Archived Information

FY 2002 Budget Summary - April 2001
II. THE 2002 EDUCATION BUDGET BY PROGRAM AREA
A. ELEMENTARY AND SECONDARY EDUCATION



Overview
President Bush has made improving the quality of America's elementary and secondary schools his top priority. His framework for reform, No Child Left Behind, calls for changes in Federal elementary and secondary programs based on State-determined high standards for all, accountability for results, choice for parents and students, and flexibility for schools and teachers.

No Child Left Behind would build on the changes made in the 1994 reauthorization of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA), but recognizes that those changes did not go far enough to reverse the unacceptable achievement gap between disadvantaged and minority students and their more advantaged peers. For example, on the latest National Assessment of Educational Progress in 4th grade reading, 73 percent of white students performed at or above the basic level, compared with just 40 percent of Hispanic students and only 36 percent of African American students.

This achievement gap has persisted and even widened despite the investment of more than $130 billion and the creation of hundreds of categorical programs over the past three decades. In fact, these numerous Federal programs-accompanied by burdensome regulatory and paperwork requirements-often get in the way of promising reforms at the State and local levels and promote a culture of compliance, not real accountability measured by improved student achievement.

The President's fiscal year 2002 budget for elementary and secondary education is intended to stop funding failure and build instead a culture of achievement and accountability in our education system. In particular, the President's proposals are intended to ensure that no child is trapped in a chronically failing school. The request would bring to Federal education programs many of the strategies that have worked so well at the State and local levels: stronger accountability for student performance, a focus on research-based practices, reduced bureaucracy and greater flexibility, and better information to empower parents.

The budget also recognizes that resources are important by proposing an increase of $1.9 billion for Department elementary and secondary education programs, up 7 percent over the 2001 program level. This increase includes ESEA programs as well as non-ESEA elementary and secondary programs, such as those authorized by the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act.

Highlights of the request for elementary and secondary programs include:

  • $9.1 billion for Title I Grants to Local Educational Agencies, an increase of $459 million to give States and school districts additional resources to turn around failing schools, improve teacher quality, and ensure that all students achieve to the standards at their grade levels before advancing to the next level. The request would focus these additional resources on high-poverty school districts by allocating the entire increase through the Targeted Grants formula. The request also provides, within the $9.1 billion total, $400 million for State and local technical assistance to help turn around low-performing schools.

  • $2.6 billion for State grants for improving teacher quality, a new formula grant program that would combine funding from several existing education programs, including the Class Size Reduction and Eisenhower Professional Development State Grants programs, into performance-based grants. The proposal would provide a $375 million or 17 percent increase over the antecedent programs to help States and local educational agencies (LEAs) fund their own needs and priorities in developing and supporting a high-quality teaching force.

  • $900 million for a new Reading First program to help States and local educational agencies (LEAs) implement comprehensive reading instruction grounded in scientifically based reading research for children in kindergarten through third grade. This proposal builds on and replaces the Reading and Literacy Grants program, and would more than triple funding for reading instruction-from $286 million in 2001 to $900 million in 2002.

  • $846 million for 21st Century Community Learning Centers to support a State formula program that provides high-quality extended learning opportunities, after school and during the summer, for children in low-performing schools, including drug- and violence-prevention activities and character education.

  • $817 million for Educational Technology State grants, a proposal to consolidate all of the Department's current educational technology programs into a single, performance-based grant program to ensure that schools use technology effectively to improve teaching and learning.

  • $644 million for Safe and Drug-Free Schools State grants to more effectively provide students with drug- and violence-prevention programs and to implement strategies to improve school safety.

  • $472 million for Choice and Innovation State grants, a new initiative that consolidates small and duplicative programs into one flexible grant program to help States and school districts implement their own innovative strategies for improving student achievement. In return for flexibility, States and districts would have to meet more stringent accountability requirements.

  • $320 million to help States develop and implement annual reading and math assessments for all students in grades 3-8. States would be permitted to select and design their own new assessments, which must be in place by the 2004-2005 school year, so long as they are aligned with State standards and student achievement results are comparable from year to year.

