<\/p>\n
Lawmakers belatedly approved a fiscal year 2026 budget<\/svg><\/a> for the U.S. Department of Education on Feb. 3<\/svg><\/a>. Before the agency can actually spend those dollars, the federal Office of Management and Budget by law must \u201capportion\u201d the correct amounts, or dispense them, into the agency\u2019s accounts.<\/p>\nAs of May 5, more than seven months into the current federal fiscal year that ends Sept. 30, OMB has unlocked little or no funding for nearly three dozen of the Education Department\u2019s competitive grant programs, according to an Education Week review of publicly available apportionment documents.<\/p>\nMajor budget line items for which the Education Department has yet to access current-year funds, Education Week found, include $235 million for education research, $220 million for teacher preparation and training, $150 million for community schools initiatives, and $139 million for magnet schools.<\/p>\nIn most cases, the Education Department isn\u2019t required to send these funds to grant recipients until later this year. Some observers are waiting to see how long the apportionments delay lasts before assuming funding disruption is inevitable.<\/p>\n\u201cIt is concerning that they aren\u2019t following the law and apportioning the funds in the timeline and manner directed by Congress, but I am hopeful they will spend the money as required in the appropriations bill for the grant programs,\u201d said Amanda Miller, who oversaw the department\u2019s higher education programs during the Biden administration.<\/p>\nStill, the second Trump administration has repeatedly come under scrutiny<\/svg><\/a>, as recently as this week<\/svg><\/a>, for using the apportionment process to withhold congressionally appropriated funds across the federal government. <\/p>\nUncertainty over the status of education grants is sparking concern among some advocates, grantees, and legal experts about the possibility of more delayed grant competitions and funding disruptions in the coming months. <\/p>\nFor instance, the department\u2019s migrant education office announced in March that it plans to launch competitions this year for the High School Equivalency and College Access Migrant programs (HEP and CAMP). But the most recent OMB document<\/svg><\/a> listing those two programs shows only $181,701 apportioned.<\/p>\nThe longer the wait for the full $52 million in congressional appropriations to flow to the Education Department, the more nervous grant recipients hoping to renew their funding will get, said Greg Contreras, a CAMP project director at Portland Community College in Oregon.<\/p>\nWithout the funding, they could be forced to lay off staff and halt student programming, including onboarding of new student recruits, he said.<\/p>\n\u201cThere are real implications if this delay of the grant competition continues,\u201d said Contreras, who also serves as president of the National HEP\/CAMP Association, an advocacy coalition. <\/p>\nIn a statement to Education Week, a spokesperson for the Education Department said, \u201cThe administration sent a spend plan consistent with appropriations to Congress.\u201d The spokesperson didn\u2019t immediately answer follow-up questions and referred questions about apportionment timing to OMB.<\/p>\nA spokesperson for OMB didn\u2019t answer requests for comment in time for publication.<\/p>\nOMB hasn\u2019t apportioned funds for programs Trump seeks to eliminate<\/h2>\nThe 35 education programs with missing fiscal 2026 apportionments have several things in common.<\/p>\nFirst, the Trump administration two years in a row has proposed eliminating them<\/svg><\/a>, and consolidating funding for some into a larger education block grant for states to spend largely as they please. Congress rejected<\/svg><\/a> virtually all of Trump\u2019s proposed education funding changes last year, and appears likely to do the same this year.<\/p>\nSecond, for all of these programs, the Education Department last year either discontinued individual ongoing grants<\/svg><\/a>, or moved<\/svg><\/a> some or all of their appropriated funds to other programs.<\/p>\nFor 13 of the 35 programs, the Trump administration has apportioned a tiny sliver of fiscal 2026 appropriations\u2014including $200,000 for American History and Civics (out of $23 million budgeted), $350,000 for Native Hawaiian Education (out of $46 million budgeted), and $500,000 for Comprehensive Centers (out of $50 million budgeted). Those limited apportioned funds may be covering salaries for staff or payments to contractors who support those programs, but not to make new or continuing grant awards, federal spending experts say.<\/p>\nThe remaining 22 programs all show apportionments of zero. That includes nearly $900 million Congress approved in February for a slew of grant programs that support higher education institutions with large populations of students from racial minority groups. <\/p>\nThe Trump administration argued last July<\/svg><\/a> that some of those programs violate the Constitution. A lawsuit challenging the programs<\/svg><\/a> is underway, but no court has ruled either way. During a Senate committee hearing last week<\/svg><\/a>, Education Secretary Linda McMahon testified, \u201cWe won\u2019t be funding those.\u201d<\/p>\nLast year the department reprogrammed those funds to historically Black colleges and universities, or HBCUs, and tribal colleges; the agency this year will reprogram those funds into the broader Strengthening Institutions grant program<\/svg><\/a>, a spokesperson confirmed this week.<\/p>\nFor some programs, documents show OMB making spending contingent on an \u201cagreed-upon spending plan\u201d with the Education Department that hasn\u2019t been made public. That\u2019s the case for $5.8 million in \u201cdemonstration and training grants\u201d<\/svg><\/a> for supporting teachers training to serve students with vision and hearing impairments.<\/p>\nElsewhere, published agreements leave some questions unanswered. <\/p>\nOMB on April 7 published a fiscal 2026 spending plan<\/svg><\/a> for the Institute of Education Sciences, the Education Department\u2019s research arm. The document<\/svg><\/a> shows $438 million in congressional appropriations for IES\u2014but Congress approved $765 million, and it\u2019s not clear whether OMB will unlock the remaining $327 million. <\/p>\nThat\u2019s on top of $289 million in fiscal 2025 money<\/svg><\/a> OMB also hasn\u2019t yet cleared the Education Department to spend. <\/p>\nDelayed funding is likely to scramble worthwhile efforts to collect data on what\u2019s happening in America\u2019s schools, said Rachel Dinkes, the president and CEO of Knowledge Alliance, a nonprofit that advocates for education research.<\/p>\n\u201cI think there\u2019s a real need to know what\u2019s happening with AI and social media and cellphone bans [in schools]. I believe there would be strong bipartisan support for IES executing on that,\u201d Dinkes said. \u201cShould they apportion the money fully, this is something they could execute on.\u201d<\/p>\nTypically, apportionments appear seamlessly in agency accounts<\/h2>\nCongress created the apportionment process<\/svg><\/a> more than a century ago to discourage federal agencies from spending more money than they had. <\/p>\nDuring recent presidential administrations, OMB would routinely apportion full congressional appropriations for most education programs within a month of lawmakers passing the budget.<\/p>\n\u201cThere is always an assumption that OMB is going to apportion the money per Congress\u2019 instruction because we have not seen a case, at least in recent memory, where the administration refuses to apportion or declines to apportion funds,\u201d said Julia Martin, director of policy and government affairs for the Bruman Group, a law firm that represents state education departments and school districts.<\/p>\nThat\u2019s changed under President Donald Trump, with the typically obscure OMB playing a central role in the internal operations of other federal agencies. <\/p>\nApportionment documents published in the last three months show 35 Education Department programs with most or all of their fiscal 2026 congressional appropriations listed as \u201cunallocated,\u201d meaning the Education Department doesn\u2019t yet have permission to spend those funds for the line item with which they\u2019re associated.<\/p>\nThe documents for many of those programs show attached, legally binding footnotes that explicitly prohibit the agency from spending the money until OMB executes another apportionment. Most also have attached footnotes saying all spending must comply with Trump\u2019s executive order<\/svg><\/a> banning government spending on \u201cDEI\u201d initiatives, broadly defined.<\/p>\nThe second Trump administration\u2019s use of apportionments to help shape its federal policy agenda<\/svg><\/a> closely resembles the OMB section of the conservative policy document known as Project 2025<\/svg><\/a>\u2014written by OMB\u2019s current chief, Russell Vought. <\/p>\nApportionment \u201cis essential to the effective financial stewardship of taxpayer dollars,\u201d Vought wrote<\/svg><\/a>. \u201cOMB can then direct on behalf of a President the amount, duration, and purpose of any apportioned funding to ensure against waste, fraud, and abuse, and<\/i> ensure consistency with the President\u2019s agenda and applicable laws.\u201d<\/p>\nDuring both of Trump\u2019s presidential terms, career officials who typically execute apportionments have been replaced by political appointees. All of the education apportionments in 2025 and 2026, for instance, were signed by OMB\u2019s Anne DeCesaro, a Trump appointee<\/svg><\/a> who previously served as a Republican congressional committee staffer.<\/p>\nOMB has also moved to shield its actions from public view. The office abruptly pulled down its apportionment database<\/svg><\/a> in March 2025, arguing that the information it displayed could \u201chave a chilling effect on the deliberations within the Executive Branch\u201d and jeopardize national security. OMB restored the database six months later, after two courts ruled that wiping the website was illegal<\/svg><\/a> and ordered its return. The legal dispute is ongoing<\/svg><\/a>.