Dear Commons Community,

Republicans in the U.S. House of Representatives launched their opening salvo in the monthslong federal budget process, releasing an Education Department spending bill yesterday that incorporates some of President Donald Trump’s proposed cuts and ignores others.

The bill proposes to eliminate more than $3 billion combined for teacher professional development and English-learner services, and would end dedicated funding streams for civics education, gifted and talented programs, magnet schools, and other longstanding initiatives.  As reported by Education Week.

In some cases, the House GOP’s reductions aren’t as steep as Trump’s: House members are pitching a 38% cut to spending for the Education Department’s research arm instead of the two-thirds reduction the president is seeking. But in one notable case, House Republicans have proposed a cut where Trump hasn’t: Their spending plan would cut $1.6 billion from Title I, whereas Trump maintained level, year-over-year funding for the Education Department’s largest K-12 program.

This House spending bill is far from the final word in the budget process. It still has to make its way through the appropriations committee and the full House. And Senate appropriators have yet to come out with their own spending bill (last year, they rejected all of Trump’s proposed cuts). Then, the two chambers will have to negotiate any differences. If all goes according to schedule (and it often doesn’t), a new budget will be in place in time for the Oct. 1 start of the federal fiscal year.

Any changes to federal education programs would hit schools in 2027-28.

Tony

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