President's Education Budget

CEC Outraged at President's Education Budget

CEC Workshops on the New IDEA
CEC Outraged At Presidentís Education Budget

CEC Workshops on the New IDEA

Spaces are filling up fast so donít delay! Register now for the CEC workshops on the new IDEA law! CEC will hold five one-day workshops around the country to provide information and implications of changes in the new IDEA law. CEC will be in Providence, Rhode Island on February 11; San Francisco on February 18; Chicago on February 23; at CECís Arlington, Virginia headquarters on March 4; and Miami on March 11. For more information on these workshops and to register, go to http://www.cec.sped.org/conventions/maryland_2005/pdfs/IDEA_workshops.pdf .
Please share the above information with your colleagues or anyone else you think may be interested.

CEC Outraged At Presidentís Education Budget

On Monday, President Bush released his budget request for federal programs for fiscal year (FY) 2006. CEC is outraged at the spending and programmatic cuts in the Presidents education budget. Bushís $56 billion education spending proposal is a $530 million reduction of 0.9 percent from FY 2005ís funding level. This proposed cut in education spending would be the first in over a decade and would eliminate 48 education programs, including programs for gifted and talented students, assistive technology, and vocational and technical education programs.

For special education, the President has proposed an increase of $508 million for IDEA Part B for FY 2006, which would bring the funding level up to $11.1 billion. While this is an increase of 4.8 percent over FY 2005, it simply maintains the 18.6 percent full funding mark of FY 2005. This figure is still less than half of the 40 percent level promised under the original federal special education law of 1975. According to the Department of Education (ED), the number of children who will receive services under Part B in 2006 will be 6.9 million, up from 6.8 million in 2005.

President Bushís request for FY 2006 funding for Part B Section 619 is the same as FY 2005, $384.6 million, and his request for funding for Part C, $440.8 million, is unchanged from FY 2005 as well.

For Part D, the Presidentís request for FY 2006 funding remains the same for some programs, is reduced or moved in others, and one new program is established.
Bush made no request for funds for State Personnel Development grants, claiming that the entire FY 2005 appropriation remains available for obligation through September 30, 2006, and that it will be used for 41 continuation awards and 8 new awards. The FY 2005 appropriation was $50.7 million.

For Technical Assistance and Dissemination, the FY 2006 request is $49.4 million, which is $3 million less than the FY 2005 level of $52.4 million. The request for Personnel Preparation is the same as the FY 2005 appropriation, which was $90.6 million. The request for Parent Information Centers also remains the same from FY 2005, $26.0 million.

Unfortunately, the request for Technology and Media Services is $6.8 million below the FY 2005 level of $38.8 million. The Presidentís request for FY 2006 is $32.0 million.

As you may know, under the new IDEA law, Research in Special Education has been moved to the Institute of Education Sciences (IES), a move which CEC opposed. For FY 2006, the President has proposed spending $72.6 million on Research in Special Education, which is a $10.5 million reduction from FY 2005ís appropriation of $83.1 million. Special Education Studies and Evaluations were also moved to IES. The President has requested $10 million for this program for FY 2006.

One new program that the President proposes creating under Part D is the Transition Initiative. This is a description of the new program according to ED: ìThe Special Education Transition Initiative would help States improve high school graduation rates and post-school outcomes for students with disabilities through the implementation of research-based employment, education, and transition practices, along with the collection and analysis of student data. An additional $2 million from Demonstration and Training programs under the Rehabilitation Services and Disability Research account will be used to support this initiative. The program would be carried out under the technical assistance authority in section 663 of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act. Approximately 7 competitive grants would be made to States to design, develop, and implement programs to improve post-school outcomes.î President Bush has requested $5.0 million for this program for FY 2006.

CEC is greatly disappointed and angered that President Bush is not committed to fully funding IDEA and that he has chosen to eliminate gifted and talented and vocational education programs. CEC will continue influencing Congress to increase funding for IDEA and to restore funds to programs of interest to CEC members that the President has proposed eliminating.

Complete Funding Chart for Special Education, Gifted and Talented, Assistive Technology, and Vocational Education (all figures are rounded).

