The budget proposed by President Trump and Education Secretary DeVos includes drastic and harmful cuts to vital education and training services—cuts that would be cruel and callous to students. These are the biggest cuts to the education budget we can recall, even during times of great fiscal stress. For example, the proposal axes $9 billion from the Department of Education, or 13.5 percent of its budget—funds providing critical resources and programs for students across the country.
To fight these cuts, Congress needs to hear how they would affect your work serving students, families and the community.
Professional development and class size
The budget eliminates Title II, Part A, funding, which currently provides $2.4 billion under the bipartisan Every Student Succeeds Act for professional development and class-size reduction.
Before- and after-school funding
The Trump-DeVos budget also eliminates the 21st Century Community Learning Centers program, under Part B of Title IV in ESSA. This program provides approximately $1.2 billion to support before- and after-school programs as well as summer programs. It is estimated this cut will affect after-school programming for 1.6 million children.
Medicaid in schools
The Trump healthcare proposal not only would cut coverage, change benefits and increase premiums, but also would cut federal Medicaid spending by approximately $880 billion. This is roughly a 25 percent cut, over 10 years, severely affecting the safety net for low-income families. In 2015, Medicaid paid for nearly $4 billion in school-based healthcare services. Schools receive Medicaid reimbursements for medical expenses when they provide services for students with disabilities. These services range from occupational therapy to health screenings to behavioral health services. In 2017, 68 percent of school superintendents reported using Medicaid funding to keep school nurses, school counselors, speech therapists and other health professionals on staff.
