Over the last five years, Congress has cut federal funding for K-12 education by nearly 20 percent, about five times more than overall spending cuts, according to a new report.

In an analysis of the federal budget released Wednesday, the bipartisan advocacy organization First Focus found federal spending that affects children – including funding aimed at preventing child abuse and neglect, for housing allocated to children, and for programs targeted toward homeless youths, as well as education funding – has dropped 9.4 percent since 2011, when federal stimulus funds ran out. Overall federal spending dropped 4 percent in the same time.

The decreases have been compounded by across-the-board sequestration cuts, and education was hit the hardest of any children's investment, the report says.

"When families face tough budget choices, parents' first priority is to protect the kids," First Focus President Bruce Lesley said in a statement. "But Congress is actually cutting funding for children more than twice as fast as spending overall."



Funding levels for education dropped from year to year after adjusting for inflation in most cases. Courtesy First Focus

Although some years saw nominal increases, funding levels for education dropped from year to year after adjusting for inflation in most cases. Overall, cuts to education spending – including to programs like Title I grants (6.8 percent), Impact Aid for districts housed on American Indian or federal lands (5.3 percent), the Advanced Placement program (38.4 percent) and civic education (100 percent) – resulted in an overall 19.8 percent decrease between 2011 and 2015.

Congress has cut millions of dollars for Title I grants to school districts serving low-income students. Courtesy First Focus

And after hundreds of millions of dollars were cut from several education programs, schools suffered, according to the report.

"Districts were forced to lay off teachers and support staff, increase class sizes, and cut services like tutoring, athletics and before- and after-school programs," the report says. "Some school districts even contemplated limiting their school bus routes."

Education spending as a percentage of all government spending has also consistently decreased over the last five years, down to just over 1 percent in 2015 from 1.27 percent in 2011.





The report additionally compares how President Barack Obama's 2016 budget proposal stacks up against previous years. Overall, there would be a slight increase to many programs that have seen significant cuts or that have been entirely defunded. At the same time, the House and Senate both have appropriations bills in the works that make further education-related cuts, such as to the Obama administration's Investment in Innovation Fund, or i3.