Part B
FY 2005 appropriation: $10.6 billion
FY 2006 request: $11.1 billion

Part B 619
FY 2005 appropriation: $384.6 million
FY 2006 request: $384.6 million

Part C
FY 2005 appropriation: $440.8 million
FY 2006 request: $440.8 million

Part D

State Personnel Development
FY 2005 appropriation: $ 50.7 million
FY 2006 request: --

Technical Assistance And Dissemination
FY 2005 appropriation: $ 52.4 million
FY 2006 request: $ 49.4 million

Personnel Preparation
FY 2005 appropriation: $ 90.6 million
FY 2006 request $ 90.6 million

Parent Information Centers
FY 2005 appropriation: $ 26.0 million
FY 2006 request: $ 26.0 million

Technology and Media Services
FY 2005 appropriation: $ 38.8 million
FY 2006 request: $ 32.0 million

Transition Initiative (new)
FY 2005 appropriation: --
FY 2006 request: $ 5.0 million

Programs Under IES

Research in Special Ed.
FY 2005 appropriation: $ 83.1 million
FY 2006 request: $ 72.6 million

Studies and Evaluations
FY 2005 appropriation *:
FY 2006 request: $ 10.0 million

(* Funds for studies and evaluations can be up to one-half of one percent of Part B funds. ED did not publish the figure for FY 2005.)

Javits Gifted and Talented Grants
FY 2005 appropriation: $ 11.0
FY 2006 request: --

Assistive Technology
FY 2005 appropriation: $25.7 million
FY 2006 request: --

Vocational and Technical Education (all programs)
FY 2005 appropriation: $1.33 billion
FY 2006 request: --

The following is the text of the press release CEC issued today on President Bushís education budget proposal:

President Bush Wipes Out Vocational and Gifted Education; Gives Special Education Short Shrift

CEC is outraged that President Bush has eliminated funding for vocational and gifted and talented education. Equally as egregious is the paltry sum allocated for special education, which not only fails to address the growing population of students with disabilities but also makes full funding unattainable.

ARLINGTON, VA, FEBRUARY 8, 2005ó President Bushís 2006 proposed budget shows a callous disregard for students with special needs, says the Council for Exceptional Children (CEC). While the monies available for students with disabilities is woefully inadequate, scrapping funding for vocational and gifted education will also leave thousands of students without appropriate educational programs.

The $508M increase, which does not even equal the $14.6B authorized by Congress under the new Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, shows that President Bush has no plans to fully fund special education. Lack of funds for special education results in inadequate materials for students with disabilities and a chronic shortage of special education teachers, which means children with disabilities may not receive the education they need ‚ and deserve ‚ to succeed in school and in life. Furthermore, by shortchanging special education, schools and districts are strained as they scramble to find funds to pay the balance of special education costs.

Other areas for which funding is far below what is needed include preschool, infants, and toddlers and researchóeach of which receives no additional funding or was cut for 2006.

ìCEC is outraged that our nationís leaders continue to make special education funding a low priority,î says CEC President Jim McCormick. ìIt is impossible to provide high quality educational services unless teachers and schools have the resources they need for their students. Without full funding for IDEA, we place the nationís most vulnerable children at risk.î

Assistive technology is another area that has been cut. The new budget proposes to end funding for the newly reauthorized Assistive Technology Act of 2004, despite evidence that the programs have shown to benefit communities, the economy, businesses, and individuals with disabilities.

Eliminating funding for vocational education further harms the nationís children and their education. It will deprive students with disabilities, as well as many non-disabled students, of vital training and work experience that leads to productive, full-time employment.

CEC also takes issue with the fact that the 2006 budget eliminates funding for students with gifts and talents. This will shut down thousands gifted and talented programs across the nation, doing irreparable harm to students with gifts and talents. Contrary to popular belief, it is crucial to provide appropriate educational programs to students with gifts and talents. Without appropriate educational programs, not only do these students fail to achieve their potential, they are also prone to behavioral or emotional problems.

ìThis anti-education budget will immeasurably harm the quality of education we provide to children with special needs,î says McCormick. ìUnder this budget, our children with disabilities and our children with gifts and talents will be left behind.î

To read CECís funding recommendations, go to www.cec.sped.org.
The Council for Exceptional Children is the premiere association for special educators. CEC works to improve the educational success of individuals with disabilities and/or gifts and talents.
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To read more from the Department of Education on Bushís education funding and to access specific details of the budget, including special education, go to http://www.ed.gov/news/pressreleases/2005/02/02072005.html

To read the Democratsí response to the Presidentís proposed education budget, go to http://edworkforce.house.gov/democrats/photos/FY06budgetsummary.pdf