On March 11th, 2024, the Biden-Harris Administration released the President’s Budget for Fiscal Year 2025. Following historic progress made since the President took office—with nearly 15 million jobs created and inflation down two-thirds—the Budget protects and builds on this progress by lowering costs for working families, protecting and strengthening Social Security and Medicare, investing in America and the American people, and reducing the deficit by cracking down on fraud, cutting wasteful spending, and making the wealthy and corporations pay their fair share.
“President Biden’s Budget raises the bar in education by investing in evidence-based strategies and partnerships that will improve outcomes from cradle to career,” said U.S. Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona. “With these investments, we can deliver an excellent education to all students, improve learning conditions, build pathways to college and careers, and increase postsecondary education affordability and access. By answering the President’s call to action, Congress would provide states and communities with invaluable resources to bolster a talented, diverse teaching workforce; expand access to multilingual programs; increase school-based mental health services; and meet the needs of children and youth with disabilities. Through this budget, the President prioritizes fiscal responsibility while making bold strides to narrow opportunity and achievement gaps. I look forward to working alongside states, schools, and communities as they leverage these investments to promote access, opportunity, and excellence for all students.”
The Fiscal Year 2025 Budget requests $82.4 billion in discretionary Budget Authority, a $3.1 billion or 4.0 percent increase from the fiscal year 2024 annualized Continuing Resolution (CR) level. The Budget makes critical, targeted investments in the American people that will promote greater prosperity for decades to come. At the U.S. Department of Education (Department), the Budget will include the following for Higher Education:
- Expanding Access to Higher Education by Reducing Costs for Students and Investing in Student Supports:
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- Proposes to increase the maximum Pell Grant award to $8,145, a $750 increase over the current level, thereby expanding access and making college more affordable for an estimated 7.2 million students. The maximum Pell Grant award for students at proprietary institutions will be $7,495.
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- Includes a mandatory proposal to create partnerships between the federal government and states, territories, and tribes to make two years of community college free for first-time students and workers wanting to reskill.
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- Includes a new Reducing the Costs of College mandatory proposal that would invest in the expansion of dual enrollment through the Classroom to Career program, incentivize excellence with a new award for colleges and universities that provide an excellent education at an affordable price, and support the scaling of evidence-based strategies to lower college costs.
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- Proposes the elimination of origination fees on Federal Direct student loan.
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- Provides $262 million to advance strategies to improve postsecondary attainment, degree completion, and student success, including through $100 million for the Postsecondary Student Success Grants, $100 million for Historically Black Colleges and Universities, Tribal Community Colleges and Universities, and Minority Serving Institutions Research & Development Infrastructure Grants, $15 million for a new Statewide Reform Grants program and $25 million for a new Comprehensive Postsecondary Student Supports Success Program, $12 million through the Open Textbooks Pilot to support projects at Institutions of Higher Education to create new open textbooks or expand their use while maintaining or improving instruction and student learning outcomes, and $10 million to create the first of its kind technical assistance center to support postsecondary education advancement and success.
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- Supports program enhances institutional capacity at HBCUs, TCCUs, MSIs, and community colleges, by providing an increase of $93 million over the FY 2023 level.
Makes significant investments in the Office of Federal Student Aid, providing $2.66 billion in essential support to student loan borrowers as they return to repayment, critical improvements to student loan servicing, and ensures the successful administration of its financial aid programs.
