Order Code RL33058
CRS Report for Congress
Received through the CRS Web
K-12 Education Programs: Recent Appropriations
Updated November 22, 2005
Paul M. Irwin
Specialist in Social Legislation
Domestic Social Policy Division
Congressional Research Service ˜ The Library of Congress

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K-12 Education Programs: Recent Appropriations
Summary
Congress is currently considering FY2006 federal funding for K-12 education
programs as a part of H.R. 3010, the Departments of Labor, Health and Human
Services, and Education Appropriations, 2006. Questions continue to be asked about
these appropriations, including the total amount of elementary and secondary
funding, recent increases, and the major components counted in the K-12 total. K-12
education components traditionally include the Elementary and Secondary Education
Act of 1965 (ESEA), as amended by the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001
(NCLBA), P.L. 107-110; the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA); the
Carl D. Perkins Vocational and Technical Education Act of 1998; and the Adult
Education and Family Literacy Act (AEFLA). For ESEA and IDEA, issues extend
to how much was “promised,” how much was provided, and the “shortfall.” This
report will be updated as appropriations are enacted. This report replaces CRS
Report RS21947, K-12 Education Programs: Appropriations Summary.

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Contents
Action on FY2006 K-12 Education Appropriations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
K-12 Education Authorization . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
NCLBA and ESEA Funding Provisions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
Total K-12 Education Appropriations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
Appropriations for K-12 Components . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
Appropriations for Major ESEA Programs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
ESEA Authorizations and Appropriations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
ESEA Funding Shortfall? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
IDEA Authorizations and Appropriations for Part B Grants to States . . . . . 8
IDEA Funding Shortfall? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
List of Tables
Table 1. Proposed Appropriations for K-12 Education, FY2006 . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
Table 2. Total K-12 Education Appropriations, FY2000-FY2006 . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
Table 3. Appropriations for K-12 Components, FY2001-FY2006 . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
Table 4. Appropriations for Major ESEA Programs, FY2001-FY2006 . . . . . . . . 5
Table 5. ESEA Authorizations and Appropriations, FY2002-FY2007 . . . . . . . . 6
Table 6. IDEA Authorizations and Appropriations for
Part B Grants to States, FY2005-FY2007 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9

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K-12 Education Programs:
Recent Appropriations
This report examines federal appropriations for K-12 education. It begins with
the status of FY2006 appropriations currently being considered by Congress. It
discusses which programs are considered to be included in K-12 education and the
relationship between the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 (NCLBA), P.L. 107-110,
enacted January 8, 2002, and the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965
(ESEA). The President’s annual request is compared with the final appropriation for
K-12 programs since FY2000. Funding levels for major components of K-12
education and major ESEA programs are shown since FY2001. Authorization levels
specified for ESEA programs are compared with annual appropriations since
FY2002; authorization levels are compared with appropriations since FY2005 for the
Part B Grants for States program of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act
(IDEA). The ESEA and IDEA funding comparisons form a part of a continuing issue
of whether there is a funding shortfall in these areas of K-12 education.
Action on FY2006 K-12 Education Appropriations
Table 1 shows legislation action on the FY2006 appropriations for K-12
education programs. It shows the President’s FY2006 budget proposal and
appropriations as passed by the House on June 24, 2005, and the Senate on October
27, 2005. Amounts from the FY2006 conference report on H.R. 3010 (H.Rept. 109-
300, November 16, 2005) are shown; the conference agreement failed to pass the
House on November 17, 2005, by a vote of 209 to 224.
Each FY2006 proposal — the President’s request, the House- and Senate-passed
amounts, and the conference agreement — would reduce overall K-12 funding
compared to the FY2005 total, as shown in the table. The Congress and the President
would accomplish these reductions by different means, however. The House and
Senate proposals, as well as the conference agreement, would reduce the total for
programs authorized by ESEA, while the President would eliminate federal support
for vocational education and reduce adult education appropriations by more than half.
Funding for special education would be increased under each of these proposals, as
would funding for the ESEA Title I, Part A Grants to Local Educational Agencies
(LEAs) program. The FY2006 budget request would increase funds for the Fund for
the Improvement of Education (FIE) to a total of nearly $2.0 billion, consisting of
regular FIE funding of $134 million and five FIE initiatives that total more than $1.8
billion, including $1.2 billion for a High School Intervention initiative that would
focus on high-risk students. According to the Department of Education (ED) Budget
Service table of February 7, 2005, the last time federal K-12 funding decreased from
one year to the next was from FY1995 to FY1996. K-12 funding in FY1996 was
$14.6 billion, a decrease of 1.4% from the FY1995 amount of $14.4 billion.

