GAO 

United States Government Accountability Office

Report to Congressional Requesters

FEDERAL 

EDUCATION 

FUNDING 

Overview of K-12 and 

Early Childhood 

Education Programs 

January 2010 

GAO-10-51 
Page i GAO-10-51 

Contents 

Letter 1

Appendix I Briefing Slides 7 

Appendix II Federal K-12 and Early Childhood Education 

Programs Funded in Fiscal Years 2006–2008 

by Agency 25 

Appendix III Federal K-12 and Early Childhood Education 

Programs Funded through the Recovery Act 31 

Appendix IV Comments from the Department of Education 32

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 Federal Education Funding 
United States Government Accountability Office

Washington, DC 20548 

 

January 27, 2010 

The Honorable John P. Kline 

Ranking Member 

Committee on Education and Labor 

House of Representatives 

The Honorable John Linder 

House of Representatives 

The Honorable Howard P. “Buck” McKeon 

House of Representatives 

The federal government invests in the education of children, in part, to 

help ensure that the United States has a well-educated and skilled 

workforce to compete in the global marketplace. The federal government 

accounts for about nine percent of the total investment in K-12 education, 

with state and local sources covering the rest. Over the last two decades 

there have been a number of efforts to catalogue and determine how much 

is spent on federal education programs. However, because education 

programs are administered by agencies throughout the federal 

government, and there is no standard definition of a federal education 

program, there currently is no single source that legislators and 

policymakers can refer to for an accounting of federal education 

programs. To address your interest in these issues, we answered the 

following questions: (1) What is the federal expenditure on K-12 and early 

childhood education programs? (2) What are the characteristics of these 

programs? (3) To what extent have these programs completed 

evaluations? 

The federal government invests in the education of children, in part, to 

help ensure that the United States has a well-educated and skilled 

workforce to compete in the global marketplace. The federal government 

accounts for about nine percent of the total investment in K-12 education, 

with state and local sources covering the rest. Over the last two decades 

there have been a number of efforts to catalogue and determine how much 

is spent on federal education programs. However, because education 

programs are administered by agencies throughout the federal 

government, and there is no standard definition of a federal education 

program, there currently is no single source that legislators and 

policymakers can refer to for an accounting of federal education 

programs. To address your interest in these issues, we answered the 

following questions: (1) What is the federal expenditure on K-12 and early 

childhood education programs? (2) What are the characteristics of these 

programs? (3) To what extent have these programs completed 

evaluations? 

We briefed your staff on the results of our analysis on August 25, 2009, and 

this report formally conveys the information provided during that briefing. 

See appendix I for the briefing slides and appendix II for a list of all the 

federal K-12 and early childhood education programs identified through 

our study. In summary, we reported the following findings: 

We briefed your staff on the results of our analysis on August 25, 2009, and 

this report formally conveys the information provided during that briefing. 

See appendix I for the briefing slides and appendix II for a list of all the 

federal K-12 and early childhood education programs identified through 

our study. In summary, we reported the following findings: 

• The federal government provided an estimated $166.9 billion over the 3-

year period from fiscal years 2006-2008—for an average of $55.6 billion per 

year—to administer 151 different federal K-12 and early childhood 

education programs. 

• The federal government provided an estimated $166.9 billion over the 3-

year period from fiscal years 2006-2008—for an average of $55.6 billion per 

year—to administer 151 different federal K-12 and early childhood 

education programs. 

Page 1 GAO-10-51 Federal Education Funding
 

• Federal K-12 and early childhood education programs have a variety of 

goals, although serving disadvantaged populations was cited most 

frequently by survey respondents. 

• Agencies reported that 65 of the 151 programs have completed program 

evaluations. In addition, of the 20 programs with the largest funding 

amounts, representing 90 percent of fiscal year 2006–2008 funding, 12 

reported performing program evaluations, and 3 reported evaluations 

under way. 

In February 2009, the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 

(Recovery Act)1

 was enacted to, among other things, promote economic 

recovery, provide investments needed to increase economic efficiency, 

and minimize and avoid reductions in state and local government services. 

Because the Recovery Act provided substantial funding for education, we 

reviewed it to identify K-12 and early childhood education programs that 

received funding at the Departments of Education, Labor, and Health and 

Human Services, and we confirmed our findings with each of the agencies. 

Our review focused on these agencies because they administered more 

than 90 percent of all fiscal year 2006 through fiscal year 2008 federal K-12 

and early childhood education funding identified in our study. The 

Recovery Act provided about $85 billion in discretionary funding for 14 

existing and 3 new K-12 and early childhood education programs through a 

one-time fiscal stimulus package (see app. III). Some of these funds can 

also be used for postsecondary education and non-education purposes. 

