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![handle is hein.crs/goveqhn0001 and id is 1 raw text is: Congressional Research Service
Informing the legislative debate since 1914
S
Updated August 8, 2024
Funding for Public Elementary and Secondary Schools
Congress provides annual appropriations and periodically
provides supplemental appropriations for public elementary
and secondary schools through many agencies and
programs. Of these funds, the largest tranche of federal
funding for public elementary and secondary schools is for
programs authorized by the Elementary and Secondary
Education Act (ESEA). All ESEA programs are
administered by the Department of Education (ED).
This In Focus examines revenues for public elementary and
secondary education (hereinafter referred to as public
education) and the share of this revenue provided by the
federal government. It also details overall federal funding
provided for ESEA programs since FY2002, following the
reauthorization of the ESEA by the No Child Left Behind
Act (P.L. 107-110.)
Revenues for Public Education
Each year, the National Center for Education Statistics
(NCES) at ED collects data on revenues and expenditures
for public education using the National Public Education
Financial Survey (NPEFS). Revenues and expenditures are
reported by states for prekindergarten through high school.
Revenue data are available by source: federal, state, and
local. Federal revenue sources include, for example, ESEA
grants, funds provided under the Individuals with
Disabilities Education Act, Medicaid reimbursements, and
COVID-19 federal assistance funds (e.g., Elementary and
Secondary School Emergency Relief [ESSER] Fund).
The current year (i.e., unadjusted) revenues shown in
Figure 1 are based on federal, state, and local data reported
by NCES for FY2002 (2001-2002 school year) through
FY2022 (2021-2022 school year), which are the most
recent data available. The figure also shows revenues in
constant (i.e., inflation-adjusted) 2024 dollars. Inflation
adjustments were made by CRS using the Consumer Price
Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U) published by the
U.S. Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics
(BLS). The annual average CPI-U was adjusted from a
calendar year basis to a school-year basis (i.e., the 12-
month average from July 2023 through June 2024, referred
to as the 2023-2024 CPI-U).
Over this period, total revenues for public schools have
increased from $419.5 billion ($728.8 billion in constant
dollars) in FY2002 to $909.2 billion ($998.0 billion in
constant 2024 dollars) in FY2022 (Figure 1). Most of these
funds were provided by state and local sources. Figure 1
also includes public school enrollment data over the same
period. After increasing for many years, enrollment
declined in fall 2020 (FY2021).
Figure I. Revenues for Public Education in Current and Constant 2024 Dollars, by Source and Public
Elementary and Secondary School Enrollment: School Year 2001-2002 through 2021-2022
371 3/1~S ~)V~S~ ~ 1%? 64S ThY 6
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2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 0 24 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022
Federalrevenue,corstantidollars( 2024} Iia:d revele Lofabidold 5 (2024 4 LOcal rEvenueC onstan oars 2024
F-doadr2ve etdoa & a aeevene cundollars - d -Locarevenue cent ars
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2f0 0320420 2( 0 20C 200 209 21021 2123 2 01 20 21 2Q7 218 21 2262021 22
. Pub ic Elemen a y and Secondary Schoo Enrollment
Source: Revenue data obtained from the Digest of Education Statistics: 2023, Table 235.10; and Revenues and Expenditures for Public
Elementary and Secondary Education: FY22. Enrollment data obtained from the Digest of Education Statistics, current tables, Table 105.30.
Notes: Constant dollars based on the Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U), prepared by the U.S. Department of Labor,
Bureau of Labor Statistics, and adjusted to a school-year basis (July 2023 to June 2024) by CRS.
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