This week President Obama released a proposed annual budget for FY2014.

The budget requests $71.2 billion from Congress in discretionary funding for the U.S. Department of Education. This is an increase of 4.5% ($3.1 billion) from the FY13 pre-sequester level.

The primary investment in the President’s budget focuses on expanding high-quality early learning opportuntiies to all four year-olds from low- and moderate-income familes. Also known as the Preschool for All proposal, this program would invest $75 billion over 10 years in seperate, fully offset mandatory funding to create new partnerships with states and provide high-quality preschool to more communities. The proposal also provides $750 milion in discretionary funding to helpe states strengthen their early learning systems and prepare to expand access to high-quality preschool.

This program is part of an overall proposal targeted to strengthen the education pipeline from cradle to career. Other componenents of the President’s proposal include:

• Furthering the K-12 reform agenda by investing in school turnaround efforts, STEM programs, and teachers and leaders.
• Redesigning the high school experience and increasing the career readiness of high school students and adult learners.
• Making college more affordable and improving quality by incentivizing states and institutions to do their part in controlling costs and providing value.
• Keeping schools and communities safe through an Administration-wide plan to protect children and neighborhoods from gun violence.
• Providing ladders of opportunity to the middle-class through a robust Promise Neighborhoods program and investments in low-income communities.