AFT President Randi Weingarten Responds to the House Appropriations Committee’s Full Markup of the FY2020 Labor, HHS, Education Funding Bill

WASHINGTON—AFT President Randi Weingarten issued the following statement following the full markup of the Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies bill by the House Appropriations Committee:

“Students in schools throughout America need support and funding that actually invests in their future—things like smaller class sizes, community schools and after-school programs, as well as early childhood education, child care and ways to make college more affordable. The federal government has long ago promised this investment to our students with special needs and our students who are poor. With this appropriations budget, the House Democrats have taken a big step toward fulfilling those promises. 

“This bill also takes the commonsense approach to keeping schools safer by reconfirming current law that blocks the use of federal funds to arm teachers, while at the same time funding efforts that will actually make schools safer and more welcoming for kids, such as community schools and wraparound services.

“The investments House Democrats put forward in their budget stand in stark contrast to the deep cuts President Trump and Secretary DeVos are proposing, and instead serve as a good-faith effort to counter the years of deep disinvestment in our public schools.”