<\/p>\n\u201cCongress used to be able to pass bills that provided funding and with some certainty know that that funding would be provided,\u201d said Cerin Lindgrensavage, an attorney for Protect Democracy, a nonprofit that has led many lawsuits challenging Trump administration actions, including the removal of OMB\u2019s apportionments database. \u201cIf the administration is going to abuse this part of the process to redirect or withhold that funding, Congress and the people who\u2019ve asked Congress to make these investments can no longer be confident those investments are going to be made according to law.\u201d<\/p>\nNew grant competitions offer hope to some, but not all<\/h2>\nThe Education Department has already begun soliciting applications for new awards for four of the education grant programs with currently frozen funds.<\/p>\nThey include grants for helping teachers work with students who have visual or hearing impairments<\/svg><\/a>, expanding gifted and talented programs in K-12 schools<\/svg><\/a>, providing pay bonuses to high-performing teachers and principals<\/svg><\/a>, and providing effective professional development opportunities<\/svg><\/a>.<\/p>\nFor some advocates, it\u2019s reassuring to see competitions launched for programs the Trump administration targeted for cuts last year<\/svg><\/a>.<\/p>\n\u201cOnce they put themselves on the record and announce a competition, I\u2019d be surprised if they subsequently went, \u2018Oh gosh, silly us, actually [OMB director] Russ Vought doesn\u2019t want us to do this so we\u2019re not going to do it,\u2019\u201d said Jaci King, a research, policy, and advocacy consultant for the American Association of Colleges for Teacher Education.<\/p>\nOthers feel less confident. \u201cJust because there\u2019s a grant competition doesn\u2019t mean that the agency is obligated to award funds if they don\u2019t believe enough or any of the applicants meet the requirements,\u201d Martin said.<\/p>\nFor the rest of the 35 programs, no competition has been announced. Without eventually gaining access to the fiscal 2026 dollars, the department likely wouldn\u2019t be able to give out new awards for those programs, or even supply funding for ongoing awards. <\/p>\nSix organizations currently in their first year with Assistance in Arts Education grants are expecting another round of funding in September. That money won\u2019t arrive if OMB doesn\u2019t apportion the $37 million in fiscal 2026 funds Congress approved for the arts program, said Amanda Karhuse, assistant executive director for advocacy and public policy at the National Association for Music Education.<\/p>\nThe same is true for nearly $46 million for Native Hawaiian Education grants and another $45 million for Alaska Native Education grants. <\/p>\nThe Partners in Development Foundation, which runs early childhood programs at 38 sites across Hawaii, is one of several organizations that could have to scale back operations if the department doesn\u2019t run a new competition for the Native Hawaiian Education program, Shawn Malia Kanaiaupuni, the foundation\u2019s CEO, told EdWeek in March<\/svg><\/a>.<\/p>\n\u201cThe hardest part is knowing that these services support children and families who rely on them every day,\u201d Kanaiaupuni said at the time.<\/p>\nWill funding stay frozen or will it flow?<\/h2>\nSeveral scenarios could play out from here, depending on the program. <\/p>\nOMB could delay apportionment of congressionally appropriated funds long enough that the agency doesn\u2019t have time to run competitions or award new grants. <\/p>\nThe Trump administration could attempt to argue\u2014as it did last year<\/svg><\/a>\u2014that authorizing spending on certain education grant programs violates the Constitution.<\/p>\nThe executive branch could also simply decline to spend the funds at all, allowing them to expire and sending them back to the Treasury. All told, nearly $1.4 billion in congressionally appropriated fiscal 2026 education funds OMB is currently withholding will expire and return to the U.S. Treasury in less than five months if OMB doesn\u2019t release the money by then, according to Education Week\u2019s analysis of OMB apportionments.<\/p>\nExperts say these moves would amount to the president impounding funds<\/svg><\/a>, which is illegal unless Congress approves a request from the White House to rescind previously approved spending. The president hasn\u2019t yet asked Congress to rescind any fiscal 2026 appropriations.<\/p>\nAlternatively, the appropriated funding may ultimately flow, albeit behind schedule. <\/p>\nUntil it does, said Martin, \u201cevery withholding incrementally increases the pressures on schools and districts and community organizations.\u201d\n<\/p><\/div>\n
As of May 5, more than seven months into the current federal fiscal year that ends Sept. 30, OMB has unlocked little or no funding for nearly three dozen of the Education Department\u2019s competitive grant programs, according to an Education Week review of publicly available apportionment documents.<\/p>\n
Major budget line items for which the Education Department has yet to access current-year funds, Education Week found, include $235 million for education research, $220 million for teacher preparation and training, $150 million for community schools initiatives, and $139 million for magnet schools.<\/p>\n
In most cases, the Education Department isn\u2019t required to send these funds to grant recipients until later this year. Some observers are waiting to see how long the apportionments delay lasts before assuming funding disruption is inevitable.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt is concerning that they aren\u2019t following the law and apportioning the funds in the timeline and manner directed by Congress, but I am hopeful they will spend the money as required in the appropriations bill for the grant programs,\u201d said Amanda Miller, who oversaw the department\u2019s higher education programs during the Biden administration.<\/p>\n
Still, the second Trump administration has repeatedly come under scrutiny<\/svg><\/a>, as recently as this week<\/svg><\/a>, for using the apportionment process to withhold congressionally appropriated funds across the federal government. <\/p>\nUncertainty over the status of education grants is sparking concern among some advocates, grantees, and legal experts about the possibility of more delayed grant competitions and funding disruptions in the coming months. <\/p>\nFor instance, the department\u2019s migrant education office announced in March that it plans to launch competitions this year for the High School Equivalency and College Access Migrant programs (HEP and CAMP). But the most recent OMB document<\/svg><\/a> listing those two programs shows only $181,701 apportioned.<\/p>\nThe longer the wait for the full $52 million in congressional appropriations to flow to the Education Department, the more nervous grant recipients hoping to renew their funding will get, said Greg Contreras, a CAMP project director at Portland Community College in Oregon.<\/p>\nWithout the funding, they could be forced to lay off staff and halt student programming, including onboarding of new student recruits, he said.<\/p>\n\u201cThere are real implications if this delay of the grant competition continues,\u201d said Contreras, who also serves as president of the National HEP\/CAMP Association, an advocacy coalition. <\/p>\nIn a statement to Education Week, a spokesperson for the Education Department said, \u201cThe administration sent a spend plan consistent with appropriations to Congress.\u201d The spokesperson didn\u2019t immediately answer follow-up questions and referred questions about apportionment timing to OMB.<\/p>\nA spokesperson for OMB didn\u2019t answer requests for comment in time for publication.<\/p>\nOMB hasn\u2019t apportioned funds for programs Trump seeks to eliminate<\/h2>\nThe 35 education programs with missing fiscal 2026 apportionments have several things in common.<\/p>\nFirst, the Trump administration two years in a row has proposed eliminating them<\/svg><\/a>, and consolidating funding for some into a larger education block grant for states to spend largely as they please. Congress rejected<\/svg><\/a> virtually all of Trump\u2019s proposed education funding changes last year, and appears likely to do the same this year.<\/p>\nSecond, for all of these programs, the Education Department last year either discontinued individual ongoing grants<\/svg><\/a>, or moved<\/svg><\/a> some or all of their appropriated funds to other programs.<\/p>\nFor 13 of the 35 programs, the Trump administration has apportioned a tiny sliver of fiscal 2026 appropriations\u2014including $200,000 for American History and Civics (out of $23 million budgeted), $350,000 for Native Hawaiian Education (out of $46 million budgeted), and $500,000 for Comprehensive Centers (out of $50 million budgeted). Those limited apportioned funds may be covering salaries for staff or payments to contractors who support those programs, but not to make new or continuing grant awards, federal spending experts say.<\/p>\nThe remaining 22 programs all show apportionments of zero. That includes nearly $900 million Congress approved in February for a slew of grant programs that support higher education institutions with large populations of students from racial minority groups. <\/p>\nThe Trump administration argued last July<\/svg><\/a> that some of those programs violate the Constitution. A lawsuit challenging the programs<\/svg><\/a> is underway, but no court has ruled either way. During a Senate committee hearing last week<\/svg><\/a>, Education Secretary Linda McMahon testified, \u201cWe won\u2019t be funding those.\u201d<\/p>\nLast year the department reprogrammed those funds to historically Black colleges and universities, or HBCUs, and tribal colleges; the agency this year will reprogram those funds into the broader Strengthening Institutions grant program<\/svg><\/a>, a spokesperson confirmed this week.<\/p>\nFor some programs, documents show OMB making spending contingent on an \u201cagreed-upon spending plan\u201d with the Education Department that hasn\u2019t been made public. That\u2019s the case for $5.8 million in \u201cdemonstration and training grants\u201d<\/svg><\/a> for supporting teachers training to serve students with vision and hearing impairments.