  • $200 million for Charter Schools, an increase of $10 million, to stimulate continued growth in the number of charter schools, an important element of the Administration's proposal to increase choice for students and parents. This request, combined with funds released because a number of projects will conclude their 3-year funding cycle, would support approximately 1,780 new and existing charter schools that offer enhanced public school choice and have the flexibility to offer innovative educational programs in exchange for greater accountability for student achievement.

  • $175 million for a new Charter Schools Homestead Fund, as part of the President's strategy for expanding school choice. This new initiative builds on the $25 million Charter School Facility Financing Demonstration Grants initiative launched in 2001 by providing grants to leverage funds to construct, lease, purchase, or renovate academic facilities for use by charter schools.

  • $75 million for Early Reading First, an initiative that would complement Reading First State Grants by supporting model programs to develop the academic readiness of preschool-aged children. Activities would support scientifically based strategies to enhance pre-reading skills and school readiness for preschool children.

  • $30 million for Transition to Teaching to support the Department of Defense Troops to Teachers program by providing quality teachers for more students in high-poverty school districts. In addition, the Secretary of Education would have the authority to build on this program to recruit, prepare, and support a wide range of talented career-changing professionals as teachers, particularly in high-poverty schools and in high-need subject areas.

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    Title I: Education for the Disadvantaged
    (dollars in millions)
      2000 2001 2002
    Request
    Grants to LEAs $7,941.4 $8,601.7 $9.060.7
    Set-Aside for Low-Perfoming
    Schools (non-add)
    134.0 225.0 400.0
    Capital Expenses for Private
    School Children
    12.0 6.0
    Even Start 150.0 250.0 250.0
    Reading First State Grant 260.01 286.01 900.0
    State Agency Programs:
    Migrant 354.7 380.0 380.0
    Neglected and Delinquent 42.0 46.0 46.0
    Subtotal 396.7 426.0 426.0
    Evaluation 8.9 8.9 8.9
    Demonstrations of Comprehensive
    School Reform
    170.0 210.0 260.02
     
    Total 8,939.0 9,788.6 10,980.62




    Title I provides supplemental programs to enable educationally disadvantaged children, particularly those attending schools in high-poverty areas, to learn the core subjects to high standards. For example, Title I supports more individualized instruction, fundamental changes in the school to improve teaching and learning, and preschool education. Children of migrant agricultural workers and students in State institutions for neglected and delinquent children and youth also receive Title I services.

    The 2002 request includes $9.1 billion, a $459 million increase, for Grants to Local Educational Agencies (LEAs). The number of children served by this program has increased rapidly in recent years, as more schools have elected to establish schoolwide Title I programs. The Department estimates that in 2002 these grants will serve more than 13 million students in 46,500 schools.

    No Child Left Behind, the President's proposal to reform Federal support of elementary and secondary education, emphasizes accountability through testing all students in grades 3-8 in reading and math and requiring progressively tougher corrective measures for schools that fail to improve their performance in helping all students meet high State standards. The budget request reflects this emphasis on accountability by including, within the total for Grants to LEAs, $400 million for State and local assistance to help turn around low-performing schools. These funds, an increase of $175 million or 78 percent over the 2001 level, would support measures ranging from intensive teacher training to required implementation of proven reforms to school restructuring.

    In addition, students attending schools identified for corrective action-those that have failed to make adequate yearly progress toward State standards for at least two consecutive years-would be provided the opportunity to transfer to better schools. If a school fails to improve for 3 years-despite technical assistance and other corrective actions-students could use their share of Federal Title I funds to transfer to a better public or private school or to obtain supplemental educational services.

    The Department also is proposing to direct additional resources to high-poverty districts and schools by allocating the entire $459 million increase for Title I LEA Grants through the Targeted Grants formula. This formula provides more funding per child than the Basic Grants formula to high-poverty districts and avoids the "cliff effect" of the Concentration Grant formula, which eliminates funding to districts that miss its 15-percent poverty threshold by even the smallest margin.

    In addition to Grants to LEAs, Title I includes several other programs:

    Reading First State Grants is the Administration's new comprehensive effort to use scientifically based reading research to promote high-quality school reading instruction for grades K-3. The request includes $900 million for this proposal, a $614 million increase that would more than triple the 1.1 million children served under the antecedent Reading and Literacy Grants program in 2001. Local reading programs would help teachers and school administrators improve instruction, support family literacy activities to improve the home learning environment, and mobilize reading coordinators and experts in communities and States to strengthen existing literacy efforts.

