President Trump's budget proposal will reduce the education sector that he asked Congress to remove by cutting funds by 15% ($12 billion).
The most important part of that cut, roughly $4.5 billion, comes from the Title I budget for high-poverty schools. The administration said the cuts come from plans to provide “rationalized and flexible funding to the United States,” and ease the responsibility for managing funds and enforcing compliance to the federal government.
Trump will save $1.6 billion by cutting programs aimed at supporting low-income students and preparing for college. The administration said these programs, known for the trio and gear-up, were “relics of the past” as access to the university was “not a barrier to students of limited means.”
Other significant cuts come from nearly $1 billion cuts from federal research programs. $910 million from a program aimed at university students with extraordinary financial needs. $890 million from the service to help immigrant students become skilled English speakers. $729 million from Adult Education Services. $315 million from Kindergarten Development Grant.
The budget proposal also cuts funding by $64 million for Howard University, the country's only federally chartered historically by the federal government.
One corner of the education budget the Trump administration wants to support is charter schools. His budget proposal would increase federal support for new charter schools by $60 million, or about 8.3%.
Randy Weingarten, president of the American Federation of Teachers, said the proposal would “cut down much of what helps poor, working-class and middle-class Americans move forward.”
“When the president began to dismantle the Department of Education, our concern was not bureaucracy, but fundraising,” Weingarten said. “And now, we know, he's actually making the kids shorter. He's destroying the K-12 program for $5.4 billion. Student aid support has been cut.”
Education Secretary Linda McMahon said the budget proposal reflects her mission to “work as the final secretary of education.” Closing the education sector requires approval from Congress, which opposes this move.
“The budget proposed by President Trump outweighs students and parents' bureaucracy,” McMahon said in a statement. “The federal government has invested trillions of dollars in education systems that have not driven improved student outcomes. We need to change courses and redirected taxpayers dollars towards programs that have proven results for American students.”
