Update on Promise Neighborhoods Funding and Legislation

The efforts to get Promise Neighborhoods into a reauthorized Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) continue. Recently,  the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee approved a bi-partisan bill to include Promise Neighborhoods in ESEA by authorizing five-year, renewable grants to help communities scale up their services and sustain their programs. This bill will now head to the senate floor.  There are still some hurdles to overcome before ESEA will be reauthorized; in the meantime, we are also continuing to work with our partners as part of the Promise Neighborhoods Institute to ensure funding for Promise Neighborhoods through DOE.  Current Senate appropriations markup have authorized $60 million for the Promise Neighborhoods initiative in FY 2012. That's double the FY 2011 funding! We will continue to keep you updated as the budget process moves forward.