    Early Reading First would complement Reading First State Grants by providing $75 million in competitive grants to school districts and non-profit organizations to support activities in existing pre-school programs designed to enhance the verbal skills, phonological awareness, letter knowledge, pre-reading skills, and early language development of children ages 3 through 5. Funds would be targeted to communities with high numbers of low-income families.

    Even Start supports local projects that blend early childhood education, parenting instruction, and adult education into a unified family literacy program. The request includes $250 million, the same level as 2001, to support more than 1,400 projects nationwide that make these services available to eligible families.

    The request provides $260 million for Comprehensive School Reform Demonstrations (CSRD), the same as the 2001 level, to help schools develop and implement comprehensive school reform programs that are based on reliable research and effective practices. Funds are allocated to States, which then make competitive subgrants for up to 3 years to schools participating in Title I programs, with a priority on low-performing schools that have been identified for improvement under Title I. In prior years, additional funds appropriated through the Fund for the Improvement of Education (FIE) were available to non-Title I schools. The 2002 request consolidates the FIE portion of the funding under Title I and would support grants to approximately 3,500 schools.

    The budget provides level funding of $380 million for Migrant Education to meet the unique needs of nearly 800,000 children of highly mobile migrant agricultural workers by helping States to identify migrant children, pay the higher costs often associated with serving those children, and employ methods such as distance-learning to reach migrant farmworker communities. The request also includes $46 million for the Title I Neglected and Delinquent (N&D) program to maintain services to children and youth in State-operated institutions.

    The request includes $8.9 million for Title I Evaluation to support national evaluations that examine the effectiveness of Title I, as well as studies of promising practices and other activities to help States and LEAs implement Title I requirements. Title I evaluations also help provide data that the Department uses to grade program performance, in compliance with the Government Performance and Results Act.

    The request would not fund Capital Expenses for Private School Children, which helped school districts meet the extra costs of including private school children in Title I programs under the terms mandated by the original Aguilar v. Felton decision in 1985, which prohibited provision of services at religious schools. This decision, which required school districts to arrange off-site services through such methods as leasing neutral sites or using portable vans, was reversed by the Supreme Court in 1997, and school districts and private schools have largely completed the transition to on-site services.

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    High School Equivalency Program and College Assistance Migrant Program
    (BA in millions)
      2000 2001 2002
    Request
    High School Equivalency $15.0 $20.0 $20.0
    College Assistance Migrant
    Program
    7.0 10.0 10.0
    Total 22.0 30.0 30.0



    The High School Equivalency Program (HEP) funds projects to help low-income migrant and seasonal farm workers gain high school diplomas or equivalency certificates. The College Assistance Migrant Program (CAMP) provides stipends and special services such as tutoring and counseling to migrant students who are in their first year of college. Both programs have demonstrated high success rates. In 1998-99, approximately 73 percent of HEP participants completed their GED and 88 percent of CAMP students completed their first year of college in good standing. Almost 74 percent of CAMP participants eventually graduate from college.

    The request would enable HEP to serve a total of almost 8,000 migrant students, while the number of CAMP participants would be almost 1,800.

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    State Grants for Improving Teacher Quality
    (dollars in millions)
     200020012002
    Request
    State Grants for Improving Teacher Quality $2,600.0
    Class Size Reduction$1,300.0$1,623.0
    Eisenhower Professional Development State Grants335.0485.0
    Eisenhower Professional Development National Activities41.0
    Eisenhower Professional Development Federal Activities23.323.3
    Eisenhower Regional Mathematics and Science Education Consortia15.015.0
    Parental Assistance33.038.0
     
    Total1,706.32,225.32,600.0



    No Child Left Behind proposes the consolidation of funding from several existing education programs, including Class Size Reduction and Eisenhower Professional Development State Grants, into a new State Grants for Improving Teacher Quality program. The $2.6 billion request is a $375 million or 17 percent increase over the funding provided for the consolidated programs in 2001. This streamlined program of performance-based grants would provide sufficient flexibility for States and LEAs to strengthen the skills and knowledge of their teachers and administrators and build a high-quality teaching force.

