Taking Action: Here’s Why Congress Must Reject Funding Cuts to K-12 Education
Proposed cuts to K-12 education funding will hurt schools, students, and educators by exacerbating teacher shortages, eliminating Title II funding for professional development and Title III English language acquisition grants, and cutting Head Start support.
Since a House appropriations subcommittee approved it, we have been sounding the alarm about the FY24 education funding bill that would gut most of the formula grant programs in the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA).
The magnitude of the cuts and their potentially devastating consequences are hard to overstate. Here’s the breakdown:
- The House bill would slash Title I by 80 percent. This cut, which is structured in such a way as to take effect in the middle of the 2023-2024 school year, would result in the loss of 224,000 teaching positions.
- The House bill would also completely eliminate the $2.2 billion for Title II, the sole source of dedicated federal funding for the professional development of educators and school leaders.
- Also zeroed out is the $890 million for Title III, English language acquisition grants, which would be a huge hit to English learners across the country.
- For good measure, the House bill also cuts Head Start by $750 million.
The House plans to vote on this bill and the staggering funding cuts in it this week. Now is the time for school leaders to contact their representatives and urge them to oppose these cuts.
Take Action
Join us in the fight! We’ve made it easy for you. Our platform tool allows you to quickly send a pre-drafted message that you can customize to your representative with just a few clicks of a mouse. Please take a moment to express your opposition to these funding cuts.
No one knows better than you how these funding cuts will directly affect your schools, faculty and staff, and your profession. Make your voice heard. The stakes are high and so are the consequences for our schools and students. Send your message now.
David Griffith is associate executive director of Policy and Advocacy at NAESP.
