Education Stimulus

The Stimulus bill has been the topic of news coverage, blogs, and dinner table conversations since it was first released by the House a couple of weeks ago. But amongst the din of discussion, some common misperceptions have developed, as multiple versions of the bill have been debated. Here at Ed Money Watch we aim to clear up such misperceptions and provide you with up-to-date information on federal education funding.

This afternoon the Senate voted 61-37 to pass a slightly slimmer iteration of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act than it initially proposed. Now, members of Congress will have some important decisions to make when they try to reconcile the two competing stimulus bills in conference committee. Today, Higher Ed Watch takes a look at some of the looming fights. Tomorrow, we will offer our suggestions for resolving the discrepancies between the two bills.

Since the House passed its version of the Stimulus bill late last month, the Senate has been crafting its own version. The Senate is wrapping up debate on the initial bill reported from the Senate Appropriations Committee on January 27th. News reports suggest that several Senators took issue with the total cost of the bill, jeopardizing the 60 votes needed to pass it.

The Senate and House of Representatives versions of the stimulus legislation both contain billions of dollars for institutions of higher education to modernize, renovate, and repair their existing instructional and research facilities. But there are crucial differences between the two bills that will have important ramifications for states and institutions of higher education, especially community colleges.

Schools, colleges, and universities are poised to receive billions of dollars in additional federal funding from the proposed stimulus packages put forth by both Congressional chambers over the past few weeks.

On Wednesday the House passed its version of the stimulus bill and the Senate reported from committee the text of its version. Both bills dedicate more than $140 billion to education programming including Title I, IDEA, and school construction.

Yesterday we took a look at total stimulus funding per student as estimated by the House Education and Labor Committee's stimulus allocation data. Today, we will take a closer look at the estimated 2009 Title I funding distributions per poor student in each state and the District of Columbia (Puerto Rico is not included in Census estimates). Title I stimulus distribution is expected to be the same in 2009 and 2010.

Since the release of the House Stimulus bill more than a week ago, education stakeholders have come alive with speculation about the distribution of funds. Today, the Education and Labor Committee released Congressional Research Service (CRS) estimated stimulus allocations to local education agencies (LEAs).

After weeks of speculation about education's place in the stimulus bill, details are finally emerging. Today, the House Committee on Appropriations released a summary of the "American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009." As expected, it includes funding for school modernization, aid to states for K-12 education, and a number of other programs from early childhood to higher education. It also includes an increase in the maximum Pell Grant.