ACT NOW: Urge Congress to Invest in Public Education

Members of Congress return to Capitol Hill this week with the priority of passing a spending bill to fund education investments and other federal programs for the remainder of Fiscal Year 2017. Congress has only four days to pass legislation to ensure federal investments in public education continue uninterrupted, as the current funding measure expires on April 28. This is the time to contact your Members of Congress urging them to pass a spending bill that prioritizes investments for education programs that support our nation's 50 million public school students.

Please enter your information on the right to ACT NOW to urge Congress to:

Pass a funding measure for the remainder of FY2017 and FY2018 that will maximize PreK-12 education investments.
Prioritize funding for special education (Individuals with Disabilities Education Act) to support the more than 6 million students with special needs in our public schools.
Sustain investments in Title I grants under the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) to support disadvantaged students and help advance the range of choices that our public school districts offer to 90 percent of our nation’s students.

Enter your information to TAKE ACTION now!

Subject:

Maximize Funding for Public Education

Dear Official,

As a constituent and public education advocate, I urge you to support swift passage of a final appropriations measure for the remainder of FY2017 that will maximize PreK-12 education investments for our nation’s 50 million public school students.

The time is now to pass a bipartisan measure for FY2018 that will help our public schools fulfill the goals of the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) and advance educational opportunities vital to student achievement by prioritizing funding for the following:

•	 Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) for our nation’s more than six million students with special needs.
•	 Title I grants for disadvantaged students, which help advance the range of choices that public school districts offer to 90 percent of our nation’s students, such as magnet schools, specialized curricula for science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM), public military academies and international focus schools.
•	 Impact Aid (Section 8002) federal properties payments. The Administration’s FY 2018 budget request would eliminate this $66.8 million line item that provides funding to more than 200 school districts in 29 states.
•	 Title II ESSA on “Preparing, Training, and Recruiting High-Quality Teachers, Principals, or Other School Leaders.” Title II investments cover professional development, in-service training, technology integration into curricula, training on data usage to improve student achievement and student data privacy, implementation of performance-based compensation systems, parental/community engagement, development of STEM master teacher corps, civics, and more.

Furthermore, I urge you to support measures to avoid the across-the-board cuts or sequestration to education and other programs that support student achievement and prepare all students to succeed in the 21st century workforce.

Thank you for your attention.

Regards, Your Name

I would like to join Friends of Public Education and receive email updates

I would like to join Friends of Public Education and receive text updates

Please encourage others to act by sharing on social media.

You can use the following talking points during your call with members of Congress/staffers:

1. As a constituent and a public education advocate, I oppose the passage of the American Health Care Act. Rather than close the gap and eliminate the rate of uninsured children in America, the current proposal will ration the healthcare America’s most vulnerable children receive and undermine the ability of school districts to meet the educational needs of students with disabilities and students in poverty.

2. Children represent 46% of all Medicaid beneficiaries yet represent only 19% of the costs. Currently, school districts receive $4-5 billion in Medicaid funds so they can make sure students with disabilities and students who cannot get to a doctor regularly receive the care they need to learn and thrive. The current proposal will jeopardize students’ ability to receive comprehensive care at schools and will create barriers to access.