(from the NAEYC)
Notice the the CC&DB Grants and the Infant and Toddler initiatives were among the big losers:(
FINAL FUNDING BILL GOES TO PRESIDENT FOR SIGNATURE
The First Session of the 110th Congress is drawing to a close. The President has signed the Head Start reauthorization bill. The Higher Education Act reauthorization bills in the House and Senate are moving forward, hopefully to be completed early in the Second Session, with important provisions to help improve early childhood educator preparation, compensation, loan forgiveness for higher education, and state early childhood professional development and career systems in states. In addition, the WIC program received a funding increase.
Your calls and emails helped keep the importance of early childhood education visible.
However, the President vetoed the first bill that Congress sent to him that had increases for several early childhood education programs. After two Continuing Resolutions, Congress reached an agreement on a bill that the President was willing to sign. To reach those numbers, Congress made a 1.747% cut across all programs.
Starting with the opening of the Second Session in January 2008, it will be important for members of Congress to hear often about the importance of high quality early childhood education programs.
Here are highlights in the final spending bill compared to last year's funding levels:
Title I of No Child Left Behind - $1.6 billion increase
IDEA Part B - $259 million increase
21st Century Community Learning Centers - $100 million increase
Child Care & Development Block Grant - no increase
Head Start - reduced by $10.58 million
Early Reading First - reduced by $5 million
Even Start - reduced by $15.8 million
Reading First - reduced by $636 million
IDEA 619 Preschool - reduced by $6.65 million
IDEA Part C Infants and Toddlers - reduced by $746,000
CAMPIS - reduced by $276,000
