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Pell Grants for Kids in the State of the Union Speech
Posted by Demian Brady - January 31, 2008Among the
new spending in President Bush's final
State of the Union Address was a proposal to create a Pell Grants for Kids program:
"I ask you to support a new $300 million program called Pell Grants for Kids. We have seen how Pell Grants help low-income college students realize their full potential. Together, we have expanded the size and reach of these grants. Now let's apply that same spirit to help liberate poor children trapped in failing public schools."
Interestingly, this is an old idea that has been revived, and significantly scaled back. In 2004, Senator Lamar Alexander supported and earlier form of
Pell Grants for Kids, funded at $15 billion a year.
I was wondering whether Bush's proposal would be offset by reductions in No Child Left Behind funding. Given the history of this proposal, that seems unlikely. Senator Alexander emphasized that this new program would be in addition to regular federal support for education.
If public schools will have fewer students because taxpayers are subsidizing their enrollment in private schools, shouldn't the public schools receive less federal funding? If the schools are failing should we keep pumping money into them, or perhaps open them to competition?
I look forward to more information in the FY 2009 Budget that will be
released next Tuesday.
Add Comment -
Elizabeth Terrell said on Jan 31 2008 at 11:35am
Actually, the concept of "Pell Grants for Kids" goes back to 1979 when it was originally introduced as S. 1101.
From the prepared statement of Senator Alexander in 2004:
"This idea has a long bipartisan history. I have mentioned Senator Pell’s work in what we now call in higher education the Pell Grant. That may or may not be what it should be called in K through 12, but it has been there in higher education for some time. In 1979, Democratic Senators Pat Moynihan and Abe Ribicoff introduced legislation that would have made elementary and secondary students eligible for Pell Grants. In 1992, when I was the U.S. Education Secretary, President George H.W. Bush proposed a so-called GI Bill for Kids which would have provided $1,000 scholarships in a pilot program under similar guidelines."
Senate Hearing 108-815, July 15, 2004
http://tinyurl.com/283cxz
[PDF]
This concept was originally introduced as S. 1101 in 1979 (See Page 18 of S. Hrg. 108-815 linked above for an introduction transcript from 1979). Imagine, if they'd adopted this legislation in 1979, we might not have even had to deal with NCLB.
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