President Donald Trump’s education budget could chop $9.2 billion from programs that promote early learning, arts education, college work-study, and access to federal education grants and loans, pending congressional approval.
The proposed legislation aims to increase school choice by expanding charter school and voucher funding by $400 million and pours $1 billion into an incentive grant program for school districts that allow school choice – a priority investment in a plan championed by President Trump and Education Secretary Betsy DeVos. The budget proposal, which was released May 23 and would result in a 13.5% decrease in Department of Education funding, was first reported by The Washington Post.
But with cuts to federal financial aid programs like the Perkins loans and Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grant (SEOG), federal work-study, and after-school care, many feel as if the new budget is anything but an investment in the future.
“This budget is grossly out of step with the needs of young people and the priorities of most members of Congress,” says Reid Setzer, director of government affairs for the nationwide young adult education and advocacy group, Young Invincibles. “It fails to invest in young people and the future of our country by slashing opportunities for young adults to gain skills through education, sustain themselves and their families, and contribute to our workforce.”
The end of Public Service Loan Forgiveness?
While the budget is expected to be revised as it moves through Congress, the suggested cuts and restructured student loan repayment plans are frightening to low-income families and students who have planned their economic and educational futures on government assistance.
Take the Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) program, for example: After 10 years of monthly payments while working in public service or for a nonprofit, remaining student debt will disappear. The proposed budget would end the program, cutting $859 million.
Fortunately, borrowers who are already enrolled in PSLF will be grandfathered in, meaning they will still be eligible for loan forgiveness even after the program ends. The changes would apply to loans that originated after July 1, 2018.
Amanda Aubrey, a staff attorney at Legal Action of Wisconsin, is relying on the government-promised freedom from thousands of dollars of debt. Aubrey, 38, says she planned her career around eligibility and calls the sudden uncertainty of that relief the “bait-and-switch of a lifetime.” She graduated from the University of the District of Columbia David A. Clarke School of Law in 2013.
“Without it, it's unlikely I will ever be able to own my own home, or even discharge more than half the debt on my own,” says Aubrey. “My retirement will likely get pushed back until I'm 75, because the money I might otherwise have saved would have been required for loan repayment.”
While he recognizes that the Trump administration has suggested a system of grandfathering for current PSLF enrollees, Setzer says it’s not guaranteed, and even if it was, the incentive for individuals seeking public servant jobs could vanish with the dismantling of the program.
Aubrey says the potential diminishing number of public servants also could mean an alarming lack of services for those who need them most.
“Having the PSLF as an option made it possible to follow the path I wanted to follow, rather than having to pursue a path that would make enough money to pay back the loans,” Aubrey says. “Low-income clients desperately need legal representation, and low-paying jobs for attorneys are usually the only prayer such clients have at getting the help they need. Eliminating the PSLF takes away that possibility, for legal, medical, and many other professionals.”
What it means for families
The budget’s impacts could be felt far earlier than college and professional careers. Government-funded after-school care is in jeopardy in the proposed budget.
The plan proposes cutting $1.2 billion from government-funded after-school and summer programs.
“(Lack of after-school care) would put a strain on the family, as far as the wife and myself having to rush home to make sure the kids are taken care of,” says Robert Chatmon, a father of three in Athens, Ga. “If they’re at after-school, you have trained people who are there that are willing to look after them, take care of them – give them that extra support that they need.”
The fear of losing funding for after-school care looms large, as the budget’s targeted programs primarily assist poor families.
“You end up hurting people who depend on the very program you’re cutting,” Chatmon says.
What programs are being cut
Here are some key suggested cuts in the proposed education budget:
● $2.3 billion from programs that provide teacher training and class-size reduction
● $1.2 billion from government-funded after-school and summer programs
● $1 billion from federal loans for disadvantaged students, including Perkins loans
● $490 million – 50% – from federal work-study programs
In addition, no money would be allocated for certain grants that help to fund mental health services, anti-bullying campaigns, advanced placement, and physical education courses.
What’s next
The president’s May 23 budget proposal is one step of five in signing the budget for the next fiscal year – beginning Oct. 1 – into law.
The next step – congressional review and resolution – requires the House and Senate budget committees to decide and vote on spending limits for the overall budget.
Then the appropriations committees in the House and Senate will allocate exact funding for all discretionary programs.
The House and Senate will then debate and vote on the changes made to funding requests for each of the appropriations committees.
The president must then sign into law each of the 12 appropriation bills in the 2018 budget as they are approved by Congress.
While the Trump administration has requested large and far-reaching cuts to federal education spending, the specific dollar amounts are likely to change, and it is possible that some of the proposed reductions and expansions will not pass through Congress by the October deadline.
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