PreK-12 Policy & Budget Outlook, 2023-2024

PreK-12 Policy and Budget Outlook 2023-2024

SIMBA Information’s recently released PreK-12 Policy and Budget Outlook 2023-2024 report examines educational policy and funding trends at the federal, state, and local level. On the funding side, both federal appropriations and state budgets for PreK-12 education remained strong during fiscal 2023 – the 2022-2023 school year. In many cases, this was primarily attributable to the infusion of stimulus funding to address ongoing learning loss (spurred by the pandemic lockdowns that began in 2020) alongside robust local and state budgets. The National Association of School Budget Officers’ (NASBO) December 2022 Fiscal Survey of States saw 33 report revenues in fiscal 2023 that came in above projections and seven that were on target. Only one reported lower-than-forecast revenues

What this Report Covers

In addition to outlining totals and allocations of federal and state monies towards education priorities, the report also examines curriculum restrictions and book bans; growth in social issues like mental health, inclusivity vs. fairness, and gun violence in schools; teacher dissatisfaction; classroom connectivity; policy updates on various subject matter including computer science; cybersecurity and privacy; school choice bills on the rise; and approval of Fiscal 2024 budgets.

Key Findings

Key findings examined and analyzed in this report include Federal appropriations for education in fiscal 2023 (i.e., the 2022-2023 school year) grew across the board with most key programs seeing increases. Programs showing the biggest increases in funding included safe schools and citizenship education, which was up 26.59%; supplemental education grants, up 24.45%; Alaska Native and Native Hawaiian education, up 18.44% and 18.00%, respectively; education for homeless children and youths, up 13.16%; Innovation and Improvement, up 11.74%; and Rural Education, up 10.26%.

Other key findings include results from a 2022 survey by the American Federation of Teachers which found that more than 75% of the 2,400 teachers surveyed are dissatisfied with their work conditions, the highest level in the eight years the survey has been conducted. A third of the teachers surveyed said that conditions had worsened in the past five years. Complaints on working conditions included overwork, flat wages, fear of school shootings, and curriculum restrictions being put into place. Schools are addressing these issues through raises, training programs, and other measures, but there is a long way to go.

Key Trends Discussed

Several significant trends and developments are explored and analyzed in the report. Among them are states looking at possibly changing their funding formulas; curriculum restrictions and book bans have been enacted across 18 states though other states have seen a rise in Black and Native American course teachings; school choice bills on the rise with at least 32 states offering some sort of tax-funded school choice program; social issues impacting schools-including increased gun violence, mental health, substance abuse, and homelessness; and connectivity is up across the board but so are cybersecurity breaches.

About Simba Information

Publishers and investment professionals can trust Simba Information’s PreK-12 Policy and Budget Outlook 2023-2024 report to provide the inside intelligence needed to evaluate growth potential and understand the trends impacting the market for instructional materials for the K-12 market.