    In exchange for this flexibility, States and LEAs would be required to ensure that program funds are used for professional development that is (1) grounded in scientifically based research, (2) tied to State or local standards, (3) of sufficient intensity and duration to affect teaching performance, and (4) directly related to the subjects taught. In addition, States would be held accountable for ensuring that all children are taught by effective teachers and for improving student achievement.

    States would be able to support other activities to improve teacher quality, including changes to teacher certification or licensure requirements, alternative certification, tenure reform, merit-based teacher performance systems, differential and bonus pay for teachers in high-need subject areas, and teacher mentoring programs.

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    Transition to Teaching
      200020012002
    Request
    BA in millions $30.0



    The request would support the Department of Defense's Troops to Teachers program that provides the preparation and support needed to encourage retiring military personnel to teach in high-poverty school districts. Funds also may be used to extend the program to the recruitment and preparation of non-military professionals as teachers, particularly in high-poverty schools and in high-need subject areas.

    This program addresses the national challenge of training and recruiting more than 2 million teachers over the next 10 years due to the retirements of long-time teachers, high attrition rates among new teachers, and booming enrollments. Since 1994, Troops to Teachers has placed more than 3,300 former military personnel in teaching positions in 48 States and the District of Columbia, and more than 83 percent of program participants are still in the classroom today. Teachers recruited through Troops to Teachers are twice as likely as traditional public school teachers to teach in such high-need subject areas as mathematics, science, and special education.

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    Safe and Drug-Free Schools
      2000 2001 2002
    Request
    BA in millions $600.0 $644.3 $644.3



    No Child Left Behind would strengthen and streamline the Safe and Drug-Free Schools program to more effectively provide students with research-based drug- and violence-prevention programs and to implement strategies to improve school safety. The proposed performance-based grant program would require States to (1) develop a definition of a "persistently dangerous school" and to report on safety on a school-by-school basis, (2) provide victims of serious school-based crimes and students trapped in persistently dangerous schools the option to transfer to a safe alternative, and (3) adopt a "zero-tolerance" policy that empowers teachers to remove violent or persistently disruptive students from the classroom.

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    21st Century Community Learning Centers
      2000 2001 2002
    Request
    BA in millions $453.4 $845.6 $845.6



    The request would support about 6,300 centers providing after-school learning opportunities-particularly for children most in need of a safe environment and supplemental academic assistance-to about 1.1 million students. Recent research has found that effective schools use extended learning time in reading and mathematics to improve student achievement.

    The Administration intends to work with Congress to convert this competitive grant program into State formula grants, with the States making competitive subgrants to projects that would primarily serve schools eligible to operate a Title I schoolwide program. States would give priority to projects serving schools identified for improvement or corrective action under Title I. The proposal also would expand eligibility to community-based and faith-based organizations, emphasize activities that prepare students to meet State and local student performance standards in core academic subjects, and allow States to reserve a portion of their allocations to carry out State-level activities.

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    Educational Technology State Grants
    (BA in millions)
    2000 2001 2002
    Request
    Educational Technology State Grants $817.1
    Technology Literacy Challenge Fund $425.0 $450.0
    Technology Innovation Challenge Grants 146.3 136.3
    Regional Technology in Education Consortia 10.0 10.0
    Teacher Training in Technology 75.0 125.0
    Community-Based Technology Centers 32.5 65.0
    Technology Leadership activities 2.0 2.0
    Star Schools 50.6 59.3
    Ready-To-Learn Television 16.0 16.0
    Telecommunications Demonstration Project for Mathematics 8.5 8.5
    Total 872.1 872.11 $817.1




    The President's Educational Technology State Grants program would consolidate 9 current educational technology programs into a single, performance-based grant program. The proposal would provide more funds to schools than the current multi-grant system while eliminating the burden on States and districts of submitting multiple applications for technology funds and meeting separate programmatic and regulatory requirements.

    Educational Technology State Grants funds would flow by formula to States, and within States, funds would be targeted to rural and high-poverty schools. Districts would use their funds for such activities as the purchase of hardware and software (including networking connections), training teachers to integrate technology into the curriculum, and filtering Internet connections to protect children from obscene and inappropriate material. States would be held accountable for the use of their technology funds and would be required to set performance goals to measure how grants are being used to improve student achievement.

