DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION

The President’s 2009 Budget will:

• Build on the success of the No Child Left Behind Act;
• Advance the President’s historic commitment to increasing access to higher education;
• Ensure Federal education investments are targeted to high-performing programs; and
• Support State and local leadership to improve the quality of education for America’s children.

Building on the Success of the No Child Left Behind (NCLB) Act

• Improves access to quality education. Fosters positive change in the Nation’s schools by requiring
accountability for results, offering more choices for parents and students, providing greater
flexibility for States and school districts, and expanding the use of proven instructional methods.
Successful NCLB results include:
¡ Improvement across-the-board in fourth and eighth grade reading and math on the National

Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) with minority students posting all-time highs in
a number of categories;
¡ Increase of 11 percentage points in second grade reading scores in the research-based Reading

First program from 2004–2006;

¡ Establishment in all 50 States of systems for holding districts and schools accountable for

improving student achievement; and

¡ Enhanced educational options for students in struggling schools, including the choice of a

better performing public school and access to free tutoring.

• Builds on the 2007 blueprint for reautho-
rizing and strengthening NCLB.
2007 Reading Achievement Gains on NAEP
¡ $14.3 billion for Title I, a 63-percent
Grade 4 Grade 8
increase since 2001. Student Group Since 2000 Since 2005 Since 2000 Since 2005

¡ $1 billion for effective, research-based Overall

literacy instruction through Reading White

First.
Black
¡ $491 million for School Improvement

Grants to help turn around schools in Hispanic

need of improvement, along with over

$570 million reserved from Title I. Indicates the score was significantly higher in 2007.

Indicates there was no significant change in the score in 2007.

Source: National Center for Educational Statistics

53
54 DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION

• Expands school choice to support students at risk of being left behind.

¡ $25 million, or 12-percent, increase in Federal grants to charter schools.

¡ A new $300 million Pell Grants for Kids to enable low income students enrolled in low

performing schools to attend a private or out of district public school.

¡ Reforms to the 21st Century Community Learning Centers program to make $800 million

available in scholarships for low-income students to participate in after school programs of

their choice.
• Assists at-risk students. Provide extra assistance for students most at risk of being left behind,
including students with disabilities, migrant students, students in State-run institutions, and
limited English proficient students.
• Emphasizes math and science. Ensure the Nation’s future competitiveness by supporting the
education components of the President’s American Competitiveness Initiative.
¡ $70 million to train teachers to teach Advanced Placement/International Baccalaureate

courses and expand low-income students access to these courses.

¡ $95 million for Math Now, to prepare elementary and middle school students for more rigorous

high school math classes.

¡ $10 million for an Adjunct Teacher Corps to bring math and science professionals into high-

need schools as teachers.

Sustaining the President’s Historic Commitment to Higher Education

• Makes college more affordable for neediest students. In September 2007, the President signed
the College Cost Reduction and Access Act into law, which helped further his longstanding goal
of increasing need-based aid for students. The Act provided $11.4 billion in new funding for
Pell Grants over the next five years building on the Administration’s unprecedented funding
increase for this program. The Budget implements and builds on this law and promotes access
to higher education by providing:
¡ $95 billion in loans and grants to help 10.9 million students pay for college;

¡ $2.7 billion increase in annual appropriations for Pell Grants. This investment, together with

funding provided by the College Cost Reduction and Access Act, will support a maximum Pell
Grant of $4,800 in 2009 and allow the maximum grant to rise to $5,400 by 2012;
¡ $21 million to improve access to, and success in, postsecondary education for adult and

non-traditional students and $363 million in new loans for short-term training; and
¡ A 50-percent tax credit for the first $2,000 that moderate- and low-income parents invest

annually in 529 tuition-savings accounts.

Major Savings and Reforms

• In order to fund increases for education programs that are effective or show promise of demon-
strating results while restraining overall Federal spending, the Budget reduces or terminates
funding for 50 programs totaling $3.8 billion. Many of these funding reductions were based,
in part, on the Administration’s thorough review of programs under the Program Assessment
Rating Tool (PART). Program terminations include:
¡ Even Start, which received an Ineffective PART rating and failed to effectively increase the

literacy skills of participating children and parents according to three national evaluations;
and
¡ Small, narrowly focused programs that have not demonstrated results, do not align with

national priorities, or can be funded under other authorities, including programs such as the
THE BUDGET FOR FISCAL YEAR 2009 55

Exchanges with Historic Whaling and Trading Partners, Education Technology State Grants,
and the Carol M. White Physical Education Program. Populations served by these programs
receive services through other Federal programs.

Since 2001, the Department of Education has:

• Reformed K–12 education through the No Child Left Behind Act, which is raising academic
standards for students, improving accountability in schools and States, and expanding parental
choice.
• Aligned the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act with No Child Left Behind account-
ability systems to improve the quality of education for students with disabilities and ensure
that all students achieve high academic standards.
• Reformed the Federal student aid programs to make them more cost efficient and targeted
additional aid to the neediest students, including an estimated 5.3 million Pell Grant recipients
in the 2007/2008 academic year.
• Assessed 92 programs using the PART to guide budget decisions and programmatic reforms.

