Federal Education Budget Update

Congress completed the fiscal year 2014 appropriations process on January 17, 2014, finalizing annual funding for Department of Education programs through September 30, 2014 at $67.3 billion, up nearly $1.6 billion from the prior year.

The increase reflects a restoration of funding cut under last year's across-the-board reductions (i.e. sequestration). When compared to fiscal year 2012 funding, fiscal year 2014 funding is roughly $811 million lower. As in the past several years, the Budget Control Act of 2011 had a big impact on the appropriations process and education funding. An agreement to amend that law, the Bipartisan Budget Act of 2013, was also a key development in the fiscal year 2014 appropriations process.

The Federal Education Budget Project at New America tracks and analyzes the federal budget and appropriations process throughout the year to help education advocates, state and local policymakers, the media, and other education stakeholders better understand how those developments affect federal education policy. As part of that effort, the Project produces an annual issue brief explaining the recently enacted appropriations law and the broader budgeting decisions that Congress and the President have made leading up to its enactment.

Click here to read the full report.