Biden wants to slash millions from federal charter school funding, budget proposal shows
CBS 12 | By Kristina Watrobski | March 12, 2024
WASHINGTON (CITC) — President Joe Biden is proposing a significant cut to the federal charter school program in his 2025 Fiscal Year budget request.
Biden announced his budget requests Monday. The requests include a 3.9% increase in discretionary funding for the Education Department, representing $82 billion for the department overall.
Sectors seeing a higher allocation of funds than the previous fiscal year include state grants for career and technical education programs and pandemic recovery assistance, such as tutoring. However, funding to the Charter Schools Program (CSP), the nation’s only funding source supporting the creating of charter schools, is facing a $40 million cut.
If approved, CSP’s funding will decrease from $440 million to $400 million. The proposal is facing heavy opposition from school choice advocates, who argue the potential cut “sends the wrong signal” to families.
“Charter schools are free, public, and open to all. These unique public schools are a lifeline to students nationwide,” the National Alliance for Public Charter Schools (NAPCS) said Monday. “The Biden administration should focus instead on reducing the burden of their CSP regulations and bureaucratic processes that slow down grantee spending.”
Many of the students attending the nearly 8,000 public charter schools in the U.S. reside in low-income communities, according to NAPCS. The alliance argued families need greater access to the “student-centered environment[s]” charter schools provide, noting that students nationwide are actively waiting for open seats at their nearby options.
Angela Morabito, a spokesperson for the Defense of Freedom Institute and former press secretary for the Education Department, echoed the sentiments, claiming Biden’s proposal is “an in-kind giveaway” to teachers unions.
Biden won’t invest in things that work because it would anger his teacher union allies, Morabito told Crisis in the Classroom (CITC). “This is a blatantly political move and a disservice to the many thousands of families on charter school waitlists.”
An analysis by EdWeek shows charter school growth has outpaced that of traditional public schools in recent years. Charter school enrollment increased by 7% between fall 2019 and fall 2020, while public schools lost 4% of students, according to the nonprofit.
Education Secretary Miguel Cardona cheered Biden’s proposals Monday, saying the potential budget “raise the bar” in education.
“Through this budget, the President prioritizes fiscal responsibility while making bold strides to narrow opportunity and achievement gaps,” Cardona said.
