To: AASPA Members

On July 31, 2025, the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies (Labor-HHS-ED) approved its FY26 appropriations bill with a 26-3 vote. This legislation provides funding for early care and education, the status of the US Department of Education, and the programs authorized by the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) and the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) among other items.

Department of Education (USED)

The bill provides $79 billion in discretionary funding for the Department of Education. The bill rejects the Trump administration’s call to eliminate the Department of Education and maintains funding across the Department, including funding for K-12 formula and competitive grant programs, CTE and adult education programs, federal student aid, postsecondary competitive grants, and civil rights enforcement to provide the resources needed to help schools improve educational outcomes for students and protect all students from discrimination.

The bill includes new requirements that the Department of Education maintain the staff necessary to ensure it carries out its statutory responsibilities, including carrying out programs and activities funded in the bill in a timely manner. It also includes new requirements for the Department of Education to make formula grants available to states and districts on time by explicitly instructing USED to make formula funds available starting on July 1, 2026, so that there is no question about the intended date for disbursement.

Supporting Elementary and Secondary Education Students (Title I & IDEA)

The bill strengthens investments in formula grant programs for elementary and secondary education and in public schools, teachers, and students. The bill boosts funding for Title I-A grants by $50 million above the fiscal year 2025 level to $18.457 billion. The bill also provides $15.224 billion, an increase of $50 million over fiscal year 2025, for all three IDEA Special Education State grant programs and retains each as a separate program. The bill also prohibits USED from transferring Title I, Part A or IDEA to another federal department or agency.

Child Care and Early Learning Programs

The bill includes $8.8 billion for the Child Care and Development Block Grant (CCDBG), an $85 million increase over fiscal year 2025; and nearly $12.4 billion for Head Start, an approximate $85 million increase. The bill also sustains funding for Preschool Development Grants (PDG).

Career and Technical Education (CTE)

The bill provides $1.45 billion for CTE grants and $729 million for adult education grants and appropriates funding to the Department of Education to carry out these programs. The bill includes new provisions requiring both CTE and adult education formula grants to be awarded in a timely way to prevent any administration from withholding these critical funds.

Protecting Students from Discrimination

The bill maintains the current budget level of $140 million and requires the Department to support the staffing levels necessary for OCR to fulfill its statutory responsibilities.

Advancing Education Research, Statistics, and Assessments

The bill maintains current funding of $793 million for the Institute of Education Sciences for all programs and activities of IES funded in fiscal year 2025.

According to Foresight Law and Policy, the Trump Administration had previously requested $66.7 billion for the Education Department, a $12 billion cut from current levels that the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee has largely rejected. Meanwhile, lawmakers in the House have already recessed for the entire month of August. The House Labor-HHS-ED Appropriations Subcommittee is expected to return in early September to formally consider this same legislation, which is widely expected to propose significant cuts to many education programs. With only a few short weeks from that date before the start of the 2026 federal fiscal year, finding agreement between these two proposals will be a key priority for Congress.

-Update-

Last week, we hosted a Legislative Committee call, where we discussed the update on the nearly $7 billion in education funds that had been "impounded" since July 1st. This money was set to be released last week. Along with this release came a memo from the Attorney General's Office titled "Guidance for Recipients of Federal Funding Regarding Unlawful Discrimination." Please review this memo below:

https://www.justice.gov/ag/media/1409486/dl?inline=&utm_medium=email&utm_source=govdelivery&source=email

We will continue to monitor the FY26 budgeting process and inform you of any updates to future federal funding. Please be sure to reach out tokelly@aaspa.orgwith any questions.

AASPA Legislative Priorities

Below is a list of the 2025 AASPA Legislative Priorities. Click on the link below to access all detailed descriptions and policy recommendations.

• Modernize the National Apprenticeship Act to Support Teacher Recruitment and Retention
• Build Sustainable Talent Pipelines to Grow the Education Workforce
• Strengthen Professional Development and Support for Educators
• Use Strategic Tax IncentivestoBoost Recruitment and Retention
• Enhance Data Privacy and Protect School District Networks