Dive Brief:

• President Barack Obama's fiscal 2016 budget proposal asks for a $2.7 billion increase in funding surrounding the Elementary and Secondary Education Act.
• The money would be spread among various education goals, such as increasing equity and opportunity for students, expanding universal pre-K, offering more professional development for teachers and school leaders, and helping to improve access, affordability, and student outcomes in postsecondary education.
• The biggest budget increase comes in Title I funds, which would see an additional $1 billion to help low-income schools implement college and career ready standards (i.e., Common Core), improve their teacher evaluations, and close the achievement gap.

Dive Insight:

Let's break down some of the requests: $200 million would go toward systems using technology to support educators. The Investing in Innovation program would see an additional $180 million, while the Leveraging What Works competition would get $100 million. Another $138.8 million would create a program aimed at increasing opportunities for teaching leadership opportunities. The budget also asks for over $11 billion to go toward IDEA Grants for helping states improve their special education programs.

As Congress debates potential changes to ESEA, Obama's budget is a chance to solidify programming and budgeting around the initiatives he backs. Whether the Senate and House of Representatives go for the suggestions, however, is another question entirely.