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    Choice and Innovation State Grants
    (BA in millions)

    2000 2001 2002
    Request
    Choice and Innovation State Grants $471.5
    Innovative Education State Grants $365.7 $385.0
    Inexpensive Book Distribution 20.0 23.0
    Arts in Education 11.5 28.0
    Women's Educational Equity 3.0 3.0
    Ellender Fellowships 1.5 1.5
    Fund for the Improvement of Education 244.2 338.81
    Javits Gifted and Talented eduation 6.5 7.5
    National Writing Project 9.0 10.0
    Civic Education 9.9 12.0
    Smaller Learning Communities 125.0
    Total 671.3 933.8 471.5



    This initiative would consolidate several overlapping and duplicative grant programs into one flexible grant to give States and school districts the freedom to use Federal funds to support their own innovative strategies for improving student achievement. Allowable activities would include innovative approaches to school choice, including private school choice and charter school programs, as well as activities authorized under the antecedent programs. States and school districts would no longer have to submit multiple applications or adhere to separate administrative and regulatory requirements for individual programs.

    For example, school districts would be able to use their funds to support comprehensive reforms that could include creating smaller learning communities in high schools, expanding school counseling programs, and meeting the special educational needs of gifted and talented students.

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    State Assessments
      2000 2001 2002
    Request
    BA in millions $320.0



    The foundation for the strengthened accountability in Federal education programs called for in No Child Left Behind is the proposal for annual State assessments in reading and mathematics for all students in grades 3-8. These assessments would provide parents the information they need to know how well their child is doing in school and how well the school is educating their child. School districts would use assessment results to make sure that all schools and students are making adequate yearly progress toward State content and performance standards, and that no groups of students are left behind. States would use assessment results to measure the performance of school districts and schools and to identify schools needing improvement under the school improvement and corrective action provisions of the Title I Grants to Local Educational Agencies program.

    Current law requires assessment in reading and mathematics only twice during grades 3-8. States would be permitted to select and design their own new assessments, which must be in place by the 2004-2005 school year, so long as they are aligned with State standards and student achievement results are comparable from year to year. The 2002 request for State Assessments would pay the Federal share of developing and implementing these new assessments.

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    Reform and Innovation Fund
    2000 2001 2002
    Request
    BA in millions $40.0



    This proposed program would provide the Secretary with discretionary funds to support programs and projects that address national priorities in K-12 education. For example, these funds could be used to demonstrate the effectiveness of expanded school choice options or other innovations of national significance.

    For 2002, the new fund would focus on character education, investing $25 million in grants to States and school districts for such activities as developing character education curriculum, implementing model character education programs that involve parents and community members, including private and nonprofit organizations, and training teachers to incorporate character-building lessons and activities into the classroom.

    Funds also would support early childhood literacy activities through the Reach Out and Read program, which trains pediatricians and nurse practitioners to work with parents and their young children to develop early literacy skills.

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    Charter Schools Homestead Fund
    2000 2001 2002
    Request
    BA in millions $175.0



    A key goal of No Child Left Behind is to empower parents with more educational options for their children from kindergarten to college. One of the best strategies to achieve this goal is to expand the number of charter schools, which increase the choices for parents seeking the best possible education for their children.

    A major obstacle to the creation of charter schools in many communities is the limited availability of suitable academic facilities. The Charter Schools Homestead Fund would build on the existing Charter School Facility Demonstration Grants program by providing $175 million in grants to public and nonprofit entities to leverage funds to help charter schools purchase, construct, renovate, or lease academic facilities or obtain donated buildings.

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    Charter Schools
    2000 2001 2002
    Request
    BA in millions $145.0 $190.0 $200.0



    This program increases public school choice options by supporting the planning, development, and initial implementation of public charter schools. A total of 36 States, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico have charter school laws that exempt such schools from most education rules and regulations in exchange for greater accountability for improving student performance. The number of charter schools nationwide has grown from 250 to more than 2,100 in the past few years. The $200 million request would support the Administration's objective of expanding public school choice options by funding an estimated 680 new and 1,100 existing charter schools.

