President Trump’s Proposed 2021 Budget Would Overhaul ESSA Programs
February 11, 2020
As Naaz Modan reports for Education Dive, President Trump’s draft budget proposal for 2021 would “cut key K-12 programs while funding private school scholarships.” Overall, the President’s budget proposal would provide the Department of Education with a $66.6 billion in funding in 2021, “7.8% or $5.6 billion less than the previous year.” One of the biggest changes is a restructuring of the Elementary and Secondary education Act into a $19.4 million block grant that would consolidate major programs, including the Every Student Succeeds Act’s Title I and Title II. The proposed budget would also invest “an additional $100 million in funding in special needs” as well as other priorities, such as Education Freedom Scholarships, an initiative Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos “has been pushing since last year.”