On March 11, 2024, the President announced the fiscal year 2025 budget. This is good news for advocates and educators concerned about research and development opportunities and infrastructure in the education sector. New funding caps imposed by the Fiscal Responsibility Act tempered the expectations of many advocates. However, the Biden-Harris Administration continues to demonstrate its commitment to investing in education innovation in a budget-conscious political climate by calling for increases in key federal education research and development programs across multiple agencies.
An analysis of the proposal by the Alliance for Learning Innovation (ALI) found many things to like. The President's budget will send $815.5 million to the Institute of Education Sciences (IES) to invest in educational research, development, extension, and evaluation. This is $22.5 million more than the amount IES received in his 2024 fiscal year. That includes his $38.5 million for a statewide longitudinal data system, a 35 percent increase over fiscal year 2024.
Notably, the President is requesting $52.7 million to grow the Accelerate, Transform, and Scale (ATS) initiative at IES. This is 76 percent higher than the $30 million that IES originally committed to the initiative in 2023. At the time, Congress directed the agency to “use a portion of its fiscal year 2023 spending to support new funding opportunities for rapid turnaround, high-paying, scalable solutions.” he instructed. Student outcomes are significantly improved. ”
The ATS Initiative is widely seen as a pilot for the potential of the National Center for Advanced Development in Education, which will build on insights from basic research to develop and scale breakthrough innovations in the federal government and around the world. Research project inspired by the agency. Like ARPA, ATS invests in big ideas that emerge from interdisciplinary and outside-the-box collaborations. It aims to solve some of the country's most difficult challenges in education.
The President's request to ATS includes $2 million to build a new research and development center on how generative artificial intelligence is being used in classrooms across the country. According to the Congressional Justification for IES, the new center will “establish best practices for building evidence on this technology and generative AI in education, and will not only examine the effectiveness of the technology in learning, but also address bias, equity, and transparency.” We also consider issues of security, trust, and safety.”
Beyond IES, the President's budget calls for additional investment in educational innovation. For example, it requests $269 million for educational innovation and research programs administered by the U.S. Department of Education's Office of Elementary and Secondary Education. If realized, it would be an increase of $10 million from last year. The President also directed Congress to commit $100 million to the Postsecondary Education Improvement Fund to expand research and development infrastructure at historically Black four-year colleges, tribally-controlled colleges and universities, and minority-serving institutions. I'm looking for it.
The Biden-Harris administration's support for education research and development is also reflected in its request to the National Science Foundation (NSF). The president's budget requests his $1.3 billion for his STEM Education Directorate at the NSF. This is $128 million above his fiscal year 2024 level. Additionally, it includes his $900 million to fund critical activities in CHIPS and the Technology, Innovation, and Partnerships (TIP) Division, NSF's newest division authorized by the Science Act. Masu. TIP operates important research and development initiatives that support innovation in teaching and learning, including the VITAL Prize Challenge and America's Seed Fund.
ALI looks forward to advocating for strong investments in education research and development in fiscal year 2025. The president's budget is a solid indicator of the coalition's efforts.