About $48.6 billion of the funding Education received through the 

Recovery Act is to be distributed to states through the State Fiscal 

Stabilization Fund (SFSF). The Recovery Act specifies that about 82 

percent of SFSF funds distributed to states must be used for support of 

elementary, secondary, and postsecondary education and, as applicable, 

early childhood education programs, and about 18 percent—or $8.8 

billion—must be used for public safety and other government services, 

which may include educational purposes. Over 93 percent of the 

 

1

Pub. L. No. 111-5. 

Page 2 GAO-10-51 Federal Education Funding
 

$85 billion in discretionary funding was provided for K-12 and early 

childhood education programs administered by the Department of 

Education.2

We used the following methodologies to develop our findings. We worked 

with officials from the Department of Education (Education), the Office of 

Management and Budget (OMB), and several other federal agencies to 

develop a standard definition and criteria to identify relevant K-12 and 

early childhood education programs. For purposes of this study, we 

developed a standard definition and criteria to identify relevant K-12 and 

early childhood education programs: 

• “Federal education program” refers to any activity authorized by 

Congress designed primarily to address and improve K-12 education or 

early childhood education. 

Federal K-12 and early childhood education programs are those that meet 

the following criteria: 

• have a primary focus on any level of K-12 or early childhood education, 

• emphasis of program’s objectives is enhancing student learning through 

school activities and curricula, and 

• K-12 or early childhood students or teachers are the main beneficiaries of 

the program. 

Developing a single definition for the wide variety of federally funded K-12 

and early childhood education programs is challenging, particularly in the 

context of ensuring that officials across agencies understand the definition 

and apply it consistently when completing our questionnaire. A broader 

definition than the one we developed would result in a larger list of 

programs, but the connection that some programs have to education may 

not be apparent. For example, our definition excludes food nutrition and 

infrastructure programs, which provide billions of dollars to schools but 

do not directly achieve the objectives of enhancing student learning 

 

2

See also GAO, Recovery Act: As Initial Implementation Unfolds in States and Localities, 

Continued Attention to Accountability Issues is Essential, GAO-09-580 (Washington, D.C.: 

Apr. 23, 2009), as well as http://www.gao.recovery/ for more details. GAO will provide 

additional information on the use of Recovery Act funds for education in its ongoing 

bimonthly reviews. 

Page 3 GAO-10-51 Federal Education Funding
 

through school activities and curricula. Creating a single definition for 

federal education programs is also challenging because some education 

programs provide funding for noneducation purposes. For example, in 

addition to providing funding for education, the Head Start program 

provides funding for health, nutritional, and social services to young 

children enrolled in the program. In appendix II we list all of the federal K12 and early childhood education programs identified through our study as 

well as the funding amounts for each program from 2006 through 2008. 

These funding amounts reflect the total appropriated budget authority for 

each program, although some portion of the funding may be used for 

purposes other than K-12 and early childhood education, as is the case 

with Head Start. 

We developed a preliminary list of K-12 and early childhood education 

programs that met our definition and criteria based on reviews of the 

Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance and Department of Education 

program lists. We contacted all 15 executive branch agencies and 10 

independent federal agencies outside the cabinet departments to verify the 

accuracy and completeness of our preliminary list of programs. Of the 25 

federal agencies we contacted, 20 indicated that they had K-12 and early 

childhood education programs meeting our definition and criteria. Finally, 

we used a Web-based survey to obtain information about the 229 programs 

confirmed by each agency and received a 100 percent response rate. After 

reviewing survey responses for these 229 programs, we identified 151 

programs that met our definition and criteria and received federal funding 

in at least one of the three fiscal years included in our analysis, fiscal years 

2006, 2007, and 2008.3

 The practical difficulties of conducting any survey 

may introduce nonsampling errors. For example, differences in how a 

particular question is interpreted, the reliability of data self-reported by 

agency officials, and the extent to which questions are not answered can 

introduce unwanted variability in the survey results. We took steps in the 

development of the questionnaires, the data collection, and the data 

editing and analysis to minimize nonsampling errors. For example, we 

pretested the questionnaire with officials at six agencies to refine the 

 

3

Based on this review, we excluded 78 programs from our analysis because they (1) did not 

fully meet the definition and criteria; (2) did not receive funding in any of the fiscal years 

included in our review; (3) were initially identified by agency officials as a stand-alone 

program, but were ultimately categorized by agency officials as a project under the 

umbrella of a larger federal education program within the agency; or (4) were duplicate 

programs. 

Page 4 GAO-10-51 Federal Education Funding
 

survey instrument, and we contacted individual respondents, if necessary, 

to clarify answers. 

Our findings offer a snapshot that captures information on programs 

funded over the 3-year period from fiscal year 2006 through fiscal year 

2008. Some of the programs identified through our study may no longer 

receive funding, and new programs are not reflected in this study, such as 

those funded in fiscal year 2009. With regard to program evaluations, we 

did not assess the rigor of the evaluations that agency officials reported 

were conducted for federal education programs. Our finding on program 

evaluations is based on agency officials’ responses to a survey question 

that did not limit or stipulate the types of evaluations that could have been 

included.4

We conducted our work from October 2007 to January 2010, in accordance 

with all sections of GAO’s Quality Assurance Framework that are relevant 

to our objectives. The framework requires that we plan and perform the 

engagement to obtain sufficient and appropriate evidence to meet our 

stated objectives and to discuss any limitations in our work. We believe 

that the information and data obtained, and the analysis conducted, 

provide a reasonable basis for any findings and conclusions in this 

product. 