<\/p>\nElsewhere, published agreements leave some questions unanswered. <\/p>\nOMB on April 7 published a fiscal 2026 spending plan<\/svg><\/a> for the Institute of Education Sciences, the Education Department\u2019s research arm. The document<\/svg><\/a> shows $438 million in congressional appropriations for IES\u2014but Congress approved $765 million, and it\u2019s not clear whether OMB will unlock the remaining $327 million. <\/p>\nThat\u2019s on top of $289 million in fiscal 2025 money<\/svg><\/a> OMB also hasn\u2019t yet cleared the Education Department to spend. <\/p>\nDelayed funding is likely to scramble worthwhile efforts to collect data on what\u2019s happening in America\u2019s schools, said Rachel Dinkes, the president and CEO of Knowledge Alliance, a nonprofit that advocates for education research.<\/p>\n\u201cI think there\u2019s a real need to know what\u2019s happening with AI and social media and cellphone bans [in schools]. I believe there would be strong bipartisan support for IES executing on that,\u201d Dinkes said. \u201cShould they apportion the money fully, this is something they could execute on.\u201d<\/p>\nTypically, apportionments appear seamlessly in agency accounts<\/h2>\nCongress created the apportionment process<\/svg><\/a> more than a century ago to discourage federal agencies from spending more money than they had. <\/p>\nDuring recent presidential administrations, OMB would routinely apportion full congressional appropriations for most education programs within a month of lawmakers passing the budget.<\/p>\n\u201cThere is always an assumption that OMB is going to apportion the money per Congress\u2019 instruction because we have not seen a case, at least in recent memory, where the administration refuses to apportion or declines to apportion funds,\u201d said Julia Martin, director of policy and government affairs for the Bruman Group, a law firm that represents state education departments and school districts.<\/p>\nThat\u2019s changed under President Donald Trump, with the typically obscure OMB playing a central role in the internal operations of other federal agencies. <\/p>\nApportionment documents published in the last three months show 35 Education Department programs with most or all of their fiscal 2026 congressional appropriations listed as \u201cunallocated,\u201d meaning the Education Department doesn\u2019t yet have permission to spend those funds for the line item with which they\u2019re associated.<\/p>\nThe documents for many of those programs show attached, legally binding footnotes that explicitly prohibit the agency from spending the money until OMB executes another apportionment. Most also have attached footnotes saying all spending must comply with Trump\u2019s executive order<\/svg><\/a> banning government spending on \u201cDEI\u201d initiatives, broadly defined.<\/p>\nThe second Trump administration\u2019s use of apportionments to help shape its federal policy agenda<\/svg><\/a> closely resembles the OMB section of the conservative policy document known as Project 2025<\/svg><\/a>\u2014written by OMB\u2019s current chief, Russell Vought. <\/p>\nApportionment \u201cis essential to the effective financial stewardship of taxpayer dollars,\u201d Vought wrote<\/svg><\/a>. \u201cOMB can then direct on behalf of a President the amount, duration, and purpose of any apportioned funding to ensure against waste, fraud, and abuse, and<\/i> ensure consistency with the President\u2019s agenda and applicable laws.\u201d<\/p>\nDuring both of Trump\u2019s presidential terms, career officials who typically execute apportionments have been replaced by political appointees. All of the education apportionments in 2025 and 2026, for instance, were signed by OMB\u2019s Anne DeCesaro, a Trump appointee<\/svg><\/a> who previously served as a Republican congressional committee staffer.<\/p>\nOMB has also moved to shield its actions from public view. The office abruptly pulled down its apportionment database<\/svg><\/a> in March 2025, arguing that the information it displayed could \u201chave a chilling effect on the deliberations within the Executive Branch\u201d and jeopardize national security. OMB restored the database six months later, after two courts ruled that wiping the website was illegal<\/svg><\/a> and ordered its return. The legal dispute is ongoing<\/svg><\/a>.<\/p>\n\u201cCongress used to be able to pass bills that provided funding and with some certainty know that that funding would be provided,\u201d said Cerin Lindgrensavage, an attorney for Protect Democracy, a nonprofit that has led many lawsuits challenging Trump administration actions, including the removal of OMB\u2019s apportionments database. \u201cIf the administration is going to abuse this part of the process to redirect or withhold that funding, Congress and the people who\u2019ve asked Congress to make these investments can no longer be confident those investments are going to be made according to law.\u201d<\/p>\nNew grant competitions offer hope to some, but not all<\/h2>\nThe Education Department has already begun soliciting applications for new awards for four of the education grant programs with currently frozen funds.<\/p>\nThey include grants for helping teachers work with students who have visual or hearing impairments<\/svg><\/a>, expanding gifted and talented programs in K-12 schools<\/svg><\/a>, providing pay bonuses to high-performing teachers and principals<\/svg><\/a>, and providing effective professional development opportunities<\/svg><\/a>.<\/p>\nFor some advocates, it\u2019s reassuring to see competitions launched for programs the Trump administration targeted for cuts last year<\/svg><\/a>.<\/p>\n\u201cOnce they put themselves on the record and announce a competition, I\u2019d be surprised if they subsequently went, \u2018Oh gosh, silly us, actually [OMB director] Russ Vought doesn\u2019t want us to do this so we\u2019re not going to do it,\u2019\u201d said Jaci King, a research, policy, and advocacy consultant for the American Association of Colleges for Teacher Education.<\/p>\nOthers feel less confident. \u201cJust because there\u2019s a grant competition doesn\u2019t mean that the agency is obligated to award funds if they don\u2019t believe enough or any of the applicants meet the requirements,\u201d Martin said.<\/p>\nFor the rest of the 35 programs, no competition has been announced. Without eventually gaining access to the fiscal 2026 dollars, the department likely wouldn\u2019t be able to give out new awards for those programs, or even supply funding for ongoing awards. <\/p>\nSix organizations currently in their first year with Assistance in Arts Education grants are expecting another round of funding in September. That money won\u2019t arrive if OMB doesn\u2019t apportion the $37 million in fiscal 2026 funds Congress approved for the arts program, said Amanda Karhuse, assistant executive director for advocacy and public policy at the National Association for Music Education.<\/p>\nThe same is true for nearly $46 million for Native Hawaiian Education grants and another $45 million for Alaska Native Education grants. <\/p>\nThe Partners in Development Foundation, which runs early childhood programs at 38 sites across Hawaii, is one of several organizations that could have to scale back operations if the department doesn\u2019t run a new competition for the Native Hawaiian Education program, Shawn Malia Kanaiaupuni, the foundation\u2019s CEO, told EdWeek in March<\/svg><\/a>.<\/p>\n\u201cThe hardest part is knowing that these services support children and families who rely on them every day,\u201d Kanaiaupuni said at the time.<\/p>\nWill funding stay frozen or will it flow?<\/h2>\nSeveral scenarios could play out from here, depending on the program. <\/p>\nOMB could delay apportionment of congressionally appropriated funds long enough that the agency doesn\u2019t have time to run competitions or award new grants. <\/p>\nThe Trump administration could attempt to argue\u2014as it did last year<\/svg><\/a>\u2014that authorizing spending on certain education grant programs violates the Constitution.<\/p>\nThe executive branch could also simply decline to spend the funds at all, allowing them to expire and sending them back to the Treasury. All told, nearly $1.4 billion in congressionally appropriated fiscal 2026 education funds OMB is currently withholding will expire and return to the U.S. Treasury in less than five months if OMB doesn\u2019t release the money by then, according to Education Week\u2019s analysis of OMB apportionments.<\/p>\nExperts say these moves would amount to the president impounding funds<\/svg><\/a>, which is illegal unless Congress approves a request from the White House to rescind previously approved spending. The president hasn\u2019t yet asked Congress to rescind any fiscal 2026 appropriations.<\/p>\nAlternatively, the appropriated funding may ultimately flow, albeit behind schedule. <\/p>\nUntil it does, said Martin, \u201cevery withholding incrementally increases the pressures on schools and districts and community organizations.\u201d\n<\/p><\/div>\n
Uncertainty over the status of education grants is sparking concern among some advocates, grantees, and legal experts about the possibility of more delayed grant competitions and funding disruptions in the coming months. <\/p>\n
