US Chamber of Commerce

Congress has finally wrapped up the FY12 budget bill – the House passed a $915 billion FY12 spending bill this past Friday, and the Senate followed suit on Saturday. The consolidated appropriations bill is the result of an agreement between House Republicans and Senate Democrats and funds the government through September 30, 2012.

Overall, the Department of Education was funded at $71.3 billion, which is slightly less than last year, and $9.3 billion below the President’s request. Title I grants for disadvantaged students got a small increase of $60 million, bringing Title I to a total level of $14.5 billion. Special education funding also had a minor increase of $100 million, bringing total funding to $11.6 billion. Math and Science Partnerships were funded at $150 million, a decrease of around $25 million from FY11.

The Administration’s key programs – Race to the Top, Investing in Innovation, School Improvement Grants, the Teacher Incentive Fund, and Promise Neighborhoods were all included in the funding bill, but funding levels for some were reduced. Race to the Top was eliminated in the House bill – under the compromise it survived, but was cut from $700 million in 2011 to $550 million. The School Improvement Grant program was funded at $535 million, approximately the same amount as 2011. Investing in Innovation (i3) got nearly $150 million, also around the same amount as last year. The Teacher Incentive Fund was cut from $400 million to $300 million. Promise Neighborhoods had the largest increase of the Administration’s programs, with an increase of $30 million, bringing it to $60 million total.

With this budget agreement, the appropriations process for FY12 is complete.

This article appears in ICW's December 2011 newsletter.