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CRS-2
Table 1. Proposed Appropriations for K-12 Education, FY2006
(dollars in millions)
FY2006
FY2006
FY2006
FY2005
FY2006
House-
Senate-
conf.
Program
final
request
passed
passed
report
Elementary and Secondary
$24,352
$25,327 $23,549
$23,585
$23,570
Education Act (ESEA) total
Title I, Part A Grants to Local
12,740
13,342
12,840
12,840
12,840
Educational Agencies (LEA)
21st Century Community
991
991
991
991
991
Learning Centers (21CCLC)
Education Block Grant
198
100
198
100
100
School Choice
27
27
27
27
27
Fund for the Improvement of
675
1,976
354
554
414
Education (FIE)
Special education
11,674
12,126
11,814
11,775
11,771
Part B Grants to States
10,590
11,098
10,740
10,690
10,690
Vocational education
1,326
0
1,312
1,309
1,309
Adult education
585
216
585
589
585
All other K-12 programs
183
178
178
191
180
Total K-12 funding
$38,120
$37,847 $37,438
$37,449
$37,415
Source: Data are compiled from the Department of Education (ED) Budget Service table of Nov. 17,
2005. The President submitted the FY2006 budget to Congress on February 7, 2005; the House
passed H.R. 3010 on June 24, 2005; and the Senate amended and passed H.R. 3010 on Oct. 27, 2005.
The H.R. 3010 conference report, H.Rept. 109-300 (Nov. 16, 2005), failed to pass the House on Nov.
17, 2005, by a vote of 209-224. For legislative action and background, see CRS Report RL32952,
Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education: FY2006 Appropriations.
K-12 Education Authorization
K-12 education programs traditionally include the programs authorized under
four acts:
! Programs authorized by ESEA, as amended by the No Child Left
Behind Act (NCLBA);
! Special education programs authorized by the Individuals with
Disabilities Education Act (IDEA);
! Vocational education programs authorized by Carl D. Perkins
Vocational and Technical Education Act of 1998 (Perkins); and
! Adult education programs authorized by the Adult Education and
Family Literacy Act (AEFLA).

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CRS-3
A few K-12 education programs are authorized by other statutes, such as the
Homeless Children and Youth Education program under Title VII of the McKinney-
Vento Homeless Assistance Act. The Department of Education (ED) administers all
of these programs.
NCLBA and ESEA Funding Provisions. Questions are regularly asked
regarding the amount of funding provided by the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001
(P.L. 107-110, enacted January 8, 2002). The NCLBA itself does not authorize or
fund any program. Rather, the NCLBA amended and extended other education laws,
primarily ESEA. Annual funding for ESEA programs is easily tracked in the
appropriations process. Funding for some non-ESEA programs amended by
NCLBA, however, is not available on a comparable basis. In particular, some non-
ESEA programs are operated by the Department of Interior, where discretionary
funding levels are determined only after the start of the fiscal year. Because the
ESEA accounted for 99% of the appropriations in FY2002 for programs amended
by NCLBA, this report tracks the ESEA appropriations total as the best proxy of the
NCLBA funding total.
Total K-12 Education Appropriations
Table 2 shows the annual, aggregate funding for K-12 education programs since
FY2000, as well as the President’s budget request for each of those years. Both the
budget request and the appropriations enacted have increased annually, with one
exception; the FY2006 request is for less than the FY2005 request. Federal K-12
education programs include those authorized by ESEA, as well as several non-ESEA
programs such as special, vocational, and adult education.
Table 2. Total K-12 Education Appropriations, FY2000-FY2006
(dollars in billions)
Fiscal year
President’s request
Appropriation
2000
$22.3
$23.1
2001
26.4
27.9
2002
29.3
32.7
2003
33.7
35.7
2004
34.9
37.5
2005
38.7
38.1
2006
37.8
Not yet enacted
Source: Department of Education Budget Service table of Feb. 7, 2005, except that the FY2005
appropriation and the FY2006 request are based on the table of Nov. 17, 2005. The FY2005
appropriation reflects the 0.80% reduction required of many FY2005 discretionary appropriations.

