Statement of the Title IV, Part A Coalition on the Release of the 48th Annual PDK Poll of the Public’s Attitudes Toward the Public Schools
Will Congress again limit school funding and perpetuate what Americans say is the biggest problem confronting schools?
Washington, D.C. – The Title IV, Part A Coalition, which advocates for maximum funding for the flexible block grant found in the Every Student Succeeds Act and is comprised of more than 75 national organizations, released the following statement in response to the release of the 48th annual PDK Poll:
“For the 15th consecutive year, Americans say that a lack of funding is the number one problem confronting schools. Unfortunately, appropriations committees in Congress may aggravate the problem in the FY2017 appropriations process by failing to fund the new Student Support and Academic Enrichment Grant (SSAEG) at the $1.65 billion level recently authorized in the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA). The Senate Labor HHS Education Appropriations Committee only proposed $300 million for the program. While the House Labor HHS Education Appropriations Subcommittee thankfully proposed a more reasonable level of $1 billion – both fall short of the authorizers’ intent to effectively carry out the programs the flexible block grant is meant to support.
“The PDK poll also asked respondents to make a difficult choice between three important goals––preparing students academically, for work, or to be good citizens––in determining what the main goal of public education should be. If Congress decides to fund SSAEG below the authorized level, our nation’s school districts will face similarly tough choices in deciding which important SSAEG program areas merit investment––safe and healthy school programs, well-rounded curriculum development, or the effective use of technology. No matter how schools make this decision, critical program areas will face limited investments – or none at all – shortchanging our students, educators, and communities in significant ways.
“Investing in this federal program is absolutely necessary to provide all students with the well-rounded education and support services they need and deserve from the public education system. When Congress returns from recess next week, we urge appropriators to fully fund SSAEG at no less than $1.65 billion in a final appropriations bill.”
Action for Healthy Kids
Afterschool Alliance
Alliance for Excellence Education
American Academy of Pediatrics
American Association of School Librarians
American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages
American Councils for International Education
American Counseling Association
American Dance Therapy Association
American Library Association
American Music Therapy Association
American Occupational Therapy Association
American Psychological Association
American School Counselor Association
American School Health Association
American Translators Association
Americans for the Arts
ASCD
Association for Computer Professionals/Northwest
Association of School Business Officials International
Campaign for the Civic Mission of Schools
Character.org
Consortium for School Networking
College Board
Committee for Children
Communities In Schools
Council for Economic Education
Council for Exceptional Children
Essilor Vision Foundation
Futures Without Violence
Girls Inc.
Girl Scouts of the USA
Health Corps
Healthy Schools Campaign
Institute for Education Leadership
International Society for Technology in Education
Jobs for the Future
The Joyful Child Foundation
League of American Orchestras
Lions Clubs International
MENTOR: The National Mentoring Partnership
Museum of Science, Boston
National Alliance of Concurrent Enrollment Partnerships
National Association for College Admission Counseling.
National Association for Music Education
National Association of Elementary School Principals
National Association of Secondary School Principals
National Association of School Psychologists
National Association of Social Workers
National Association of State Boards of Education
National Association of State Directors of Special Education
National Center for Technological Literacy
National Coalition for History
National Council for the Social Studies
National Council of State Supervisors for Languages
National Council of Teachers of Mathematics
National PTA
National Superintendents Roundtable
Partnership for 21st Century Learning
Safe Routes to School National Partnership
School Social Work Association of America
SHAPE America
Society of Women Engineers
Southern Conference on Language Teaching
Southwest Conference on Language Teaching
State Education Technology Directors Association
US Soccer Foundation
Wica Agli
The Title IV, Part A Coalition is an alliance of more than 75 national organizations that believe the SSAEG program has the potential to support school districts in their central mission of providing our students with the skills, resources, and support they need to succeed.