Federal Budget/Funding

Read more about how much federal money is spent on K-12 education and its impact
Cafeteria worker Nuria Alvarenga serves lunch to students through a service window at Firebaugh High School in Lynwood, Calif. on Wednesday, April 3, 2024. Demand for school lunches has increased after California guaranteed free meals to all students regardless of their family's income. Now, districts are preparing to compete with the fast food industry for employees after a new law took effect guaranteeing a $20 minimum wage for fast food workers.
A cafeteria worker serves students at Firebaugh High School in Lynwood, Calif., on April 3, 2024. School districts are increasingly uncertain about whether they can rely on federal education funds, $7 billion of which were delayed for weeks last July, prompting a more conservative approach to budgeting in some places.
Richard Vogel/AP
Education Funding Districts Brace for the Unexpected as Federal Funding Troubles Linger
Last year's formula funding delay has prompted some districts to budget more cautiously.
Mark Lieberman, June 11, 2026
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7 min read
Education Funding Video Tornado Threats Are a Constant. But Funding for a Safe Room Is Lagging
A school district has waited four years and counting to begin work on a tornado shelter funded with federal dollars.
Mark Lieberman & Yi-Jo Shen, June 11, 2026
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1 min read
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Members of the U.S. House appropriations subcommittee for Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education adjourn after approving a 2027 spending bill in an 11-7, party-line vote at the U.S. Capitol in Washington on June 5, 2026. The spending bill from House Republicans cuts $1.6 billion from Title I.
Marvin Joseph/Education Week
Education Funding Congress Is Working on a New K-12 Budget. See What's Proposed for Key Programs
House lawmakers advanced major cuts to Title I and several competitive grant programs.
Mark Lieberman, June 5, 2026
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1 min read
A worker walks amid the Hall of Columns in the House of Representatives at the Capitol in Washington, on Oct. 4, 2023.
A worker walks amid the Hall of Columns in the House of Representatives at the Capitol in Washington, on Oct. 4, 2023. A U.S. House subcommittee has released a budget bill that includes billions of dollars in education cuts.
J. Scott Applewhite/AP
Education Funding House GOP Endorses Education Cuts as Talks on Trump's Budget Begin
House appropriators want to cut Title I by 9%—a cut President Donald Trump hasn't proposed.
Mark Lieberman, June 4, 2026
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5 min read
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The southern facade of the White House in Washington pictured in September 2024. The White House budget office is holding back more than $2 billion in congressionally approved funds from U.S. Department of Education accounts.
Getty
Education Funding White House Blocks $2 Billion for Education: See All the Affected Programs
We're tracking federal education funding that Trump's federal budget office has stalled.
Mark Lieberman, May 21, 2026
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3 min read
Students attend a 5th grade math class at Lafargue Elementary School in Effie, Louisiana, on Friday, August 22. The state has implemented new professional development requirements for math teachers in grades 4-8 to help improve student achievement and address learning gaps.
Students attend a 5th grade math class in Effie, La., on Aug. 22, 2025. Louisiana has secured new flexibility from the U.S. Department of Education to spend a portion of its federal funds on statewide school improvement activities. It's the second such waiver from Every Student Succeeds Act rules the department has granted under the Trump administration.
Kathleen Flynn for Education Week
Every Student Succeeds Act Trump Admin. OK's Another State's Ask for School Funding Leeway
The Ed. Dept. granted a second request to combine portions of four federal grants into one fund.
Alyson Klein, May 20, 2026
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5 min read
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Edmon de Haro for Education Week
Professional Development A Federal Fund for Professional Development Is Clouded by Uncertainty
President Trump has repeatedly proposed axing the feds' biggest investment in professional development.
Matthew Stone, May 18, 2026
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8 min read
Education Secretary Linda McMahon arrives to testify during the House Education and Workforce Committee hearing titled "Examining the Policies and Priorities of the Department of Education," in Rayburn building on Thursday, May 14, 2026.
Education Secretary Linda McMahon arrives to testify during the House Education and Workforce Committee hearing on Thursday, May 14, 2026. She defended the movement of dozens of her department's programs to other agencies and a budget proposal that would eliminate dozens of federal education programs.
Tom Williams/CQ Roll Call via AP
Federal 'Creative' or 'Illegal?' Congress Debates Trump's Dismantling of Education Dept.
Republicans praised Linda McMahon for shrinking the federal K-12 footprint. Democrats raised concerns.
Alyson Klein, May 14, 2026
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6 min read
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Education Funding Trump Holds Back $2 Billion for Education Grants. What Will Happen Next?
The White House is keeping congressionally approved money locked up through a little-known process.
Mark Lieberman, May 6, 2026
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11 min read
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A new gym under construction in Wisconsin's Cuba City school district, pictured April 16, 2026, would have also served as a tornado shelter, thanks to an $8.8 million FEMA grant. But nearly four years after it was awarded the grant, the district still doesn't have the money.
Arthur Maiorella for Education Week
Education Funding A School Wants a Tornado Shelter. A Federal Grant Keeps Getting in the Way
The district still can't spend a FEMA grant it was originally awarded in 2022.
Mark Lieberman, May 1, 2026
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9 min read
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Secretary of Education Linda McMahon prepares to testify before a Senate appropriations subcommittee on the U.S. Department of Education's fiscal 2027 budget proposal in Washington on April 28, 2026.
Marvin Joseph for Education Week
Federal McMahon Still Wants to Relocate Special Ed.—And Other Budget Hearing Takeaways
The education secretary also told skeptical lawmakers that Ed. Dept. program transfers are working.
Mark Lieberman, April 28, 2026
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6 min read
The likeness of George Washington is seen on a U.S. one dollar bill, March 13, 2023, in Marple Township, Pa. The nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office says it expects the federal government will be awash in debt over the next 30 years.
Newly published budget documents show the U.S. Department of Education, in the first year of President Donald Trump's second term, took roughly $1 billion Congress appropriated for specific education programs and spent it differently than how lawmakers intended—or didn't spend it all.
Matt Slocum/AP
Education Funding Trump Sidestepped Congress on More Than $1 Billion in Ed. Spending Last Year
Newly published documents show how the Ed. Dept. departed from Congress' plans.
Mark Lieberman, April 24, 2026
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13 min read
A young couple sunbathe on the beach in Huntington Beach, Calif., Monday, May 8, 2023. For years, studies have shown a decline in the rates of American high school students having sex. That trend continued, not surprisingly, in the first years of the pandemic, according to a recent survey by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The study found that 30% of teens in 2021 said they had ever had sex, down from 38% in 2019 and a huge drop from three decades ago when more than half of teens reported having sex.
A teenaged couple sunbathe on the beach in Huntington Beach, Calif., on May 8, 2023. For years, studies have shown a decline in the rates of American high school students having sex. New proposals would change the federal government's approach to sex education grants—to the worry of some working in that field who say that AI, Tiktok, and other developments have led to rampant misinformation about sex among adolescents.
Jae C. Hong/AP
Student Well-Being & Movement What Do Students Need From Sex Ed.? Would New Proposals Help?
With federal sex education grants in peril, an Iowa sex educator says student needs have changed.
Sarah D. Sparks, April 24, 2026
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7 min read
Fri., April 24, 2026, 2:00 p.m. - 3:00 p.m. ET
Education Funding Webinar Congress Approved Next Year’s Federal School Funding. What’s Next?
Congress passed the budget, but uncertainty remains. Experts explain what districts should expect from federal education policy next.
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April 24, 2026