For instance, the department\u2019s migrant education office announced in March that it plans to launch competitions this year for the High School Equivalency and College Access Migrant programs (HEP and CAMP). But the most recent OMB document<\/svg><\/a> listing those two programs shows only $181,701 apportioned.<\/p>\nThe longer the wait for the full $52 million in congressional appropriations to flow to the Education Department, the more nervous grant recipients hoping to renew their funding will get, said Greg Contreras, a CAMP project director at Portland Community College in Oregon.<\/p>\nWithout the funding, they could be forced to lay off staff and halt student programming, including onboarding of new student recruits, he said.<\/p>\n\u201cThere are real implications if this delay of the grant competition continues,\u201d said Contreras, who also serves as president of the National HEP\/CAMP Association, an advocacy coalition. <\/p>\nIn a statement to Education Week, a spokesperson for the Education Department said, \u201cThe administration sent a spend plan consistent with appropriations to Congress.\u201d The spokesperson didn\u2019t immediately answer follow-up questions and referred questions about apportionment timing to OMB.<\/p>\nA spokesperson for OMB didn\u2019t answer requests for comment in time for publication.<\/p>\nOMB hasn\u2019t apportioned funds for programs Trump seeks to eliminate<\/h2>\nThe 35 education programs with missing fiscal 2026 apportionments have several things in common.<\/p>\nFirst, the Trump administration two years in a row has proposed eliminating them<\/svg><\/a>, and consolidating funding for some into a larger education block grant for states to spend largely as they please. Congress rejected<\/svg><\/a> virtually all of Trump\u2019s proposed education funding changes last year, and appears likely to do the same this year.<\/p>\nSecond, for all of these programs, the Education Department last year either discontinued individual ongoing grants<\/svg><\/a>, or moved<\/svg><\/a> some or all of their appropriated funds to other programs.<\/p>\nFor 13 of the 35 programs, the Trump administration has apportioned a tiny sliver of fiscal 2026 appropriations\u2014including $200,000 for American History and Civics (out of $23 million budgeted), $350,000 for Native Hawaiian Education (out of $46 million budgeted), and $500,000 for Comprehensive Centers (out of $50 million budgeted). Those limited apportioned funds may be covering salaries for staff or payments to contractors who support those programs, but not to make new or continuing grant awards, federal spending experts say.<\/p>\nThe remaining 22 programs all show apportionments of zero. That includes nearly $900 million Congress approved in February for a slew of grant programs that support higher education institutions with large populations of students from racial minority groups. <\/p>\nThe Trump administration argued last July<\/svg><\/a> that some of those programs violate the Constitution. A lawsuit challenging the programs<\/svg><\/a> is underway, but no court has ruled either way. During a Senate committee hearing last week<\/svg><\/a>, Education Secretary Linda McMahon testified, \u201cWe won\u2019t be funding those.\u201d<\/p>\nLast year the department reprogrammed those funds to historically Black colleges and universities, or HBCUs, and tribal colleges; the agency this year will reprogram those funds into the broader Strengthening Institutions grant program<\/svg><\/a>, a spokesperson confirmed this week.<\/p>\nFor some programs, documents show OMB making spending contingent on an \u201cagreed-upon spending plan\u201d with the Education Department that hasn\u2019t been made public. That\u2019s the case for $5.8 million in \u201cdemonstration and training grants\u201d<\/svg><\/a> for supporting teachers training to serve students with vision and hearing impairments.<\/p>\nElsewhere, published agreements leave some questions unanswered. <\/p>\nOMB on April 7 published a fiscal 2026 spending plan<\/svg><\/a> for the Institute of Education Sciences, the Education Department\u2019s research arm. The document<\/svg><\/a> shows $438 million in congressional appropriations for IES\u2014but Congress approved $765 million, and it\u2019s not clear whether OMB will unlock the remaining $327 million. <\/p>\nThat\u2019s on top of $289 million in fiscal 2025 money<\/svg><\/a> OMB also hasn\u2019t yet cleared the Education Department to spend. <\/p>\nDelayed funding is likely to scramble worthwhile efforts to collect data on what\u2019s happening in America\u2019s schools, said Rachel Dinkes, the president and CEO of Knowledge Alliance, a nonprofit that advocates for education research.<\/p>\n\u201cI think there\u2019s a real need to know what\u2019s happening with AI and social media and cellphone bans [in schools]. I believe there would be strong bipartisan support for IES executing on that,\u201d Dinkes said. \u201cShould they apportion the money fully, this is something they could execute on.\u201d<\/p>\nTypically, apportionments appear seamlessly in agency accounts<\/h2>\nCongress created the apportionment process<\/svg><\/a> more than a century ago to discourage federal agencies from spending more money than they had. <\/p>\nDuring recent presidential administrations, OMB would routinely apportion full congressional appropriations for most education programs within a month of lawmakers passing the budget.<\/p>\n\u201cThere is always an assumption that OMB is going to apportion the money per Congress\u2019 instruction because we have not seen a case, at least in recent memory, where the administration refuses to apportion or declines to apportion funds,\u201d said Julia Martin, director of policy and government affairs for the Bruman Group, a law firm that represents state education departments and school districts.<\/p>\nThat\u2019s changed under President Donald Trump, with the typically obscure OMB playing a central role in the internal operations of other federal agencies. <\/p>\nApportionment documents published in the last three months show 35 Education Department programs with most or all of their fiscal 2026 congressional appropriations listed as \u201cunallocated,\u201d meaning the Education Department doesn\u2019t yet have permission to spend those funds for the line item with which they\u2019re associated.<\/p>\nThe documents for many of those programs show attached, legally binding footnotes that explicitly prohibit the agency from spending the money until OMB executes another apportionment. Most also have attached footnotes saying all spending must comply with Trump\u2019s executive order<\/svg><\/a> banning government spending on \u201cDEI\u201d initiatives, broadly defined.<\/p>\nThe second Trump administration\u2019s use of apportionments to help shape its federal policy agenda<\/svg><\/a> closely resembles the OMB section of the conservative policy document known as Project 2025<\/svg><\/a>\u2014written by OMB\u2019s current chief, Russell Vought. <\/p>\nApportionment \u201cis essential to the effective financial stewardship of taxpayer dollars,\u201d Vought wrote<\/svg><\/a>. \u201cOMB can then direct on behalf of a President the amount, duration, and purpose of any apportioned funding to ensure against waste, fraud, and abuse, and<\/i> ensure consistency with the President\u2019s agenda and applicable laws.\u201d<\/p>\nDuring both of Trump\u2019s presidential terms, career officials who typically execute apportionments have been replaced by political appointees. All of the education apportionments in 2025 and 2026, for instance, were signed by OMB\u2019s Anne DeCesaro, a Trump appointee<\/svg><\/a> who previously served as a Republican congressional committee staffer.<\/p>\nOMB has also moved to shield its actions from public view. The office abruptly pulled down its apportionment database<\/svg><\/a> in March 2025, arguing that the information it displayed could \u201chave a chilling effect on the deliberations within the Executive Branch\u201d and jeopardize national security. OMB restored the database six months later, after two courts ruled that wiping the website was illegal<\/svg><\/a> and ordered its return. The legal dispute is ongoing<\/svg><\/a>.<\/p>\n\u201cCongress used to be able to pass bills that provided funding and with some certainty know that that funding would be provided,\u201d said Cerin Lindgrensavage, an attorney for Protect Democracy, a nonprofit that has led many lawsuits challenging Trump administration actions, including the removal of OMB\u2019s apportionments database. \u201cIf the administration is going to abuse this part of the process to redirect or withhold that funding, Congress and the people who\u2019ve asked Congress to make these investments can no longer be confident those investments are going to be made according to law.\u201d<\/p>\nNew grant competitions offer hope to some, but not all<\/h2>\nThe Education Department has already begun soliciting applications for new awards for four of the education grant programs with currently frozen funds.<\/p>\nThey include grants for helping teachers work with students who have visual or hearing impairments<\/svg><\/a>, expanding gifted and talented programs in K-12 schools<\/svg><\/a>, providing pay bonuses to high-performing teachers and principals<\/svg><\/a>, and providing effective professional development opportunities<\/svg><\/a>.<\/p>\nFor some advocates, it\u2019s reassuring to see competitions launched for programs the Trump administration targeted for cuts last year<\/svg><\/a>.<\/p>\n\u201cOnce they put themselves on the record and announce a competition, I\u2019d be surprised if they subsequently went, \u2018Oh gosh, silly us, actually [OMB director] Russ Vought doesn\u2019t want us to do this so we\u2019re not going to do it,\u2019\u201d said Jaci King, a research, policy, and advocacy consultant for the American Association of Colleges for Teacher Education.<\/p>\nOthers feel less confident. \u201cJust because there\u2019s a grant competition doesn\u2019t mean that the agency is obligated to award funds if they don\u2019t believe enough or any of the applicants meet the requirements,\u201d Martin said.<\/p>\nFor the rest of the 35 programs, no competition has been announced. Without eventually gaining access to the fiscal 2026 dollars, the department likely wouldn\u2019t be able to give out new awards for those programs, or even supply funding for ongoing awards. <\/p>\nSix organizations currently in their first year with Assistance in Arts Education grants are expecting another round of funding in September. That money won\u2019t arrive if OMB doesn\u2019t apportion the $37 million in fiscal 2026 funds Congress approved for the arts program, said Amanda Karhuse, assistant executive director for advocacy and public policy at the National Association for Music Education.<\/p>\nThe same is true for nearly $46 million for Native Hawaiian Education grants and another $45 million for Alaska Native Education grants. <\/p>\nThe Partners in Development Foundation, which runs early childhood programs at 38 sites across Hawaii, is one of several organizations that could have to scale back operations if the department doesn\u2019t run a new competition for the Native Hawaiian Education program, Shawn Malia Kanaiaupuni, the foundation\u2019s CEO, told EdWeek in March<\/svg><\/a>.<\/p>\n\u201cThe hardest part is knowing that these services support children and families who rely on them every day,\u201d Kanaiaupuni said at the time.<\/p>\nWill funding stay frozen or will it flow?<\/h2>\nSeveral scenarios could play out from here, depending on the program. <\/p>\nOMB could delay apportionment of congressionally appropriated funds long enough that the agency doesn\u2019t have time to run competitions or award new grants. <\/p>\nThe Trump administration could attempt to argue\u2014as it did last year<\/svg><\/a>\u2014that authorizing spending on certain education grant programs violates the Constitution.<\/p>\nThe executive branch could also simply decline to spend the funds at all, allowing them to expire and sending them back to the Treasury. All told, nearly $1.4 billion in congressionally appropriated fiscal 2026 education funds OMB is currently withholding will expire and return to the U.S. Treasury in less than five months if OMB doesn\u2019t release the money by then, according to Education Week\u2019s analysis of OMB apportionments.<\/p>\nExperts say these moves would amount to the president impounding funds<\/svg><\/a>, which is illegal unless Congress approves a request from the White House to rescind previously approved spending. The president hasn\u2019t yet asked Congress to rescind any fiscal 2026 appropriations.<\/p>\nAlternatively, the appropriated funding may ultimately flow, albeit behind schedule. <\/p>\nUntil it does, said Martin, \u201cevery withholding incrementally increases the pressures on schools and districts and community organizations.\u201d\n<\/p><\/div>\n