Educational Reform, Infrastructure Improvements, and National Security in the District of Columbia
The District of Columbia (D.C.) is the Seat of Government of the United States and the Nation’s capital.
As such, the Federal Government has a particular interest in ensuring that D.C. provides a healthy, vibrant
environment for its local citizens and visitors from across the Nation and around the world. Accordingly, the
Budget provides $157 million for D.C. This includes $74 million to improve K–12 education in the District,
the Mayor’s top priority.
The Budget expands upon the successful three-sector education strategy, an effort to help all sectors of
education in the Nation’s capital. In addition to $18 million in base funding, the Budget provides $20 million
to jump-start reform initiatives for the District’s traditional public school system, where the Mayor’s office has
assumed more responsibility and is committed to building on key principles of the No Child Left Behind Act.
It provides $18 million to support public charter school development and quality, and $18 million to continue
and better target the D.C. Opportunity Scholarship program, which provides District parents—particularly
low-income parents—more options for obtaining a quality education for their children. The Budget proposes
an increase to the maximum scholarship amount for high school tuition, and to track future tuition expenses
more accurately by indexing the scholarships to inflation.
The Budget also supports the District’s unique position as the Nation’s capital by providing $15 million for
planning and security costs directly related to the Federal Government’s presence in the District. These
funds defray D.C.’s security costs for events such as the 2009 Presidential inauguration, and the annual
World Bank and International Monetary Fund meetings.
The President’s Budget continues support for infrastructure improvements and public safety projects in the
District, providing: $14 million to rehabilitate existing water, sewer, and waste water treatment systems;
$10 million to support forensic and public health needs; and $7 million to continue the rehabilitation of the
city’s public libraries.
56 DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION

Department of Education
(Dollar amounts in millions)

2007 Estimate
Actual 2008 2009

Spending
Discretionary Budget Authority:
No Child Left Behind Act:
Title I Grants to LEAs 1 ................................................................................. 12,838 13,899 14,305
School Improvement Grants ........................................................................ 125 491 491
Reading First ..................................................................................................... 1,029 393 1,000
Striving Readers ............................................................................................... 32 35 100
Pell Grants for Kids .......................................................................................... — — 300
21st Century Learning Opportunities ....................................................... 981 1,081 800
Charter Schools Grants ................................................................................. 215 211 236
American Competitiveness Initiative ......................................................... 37 44 175
Teacher Quality State Grants ...................................................................... 2,887 2,935 2,835
Teacher Incentive Fund.................................................................................. — 97 200
English Language Acquisition State Grants ........................................... 669 700 730
Special Education State Grants 2 .................................................................. 10,783 10,948 11,285
Career and Technical Education State Grants 3 ...................................... 1,182 1,161 —
Adult Education ..................................................................................................... 572 561 568
Federal Student Aid:
Pell Grants—Discretionary funding ........................................................... 13,661 14,215 16,851
Pell Grants—Mandatory funding (non-add) .......................................... — 2,030 2,090
Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grants..................................... 771 757 —
Federal Work Study......................................................................................... 980 980 980
Higher Education:
Minority Serving Institutions—Discretionary funding .......................... 435 432 293
Minority Serving Institutions—Mandatory funding (non-add) ......... — 250 250
TRIO programs—Discretionary funding .................................................. 828 828 828
TRIO programs—Mandatory funding (non-add) ................................. — 57 57
GEAR UP ............................................................................................................ 303 303 303
National Security Language Initiative ....................................................... 24 26 59
All other .................................................................................................................... 9,116 9,063 6,850
Total, Discretionary budget authority 4 ............................................................. 57,469 59,183 59,210

Memorandum: Budget authority from enacted supplementals ............... 374 — —

Total, Discretionary outlays ................................................................................... 57,367 60,171 59,032

THE BUDGET FOR FISCAL YEAR 2009 57

Department of Education—Continued
(Dollar amounts in millions)

2007 Estimate
Actual 2008 2009

Mandatory Outlays:
Legislative proposal, Federal Direct Student Loans ................................ 4,194 4,973 1,349
Legislative proposal, Federal Family Education Loans .......................... 1,766 1,092 1,094
Legislative proposal, Perkins Loan recall .................................................... — — 1,116
Pell Grants, Mandatory add-on........................................................................ — 562 2,026
Academic Competitiveness/SMART Grants ............................................... 449 599 705
Vocational Rehabilitation (VR) State Grants............................................... 2,766 2,916 2,945
All other .................................................................................................................... 150 63 183
Total, Mandatory outlays ........................................................................................ 9,025 7,895 4,488

Total, Outlays .............................................................................................................. 66,392 68,066 63,520

Credit activity
Direct Loan Disbursements:
TEACH Grants ....................................................................................................... — 30 96
Legislative proposal, Loans for Short Term Training ............................... — — 37
Federal Direct Student Loans (FDSL)........................................................... 12,290 13,832 14,594
FDSL Consolidation............................................................................................. 3,575 4,114 4,424
Historically Black College and University Capital Financing................. 170 192 147
Total, Direct loan disbursements ......................................................................... 16,035 18,168 19,298

Guaranteed Loan Disbursements:

Legislative proposal, Loans for Short Term Training ............................... — — 246
Family Federal Education Loans (FFEL) ..................................................... 50,181 54,875 57,076
FFEL Consolidation ............................................................................................. 46,596 33,991 38,018
Total, Guaranteed loan disbursements ............................................................. 96,777 88,866 95,340

Number of 2009
Programs Savings
Major Savings, Discretionary
Terminations .................................................................................................................... 47 3,261
Reductions ....................................................................................................................... 3 544
1
Program level. Budget authority is $551 million less than program level in 2008.
2
Program level. Budget authority is $1,433 million less than program level in 2008 and $791 million less than program level in 2009.
3
Program level. Budget authority is $791 million more than program level in 2009.
4
Program level. Budget authority is $1,984 million less than program level in 2008. The 2008 discretionary total does not include mandatory
changes enacted in that year’s appropriations bills. The 2009 discretionary total is net of two mandatory changes—a $652 million cancellation
of Academic Competitiveness/SMART Grant balances, and a $101 million reduction from the VR State Grants baseline.