Education in the United States is primarily the responsibility
of states and localities. However, the federal government
annually provides about 10 percent of the funding for K–12
schooling and helps students finance higher education through
two major programs—one that makes loans to borrowers and one
that provides grants to low-income students. Between 2000 and
2009, the volume of outstanding federal student loans more than
quadrupled to reach $630 billion and annual spending for grants
more than tripled to stand at $27 billion. The federal tax code
also offers favorable taxation treatment to educational
institutions. CBO has analyzed the costs and economic impact of
these and other policies that affect education. Use this menu to
filter CBO's publications by topic. From January 2011 forward,
all the agency's products are categorized by topic. Cost
estimates released prior to the 112th Congress are not
categorized by topic.