Senate, House Appropriations Committee members voice opposition to unilateral funding cuts to education programs

Senate and House Appropriations Committee and Subcommittee members sent a letter to the U.S. Department of Education Secretary Linda McMahon in strong opposition of cuts or elimination of funds to critical education programs, overriding allocations that have long been included in bipartisan annual appropriations bills, including teacher training, magnet schools, Minority-Serving Institutions (MSIs), and international education programs authorized and funded in bipartisan appropriations law.

The letter expressed concern at rushed decisions at the end of the fiscal year without transparency or oversight, affecting outcomes for students and their communities with immediate and pressing needs. Cuts and reductions cited include eliminated funding for the Supporting Effective Educator Development program, and cuts to the Teacher and School Leader Incentive Fund program funding, both supporting and training current and new teachers and educators nationwide. The elimination of $350 million in discretionary funding for several MSIs programs affect under-resourced community colleges and other higher education institutions serving low-income and working-class students.

The letter referenced International Education funding eliminations, and drastically reduced funding to Teacher Quality Partnerships. Funding cuts and reductions would also be made to Ready to Learn, Statewide Family Engagement Centers, Magnet Schools, Javits Gifted and Talented Education, and Arts in Education. These programs support states, school districts, colleges and universities, and nonprofit organizations addressing specific student needs.

The committee urged the secretary to work with Congress on bipartisan restoration of funding, stating, "This is funding that students, educators, and schools have been waiting months to receive and with three weeks left in the fiscal year, are being told they will not in fact, be receiving. We strongly urge you to reconsider these plans, and instead of rushing through decisions on how to spend taxpayer dollars unilaterally at the end of the fiscal year, to work with Congress, as the Department has always done previously, on these important funding decisions."

Read the full letter here.