We provided copies of a draft of this report to Education and OMB for 

review and comment. In written comments, Education acknowledged the 

inherent challenges associated with compiling an inventory of federal 

education programs, and commended GAO for taking steps to obtain an 

accurate count of federal K-12 and early childhood education programs. 

Education said the report appears to be a significant improvement over 

previous efforts to catalogue federal education programs, but expressed 

concern that based on the methodological limitations disclosed in the 

draft, the report may not provide an accurate “snapshot” of federal activity 

in K-12 and early childhood education programs. We appreciate 

Education’s concerns. Absent a standard definition of federal education 

program or central tracking of these programs, efforts to catalogue such 

 

4

Our survey asked agency officials to report whether a program evaluation had been 

completed and, if so, to describe the key findings from that evaluation. The types of 

evaluations reported by agency officials varied across agencies. For example, some agency 

officials reported that an external review of their program was completed by contractors, 

while other agency officials noted that their program underwent an evaluation using the 

Office of Management and Budget’s Program Assessment Rating Tool (PART). 

Page 5 GAO-10-51 Federal Education Funding
 

programs will be subject to the methodological limitations we discuss in 

the report. However, based on the specific actions we took to mitigate 

these limitations, including working closely with Education and OMB to 

develop a standard definition and criteria, pretesting the survey, and 

following up with each agency to ensure that the information provided in 

response to our survey was accurate, we believe this report provides a 

comprehensive listing of federal K-12 and early childhood education 

programs. Education’s comments appear in appendix IV. Both Education 

and OMB provided technical comments, which we incorporated as 

appropriate. 

As agreed with your offices, unless you publicly announce its contents 

earlier, we plan no further distribution of this report until 30 days from its 

issue date. At that time, we will send copies of this report to relevant 

congressional committees, the Secretary of Education, and other 

interested parties. In addition, the report will be available at no charge on 

the GAO Web site at http://www.gao.gov. 

If you or your staff have any questions about this report, please contact me 

at (202) 512-7215 or scottg@gao.gov. Contact points for our Offices of 

Congressional Relations and Public Affairs may be found on the last page 

of this report. Key contributors to this report include Debra Prescott, 

Assistant Director; Nicholas Larson, Analyst-in-Charge; Melissa Jaynes; 

George A. Scott 

Luann Moy; Jennifer Huynh; Kathleen Van Gelder; and James M. Rebbe. 

Director, Education, Workforce, and 

 Income Security Issues 

Page 6 GAO-10-51 Federal Education Funding
Appendix I: Briefing Slides 

Page 7 GAO-10-51 

Appendix I: Briefing Slides 

FEDERAL EDUCATION FUNDING 

Overview of K-12 and Early 

Childhood Education Programs

Briefing for the Ranking Member, House of 

Representatives, Committee on Education and 

Labor, and Representatives

John Linder and Buck McKeon

 Federal Education Funding 
Appendix I: Briefing Slides 

2

Briefing Overview

• Introduction

• Research Objectives

• Scope and Methodology

• Summary of Findings

• Background

• Findings

Page 8 GAO-10-51 Federal Education Funding
Appendix I: Briefing Slides 

3

Introduction

• The federal government has an interest in investing in the education of 

children to establish a well-educated and skilled workforce that will 

enhance U.S. competitiveness in the global marketplace.

• Over the last two decades, there have been a number of efforts to 

catalogue and identify the extent of expenditures on federal education 

programs, but a number of challenges make doing so difficult.

• Education programs are administered by agencies throughout the 

federal government.

• There is no standard definition of a federal education program across 

the federal government.

• As a result of these challenges, there is currently no single source that 

legislators and policymakers can refer to that provides an accounting of 

federal education programs.

Page 9 GAO-10-51 Federal Education Funding
Appendix I: Briefing Slides 

4

Research Objectives

(1) What is the federal expenditure on K-12 and early childhood 

education programs?

(2) What are the characteristics of these programs? 

(3) To what extent have these programs completed evaluations?

Page 10 GAO-10-51 Federal Education Funding
Appendix I: Briefing Slides 

5

Scope and Methodology

To answer our research objectives, we developed a standard definition and 

criteria to identify relevant K-12 and early childhood education programs:

• “Federal education program” refers to any activity authorized by Congress designed primarily to address and improve K-12 education 

or early childhood education.

• Federal K-12 and early childhood education programs are those that meet the following criteria: 

(1) have a primary focus on any level of K-12 or early childhood education,

(2) emphasis of program’s objectives is enhancing student learning through school activities and curricula, and

(3) K-12 or early childhood students or teachers are the main 

beneficiaries of the program.

