WEDNESDAY, MARCH 30, 1988. SCHOOL IMPROVEMENT PROGRAMS WITNESSES BERYL DORSETT, ASSISTANT SECRETARY FOR ELEMENTARY AND SECONDARY EDUCATION BRUNO V. MANNO, CHIEF OF STAFF AND ACTING DIRECTOR OF OPERATIONS, OFFICE OF EDUCATIONAL RESEARCH AND IMPROVEMENT DANIEL F. BONNER, ACTING DIRECTOR, STATE AND LOCAL EDUCATIONAL PROGRAMS, OFFICE OF ELEMENTARY AND SECONDARY EDUCATION SALLY H. CHRISTENSEN, DIRECTOR, BUDGET SERVICE, OFFICE OF PLANNING, BUDGET AND EVALUATION THOMAS M. CORWIN, DIRECTOR, DIVISION OF ELEMENTARY, SECONDARY, AND VOCATIONAL ANALYSIS, OFFICE OF PLANNING, BUDGET AND EVALUATION CAROL A. CICHOWSKI, DIRECTOR, DIVISION OF SPECIAL EDUCATION, REHABILITATION AND RESEARCH ANALYSIS, OFFICE OF PLANNING, BUDGET AND EVALUATION BUDGET REQUEST Mr. NATCHER. We take up next the School Improvement Programs. We have before the committee the Assistant Secretary for Elementary and Secondary Education, Ms. Dorsett. Before you give us your statement, if you would, please, tell us who you have with you at the table. Ms. DORSETT. Good morning, Mr. Chairman. To my far left, there is Bruno Manno, Chief of Staff and Acting Director of Operations, Office of Educational Research and Improvement. To my immediate left, Daniel Bonner, Acting Director of State and Local Education Programs, Office of Elementary and Secondary Education. To my immediate right is Sally Christensen, Director of the Budget Service, Office of Planning, Budget and Evaluation. To her right, Tom Corwin, Director, Division of Elementary, Secondary, and Vocational Analysis, Office of Planning, Budget and Evaluation; and to my far right, Carol Cichowski, Director, Division of Special Education, Rehabilitation and Research Analysis, Office of Planning, Budget and Evaluation. Mr. NATCHER. Thank you, and we will be pleased to hear from you at this time. Ms. DORSETT. I appreciate the opportunity to appear before you to present the budget request for the School Improvement Pro (201) grams account. The request for this account totals $1,130,254,000, almost 9 percent above the 1988 level. The School Improvement Programs account includes three State formula grant programs with an array of purposes, and numerous smaller discretionary grant programs designed to give Federal assistance in areas of national concern or address needs of particular segments of the population. For 1989, the budget request for School Improvement Programs is focused on programs that support national, State and local efforts at educational improvement and elimination of drug use by young people. The spring of 1988 marks the fifth year anniversary of the publication of "A Nation at Risk", the report of the President's Commission on Excellence in Education that catalyzed educational reform. Since then, the Nation has witnessed a rebirth in its commitment to educational excellence. The 1989 budget proposal for School Improvement Programs stands solidly behind the national quest for educational reform and excellence and for drug-free schools. Funds to help States and localities improve educational quality are requested for Chapter 2, Magnet Schools Assistance, Science and Mathematics Education, the smaller Christa McAuliffe Fellowships, Leadership in Educational Administration, and Territorial Teacher Training programs, and two new programs, Parental Choice Open Enrollment Demonstrations and the Fund for the Improvement and Reform of Schools and Teaching. Together, these programs would receive almost $883,000,000, a 17-percent increase over their 1988 funding level. Major increases are proposed for the Chapter 2, Magnet Schools, and Drug-Free Schools and Communities Programs. The request also includes level funding for Training and Advisory Services, Title IV of the Civil Rights Act, and demonstration projects to test approaches for identifying potential dropouts, encouraging them to remain in school, and encouraging youth who have dropped out to resume their education. Funding for the other six programs in this account is not requested. I thank you, Mr. Chairman. My colleagues and I will be happy to respond to any questions you may have. [The information follows:] DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION Statement by Beryl Dorsett Assistant Secretary for Elementary and Secondary Education on 52A1 School Improvement Programs Mr. Chairman and Members of the Committee: I appreciate this opportunity to appear before you to present the fiscal year 1989 budget request for the School Improvement Programs account. The request for this account totals $1.1 billion, almost 9 percent above the 1988 level. The School Improvement Programs account includes four State formula grant programs with an array of purposes and numerous smaller discretionary grant programs designed to give Federal assistance in areas of national concern or to address needs of particular segments of the population. For 1989, the budget request for School Improvement Programs is focused on those programs that support national, State, and local efforts at educational improvement and the elimination of drug use by young people. Spring 1988 marks the fifth year anniversary of the publication of A Nation at Risk, the report of the President's Commission on Excellence in Education that catalyzed educational reform across the country. Since then the Nation has witnessed a rebirth in its commitment to educational excellence. The 1989 budget proposals for School Improvement Programs stand solidly behind the national quest for educational reform and excellence and for drug-free schools. Funds to help States and localities improve educational quality are requested for Chapter 2, Magnet Schools Assistance, Science and Mathematics Education, the smaller Christa McAuliffe Fellowships, Leadership in Educational Administration, and Territorial Teacher Training programs, and two new programs, Parental Choice Open Enrollment Demonstrations and the Fund for the Improvement and Reform of Schools and Teaching. Together, these programs would receive almost $833 million, a 17 percent increase over their 1988 funding level. Major increases are proposed for the Chapter 2, Magnet Schools, and Drug-Free Schools and Communities programs. The request also includes level funding for Training and Advisory Services Title IV of the Civil Rights Act and for demonstration projects to test approaches for identifying potential dropouts, encouraging them to remain in school, and encouraging youth who have dropped out to resume their education. - The budget request for most programs in the School Improvement Programs account is proposed for later transmittal pending enactment of H.R. 5, the omnibus elementary and secondary education bill. When action on that bill is completed, we will send up a final budget request, including such changes in the distribution among programs as are warranted by our analysis of the enacted version of H.R. 5. 