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    Magnet Schools Assistance
      2000 2001 2002
    Request
    BA in millions $110.0 $110.0 $110.0



    Level funding for this program would support approximately 64 new and continuation grants to local educational agencies to operate magnet schools that are part of a court-ordered or federally approved desegregation plan to eliminate, reduce, or prevent minority group isolation in elementary and secondary schools. Magnet schools address their desegregation goals by providing a distinctive educational program that attracts a diverse student population. The request also would support about 15 awards for "Innovative Programs" that involve local desegregation activities outside of magnet schools.

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    Education for Native Hawaiians
    (BA in millions)
      2000 2001 2002
    Request
    New Activities $2.6
    Family-Based Education Centers $8.4 $10.9 9.0
    Higher Education 2.7 3.2 3.2
    Gifted and Talented 0.7 2.6 2.6
    Special Education 2.2 2.6 2.6
    Curriculum Development,Teacher Training,
    and Recruitment
    7.1 6.6 5.6
    Community-Based Centers 1.5 1.6 1.9
    Native Hawaiian Education Councils 0.4 0.5 0.5
    Total 23.0 28.0 28.0



    These programs provide educational services for Hawaiian Natives, many of whom perform below national norms on achievement tests of basic skills in reading, science, math, and social science. Hawaiian Natives also experience higher than average rates of absenteeism and grade retention, are disproportionately identified as disabled, and have a low rate of postsecondary participation. Education for Native Hawaiians programs address each of these issues, and have demonstrated significant progress in such areas as early childhood education and higher education. New projects in recent years have focused on aquaculture education, Hawaiian language revitalization, and prisoner education.

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    Alaska Native Education Equity
    (BA in millions)
      2000 2001 2002
    Request
    New Activities $5.2
    Educational Planning, Curriculum
    Developement, Teachers Training,
    and Recruitment
    $5.0 $5.2 4.2
    Home-based Education for Pre-School Children 5.9 6.1 4.3
    Student Enrichment 2.0 1.7 1.3
    Other Activities 2.0
    Total 13.0 15.0 15.0




    These programs provide educational services to meet the special needs of Native Alaskan children. Recent studies have shown that 60 percent of Alaska Natives entering high school in urban areas do not graduate, and Alaska Natives trail other students on tests of educational proficiency. The 2002 request includes level funding for continuation of projects that address the barriers preventing Alaska Native children from achieving to higher academic standards, and that develop programs tailored to the special needs of Alaska Native children in order to improve their performance in the classroom.

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    Education for Homeless Children and Youth
      2000 2001 2002
    Request
    BA in millions $28.8 $35.0 $35.0




    This program provides formula grants to States to facilitate the enrollment of homeless students in school and give them access to services available to other children, such as preschool programs, special education, gifted and talented programs, and vocational education. States subgrant most funds to local educational agencies for tutoring, transportation, and other services that help homeless children to enroll in, attend, and succeed in school.

    Since this program began in 1988, nearly all States have revised their laws, regulations, and policies to improve educational access for homeless students. States have typically eased residency requirements and improved transportation and immunization policies to ensure greater access for homeless students. Nevertheless, homeless children and youth continue to be at significant risk of educational failure and the $35 million request would maintain support for State and local activities designed to reduce that risk.

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    Training and Advisory Services (Title IV of the Civil Rights Act)
      2000 2001 2002
    Request
    BA in millions $7.3 $7.3 $7.3




    This program supports 10 regional Equity Assistance Centers that provide services to school districts on issues related to desegregation based on race, gender, and national origin. Typical activities include disseminating information on successful practices and legal requirements related to nondiscrimination, providing training to educators to develop their skills in specific areas, such as identification of bias in instructional materials, and technical assistance on selection of instructional materials.

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    Advanced Placement Incentives
      2000 2001 2002
    Request
    BA in millions $15.0 $22.0 $22.0



    This program awards grants to States to enable them to cover part or all of the cost of advanced placement (AP) test fees of low-income students who are enrolled in an advanced placement course and intend to take an AP test. The program thus provides an incentive for districts serving low-income students to offer AP courses and for students to take those courses. In addition, States in which low-income students pay no more than a nominal fee to take AP tests can use program funds for activities that upgrade the curriculum available to those students, such as development of curriculum for AP courses and training teachers to teach such courses.

