• Boldly addressing opportunity and achievement gaps through significant investments in access to a high-quality education for every student, especially those students in high-poverty schools. The budget includes $36.5 billion for Title I, more than doubling the program's funding to help schools provide students in low-income communities more learning opportunities and supports. ACT’s yearly achievement data has consistently shown that students who report taking a recommended core curriculum are more likely to be ready for college or career than those who do not, yet access to a rigorous curriculum may be limited for students from rural areas and under-resourced and low-income communities. High-quality education through rigorous course-taking has profound effects for a student’s college or career opportunities and every student deserves access to a high-quality, rigorous curriculum.
• Making higher education more inclusive and affordable with an equitable increase of $752 million in funding for historically Black colleges and universities, tribally controlled colleges and universities, minority-serving institutions, and low-resourced institutions, including community colleges. The proposed budget would increase the maximum Pell Grant by $2,175 over the 2021-22 award year, giving millions of low- and middle-income students the opportunity for college or career success. ACT aligns with the administration’s continued efforts to expand federal student aid — a necessary step toward improving student access — including to DACA recipients, and to enhance college affordability and opportunity for America’s students. ACT believes a federal commitment to fully fund GEAR UP and TRIO programs and support programs that enhance students’ academic and non-academic readiness will lead to better student outcomes.
• Reimagining the high school to postsecondary transition by building multiple pathways to higher education that lead to successful careers. An increase of funding in Career-Connected High Schools and investment for dual enrollment programs will offer more college courses to high school students with little to no out-of-pocket costs, cutting time to completion and improving college and career outcomes for students. ACT is in favor of multiple pathways for successful outcomes for students through funding for work-based learning opportunities, career-related credentials, and college and career-navigation supports by expanding opportunity for many across the high-school-to-career pipeline. A discretionary amount of $20 million for career and technical education state grants, for a total request of $1.4 billion, is important to help students learn about career pathways and attain credentials needed for careers.
• Supporting students through pandemic response and recovery by meeting the needs of the whole child. ACT has long maintained that mental health supports for students are a priority and that offering comprehensive supports that address the whole learner, including a student’s basic needs, is imperative for students’ education success, especially for students of color and students from low-income backgrounds. Research has shown that when the mental health needs of students are met, positive education outcomes result. ACT believes the $1 billion in proposed investments to increase the number of counselors, nurses, school psychologists, social workers, and other health professionals in schools, along with the $468 million investments in Full-Service Community Schools and partnerships, are critical to ensuring the wholeness of our students and the educators and school employees who support them.
• Investing in a talented and diverse educator workforce by advancing educator recruitment, retention, and professional learning with an allocation for $350 million toward identifying and scaling models that improve recruitment and retention of staff. States and districts face numerous challenges in new teacher recruitment, and teacher retention has diminished during the pandemic. A diverse teacher pipeline — including special education recruitment that encourages students to teach — is critical to prosperous schools and successful student outcomes. ACT advocates for incentivized training and professional development opportunities for teachers and principals to hone their strategies for engaging the whole learner, a complement to students’ exposure to rigorous academic standards taught by quality teachers.

ACT believes that the administration’s budget proposal will provide transformative education and workforce development funding for all schools, especially those with high poverty rates. This funding is aimed at creating more opportunity and access for all students with a focus on successful student outcomes, community-building, and providing multiple pathways for all learners to success in career or college. We look forward to working alongside the administration and the U.S. Congress to ensure all students are able to achieve education and workplace success.