Scope and Methodology

Page 11 GAO-10-51 Federal Education Funding
Appendix I: Briefing Slides 

6

Scope and Methodology (cont’d)

To address our research objectives, we: 

• Developed a preliminary list of K-12 and early childhood education 

programs that met our definition and criteria based on reviews of the 

Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance and Department of Education 

program lists. 

• Contacted 25 federal agencies, including all 15 executive branch

agencies and 10 independent federal agencies outside the cabinet

departments, to verify the accuracy and completeness of the 

preliminary list of programs. 

• Surveyed the 20 federal agencies that indicated that they had K-12 

and early childhood education programs meeting our definition and 

criteria. We used a Web-based survey to obtain information about the 

programs confirmed by each agency, and received an overall survey 

response rate of 100 percent.1

Scope and Methodology

1

We received completed survey responses for 229 programs. After reviewing survey responses for these 229 programs, we found 151 

programs received federal funding for FY 2006, FY 2007, or FY 2008 and met our definition and criteria for a K-12 or early 

childhood education program. 

Page 12 GAO-10-51 Federal Education Funding
Appendix I: Briefing Slides 

7

Study Limitations

• Complicating factors in obtaining a comprehensive account of 

federal education programs include: 

• education programs are administered by agencies throughout 

the federal government, 

• agencies lack a uniform definition of an education program, and 

• many programs involving education may also serve 

noneducation purposes. 

• Survey data may contain nonsampling errors because respondents 

may have difficulty interpreting questions or they may not respond 

at all, which can produce unwanted variability in the survey results.

Scope and Methodology

Page 13 GAO-10-51 Federal Education Funding
Appendix I: Briefing Slides 

8

Study Limitations (cont’d)

• Our survey captured information on programs funded over 

the 3-year period from fiscal years 2006-2008:

• Some of these programs did not receive funding in fiscal 

year 2009.

• Survey data contain some estimated funding amounts. 

• Survey data include self-reported information on program 

evaluations, but we did not assess the rigor of these program 

evaluations.

Scope and Methodology

Page 14 GAO-10-51 Federal Education Funding
Appendix I: Briefing Slides 

9

Summary of Findings

• The federal government provided an estimated $166.9 billion over

the 3-year period from fiscal years 2006-2008–for an average of 

$55.6 billion per year–to administer 151 different federal K-12 and 

early childhood education programs.

• Federal K-12 and early childhood education programs have a 

variety of goals, although serving disadvantaged populations was

cited most frequently by survey respondents.

• Agencies reported that 65 of the 151 programs have completed 

program evaluations. Of the 20 programs with the largest reported 

funding amounts, representing 90 percent of fiscal year 2006–2008 

funding, 12 reported performing program evaluations, and 3 

reported evaluations under way.

Page 15 GAO-10-51 Federal Education Funding
Appendix I: Briefing Slides 

 Education Funding

Appendix I: Briefing Slides 

Page 16 GAO-10-51 Federal

10

The Federal Share of K-12 Education Funding

Is Small Relative to State and Local Sources

Background

9%

45%

46%

Source: Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, Common Core of Data.

Federal

Local

State

Page 16 GAO-10-51 Federal
Appendix I: Briefing Slides 

Page 17 GAO-10-51 

11

Estimated Federal K-12 and Early Childhood 

Education Funding, Fiscal Years 2006-2008 

Source: GAO analysis of GAO survey data.

Objective 1: Federal Expenditure

151a a 140 143 147

Number of 

programs

$55.5 $57.1 $166.9 $54.3 

Estimated

funding 

(dollars

in billions)

2006 2007 2008 Total

a

Total number of programs includes an unduplicated count of programs that received funding in at least one year during fiscal years 2006-2008. 

 Federal Education Funding 
Appendix I: Briefing Slides 

 Education Funding

Appendix I: Briefing Slides 

Page 18 GAO-10-51 Federal

12

Two Agencies Administered Almost All Federal 

K-12 and Early Childhood Education Funding

Objective 1: Federal Expenditure

FY 2006 – FY 2008

11%

21%

68%

Source: GAO analysis of GAO survey data.

Other

$18 billion

Department of Health and

Human Services (HHS)

$35.5 billion

Department of Education (Education)

$113.4 billion

Page 18 GAO-10-51 Federal
Appendix I: Briefing Slides 

 Education Funding

Appendix I: Briefing Slides 

Page 19 GAO-10-51 Federal

13

Five Programs Accounted for About Two-thirds of 

Federal K-12 and Early Childhood Education Funding

Objective 1: Federal Expenditure

12%

19%

24%

35%

Source: GAO analysis of GAO survey data.

