The House appropriations committee voted Wednesday to advance a bill providing a relatively small funding increase for the U.S. Department of Education, after lawmakers agreed to restore funding for school safety that was cut in the original legislation.
The spending bill would provide about $71 billion to the Education Department for fiscal 2019, an increase of nearly $100 million from current spending levels in fiscal 2018. It rejects President Donald Trump's push to make a significant overall cut to the department, shrink or eliminate several education programs, and direct more money to school choice initiatives.
The committee also agreed to restore funding for school safety that was taken out of the original House funding bill last month.
Nothing in the legislation provides for Trump's proposed merger of the Education and Labor Departments.
Read more at Education Week: http://blogs.edweek.org/edweek/campaign-k-12/2018/07/education_spending_bill_house_advances_school_safety_money_restored.html