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CRS-4
Appropriations for K-12 Components
Table 3 shows the funding for major components of K-12 education since
FY2001, which was the last full year of funding for ESEA programs before they were
amended by NCLBA.
Table 3. Appropriations for K-12 Components, FY2001-FY2006
(dollars in millions)
Fiscal year
FY2006
Major component
FY2001
FY2002
FY2003
FY2004
FY2005
request
ESEA programs
$18,442
$21,954
$23,610
$24,275
$24,352
$25,327
Special education
7,440
8,673
9,957
11,161
11,674
12,126
Vocational education
1,243
1,321
1,326
1,328
1,326
0
Adult education
561
591
587
590
585
216
Other K-12 programs
197
158
244
184
183
178
Total K-12 funding
$27,883
$32,697
$35,724
$37,538
$38,120
$37,847
Source: ED Budget Service tables: for FY2001, Jan. 3, 2002; for FY2002, Feb. 20, 2003; for
FY2003, Aug. 27, 2004; for FY2004, Dec. 9, 2004, and for FY2005 and the FY2006 request, Nov.
17, 2005. FY2005 funding reflects the required 0.80% reductions.
Table 3 shows that ESEA programs receive the majority of K-12 education
funds. For example, ESEA programs are funded at $24.4 billion in FY2005, or 64%
of the total K-12 appropriation of $38.1 billion. Significant amounts also are
appropriated for non-ESEA programs, such as $11.7 billion for special education
programs authorized under IDEA for FY2005. Additional funds are appropriated for
vocational and adult education programs. A few K-12 programs, such as Education
for Homeless Children and Youth, receive funding as well. Appropriations have
increased for each year shown for both ESEA and special education programs, and
for K-12 funding in the aggregate. Under the FY2006 request, funding for ESEA and
special education would be increased; vocational education would be eliminated; and
adult education and the total for K-12 would be reduced.
Appropriations for Major ESEA Programs
Table 4 shows the appropriations for 12 of the ESEA programs with the highest
funding levels since FY2001. Approximately 50% of all ESEA appropriations are
allotted to the Title I, Part A Grants to Local Educational Agencies (LEAs) program
for the education of disadvantaged children, which is funded at $12.7 billion in
FY2005. Also in FY2005, Reading First State Grants, Impact Aid, and Teacher
Quality State Grants are each funded at more than $1 billion; the 21st Century
Community Learning Centers (21CCLC) program is funded at just under $1 billion.
Most programs shown in this table require appropriated funds to be distributed by
formula. Most of the remaining ESEA programs — shown as “Other ESEA

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CRS-5
programs” in the table — require the distribution of funds by discretionary grants
through competition among eligible applicants. A few ESEA programs specify the
distribution of funds to a single recipient.
Table 4. Appropriations for
Major ESEA Programs, FY2001-FY2006
(dollars in millions)
Appropriation year
FY2006
Major component
FY2001 FY2002 FY2003 FY2004 FY2005 request
Title I, Part A Grants to LEAs
$8,763 $10,350 $11,689 $12,342 $12,740 $13,342
Reading First State Grants
0
900
994
1,024
1,042
1,042
Impact Aid
993
1,144
1,188
1,230
1,244
1,241
Teacher Quality State Grants
0
2,850
2,931
2,930
2,917
2,917
Education Technology State
0
701
696
692
496
0
Grants
21st Century Community
846
1,000
999
999
991
991
Learning Centers (21CCLC)
Innovative Programs State
Grants (Education Block
385
385
382
297
198
100
Grant)
State Assessments
0
387
384
390
412
412
Rural Education
0
163
168
168
171
171
Fund for the Improvement of
717
833
810
770
675
1,976
Education (FIE)
Safe and Drug-Free Schools
439
472
469
441
437
0
State Grants
English Language Acquisition
296
664
684
681
676
676
All other ESEA programs
6,003
2,105
2,216
2,311
2,353
2,459
ESEA total $18,442 $21,954 $23,610 $24,275 $24,352 $25,327
Source: ED Budget Service tables: for FY2001, Jan. 3, 2002; for FY2002, Feb. 20, 2003; for
FY2003, Aug. 27, 2004; for FY2004, Dec. 9, 2004; and for FY2005 and the FY2006 request, Nov.
17, 2005. FY2005 funding reflects required 0.80% reductions. LEAs = Local Educational Agencies.
ESEA Authorizations and Appropriations
Table 5 shows the annual funding amounts authorized, requested, and
appropriated for those programs with specified authorizations of appropriations under
ESEA, as amended by NCLBA. All together, the ESEA includes provisions for 45
program authorizations for the six-year period FY2002-FY2007, as follows.
! Five of the 45 ESEA programs have specific amounts authorized to
be appropriated for all six fiscal years; these programs are
highlighted in Table 5.