Head Start (HHS)

Special Education: Grants to States (Education)

Title I Grants to Local Education 

Agencies (Education)

5%

Child Care Mandatory and Matching Funds

(HHS)

5%

Improving Teacher Quality State 

Grants (Education)

All other programs (146)

Page 19 GAO-10-51 Federal
Appendix I: Briefing Slides 

Page 20 GAO-10-51 

14

Five Programs Accounted for About Two-thirds of Federal 

K-12 and Early Childhood Education Funding (cont’d)

Objective 1: Federal Expenditure

•Title I Grants to Local Educational Agencies (Department of Education)–

provides grants to help students meet state standards through assistance for 

individual children deemed most in need, or a school wide approach to improve 

the overall instructional program. This program received about $39.5 billion for 

fiscal years 2006–2008.

•Special Education: Grants to States (Department of Education)–provides 

grants to assist states in providing special education and related services to 

children with disabilities. This program received about $32.3 billion for fiscal 

years 2006–2008.

•Head Start (Department of Health and Human Services)–provides grants 

to promote school readiness for low-income preschool children through 

educational, health, nutrition, social, emotional, and family services. This 

program received about $19.9 billion for fiscal years 2006–2008.

 Federal Education Funding 
Appendix I: Briefing Slides 

15

Five Programs Accounted for About Two-thirds of Federal 

K-12 and Early Childhood Education Funding (cont’d)

Objective 1: Federal Expenditure

•Child Care Mandatory and Matching Funds of the Child Care and 

Development Fund (Department of Health and Human Services) –

provides grants to states and tribes to help low-income, working families pay 

for child care so that parents can work, or pursue an education or attend 

training. A portion of the funds support activities to improve the quality and 

availability of care. This program received an estimated $8.8 billion for fiscal 

years 2006–2008.

•Improving Teacher Quality State Grants (Department of Education) –

provides grants to state educational agencies and local educational agencies 

to develop and support a high-quality teaching force through activities that 

strengthen the skills and knowledge of teachers, enabling them to improve 

student achievement in core academic subjects. This program received about 

$8.7 billion for fiscal years 2006–2008.

Page 21 GAO-10-51 Federal Education Funding
Appendix I: Briefing Slides 

16

Federal K-12 and Early Childhood Education 

Programs Had a Variety of Goals, but Serving 

Disadvantaged Populations Was Most Often Cited

Objective 2: Program Characteristics

Fiscal years 2006-2008a

Estimated percentage of 

Number of programs funding Program goal or mission

Technology improvements 26 9%

29 28%

Childcare and instruction for 

preschoolers

Parental involvement 51 68%

Teacher education and training 100 65%

Classroom instruction for K-12 students 102 67%

Serving disadvantaged populations 106 96%

Source: GAO analysis of GAO survey data.

a

The number of programs and percentage of funds do not equal the total number of programs or total amount of funding because 

programs may have more than one goal or mission.

Page 22 GAO-10-51 Federal Education Funding
Appendix I: Briefing Slides 

17

Most Federal K-12 and Early Childhood Education 

Programs Are Grant Programs

• Agencies reported that, 111 of the 151 programs, representing about 91 

percent of fiscal year 2006-2008 funding, are grant programs. 

• For example, the Department of Labor’s YouthBuild program provides grants to local governments, universities, and private 

nonprofits that provide job training and educational opportunities for 

at-risk youth ages 16-24. Youth split their time between construction 

sites and the classroom where they earn a GED or high school 

diploma.

• States and local school districts were the most common allowable grant 

recipients.2

• States: 65 grant programs or about $122 billion.

• Local school districts: 57 programs or about $72 billion.

• Agencies reported that other recipients (i.e., universities, local governments, schools, and private entities) were each considered

allowable recipients for approximately 15 percent of program funds. 

Objective 2: Program Characteristics

2Respondents could identify multiple allowable grant recipients.

Page 23 GAO-10-51 Federal Education Funding
Appendix I: Briefing Slides 

18

Agencies Reported That Some Programs Have 

Completed Evaluations

• Agencies reported that program evaluations had been completed for 65 of 151 programs, and those 65 programs represent about 63 percent of fiscal 

year 2006-2008 funding. 

• Of those programs that conducted evaluations, 47 took place in the 5- year period ending in 2008. 

• In addition, agencies reported that 20 programs are in the process of conducting evaluations.

• The Department of Education and Health and Human Services reported the highest rates of completed program evaluations.

• Education reported that 33 of 77 programs have completed evaluations, representing about 56 percent of its funding over the 3-

year period.

• HHS reported that 8 of 14 programs have completed evaluations, representing about 99 percent of its funding over the 3-year period.

• Of the 20 programs with the largest reported allocations, representing 90 percent of fiscal year 2006–2008 funding, 12 reported performing program evaluations, and 3 reported evaluations under way.

