The Committee for Education Funding (CEF) reports that Congress is working quickly to produce a funding deal on
H.R. 6157, (a combined/minibus FY2019 appropriations package) to fund the Departments of Defense (DoD) and Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education (L-HHS-ED). The final funding bill will determine the federal education dollars available to school districts for the 2019-2020 school year.
Currently, the House and Senate are reconciling differences between their funding proposals (which you can get a refresher of
here and track its status
here). Rumors are the overall funding level of the package will be closer to the Senate proposal (i.e. higher) than the House proposal, but specific programmatic funding levels have yet to be released. Congressional officials participating in the conference negotiations (
should ASBO members wish to contact them to advocate for more federal education funding) include:
(Image source: CEF)Despite this progress on the DoD/L-HHS-ED minibus bill, there are still some appropriations bills/packages that may not be finished before the September 30 deadline when the federal 2018 fiscal year ends and FY2019 begins. Consequently, Congress will likely still need to pass a short-term funding package to keep the government open and running until all spending agreements are finalized. Please stay tuned to this thread for further updates as we receive more information.
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ASBO USA
asbousa@asbointl.org------------------------------
Original Message:
Sent: 08-24-2018 11:01
From: ASBO USA
Subject: Federal Education Funding Update for FY 2019
Yesterday, the Senate passed an $857 billion spending package, H.R. 6157, to fund the Department of Defense (DoD) and Departments of Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education (L-HHS-ED) programs for the 2019 fiscal year (FY19). The Senate's FY19 package would provide a $541 million boost for ED programs if passed as is, however it must still be reconciled with the final House FY19 package when passed. Lawmakers have about five weeks to reach a funding agreement or else face a government shutdown on September 30, unless Congress passes a continuing resolution (CR) to buy some time and keep the government open.
Education Week highlights the Senate's proposed FY19 funding levels for major education programs (which ASBO members can review here) and notes the package ignores several Trump Administration proposals to fund new public and private school choice programs and merge the Departments of Labor and Education. Over 50 amendments to the package were adopted, some of which deal with education.
- Amdt. 3721-Would allow ED to pay colleges for the cost of collecting outstanding loans made under the now-expired federal Perkins Loan program.
- Amdt. 3810-Would require ED to produce a report on its efforts to coordinate with NASA and the National Science Foundation on STEM programs in K–12 schools.
- Amdt. 3862-Would provide $10 million for an ED pilot program that tests partnerships between colleges and "high-needs" school districts to train school counselors, social workers and mental health professionals.
- Amdt. 3820-Would require a federal study "on the condition of public school facilities of the United States and their adequacy to support a 21st century education."
Some controversial education amendments weren't adopted, including those dealing with school discipline policies, funding school security infrastructure, and blocking ED Secretary DeVos from allowing school districts to purchase guns with federal funding. These issues may still come up during the conference process when Congress reconciles the final House and Senate proposals, however the House has yet to schedule a floor vote on its FY19 funding package. Please stay tuned for further updates as we receive more information.
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ASBO USA
asbousa@asbointl.org
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