offsetting the post-COVID-19 learning loss that is being experienced in schools across this nation.
Our children deserve better than a diminished future due to inadequate funding of vital education programs.
Furthermore, cutting education funding disproportionately impacts low-income communities, perpetuating educational inequities and limiting opportunities for those who need them the most.
We think education should be a top priority for our nation. Cutting education funding is a short-sighted approach that will hinder our collective progress and limit the potential of future generations. Instead, we urge Congress to prioritize education and work toward increasing investments in our schools.
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Legislative Details
For 2024, the bill provides $163.0 billion, a cut of $63.8 billion—28%—from 2023. This year’s Republican allocation was the lowest for the Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies bill since 2008. The legislation:
- Decimates support for children in K–12 elementary schools and early childhood education.
- Abandons college students and low-income workers trying to improve their lives through higher education or job training.
- Stifles lifesaving biomedical innovation by cutting funding for cancer research, mental health research and neurological research, and by slashing funding for advanced research projects intended to develop new cures and therapies.
- Surrenders to ongoing public health crises in mental health, opioid use, HIV/AIDS and health disparities.
- Harms women’s health by cutting programs that support maternal and child health, eliminating programs that provide access to health services and contraception, and adding numerous partisan and poison pill riders related to abortion and reproductive health.
The bill includes a total of $57.1 billion in discretionary appropriations for education, a cut of $22.5 billion—28%—below the FY 2023 enacted level. Of this amount:
- The bill includes $3.7 billion for Title I Grants to Local Educational Agencies, a cut of $14.7 billion below the FY 2023 enacted level. This cut could force a nationwide reduction of 220,000 teachers from classrooms serving low-income students.
- The bill eliminates funding for English Language Acquisition, a cut of $890 million that would remove vital academic support for 5 million English learners nationwide.
- The bill eliminates funding for Title II-A (Supporting Effective Instruction State Grants), a cut of $2.2 billion below the enacted level.
- The bill eliminates funding for Promise Neighborhoods, a cut of $91 million below the enacted level.
- The bill eliminates funding for Social and Emotional Learning (SEL) grants within the Education Innovation and Research program, a cut of $87 million below the enacted level.
- The bill eliminates funding for Magnet Schools, a cut of $139 million below the enacted level.
- The bill includes $100 million for Full-Service Community Schools, a cut of $50 million below the enacted level.
- The bill fails to provide an increase for the maximum Pell Grant award for the first time since 2012.
- The bill eliminates funding for Federal Work Study, a cut of $1.2 billion that would eliminate work-based assistance to 660,000 students nationwide.
- The bill eliminates funding for Federal Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grants, a cut of $910 million that would eliminate need-based financial aid for 1.7 million students nationwide.
- The bill includes $1.8 billion for Student Aid Administration, a cut of $265 million below the enacted level.
- The bill eliminates funding for Teacher Quality Partnerships, a cut of $70 million below the enacted level.
- The bill eliminates funding for Child Care Access Means Parents in School, a cut of $75 million below the enacted level.
- The bill eliminates funding for Hawkins Centers of Excellence, a cut of $15 million below the enacted level.
- The bill eliminates funding for Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCU), Tribal Colleges and Universities (TCU() and Minority Serving Institutions (MSI) Research and Development Infrastructure Grants, a cut of $50 million below the enacted level.
- The bill includes $105 million for the Office for Civil Rights, a cut of $35 million below the enacted level.