Objective 3: Extent of Evaluations

Page 24 GAO-10-51 Federal Education Funding
Appendix II: Federal K-12 and Early 

Childhood Education Programs Funded in 

Fiscal Years 2006–2008 by Agency 

Dollars in thousands 

Fundingb

Program namea 2006 2007 2008 

Christopher Columbus Foundation 

1. Christopher Columbus Awards $441 $463 $250

Corporation for National and Community Service 

2. Learn and Serve America: School and Community Based Programs 37,125 37,125 37,459

Department of Agriculture 

3. 4-H Youth Development Program 67,039 69,892 68,078

4. CSREES Education Programs-Formula Funds 6,500 10,500 10,500

5. Conservation Education 6,800 6,800 6,800

6. Secondary Education, Two-Year Postsecondary Education, and Agriculture in 

the K-12 Classroom 990 990 983

7. Agriculture in the Classroom 856 0 553

Department of Commerce 

8. Bay Watershed Education and Training (B-WET) 7,000 4,200 9,700

Department of Defense 

9. Department of Defense Education Activity (DODEA) 1,580,510 1,565,203 1,624,499

10. Child Development System (CDS) 446,000 439,000 775,000

11. Junior Reserve Officers’ Training Corps 308,000 325,000 347,000

12. Supplemental to Impact Aid 42,000 43,000 35,000

13. STARBASE Program 16,972 17,979 20,230

Department of Education 

14. Title I Grants to Local Educational Agencies 12,713,125 12,838,125 13,898,97

15. Special Education: Grants to States 10,582,961 10,782,961 10,947,511

16. Improving Teacher Quality State Grants 2,887,439 2,887,439 2,935,248

17. Career and Technical Education State Grants 1,182,388 1,181,553 1,160,911

18. Impact Aid-Basic Support Payments 1,091,867 1,091,867 1,105,535

19. Twenty-First Century Community Learning Centers 981,166 981,166 1,081,166

20. English Language Acquisition State Grants 669,007 669,007 700,395

21. Adult Basic and Literacy Education State Grants 563,975 563,975 554,122

22. School Improvement Grants 0 125,000 491,265

23. Special Education-Grants for Infants and Families with Disabilities 436,400 436,400 435,654

24. Reading First State Grants 1,029,234 1,029,234 393,012

25. Migrant Education Program 386,524 386,524 379,771

26. Special Education-Preschool Grants 380,751 380,751 374,099

27. TRIO Upward Bound (part of TRIO) 310,413 314,169 359,036

Appendix II: Federal K-12 and Early 

Childhood Education Programs Funded in 

Fiscal Years 2006–2008 by Agency 

Page 25 GAO-10-51 Federal Education Funding
Appendix II: Federal K-12 and Early 

Childhood Education Programs Funded in 

Fiscal Years 2006–2008 by Agency 

Dollars in thousands 

Fundingb

Program namea2006 2007 2008 

28. Gaining Early Awareness and Readiness for Undergraduate Programs (GEAR 

UP) 303,423 303,423 303,423

29. Safe and Drug-Free Schools and Communities State Grants 346,500 346,500 294,759

30. Educational Technology State Grants 272,250 272,250 267,494

31. Safe and Drug-Free Schools and Communities National Programs 222,335 230,929 218,632

32. Charter School Program 214,782 214,782 211,032

33. Mathematics and Science Partnerships 182,160 182,160 178,978

34. Rural Education 168,918 168,918 171,854

35. TRIO Talent Search (part of TRIO) 149,628 143,077 142,744

36. Fund for the Improvement of Education: Programs of National Significance 11,668 16,051 121,934

37. Teaching American History 119,790 119,790 117,904

38. Early Reading First 103,118 117,666 112,549

39. Magnet Schools Assistance 106,693 106,693 104,829

40. Tech Prep Education 104,754 104,753 102,923

41. Teacher Incentive Fund 99,000 200 97,270

42. Indian Education-Grants to Local Educational Agencies 95,331 95,331 96,613

43. Special Education: Personnel Development to Improve Services and Results 

for Children with Disabilities 89,720 89,720 88,153

44. Smaller Learning Communities 93,531 93,531 80,108

45. Physical Education Program 72,674 72,674 75,655

46. William F. Goodling Even Start Family Literacy Programs 99,000 82,283 66,454

47. Regional Educational Laboratories 66,470 65,470 65,569

48. Education for Homeless Children and Youth 61,871 61,871 64,067

49. Comprehensive Centers 56,257 56,257 57,113

50. Neglected and Delinquent Children 49,797 49,797 48,927

51. Impact Aid: Payments for Children with Disabilities 49,466 49,466 48,602

52. Transition to Teaching 44,484 44,484 43,707

53. Advanced Placement Program 32,175 37,026 43,540

54. Special Education- National activities- Technology and Media Services 38,428 38,428 39,301

55. Parental Information and Resource Centers 39,600 39,600 38,908

56. Arts in Education 35,277 35,277 37,533

57. Striving Readers 29,700 31,870 35,371

58. Teacher Quality Partnership Grants Program 59,895 59,895 33,662

59. Education for Native Hawaiians 33,908 33,907 33,315

60. Alaska Native Education Equity 33,908 33,907 33,315

61. Cooperative Civic Education and Economic Education Exchange Programs 29,111 29,111 31,917

Page 26 GAO-10-51 Federal Education Funding
Appendix II: Federal K-12 and Early 

