Invests in an Educated, Competitive America

Invests in an Educated, Competitive America

Sustains Successful K-12  Reform. The Department      of         Education        has       jump-started landmark  reforms in  our  education  system  by rewarding excellence and  promoting innovation. Early  indications show   impressive progress in helping children start  school  ready to  succeed, raising academic standards, placing an  effective teacher in  every  classroom, and  turning around struggling   schools.  The    Budget  continues  to

build on  these reforms with new  and  sustained investments:

• Race  to the Top  (RTT). The  Budget provides

$850 million for RTT, a program that has  en- abled States to implement systemic reforms in five fundamental areas: implementing rig- orous standards and assessments; using data to improve instruction and  decision-making; recruiting and   retaining  effective teachers and  principals; turning around the  lowest- performing  schools;   and   improving State systems of early learning and  care.   In 2011, the  Department of Education launched the RTT  Early Learning Challenge grant com- petition, a joint  effort  with the  Department of Health and  Human Services, designed to support the  States with the  most  ambitious plans to ensure that high-need children from birth to age five enter kindergarten ready to succeed. In 2012, the Administration is build- ing  on  the   State-level progress of  RTT  by launching a district-level competition to sup- port  reforms best  executed at the  local level. In  2013,  RTT  will  be  poised to  deepen the Administration’s investments in  these vari- ous areas, and  address the  unmet demand of States and  districts that have demonstrated a commitment to implementing comprehen- sive  and   ambitious reforms. Additional re- sources will  be provided for the  Race  to the Top: Early Learning Challenge, to be paired with new  investments by the  Department of Health and   Human  Services in  improving child  care  quality and  preparing children for success in school.

•  Promise Neighborhoods. The   Budget  pro- vides  a considerable increase to Promise Neighborhoods, funding the program at $100 million. This   initiative  supports high-need communities who  plan to  combine effective services for families with comprehensive re- forms  centered on high-quality schools, in an effort  to  improve educational  and   life  out- comes  for children and  youth.

•  Investing in Innovation (i3). The  Budget con- tinues  robust investment in   the   i3  fund, providing  $150    million,  to   support  evi- dence-based approaches that  improve K-12 achievement and  close achievement gaps, decrease dropout rates, increase high  school graduation rates, and  improve teacher and school  leader effectiveness.  A portion of i3 funds will also  be used to support the  devel- opment of breakthrough learning technolo- gies through the Advanced Research Projects Agency for Education.

•  School Turnaround  Grants. The    Budget provides $534 million for School Turnaround Grants to support the  Administration’s commitment to helping States and  districts turn   around  America’s lowest-performing schools.

•  Flexibility in  Exchange for  Smart Reforms.

To build on the  successful reforms leveraged by  the   first   RTT  competition, the   Depart- ment  recently invited States  to  apply  for Elementary and   Secondary  Education  Act (ESEA)  waivers in  exchange for  a  commit- ment to implement comprehensive reforms. The  Budget maintains  investments in  key programs that  States can   use   to  advance these reforms. For  example, States and  dis- tricts will  have new  flexibility to  use  Title I funds that were  previously required to be reserved for  supplemental educational ser- vices, public school choice, and professional development to  support locally  determined, rigorous interventions in schools.

•  Support for Teachers and  Schools. Districts will  continue to  receive the  vital resources needed  to  pay   teacher  salaries  and   fund other  educational interventions  needed to help   disadvantaged students and   students with disabilities succeed through sustained investments in Title I and  Individuals with Disabilities  Education Act  (IDEA)   Grants to  States of $14.5  billion and  $11.6  billion, respectively.

•  Strengthens the   Teaching  Profession. The Budget  makes  a   number  of  investments to  help  ensure that an  effective teacher is in  every  classroom, including a  25  percent set-aside within the  new  Effective Teachers and  Leaders State Grants program to build evidence on  ways   to  best   recruit, prepare and   support  effective teachers  and   princi- pals. The Budget also invests $400 million in the  Teacher and  Leader Innovation Fund to transform teacher and  leader evaluation and compensation to reward strong teaching and support improvement.

