FY 1999 Budget Request: NSF Education and Human Resources; Dept. of Education

Most federal funding for science education research and development can be found in the National Science Foundation’s Education and Human Resources Activity and the U.S. Department of Education’s Eisenhower Professional Development State Grants. This FYI provides summary information on both FY 1999 budget requests.

NATIONAL SCIENCE FOUNDATION - EDUCATION AND HUMAN RESOURCES:

The National Science Foundation prepares a detailed budget request every year describing various programs. This and previous FYIs provide information from this document for areas that are part of FYI’s coverage. The budget document states:

“The FY 1999 Budget Request for Education and Human Resources is $683.0 million, an increase of $50.50 million, or 8.0 percent, from the FY 1998 Current Plan of $632.50 million.”

Within this activity are the following seven subactivities:

“The FY 1999 Budget Request for the Educational System Reform Subactivity is $117.05 million, an increase of $14.3 million, or 13.9 percent, from the FY 1998 Current Plan of $102.75 million.” “Programs under the...Subactivity implement large-scale reform of science, mathematics, engineering, and technology education, particularly at the PreK-12 level, across the nation.”

“The FY 1999 Budget Request for the Experimental Program to Stimulate Competitive Research (EPSCoR) is $38.41 million, unchanged from the FY 1998 Current Plan.” EPSCoR “is a state-NSF partnership to stimulate sustainable improvements in R&D competitiveness through the development and utilization of science and technology resources that reside in a state’s major research universities.”

“The FY 1999 Budget Request for the Elementary, Secondary, and Informal Education Subactivity is $200.32 million, an increase of $17.0 million, or 9.3 percent, from the FY 1998 Current Plan of $183.32 million.” This “Subactivity strengthens science, mathematics, and technology education for all students, pre-kindergarten to grade 12, and promotes public interest and literacy in these fields.”

“The FY 1999 Budget Request for the Undergraduate Education Subactivity is $110.91 million, an increase of $10.20 million, or 10.1 percent, over the FY 1998 Current Plan of $100.71 million.” This “Subactivity serves as NSF’s focal point for the improvement of undergraduate science, mathematics, engineering and technology education by providing leadership and leveraged project support for two-year colleges, four-year colleges, and universities.”

“The FY 1999 Budget Request for the Graduate Education Subactivity is $75.79 million, an increase of $2.00 million or 2.71 percent, over the FY 1998 Current Plan of $73.79 million.” “The Graduate Education Subactivity focuses on developing a diverse pool of individuals educated at the advanced levels of science, mathematics, and engineering to meet the educational, scientific and technological needs of the nation. This objective is addressed through the provision of graduate student support using both fellowship and traineeship mechanisms at the graduate or postdoctoral levels.”

“The FY 1999 Budget Request for the Human Resource Development Subactivity is $79.57 million, an increase of $2.0 million, or 2.6 percent, from the FY 1998 Current Plan of $77.57 million.” This “Subactivity supports systemic and comprehensive activities to broaden research and education opportunities for groups that are underrepresented in the fields of science, mathematics, engineering, and technology.”

“The FY 1999 Budget Request for the Research, Evaluation and Communication Subactivity is $60.95 million, an increase of $5.0 million, or 8.9 percent, over the FY 1998 Current Plan of $55.95 million.” This “Subactivity supports a diverse portfolio of programs”in research, evaluation, and technology.

U.S. DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION - EISENHOWER PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT STATE GRANTS:

The Department of Education is requesting the same level of funding for FY 1999 as for the current year: $335 million. Their budget documentation 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 1999 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. A one-time earmark of $25 million for professional development in reading, included in the 1998 appropriation, would no longer apply because those activities would be supported with America Reads funds.”