Category: Federal Government Actions

Senate Committee Overwhelmingly Passes FY 26 Spending Bill with Slight Ed. Increase and Rejects Several Proposed Reforms (August 1, 2025)

On July 31, 2025, the U.S. Senate Appropriations Committee (Committee) approved a bipartisan spending bill for fiscal year 2026 (FY26) that would prevent the executive branch from removing Title I and special education programs to agencies outside the U.S. Department of Education (USDE). The legislation also rejects several other funding reforms proposed by the Trump administration and would require timely awarding of formula grants by the USDE to states and school districts.

In fact, the bill, which passed the Committee by a vote of 26-3, recommends funding the USDE in FY 26 at $79 billion. That figure is $12.3 billion more than President Donald Trump’s proposal of $66.7 billion. It is also a slight increase over the current fiscal year, which funds the USDE at $78.7 billion.

The bill now advances to the House and full Senate.

For more details from K-12 Dive click here.

Trump Administration Pauses Head Start Immigration Restrictions and Others Affecting Dual Enrollment and CTE (July 28, 2025)

On July 25, 2025 the Trump administration signed on to a court-approved agreement temporarily pausing enforcement of recent policy changes that restrict some education-related federal programs (i.e., Head Start, dual enrollment, adult education, and CTE) based on students’ immigration or citizenship status. The agreement, filed in U.S. District Court for Rhode Island, was reached between the parties in a recent lawsuit by 20 states and the District of Columbia against multiple federal agencies, including the U.S. Department of Education (USDE) and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS).

Under the agreement, Head Start programs in those states won’t be required to verify the immigration or citizenship status of the children they enroll until at least September 3, 2025. HHS, which administers Head Start, previously said the new policy requiring immigration status verification would take effect immediately. 

In addition, the USDE was set to enforce its new restrictions for some immigrants in programs like dual enrollment, adult education and career and technical training programs by August 9. 2025. The Friday agreement would also delay that for about a month. 

As part of the agreement, states that sued cannot be held liable for admitting students without proper immigration status into the programs before Sept. 4. That means programs will not be retroactively penalized for enrolling all students regardless of their immigration status, as has been the norm for Head Start for decades. 

The Rhode Island agreement does not affect an existing lawsuit over the Trump administration’s actions vis-a-vis Head Start to include a “new attack on Head Start.” That April 2025 ACLU-led lawsuit challenged the administration’s moves to gut Head Start by shuttering half of the regional Office of Head Start offices and laying off much of the federal offices’ staff. Plaintiffs in that lawsuit, filed in U.S. District Court in Washington state, included parent groups and the Head Start associations of Washington, Illinois, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin.

For more information from K-12 Dive, click here.

PA Provides Sun Bucks to Help Feed Kids (July 27, 2025)

On July 22nd, Shapiro Administration officials emphasized the importance of ensuring kids have enough to eat year round, and touted Pennsylvania’s participation once again this year in the federally funded SUN Bucks program, summer benefit that helps eligible families purchase fresh food and groceries at retailers around Pennsylvania.

The SUN Bucks program serves lunch to kids at a SUN Meals Summer Food Service location. This is the SUN Bucks program’s second year and the second time of participation for Pennsylvania. 

For more information on this all-important benefit to help feed kids in need, click here.

OMB Directs Release of Billions of Dollars USDE Withheld from Schools (July 26, 2025)

On July 25, 2025 the Trump administration announced plans to release more than $5 billion in funding to public schools that it has withheld for nearly a month. According to the U.S. Education Department (USDE), the funds will be released starting the week of Monday July 28, 2025. Legislators from both parties had requested the release of funds and several states, including Pennsylvania, also sued the administration in an effort to get the funds released. The release is due to a directive from the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) to release all formula funds.

The grants that were held for review fund a wide range of education programs, including migrant education, services for English language learners and adult education.

The largest pot of grant money consisted of roughly $2.2 billion for professional development for educators.

On June 30th, the Trump administration told states it was withholding the previously approved federal grants for further review, just a day before the July 1 deadline when those funds have traditionally been disbursed. That move created chaos and caused much stress among school districts.

The Trump administration has been targeting these programs and its proposed FY 2026 budget eliminated all the grants that had been frozen.

For more from NPR click here.

PDE Provides State Performance Plan Data Requirements – Postsecondary School Exit Survey for Cohort 1 LEAs (July 24, 2025)

The accountability requirement under the federal Individuals with Disabilities Education Act of 2004 (IDEA) mandates each state determines the extent to which students are achieving transition outcomes (State Performance Plan – Indicator 14). To meet the federal reporting requirement, each local educational agency (LEA) is mandated to administer an Exit Process and Post-School Surveys to students (who have graduated, dropped out or reached the maximum age) with individualized education programs (IEPs) once over a five-year period, based on the LEA’s assignment to a targeted sampling year.

For the 2025-2026 school year, LEAs assigned to target sampling Cohort 1 are required to administer the My Plan for Success (MP4S) Exit Process. During 2026-2027, these same LEAs will be required to complete the Post-School Surveys.

Cohort 1 Requirements for the Exit Process Administration for 2025–2026:
-Attend the My Plan for Success Exit Overview Webinar on September 18, 2025, from 9:00–11:00 a.m. This session covers the administration of the Exit Process.
-Attend the My Plan for Success Exit Procedural Training Webinar on February 19, 2026, from 9:00–11:00 a.m. This session includes guidance on accessing and entering information into the online system.
-Register for both webinars via the PaTTAN Training Calendar.

For questions about the MP4S Exit Process or Indicator 14, LEAs should contact PaTTAN Educational Consultant, Hillary Mangis, hmangis@pattanpgh.net.