Delivers a  Quality, Affordable College Education to  Millions of  Americans. To strengthen our  Nation’s competitiveness and  to be first  in  the  world  in  the  proportion of college graduates, the   Nation must open   the   doors   of college  to  more  Americans and  make sure that students can  complete their degrees. The Admin- istration has  already taken significant strides to make college  more  affordable. Today,  nearly  10 million students  receive Pell  Grants, and   more than 12 million borrowers receive low-cost  loans, with new  affordable repayment options based on their income   after  leaving school.  This   Budget builds on  that progress by  continuing to  invest in  student aid.  Just as  the  Administration’s in- vestments over  the  past three years have trans- formed K-12 education, this Budget contains new initiatives to reform higher education by address- ing  rising tuition and  improving outcomes. Our goal  is  reduced college   costs,   improved  access, increased levels  of completion, and  better post- graduation  outcomes—all at an affordable cost to students. Key initiatives include:

•  Tackling College            Costs    and      Raising Completion  Levels.  Rising  college   tuition has   stymied recent efforts to  make  college more    affordable through  investments  in Pell    Grants,  student  financial  aid,    and higher education tax  credits. Students are still   struggling  to   pay   their  tuition  bills and  are  leaving school  with significant debt that  they are   having  difficulty  repaying. This  path is not  sustainable. Institutions of higher education have to do their part to rein in costs  and  deliver a high-value education, and  States must halt their disinvestment in higher education and   pursue reforms that will  stabilize their systems in  the  long  run. Our  goal  is reduced college  costs,  improved access, increased  levels   of completion, and better  post-graduation  outcomes. To   this end,  the  Budget proposes a new  Race  to the Top:  College  Affordability and   Completion, reforms to the  Campus-Based Aid program, and  a new First in the  World  competition.

• Support    for     Community    Colleges.                The Budget also  funds a new  initiative designed to   improve  access  to   job  training  across the   nation and   provides $8  billion in  the Departments            of                 Education                 and         Labor to support State and  community college partnerships  with businesses to  build the skills of American workers.

• Maintaining a   Strong   Pell    Grant   Pro- gram. Since   2008,  the   Administration has increased the  maximum Pell  Grant by more than $900,  to $5,635. The  Budget continues the  Administration’s strong commitment to the   Pell  Grant program and   to  preserving the maximum award, and  includes measures that ensure full  program funding through the  2014–2015 academic year. The  Admin- istration believes that action must be taken this year to  keep   the   Pell  Grant program on  a  sound footing, and   that reforms such as  those included in  the  Budget are  neces- sary  to  maintain  this  critical investment in  opening the   doors  of  opportunity to  all Americans and   strengthening our  Nation’s competiveness.

•  Making the American Opportunity Tax  Cred- it Permanent. The Tax Relief, Unemployment Insurance Reauthorization and  Job Creation Act of 2010  extended for two  years the  new American Opportunity Tax Credit (AOTC)— a partially refundable tax  credit worth up to

$2,500 per  student per  year. AOTC,  which would   be  made permanent in  the   Budget, helps more  than 9 million taxpayers afford the  cost of college.

•  Suspending an   Increase  in   Student  Loan Interest Rates. Under current  law,  interest rates on  subsidized Stafford loans are  slat- ed  to  rise  this summer from  3.4  percent to

6.8 percent. At a time when the  economy  is still  recovering and  market interest rates re- main low, it makes no sense to double rates on student loans. The  Budget suspends the scheduled increase for  the  coming  year, so that rates will remain at 3.4 percent.

• Improving the Quality of Postsecondary Out- come Data. Informed decision-making by students and  families is critical to improving value and  quality in  higher education. Bet- ter data can   also   help   institutions  make more  informed decisions that  will  improve both   programs and   outcomes. The  Budget provides resources to invest in improving the quality of postsecondary data and   making information on  education and   employment outcomes available to  the  public. This  will drive smarter  decision-making, by  showing which higher  education  programs  lead   to good results.

