Support principals and teachers by standing up for Title II-A

As the flowers bloom in Washington, D.C. and the temperatures climb, Congress once more turns its attention to education funding. Like each year in recent memory, education advocates must again make the case that professional learning merits federal investment. Many of the same headwinds on education spending that we saw last year are presenting themselves again: a Presidential budget that consolidates and cuts Title II-A, the $2.19 billion program that represents the federal government’s sole direct investment in professional learning; a persistent focus by the Administration on shutting down the Department of Education and scattering its programs to other federal agencies; and a slow-moving funding process that will not finish on time.

Still, there is reason for optimism and advocacy action this spring. Thanks to the Senate, Title II-A survived last year’s effort by the Administration and the House of Representatives to eliminate it, ending up with level spending over the prior year. This result makes the same or even a better result possible this year.

Also encouraging: A bipartisan group of lawmakers forced the White House Office of Management and Budget (OMB) to release FY26 Title II-A and other education program funding allocations after a three-and-a-half-week stand-off last summer. This victory, plus the enactment of legislative language requiring the on-time release of funds going forward, will hopefully make OMB reconsider a similar withholding this year.

In addition, an energized principal and school leader advocacy community, which includes Learning Forward, has launched a spring push to secure 10% more Title II-A funding next year. They are emphasizing how more than half of states have exercised their option to set-aside 3% of their Title II-A allocations for specialized professional learning opportunities for principals and other school leaders. They are deploying the latest research to demonstrate how supporting principals and school leaders can improve student achievement, stem educator attrition, and fill the depleted educator pipeline:

• Principals matter for student success and teacher turnover: A 2021 meta-analysis of six rigorous studies found that schools with the most effective principals – those in the highest quarter studied – can contribute to higher student achievement in math and ELA. Further, schools that invest in highly effective principals can lead to higher student attendance rates and less likelihood of chronic absenteeism, especially in schools with greater concentrations of student poverty. Effective principals can also lead to higher teacher satisfaction and lower teacher turnover.
• Professional learning for principals is essential, but they need more of it: A 2022 Learning Policy Institute study and a 2026 Vanderbilt University report commissioned by The Wallace Foundation found that principals are generally satisfied with the content and quality of their professional learning. However, about 52% report that they would like to engage in more professional learning, especially in topics like student mental health, behavior and discipline, and school climate. Additionally, access to professional learning can often be uneven, with rural principals reporting less access to formal learning opportunities than their urban colleagues.
• High-quality principal pipelines improve principal effectiveness and student achievement: A 2019 RAND study, which identified seven essential pipeline elements, found significant student academic gains in those schools with newly placed principals who had emerged from high-quality principal pipelines. Specifically, after three or more years with such principals, students at those schools outperformed students at schools with non-pipeline principals by 6.22 percentile points in reading and 2.87 percentile points in math. Moreover, principals emerging from high-quality pipelines were more likely to remain in their positions longer compared to non-pipeline principals. Based on this study’s analysis, for every 100 newly placed principals, there would be approximately six fewer losses after two years and nearly eight fewer losses after three years.

Just last week, Learning Forward and leading principals’ organizations led more than 100 national, state and local education organizations in sending a letter to Congress requesting a 10% increase in Title II-A funding. The letter argued the increase was justified not only to keep pace with inflation but also because “this investment will help accelerate student learning, recruit new individuals into the educator workforce, support educator retention through professional learning, and bolster school leaders.”

As you move towards ending your school year, I hope you will take a few moments to reach out to your Senators and U.S. Representatives to advocate for increasing investments in Title II-A, a program that supports all educators, including principals and school leaders, and that supports student academic achievement.