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Update on FY2003 Labor/HHS Appropriations (7-25-02)
The primary interest for the geoscience community with the Departments of Labor,
Health and Human Services, Education and Related Agencies (known as the Labor/HHS)
appropriations bill is the treatment of science education within the Department
of Education (DoEd). The passage of
H.R. 1, the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB) that was signed into law on January
8, 2002, transformed the way in which the federal government funds elementary
and secondary math and science education. In the past, math and science education
had been funded through the Eisenhower National Programs, which included the
Eisenhower Professional Development Grants that were provided to each state,
Eisenhower National Clearinghouse, and the
Eisenhower Regional
Mathematics and Science Education Consortia. In place of state grants for
professional development programs for math and science educators, NCLB established
Math and Science Partnerships as the program to provide support for improving
math and science education. Funding for science education was severely cut in
last year's appropriations process, and the fiscal year (FY) 2003 budget request
did not improve matters much. President Bush requested $12.5 million for Math
and Science Partnerships -- they were authorized for up to $450 million in NCLB
-- and no funding for the other two Eisenhower programs. Also of interest for
professional development for teachers, including math and science educators,
are the Improving Teacher Quality States Grants that had a requested level of
$1.7 billion.
Most Recent Action
On July 18th, the Senate Appropriations Committee completed action on the fiscal
year (FY) 2003 Labor/HHS Appropriations bill, S.
2766. In total the committee recommends $53.2 billion for the Department
of Education, which is an increase of 6.5% above the budget request. According
to the committee press
release, the bill "triples the President's increase in education funding."
In the section on the Teacher Quality State Grants, the release states that
it would recommend $3.1 billion for these grants, a $250 million increase above
last year's allocation and above the president's request. "This program
will help schools meet their mandate to have 'highly qualified' teachers in
all classrooms by 2005-2006." The press release does not provide any specific
information on math and science education, but the DoEd Budget
Office provides a chart comparing the Senate action to the budget request.
According to this chart, the Senate would provide double the requested funding
for Math and Science Partnerships, to total $25 million -- still only slightly
more than 5% of the authorized $450 million. The Senate restored funding to
the Eisenhower Regional Consortia to last year's level of $15 million, but did
not restore funding for the Eisenhower National Clearinghouse, noting that the
program's authorization has expired. Additional information from the Senate
report (S.
Rept. 107-216) is available below. (7/25/02)
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Senate Action
On July 18th, the Senate Appropriations Committee completed action on S.
2766. The committee report (S.
Rept. 107-216) provides a little more insight into the committee's funding
decisions. In total the Department of Education would receive $53.2 billion
under the Senate plan. Funding for the Improving Teacher Quality State Grants
would total $1.95 million for the annual appropriation, an increase of 14.7%
above the president's request and more than twice last year's allocation. The
Senate provided an olive leaf to the newly established Mathematics and Science
Partnerships by providing a doubling of the president's request. Unfortunately,
the president's request of $12.5 million, the same level provided for these
programs last year, is a mere 2.8% of the authorized $450 million for these
partnerships. The report language regarding the partnerships states:
For mathematics and science partnerships, the Committee recommends $25,000,000, which is $12,5000,000 more than the fiscal year 2002 appropriations and the budget request. These funds will be used to improve the performance of students in the areas of math and science by bringing math and science teachers in elementary and secondary schools together with scientists, mathematicians, and engineers to increase the teachers' subject-matter knowledge and improve their teaching skills. The Secretary is authorized to award grants, on a competitive basis, to eligible partnerships to enable the entities to pay the Federal share of the costs of developing or redesigning more rigorous mathematics and science curricula that are aligned with State and local standards, creating opportunities for enhanced professional development that improves that subject-matter knowledge of math and science teachers; recruiting math and science majors; and improving and expanding training of math and science teachers, including the effective integration of technology into curricula and instruction.
The report language regarding the Eisenhower Regional Consortia states that the committee recommends maintaining the program funding level at $15 million and noted that the program disseminates "exemplary mathematics and science education instruction materials." There is no report language regarding the Eisenhower National Clearinghouse.
Please send any comments or requests for information to the AGI Government Affairs Program at govt@agiweb.org.
Contributed by Margaret A. Baker, AGI Government Affairs
Posted July 25, 2002
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