Childhood Education Programs Funded in 

Fiscal Years 2006–2008 by Agency 

Dollars in thousands 

Fundingb

Program namea2006 2007 2008 

62. Gallaudet University 34,608 32,400 31,436

63. Voluntary Public School Choice 26,278 26,278 25,819

64. Foreign Language Assistance program 21,780 23,780 25,655

65. TEACH Grants 0 0 25,000

66. Ready-To-Learn Television 24,255 24,255 23,831

67. Character Education 24,248 24,248 23,824

68. National Writing Project 21,533 21,533 23,581

69. Special Education: State Personnel Development Grants 50,146 0 22,598

70. Literacy through School Libraries 19,486 19,486 19,145

71. Special programs for Indian children 19,399 19,399 19,060

72. Migrant Education- High School Equivalency Program 18,550 18,550 18,226

73. DC Opportunity Scholarship Program (OSP) 13,860 13,860 14,800

74. School Leadership 14,731 14,731 14,474

75. Troops to Teachers 14,645 14,645 14,389

76. Special Olympics Education Programs 0 0 11,790

77. Ready to Teach 10,890 10,890 10,700

78. Advanced Credentialing 16,695 16,695 9,649

79. Javits Gifted and Talented Students Education Grant Program 9,596 7,596 7,463

80. Training and Advisory Services 7,113 7,113 6,989

81. Territories and Freely Associated States Education Grant Program 3,818 3,811 3,811

82. Academies for American History and Civics 1,980 1,980 1,945

83. Women’s Educational Equity 2,926 1,879 1,846

84. Excellence in Economic Education 1,473 1,473 1,447

85. Teachers for a Competitive Tomorrow: Programs for BA Degrees in STEM or 

Critical Foreign Languages 0 0 983

86. Teachers for a Competitive Tomorrow: Programs for MA Degrees in STEM or 

Critical Foreign Languages 0 0 983

87. Foundations for Learning 982 982 929

88. State Grants for Innovative Programs 99,000 99,000 0

89. Star Schools 14,850 14,850 0

90. Early Childhood Educator Professional Development 14,549 14,550 0

Department of Energy 

91. EnergySmart Schools Program 0 1,000 2,000

92. Academies Creating Teacher Scientists 1,618 2,320 1,849

93. National Science Bowl 1,383 1,337 1,670

Page 27 GAO-10-51 Federal Education Funding
Appendix II: Federal K-12 and Early 

Childhood Education Programs Funded in 

Fiscal Years 2006–2008 by Agency 

Dollars in thousands 

Fundingb

Program namea2006 2007 2008 

94. QuarkNet 750 750 750

95. Albert Einstein Educator Fellowship 750 745 565

96. Atmospheric Research Measurement (ARM) K-12 Educational & OutreachBasic Science Awareness 434 400 250

97. Community Partnerships - Educator PD, student research internships 200 165 245

98. Pre-Service Teacher Program 228 194 188

99. Fusion/Plasma Education/ Science Career Communication 125 124 155

100.Plasma Physics Summer Institute and Contemporary Physics Education 

Project (CPEP) 100 100 125

101.Wonders of Physics Traveling Show 82 52 52

Department of Health and Human Services 

102.Head Start 6,085,972 6,888,571 6,877,975

103.ChildCare Mandatory and Matching Funds of the Child Care and Development 

Fund 2,917,000 2,917,000 2,917,000

104.Child Care and Development Block Grant 2,060,664 2,062,081 2,062,081

105.Abstinence Education 163,325 163,400 163,400

106.Area Health Education Centers (AHEC) Program 28,661 28,681 28,180

107.National Center for Research Resources Science Education Partnership Award 15,980 16,009 16,183

108.Research Supplements to Promote Diversity in Health-Related Research 6,000 6,000 6,000

109.Science Education Drug Abuse Partnership Award 2,983 2,516 2,979

110.Reach Out Now - Help Prevent Underage Alcohol Use 1,758 1,309 1,332

111.The Diabetes in Education in Tribal Schools (DETS) K-12 Program 1,400 1,400 1,400

112.NIH Curriculum Supplement Series 799 759 1,996

113.NIAID Science Education Program (R25) 255 57 345

114.National DNA Day 60 60 60

115.SciLife- A Partnership with OSE 8 8 8

Department of Homeland Security 

116.FEMA Ready Kids Campaign 15 386 414

Department of Interior 

117.Indian School Equalization Program (ISEP) 350,062 351,817 358,341

118.Indian Education - Student Transportation 42,738 42,833 47,844

119.Indian Education: Johnson-O’Malley Assistance Grants 16,371 12,000 13,782

120.Family and Child Education (FACE) 12,781 12,067 15,024

121.Education Program Management 8,783 13,595 17,293

122.Public Land Corps 5,621 4,030 4,100

123.Youth Conservation Corps 2,000 2,000 3,000

Page 28 GAO-10-51 Federal Education Funding
Appendix II: Federal K-12 and Early 

Childhood Education Programs Funded in 

Fiscal Years 2006–2008 by Agency 

Dollars in thousands 

Fundingb

Program namea2006 2007 2008 

124.Parks As Classrooms 797 710 710

125.American River Water Education Center (ARWEC) 493 497 575

126.Project Archaeology 55 10 108

127.Project WET Water Education for Teachers 50 50 50

128.Lake Berryessa Water Education Program 2 0 1

129.Education Program Enhancements 0 4,371 12,108

Department of Justice 

130.Gang Resistance Education And Training (G.R.E.A.T.) Program 20,358 20,064 15,300

