On March 28, 2022, the Biden-Harris Administration submitted to Congress the President’s Budget for fiscal year 2023. The budget details the White House vision to build a better America, reduce the deficit, reduce costs for families, and grow the economy from the bottom up and middle out. It is also said to reinforces the administration’s commitment to reversing years of underinvestment in federal education programs to ensure the success and well-being of the nation’s students.

According to U.S. Education Secretary Miguel Cardona, “Federal budgets are an expression of values. This proposal reflects the Biden-Harris Administration’s deep belief in the importance of education and the success and wellbeing of our nation’s students. It’s my hope that Congress answers the President’s call for continued investments that help our schools hire and support more teachers, school counselors, and other personnel who can nurture the social, emotional, and academic development and mental well-being of our children and youth in this critical time and beyond. Across the country, we must focus our efforts on recovery. That means ensuring all students—especially those from underserved communities and those most impacted by the pandemic—receive the resources they need to thrive. Importantly, this budget also invests in access to affordable higher education and the creation of stronger pathways that meet the demands of our workforce and connect students to well-paying jobs and fulfilling careers.”

According to the U.S. Department of Education (USDE), the budget will help lay a stronger foundation for shared growth and prosperity for generations to come and make critical investments in core areas that align with Sec. Cardona’s vision for education in America. As per the USDE, the budget would:

• Support students through pandemic response and recovery. Disruptions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic continue to take a toll on the physical and mental health of students, educators, and school staff. Recognizing the profound connection between physical health, mental health, and student’s social and emotional well-being, and academic success, among other investments, the budget includes a $1 billion investment to increase the number of counselors, nurses, school psychologists, social workers, and other health professionals in schools, and a $468 million investment in Full-Service Community Schools and partnerships to provide integrated student supports.
• Provide Historic Investments in Schools with High-Poverty Rates to Boldly Address Opportunity and Achievement Gaps. To advance the goal of providing a high-quality education to every student, the budget includes $36.5 billion for Title I, including $20.5 billion in discretionary funding and $16 billion in mandatory funding, more than doubling the program’s funding compared to the 2021 enacted level. Title I helps schools provide students in low-income communities the learning opportunities and supports they need to succeed. This substantial new support for the program, which serves 25 million students in nearly 90 percent of school districts across the nation, would be a major step toward fulfilling the President’s commitment to addressing long-standing funding disparities between under-resourced schools – which disproportionately serve students of color – and their wealthier counterparts. The request includes a set-aside to support voluntary state and local efforts to identify gaps in educational resources and opportunities and a path forward to advance equity in student opportunities and outcomes.
• Increase Support for Children with Disabilities. To ensure that children and youth with disabilities receive the services and support they need to thrive in school and graduate ready for college or career, the budget provides $16.3 billion for IDEA Grants to states, a $3.3 billion increase over the 2021 enacted level – the largest two-year increase ever for the program. The increased funds would support special education and related services for approximately 7.4 million students in grades Pre-K through 12. The budget also doubles funding to $932 million for IDEA Part C grants, which support early intervention services for infants and families with disabilities that have a proven record of improving academic and developmental outcomes. The increased funding would support states in implementing critical reforms to expand their enrollment of underserved children, including children of color, children from low-income families, and children living in rural areas. The budget also more than doubles funding to $250 million for IDEA Personnel Preparation grants to support a pipeline of special educators at a time when the majority of states are experiencing a shortage of special educators.
• Invest in Educator Recruitment and Retention. While the education sector has faced shortages in critical staffing areas for decades, which disproportionately impact students of color and students from low-income backgrounds, the COVID-19 pandemic and tight labor market has made shortages worse, negatively impacting the education students receive and falling hardest on students in underserved communities. In addition to comprehensive investments across several programs to support a diverse and well-prepared pipeline of educators, the budget includes $514 million for the Education Innovation and Research program, of which the Department would target $350 million towards identifying and scaling models that improve recruitment and retention of staff in education, including models that would improve resources and support for educators, and provide teacher access to leadership opportunities that improve teacher retention and expand the impact of great teachers within and beyond their classrooms.
• Re-imagine the High School to Postsecondary Education Transition. Reimagining traditional educational pathways to improve equitable opportunities is a critical component of the President’s vision to increase successful outcomes for all students. The budget provides a new $200 million investment in Career-Connected High Schools, an initiative that would support competitive grants to partnerships of local educational agencies, institutions of higher education – including community colleges – and employers, to support early enrollment in postsecondary and career-connected coursework; work-based learning opportunities; and academic and career-connected instruction across the last two years of high school and the first two years of postsecondary education.
• Make Historic Investments in College Affordability. To increase equitable and affordable access to an education beyond high school, the budget would increase the maximum Pell Grant by $2,175 over the 2021-2022 award year, through a combination of discretionary and mandatory funding, helping an estimated 6.7 million students from low- and middle-income backgrounds overcome financial barriers. This historic increase is a significant step in the budget’s comprehensive proposal to double the maximum Pell Grant by 2029. In addition to these critical investments, the Administration continues to support expanding federal student aid, including Pell Grant eligibility, to Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) recipients, commonly known as DREAMers.
• Increase Equitable Funding for HBCUs, TCCUs, and MSIs to Support More Inclusive Higher Education. The budget would enhance institutional capacity at Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs), Tribally Controlled Colleges and Universities (TCCUs), Minority Serving Institutions (MSIs), and low-resourced institutions, including community colleges, by providing an increase of $752 million over the 2021 enacted level. This funding includes a $450 million initiative to expand research and development infrastructure at four-year HBCUs, TCCUs, and MSIs.
• Increase Support for Civil Rights Enforcement. The budget provides $161 million to the Department’s Office for Civil Rights, a 23 percent increase compared to the 2021 enacted level. This additional funding would ensure that the Department has the capacity to protect equal access to education through the enforcement of civil rights laws, such as Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972.