The longer the wait for the full $52 million in congressional appropriations to flow to the Education Department, the more nervous grant recipients hoping to renew their funding will get, said Greg Contreras, a CAMP project director at Portland Community College in Oregon.<\/p>\n
Without the funding, they could be forced to lay off staff and halt student programming, including onboarding of new student recruits, he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere are real implications if this delay of the grant competition continues,\u201d said Contreras, who also serves as president of the National HEP\/CAMP Association, an advocacy coalition. <\/p>\n
In a statement to Education Week, a spokesperson for the Education Department said, \u201cThe administration sent a spend plan consistent with appropriations to Congress.\u201d The spokesperson didn\u2019t immediately answer follow-up questions and referred questions about apportionment timing to OMB.<\/p>\n
A spokesperson for OMB didn\u2019t answer requests for comment in time for publication.<\/p>\n
The 35 education programs with missing fiscal 2026 apportionments have several things in common.<\/p>\n
First, the Trump administration two years in a row has proposed eliminating them<\/svg><\/a>, and consolidating funding for some into a larger education block grant for states to spend largely as they please. Congress rejected<\/svg><\/a> virtually all of Trump\u2019s proposed education funding changes last year, and appears likely to do the same this year.<\/p>\nSecond, for all of these programs, the Education Department last year either discontinued individual ongoing grants<\/svg><\/a>, or moved<\/svg><\/a> some or all of their appropriated funds to other programs.<\/p>\nFor 13 of the 35 programs, the Trump administration has apportioned a tiny sliver of fiscal 2026 appropriations\u2014including $200,000 for American History and Civics (out of $23 million budgeted), $350,000 for Native Hawaiian Education (out of $46 million budgeted), and $500,000 for Comprehensive Centers (out of $50 million budgeted). Those limited apportioned funds may be covering salaries for staff or payments to contractors who support those programs, but not to make new or continuing grant awards, federal spending experts say.<\/p>\nThe remaining 22 programs all show apportionments of zero. That includes nearly $900 million Congress approved in February for a slew of grant programs that support higher education institutions with large populations of students from racial minority groups. <\/p>\nThe Trump administration argued last July<\/svg><\/a> that some of those programs violate the Constitution. A lawsuit challenging the programs<\/svg><\/a> is underway, but no court has ruled either way. During a Senate committee hearing last week<\/svg><\/a>, Education Secretary Linda McMahon testified, \u201cWe won\u2019t be funding those.\u201d<\/p>\nLast year the department reprogrammed those funds to historically Black colleges and universities, or HBCUs, and tribal colleges; the agency this year will reprogram those funds into the broader Strengthening Institutions grant program<\/svg><\/a>, a spokesperson confirmed this week.<\/p>\nFor some programs, documents show OMB making spending contingent on an \u201cagreed-upon spending plan\u201d with the Education Department that hasn\u2019t been made public. That\u2019s the case for $5.8 million in \u201cdemonstration and training grants\u201d<\/svg><\/a> for supporting teachers training to serve students with vision and hearing impairments.<\/p>\nElsewhere, published agreements leave some questions unanswered. <\/p>\nOMB on April 7 published a fiscal 2026 spending plan<\/svg><\/a> for the Institute of Education Sciences, the Education Department\u2019s research arm. The document<\/svg><\/a> shows $438 million in congressional appropriations for IES\u2014but Congress approved $765 million, and it\u2019s not clear whether OMB will unlock the remaining $327 million. <\/p>\nThat\u2019s on top of $289 million in fiscal 2025 money<\/svg><\/a> OMB also hasn\u2019t yet cleared the Education Department to spend. <\/p>\nDelayed funding is likely to scramble worthwhile efforts to collect data on what\u2019s happening in America\u2019s schools, said Rachel Dinkes, the president and CEO of Knowledge Alliance, a nonprofit that advocates for education research.<\/p>\n\u201cI think there\u2019s a real need to know what\u2019s happening with AI and social media and cellphone bans [in schools]. I believe there would be strong bipartisan support for IES executing on that,\u201d Dinkes said. \u201cShould they apportion the money fully, this is something they could execute on.\u201d<\/p>\nTypically, apportionments appear seamlessly in agency accounts<\/h2>\nCongress created the apportionment process<\/svg><\/a> more than a century ago to discourage federal agencies from spending more money than they had. <\/p>\nDuring recent presidential administrations, OMB would routinely apportion full congressional appropriations for most education programs within a month of lawmakers passing the budget.<\/p>\n\u201cThere is always an assumption that OMB is going to apportion the money per Congress\u2019 instruction because we have not seen a case, at least in recent memory, where the administration refuses to apportion or declines to apportion funds,\u201d said Julia Martin, director of policy and government affairs for the Bruman Group, a law firm that represents state education departments and school districts.<\/p>\nThat\u2019s changed under President Donald Trump, with the typically obscure OMB playing a central role in the internal operations of other federal agencies. <\/p>\nApportionment documents published in the last three months show 35 Education Department programs with most or all of their fiscal 2026 congressional appropriations listed as \u201cunallocated,\u201d meaning the Education Department doesn\u2019t yet have permission to spend those funds for the line item with which they\u2019re associated.<\/p>\nThe documents for many of those programs show attached, legally binding footnotes that explicitly prohibit the agency from spending the money until OMB executes another apportionment. Most also have attached footnotes saying all spending must comply with Trump\u2019s executive order<\/svg><\/a> banning government spending on \u201cDEI\u201d initiatives, broadly defined.<\/p>\nThe second Trump administration\u2019s use of apportionments to help shape its federal policy agenda<\/svg><\/a> closely resembles the OMB section of the conservative policy document known as Project 2025<\/svg><\/a>\u2014written by OMB\u2019s current chief, Russell Vought. <\/p>\nApportionment \u201cis essential to the effective financial stewardship of taxpayer dollars,\u201d Vought wrote<\/svg><\/a>. \u201cOMB can then direct on behalf of a President the amount, duration, and purpose of any apportioned funding to ensure against waste, fraud, and abuse, and<\/i> ensure consistency with the President\u2019s agenda and applicable laws.\u201d<\/p>\nDuring both of Trump\u2019s presidential terms, career officials who typically execute apportionments have been replaced by political appointees. All of the education apportionments in 2025 and 2026, for instance, were signed by OMB\u2019s Anne DeCesaro, a Trump appointee<\/svg><\/a> who previously served as a Republican congressional committee staffer.<\/p>\nOMB has also moved to shield its actions from public view. The office abruptly pulled down its apportionment database<\/svg><\/a> in March 2025, arguing that the information it displayed could \u201chave a chilling effect on the deliberations within the Executive Branch\u201d and jeopardize national security. OMB restored the database six months later, after two courts ruled that wiping the website was illegal<\/svg><\/a> and ordered its return. The legal dispute is ongoing<\/svg><\/a>.<\/p>\n\u201cCongress used to be able to pass bills that provided funding and with some certainty know that that funding would be provided,\u201d said Cerin Lindgrensavage, an attorney for Protect Democracy, a nonprofit that has led many lawsuits challenging Trump administration actions, including the removal of OMB\u2019s apportionments database. \u201cIf the administration is going to abuse this part of the process to redirect or withhold that funding, Congress and the people who\u2019ve asked Congress to make these investments can no longer be confident those investments are going to be made according to law.\u201d<\/p>\nNew grant competitions offer hope to some, but not all<\/h2>\nThe Education Department has already begun soliciting applications for new awards for four of the education grant programs with currently frozen funds.<\/p>\nThey include grants for helping teachers work with students who have visual or hearing impairments<\/svg><\/a>, expanding gifted and talented programs in K-12 schools<\/svg><\/a>, providing pay bonuses to high-performing teachers and principals<\/svg><\/a>, and providing effective professional development opportunities<\/svg><\/a>.<\/p>\nFor some advocates, it\u2019s reassuring to see competitions launched for programs the Trump administration targeted for cuts last year<\/svg><\/a>.<\/p>\n\u201cOnce they put themselves on the record and announce a competition, I\u2019d be surprised if they subsequently went, \u2018Oh gosh, silly us, actually [OMB director] Russ Vought doesn\u2019t want us to do this so we\u2019re not going to do it,\u2019\u201d said Jaci King, a research, policy, and advocacy consultant for the American Association of Colleges for Teacher Education.