U.S. Department of Education Deputy Secretary Tony Miller will travel to Mississippi tomorrow to join U.S. Rep. Bennie G. Thompson for two school visits in Canton and Jackson and join roundtable discussions with local superintendents, teachers, and community leaders on the Obama Administration’s FY13 budget proposal for education, including its new teacher initiative titled RESPECT. At 11:30 a.m. CT, Miller and Thompson will visit Canton Elementary School, where they will hold two roundtables, the first with students and the second with local education and community advocates. At 1:15 p.m. CT, Miller and Thompson will tour classrooms at Lanier High School in Jackson, followed by a roundtable discussion with local stakeholders.
The U.S. Department of Education is requesting $69.8 billion in discretionary funding for 2013, an increase of $1.7 billion or 2.5 percent from 2012. The President is proposing a $14 billion one-time strategic investment in key reform areas, including aligning education programs with workforce demands, raising the teaching profession, and increasing college affordability and quality. These investments will maintain support for foundational programs like Title I, IDEA and Pell Grants. It also includes a new $5 billion competitive program to challenge states and districts to work with teachers, unions, colleges of education and other stakeholders to comprehensively reform the field of teaching. The proposal touches on every phase of teaching, from training and tenure to compensation and career opportunities. RESPECT stands for Recognizing Educational Success, Professional Excellence and Collaborative Teaching. The Department's fiscal year 2013 budget also continues commitments to existing reform efforts like Race to the Top.
For more information about the U.S. Department of Education's FY2013 budget, please visit: http://www2.ed.gov/about/overview/budget/budget13/index.html.