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President Donald Trump’s proposed federal budget would cut nearly $6 billion from K-12 education and consolidate 18 grant programs into a single funding stream that states could spend as they wish.
The proposal to do away with distinct grant programs could serve as a test run for converting federal education funds to block grants, which allow more flexibility but provide less accountability for how money is spent.
The budget proposal released Friday is for the 2026 fiscal year, which starts in October and affects school district budgets mostly in the 2026-27 school year.
It calls for holding funding steady for Title I, an $18 billion program that supports schools serving students from low-income households, and for the Individuals with Disabilities in Education Act, or IDEA, which provides $14 billion to offset a portion of special education costs. These are prominent and popular programs that Education Secretary Linda McMahon has promised would not be cut.
But the budget would eliminate programs that support English language learners and the children of migrant farm workers and cut the budget of the Office for Civil Rights by more than a third.
Another $4.6 billion in cuts target higher education programs, including those that support first-generation college students and adults who need help with basic skills.
The only proposed increase would bring the federal charter school program budget to $500 million, a 14% increase. The program helps fund new charter schools and expand successful charters. The U.S. Supreme Court could soon open the door for religious charter schools.
Total cuts to the U.S. Department of Education exceed $10 billion, part of $163 billion in total cuts that also would affect social programs, preschool, and public health. The budget calls for $113 million more in defense spending.
The budget proposal is unlikely to become law in its current form but provides insight into how the Trump administration hopes to run a significantly reduced Education Department and change how states receive and spend federal money.
The Education Department already cut its staff in half, and Trump signed an executive order to eliminate it. The president has pledged to “return education to the states,” though states already have significant authority over curriculum, academic standards, funding, and teacher training. At the same time, the Education Department is trying to use its civil rights authority to root out practices associated with diversity, equity, and inclusion, or DEI, and force states to end inclusive policies that protect transgender students.
McMahon said in a press release that the budget proposal reflects that the agency is winding down and shifting responsibilities to other agencies and to the states.
“President Trump’s proposed budget puts students and parents above the bureaucracy,” McMahon said. “It reflects the historic mandate I have been given to serve as the final Secretary of Education. The federal government has invested trillions of taxpayer dollars into an education system that is not driving improved student outcomes — we must change course and reorient taxpayer dollars toward proven programs that generate results for American students.”
McMahon said the budget would save “billions in taxpayer dollars from going to duplicative, unaligned, or non-essential programs.” The budget document written by the Office of Management and Budget describes existing programs as supporting woke agendas, DEI, and “radical leftist ideology.” The administration has used similar justifications to abruptly cut numerous grant programs and research projects — and the budget would codify those cuts.
Many public education advocates expressed dismay at the budget proposal. Amy Loyd, CEO of the advocacy group All4Ed and a former assistant secretary of education in the Biden administration, said this is a time when the United States should be investing more in education, not less.
“I don’t understand how this administration is envisioning a world in which education drives economic mobility and yet they are cutting core statutory programs,” she said. “This is not just an attack on the woke agenda. It will harm real students in communities around the country.”
Denise Marshall, CEO of the Council of Parent Attorneys and Advocates, which advocates for students with disabilities, said the administration cannot say it is supporting students when funding for IDEA and early intervention is flat.
The $14 billion in IDEA funding “continues to be touted and supported as supporting children with disabilities, despite the fact that the number of students identified by schools is going up,” Marshall wrote in an email.
Marshall said she’s also worried about cuts to the Office for Civil Rights, which lost nearly half its staff to layoffs. A large share of complaints involve students with disabilities. ProPublica reported that in recent months, the office has dismissed a large share of complaints without opening an investigation, and ongoing investigations have abruptly stopped. Meanwhile, the office has reoriented to investigate cases of DEI practices and transgender students playing sports.
The budget document says the Office for Civil Rights has cleared through a “massive backlog” and that rightsizing is “consistent with … an overall smaller Federal role” in education. The office will still be able to ensure programs comply “while removing their ability to push DEI programs and promote radical transgender ideology.”
Budget would end grant programs, give states more control
The budget cuts the Education Department’s operating budget by $127 million, or 30%, to reflect its smaller staff.
The budget proposal also cites the reduced workforce as a reason to consolidate grant programs. “This long-overdue consolidation would lower substantially the costs of both administration and compliance.”
The budget document does not name the 18 grant programs that would go away, but they include both discretionary grants and formula grants. The Education Department did not respond to a question about which programs would be affected.
The School Superintendents Association said in a blog post that it appears both Title II funds, which pay for teacher training programs, and Title IV, which supports a range of programs to provide a more well-rounded education, help schools adopt new technology, and support student health and safety, are affected.
The budget allocates $2 billion for the new funding stream, which appears to be a cut of $4 billion, the superintendents group said.
The budget also consolidates seven grant programs for students with disabilities into a second new funding stream.
“This feels like a pressure test for block granting,” Loyd said. “It certainly could be a way to get a foot in that door.”
Many conservatives have called for the federal government to convert education funding into block grants, in which states get large amounts of money with few strings attached, rather than maintaining dedicated funding streams for particular student groups or particular programming.
The idea faces significant political and legal hurdles because most federal funding is mandated by law and changing how it is distributed would require congressional approval.
Public education advocates have raised concerns that removing guardrails would mean money won’t go to the students who need it most. Loyd said the federal government would also lose the ability to learn which programs are more effective.
Erica Meltzer is Chalkbeat’s national editor based in Colorado. Contact Erica at emeltzer@chalkbeat.org.
