The Department of Education budget proposal was among the topics discussed at the most recent Federal Relations Coordinators meeting for NAESP, which featured guest speaker Sarah Abernathy.

Abernathy is executive director of the Committee for Education Funding, the nation’s largest and oldest coalition of national associations representing Pre-K-12, higher education, and adult education. CEF supports increased investments in federal education spending. Abernathy has worked at the Department of Education, the Office of Management and Budget, and the House Budget Committee.

The following is Abernathy’s analysis of the FY27 Department of Education budget proposal, interagency agreements, the appropriations process and more, which was discussed during the meeting.

Budget proposal It is important to take everything this administration says literally but this budget will most likely not be enacted as-is, according to Abernathy.

There is a net $6 billion (13 percent) proposed cut to K-12 programs, including 29 programs that would be consolidated or eliminated completely. Only seven existing K-12 programs would continue under this budget:

Other IDEA subprograms, except for Infants and Toddlers grants, would be rolled into the state grant account.

The reported cut to the Department of Education’s overall funding is actually much larger ($14.5 billion) than it appears because the administration added $10.5 billion to Pell Grants that was not provided last year.

The budget proposes to eliminate 17 existing K-12 programs totaling $8.5 billion. The programs include major formula grant programs like Title II professional development, Title IV-A (well-rounded education), and Title IV-B (after-school activities).

A new $2 billion state block grant called the “Make Education Great Again” (MEGA) grant would take their place.

The budget essentially eliminates almost every existing K-12 education program while putting in jeopardy the services that school districts and principals rely on for funding specific programs, Abernathy said.

The new block grant would not make up the difference in funding and gives state leaders increased discretion in funding priorities, she said.

Congressional action When Congress enacted the FY26 funding, it ignored the president’s budget request and funded programs at almost exactly the same levels as the year prior.

Abernathy said Congress is not expected to enact these big funding cuts — even more so in an election year. The appropriations process will start with congressional hearings and committee votes.

The Senate tends to put out a bipartisan education spending bill because 60 votes are needed to pass a bill. In recent years, the House Appropriations Committee has approved spending bills with significant cuts to education, but these bills were not even voted in by the full House because they would have been rejected.

Committee votes may occur before the elections, but a continuing resolution is needed to keep the government open after Sept. 30. A continuing resolution typically maintains funding at the previous year’s levels, possibly excluding earmarks.

The House Appropriations may push through some bills, but the Labor HHS education bill is unlikely due to significant cuts affecting many people.

There will likely not be House or Senate floor action on education funding bills until after the midterm elections in November. Members of Congress avoid making tough votes before an election.

Potential government shutdown Abernathy said there is a “very good chance” of a government shutdown in November or December.

A shutdown does not impact K-12 education much because most funding is provided in July or October. Higher education is affected by a late year government shutdown because colleges make offers and students make decisions based on student aid.

Impact aid: Some schools rely on impact aid for a larger percentage of their budget than federal funding.

Advocacy efforts Abernathy said it is important to advocate to senators and representatives about education funding.

Members of Congress are compelled by anecdotes about the impact of cuts in their district.

Inviting members of Congress to visit schools or programs is powerful. Advocacy should focus on programs that have bipartisan or broad support, like after school programs, or those that would impact your school budget directly, like formula “title” grant programs, which go to most school districts.

Remember, the public supports increased funding for education, Abernathy said.

Title I, impact aid, and charter schools are part of interagency agreements designed to dismantle the Department of Education and move its responsibilities to other agencies. These three programs will now be managed by the Department of Labor.

It is unknown how many people from the Department of Education will move to the Department of Labor. Indian Education will be run by the Department of Interior under a different interagency agreement. This leaves Special Education and Special Olympics at the Department of Education for the time being.

States and school districts will have to interact with multiple agencies. It will be difficult to figure out grant administration portals, technical assistance, and who to direct questions to, Abernathy said. Other agencies do not have the same experience providing technical assistance on education.

Assistant K-12 Secretary Kirsten Baesler said at the NAESP National School Leaders Advocacy Conference that it was more important to get interagency agreements done correctly rather than rushing the process.

The Department of Education is now very interested in implementing the interagency agreements in time for the next round of K-12 formula grant funding that will go out to states on July 1.

Any delay or problems with Title I funding going out to states, like was experienced during last year’s withholding of Title II and Title IV funding, would be a much more significant disruption to states and districts.

The Department of Education’s grants management platform was specifically built to handle grants to 4,000 universities and 50 state education agencies. Abernathy said there are concerns that the Department of Labor’s grants and management program will not be set up to disburse funding on July 1.

Democrats are strongly opposed to the interagency agreements because they are designed to dismantle the Department of Education.

Moving the Department of Education The Department of Education is vacating its headquarters building and moving to a smaller space. The move will not happen till at least August.

This move is seen as a continuation of efforts to downsize and dismantle the department and make a future restoration more difficult.

The potential transfer of special education programs to either HHS or the Department of Labor is still under consideration but is facing pressure from disability and parental groups.