Public Policy Update - September 18, 2025
Senate Appropriators Tee Up Spending Bills, White House Proposals Largely Ignored
In the final week of the summer session of Congress at the end of July, Senate appropriators advanced several spending bills in preparation for a busy September push to finalize the Fiscal Year (FY) 2026 appropriations process. The Senate Appropriations Committee voted 26-3 to finalize the Labor, Health and Human Services, Education and Related Services (Labor-H) bill, preparing it for a floor vote next month. Senate appropriators have allocated a total of $79 billion for education, which shaves a few million dollars from a handful of programs while largely keeping the U.S. Department of Education’s (ED) discretionary budget intact. Senate appropriators ignored recommendations made by the White House to eliminate or block grant certain parts of the education budget, and have level funded both the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) at just over $15 billion, as well as Title I of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) at $18 billion. The Institute for Education Sciences (IES) is level-funded despite the termination of most IES personnel and contracts this spring, and education discretionary grant programs are largely maintained at current levels despite being on the chopping block in the President’s budget. In a preventative move and to keep Title I and IDEA at ED, the bill prohibits any transfer of these funds and their programs to other agencies and requires ED to maintain sufficient staffing “to fulfill its statutory responsibilities.” The Senate also specified for IDEA as well as IES, that ED must fund and oversee each of the funding lines as outlined in the bill “report.” Such language is viewed as a win by advocates who want all parts of IDEA and other education laws funded and implemented by ED as required by federal statutes. In an unequivocal move to protect state access to appropriated funds, the bill requires funding for ESEA, IDEA, homeless education, career/technical education, and adult education to be distributed to states “on the date such funds become available for obligation.” For the health and disability support programs overseen by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), assistive technology act programs are funded at $40 million, it funds Head Start and childcare programs, and maintains all of the disability support programs that were targeted by the White House for elimination. Vice Chair Patty Murray noted, “Our bills reject devastating cuts and reject many of this Administration's absurd certain proposals like dismantling the Department of Education or destroying HHS and more.”
House Appropriators Finalize Labor-H Bill, ED Moves Adult Education to Labor
After an eleven-hour mark-up, House Appropriations Chairman Tom Cole (R-OK) successfully moved the Fiscal Year (FY) 2026 Labor, Health and Human Services, Education and Related Agencies (Labor-H) bill through the full committee on September 10. By a vote of 35 to 28, the partisan House bill is now ready for floor consideration and can also be used in negotiations with the Senate. While special education advocates were pleased to see that the bill funded all parts of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) -with level funding or nominal increases- other education programs did not fare so well. The House Labor-H bill includes an overall cut to education by 15 percent -bringing K-12 and post-secondary education funding down to 2011 levels. The reductions include a $3 billion cut to Title I of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) and would eliminate funding for ESEA Title II, Statewide Family Engagement Centers, the Javits gifted and talented program, Full-Service Community Schools, and the adult education program authorized under the Workforce Investment Opportunity Act (WIOA). Regarding early childhood, the House bill level-funds Head Start and boosts the Child Care and Development Block Grant (CCDBG) by $2 million. House appropriators also passed the FY 2026 Commerce, Justice, Science (CJS) bill, which includes a 3 percent cut from FY 2025 overall and would follow the President’s request to consolidate the Directorate for STEM Education within the Research and Related Activities account, retiring a long-held STEM education account whose consolidation is not included in the Senate CJS bill. To finalize the FY 2026 appropriations bills and avoid a government shutdown, House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) is leading conversations that include passage of a continuing resolution (CR), however, the length of the CR and the timing of such an agreement are still unknown. In other education news, the U.S. Department of Education (ED) acted on the Memorandum of Understanding signed in July and formally moved WIOA-authorized adult education programs to the U.S. Department of Labor this week.
Read the House FY 2026 bill and accompanying report here.
ED Announces Redirection of FY25 Funds to Charter Schools, HBCUs, and TCCUs
On September 15, the US Department of Education announced it would redirect millions of FY25 dollars from a variety of programs to fund efforts for charter schools, civics education, and make one-time investments in Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) and Tribally Controlled Colleges and Universities (TCCUs). According to the department’s announcement, it is using existing flexibilities in discretionary grant programs to repurpose funds “to advance President Trump's priorities and targeting resources toward the most effective interventions to bolster educational outcomes.”
Most of the funds are coming from the elimination of funds from the Minority-Serving Institution grant program for institutions that enroll large numbers of underrepresented students. Funds will also be redirected from programs such as the Supporting Effective Educators Development program, the Teacher and School Leader Incentive program, the Ready to Learn program, and the Teacher Quality Partnership program. Lastly, an estimated $15 million will be redirected from the Magnet Schools Assistance Program, and another $9 million will be redirected from the Jacob K. Javits Gifted and Talented Students Education Program.
Read the Department of Education’s announcement here.
ED Invites ESEA Waiver Applications for Improving Academic Achievement
In a Dear Colleague Letter penned on July 29, the U.S. Department of Education (ED) invited state educational agencies (SEAs) to apply for waivers of statutory and regulatory requirements of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) that impede innovative improvement of academic achievement. The DCL highlights key flexibilities provided under ESEA to help states find innovative ways to improve student outcomes while also keeping core requirements of the law. States can pilot innovative assessments, tailor support for dropout or credit-recovery high schools, and transfer or consolidate federal funds to better meet local needs. When these options are not enough, SEAs, LEAs, and Tribes may request waivers of certain federal requirements. Waiver requests must include public notice and stakeholder input, clear plans, and evaluation methods, and can be approved for up to four years. However, some areas—such as fund allocations, accountability for and reporting on student outcomes in reading/math/science, and civil rights—cannot be waived. ED encourages “creative, locally driven reforms” and offers informal guidance to support waiver proposals.
Read the Dear Colleague Letter here.
EdTrust Issues Principles to Advance Equity in State Literacy
EdTrust has published a thirty-page policy report titled 6 Principles to Advance Equity in State Literacy Policy. The report emphasizes that literacy is a fundamental civil right and a gateway to educational success, economic opportunity, and civic engagement. Yet, reading proficiency remains alarmingly low in the U.S., especially among students of color, English learners, students with disabilities, and economically disadvantaged students. The report outlines six principles to guide policymakers and advocates in addressing this literacy crisis through equitable, evidence-based state policies. The six principles include: ensuring that instruction is grounded in the science of reading; using culturally relevant materials; providing equitable and differentiated support; investing in high-quality, inclusive early childhood education and family literacy programs; empowering teachers; and equipping families with clear feedback about student progress and co-creating effective strategies for student improvement with families.
Read the report here.
ED Plans Potential Withdrawal of Funds to K-12 Schools for Rule Violations
The U.S. Department of Education (ED) has listed new rule making proposals in its Unified Agenda that would allow the Administration to withhold federal funds from K-16 schools. Through a repurposing and reinterpretation of federal civil rights laws through executive actions, as well recent notice in the Unified Agenda to review rules under Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) and the parental opt-out rights given under the Protection of Pupil Rights Amendment (PPRA), new pressure has been placed on K-12 districts and colleges to align with its interpretation of civil rights protections and Planned regulatory changes include revising rules under Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) and the parental opt-out rights given under the Protection of Pupil Rights Amendment (PPRA), as well as creating a streamlined process to cut funding from institutions that resist compliance.
View the Unified Agenda here.
