On Thursday, Sept. 26, President Biden signed a three-month continuing resolution (CR) that will fund the government at current funding levels until Dec. 20, 2024. The CR avoids a government shutdown and for members of Congress, allows them to head back to their districts to campaign before the November elections. While there were early attempts to use the government funding bill to drive partisan priorities, the final bill was “clean,” meaning it level funded (no change from 2024) all government programs, including Title IIA until after the elections.
The continuing resolution simply delays the conversation and hard decisions around appropriations. Educators should not feel relieved. There is still work to be done as the stark contrast between the House’s version of the 2025 education appropriations bill which would ZERO out Title IIA and the Senate’s version of the bill which would level fund Title IIA. When a negotiation occurs, this could mean that a final appropriations number could come in somewhere between zero and level funding, ultimately meaning a cut for Title IIA. Watch for alerts from Learning Forward shortly after the election. When we call on you to contact your members of Congress, we hope you will heed the call. Full funding for Title IIA hangs in the balance. This is not a time to be complacent. All educators will need to stand up for professional learning and Title IIA.
Questions? Contact Melinda George at melinda.george@learningforward.org.