Prepares  100,000 STEM  Teachers and Improves  STEM   Education.  Students  need to  master  science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM)  in order to thrive in the  21st Century  economy. Steadily, we  have seen  other nations eclipse ours  in  preparing their children in these critical fields. That is why the  President has  set  the  ambitious goal  of preparing 100,000

STEM  teachers over the  next decade. The Budget invests $80 million within the  Effective Teachers and  Leaders State Grants program toward that goal, to expand promising and  effective models of teacher preparation in  STEM.  The  Budget also funds a  jointly administered  mathematics  edu- cation initiative, with $30  million from  the  De- partment of Education and  $30  million from  the National  Science Foundation  (NSF). This   new evidence-based math initiative will  combine the strength in  mathematics education research at NSF  with the  Department of Education’s State and school district connections and program scale- up  expertise.  These programs will  be developed in  conjunction with  a  Government-wide  effort to  improve the   impact of  Federal investments in  math and  science education by ensuring that all  programs supporting K-12  and  undergradu- ate  education adhere to  consistent standards of effectiveness.

Prepares Young People for  Jobs Through a  Reformed Career and Technical  Educa- tion Program. The  President’s Budget recom- mends reauthorization and  reform of the  Career and   Technical Education  (CTE)   program, cur- rently set  to expire in 2013. The Administration’s

$1.1  billion reauthorization  proposal would   re- structure CTE  to  align what students learn in school with the  demands of 21st Century jobs and create better quality programs for students. The Budget also  provides new  funding to scale  up ca- reer academies.

Uses Resources More Effectively for

Better Results

Helps States and Districts Make Better Choices by  Identifying Proven Strategies. In a time of fiscal  constraint, it is crucial that we understand  which interventions and   strategies are  effective at improving student outcomes. The President’s Budget maintains  a  commitment to building a  rich  evidence base  of what  works so that districts and  schools  can  make informed de- cisions about how to best  educate their students. The  Budget sustains support for the  i3 program and  provides new funds for a CTE innovation and transformation fund and First in the World, which will contribute to our  evidence base  by requiring rigorous evaluations of promising and  proven ed- ucation interventions and  solutions. The  Budget also  provides an  increase of $12  million for  the Institute of Education Sciences Research and  De- velopment program to support rigorous research and  evaluation and  new  strategies to make this evidence accessible to education practitioners.

Creates      Efficiencies        and     Encourages Interagency      Coordination.            When the Administration outlined its  reauthorization of ESEA  in the 2011 Budget, it proposed to overhaul the  Department’s K-12 program structure by consolidating 38 existing authorities into  11 new programs that  would   give   communities  more choices  in  implementing activities and  allow  for the  use  of rigorous evidence to fund  what works. In  the  past two  years, Congress eliminated the funding for 22  of the  38  programs, but  failed to replace these  eliminations  with  the   improved program structure, funding only two (RTT and  i3) of the  11 new  programs.  Eliminating programs alone will  not  enable the   Department to  drive the  reform that is needed in the  nation’s schools. That is  why  the  2013  Budget seeks funding for all 11 of the  proposed programs and  continues to consolidate the  38 existing program authorities, including the   16  programs still   operating, into this new program structure.

The   Budget  also   provides investments and flexibility  to   coordinate Federal, State,  tribal, and   local   services  and   improve  outcomes  for disadvantaged children and  disconnected youth. It continues to support the  Promoting Readiness of Minors in  the  Supplemental Security Income Program            (PROMISE)      pilot—a                   joint                  effort between   the    Social    Security  Administration and   the   Department of  Education, with input from  the  Departments of Labor and  Health and Human Services. The  Budget also  includes new resources dedicated to  disconnected youth that will  build  knowledge about  the   most   effective programs, provide flexible  funding, and  improve coordination across levels  of government.

Reduces Funding in Select Areas to Focus Resources on Core Activities. Consistent with Administration-wide  efforts to  achieve  savings where possible, the  Budget makes targeted reductions  to   some    programs, including the National  Assessment  of  Educational  Progress and   the   National Institute  on   Disability and Rehabilitation Research, and  generates savings by ending Impact Aid  for  school  districts where the  presence of Federal property does  not  affect enrollment.

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