Education Policy Program
 

About Us

The mission of the Federal Education Budget Project is to serve as a non-partisan, authoritative source of easily accessible information on federal education funding for the media, policymakers and staff, state and local officials, non-profit organizations, and the public. Our goal is to help heighten the quality of debate on federal education funding and support the development of fiscally responsible proposals to improve federal support for education. The Budget Project produces a continuous stream of rigorous, independent research on and analysis of all facets of federal education finance. Our expert staff of former Department of Education and Capitol Hill Education and Budget Committee employees analyzes the financing, quality, and cost-effectiveness of various federal initiatives—including each year’s federal education budget, appropriations legislation, education-related tax policy changes, and mandatory spending on student loans. Such analyses are intended to serve as an important check in the education debate, exposing the real world impact of proposed policies and budgets.

Budget Project Website

The Budget Project Website includes funding, demographic, and achievement data for every state and school district in the country. For each district, our website includes data on No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB) Title I funding, Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) special education funding, average per pupil expenditure, student poverty, and NCLB achievement scores. A “Compare Your District” function allows users to compare school districts within states or across the country. All our raw data and analyses are available for download for independent, subsequent research and analysis by others.

Advisory Panel

The Federal Education Budget Project is guided by the counsel of a distinguished and bipartisan Advisory Panel. Members include:

  • The Honorable David R. Durenberger, former United States Senator (R-MN)
  • Douglas Holtz Eakin, former Director, Congressional Budget Office
  • Robert Greenstein, Founder & CEO, Center on Budget and Policy Priorities
  • Charles Kolb, President, Committee for Economic Development, former Deputy Assistant for Domestic Policy to President H. W. Bush.
  • Gregory McGinity, Senior Director of Policy for the Broad Foundation
  • Trish Williams, Executive Director of EdSource

Congressional Working Group

The Budget Project also supports a Bipartisan Congressional Working Group on Education Funding that aims to generate fiscally responsible proposals that improve the size, distribution, and effectiveness of federal education funding. We operate as an expert “shadow staff” for Working Group Members providing them with new ideas, briefings, independent analyses, and technical assistance on education funding and budget issues.

Staff

Michael Dannenberg, Director

Jason Delisle, Research Director

Heather Rieman, Senior Policy Analyst

Lindsey Luebchow, Policy Analyst

Benjamin Miller, Program Associate