For more information on the President’s FY 2023 Budget, please visit: https://www.whitehouse.gov/omb/budget/.

On March 28, 2022, U.S. Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona issued a nationwide call to action for states, higher education leaders, and schools to tap federal resources and work together to address the teacher shortage and aid student recovery. The announcement encourages leaders to use American Rescue Plan (ARP) funds to address this critical challenge schools and districts across the country are facing. The call to action coincides with Secretary Cardona’s participation in the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching’s Summit on Improvement in Education in San Diego.

Sec. Cardona called on states, school districts, and institutions of higher education to use ARP funds to address the teacher shortage and increase the number of teacher candidates prepared to enter the teaching profession.

To coincide with the Sec. Cardona’s call to action, the US Department of Education (USDE) released a fact sheet providing concrete examples of how states, districts, and schools are already taking up the call to use federal COVID dollars to strengthen the teacher pipeline, get more educators in the classroom, and accelerate student recovery.  Districts and higher education institutions are partnering to create and expand residency programs, offer paraprofessional internships, get college students in the classroom more quickly, and more. Because of these partnerships, students across the country can spend more time working with qualified educators and addressing the academic impact of COVID-19. To view the USDE fact sheet, click click here.

Sec. Cardona is urging states and schools to use ARP funds and other federal COVID-19 relief funds to scale up educator preparation programs (EPPs) at institutions of higher education and look for dynamic and innovative ways to provide hands-on learning for prospective teachers or paraprofessionals in a classroom environment.

To increase the number of teacher candidates prepared to enter the profession in the fall and beyond, Secretary Cardona is calling on states to commit to:

• Establish teaching as a Registered Apprenticeship. The U.S. Department of Labor has approved standards that create an easy pathway for states to establish and use apprenticeship funding to support teaching residencies, allowing teacher apprentices to earn a good wage while learning the skills – on-the-job and through higher education partners and their integrated coursework – necessary to provide a quality education to our nation’s students. Registered Apprenticeship is an effective “earn and learn” model with a long history of establishing career pathways in various industries by providing structured, paid on-the-job learning experiences combined with job-related technical instruction with a mentor that leads to a nationally recognized credential. To learn more about Registered Apprenticeships, visit apprenticeship.gov.
• Invest in evidence-based teacher residency programs. States can provide grant funding to increase the number of partnerships between and districts that support teaching residencies.
• Establish or expand loan forgiveness or service scholarship programs. These programs can also include a commitment to teach in a high-need area for a minimum number of years.
• Increase teacher compensation. Provide a competitive and livable wage, including increasing starting salaries and salary caps for teachers.

To increase the number of teacher candidates prepared to enter the profession in the fall and beyond, Sec. Cardona is calling on districts to commit to:

• Increase the number of partnerships between EPPs and districts that support teaching residencies and schools. Teacher residents, as part of their clinical experience, can serve in schools as substitutes, paraprofessionals, or tutors as their academic schedules allow and as they complete requirements for teacher certification.
• Increase the availability of qualified teacher residents to support educators, students, and staff. Districts can partner with institutions of higher education to provide additional supports to educators and students through the use of teaching candidates.

