Funds To Be Cut for Reading Education
Last month. both the House and Senate Appropriations Committees approved versions of an appropriations bill which funds federal education programs. Both versions end funding for Reading First, the program which supports a set of reading efforts in grades K-3. If the bill passes in its current form, Congress will have cut funding for PK-3 literacy by $1 billion over two years.
The current versions of the bill are in committee and so they are not necessarily the death knell for reading support. Appropriations bills go through a complex set of hurdles before they can become law (go to the full House and Senate, to conference committee, to the President, etc.) and these have not yet taken place. Early education advocates are hoping to put intense pressure on Congress to ensure that the funding remains.
Reading First has been marked by considerable controversy and poor results. No one can disagree with the idea that we must not waste taxpayer dollars on ineffective education programs. But the answer is not to eliminate funding; it is to offer better programs.
For more information, you can turn to http://ednews.org/articles/27543/1/Put-PK-3-First-with-or-without-Reading-First/Page1.html
