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Do you know that federal support for education extends well beyond programs funded through the U.S. Department of Education? Are you surprised to learn that the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Child Nutrition Program is the nation's largest federally funded elementary and secondary education program? Are you aware that colleges and universities receive research funds from an array of agencies, thus minimizing their dependence on any one?
Given these facts, you may not be surprised to learn that federal support for education reached an estimated $100.5 billion in FY 1997--an upsurge of $37.7 billion or 60 percent--since FY 1990.
After adjustments for inflation, the increase stood at 31 percent.
This is a key finding of Federal Support for Education: Fiscal Years 1980 to 1997, a new study from OERI's National Center for Education Statistics, which attempts to provide a comprehensive picture of total federal financial support for education since FY 1980. The study recognizes that while some consolidation of education programs occurred with the creation of the Department, many large and significant education initiatives remain in other federal agencies. Thus, to provide a more complete account of federal aid for education, support from other agencies has been included.
In addition to the Child Nutrition Program, major initiatives noted in the study include the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services' Head Start Program, U.S. Department of Defense military dependents' schools, and the U.S. Department of Labor's Job Corps Program.
Overall, the study found that all 14 Cabinet-level agencies, as well as 20-plus "other agencies and programs," ranging from the Library of Congress to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, provide varying levels of support to education.
Copies of the full report, Federal Support for Education: Fiscal Years 1980 to 1997, are available from the Government Printing Office for $7, stock #065-000-01081-0. (See How to Order.) The report also is available via the NCES Web site at http://nces.ed.gov/
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