To increase the number of teacher candidates prepared to enter the profession in the fall and beyond, Secretary Cardona is calling on institutions of higher education and EPPs to commit to:

• Increase the number of teaching residency programs and program capacity. Teacher residents, as part of their clinical experiences, can serve in schools as substitute teachers, paraprofessionals, or tutors as their academic schedules allow and as they complete requirements for teacher certification. An institution could use its HEERF institutional funds to expand its teacher training programs in response to the pandemic through such measures as hiring additional faculty and staff; providing stipends, scholarships, or other students aid; and creating additional course offerings.
• Work with states to establish teaching as a Registered Apprenticeship. The U.S. Department of Labor has approved standards that create an easy pathway for states to establish and use apprenticeship funding to support teaching residencies. As previously described, Registered Apprenticeship is an effective “earn and learn” model with a long history of establishing career pathways in various industries by providing structured, paid on-the-job learning experiences combined with job-related technical instruction with a mentor that leads to a nationally recognized credential. To learn more about Registered Apprenticeships, visit apprenticeship.gov.
• Establish or expand loan forgiveness or service scholarship programs. These programs can also include a commitment to teach in a high need area for a minimum number of years.

To view the entire press release, click here.

New bill to create a grant program to better recruit, develop, and retain SISPs professionals in rural and lower-income school districts that historically experience workforce shortages 

On March 24, 2022, U.S. Representatives Marie Newman (IL-03), Brian Fitzpatrick (PA-01) and Susan Wild (PA-07) introduced H.R. 7219, the Growing, Recruiting, and Obtaining Workers in Specialized Instructional Support Personnel Services (GROW SISPS) Act, as part of an effort to ensure students receive the individualized support they need to succeed in the classroom. The new bill will create a grant program at the Department of Education to increase partnerships between school districts and colleges to train and certify various Specialized Instruction Support Personnel programs (SISPs) to better serve rural and lower-income school districts. 

“All of us in Congress have a fundamental obligation to ensure our nation’s children have access to high-quality public education, no matter where they live or the wealth of their community,” said Rep. Newman. “By passing the GROW SISPS Act, we can provide America’s school districts with a pipeline of Specialized Instructional Support Personnel that work directly with students who are facing learning barriers and ensure they’re getting the services they need to succeed. At a time when schools are facing national workforce shortages and students are reeling from mental health crises caused by the pandemic, I am proud to introduce this comprehensive, bipartisan legislation to better support our students, teachers, parents and entire communities across the nation.” 

“Specialized Instructional Support Personnel work tirelessly in schools across the country to support students and foster positive and safe learning environments. Unfortunately, there is a nationwide shortage of qualified SISPs, particularly in rural and lower-income school districts, and the demand for these professionals is only increasing,” said Rep. Fitzpatrick. “Our legislation will establish a Department of Education grant program that will allow these underserved school districts to bolster recruitment and retention of qualified SISP professionals so that schools can provide crucial support services and meet student needs.” 

“As our students emerge from a long battle with learning barriers that resulted from the COVID-19 pandemic, it’s critical that we give schools the tools to train Specialized Instructional Support Personnel, or SISPs, and properly address the shortage of essential services that many school programs experience,” said Rep. Wild. “This legislation is a commonsense, effective solution for our nation’s most hard to staff school districts in rural and lower-income areas, and I’m proud to have introduced it with a group of bipartisan colleagues.” 

In school districts across the nation, Specialized Instructional Support Personnel, or SISPs, work with teachers, school support staff, parents, community members, and other education stakeholders to help students remove learning barriers. They can include school-based mental health professionals like school counselors, school psychologists, and professionals that work with students with disabilities who provide crucial services to students to address students’ needs in school. However, the vast majority of schools nationwide fall short of the recommended ratios of school-based mental health professionals to students, especially in rural and lower income school districts. 

Rural and lower-income school districts often struggle to find and retain qualified SISPs, putting those school districts at great risk of shortages. To mitigate this challenge, GrowYour Own programs focus on recruiting staff already living and working in these communities. Some may already be working in other roles within the same school district and can be re-trained and certified in other essential roles, such as school psychology. 

This bill would help add more “Grow Your Own” programs to schools to recruit, develop, and retain SISPs professionals who are already in the community. Grow Your Own programs have typically been used develop and train teachers to address teacher shortages and have been proven to be a successful model for graduate programs such as school psychologists. By passing the GROW SISPS Act, Congress can better address national workforce shortages of SISPs roles, particularly in hard to staff school districts in rural and lower-income areas. 

A number of organizations support this legislation, including the National Association of School Psychologists (NASP), Council of Administrators of Special Education (CASE), and the American Occupational Therapy Association (AOTA). 

To view H.R. 7219, click here.