Congress Punts Final Education Funding Decisions to Next Congress; IDEA, Javits Level Funded Until March

This week, Congress voted to fund all federal programs at last year’s levels until March 4^th, at which time the new Congress will decide final funding amounts for the rest of the year.  Thus, the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) and the Jacob Javits Gifted and Talented Students Education Act will receive no increases; instead the will be funded at $12.2 billion and $7.5 million, respectively.

CEC strongly urged Congress to provide substantial funding increases for IDEA and the Javits program.  As states and school districts continue to confront difficult fiscal realities and brace for the end of the special education monies provided by the economic stimulus – the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, the FY 2010 federal funding levels become increasingly important. 

With many incoming members of Congress having vowed to slash federal spending, CEC anticipates a challenging year for securing increased education funding.  If you believe funding for IDEA and Javits is important and would like to receive targeted timely action alerts specific to education funding, please email CEC at pubpol@cec.sped.org with “Education Funding” in the subject line.  CEC encourages you to take action, be an advocate!