A House subcommittee has approved a federal education budget for 2017-18 — and the spending plan might be more notable for what isn’t included.
A few key omissions, as reported by Andrew Ujifusa of Education Week:
- The bill cuts $2 billion in Title II money, a grant program that states use to train teachers or reduce class sizes.
- The bill does not include President Trump’s proposal to boost Title I funding by $1 billion, but tie the new money to a school choice initiative.
- Another Trump initiative didn’t make the cut: a $250 million state grant program funding school choice.
The Title II cut could have far-reaching impacts in Idaho. The state’s cut of Title II funding comes to roughly $10 million, but in 2016-17, 144 of Idaho’s 153 school districts and charter schools received a share of the money.
All told, the House bill would provide $66 billion for the Education Department, down $2.4 billion, Ujifusa reported. The Trump proposal — widely panned by Congress — would cut department spending to $59 billion.