The House Labor HHS Education bill would slash $11 billion from the Department of Education and eliminate 17 federally funded education programs, including two key language education programs – the $890 million English Language Acquisition (Title III) program and the $2.19 billion Supporting Effective Instruction State Grants (Title II-A) program. The Senate bill, by contrast, would actually increase the Department’s funding by more than $900 million and retain all programs, including Title II-A and Title III, which would receive a slight increase.
 

For the World Language Advancement and Readiness Act (WLARA) grants in the FY25 Defense bill, the House would restore its funding level to its FY23 level of $15 million, while the Senate would maintain last year’s $5 million cut and provide only $10 million for this program.
 

If enacted, the House bill’s proposed elimination of Title II-A and Title III would remove all specially directed funding for the more than 5 million English Learners in this country and delete the federal government’s largest investment in professional development for K-12 teachers and school leaders. Similarly, the Senate’s proposed $5 million cut to WLARA would significantly pare back federal investments in innovative world language programs at military-connected public schools. 
 

The good news is that we have time to push back on these devastating budget cuts. Congress is likely to push off final spending decisions until after the November elections.