EXPLANATION OF CHANGES An increase of $25,996,000 for graduate fellowships will provide a total of $81,957,000 to support 6,000 new awards, and 9,000 fellows who began study in the previous 2 years. An increase of $1,800,000 is requested for advanced training-$750,000 for expanded support to the existing language and area centers and establishment of 8 new centers, $750,000 for an additional 260 stipends for foreign language training, and $300,000 for an additional 12 new projects in foreign language research. An increase of $400,000 for educational media research will permit continuation of research and dissemination currently underway and the innovation of about 14 additional new projects. An increase of $5,103,000 will provide an additional 85 institutes to train over 4,000 teachers, and will permit expansion in the areas of economics, civics, and industrial arts, which have been added by the Higher Education Act of 1965. Under proposed legislation, the student loan program would be merged with the insured student loan program authorized by the Higher Education Act of 1965. The private credit market will supply loan capital through guaranteed programs. A decrease of $147,363,000 for title II provides a 1967 request of $34,187,000 in order to continue obligational authority for direct loans during a transitional period at the start of fiscal year 1967. A reduction of $25 million for grants to States for acquisition of equipment and minor remodeling will be more than offset by increased grants under the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965. The fiscal year 1967 budget estimate for defense educational activities is $273,544,000, a decrease of $139,064,000 from the amount of $412,608,000 available for the same purposes in fiscal year 1966. The decrease is due primarily to the merging of title II student loans with the insured student loan program authorized by the Higher Education Act of 1965. A 1967 request of $34,187,000 for title II will provide obligational authority for direct loans during a transitional period at the start of fiscal year 1967. The special teacher cancellation benefits of the program will continue, as amended by the Higher Education Act. For grants to States for acquisition of equipment and minor remodeling, a decrease of $25 million will be more than offset by increased grants under the Elementary and Secondary Education Act. Title IV-D of the Higher Education Act adds economics to the list of subjects for which grants may be made. Loans to nonprofit private schools and grants to States for supervision and administration will continue at the 1966 levels of $1,500,000 and $7,500,000, respectively. An increase of $25,996,000 for graduate fellowships will provide a total of $81,957,000 to support 6,000 new awards, and 9,000 fellows who began study in the previous 2 years. Grants to States for guidance, counseling, and testing and institutes for counseling personnel will continue at the 1966 levels of $24,500,000 and $7,500,000; the latter represents the full authorization for 1967. For language and area centers and research, an increase of $1,800,000 will provide a total of $15,800,000-$5,830,000 for expanded support to the language and area centers, $6,870,000 for foreign language training, and $3,100,000 for foreign language research. An increase of $400,000 for educational media research will provide a total of $4,400,000, which will permit continuation of research and dissemination currently underway and the initiation of about 72 new projects. The estimate for grants to States for statistical services continues the 1966 level of $2,250,000. An increase of $5,103,000 for institutes will provide a total of $40 million. The Higher Education Act has expanded the program to include economics, civics, and industrial arts. Title II of the National Defense Education Act authorizes annual appropriations to (1) establish and develop capital funds at institutions of higher education to provide low-interest, long-term loans to regularly enrolled financially needy students pursuing courses of study at the undergraduate, graduate, or professional level; (2) provide loans to institutions to help finance their contributions to the loan fund; and (3) make payments to the institutions to cover their share of the reduction in the student loan funds resulting from teacher cancellations. Program for fiscal year 1966 Total loan funds available to the institutions for fiscal year 1966 are estimated as follows: It is estimated that in fiscal year 1966, $223,800,000 will be loaned to approximately 400,000 students, including those in business schools and technical institutes, with an average loan of $525 to $550 per student, slightly above the previous experience of $490, on the assumption that institutions will increase the amount loaned per student in order to allow for increased college costs and to provide for the higher loan limitations for graduate students. Program for fiscal year 1967 A fiscal year 1967 legislative proposal will merge the National Defense Education Act student loan program with the insured loan program under the Higher Education Act of 1965, and will continue the same range of benefits to students which are now authorized under the National Defense Education Act. Funds generated from the private economy are expected to eliminate the necessity for financing student loans through the use of direct Federal appropriations. The sum of $34,187,000 which has been requested for fiscal year 1967 is not expected to be obligated. It is being requested as advance authority, however, to enable the colleges and universities to make definite commitments to their students during a transitional period at the start of fiscal year 1967. (a) Acquisition of equipment and minor remodeling-(1) Grants to States 41.0 Grants, subsidies, and contributions: Title III of the act authorizes matching grants to States for instructional equipment and materials, including incidental minor remodeling, to improve teaching in the following eight critical subjects at the elementary and secondary school levels: Science, mathematics, history, civics, geography, modern foreign language, English, and reading. The Higher Education Act of 1965 has expanded the program to include economics. The greater majority of the Nation's public schools, with enrollments of over 41.5 million students, participate in this program. Acquisitions by local schools under title III include modern laboratory facilities; overhead projectors and tape recorders; maps and globes; films, filmstrips, and slides; transparency makers for the production of teaching aids specially suited to individual classroom situations; test-grading machines; and reference books and periodicals for both students and teachers. With the amendment of title III during fiscal year 1965 to include history, civics, geography, English, and reading, the number of course enrollees was increased by approximately 100 million over the estimated 56.8 million enrollees in science, mathematics, and modern foreign languages in school year 1964-65. Changing conditions in education contribute to a continuing need for this program: Increases in the public school population of about 800,000 per year, the accelerated obsolescence of teaching equipment and materials due to swiftly advancing technology, the increasing volume and changing nature of accepted knowledge, the growing number of teachers trained to use modern equipment and materials, and the continuous endeavor of educators to establish new standards of excellence in teaching. Program accomplishments In the three subject areas initially selected for support under the program, reports show enrollments in grades 9 through 12 increasing more, proportionately, than general enrollments. In mathematics enrollment in these grades, for example, a recent study revealed an increase of 50 percent above the gain in total public school enrollment in the same grades. Language laboratories in public high schools have increased from fewer than 50 in 1958 to over 8,000 in 1965. For improvement of science instruction in the past 7 years, more than 200,000 projects have been approved for an estimated $500 million in Federal, State, and local funds. States repeatedly report that the title III program, with its emphasis on the acquisition of modern equipment and materials only after a school is prepared to use them well, has served as both the catalyst and impetus for curriculum revision and inservice teacher education programs. Explanation of requirements An amount for grants to States of $54,200,000 is requested. The decrease of $25 million from the 1966 appropriation will be more than offset by increased grants under the Elementary and Secondary Education Act. Reallotment of funds is authorized under this program, and in fiscal year 1965 $4.8 million was reallotted from States not requiring their entire allotment to other States having additional requirements. It is expected that, with reallotment, the $54.2 million requested will be fully and effectively utilized. |