<\/p>\nOthers feel less confident. \u201cJust because there\u2019s a grant competition doesn\u2019t mean that the agency is obligated to award funds if they don\u2019t believe enough or any of the applicants meet the requirements,\u201d Martin said.<\/p>\nFor the rest of the 35 programs, no competition has been announced. Without eventually gaining access to the fiscal 2026 dollars, the department likely wouldn\u2019t be able to give out new awards for those programs, or even supply funding for ongoing awards. <\/p>\nSix organizations currently in their first year with Assistance in Arts Education grants are expecting another round of funding in September. That money won\u2019t arrive if OMB doesn\u2019t apportion the $37 million in fiscal 2026 funds Congress approved for the arts program, said Amanda Karhuse, assistant executive director for advocacy and public policy at the National Association for Music Education.<\/p>\nThe same is true for nearly $46 million for Native Hawaiian Education grants and another $45 million for Alaska Native Education grants. <\/p>\nThe Partners in Development Foundation, which runs early childhood programs at 38 sites across Hawaii, is one of several organizations that could have to scale back operations if the department doesn\u2019t run a new competition for the Native Hawaiian Education program, Shawn Malia Kanaiaupuni, the foundation\u2019s CEO, told EdWeek in March<\/svg><\/a>.<\/p>\n\u201cThe hardest part is knowing that these services support children and families who rely on them every day,\u201d Kanaiaupuni said at the time.<\/p>\nWill funding stay frozen or will it flow?<\/h2>\nSeveral scenarios could play out from here, depending on the program. <\/p>\nOMB could delay apportionment of congressionally appropriated funds long enough that the agency doesn\u2019t have time to run competitions or award new grants. <\/p>\nThe Trump administration could attempt to argue\u2014as it did last year<\/svg><\/a>\u2014that authorizing spending on certain education grant programs violates the Constitution.<\/p>\nThe executive branch could also simply decline to spend the funds at all, allowing them to expire and sending them back to the Treasury. All told, nearly $1.4 billion in congressionally appropriated fiscal 2026 education funds OMB is currently withholding will expire and return to the U.S. Treasury in less than five months if OMB doesn\u2019t release the money by then, according to Education Week\u2019s analysis of OMB apportionments.<\/p>\nExperts say these moves would amount to the president impounding funds<\/svg><\/a>, which is illegal unless Congress approves a request from the White House to rescind previously approved spending. The president hasn\u2019t yet asked Congress to rescind any fiscal 2026 appropriations.<\/p>\nAlternatively, the appropriated funding may ultimately flow, albeit behind schedule. <\/p>\nUntil it does, said Martin, \u201cevery withholding incrementally increases the pressures on schools and districts and community organizations.\u201d\n<\/p><\/div>\n
Second, for all of these programs, the Education Department last year either discontinued individual ongoing grants<\/svg><\/a>, or moved<\/svg><\/a> some or all of their appropriated funds to other programs.<\/p>\nFor 13 of the 35 programs, the Trump administration has apportioned a tiny sliver of fiscal 2026 appropriations\u2014including $200,000 for American History and Civics (out of $23 million budgeted), $350,000 for Native Hawaiian Education (out of $46 million budgeted), and $500,000 for Comprehensive Centers (out of $50 million budgeted). Those limited apportioned funds may be covering salaries for staff or payments to contractors who support those programs, but not to make new or continuing grant awards, federal spending experts say.<\/p>\nThe remaining 22 programs all show apportionments of zero. That includes nearly $900 million Congress approved in February for a slew of grant programs that support higher education institutions with large populations of students from racial minority groups. <\/p>\nThe Trump administration argued last July<\/svg><\/a> that some of those programs violate the Constitution. A lawsuit challenging the programs<\/svg><\/a> is underway, but no court has ruled either way. During a Senate committee hearing last week<\/svg><\/a>, Education Secretary Linda McMahon testified, \u201cWe won\u2019t be funding those.\u201d<\/p>\nLast year the department reprogrammed those funds to historically Black colleges and universities, or HBCUs, and tribal colleges; the agency this year will reprogram those funds into the broader Strengthening Institutions grant program<\/svg><\/a>, a spokesperson confirmed this week.<\/p>\nFor some programs, documents show OMB making spending contingent on an \u201cagreed-upon spending plan\u201d with the Education Department that hasn\u2019t been made public. That\u2019s the case for $5.8 million in \u201cdemonstration and training grants\u201d<\/svg><\/a> for supporting teachers training to serve students with vision and hearing impairments.<\/p>\nElsewhere, published agreements leave some questions unanswered. <\/p>\nOMB on April 7 published a fiscal 2026 spending plan<\/svg><\/a> for the Institute of Education Sciences, the Education Department\u2019s research arm. The document<\/svg><\/a> shows $438 million in congressional appropriations for IES\u2014but Congress approved $765 million, and it\u2019s not clear whether OMB will unlock the remaining $327 million. <\/p>\nThat\u2019s on top of $289 million in fiscal 2025 money<\/svg><\/a> OMB also hasn\u2019t yet cleared the Education Department to spend. <\/p>\nDelayed funding is likely to scramble worthwhile efforts to collect data on what\u2019s happening in America\u2019s schools, said Rachel Dinkes, the president and CEO of Knowledge Alliance, a nonprofit that advocates for education research.<\/p>\n\u201cI think there\u2019s a real need to know what\u2019s happening with AI and social media and cellphone bans [in schools]. I believe there would be strong bipartisan support for IES executing on that,\u201d Dinkes said. \u201cShould they apportion the money fully, this is something they could execute on.\u201d<\/p>\nTypically, apportionments appear seamlessly in agency accounts<\/h2>\nCongress created the apportionment process<\/svg><\/a> more than a century ago to discourage federal agencies from spending more money than they had. <\/p>\nDuring recent presidential administrations, OMB would routinely apportion full congressional appropriations for most education programs within a month of lawmakers passing the budget.<\/p>\n\u201cThere is always an assumption that OMB is going to apportion the money per Congress\u2019 instruction because we have not seen a case, at least in recent memory, where the administration refuses to apportion or declines to apportion funds,\u201d said Julia Martin, director of policy and government affairs for the Bruman Group, a law firm that represents state education departments and school districts.<\/p>\nThat\u2019s changed under President Donald Trump, with the typically obscure OMB playing a central role in the internal operations of other federal agencies. <\/p>\nApportionment documents published in the last three months show 35 Education Department programs with most or all of their fiscal 2026 congressional appropriations listed as \u201cunallocated,\u201d meaning the Education Department doesn\u2019t yet have permission to spend those funds for the line item with which they\u2019re associated.<\/p>\nThe documents for many of those programs show attached, legally binding footnotes that explicitly prohibit the agency from spending the money until OMB executes another apportionment. Most also have attached footnotes saying all spending must comply with Trump\u2019s executive order<\/svg><\/a> banning government spending on \u201cDEI\u201d initiatives, broadly defined.<\/p>\nThe second Trump administration\u2019s use of apportionments to help shape its federal policy agenda<\/svg><\/a> closely resembles the OMB section of the conservative policy document known as Project 2025<\/svg><\/a>\u2014written by OMB\u2019s current chief, Russell Vought. <\/p>\nApportionment \u201cis essential to the effective financial stewardship of taxpayer dollars,\u201d Vought wrote<\/svg><\/a>. \u201cOMB can then direct on behalf of a President the amount, duration, and purpose of any apportioned funding to ensure against waste, fraud, and abuse, and<\/i> ensure consistency with the President\u2019s agenda and applicable laws.\u201d<\/p>\nDuring both of Trump\u2019s presidential terms, career officials who typically execute apportionments have been replaced by political appointees. All of the education apportionments in 2025 and 2026, for instance, were signed by OMB\u2019s Anne DeCesaro, a Trump appointee<\/svg><\/a> who previously served as a Republican congressional committee staffer.<\/p>\nOMB has also moved to shield its actions from public view. The office abruptly pulled down its apportionment database<\/svg><\/a> in March 2025, arguing that the information it displayed could \u201chave a chilling effect on the deliberations within the Executive Branch\u201d and jeopardize national security. OMB restored the database six months later, after two courts ruled that wiping the website was illegal<\/svg><\/a> and ordered its return. The legal dispute is ongoing<\/svg><\/a>.<\/p>\n\u201cCongress used to be able to pass bills that provided funding and with some certainty know that that funding would be provided,\u201d said Cerin Lindgrensavage, an attorney for Protect Democracy, a nonprofit that has led many lawsuits challenging Trump administration actions, including the removal of OMB\u2019s apportionments database. \u201cIf the administration is going to abuse this part of the process to redirect or withhold that funding, Congress and the people who\u2019ve asked Congress to make these investments can no longer be confident those investments are going to be made according to law.\u201d<\/p>\nNew grant competitions offer hope to some, but not all<\/h2>\nThe Education Department has already begun soliciting applications for new awards for four of the education grant programs with currently frozen funds.