Bush Administration's FY 2006 Budget Zeros Out Perkins

February 07, 2005

February 7, 2005 – Today the President released his FY 06 budget proposal, which calls for a reduction, $529.6 million or .9 percent, in funding for the Department of Education. To achieve this goal, the budget proposal includes the elimination of 48 programs, including Perkins, GEAR UP, Safe and Drug-Free Schools and Communities State Grants, several TRIO programs, including Talent Search and Upward Bound, and Even Start, the Perkins Student Loan program and LEAP. (http://www.whitehouse.gov/omb/pdf/Education-06.pdf)

According to the Department of Education’s budget documents, the“2006 discretionary budget for education focuses on the following priorities: a $603 million increase for Title I Grants to Local Educational Agencies—the cornerstone of NCLB; a $508 million increase for the reauthorized Special Education Grants to States program; an $834 million increase for Pell Grants, which, combined with $420 million in new mandatory funding, would increase the maximum Pell Grant award to $4,150; and $500 million for a new Teacher Incentive Fund to encourage performance-based compensation systems that change the way school districts pay teachers.” The final cornerstone of the President’s education budget is the creation of a new High School Initiative.

TRADING PERKINS FOR HIGH SCHOOL REFORM

As anticipated, the President’s budget proposal includes the elimination of the federal investment in Perkins. The Perkins funding would shift to support a new $1.5 billion High School Initiative that seeks to extend No Child Left Behind to reform high schools through improved testing and programs at-risk youth. The new initiative’s funds would be distributed as follows:

THE ADMINISTRATION’S RATIONALE FOR THE ELIMINATION OF PERKINS

The Administration’s rationale for these cuts is clarified on Department of Education’s website (http://www.ed.gov/about/overview/budget/budget06/summary/index.html):

“The Administration is requesting no funding for current Vocational Education programs, although the new High School Initiative would allow States to continue such activities if they choose. Under the Administration's Program Assessment Rating Tool (PART), Vocational Education State Grants was rated Ineffective because it has produced little or no evidence of improved outcomes for students despite decades of Federal investment. In its Final Report to Congress in June 2004, the National Assessment of Vocational Education found no evidence that high school vocational courses themselves contribute to academic achievement or college enrollment.”

This justification is flawed, as the National Assessment of Vocational Education data related to CTE’s impact on academic achievement and college enrollment was nearly a decade old – before the passage of Perkins III. And the PART review’s rating of Perkins was mostly unsupported by research, or relied on opinion rather than fact or data to support the deeming of vocational education ineffective.

The Administration’s justification does try to soften the blow by noting that “(s)tates and school districts would be able to use the funds for vocational education, tech-prep programs, and other purposes, depending on State and local needs and priorities. In addition, the Community College Access program proposed under Higher Education Programs would create improved systems for preparing students (including vocational students) for college by supporting the expansion of "dual enrollment" programs, under which high school students take college-level courses and receive dual credit, and by creating better pathways for students to move from high school into college.”

ONCE, TWICE, THIRD TIMES A CHARM? LET’S HOPE NOT

This is not the first budget proposal that President Bush has introduced that calls for the elimination of Perkins. For the past two years, the Administration recommended the Secondary Technical Education Excellence Act (http://www.ed.gov/policy/sectech/leg/cte/04blueprnt.doc) as a replacement for Perkins, as well as reduction in funding to only $1.0 billion. Congress resolutely rejected these recommendations, both the elimination of Perkins as well as the reduction in funding. In fact, as previously reported, both the Senate and House have already introduced bills (H.R. 366 and S. 9) that reauthorize Perkins - not replace it with a new program. These bills are expected to move forward with strong bipartisan Congressional support.

CALL TO ACTION

While we are grateful for the past Congressional support of career technical education, we need be vigilant in ensuring their continued support. Please contact your legislators and the White House to express your concerns with the President’s proposal, noting the impact the elimination of this funding would have on your state’s career technical education programs.

Please contact your representatives today and urge them to oppose the elimination of Perkins. For contact Information please visit the following websites: Congress - www.house.gov or www.senate.gov; the Secretary of Education Margaret Spellings - www.ed.gov and the President - www.whitehouse.gov. New security measures require the screening of all mail that is sent to the Congress and Administration, thus significantly slowing the process of delivery. As such, faxes, emails and phone calls are the preferred method of communications.

For additional information or questions, please contact Nichole Jackson, Director of Government Affairs, at (202) 737-0303 or njackson@careertech.org.