rich 1.0 Action Network https://actionnetwork.org <link href='https://actionnetwork.org/css/style-embed-v3.css' rel='stylesheet' type='text/css' /><script src='https://actionnetwork.org/widgets/v6/letter/no-cuts-for-our-kids-defend-education-spending?format=js&source=widget'></script><div id='can-letter-area-no-cuts-for-our-kids-defend-education-spending' style='width: 100%'><!-- this div is the target for our HTML insertion --></div> CHN Action https://actionnetwork.org/groups/coalition-on-human-needs https://actionnetwork.org//images/generic_facebook.jpg Public education is the bedrock of our society and -- if right wing extremists in Congress have their way -- it risks crumbling to pieces while cementing racial inequity. We know that House leadership intends to propose drastic cuts to social programs as a part of the negotiation to raise the debt ceiling. They want to cut annual appropriations back down to the total in FY 2022. But they don’t want to cut defense spending. If the Pentagon doesn’t fall below this year’s spending and all domestic spending except veterans’ medical care shoulders the full reduction, then human needs programs including education face up to a 22% cut to critical programs and services. Federal dollars for education help states and local communities fill in the funding gaps for primary and secondary education for low-income communities. The 22% cut right-wingers would inflict on K-12 schools in low-income communities would slash $4 billion, affecting 25 million students, a cut equivalent to 60,000 teacher and other education staff layoffs. This would take place despite educational losses during the pandemic, with Black, brown and low-income students already behind. $3.1 billion in funding would be cut if Congress institutes a 22% budget cut in the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) grants to the states. A cut that drastic would impact 7.5 million school children with disabilities and would have the effect of removing 48,000 teachers and support staff from classrooms. Our students deserve better. These young people are the future of our society and economy, and if we don’t make up for lost ground, societal racial and income gaps are only going to increase. Click “Start Writing” to send a message to Congress to block right-wing cuts to education. https://actionnetwork.org/letters/no-cuts-for-our-kids-defend-education-spending