Category: News in the Field

Trumpā€™s FY26 Budget Proposes Slashing Over $4.5B from K-12 Ed. Funding (May 7, 2025)

According to K-12 Dive, the Trump Administration’s FY 2026 proposed budget would turn Title I and IDEA into single, separate grants, zero out key teacher grants, and add $60 million for charter schools.

The deep cuts would hit programs meant to ensure equitable access to education for underserved students and to protect their civil rights. Also, though maintained at current funding levels, Title I and special education programs would be reorganized into separate single grants aimed at letting states spend the money as they see fit.

Among the cuts are the following:
-All $70 million for Teacher Quality Partnerships grant, often used to diversify the teacher workforce.
-All $7 million for Equity Assistance Centers, established as part of desegregation efforts.
-All $890 million for English Language Acquisition.
-A $49 million, or 35%, reduction for the Office for Civil Rights.Ā 

At the same time, Trumpā€™s budget would boost funding for charter schools by $60 million.

For more from K-12, click here.

USDE Discontinues $1B in MH Funding for Schools (May 6, 2025)

On May 2, 2025, the U.S. Department of Education (USDE) confirmed to K-12 Dive that it will not renew $1 billion in grants that were initially awarded to school districts nationwide to improve studentsā€™ well-being by placing more mental health professionals in schools. The shutting off of federal grant funding comes as schools nationwide work to address and recover from the lingering student mental health crisis that the COVID-19 pandemic exacerbated.

According to the USDE, the funds for more school mental health professionals were discontinued due to ā€œconflictā€ with Trump administration priorities.

For more from K-12 Dive, click here.

Federal “Skinny Budget” for FY 2026 Released, IDEA to be Moved out of USDE (May 2, 2025)

On May 2, 2025, Office of Budget Management (OMB) Director Russell Vaught sent a letter to Appropriations Committee Chair Senator Susan Collins providing her with President Trump’s recommendations on discretionary funding levels for fiscal year (FY) 2026. The “Skinny Budget” provided is in advance of the President’s full fiscal plan. According to the documents shared, it is clear the presidentā€™s budget moves IDEA out of the U.S. Department of Education (USDE).

On the same day, U.S. Ed. Sec. Linda McMahon released a USDE press release in support of the budget. In the release she said, “The Presidentā€™s Skinny Budget reflects funding levels for an agency that is responsibly winding down…and thoughtfully preparing a plan to delegate other critical functions to more appropriate entities.” Click here to view the release.

Click to view the skinny budget on the OMB website at: https://www.whitehouse.gov/omb/information-resources/budget/the-presidents-fy-2026-discretionary-budget-request/.

BSE Sends Sp. Ed. Plan Requirements to LEAs ā€“ Identification of Students with SLD using RtI (April 29, 2025)

The PA Bureau of Special Education (BSE) has revised the application process for utilizing Response to Intervention (RTI) to identify students with a Specific Learning Disability (SLD). Initial applications for school districts and charter schools may be submitted on an on-going basis. There is no deadline for submission.

The revised process requires school districts and charter schools to submit the BSE Approved RTI/SLD Fidelity Tool as the application to PDE. The BSE Approved RTI/SLD Fidelity Tool will be used school-wide or for building levels (e.g., elementary, middle, and/or high school). Additional information and the BSE Approved RTI/SLD Fidelity Tool are available on the PaTTAN website.

School districts and charter schools must partner with their local intermediate unit and/or respective PaTTAN Multi-Tiered Systems of Support (MTSS) lead consultant to conduct a comprehensive review using the BSE Approved RTI/SLD Fidelity Tool and to receive assistance with the process.

School districts and charter schools must partner with their local intermediate unit and/or respective PaTTAN Multi-Tiered Systems of Support (MTSS) lead consultant to conduct a comprehensive review using the BSE Approved RTI/SLD Fidelity Tool and to receive assistance with the process.

Please contact PaTTAN MTSS designees below for support:

Upon review of all documentation, the BSE will issue a letter indicating the application is approved, disapproved, or requires revision.

For school districts and charter schools currently approved to implement RTI for SLD Determination, please continue to use the BSE Approved RTI/SLD Fidelity Tool for internal assessment and improvement.

Additionally, school districts and charter schools are required to outline use of RTI for SLD Determination as part of the required submission for the district comprehensive special education plan and charter school annual report assurances within the Future Ready Comprehensive Planning Portal.

Questions related to this message may be directed to Shannon Eye, Special Education Adviser, at 717-829-5113 or sheye@pa.gov.

IDEA Part C Services Face Possible Budget Cuts (April 28, 2025)

The Part C early intervention program is stable for now, but advocates and researchers are worried about potential cuts to Medicaid and appropriations. The Part C program that supports infants and toddlers with developmental delays and their families could face significant fiscal pressures due to the Trump administrationā€™s overall efforts to reduce the size and budget of the federal government. 

While no specific cuts to the Part C program have been announced yet, Congress will be contemplating proposals to whittle down annual allocations and a possible reduction to Medicaid payments ā€” both of which help prop up early intervention services under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA).

The Part C program served 462,847 children ages 2 and younger in 2023. Thatā€™s a 4.8% increase over 2022, according to an analysis by The Advocacy Institute, a nonprofit focused on improving the lives of people with disabilities. IDEAā€™s Part B program served 7.9 million children ages 3-21 in 2023. 

States voluntarily participate in Part C because the federal government does not permanently authorize it. Currently, all states participate in the Part C program.

Perhaps the biggest threat to Part C is potential cuts to Medicaid. Federal and state Medicaid contributions were the third-largest funding source for Part C at $683 million in 2023, according to research from the Center for Children and Families at Georgetown Universityā€™s McCourt School of Public Policy.

To view the original article from K-12 Dive, click here.