Early Ed Watch

Congress has decided not to finalize fiscal year 2011 spending levels until next year. Until it finalizes funding, Congress has temporarily funded most federal programs at the 2010 level.

What this means is that the next Congress, which will be sworn-in in early January, will ultimately determine the final fiscal year 2011 spending levels.

On December 8, the House of Representatives passed a continuing resolution (CR) to maintain funding levels through the end of the fiscal year, which ends September 30.

A few months ago, an education analyst asked me why we need to focus on improving the quality of educational experiences for young children. From what he had seen on international tests, it looked like American children were scoring well on tests in 4th grade compared to their counterparts in other countries. It was in the later grades, he said, that Americans' test scores started to look so lousy.

A column today by Daniel Willingham, a cognitive scientist at the University of Virginia, provides part of the answer.

When we last reported on federal appropriations, Congress had just passed a continuing resolution (CR) to keep the federal government operating through December 3, 2010. The CR was subsequently extended through December 18, 2010, allowing Congress more time to pass a federal spending bill for fiscal year 2011.

On Wednesday, the U.S. House of Representatives narrowly passed what it is calling the “Full-Year Continuing Appropriations Act of 2011.” It is effectively a continuation of the CR through fiscal year 2011 (which goes through the end of next September). It does adjust some funding levels between programs and accounts but maintains overall discretionary spending at fiscal year 2010 levels.

This morning, Pre-K Now released its annual “Votes Count” report, which details states' pre-k funding for the 2011 year.

The news isn’t bad: Pre-K Now reports that total state funding for pre-k increased slightly in FY11, to $5.4 billion from $5.3 billion in 2010. In a year of fiscal cuts, a majority of states managed to maintain or improve funding levels. Further, the report points out that lawmakers from both parties are supporting these investments: the 15 states that increased funding included four in which Republicans control both the executive and legislative branches of government, three in which Democrats control both governments, and eight states in which control is split between parties.