President Biden’s FY 2023 Budget Update: Education and Labor Requests

On March 28, 2022, President Biden released his FY 2023 budget. The $5.8 trillion budget proposal calls for $1.6 trillion in discretionary funding. Of this appropriation, the president proposes $769 billion in nondefense funding and $813 billion for defense programs.

In a statement released by the White House, President Biden noted that “budgets are statements of values.” He stated that his FY 2023 budget proposal “sends a clear message that we value fiscal responsibility, safety and security at home and around the world, and the investments needed to continue our equitable growth and build a better America.” The budget calls for significant investments in national security, as well as investments in other administration priorities, including public health, climate change and domestic law enforcement programs. The budget also seeks to reduce the deficit by $1 trillion over the next decade by increasing the corporate tax rate and increasing taxes on households that make over $100 million. Notably, President Biden’s budget request does not include specific requests for his Build Back Better proposal.

The president’s budget is just a recommendation, however. Congress holds the purse strings and ultimately will decide FY 2023 funding levels — a process that could extend into 2023, given the November midterm elections. But the president’s budget certainly provides important insight into the administration’s priorities.

Below is a summary of the Department of Education and Department of Labor requests outlined in President Biden’s budget.

Department of Education

The proposal requests $88.3 billion in discretionary funding for the Department of Education (DOE), a $15.3 billion or 20.9% increase from the 2021 enacted level.

The funding provides a significant increase for Title I schools, invests in the health and well-being of students, increases support for students with disabilities, and provides increased funding to expand access to postsecondary education. Specific provisions include:

• $36.5 billion for Title I, including $20.5 billion in discretionary funding and $16 billion in mandatory funding, which more than doubles the program’s funding compared to the 2021 enacted level.
• $161 million for DOE’s Office for Civil Rights, a $30 million increase compared to the 2021 enacted level, to provide sufficient staffing and other capacity for monitoring, technical assistance, data collection and enforcement.
• $100 million for a new Fostering Diverse Schools program that would help communities voluntarily develop and implement strategies to build more racially and socioeconomically diverse schools and classrooms, and $149 million, an increase of $40 million, to support the Magnet Schools Assistance Program.
• $1 billion for a new School-Based Health Professionals program to support the mental health needs of students and their families by increasing the number of counselors, nurses and health professionals in schools, and building the pipeline for these critical staff, with an emphasis on schools serving underserved students.
• $468 million, an increase of $438 million over the 2021 enacted level, to dramatically expand the Full-Service Community Schools program, which recognizes the role of schools as the centers of communities and neighborhoods. It would fund efforts to identify and integrate the wide range of community-based resources needed to support students and their families, expand learning opportunities for students and parents alike, support collaborative leadership and practices, and promote the family and community engagement that can help ensure student success.
• $514 million for education innovation and research for fiscal year 2023, an increase of $320 million over the 2021 enacted level, to support projects that identify and scale up evidence-based strategies to elevate and strengthen a teacher workforce hit hard by COVID-19.
• $132.1 million for Teacher Quality Partnerships, an increase of $80 million over the 2021 enacted level, to support comprehensive pathways into the profession, such as high-quality residencies and Grow Your Own programs, that support educator diversity, improve teacher effectiveness and increase teacher retention.
• $20 million for the Augustus F. Hawkins Centers of Excellence to help expand diversity of the teacher workforce through competitive grants to historically Black colleges and universities, tribally controlled colleges and universities and minority-serving institutions to support teacher preparation.
• $250 million for IDEA, Part D, more than doubling current investments, to support the pipeline of special education teachers and personnel.
• $40 million to reestablish funding for the reauthorized School Leader Recruitment and Support program.
• $6 million for Training and Advisory Services Equity Assistance Centers to support four regional Equity Assistance Centers, selected competitively, that provide services to school districts upon request on issues related to discrimination based on race, sex, national origin and religion.
• $52 million for Comprehensive
• $35 billion for the Career and Technical Education State Grants program, an increase of $20 million over the 2021 enacted level.
• $215.4 million for CTE National Programs provides an increase of $208 million over the 2021 enacted level.
  • Of this increase, $200 million is for a new Career-Connected High Schools initiative. This will support competitive grants to partnerships of local educational agencies, institutions of higher education (including community colleges, which are the primary partners in current pathways models), and employers to increase the integration and alignment of the last two years of high school and the first two years of postsecondary education to improve postsecondary and career outcomes for all students, including students of color and students from low-income backgrounds.
• Increases the Pell Grant by $900.
• $3.8 billion in discretionary funds for higher education programs aimed at improving student achievement and increasing access to high-quality education for all students.
  • $1.1 billion in discretionary and mandatory funding to expand capacity at institutions of higher education that serve high proportions of students of
    • $886.8 million for aid for institutional development, which funds historically Black colleges and universities and other minority-serving institutions, as well as community colleges with low endowments and below-average educational and general expenditures.
    • $265.6 million for aid for Hispanic Serving Institutions (HSIs).
  • $1.3 billion in FY 2023 for the Federal TRIO Programs, an increase of $200.8 million or 18.3% over the 2021 enacted level, to provide services to encourage underserved individuals to enter and complete college and postgraduate education.

• $408 million, an increase of $40 million over the 2021 enacted level, to assist middle and high school students in preparing for college through Gaining Early Awareness and Readiness for Undergraduate Programs.
• $95 million for the Child Care Access Means Parents in School program, an increase of $40 million from the 2021 enacted level.
• The proposal acknowledges the administration’s desire to work with Congress on changes to the Higher Education Act that ease the burden of student debt, including through improvements to the Income Driven Repayment and Public Service Loan Forgiveness programs.The budget also noted that the administration intends to work with Congress to ensure access to student financial aid for students who are Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals recipients, commonly known as DREAMers.

Department of Labor

The budget proposal calls for $14.6 billion in discretionary funding for the Department of Labor (DOL), a $2.2 billion or 18% increase from the 2021 enacted level.

Key funding requests include:

• $3.7 billion for Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act State Grants ($203 million more than FY 2021).
• $303 million to expand registered apprenticeship opportunities while increasing access for historically underrepresented groups, including people of color and women, and diversifying the industry sectors involved (a $118 million increase above the FY 2021 enacted level).
• $4 million to support the Good Jobs Initiative, through which the DOL will provide training and technical assistance to agencies as they work to embed and promote good jobs principles in procurement, loans and grants; engage employers on strategies and initiatives to improve job quality; and provide a centralized location of information and services on workers’ rights under key workplace laws and on unions and collective bargaining for use by workers, unions, employers, researchers, other government agencies and policymakers.
• $145 million for YouthBuild ($48 million more than FY 2021).
• $100 million to continue and expand Strengthening Community College Training Grants, which will be implemented in coordination with the DOE to build partnerships between community colleges and industry to provide effective training for in-demand jobs.
• $100 million for a new Sectoral Employment through Career Training for Occupational Readiness program, which will seed and scale a comprehensive approach to sector partnerships, needed wraparound services and training programs focused on growing industries that lead to placement in high-quality jobs, enabling underserved workers to access good jobs.
• $75 million for a new National Youth Employment Program, which will provide grants to operate summer and year-round youth employment programs in high-demand industries and occupations, as well as offering supportive services and skill-building opportunities.