Statement by US Secretary Cardona on the President's Fiscal Year 2025 Budget – Department of Education

President's Budget invests in key education priorities to accelerate academic achievement, increase career pathways, expand access to mental health, make postsecondary education more affordable, support educators, and more

WASHINGTON - The US Department of Education released the President's Budget for Fiscal Year 2025. Following historic progress made since the President took office—with nearly 15 million jobs created and inflation down two-thirds—the Budget protects and builds on this progress by lowering costs for working families, protecting and strengthening Social Security and Medicare, investing in America and the American people, and reducing the deficit by cracking down on fraud, cutting wasteful spending, and making the wealthy and corporations pay their fair share, according to the Department. 

"President Biden's Budget raises the bar in education by investing in evidence-based strategies and partnerships that will improve outcomes from cradle to career," said U.S. Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona. "With these investments, we can deliver an excellent education to all students, improve learning conditions, build pathways to college and careers, and increase postsecondary education affordability and access. By answering the President's call to action, Congress would provide states and communities with invaluable resources to bolster a talented, diverse teaching workforce; expand access to multilingual programs; increase school-based mental health services; and meet the needs of children and youth with disabilities. Through this budget, the President prioritizes fiscal responsibility while making bold strides to narrow opportunity and achievement gaps. I look forward to working alongside states, schools, and communities as they leverage these investments to promote access, opportunity, and excellence for all students."

The Fiscal Year 2025 Budget requests $82.4 billion in discretionary Budget Authority, a $3.1 billion or 4.0 percent increase from the fiscal year 2024 annualized Continuing Resolution (CR) level. The Budget makes critical, targeted investments in the American people that will promote greater prosperity for decades to come. At the U.S. Department of Education (Department), the Budget will: 

• Achieve Academic Excellence: Continues trend of historic investments in high-need schools, and sustains academic recovery of students.

- Newly proposes $8 billion in mandatory funding to support States and schools to meet the critical needs of their students by increasing student attendance and engagement; providing high-dosage tutoring; and expanding summer, extended, and afterschool learning opportunities.
- Provides $18.6 billion for Title I to close opportunity and achievement gaps in our nation's schools and help schools sustain programs that support students' academic recovery from the impacts of the pandemic, a $200 million increase above FY 2023 enacted levels.
- Provides $14.4 billion for Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) Part B, a $200 million increase over FY 2023 enacted levels. Additionally provides an increase of $5 million for Part B grants for preschool children with disabilities, a $5 million increase for Part C grants to support infants, toddlers, and families, and a $10 million increase in grants to recruit and retain special education personnel.
- Newly invests $25 million for school readiness through the Preschool Incentive Demonstration Program, which encourages school districts to establish or expand free and high-quality preschool in school and community-based settings, including Head Start, for children eligible to attend Title I schools.

• Boldly Improve Learning Conditions: Eliminate the educator shortage and support student mental health and well-being in every school.

- Invests $2.9 billion in educator preparation, development, and leadership – an increase of nearly $100 million over FY 2023 levels – including $30 million in Hawkins and $95 million in Teacher Quality Partnerships to build a diverse and well-prepared teacher pipeline, and $125 million to address shortages of special education teachers and providers.
- Provides $200 million to expand Full-Service Community Schools that provide integrated student supports for students and their families, an increase of $50 million over FY 2023 enacted levels, more than doubling funding for this program since 2021.
- Provides a total of $216 million for School Safety National Activities, which will provide $40 million in dedicated funding to meet the mental health needs of our students, school staff, and teachers and build on the Administration's historic progress in increasing the number of school counselors, school psychologists, social workers, and other health professionals serving our students within schools.
- Proposes a new $25 million investment to support colleges and universities to develop campus-wide strategies to address basic needs and student mental health needs, including hiring additional providers on their campuses.
- Provides $162 million to the Department's Office for Civil Rights, a $22 million or 16 percent increase compared to the FY 2023 enacted level, to ensure that the Department continues rigorous protection of equal access to education through the enforcement of civil rights laws.
- Proposes a new suite of efforts to further the reach and impact of school-based services through Medicaid, in order to bring crucial physical, mental, and behavioral health services to schools to meet the needs of students through routine health screenings, preventive care, physical, speech-language, and occupational therapies, and more.  

• Create Pathways for Global Engagement: Provide every student with a pathway to multilingualism and ensure every student has a pathway to college and a career.
- Provides $940 million, an increase of $50 million from the FY 2023 enacted level, to support English learners through research-based and effective bilingual education and language instruction programs under Title III.
- Includes $1.5 billion for Career and Technical Education state grants, an increase of $40 million, and a $57 million investment in the Career Connected High Schools program to redesign our high schools to build career and college pathways and align with our postsecondary system.

• Expanding Access to Higher Education by Reducing Costs for Students and Investing in Student Supports: 

- Proposes to increase the maximum Pell Grant award to $8,145, a $750 increase over the current level, thereby expanding access and making college more affordable for an estimated 7.2 million students. The maximum Pell Grant award for students at proprietary institutions will be $7,495.
- Includes a mandatory proposal to create partnerships between the federal government and states, territories, and tribes to make two years of community college free for first-time students and workers wanting to reskill.
- Includes a new Reducing the Costs of College mandatory proposal that would invest in the expansion of dual enrollment through the Classroom to Career program, incentivize excellence with a new award for colleges and universities that provide an excellent education at an affordable price, and support the scaling of evidence-based strategies to lower college costs.
- Proposes the elimination of origination fees on Federal Direct student loan.
- Provides $262 million to advance strategies to improve postsecondary attainment, degree completion, and student success, including through $100 million for the Postsecondary Student Success Grants, $100 million for Historically Black Colleges and Universities, Tribal Community Colleges and Universities, and Minority Serving Institutions Research & Development Infrastructure Grants, $15 million for a new Statewide Reform Grants program and $25 million for a new Comprehensive Postsecondary Student Supports Success Program, $12 million through the Open Textbooks Pilot to support projects at Institutions of Higher Education to create new open textbooks or expand their use while maintaining or improving instruction and student learning outcomes, and $10 million to create the first of its kind technical assistance center to support postsecondary education advancement and success.
- Supports program enhances institutional capacity at HBCUs, TCCUs, MSIs, and community colleges, by providing an increase of $93 million over the FY 2023 level.
- Makes significant investments in the Office of Federal Student Aid, providing $2.66 billion in essential support to student loan borrowers as they return to repayment, critical improvements to student loan servicing, and ensures the successful administration of its financial aid programs. 

The Budget builds on the President's record while achieving meaningful deficit reduction through measures that cut wasteful spending and ask the wealthy to pay their fair share.