52A2 Chapter 2 Our request for Chapter 2 totals $575 million. Most of these funds flow directly to State governments and local school districts where they may be used to respond directly to State and local needs. Chapter 2 also provides for a limited set-aside of discretionary funds to be used by the Secretary to address broad national priorities. State Block Grants The Chapter 2 State Block Grant program provides aid to States to improve the quality of elementary and secondary education for all children in public and private schools. It is intended to support general excellence in education, rather than narrow categorical activities. The Chapter 2 State Block Grant continues to be a high Administration priority. The 1989 budget request would increase funding for the block grant by $61.8 million to $540.5 million. Secretary's Discretionary Fund The Chapter 2 Secretary's discretionary funds are used for a variety of activities that assist State and local educational agencies in improving elementary and secondary school programs. Four programs are curently mandated by the legislation: Inexpensive Book Distribution, Arts in Education, Law-Related Education, and the National Diffusion Network. The remaining funds are used for initiatives that address unmet national needs. The budget request for 1989 proposes to fund the Secretary's Discretionary Fund at $34.5 million, the full 6 percent of the Chapter 2 appropriation allowed in the law. Within this amount, the four mandated activities would be maintained at their 1988 levels and funding for other discretionary activities would increase from $4.7 million to $9.5 million. These funds will be used to support demonstrations of alternative certification of teachers, continue studies of early intervention programs, and support other nationally significant projects. Magnet Schools Assistance The Department intends to request funding for Magnet Schools at $115 million, a 60 percent increase over the current level, pending enactment of legislation to expand eligibility for the existing program. The existing Magnet Schools Assistance program provides grants to local educational agencies for use in magnet schools that are part of a desegregation plan approved by a court or the Department's Office for Civil Rights. Research has shown that magnet schools can be an effective means of achieving voluntary desegregation, improving educational quality, and increasing the choices available to parents and students. In order to expand the benefits of magnet schools, some of the additional funding requested for this program will be proposed for schools not necessarily undergoing desegregation. Science and Mathematics Education The Science and Mathematics Education program makes financial assistance available to State and local educational agencies, State higher education agencies, institutions of higher education, and private nonprofit organizations to improve the quality of mathematics and science teaching and computer learning, and to increase the access of all students to quality instruction. Most of these funds are administered through grants to States; a small portion of the funds is reserved for the Secretary for programs of national significance. The program received a 50 percent funding increase to $120 million in 1988. This level will be continued in 1989. 5243 New Initiatives Legislation pending in Congress would establish a Parental Choice Open Enrollment Demonstrations program to authorize the Secretary to make grants to demonstrate the effectiveness of programs that permit students to enroll in the public schools of a school district without regard to the district's attendance zones and that permit students and their families to decide which school in the district the student will attend. This program would be funded at $5 million in 1989. Pending legislation also would establish a Fund for the Improvement and Reform of Schools and Teaching to support programs providing incentives for improved school performance, and other priorities related to educational reform. The budget proposal includes $10 million for the first year of the Fund. If these authorities are not enacted, we will distribute these resources elsewhere in our formal budget request. Drug-Free Schools and Communities - The second largest program in this account Drug-Free Schools and Communities is an essential component of a comprehensive strategy to reduce the demand for and use of drugs throughout the Nation, and in getting drugs out of the Nation's schools. Through this program, the Department will continue its leadership in the national effort to get drugs out of our schools, colleges, and communities. Funding for Drug-Free Schools and Communities is requested at $250 million, a $20.2 million increase and the maximum amount authorized under current law. Of the amount requested, $207 million would be used for State grants and $43 million for National programs. State grants primarily support programs at the local school and community level; National programs support programs in institutions of higher education, a network of regional centers, and other Federal activities. School Desegregation Assistance The budget request includes $23.5 million, level funding, for the Training and Advisory Services program. This program supports technical assistance and training to districts that are desegregating in the areas of race, sex, or national origin. New regulations that became effective in fiscal year 1987 are expected to bring about more efficient and effective operation of the program. |