In an effort to clarify spending efforts, Secretary Duncan testified before the House Committee on Education and the Workforce to address some of the questions regarding the Department of Education's priorities for Fiscal Year 2014. His budget requests totaled to an increase of $3.1 billion or 4.5% over the 2012 level. 

Duncan began by explaining the theory of action behind the President's preschool plan and early learning initiatives, citing ROI (return on investment) as a key justification for the budget's provisions. Duncan stated that the centerpiece of President Obama's education budget is $75 billion over 10 years, to support the "Preschool for All" initiative, along with a $750 million discretionary request for Preschool Development grants.

The budget also proposes  $300 million for the Department of Education's Promise Neighborhoods (high-poverty areas) and $400 million for the Department of Housing and Urban Development's Choice Neighborhoods program, and $35 million for the Department of Justice's Byrne Criminal Justice Innovation Grants program.

Duncan also expounded on the budget's request for increased school safety, including $30 million in one-time emergency management planning grants, $50 million for School Climate Transformation Grants, and $25 million for Project Prevention funds.

Other requests included increased funding for Career Technical Education programs, further development of school turnaround grants and data-based innovation, and reforming federal support of STEM initiatives.

Sequestration continues to cause sweeping changes across government institutions. The most recent changes for education include reduction in Head Start funding, decreases in social studies testing, and a decrease in funding for impact aid, among other provisions.

Across the country, Head Start centers claim they are doing their best to cope with automatic reductions. In Arizona, 160 slots in Head Start and Early Head Start will soon be eliminated. Head Start centers in Illinois and Knoxville were forced to close two weeks early due to sequestration's effects. Similarly, in Indiana two Head Start centers were forced to randomly remove 36 children using a lottery system.

Head Start Centers are not the only education-related institutions effected by sequestration. Education Secretary Arne Duncan has said schools that receive impact aid will be hit especially hard by sequestration. The federal government gives impact aid to schools that educate children who live on Indian reservations, military bases or in low-income housing. The aid was used to make up for decreased property taxes in school systems; however, this is no longer the case in many districts. According to the Department of Education more than 1,300 schools that receive impact aid will receive $60 million less than expected this year.

Lastly, in light of sequestration and reduced funds, the National Center for Education Statistics, which administers the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) tests, recently voted to postpone indefinitely the 4th and 12th grade tests in social studies testing due to lack of sufficient funds.

Early Learning Initiatives Continue to Move Forward

Despite various critics, the Obama administration is continuing to promote the President's early learning initiative and universal pre-K programs among a coalition of stakeholders. After a decade of growth in various states, enrollment in state pre-K has stalled and state pre-K funding per child fell well below the national average in 2001-02. 

"That's no way to create a world-class education system.  And, it's no way to put our students on a path for college- and career-readiness in a knowledge-based, competitive global economy," Secretary Duncan reacted during an opening statement at the National Institute for Early Education Research's (NIEER) panel discussion on the state of preschool yearbook.

Similarly, Secretary Duncan's remarks at the National Head Start Association's annual conference focused on raising the bar for preschool teachers. The marks of a quality preschool program include a minimum requirement of a bachelor's degree for teachers, low staff-to-child ratios and small class sizes, a full-day program, employee salaries comparable to those for K-12 teaching staff, and developmentally appropriate, evidence-based curricula and learning environments.

"Some say we shouldn't set the bar too high on quality in early learning.  I absolutely disagree.  I have great faith in the commitment and the capacity of the Head Start community to rise to the challenge," said Secretary Duncan.

STEM Education Funded In Immigration Bill    

Recently, the Senate Judiciary committee voted unanimously on a provision that would take money collected from fees for labor certifications and direct it towards STEM (science, technology, engineering, and math) education at the U.S. Department of Education. This could mean an additional $100 million annually for STEM education programs.

The amendment would use 70% of funds to help states boost STEM standards, recruit educators, bolster college completion, and revamp community college and worker training programs. Another 20% of the funds would go to boost STEM at minority-serving institutions of higher education, and 5% would go to the Department of Labor for STEM-related job training programs. Another 3% would help support new "American Dream Accounts" to help low-income students that want to study STEM.

Senator Ted Cruz (R-TX) is slated to introduce an amendment later this week that would replace the STEM education for National Science Foundation with a fund more targeted to the educational needs of Latinos. However, that provision does not have the backing of the Hispanic Education Coalition, who wrote in a letter to Judiciary Committee members stating, "Education block grants have historically not reached and sufficiently addressed the needs of Latino students, migrant students, immigrant students, and English language learners."

Similarly, Senator Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) wants to see an amendment that includes a path to citizenship for "little DREAMers" (undocumented children who aren't yet old enough to attain a high school diploma).

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