Federal policy update, Friday, March 1: The sequester arrives

When Congress passed the Budget Control Act of 2011 almost two years ago, they included a provision meant to be so difficult to swallow that it would force the House and the Senate, Republicans and Democrats, to come together and pass a reasonable plan for reigning in the deficit. That strategy failed and the result is that the across-the-board cuts known as the sequester officially went into effect today—after a two month reprieve that resulted from the Jan. 1, 2013, fiscal cliff resolution.

• Approximately 30,000 low-income children of working parents would lose child care assistance through the Child Care and Development Block Grant and many more would experience a reduction in services.
• Title I Grants to school districts would see a cut in excess of $750 million, denying funding to well over 2,500 schools serving more than 1 million disadvantaged students. These funds pay for teachers, tutors and afterschool programs. Sequestration would mean job losses for more than 10,500 teachers and aides.
• For the 21^st Century Community Learning Centers initiative, it is now estimated that about 58,000 young people would lose afterschool and summer learning supports, likely beginning with the 2013-14 school year.

State by state fact sheets showing the full effect of the sequester have been released by the White House. A table showing the state level cuts to 21^st CCLC as a result of the sequester is available on our website. Congress and the White House have the opportunity to act to resolve the sequester, and advocates can encourage them to do just that.

While the sequester dominated Washington this week, other events occurred as well:

• Sen. Boxer (D-CA) took to the Senate floor on Thursday to issue a statement that highlights the efforts of afterschool and summer learning programs in offering important science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) education to young people. 
• Hearings in the House Education and Workforce Committee and Senate Judiciary Committee continued to discuss school safety and violence prevention in the wake of the tragedy on Newtown, CT, last December.
• The Building a Grad Nation Summit brought thousands of educators and education advocates together early this week to discuss the progress in graduation rates and promising practices making a difference in the lives of young people.