FY 2000 Dept. of Education and NSF Math and Science Education Requests
Many federal department and agency program budgets contain a math and science education component. Two of the largest programs are found within the U.S. Department of Education and the National Science Foundation.
U.S. DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION:
Under the Administration’s request, the FY 2000 budget for Eisenhower Professional Development State Grants would remain level at $335.0 million -- unchanged from this year or 1998.
The department’s budget document states:
“Eisenhower Professional Development State Grants is the largest Federal effort dedicated to helping ensure that there is a talented and dedicated teacher in every American classroom. The program is designed to provide the high-quality, intensive professional development needed to give educators the knowledge and skills necessary to teach children to standards of excellence. The program emphasizes improvement of instruction in mathematics and science the first $250 million of each year’s appropriation must be used in that area but also allows States and districts to use Federal funds to improve teaching in all of the core academic subjects. The emphasis is on sustained and intensive, high-quality development experiences that are tied to the everyday life of a school and that support continuous improvement in teaching and learning. The program gives schools the flexibility to set their own staff training and development priorities.
“Level funding in 2000 would enable States, school districts, and institutions of higher education to continue their current efforts to upgrade the quality of instruction in the American classroom.”
NATIONAL SCIENCE FOUNDATION:
NSF’s Education and Human Resources Activity FY 2000 budget request is up 3.2%, or $22.0 million, to $711.0 million. This amount includes $33.0 million from H-1B Nonimmigrant Petitioner Fees, which were $27.0 million this year.
There are seven subactivities under the Education and Human Resources (EHR) Activity:
Educational System Reform is down 1.9%, or $2.25 million, to $114.2 million.
Experimental Program to Stimulate Competitive Research (EPSCoR) remains unchanged at $48.4 million.
Elementary, Secondary, and Informal Education is up 0.1%, or $200,000, to $193.7 million.
Undergraduate Education is up 15.4%, or $15.6 million, to $116.6 million.
Graduate Education is down 5.4%, or $4.0 million, to $69.7 million.
Human Resource Development is unchanged at $73.7 million.
Research, Evaluation and Communication is up 11.8%, or $6.5 million, to $61.7 million.
The NSF budget document states, “In FY 2000, EHR will address emerging needs and opportunities in five priority areas.” Selected portions of the budget document descriptions follow:
Education Research: “A comprehensive agenda will be pursued, spanning applications of basic research on neural and cognitive sciences, teaching and learning, systemic reform, and policy. Emphasis is placed on development and applications of educational technologies, piloting of technologies to assess their effectiveness in classrooms, and large-scale implementation across entire education systems.”
Building the K-12 Instructional Workforce: “Pre- and in-service education programs will work in concert to implement a strategy that address the two-fold national need of producing a K-12 instructional workforce of adequate size and quality to deliver standards-based science and mathematics education.”
Systemic Reform: “Eligibility is broadened to smaller urban and rural areas, in order to enable districts to accelerate the rate of change and increase system-wide improvements in K-12 science, mathematics, and technology (SMT) learning. Increased emphasis is placed on forging partnerships between districts and institutions of higher education.”
Diversity Continuum: “In FY 1999, EHR is developing a highly synergistic and value-added continuum that integrates the operations of four [NSF] programs.... Special emphasis is directed on increasing diversity of the professoriate.”
Educational Technologies: “Major emphases include development of a national digital library for K-16 education, and dissemination and application of knowledge gained through research efforts.”
NSF Director Rita Colwell drew attention to a continuing EHR effort in her budget briefing, described as follows in the budget document: “NSF Graduate Teaching Fellows in K-12 Education initiated in FY 1999, will provide $7.50 million to continue support of graduate and advanced undergraduate SMET majors as content resources for K-12 teachers. These Fellows will assist teachers in the science and mathematics content to be used in instruction, demonstrate key science and mathematics concepts, and connect elementary and secondary learning to the habits and skills required for collegiate study. This activity brings the acknowledged excellence of US. graduate education to the service of K-12 teaching and learning.”
