Senate Advances Deal to End Shutdown

On November 9, the Senate took the first procedural step to end the government shutdown after a group of moderate Democrats reached a deal with their Republican counterparts. There are still many procedural steps necessary, but this move means the government will likely be open by the end of the week.This agreement does not provide superintendents with any additional certainty regarding education funding for the 26-27 school year. It merely gives Congress until January 30^th to finalize full year appropriations for the remaining FY26 spending bills including education.

The deal includes the passage of three FY26 spending bills (Agriculture, Legislative Branch, Military Construction and Veterans Affairs) and a continuing resolution that will fund the rest of the government (including education) until January 30. As part of the deal, Democrats also secured a commitment from the Trump administration to rehire government workers who were fired at the start of the shutdown. As a reminder, during the shutdown the Department of Education laid off 466 staff as part of a second Reduction in Force (RIF). Most notably for district leaders, the majority of staff in both the Office of Elementary and Secondary Education (OESE) and the Office of Special Education (OSEP) were let go. These two offices oversee almost $44 billion of ED’s total $78.8 billion of discretionary funding, running formula grants to all states and competitive grants across the country. It is critical to rehire these individuals to ensure district funding is accurate and on-time for districts. The agreement also prevents future firings at the Department with a blanket prohibition on reductions in force in any department or agency until at least January 30^th.

The House is planning to consider the Senate deal on November 12. As with any vote in the House, there is no certainty that the Senate package and its associated policy provisions concerning federal workers will be adopted.