7/25/2019 Equity and Excellence in the President's Budget for Education - U.S. Department of Education (press release) (blog)

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7/25/2019 Equity and Excellence in the President's Budget for Education - U.S. Department of Education (press release) (blog)

http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/equity-and-excellence-in-the-presidents-budget-for-education-us-department 2/2

students are also disproportionately suspended and expelled, representing less than 1 percent of the

student population but 2 percent of out-of-school suspensions and 3 percent of expulsions.

We can and we must do better, for all of our kids.

The Presidents 2017 budget request recognizes the importance of this goal through significant new

investments in three key areas: high-quality early learning; stronger and more diverse schools; and

increased access to evidence and data to help all of us improve outcomes for students.

Boosting access to high-quality early learning:

The Presidents budget request aims to ensure access to high-quality preschool programs for 4-yea-

-olds with $1.3 billion in mandatory funding in 2017 and $75 billion over 10 years for the Presidents

landmark Preschool for All proposal. The budget also supports special education services and early

intervention programs for our youngest learners.

The budget also supports local innovation to create stronger, more diverse schools, through:

$450 million in additional funding for Title I Grants, for a total of $15.4 billion to help local

educational agencies ensure that all students graduate from high school prepared for college and

careers, in part through locally developed efforts to turn around our lowest-performing schools.$120

million in grants to launch Stronger Together, a voluntary program to support the development and

expansion of new and existing, community-driven strategies to increase socioeconomic diversity in

 Americas schools.Additional funding to support school choice through high-quality public charter

and magnet schools. The budget includes an additional $17 million for Charter School Grants and an

additional $18 million for magnet schools.$4 billion over three years to launch Computer Science for

 All, supporting state efforts to expand access for all students to computer science instruction and

programs of study. The budget also includes the $100 million discretionary Computer Science for AllDevelopment Grants program for school districts.An increase of $55 million to support new Promise

Neighborhoods in up to 15 distressed communities seeking to break the cycle of poverty through the

development and implementation of comprehensive cradle-to-college supports for children and

families.

Expanding access to evidence and data

Through InformED, the Department will provide the public with expanded, user-friendly access to

data to drive decision-making and better outcomes for students.

In his final State of the Union address, President Obama challenged us to face the future with

confidence in who we are, what we stand for, and the incredible things we can do together.

Central to this challenge is putting the American Dream within reach of every child and young

person. The Presidents 2017 budget request for education will help provide states, districts, and

communities with the necessary resources to uphold excellence and equity in education, and to give

all students opportunities and hope for the future, much like those that my parents gave me.

 Aparna Kumar is a member of the Communications Development Team in the Office of 

Communications and Outreach at the U.S. Department of Education.