Education Policy, Business and Technology

Funding Twists, Tight Budgets Loom for States at ESSA's Debut

Education Week: Though it's not a spending measure, there are important new fiscal elements to the revised K-12 statute. Changes to the way spending on schools must be reported under the Every Student Succeeds Act—along with a dramatic political fight in Washington about proper use of federal money in schools—are part of the picture as schools prepare for the new environment under ESSA come the 2017-18 school year. With the election of Donald Trump to the presidency and Republicans' continued control of Congress for at least the next two years, the prospects for increased education funding are not stellar in the near future. As an authorization bill, ESSA did not by itself increase or decrease the amount of money available for various federal education programs. That job is up to the lawmakers in charge of appropriations, subject to approval by the full Congress and the president. Meanwhile, budget caps are still in place for federal spending after years of acrimonious spending negotiations (including the portions of the budget that pays for education).

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