Each year, Congress appropriates funds for education programs as part of the annual process to develop a budget for all federal agencies. NASSP consistently advocates for significant federal investments in education, especially as public school enrollments continue to rise and a growing number of children live in poverty.
While the U.S. Department of Education’s budget comprises only 2% of all federal expenditures, most of those funds are allocated to early education and post-secondary education. Early education and post-secondary opportunities are certainly important, but they receive significantly more federal investment than secondary educational programs.
NASSP believes it is important for the federal government to invest specifically in middle-level and high schools as the success of our secondary school students is also a national priority in order to strengthen our economic growth and global competitiveness.
NASSP supports a robust federal investment in many programs affecting middle-level and high schools, including:
- Title I
- Title II
- Title IV
- CTE State Grants
- Striving Readers Comprehensive Literacy program
- School Leadership program
Legislative or Policy Priorities
- School of Thought Blog Post on the President’s FY18 Budget
- School of Thought Blog Post on the Budget Caps Deal
- School of Thought Blog Post on FY18 Omnibus
NASSP Resources
- NASSP Board Position Statements:
- Federal Funding for Formula and Competitive Grants, May 3, 2013
- Funding and Support for Secondary Education, June 11, 2002; revised May 9, 2009
- Private School Vouchers, July 6, 2000; revised May 9, 2009
- School Facilities, March 27, 2017
- Letter Opposing School Vouchers, February 1, 2017
- Letter to President Trump Supporting Literacy Initiatives, February 10, 2017
- Letter to Appropriations Committee Opposing Title I Cuts, April 13, 2017
- Letter to Appropriations on School Leader Recruitment and Support, December 5, 2017
- Letter to House Ed and Workforce and HASC Committees Opposing Vouchers for Military Families, March 15, 2018
- Letter to Appropriations Supporting IDEA, March 7, 2018
- Letter to Appropriations on Teacher Quality Partnerships, March 9, 2018
- Letter on The Public Dollars for Public Schools Act, June 7, 2016
- Letter to Senate and House on Potential Title I Funding Cuts for FY 2017, March 15, 2016
- Department of Education Funding: Key Concepts and FAQ, April 22, 2016
- Letter to Appropriations Urging Raising the Budget Caps, December 14, 2017
- FY 2018 and FY 2019 Appropriations Priorities
- Letter to Appropriations Supporting Title IV
- Letter to Appropriations Supporting Title IV – House, April 3, 2018
- Letter to Appropriations Supporting Title IV – Senate, April 3, 2018
Participating Coalitions
- Committee for Education Funding (CEF)
- National Coalition for Public Education
- Letter to the Senate HELP Committee on the Nomination of Betsy DeVos, January 9, 2017
- Additional Open Letter to the Senate HELP Committee on the Nomination of Betsy DeVos, January 9, 2017
- Blog Opposing H.R. 5199/S. 2517
- The Title IV, Part A Coalition