Federal Education Budget Project

Auctions

Education Policy — Thu, 01 May 2008 08:16:00 -0400

The College Cost Reduction and Access Act, signed into law in September 2007, included a new auction program to determine taxpayer subsidy levels paid to private lenders that make federal student loans. The auction program will apply to all federal PLUS loans made in 2009 and thereafter. Under the new auction program, the federal subsidy paid to lenders making PLUS loans will be set through a competitive bidding process. The number of lenders making PLUS loans will decline, but borrower terms for PLUS loans, such as interest rates and repayment length, will remain the same and continue to be set… more

Federal Student Loan Subsidy Structure

Education Policy — Mon, 28 Apr 2008 02:14:00 -0400

The federal government offers several types of student loans to help promote access to higher education. The common goal among the different loans is to provide students with financing for higher education at better terms than those available in the private market. The main loan programs -- Stafford (both Subsidized and Unsubsidized), PLUS, Grad PLUS, and Consolidation -- are available to borrowers through one of two different administrative structures.[1]

Under one structure, the Federal Family Education Loan (FFEL) program, student loans are provided by private lenders, such as Sallie Mae,… more

Impact Aid

Education Policy — Mon, 07 Apr 2008 03:03:00 -0400

The federal Impact Aid Program is designed to compensate local school districts for educational revenue lost from the presence of federally-owned or property-tax exempted lands or a large number of "federally-connected" students. Because federal property, and the people who live on it, are exempt from a number of state and local taxes, this aid covers expenses to make up for the lost revenue.

Four Types of Impact Aid

Founded in 1950, the Impact Aid Program is unlike most other forms of educational assistance because it disburses the roughly $1.2 billion in annual federal funds directly to affected districts, rather than through state… more

The Budget Resolution and Education Funding: A Primer

Communications — Tue, 11 Mar 2008 09:37:00 -0400

Today the New America Foundation's Federal Education Budget Project released "A Primer on the Budget Resolution's Impact on Education Funding," by the project's Research Director Jason Delisle. The primer serves as an insightful guide to this confusing and often partisan process by which federal education funding is determined. Last week the Congressional budget committees adopted the first drafts of the fiscal year 2009 budget resolution, marking the start of the annual Congressional budget process.The proposals head to the full House and Senate for consideration this… more

A Primer on the Budget Resolution’s Impact on Education Funding

Education Policy — Tue, 11 Mar 2008 03:31:00 -0400

The budget resolution put forward by Congress each year -- which sets out the congressional budget plan for the next five years -- and the ensuing budget process itself are enormously significant for education funding. However, the arcane procedures under which Congress produces and acts upon the budget resolution are often confusing to the media and education advocates alike. This confusion is made worse by political rhetoric and partisan spin. This brief by the New America Foundation’s Federal Education Budget Project is meant to shed light on how the budget resolution affects education funding.

This primer clarifies certain aspects of the… more

Jason Delisle in CongressDaily PM | 'Senate Budget Would Boost Advance Approps By $4 Billion'

Communications — Mon, 10 Mar 2008 13:06:00 -0400

New America in the News:

Senate Budget Would Boost Advance Approps By $4 Billion (CongressDaily PM, subscription only)

. . . "There's no reason to do it other than to increase spending," said Jason Delisle, an education analyst at the New America Foundation. Backers "want the money by any means necessary, but the trade-off is the debate gets confused and the budget lacks transparency."

Advance funding for education grew out of a timing quirk whereby the academic year usually spans parts of two fiscal years. Beginning in FY96, Congress began using advance appropriations to increase education funding for a given school year while technically staying within that fiscal year's discretionary spending cap, according to a New America report.

Since then the gimmick has become wildly popular -- what started out as $1.3 billion in advance education funding in FY96 grew to $17 billion in FY08, the report notes.

The New America report said the use of advance appropriations makes it difficult to compare actual year-over-year education funding totals. It can also cause problems in future years should budgetary circumstances change. . . .

President's Education Budget Proposal: FY08

Education Policy — Fri, 08 Feb 2008 13:46:00 -0500

As in past years, the President’s Budget for Fiscal Year 2008 holds overall discretionary spending for the U.S. Department of Education (ED) relatively flat. Notable proposed program increases, such as a near $1.2 billion increase in No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB) Title I funding, are offset by comparable program decreases and eliminations. Overall ED discretionary funding is proposed to be $56 billion in Fiscal Year 2008, an identical number to that proposed in Fiscal Year 2007, and 1% less than enacted for Fiscal Year 2006.

The most significant education policy change proposed in the President’s Budget is a series of… more

Analysis of Bush’s Education Budget Request

Education Policy — Thu, 07 Feb 2008 14:34:00 -0500

President George W. Bush submitted his eighth and final budget request to the Congress on Monday. Under the proposal, fiscal year 2009 discretionary spending—spending subject to annual appropriations—would be at the same level as in the prior year for domestic programs and agencies not involved in homeland security efforts. The budget request for the Department of Education fits this general theme. Fiscal year 2009 discretionary spending at the Department of Education would total $59.2 billion, the same level of funding provided in 2008. Despite requesting level funding for the agency as a whole, the administration proposes increases for a number… more

Ten Questions on the Bush Education Budget

Education Policy — Mon, 04 Feb 2008 18:00:00 -0500

K-12 EDUCATION

1) The administration proposes increasing No Child Left Behind (NCLB) Title I grants to school districts by 2.9 percent, essentially an increase matching inflation. It also proposes redirecting a greater proportion of Title I funds to high schools. Does this mean that school districts will have to cut Title I funding for K-8 schools, since districts will effectively receive the same level of funding as in the previous year? How will this affect the student achievement in grades 3 through 8?

2) The administration’s budget proposes shifting $100 million from the NCLB’s Title II "Improving Teacher Quality State Grants"… more

Ten Questions on the Bush Education Budget Request

Education Policy — Mon, 04 Feb 2008 17:12:00 -0500

K-12 EDUCATION

2) The administration’s budget proposes shifting $100 million from the NCLB’s Title II "Improving Teacher Quality State Grants"… more