    The request would continue support for State efforts to make challenging courses more widely available, including use of the Internet or other technologies to establish advanced placement distance learning programs in small or isolated high-poverty schools that cannot currently provide access for their students to such classes. The request would also pay test fees for low-income students taking approximately 75,000 AP tests.

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    Comprehensive Regional Assistance Centers
      2000 2001 2002
    Request
    BA in millions $28.0 $28.0 $28.0



    Level funding would support technical assistance to States, school districts, and other recipients of ESEA funds in implementing the reforms called for in No Child Left Behind, including closing the achievement gap between poor and minority students and other students, turning around low-performing schools, strengthening accountability in ESEA programs, and expanding educational options for parents and their children.

    The 15 regional Centers would continue to provide assistance in such areas as improving low-performing schools, professional development on best practices in reading and mathematics instruction, strategies for expanding school choice, research-based drug- and violence-prevention practices, and improving programs for limited English proficient students.

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    Indian Education
    (BA in millions)
      2000 2001 2002
    Request
    Grants to LEAs $62.0 $92.8 $92.8
    Special Programs for Indian Children 13.3 20.0 20.0
    National Activities 1.7 2.7 3.2
    Total 77.06 115.5 116.0



    Indian Education programs supplement the efforts of State and local educational agencies, and Indian tribes, to improve educational opportunities for Indian children. The programs link these efforts to broader educational reforms underway in States and localities to ensure that Indian students benefit from those reforms and achieve to the same challenging academic standards as other students.

    The request provides level funding for Grants to Local Educational Agencies, which provide funds to public and BIA-supported schools for activities to improve the educational achievement of Indian students. These activities must be linked to student performance goals based on challenging State or local standards, and the districts must report periodically to their communities on progress toward these goals. The request also provides level funding for Special Programs for Indian Children, including $10 million to continue the American Indian Teacher Corps, which will support training for 1,000 Indian teachers over a five-year period to take positions in schools that serve concentrations of Indian children. Also included is $5 million to continue the American Indian Administrator Corps, which recruits, trains, and provides in-service professional development to American Indians to become effective school administrators in schools with high concentrations of American Indian students.

    In addition, the request provides $3.2 million to implement a comprehensive research agenda currently in final development that responds to the national need for better education of Indians. This agenda focuses on filling gaps in national information on the educational status and needs of Indians, and on identifying educational practices that are effective with Indian students.

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    Impact Aid
    (BA in millions)
      2000 2001 2002
    Request
    Payments for Federally Connected Children:      
  • Basic Support Payments
  • $737.2 $882.0 $882.0
  • Payments for Children with Disabilities
  • 50.0 50.0 50.0
  • Payment for Heavily Impacted Districts
  • 72.2 1 1
    Facilities Maintenance 5.0 8.0 8.0
    Construction 10.1 12.8 150.0
    Payments for Federal Property 32.0 40.5 40.5
    Total 906.5 993.3 1130.5




    The Impact Aid program provides financial support to school districts affected by Federal activities. The presence of certain children living on Federal property across the country places a financial burden on school districts that educate them. The property on which the children live is exempt from local property taxes, denying districts access to the primary source of revenue used by most communities to finance education. Impact Aid helps to replace the lost local revenue that would otherwise be available to districts to pay for the education of these children.

    The $882 million request for Basic Support Payments would provide grants for both regular Basic Support Payments and Basic Support Payments for Heavily Impacted LEAs.

    The $50 million request for Payments for Children with Disabilities would help eligible districts meet the mandate under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act to provide a free appropriate public education for federally connected children with disabilities.

    The Department of Education owns and maintains 48 school facilities. The $8 million request for Facilities Maintenance would enable the Department of Education both to continue to transfer these schools to local school districts and to make emergency repairs to the school buildings owned.

    School districts also generally pay for most of their school construction costs using their own resources and rely on property taxes to finance these costs. The proposed $150 million for Construction payments to LEAs-distributed by formula under section 8007(a)-would assist districts with large proportions of military dependent students and students residing on Indian lands that have lost local funds that would otherwise be available for school construction and renovation.

    The $40.5 million request for Payments for Federal Property would provide payments to districts that generally have lost 10 percent or more of their taxable property to the Federal Government.


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