WASHINGTON — The government shutdown has become a source of concern for school leaders, who wonder how long grants will last and who can help them interpret federal laws. It offers a preview to Education Minister Linda McMahon something she hopes to make permanent.
Most of the department's work has been completely frozen. No new grants have been awarded and civil rights investigations have been halted. Money is still coming in for key programs, but in many ways, schools and states are left to fend for themselves.
This vision President Donald Trump has, since his presidential campaign, promoted the idea of a world in which states have complete control over education policy with little or no influence from the federal government.
Even before the shutdown mass layoffs left the agency with 2,400 employees, down from 4,100 when Trump took office. The rest of the workers were mostly furloughed budget impasseleaving approximately 330 people responsible for duties deemed essential.
In a recent social media post, McMahon said the closure proves her department is unnecessary. “Two weeks have passed and millions of American students are still going to school, teachers are getting paid, and schools are still operating as usual,” McMahon wrote.
She offered a more direct assessment a few days later, after agency Turned 46: “We don’t need a birthday cake,” she wrote. “We need an eviction notice.”
Some say the impact of the closure was more significant. They warn that funding for preschool and school meals is running out, and students with disabilities may not get the help they need.
Here's what we know about the impact so far.
Most of the billions of dollars the Education Department sends to schools each year were spent in October, leaving schools funded until July.
Other programs that are not pre-funded face more uncertainty. Including those financed from the federal budget Head Start preschool centers and school nutrition programs funded by the U.S. Department of Agriculture, said Julia Martin, director of policy and government relations at the Bruman Group, an education law firm.
Districts are required to cover the cost of school meals and then seek reimbursement from the Department of Agriculture, but the agency said it only has two months of reimbursement left amid the closure.
“Districts are really concerned that they will have to dig into their pockets to fund meals,” Martin said.
The last remaining federal COVID-19 aid is still being passed on by the Education Department, but reimbursements have slowed as fewer staff members are processing requests, Martin said.
America's public schools are primarily funded by states and cities, but federal funding plays an important role. The billions of dollars already going to schools include grants to help low-income students, people with disabilities and other groups.
Competitions for grants for smaller amounts of money have largely been frozen. Schools and states that already received grants can continue to spend them, but the issuance of new grants has stopped, the department said. At the college level, federal Pell Grants for low-income students are still being paid out, and the FAFSA financial aid form is still being processed.
Typically, states and schools rely on the department to answer questions on a wide range of topics, from special education laws to statewide academic assessments to laws requiring public schools to provide certain services to private school students.
This work, known as technical assistance, was halted during the shutdown, and the Trump administration has taken steps to almost completely stop it. A new round of layoffs this month, the attack targeted most of the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education workers.
It also eliminated the Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services, which ensures that students with disabilities receive the services to which they are entitled under federal law. Kathy Nies, CEO of The Arc of the United States, a disability rights group, said she is in “very regular” communication with states to answer questions about coordinating assistance for families and eliminating waitlists.
The new layoffs were stopped by a federal judge. But as the shutdown drags on, more states are likely to unknowingly violate federal laws because they can't get help from the government, said Neese, who led the special education administration under former President Joe Biden.
“People with good intentions and good will will ask honest questions that they can’t get an answer to,” Neas said.
Some states have turned to law firms for advice instead, but there aren't always clear answers. In August, the department rescinded 2015 guidance clarifying schools' legal obligations to students who study English. But with no new guidance on replacements before the government shutdown, schools are facing questions about their responsibilities, says Martin of the law firm Bruman.
“In the meantime, many counties will simply continue to follow the old recommendations because that’s the best they have,” Martin said.
McMahon acknowledged that only Congress can eliminate the Education Department entirely, despite Trump's promise to shut it down. As a workaround, officials are developing plans to transfer main functions to other agencies.
In July, the Department of Education had already transferred some of its adult education and vocational education programs to the Department of Labor. The Department of Labor now oversees federal Perkins Grants, which go to states to fund career and technical education.
In court papers, the Education Department said it was pursuing a similar deal to give the Treasury Department control of the $1.6 trillion federal student loan portfolio.
The Supreme Court paved the way for the effort to continue with a July decision overturning a lower court ruling blocking the department's shutdown.
At her Senate confirmation hearing, McMahon also said that special education programs could be transferred to the Department of Health and Human Services and that the Education Department's Office for Civil Rights could be transferred to the Justice Department.
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