The House Labor HHS Education Appropriations Subcommittee is expected to approve at its September 2nd markup a FY 2026 funding bill which would cut the Department of Education by $12 billion, a 15% cut. This reduction would be achieved through programmatic eliminations, deep cuts to Title I, and significant reductions for the Department’s personnel (cut by $127 million) and Office of Civil Rights (cut by $91 million). It would also eliminate funding for ESEA Title II-A (professional development), and Title III (English Language Acquisition). The full House Appropriations Committee is expected to markup and approve this bill as soon as this week.
This bill is a significant contrast to the moderate funding bill passed by the Senate Appropriations Committee in July, which did not contain massive cuts and protected Title II-A. As a result of these differences, it will be difficult to negotiate a final FY26 bill that satisfies Congress and the President. There is almost no chance of final passage by September 30th, the beginning of the next fiscal year. Discussions on a Continuing Resolution (CR), a temporary budget measure to keep the government operating beyond September 30th, are coming. Failure to pass a CR would lead to a federal government shutdown.
The House’s bill is in line with the President’s budget proposals and would codify some of the Administration’s policy priorities, including tacit support for its goal of reducing and ultimately eliminating the Department of Education. In addition to meeting the President’s request to reduce K-12 spending, it contains several policy riders that align with the Administration’s executive orders. For instance, the bill would block funding related to critical race theory and prevent policies or programs intended to promote diversity, equity, or inclusion. However, neither the House bill nor the Senate bill incorporates the Administration’s proposals to create a massive K-12 block grant or alter Title I and IDEA.
While the House’s actual bill has not been released, both House Republicans and Democrats have put out press releases that detail many of the bill’s specifics. For K-12 and adult education, the bill would eliminate funding for ESEA Title II-A (professional development), Title III (English Language Acquisition), and Adult Education. It would cut $4.7 billion from Title I, Part A. It would provide slight increases of $5 million for Title IV-A (flexible block grants), $26 million for IDEA, and $23 million for Career and Technical Education. Charter schools would receive a $60 million increase. After-school funding would remain level with last year. For higher education, it would eliminate Teacher Quality Partnerships.
Below is a breakdown of key K-12 program funding levels:
*Approximate figures
