Funding bills inadequate
7/1/2003 -- Both the full House Appropriations Committee and the Senate Subcommittee on Labor, Health, Human Services, and Education have completed action on education funding bills for fiscal year 2004.
The funding amounts authorized in the bills are "woefully inadequate," says Dan Fuller, director of federal programs at NSBA. "Specific programs are funded at levels far below what Congress had promised and supported through the reauthorization of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), the No Child Left Behind (NCLB) Act, and the budget resolution for fiscal year 2004."
The House measure, approved June 25, provides an increase of only $1 billion for IDEA for 2004, even though the IDEA bill approved by the House and the budget resolution calls for an annual increase of $2.2 billion.
The House bill provides an increase of $1.3 billion (4 percent) for elementary and secondary education. Title I would receive an increase of $666 million (6 percent).
Funding for various programs was eliminated or reduced, resulting in a total increase of $381 billion for NCLB.
The Senate appropriations bill would increase all education spending by $1.5 billion (2.8 percent). It includes a $984 million increase for IDEA and a $665 million increase for Title I.
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| Reproduced with permission from the 2003 issue of School Board News. Copyright © 2003, National School Boards Association. Opinions expressed in this newspaper do not necessarily reflect positions of NSBA. This article may be printed out and photocopied for individual or educational use, provided this copyright notice appears on each copy. This article may not be otherwise transmitted or reproduced in print or electronic form without the consent of the Publisher. For more information, call (703) 838-6789. |