<\/p>\nThey include grants for helping teachers work with students who have visual or hearing impairments<\/svg><\/a>, expanding gifted and talented programs in K-12 schools<\/svg><\/a>, providing pay bonuses to high-performing teachers and principals<\/svg><\/a>, and providing effective professional development opportunities<\/svg><\/a>.<\/p>\nFor some advocates, it\u2019s reassuring to see competitions launched for programs the Trump administration targeted for cuts last year<\/svg><\/a>.<\/p>\n\u201cOnce they put themselves on the record and announce a competition, I\u2019d be surprised if they subsequently went, \u2018Oh gosh, silly us, actually [OMB director] Russ Vought doesn\u2019t want us to do this so we\u2019re not going to do it,\u2019\u201d said Jaci King, a research, policy, and advocacy consultant for the American Association of Colleges for Teacher Education.<\/p>\nOthers feel less confident. \u201cJust because there\u2019s a grant competition doesn\u2019t mean that the agency is obligated to award funds if they don\u2019t believe enough or any of the applicants meet the requirements,\u201d Martin said.<\/p>\nFor the rest of the 35 programs, no competition has been announced. Without eventually gaining access to the fiscal 2026 dollars, the department likely wouldn\u2019t be able to give out new awards for those programs, or even supply funding for ongoing awards. <\/p>\nSix organizations currently in their first year with Assistance in Arts Education grants are expecting another round of funding in September. That money won\u2019t arrive if OMB doesn\u2019t apportion the $37 million in fiscal 2026 funds Congress approved for the arts program, said Amanda Karhuse, assistant executive director for advocacy and public policy at the National Association for Music Education.<\/p>\nThe same is true for nearly $46 million for Native Hawaiian Education grants and another $45 million for Alaska Native Education grants. <\/p>\nThe Partners in Development Foundation, which runs early childhood programs at 38 sites across Hawaii, is one of several organizations that could have to scale back operations if the department doesn\u2019t run a new competition for the Native Hawaiian Education program, Shawn Malia Kanaiaupuni, the foundation\u2019s CEO, told EdWeek in March<\/svg><\/a>.<\/p>\n\u201cThe hardest part is knowing that these services support children and families who rely on them every day,\u201d Kanaiaupuni said at the time.<\/p>\nWill funding stay frozen or will it flow?<\/h2>\nSeveral scenarios could play out from here, depending on the program. <\/p>\nOMB could delay apportionment of congressionally appropriated funds long enough that the agency doesn\u2019t have time to run competitions or award new grants. <\/p>\nThe Trump administration could attempt to argue\u2014as it did last year<\/svg><\/a>\u2014that authorizing spending on certain education grant programs violates the Constitution.<\/p>\nThe executive branch could also simply decline to spend the funds at all, allowing them to expire and sending them back to the Treasury. All told, nearly $1.4 billion in congressionally appropriated fiscal 2026 education funds OMB is currently withholding will expire and return to the U.S. Treasury in less than five months if OMB doesn\u2019t release the money by then, according to Education Week\u2019s analysis of OMB apportionments.<\/p>\nExperts say these moves would amount to the president impounding funds<\/svg><\/a>, which is illegal unless Congress approves a request from the White House to rescind previously approved spending. The president hasn\u2019t yet asked Congress to rescind any fiscal 2026 appropriations.<\/p>\nAlternatively, the appropriated funding may ultimately flow, albeit behind schedule. <\/p>\nUntil it does, said Martin, \u201cevery withholding incrementally increases the pressures on schools and districts and community organizations.\u201d\n<\/p><\/div>\n
For 13 of the 35 programs, the Trump administration has apportioned a tiny sliver of fiscal 2026 appropriations\u2014including $200,000 for American History and Civics (out of $23 million budgeted), $350,000 for Native Hawaiian Education (out of $46 million budgeted), and $500,000 for Comprehensive Centers (out of $50 million budgeted). Those limited apportioned funds may be covering salaries for staff or payments to contractors who support those programs, but not to make new or continuing grant awards, federal spending experts say.<\/p>\n
The remaining 22 programs all show apportionments of zero. That includes nearly $900 million Congress approved in February for a slew of grant programs that support higher education institutions with large populations of students from racial minority groups. <\/p>\n
The Trump administration argued last July<\/svg><\/a> that some of those programs violate the Constitution. A lawsuit challenging the programs<\/svg><\/a> is underway, but no court has ruled either way. During a Senate committee hearing last week<\/svg><\/a>, Education Secretary Linda McMahon testified, \u201cWe won\u2019t be funding those.\u201d<\/p>\nLast year the department reprogrammed those funds to historically Black colleges and universities, or HBCUs, and tribal colleges; the agency this year will reprogram those funds into the broader Strengthening Institutions grant program<\/svg><\/a>, a spokesperson confirmed this week.<\/p>\nFor some programs, documents show OMB making spending contingent on an \u201cagreed-upon spending plan\u201d with the Education Department that hasn\u2019t been made public. That\u2019s the case for $5.8 million in \u201cdemonstration and training grants\u201d<\/svg><\/a> for supporting teachers training to serve students with vision and hearing impairments.<\/p>\nElsewhere, published agreements leave some questions unanswered. <\/p>\nOMB on April 7 published a fiscal 2026 spending plan<\/svg><\/a> for the Institute of Education Sciences, the Education Department\u2019s research arm. The document<\/svg><\/a> shows $438 million in congressional appropriations for IES\u2014but Congress approved $765 million, and it\u2019s not clear whether OMB will unlock the remaining $327 million. <\/p>\nThat\u2019s on top of $289 million in fiscal 2025 money<\/svg><\/a> OMB also hasn\u2019t yet cleared the Education Department to spend. <\/p>\nDelayed funding is likely to scramble worthwhile efforts to collect data on what\u2019s happening in America\u2019s schools, said Rachel Dinkes, the president and CEO of Knowledge Alliance, a nonprofit that advocates for education research.<\/p>\n\u201cI think there\u2019s a real need to know what\u2019s happening with AI and social media and cellphone bans [in schools]. I believe there would be strong bipartisan support for IES executing on that,\u201d Dinkes said. \u201cShould they apportion the money fully, this is something they could execute on.\u201d<\/p>\nTypically, apportionments appear seamlessly in agency accounts<\/h2>\nCongress created the apportionment process<\/svg><\/a> more than a century ago to discourage federal agencies from spending more money than they had. <\/p>\nDuring recent presidential administrations, OMB would routinely apportion full congressional appropriations for most education programs within a month of lawmakers passing the budget.<\/p>\n\u201cThere is always an assumption that OMB is going to apportion the money per Congress\u2019 instruction because we have not seen a case, at least in recent memory, where the administration refuses to apportion or declines to apportion funds,\u201d said Julia Martin, director of policy and government affairs for the Bruman Group, a law firm that represents state education departments and school districts.<\/p>\nThat\u2019s changed under President Donald Trump, with the typically obscure OMB playing a central role in the internal operations of other federal agencies. <\/p>\nApportionment documents published in the last three months show 35 Education Department programs with most or all of their fiscal 2026 congressional appropriations listed as \u201cunallocated,\u201d meaning the Education Department doesn\u2019t yet have permission to spend those funds for the line item with which they\u2019re associated.<\/p>\nThe documents for many of those programs show attached, legally binding footnotes that explicitly prohibit the agency from spending the money until OMB executes another apportionment. Most also have attached footnotes saying all spending must comply with Trump\u2019s executive order<\/svg><\/a> banning government spending on \u201cDEI\u201d initiatives, broadly defined.<\/p>\nThe second Trump administration\u2019s use of apportionments to help shape its federal policy agenda<\/svg><\/a> closely resembles the OMB section of the conservative policy document known as Project 2025<\/svg><\/a>\u2014written by OMB\u2019s current chief, Russell Vought. <\/p>\nApportionment \u201cis essential to the effective financial stewardship of taxpayer dollars,\u201d Vought wrote<\/svg><\/a>. \u201cOMB can then direct on behalf of a President the amount, duration, and purpose of any apportioned funding to ensure against waste, fraud, and abuse, and<\/i> ensure consistency with the President\u2019s agenda and applicable laws.\u201d<\/p>\nDuring both of Trump\u2019s presidential terms, career officials who typically execute apportionments have been replaced by political appointees. All of the education apportionments in 2025 and 2026, for instance, were signed by OMB\u2019s Anne DeCesaro, a Trump appointee<\/svg><\/a> who previously served as a Republican congressional committee staffer.<\/p>\nOMB has also moved to shield its actions from public view. The office abruptly pulled down its apportionment database<\/svg><\/a> in March 2025, arguing that the information it displayed could \u201chave a chilling effect on the deliberations within the Executive Branch\u201d and jeopardize national security. OMB restored the database six months later, after two courts ruled that wiping the website was illegal<\/svg><\/a> and ordered its return. The legal dispute is ongoing<\/svg><\/a>.<\/p>\n\u201cCongress used to be able to pass bills that provided funding and with some certainty know that that funding would be provided,\u201d said Cerin Lindgrensavage, an attorney for Protect Democracy, a nonprofit that has led many lawsuits challenging Trump administration actions, including the removal of OMB\u2019s apportionments database. \u201cIf the administration is going to abuse this part of the process to redirect or withhold that funding, Congress and the people who\u2019ve asked Congress to make these investments can no longer be confident those investments are going to be made according to law.