U.S. Department of Education

Budget 2010: $46.7 billion
Enacted 2009: $45.4 billion

Elementary and Secondary Education (K-12):

2010 Budget: $38.3 billion
Enacted 2009: $37.6 billion

Postsecondary Education:

2010 Budget: $3.6 billion
Enacted 2009: $3.4 billion

With a Fiscal Year 2010 budget of $46.7 billion in discretionary funding for the Department of Education, the President is committed to educational excellence at all levels. Building on investments in the Recovery Act to bolster early childhood education, this budget supports states’ "Zero to Five" systems. To strengthen and reform public schools and meet the needs of all students, the Administration will utilize programs funded by the Recovery Act and new budget initiatives to work with states to develop rigorous standards and assessments, support and reward effective teaching, invest in best practices, and improve student achievement.

Expanding opportunities for higher education is another priority of this budget, which modernizes Federal student loans, builds on an increase in Pell Grant awards that was included in the Recovery Act, and makes the new $2,500 American Opportunity Tax Credit permanent. The budget includes a new five-year, $2.5 billion Access and Completion Incentive Fund to support innovative state efforts to help low-income students complete college.

COMPREHENSIVE EARLY CHILDHOOD EDUCATION

Expands access to high-quality early childhood education. The budget invests in school systems and non-profit organizations with demonstrated track records of success in raising student achievement to expand their work or implement new innovative approaches through the "What Works and Innovation Fund." The budget also supports "Promise Neighborhoods," a new effort to test innovative strategies to improve academic achievement and life outcomes in high-poverty areas modeled after the Harlem Children’s Zone.

INNOVATIVE AND PROVEN SOLUTIONS

Supports innovative and effective strategies to improve achievement. The budget invests in school systems and non-profit organizations with demonstrated track records of success in raising student achievement to expand their work or implement new innovative approaches through the "Innovation Fund." Funds provided support "Promise Neighborhoods," a new effort to test innovative strategies to improve academic achievement and life outcomes in high-poverty areas modeled after the Harlem Children’s Zone.
Funds education research. The Administration supports funding to ensure that teachers and school leaders have the tools and information they need to prepare students for the global economy. This includes funds to carefully study, improve, and scale up promising educational innovations that focus on improving student learning and achievement. Additional funds will also be used to rigorously evaluate federal education programs.
Promotes successful models for turning around low-achieving schools. The budget scales up educational practices that show results, and cultivates promising new practices by committing resources to turn around high-need, low-performing schools with resources, not just sanctions. It supports state efforts to diagnose and address the root causes of schools’ low-performance, and increases funding for the Charter School program.

TEACHER AND PRINCIPAL EFFECTIVENESS

Prepares and rewards effective teachers and principals. The budget invests in efforts to strengthen and increase transparency around results for teacher and principal preparation programs, including programs in schools of education, alternative certification programs, and teacher and principal residency programs. The budget supports additional investments in state and local efforts, developed in consultation with teachers and other stakeholders, to implement systems that reward strong teacher performance and help less effective teachers improve or, if they do not, exit the classroom.

COLLEGE ACCESS AND COMPLETION

Increases maximum Pell Awards. The budget increases the Pell Grant maximum award by $200, to $5,550, in the 2010-2011 school year. It also shifts the Pell program to the mandatory side of the budget and ties future increases in Pell awards to the Consumer Price Index-plus-1 percentage point. The budget also makes permanent the new $2,500 American Opportunity Tax Credit provided in the Recovery Act.
Modernizes Federal Student Loans. The President’s budget asks the Congress to end the entitlements for financial institutions that lend to students. The Administration will instead take advantage of low-cost and stable sources of capital so students are ensured access to loans, while providing high-quality services for students by using competitive, private providers to service loans The approach in the budget, originating all new loans in the direct lending program, saves more than $4 billion a year that is reinvested in aid to students The budget also makes campus-based, low-interest loans more widely available through a new modernized Perkins Loan program, overhauling the inefficient and inequitable current Perkins program
Focuses on college completion. The budget also provides $500 million in 2010 and $2.5 billion over five years for a new five-year Access and Completion Incentive Fund to support innovative state efforts to help low-income students succeed and complete their college education. The program will include a rigorous evaluation component to ensure that we learn from what works.