Congress Cuts NCLB by More Than $1 Billion

Historic Reduction Damages Education Funding

Despite continuing protests from states and education groups over the insufficiency of funding for the federal No Child Left Behind law (NCLB), Congress has cut funding for the law by over $1 billion for the 2006 fiscal year. Shortly before the end of 2005, Congress passed a Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education budget bill that cut funding for education for the first time in a decade, according to reports in the press. Congress further stripped federal education funds by passing an overall 1% funding cut for all federal programs as part of a defense spending bill. The cuts, targeted heavily at school reform and innovative program funding, will undoubtedly increase the already heated protests over the costs of implementing the federal law.

Supporters of the budget cuts claim that schools already have plenty of funding, and need to spend their monies more effectively. Some supporters also claim the cuts are necessary in the face of huge budget deficits.

Lower Funding Levels

According to the Ohio Fair Schools Campaign, federal education spending for fiscal year 2006 was set at $70.75 billion, a $2 billion decrease from last year's levels. Calculations performed by the National Education Association (NEA) indicate that this includes over $1 billion in reduced funding for NCLB. This loss impacts every program funded through NCLB, including Title 1, which provides funding for schools serving the lowest-income students.

Some of the hardest hit programs are those that have shown the most signs of productivity and potential. According to Education Week, appropriations for Innovative Programs state grants were down 50 percent, while Education Technology was down 45 percent. And in a crushing reduction, funding for Comprehensive School Reform decreased by 96 percent, virtually ending the program, which had been widely used by schools across the country to continue and expand highly successful school reform strategies. Innovative programs such as the 21 st Century Community Learning Centers, already limited in effectiveness by a curtailed funding schedule lost substantial funding, a change that will likely force states and districts to close some after-school and extended-time programs that had only just begun to have an impact on student learning and success.

Angry Reactions

Lowered funding levels on this controversial law have sparked protest from the education community and from states and districts already feeling taxed by NCLB's requirements. This was in evidence shortly after the bill was passed, as numerous organizations, such as the NEA, the National School Boards Association, and the Children's Defense Fund released angry statements to the press. A group of Christian denominations, including the Episcopal Church, the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, the Presbyterian Church, the United Church of Christ, and the United Methodist Church issued a Joint Statement alleging that the 2006 budget “ignores Christian teachings on economic justice.”

The vituperative language of these groups reflects the long-brewing controversy over the law. While many states and local districts argue that the law mandates enormous expenditures and fails to fully fund them (and have sued the federal Education Department charging exactly this), the government maintains that if states and local districts choose to accept federal money, they must meet the requirements of the law, regardless of the cost. And indeed, as has been explained by Superintendent and education finance expert Bill Mathis, the actual cost of the law is difficult to calculate. Nonetheless, as states change their education systems in order to comply with the law, the chorus of requests for more funding will undoubtedly become more heated as this budget is implemented.

Looking Forward

These cuts to education funding will likely have an impact on state legislative sessions, which begin this month, as state and local governments struggle to replace lost federal funds. The contrast between funding levels in the 2006 budget and appropriations originally slated to fund NCLB will also likely play a role in the debate over NCLB as it comes up for reauthorization in 2007.

Prepared by Nelly Ward, January 4, 2006