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Taken from Voices for America’s Children

This is the third post in the federal sequester’s impact on Nebraska’s kids.  See the first two post here: Sequester Overview and Head Start.  Today we will delve into the anticipated impacts of the sequester on teachers, schools, and education for children with disabilities.

The White House states that Nebraska will lose approximately $2,988,000 in funding for primary and secondary education as a result of sequestration.  This means that 40 jobs for teachers and aides are at risk.  This funding cut will also lead to approximately 20 schools losing federal funding and loss of services for 5,000 students.  In addition to the approximate $3 million lost for education, $3,530,000 in funds for education for children with disabilities will disappear, seen through cuts in staffing, teachers, and aides.  The areas these funding cuts will occur are varied; a brief list includes:

• Teacher and School Improvement
• English Language Learning
• Education for Homeless Children
• Rural Education
• Special Education

Many other areas of education will receive funding cuts.  For further breakdown, see the National Education Associations Estimates of the Impact of Sequestration on Federal Education Programs.

Thanks to the sequester, our neediest kids (those with special-needs and those who come from families with lower income) will see the deepest cuts in funding for their education.  These kids will experience larger classrooms and less specialized services.  Many of our schools’ classrooms are already packed and kids are not able to get the attention they need to succeed.  The sequester will only worsen that and make education improvements more and more difficult.

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