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/.