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CRS-6
! Another 24 programs have specific amounts authorized only for
FY2002; funding for these programs is given in aggregate only in the
FY2002 segment of Table 5. For FY2003 through FY2007, such
sums as may be necessary are authorized for these programs.
! The remaining 16 ESEA programs have no specific amount
authorized; that is, such sums as may be necessary are authorized for
each program for each year during the period FY2002 through
FY2007. Table 5 does not include any funding information for
these programs.
Many recent authorizations of education programs have not specified exact
authorization levels, especially for the years following the first year of authorization
or reauthorization. Instead, such sums as may be necessary are authorized to be
appropriated. Authorization provisions for each of the 45 ESEA programs are listed
in CRS Report RL31244, K-12 Education Funding: Authorizations and
Appropriations for FY2002.
Table 5 shows that the President’s budget request is less than the authorized
amount for each program for each year with two exceptions: the FY2002 Education
Block Grant and the FY2006 Fund for the Improvement of Education (FIE). Also
for each year, the appropriation is less than the authorized amount, with the exception
of FIE appropriations, which are higher than the authorized amount in each year. The
FIE is a single authorization that includes 20 specific activities, as well as more
general activities related to the improvement of K-12 education. For instance,
appropriations are provided for general FIE activities and 17 separately specified
activities within FIE in FY2005 (Table 5 shows FIE funding only in the aggregate).
Table 5. ESEA Authorizations and Appropriations,
FY2002-FY2007
(dollars in millions)
FY2002 Programs, with
Difference:
ESEA Section Reference
Authorization Request Appropriation App - Auth
Title I, Part A Grants to
$13,500
$9,061
$10,350
-$3,150
LEAs, §1002
21st Century Community
Learning Centers (21CCLC),
1,250
846
1,000
-250
§4206
Innovative Education
Programs (Education Block
450
472
385
-65
Grant), §5146
Voluntary Public School
100
0
25
-75
Choice, §5248
Fund for the Improvement of
550
25
833
+283
Education (FIE), §5401
Five program subtotal
$15,850
$10,404
$12,593
-$3,257
24 other specified programs
10,497
6,977
7,410
-3,087
FY2002 specified total
$26,347
$17,381
$20,003
-$6,344

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CRS-7
Difference:
FY2003 Programs
Authorization Request Appropriation App - Auth
Title I, Part A Grants to
$16,000
$11,353
$11,689
-$4,311
LEAs
21CCLC
1,500
1,000
994
-506
Education Block Grant
475
385
382
-93
School Choice
100
25
26
-74
FIE
575
134
810
+235
FY2003 specified total
$18,650
$12,897
$13,901
-$4,749
Difference:
FY2004 Programs
Authorization Request Appropriation App - Auth
Title I, Part A Grants to
$18,500
$12,350
$12,342
-$6,158
LEAs
21CCLC
1,750
600
999
-751
Education Block Grant
500
385
297
-203
School Choice
100
25
27
-73
FIE
600
169
770
+170
FY2004 specified total
$21,450
$13,529
$14,435
-$7,015
Difference:
FY2005 Programs
Authorization Request Appropriation App - Auth
Title I, Part A Grants to
$20,500
$13,342
$12,740
-$7,760
LEAs
21CCLC
2,000
999
991
-1,009
Education Block Grant
525
297
198
-327
School Choice
100
27
27
-73
FIE
625
264
675
+50
FY2005 specified total
$23,750
$14,929
$14,631
-$9,119
Difference:
FY2006 Programs
Authorization Request Appropriation Req - Auth
Title I, Part A Grants to
$22,750
$13,342
—
-$9,408
LEAs
21CCLC
2,250
991
—
-1,259
Education Block Grant
550
100
—
-450
School Choice
100
27
—
-73
FIE
650
1,976
—
+1,326
FY2006 specified total
$26,300
$16,436
—
-$9,864

