Budget request focuses on building career, college readiness among students
President Obama’s FY 2016 budget request includes four focus areas for education, including increasing equity and opportunity for all students; expanding high-quality early learning programs; supporting teachers and school leaders; and improving access, affordability and student outcomes in postsecondary education.
Education Technology State Grants would receive $200 million to support models that use technology to help teachers improve instruction and personalize learning for students.
Obama has requested a $180 million increase for the Investing in Innovation program–up to $300 million–to develop, validate, and scale up proven education practices and strategies. The budget also requests $100 million for a Leveraging What Works competition to encourage innovative use of federal grants that support evidence-based strategies that improve outcomes for high-need students.
Next page: Teacher preparation, college- and career-ready standards
The budget request proposes a Teacher and Principal Pathways consolidation, and allocates $138.8 million to help that program create or expand high-quality pathways into teaching and school leadership professions.
Title I would receive $15.4 billion–a $1 billion increase intended to implement new college- and career-ready standards, close achievement gaps, and implement new educator evaluation systems.
A new Equity and Outcomes pilot, available for up to 10 Title I schools and districts, would give participants more flexibility in using Title I and other federal funds if they demonstrate a commitment to equitable fund distribution.
A total of $11.7 billion would be allocated to IDEA Grants to States to better support special education and students with disabilities.
The 2016 budget includes $75 billion in mandatory funds over 10 years for Preschool for All, a program that will help states implement universal high-quality preschool programs that help prepare all 4-year-olds from low- and moderate-income families for success in kindergarten and beyond. It also requests $750 million for Preschool Development grants—a $500 million increase—to help states develop and expand high-quality preschool programs and lay the groundwork for universal preschool under Preschool for All.
Material from a press release was used in this report.
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