 |
 |
From: Jane Mott [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Arnold Mitchem Sent: Friday, March 04, 2011 12:27 PM To: Arnold Mitchem Subject: Shared Sacrifice Subject: Federal Literacy Aid Slashed as Part of Budget Deal > > Education Week's blogs > Curriculum Matters Federal Literacy Aid > Slashed as Part of Budget Deal By Erik Robelen on March 2, 2011 9:32 > AM | 5 Comments | Recommend > > UPDATED > Federal support for literacy was dealt a heavy blow today. > This afternoon, President Barack Obama signed into law a stopgap > spending bill that ends federal funding for several literacy programs > at the U.S. Department of Education, part of a planned government-wide > reduction of $4 billion. The measure also eliminated or trimmed > spending for a variety of other education programs. > The plan originated in the House, where Republican leaders insisted > that cuts be part of the deal to keep the government running for two > more weeks. Passage of the legislation buys lawmakers and the White > House more time to negotiate on a longer-term budget plan for fiscal > 2011. It passed the House yesterday by a vote of 335-91 and the Senate > this morning by a vote of 91-9. > The cuts include funding for the $250 million Striving Readers > program, the $67 million Even Start family-literacy program, the $25 > million Reading Is Fundamental program, and the $26 million National > Writing Project. > To be clear, the cuts will affect funding for the current fiscal year, > which began last October. (Yes, it's fair to say Congress is a little > behind schedule.) For the big picture, check out my colleague Alyson > Klein's post over at Politics K-12. > President Obama himself has repeatedly proposed essentially > eliminating discrete funding for these individual programs, but with > an important caveat: He wants to replace them with a broader, more > flexible pot of competitive dollars for what he's called the Effective > Teaching and Learning: Literacy Fund. (He also has proposed to > consolidate other programs into two related funds for Effective > Teaching and Learning in STEM education and a "Well- Rounded > Education.") Of course, the bill approved yesterday in the House, > which was supported by nearly all Republicans and more than half of > the chamber's Democrats, includes no such larger literacy program. > The legislation President Obama signed today also eliminates federal > aid for a number of other Education Department offerings, including > the $40 million Arts in Education program, the $88 million Smaller > Learning Communities program, and the $64 million Leveraging > Educational Assistance Partnerships, or LEAP, program. > One literacy program at the Education Department that was spared from > any cuts was the $19 million Improving Literacy Through School > Libraries program. > Speaking of literacy and the federal government, my co-blogger here, > Catherine, wrote earlier this week about a new guide to federal aid > for grade-level reading proficiency. (Something tells me the guide may > need a few tweaks after this week is over.) Catherine also wrote about > remarks Secretary of Education Arne Duncan made this week about early > reading. > > > > Kind regards, Jane Mott Executive Assistant to the President Council for Opportunity in Education 1025 Vermont Ave. NW, Suite 900 Washington, D.C. 20005 202-347-7430 202-347-0786 (fax) www.coenet.us