The President’s FY22 Budget Request Proposes Vital Investments in Educational Equity
Statement from Denise Forte, interim CEO of The Education Trust, on the Biden-Harris administration’s Fiscal Year 2022 budget request:
WASHINGTON (May 28, 2021) – “Ed Trust applauds the Biden-Harris administration’s proposed 41% increase to the U.S. Department of Education’s budget for fiscal year 2022. This new funding allows for vital investments in early childhood, K-12, and higher education programs that will improve educational systems for all students, but particularly for those students who are most underserved by our nation’s schools, including Black, Latino, and Native students, and students whose families are facing harsh financial realities.
“A large part of the increased investment is an additional $20 billion for Title I schools. We are pleased to see the administration include language indicating this new money should serve as a catalyst for state and district leaders to remedy inequities in their existing school funding systems – a policy that Ed Trust, along with our partners, has asked to be prioritized. We are hopeful that these requirements, as they are developed, will prompt immediate and meaningful change in state and local funding inequities for students of color and students from low-income backgrounds. We look forward to working with Congress and the administration to strengthen and build on this idea.
“The budget further underscores investments proposed in the American Families Plan, including the expansion of the summer EBT program and Community Eligibility Provision to provide nutritious meals to more students; increased funding for several programs designed to increase educator diversity and quality – including the Augustus Hawkins Centers; and investments to spur greater college completion, including investments in free community college and increasing the maximum Pell Grant. These investments are long overdue and needed to make our system more equitable.
“We look forward to working with Congress and the administration to build off this proposal and make these investments a reality. The Education Trust, alongside our equity partners across the country, remains committed to ensuring that each student has the tools and resources to reach their full potential when they return to school buildings after this difficult year and a half of interrupted learning.”
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