United States PreK-12 Policy & Budget Outlook Report 2022-2023: Pandemic Continues to Impact K-12 Instructional Sphere

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Nov 28, 2022, 16:00 ET

DUBLIN, Nov. 28, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- The "United States PreK-12 Policy & Budget Outlook, 2022-2023" report has been added to ResearchAndMarkets.com's offering.

More than $190 billion was made available to the education sector via three rounds of federal stimulus funding in 2021-2022, and more than $1.9 trillion in American Rescue Plan (ARP) funds were released to state agencies for reopening schools as part of the school reopening plan. These are two of the highlights of this report, PreK-12 Policy and Budget Outlook 2022-2023.

Pandemic continues to impact K-12 instructional sphere

K-12 education received three rounds of stimulus funding in 2021-2022 totaling more than $190 billion. In the report, PreK-12 Policy and Budget Outlook 2022-2023, the analyst found that the majority of K-12 learning was taking place in person under guidelines provided by the US Department of Education and the CDC.

However, other forms of instruction - including partially or completely remote learning - are still being used to meet the needs of students; as such, schools have developed partnerships and programs to fit these modes of instruction.

The PreK-12 Policy & Budget Outlook 2022-2023 analyzes and provides information on the continued effects of the COVID-19 pandemic and the impact that federal and state funding policy have had on education. Also covered in the report are the continued growth in career and technical education, policies and funding to enhance technology infrastructure, as well as the growth in social and emotional learning (SEL) policies

The report lays out data and trends in how the US federal government is funding education. For example, education is continuing to shift away from traditional print materials. Expenditures for elementary and secondary schools were $640 billion for the 2021-2022 school year, according to the National Center for Educational Statistics of the Department of Education; K-12 expenditures are equivalent to 3.41% of U.S. taxpayer income. State and local K-12 education funding equals 3.61% of total educational spending, with states contributing a total of $344 billion.

Also covered is the current administration's efforts to provide financial support to all state education agencies via the CARES Act which allowed $1.9 trillion in American Rescue Plan (ARP) funds to be partially released to state education agencies for reopening schools in accordance with updated COVID-19 guidelines. The funding provided under the Biden-Harris administration more than doubles past appropriations

In addition to examining the funding and policy trends, the report examines specific focus policy areas, such as Title 1 Funding as the administration works to support Native American and African American populations to remove educational access barriers. Policies include an increase of $20 billion to further fund both the Title I Equity Grants program, as well as Title I financial support in general.

What this Report Covers

In addition to outlining totals and allocations of federal and state monies towards education priorities, the report also examines policy & funding history; the CARES Act; updated guidelines for reopening schools; monies allocated for Title 1 and disadvantaged populations; classroom connectivity; trends in federal & state ESSER implementation including promotion of the switch to digital, focus on computer science and student privacy and security; a state education focus overview including a focus on digital and media literacy and career and technical education; and approval of Fiscal 2022 budgets.

Key Findings

Key findings examined and analyzed in this report include findings such as K-12 expenditures are equivalent to 3.41% of U.S. taxpayer income and that state and local K-12 education funding equals 3.61% of total educational spending, with states contributing a total of $344 billion (or $6,785 per pupil).

Other key findings include that as of February 2022, 99.4% of districts were open and teaching in-person, with 0.5% using a hybrid model and the remaining 0.1% conducting instruction remotely. Another important data point in the report relates to career and technical education (CTE) programs. These programs generally receive bipartisan support and the FY 2021 budget increased funding for such programs to $135 billion. CTE budget increases continued in FY 2022 to $135 billion.

Key Trends Discussed

Several significant trends and developments are explored and analyzed in the report. Among them are expanding access to computer science education, addressing school climate and social and emotional learning, providing opportunities for career and technical education, and giving families more options about how their students are educated. Another trend examined in the report revolves around issues around cybersecurity and student data privacy.

Key Topics Covered:

Introduction
Policy & Funding History
CARES Act updates ESSA Framework

Funding

Updated Guidelines for Reopening Schools
Schools Focus on Social Emotional Learning

Table The seven key challenges that schools and programs face in implementing SEL programs to address students' social, emotional, behavioral, and mental health needs.

Federal Funding Continues to Rise

Table Education Department Appropriations, FY2019-FY2021 (selected K-12, $ in millions)
ARP ESSER Fund Allocations
American Rescue Plan Provides Another Wave of K-12 Funding

Title I and Disadvantaged Populations
Classroom Connectivity
Trends in Federal & State ESSER Implementation

Promoting the Switch to Digital
Computer Science Moving from Elective to Requirement
High Schools Teaching Computer Science

States that Require High Schools to Offer Computer Science Education

Student Data Privacy and Security

State Education Funding Overview

Digital and Media Literacy Needs
State Initiatives
Career and Technical Education

Fiscal 2022 Budgets Approved
Table Top-Ten Public Educational Spending from Highest to Lowest Total Average Spent Per Pupil
State Budget Proposals Including ARP ESSER Funds