President Trump Releases 鈥楽kinny鈥� FY26 Budget Proposal
May 02, 2025
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The work to fund federal fiscal year 2026 (FY26) kicked off in earnest today, with the White House Office of Management and Budget releasing its so-called 鈥�.鈥� The budget proposes significant consolidations and outright cuts to education programs, which we鈥檝e summarized below.
Important to note: Federal FY26 runs from October 1, 2025 through September 30, 2026. FY26 dollars will largely be in schools for the 26-27 school year. In recent years, presidential budgets have been released and then largely disregarded as the House and Senate introduced their own respective budget proposals with little reference or deference to the president鈥檚. We will wait to see the extent to which the current Republican House and Senate budget proposals鈥攁nd appropriations processes鈥攁re aligned with the president鈥檚 proposal. Regardless, we anticipated deep cuts in this proposal, especially on the heels of a final FY25 appropriations process that largely avoided the deep cuts previously recommended by the president and congressional Republicans.
FY26 Key Takeaways:
- Overall spending in the budget on domestic discretionary programs is $163 billion less than FY25, representing a cut of 22.6%. In contrast, the budget increases defense funding by more than $113 billion.
- Specific to K12 education:
- Education Department (USED): The budget proposes a $12 billion (15.3%) cut for USED.
- Program Cuts and Consolidations:
- The proposal consolidates 18 K12 competitive and formula programs into a single grant that would be funded at $2 billion. This represents a net cut of more than $4 billion from their combined levels in FY25. While specific programs are not listed, it is very likely that Titles II and IV are included. The proposal frames the consolidation as a new simplified K12 program that 鈥渞equires fewer Federal staff and empowers States and districts to make spending decisions based on their needs, consistent with the recent reduction in workforce and Executive Orders. The new approach allows States and districts to focus on the core subjects鈥攎ath, reading, science, and history鈥攚ithout the distractions of DEI and weaponization from the previous administration.鈥�
- Title I: Funding for Title I remains in tact.
- IDEA: The proposal preserves all IDEA grants but consolidates them into a single program, funded at FY25 levels.
- Program Eliminations: The proposal specifies the elimination of Title III and Teacher Quality Partnerships.
In coordination with the President鈥檚 budget release, Secretary McMahon issued a supporting :
"President Trump鈥檚 proposed budget puts students and parents above the bureaucracy. 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 鈥� we must change course and reorient taxpayer dollars toward proven programs that generate results for American students.鈥�
Read the 萝莉网press release on the budget.
