Unpacking State ESEA Waiver Submissions
November 13, 2025
Author
The Trump administration under Secretary McMahon has indicated a willingness to entertain expanded waivers of certain requirements under ESEA. A handful of states have already begun testing the limits of that potential flexibility, authorized under Section 8401. To date, Iowa and Indiana have both submitted waiver requests to the Secretary which are expected to set a precedent for the scope of future waivers granted to other states.
Iowa鈥檚 submission requests the following:
- To allow districts to consolidate formula and competitive funds based on existing statutory formulas and expanded transferability under Title V;
- To allow the SEA to calculate and retain the equitable participation proportionate share in all relevant ESEA programs for school districts and nonpublic schools that opt in, allowing the SEA to provide equitable services directly to nonpublic school students and teachers through a third-party provider(s);
- To explore prioritization of schools most in need of support through revised USED administrative interpretations (in effect, this appears to request a waiver of 鈥渞ank and serve,鈥� but the waiver does not explain what those new interpretations would be); and
- To use the Title I-A methodology for 鈥渟upplement not supplant鈥� across multiple ESEA programs, effectively eliminating the specific cost test and presumptions of supplanting.
Indiana鈥檚 submission requests the following:
- Waiving allowable use provisions across ESEA programs. This does not seek a waiver of funding formulas or allocations, only allowable uses, which the state says would provide the state flexibility to treat funding more as a block grant (however, this flexibility would only be implemented at the school site level);
- A waiver on federal accountability requirements in favor of a different unified school grading system; and
- Waiving school improvement and support requirements by redirecting funds from schools identified for support, and instead using the funds to allow students zoned for those schools to access other choice options
The proposed consolidation does not vary greatly from the COVID-era Elementary and Secondary Education Emergency Relief (ESSER) program which, 鈥渆nabled Indiana to align resources with its most pressing educational priorities, deploy additional staff to directly support student success, and adapt swiftly to evolving needs in the field. The request does not encompass all K-12 federal funds (e.g., it does not include IDEA); does not change the formula allocation that the state receives for the existing programs nor the formula suballocations to school districts; and does not waive 鈥渢he supplement not supplant provisions.鈥�
While both requests have been submitted to the Secretary, no responses have yet been given. Whether the requests will be approved may be indicative of the extent the current administration will be willing to waive requirements under ESEA.
Notably, these requests are only preliminary documents 鈥� the actual waivers approved by the Department of Education will tell us more about what the administration is willing to approve. Waivers are also limited by law 鈥� for example, the Secretary is not permitted to waive requirements to serve students in private schools, or fiscal requirements like comparability and supplement, not supplant. Given the Administration鈥檚 stated goal of returning control of education to the states, it is likely they will collaborate with state governments to expedite the approval of waiver requests.
