Proposed Education Aid for States Would Help Only K-12

Colleges in some states weren't thrilled with how little some of them received of the tens of billions of dollars in education funds that the federal stimulus legislation poured into states last year -- but even that disproportionate allocation may be looking pretty good to them right now. Democrats in the House of Representatives have proposed adding $23 billion in education aid to an emergency spending bill making its way through Congress now, aimed at keeping educators employed (essentially adding another year to the education portion of the stimulus law). But documents released by the White House in support of the measure Wednesday suggest that the money would be made available only to elementary and secondary schools. And a letter released by the Committee for Education Funding, while backing the new aid, urges lawmakers to consider "providing eligibility for funds to public higher education institutions" as well as K-12 schools.