Skip to content

Federal Updates

GOP Reconciliation Proposal Advances in House: Vouchers, SNAP and Medicaid Implications

May 19, 2025 | Comments Off on GOP Reconciliation Proposal Advances in House: Vouchers, SNAP and Medicaid Implications

Last week, three separate House committees met to advance pieces of the Republican reconciliation proposal. Of significant concern for district leaders is the shift of costs to states that the federal government has traditionally subsidized.

Read More

HHS Secretary Kennedy Affirms Continued Support for Head Start Program

May 15, 2025 | Comments Off on HHS Secretary Kennedy Affirms Continued Support for Head Start Program

During a recent House hearing, Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. assured lawmakers that the agency will continue to support the Head Start program.

Read More

President Trump Releases ‘Skinny’ FY26 Budget Proposal

May 5, 2025 | Comments Off on President Trump Releases ‘Skinny’ FY26 Budget Proposal

Work on the federal fiscal year 2026 (FY26) budget officially began last week with the release of the White House Office of Management and Budget’s “skinny budget.” This initial proposal outlines major consolidations and substantial cuts to education programs.

Read More

FERPA Update

April 25, 2025 | Comments Off on FERPA Update

In recent weeks, USED has leveraged the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) as a policy tool to incentivize state compliance with other administration policy priorities. This blog post summarizes two sets of actions: specific communications with Maine and California, related to parent rights to access education records, and a broader ‘Dear Colleague’ letter about FERPA and students’ gender identity.

Read More

ESSER Liquidation Update

April 17, 2025 | Comments Off on ESSER Liquidation Update

On March 28, the Department informed SEAs that the Administration has canceled any prior approval for “late liquidation” of remaining funds from a variety of federal pandemic recovery funds, including American Rescue Plan Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief (ESSER and Homeless Children and Youth (HCY) funds.

Read More

Reconciliation vs. Appropriations

April 3, 2025 | Comments Off on Reconciliation vs. Appropriations

With growing discussion around potential cuts to Medicaid and other critical programs, this resource clarifies the key differences between the reconciliation and appropriations processes—and what each could mean for education.

Read More

ED Issues New DEI Directive for States

April 3, 2025 | Comments Off on ED Issues New DEI Directive for States

The U.S. Department of Education issued a new directive requiring every state education agency (SEA) to certify within 10 days that they are complying with federal civil rights laws, including Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Supreme Court’s 2023 decision in Students for Fair Admissions v. Harvard (SFFA). The certification does not demand the end of DEI efforts, but instead reiterates the need to ensure those efforts are lawful under Title VI and to cease “illegal DEI practices.”

Read More

SCOTUSblog: Justices appear likely to uphold FCC telecom access subsidy

March 31, 2025 | Comments Off on SCOTUSblog: Justices appear likely to uphold FCC telecom access subsidy

The Supreme Court last week seemed poised to uphold the federal program that provides schools, libraries, and underserved areas with access to affordable telephone and high-speed internet services.

Read More

President Trump Signs Executive Order on Dept. of Education

March 21, 2025 | Comments Off on President Trump Signs Executive Order on Dept. of Education

President Trump signed an executive order that would direct the Secretary of Education to take all necessary steps to facilitate the closure of the U.S. Department of Education and “return education authority to the States.”

Read More

Congress Passes CR to Complete FY25

March 14, 2025 | Comments Off on Congress Passes CR to Complete FY25

After weeks of uncertainty about a potential government shutdown, Congress has approved a year-long continuing resolution (CR). This completes Fiscal Year (FY) 2025 appropriations and provides level-funding for most of the key K-12 formula programs, including IDEA, Title I, Title IV-A and REAP.

Read More

Related Resources

E-Rate
The Schools and Libraries Program of the Universal Service Fund makes discounts available to eligible schools and libraries for telecommunication services, Internet access, and internal connections. The program is intended to ensure that schools and libraries have access to affordable telecommunications and information services.

Official USAC Web site

Other websites and resources:

United States Department of Education

ESSA

IDEA Legislation:
Chapter 33-Education of Individuals with Disabilities

Scroll To Top