Lawmakers weigh using fair-share surplus to shore up special education, preschool and literacy after federal cuts

Education secretariat witnesses and representatives from teachers and business groups told the Joint Committee on Ways and Means that House Bill 55 could be used to protect local school budgets and expand critical programs amid recent federal funding uncertainty.

Pat Tutwiler, the administration’s Secretary of Education, described an education package in the supplemental that included investments in preschool, adult education, early-literacy tutoring, early college and career and technical education (CTE), and a meaningful increase to the special education circuit breaker. Tutwiler said the supplemental includes $50,000,000 for the Commonwealth Preschool Partnership Initiative (CPPI), $25,000,000 in near-term support to maintain current CPPI grantees and $43,000,000 to expand access over three years; $100,000,000 for early education and care capacity and workforce supports; $25,000,000 for an early literacy high-dosage tutoring initiative aimed at supporting 10,000 students; $30,000,000 for adult basic…