On May 7th, President Obama released the first installment of his budget proposal for the fiscal year (FY) 2010, spelling out his fiscal priorities and recommendations. The roughly $3.7 trillion plan contains the nitty-gritty details the House and Senate Appropriations committees will need to put together their annual spending bills later this year. The President used a summarized version of his budget proposal in February to highlight his main priorities for the year: overhauling health care, addressing climate change, and making college more affordable. While Democratic appropriators largely share Obama’s priorities, some differences over spending, major and minor, are bound to emerge.

Department of Education Budget

The President spending plan includes $46.7 billion for the U.S. Department of Education. At a briefing for Washington-based advocacy and policy groups, including ACA, Secretary of Education Arne Duncan stated: "This budget makes tough decisions, investing in the programs that will deliver results in student learning while ending ones that aren't working," It will give educators the resources they need to turn around the schools in the most trouble, and it will build a foundation for success in school for our youngest citizens."

The proposed budget would abolish funding for 12 programs that ED research has found to be ineffective, saving $550 million.

The Department's FY 2010 proposed budget would:

• Provide $1.5 billion for Title I School Improvement Grants to give states and school districts resources to create and implement comprehensive, research-based plans for the growing numbers of schools identified for improvement, corrective action, or restructuring. The money in the FY 2010 budget proposal will be in addition to the $3 billion available for the program in FY 2009 and FY 2010 through the n the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA).
  
• Allocate $517 million to the Teacher Incentive Fund, which stimulates state and local work to improve the education workforce, with an emphasis on rewarding principals, teachers, and other school personnel, including school counselors, who raise student achievement, close achievement gaps, and work in hard-to-staff schools. The program received $200 million in the ARRA and $97 million in FY 2009.
  
• Create new programs that ensure students are prepared to enter school, including $500 million for Title I Early Childhood Grants, which will encourage districts to spend money under the ARRA to start or expand preschool programs, and the $300 million for the Early Learning Challenge Fund, which will help states create or refine systems for rating and improving the quality of preschool education.
  
• Increase the federal government's investment in higher education to $129 billion through grants, loans, and work-study assistance.
  
• Increase the maximum award under the federal Pell Grant program to $5,550 for FY 2010 and would guarantee that the grant would increase by the rate of inflation plus one percent in future years.
  
• Eliminate the Federal Family Education Loan Program and make all new loans through the Federal Direct Loan program. According to ED, the changes would produce $21 billion in savings over 5 years by reducing entitlement subsidies currently paid to banks and private companies.

Elementary and Secondary School Counseling Program

The Department’s budget would level-fund the Elementary and Secondary School Counseling Program (ESSCP) at $52.0 million for FY 2010. (As a side note: This is the first time in 8 years that the Department has not proposed eliminating this vital program; a sign that the new administration recognizes the importance of school counseling services in helping to improve students' academic achievement and school safety.)

Last month, 23 members of the U.S. House of Representatives signed and sent a letter to the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education in support of the ESSCP. The bipartisan letter, authored by Representatives James Langevin (D-RI) and Vern Ehlers (R-MI), urges appropriators to provide $61.5 million ESSCP in the fiscal year 2010 education funding bill to be considered by Congress this year. This would be a $9.5 million increase over the current year funding level of $52 million. A similar letter in the Senate is being promoted by Senator Russ Feingold (D-WI). The Elementary and Secondary School Counseling Program is the only federal program focused on supporting comprehensive school counseling services. A similar letter is being circulated in the Senate by Senator Russ Feingold (D-WI).

Information on the U.S. Department of Education FY 2010 proposed budget is available at http://www.ed.gov/about/overview/budget/budget10/.

For more information, hit the ACA web site at www.counseling.org/public, or contact Chris Campbell (800-347-6647 x241) with ACA’s public policy staff.