United+States'+Education+Funding


 * The State of Education Funding in the United States**

In the United States, funding is divided between the Federal and State levels. The Federal government pays entirely for things like military budget, intelligence operations, and homeland security. While they pay relatively small amounts to states for some projects, most things that affect the every day lives of American citizens are paid for by the state. Education is one of these things. The US Department of Education spends about **$67.2 billion per year**, serving 14,000 school districts and **56 million students**. However, the total amount spent on education—including funding from local and state source—is **$1 trillion dollars**. The US Department of Education website states “it is important to point out that education in America is primarily a State and local responsibility, and ED’s budget is only a small part of both total national education spending and the overall Federal budget.” While this is true, the Federal government still reserves the right to critically evaluate the quality of schools through the //No Child Left Behind Law//. The Federal government’s role is to be, as they put it, an “emergency response system…a means of filling gaps in State and local support for education when critical national needs arise.” Certainly, the Federal government’s current role fits perfectly under America’s historical emphasis on state sovereignty. However, in the matter of education, new issues and questions arise. The money spent on education by the federal government accounts for only about **2.4%** of the total government spending, compared to the military’s **51%**. Of the money spent on education by the federal government, **24.5%** is spent on the controversial //No Child Left Behind// Law. We must ask ourselves: should the Federal government step out of its historical detachment and add funding to floundering schools around the US?

Solutions

There are two groups which give money to America, the State and the Federal governments. As the people from SPA said “Most things that affect the every day lives of American citizens are paid for by the state. Education is one of these things. The US Department of Education spends about $67.2 billion per year, serving 14,000 school districts and 56 million students. However, the total amount spent on education—including funding from local and state source—is $1 trillion dollars.” This money is essentially paid by the people of the nation, through taxes. Anything else is matched by the individual states. According to the people from SPA, “The Federal government’s role is to be, as they put it, an “emergency response system…a means of filling gaps in State and local support for education when critical national needs arise.” This is the case in America. In India however, only about $10 billion are being spent on the education systems in the publicly funded schools- as opposed to about $40 billion, spent on military funding. Solutions to improve the situation include privatization of education, which is taking education out of the government’s hands and into the hands of private individuals, which is already being done in some states in India. The positive side to the government funding though, is that it is free, until the age of 14. The negative side to the government’s educational policy is that they normally do not follow their policies.