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CRS-8
FY2007 Programs
Authorization Request Appropriation
Difference
Title I, Part A Grants to
$25,000
—
—
—
LEAs
21CCLC
2,500
—
—
—
Education Block Grant
600
—
—
—
School Choice
100
—
—
—
FIE
675
—
—
—
FY2007 specified total
$28,875
—
—
—
Source: ED Budget Service tables of Jan. 3, 2002, Feb. 20, 2003, Jan. 28, 2004, Aug. 27, 2004, Dec.
9, 2004, and Nov. 17, 2005. FY2002 authorizations and appropriations are based on CRS Report
RL31244, K-12 Education Funding: Authorizations and Appropriations for FY2002. Authorization
levels for all years are based on ESEA, as amended by NCLBA. FY2005 funding reflects the required
0.80% reductions.
ESEA Funding Shortfall? Since the enactment of NCLBA in 2002, there
has been a continuing discussion regarding the appropriations “promised” and the
resulting “shortfall” when the enacted appropriations are compared to authorization
levels. Some would contend that the ESEA authorizations of appropriations, as
amended by NCLBA, represent a funding commitment that was promised in return
for legislative support for the new administrative requirements made of state and
local educational systems. They would contend that the authorized levels are needed
for implementing the new requirements, and that the differences between promised
and actual funding levels, as shown in Table 5, represent a shortfall of billions of
dollars — $9.1 billion for FY2005. Others would contend that the authorized
funding levels represent no more than appropriations ceilings, and as such are no
different from authorizations for most education programs. That is, when the
authorization amount is specified, it represents only a maximum amount, with the
actual funding level to be determined during the regular annual appropriations
process. In the past, education programs with specified levels of authorization
generally have been funded at lower levels; few have been funded at levels equal to
or higher than the specified authorization amount.
IDEA Authorizations and Appropriations
for Part B Grants to States
Table 6 shows the annual amounts authorized, requested, and appropriated for
the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) Part B Grants to States
program. The table begins with FY2005, the first year of authorizations specified by
IDEA, as amended by P.L. 108-446, the Individuals with Disabilities Education
Improvement Act of 2004, enacted December 3, 2004. Table 6 shows that both the
FY2005 and FY2006 requests were less than the amounts authorized, as was the
FY2005 appropriation for Part B Grants to States.

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CRS-9
Table 6. IDEA Authorizations and Appropriations for Part B
Grants to States, FY2005-FY2007
(dollars in millions)
Difference:
appropriation (2005) or
request (2006) and
Fiscal year Authorization
Request
Appropriation
authorization
2005
$12,358
$11,068
$10,590
-$1,769
2006
14,649
11,098
—
-3,551
2007
16,939
—
—
—
Source: For authorizations, Section 611(i) of IDEA, as amended by P.L. 108-446. For budget
requests and appropriations, Department of Education (ED) Budget Service tables of Dec. 9, 2004,
and Nov. 17, 2005.
IDEA Funding Shortfall? From 1975 to 2004, the IDEA Part B Grants to
States program authorized state payments up to a maximum amount of 40% of the
national average per-pupil expenditure (APPE) times the number of children with
disabilities ages three and above that each state serves. Appropriations were never
sufficient to reach the 40% level. In FY2003, for example, the maximum authorized
federal share of 40% was estimated to be $20.2 billion, whereas the actual
appropriation was $8.9 billion, or a federal share of 17.5%, for a “shortfall” of $11.3
billion for the Part B Grants to States program.
In 2004, the Congress addressed the Part B authorization issue in P.L. 108-446,
which specified annual authorization ceilings for Part B Grants to States for FY2005
through FY2011. Annual increases in authorizations were specified in order to reach
an estimated 40% federal share by FY2011. As shown in Table 6, the FY2005
authorization was $12.4 billion, whereas the appropriation for that year was $10.6
billion, or $1.8 billion under the maximum level authorized. For FY2006, the
authorization increased to $14.6 billion, whereas the amount requested in the budget
was $11.1 billion, or nearly $3.6 billion less. As with ESEA, some view these
differences as funding shortfalls, while others see the maximum federal share and the
specified authorizations as nothing more than appropriation ceilings. For additional
information, please see CRS Report RL32085, Individuals with Disabilities
Education Act (IDEA): Current Funding Trends

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