Department of Labor 

131.Job Corps 1,557,270 1,578,277 1,570,355

132.Workforce Investment Act (WIA) Youth Formula Program 940,500 940,500 924,069

133. Youth Offender Grants Alternative Expansion program 24,000 26,632 28,493

134.YouthBuild 0 50,000 58,000

Department of Transportation 

135.Aviation and Space Education (AVSED) 0 27 24

Environmental Protection Agency 

136.SunWise Program 760 270 700

James Madison Fellowship Foundation 

137.James Madison Memorial Fellowship 2,500 2,500 0

National Aeronautics and Space Administration 

138.NASA Elementary and Secondary Education Program 10,340 21,594 19,400

139.NASA K-12 Competitive Grants Program 0 0 11,640

National Endowment for the Arts 

140.Learning in the Arts 5,442 5,291 6,748

141.State Partnership Agreement Grant, Arts Education component 2,574 2,496 2,496

142.Shakespeare in American Communities 1,375 1,461 1,493

143.Poetry Out Loud: National Recitation Contest 511 1,516 1,207

144.Jazz in the Schools 0 22 661

National Science Foundation 

145.Discovery Research K-12 94,920 98,160 108,500

146.Math and Science Partnership 63,170 45,950 47,870

147.Informal Science Education 62,650 63,930 66,000

148.Innovative Technology Experiences for Students and Teachers 18,449 45,899 28,630

149.Robert Noyce Teacher Scholarship Program 8,910 10,300 55,050

Page 29 GAO-10-51 Federal Education Funding
Appendix II: Federal K-12 and Early 

Childhood Education Programs Funded in 

Fiscal Years 2006–2008 by Agency 

Dollars in thousands 

Fundingb

Program namea2006 2007 2008 

United States Institute of Peace 

150.Education and Training Program (National Peace Essay Contest) 270 260 260

151.Education and Training Program (Summer Institute for Secondary School 

Teachers) $45 $40 $40

Source: GAO survey data. 

a

Agencies with K-12 and early childhood programs are listed alphabetically, and individual programs 

within each agency are listed in descending order based on fiscal year 2008 funding. 

b

The dollar amounts listed contain actual and estimated program funding levels. 

Page 30 GAO-10-51 Federal Education Funding
Appendix III: Federal K-12 and Early 

Childhood Education Programs Funded Appendix III: Federal K-12 and Early through the Recovery Act 

Childhood Education Programs Funded 

through the Recovery Act 

Dollars in thousands 

 Funding

Program name 

Recovery Act (fiscal 

year 2009) 

Department of Education 

1. State Fiscal Stabilization Funda, b $48,600,000 

2. Title I Grants to Local Educational Agencies 10,000,000 

3. Special Education: Grants to States 11,300,000 

4. Race to the Top (Incentive Grants)b 4,350,000 

5. School Improvement Grants 3,000,000 

6. Educational Technology State Grants 650,000 

7. Innovation Fundb650,000 

8. Special Education-Grants for Infants and Families with 

Disabilities 500,000 

9. Special Education-Preschool Grants 400,000 

10. Teacher Incentive Fund 200,000 

11. Teacher Quality Partnership Grants Program 100,000 

12. Education for Homeless Children and Youth 70,000 

Department of Health and Human Services 

13. Head Start 2,100,000 

14. Child Care and Development Block Grant 2,000,000 

Department of Labor 

15. Workforce Investment Act Youth Formula Program 1,200,000 

16. Job Corps 250,000 

17. YouthBuild $50,000 

Sources: GAO analysis of the Recovery Act as verified by the Departments of Education, Health and Human Services, and Labor. 

a

New program created through Recovery Act funding. 

b

Some of these funds can be used for postsecondary education and noneducation purposes. 

Specifically, the Recovery Act specifies that about 82 percent of SFSF funds distributed to states 

must be used for support of elementary, secondary, and postsecondary education and, as applicable, 

early childhood education programs, and about 18 percent—or $8.8 billion—must be used for public 

safety and other government services, which may include educational purposes. 

Page 31 GAO-10-51 Federal Education Funding 
Appendix IV: Comments from the Department Appendix IV: Comments from the of Education 

Department of Education 

(130812) Page 32 GAO-10-51 Federal Education Funding
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