\u201d<\/p>\nNew grant competitions offer hope to some, but not all<\/h2>\nThe Education Department has already begun soliciting applications for new awards for four of the education grant programs with currently frozen funds.<\/p>\nThey include grants for helping teachers work with students who have visual or hearing impairments<\/svg><\/a>, expanding gifted and talented programs in K-12 schools<\/svg><\/a>, providing pay bonuses to high-performing teachers and principals<\/svg><\/a>, and providing effective professional development opportunities<\/svg><\/a>.<\/p>\nFor some advocates, it\u2019s reassuring to see competitions launched for programs the Trump administration targeted for cuts last year<\/svg><\/a>.<\/p>\n\u201cOnce they put themselves on the record and announce a competition, I\u2019d be surprised if they subsequently went, \u2018Oh gosh, silly us, actually [OMB director] Russ Vought doesn\u2019t want us to do this so we\u2019re not going to do it,\u2019\u201d said Jaci King, a research, policy, and advocacy consultant for the American Association of Colleges for Teacher Education.<\/p>\nOthers feel less confident. \u201cJust because there\u2019s a grant competition doesn\u2019t mean that the agency is obligated to award funds if they don\u2019t believe enough or any of the applicants meet the requirements,\u201d Martin said.<\/p>\nFor the rest of the 35 programs, no competition has been announced. Without eventually gaining access to the fiscal 2026 dollars, the department likely wouldn\u2019t be able to give out new awards for those programs, or even supply funding for ongoing awards. <\/p>\nSix organizations currently in their first year with Assistance in Arts Education grants are expecting another round of funding in September. That money won\u2019t arrive if OMB doesn\u2019t apportion the $37 million in fiscal 2026 funds Congress approved for the arts program, said Amanda Karhuse, assistant executive director for advocacy and public policy at the National Association for Music Education.<\/p>\nThe same is true for nearly $46 million for Native Hawaiian Education grants and another $45 million for Alaska Native Education grants. <\/p>\nThe Partners in Development Foundation, which runs early childhood programs at 38 sites across Hawaii, is one of several organizations that could have to scale back operations if the department doesn\u2019t run a new competition for the Native Hawaiian Education program, Shawn Malia Kanaiaupuni, the foundation\u2019s CEO, told EdWeek in March<\/svg><\/a>.<\/p>\n\u201cThe hardest part is knowing that these services support children and families who rely on them every day,\u201d Kanaiaupuni said at the time.<\/p>\nWill funding stay frozen or will it flow?<\/h2>\nSeveral scenarios could play out from here, depending on the program. <\/p>\nOMB could delay apportionment of congressionally appropriated funds long enough that the agency doesn\u2019t have time to run competitions or award new grants. <\/p>\nThe Trump administration could attempt to argue\u2014as it did last year<\/svg><\/a>\u2014that authorizing spending on certain education grant programs violates the Constitution.<\/p>\nThe executive branch could also simply decline to spend the funds at all, allowing them to expire and sending them back to the Treasury. All told, nearly $1.4 billion in congressionally appropriated fiscal 2026 education funds OMB is currently withholding will expire and return to the U.S. Treasury in less than five months if OMB doesn\u2019t release the money by then, according to Education Week\u2019s analysis of OMB apportionments.<\/p>\nExperts say these moves would amount to the president impounding funds<\/svg><\/a>, which is illegal unless Congress approves a request from the White House to rescind previously approved spending. The president hasn\u2019t yet asked Congress to rescind any fiscal 2026 appropriations.<\/p>\nAlternatively, the appropriated funding may ultimately flow, albeit behind schedule. <\/p>\nUntil it does, said Martin, \u201cevery withholding incrementally increases the pressures on schools and districts and community organizations.\u201d\n<\/p><\/div>\n
Last year the department reprogrammed those funds to historically Black colleges and universities, or HBCUs, and tribal colleges; the agency this year will reprogram those funds into the broader Strengthening Institutions grant program<\/svg><\/a>, a spokesperson confirmed this week.<\/p>\nFor some programs, documents show OMB making spending contingent on an \u201cagreed-upon spending plan\u201d with the Education Department that hasn\u2019t been made public. That\u2019s the case for $5.8 million in \u201cdemonstration and training grants\u201d<\/svg><\/a> for supporting teachers training to serve students with vision and hearing impairments.<\/p>\nElsewhere, published agreements leave some questions unanswered. <\/p>\nOMB on April 7 published a fiscal 2026 spending plan<\/svg><\/a> for the Institute of Education Sciences, the Education Department\u2019s research arm. The document<\/svg><\/a> shows $438 million in congressional appropriations for IES\u2014but Congress approved $765 million, and it\u2019s not clear whether OMB will unlock the remaining $327 million. <\/p>\nThat\u2019s on top of $289 million in fiscal 2025 money<\/svg><\/a> OMB also hasn\u2019t yet cleared the Education Department to spend. <\/p>\nDelayed funding is likely to scramble worthwhile efforts to collect data on what\u2019s happening in America\u2019s schools, said Rachel Dinkes, the president and CEO of Knowledge Alliance, a nonprofit that advocates for education research.<\/p>\n\u201cI think there\u2019s a real need to know what\u2019s happening with AI and social media and cellphone bans [in schools]. I believe there would be strong bipartisan support for IES executing on that,\u201d Dinkes said. \u201cShould they apportion the money fully, this is something they could execute on.\u201d<\/p>\nTypically, apportionments appear seamlessly in agency accounts<\/h2>\nCongress created the apportionment process<\/svg><\/a> more than a century ago to discourage federal agencies from spending more money than they had. <\/p>\nDuring recent presidential administrations, OMB would routinely apportion full congressional appropriations for most education programs within a month of lawmakers passing the budget.<\/p>\n\u201cThere is always an assumption that OMB is going to apportion the money per Congress\u2019 instruction because we have not seen a case, at least in recent memory, where the administration refuses to apportion or declines to apportion funds,\u201d said Julia Martin, director of policy and government affairs for the Bruman Group, a law firm that represents state education departments and school districts.<\/p>\nThat\u2019s changed under President Donald Trump, with the typically obscure OMB playing a central role in the internal operations of other federal agencies. <\/p>\nApportionment documents published in the last three months show 35 Education Department programs with most or all of their fiscal 2026 congressional appropriations listed as \u201cunallocated,\u201d meaning the Education Department doesn\u2019t yet have permission to spend those funds for the line item with which they\u2019re associated.<\/p>\nThe documents for many of those programs show attached, legally binding footnotes that explicitly prohibit the agency from spending the money until OMB executes another apportionment. Most also have attached footnotes saying all spending must comply with Trump\u2019s executive order<\/svg><\/a> banning government spending on \u201cDEI\u201d initiatives, broadly defined.<\/p>\nThe second Trump administration\u2019s use of apportionments to help shape its federal policy agenda<\/svg><\/a> closely resembles the OMB section of the conservative policy document known as Project 2025<\/svg><\/a>\u2014written by OMB\u2019s current chief, Russell Vought. <\/p>\nApportionment \u201cis essential to the effective financial stewardship of taxpayer dollars,\u201d Vought wrote<\/svg><\/a>. \u201cOMB can then direct on behalf of a President the amount, duration, and purpose of any apportioned funding to ensure against waste, fraud, and abuse, and<\/i> ensure consistency with the President\u2019s agenda and applicable laws.\u201d<\/p>\nDuring both of Trump\u2019s presidential terms, career officials who typically execute apportionments have been replaced by political appointees. All of the education apportionments in 2025 and 2026, for instance, were signed by OMB\u2019s Anne DeCesaro, a Trump appointee<\/svg><\/a> who previously served as a Republican congressional committee staffer.<\/p>\nOMB has also moved to shield its actions from public view. The office abruptly pulled down its apportionment database<\/svg><\/a> in March 2025, arguing that the information it displayed could \u201chave a chilling effect on the deliberations within the Executive Branch\u201d and jeopardize national security. OMB restored the database six months later, after two courts ruled that wiping the website was illegal<\/svg><\/a> and ordered its return. The legal dispute is ongoing<\/svg><\/a>.<\/p>\n\u201cCongress used to be able to pass bills that provided funding and with some certainty know that that funding would be provided,\u201d said Cerin Lindgrensavage, an attorney for Protect Democracy, a nonprofit that has led many lawsuits challenging Trump administration actions, including the removal of OMB\u2019s apportionments database. \u201cIf the administration is going to abuse this part of the process to redirect or withhold that funding, Congress and the people who\u2019ve asked Congress to make these investments can no longer be confident those investments are going to be made according to law.\u201d<\/p>\nNew grant competitions offer hope to some, but not all<\/h2>\nThe Education Department has already begun soliciting applications for new awards for four of the education grant programs with currently frozen funds.<\/p>\nThey include grants for helping teachers work with students who have visual or hearing impairments<\/svg><\/a>, expanding gifted and talented programs in K-12 schools<\/svg><\/a>, providing pay bonuses to high-performing teachers and principals<\/svg><\/a>, and providing effective professional development opportunities<\/svg><\/a>.<\/p>\nFor some advocates, it\u2019s reassuring to see competitions launched for programs the Trump administration targeted for cuts last year<\/svg><\/a>.<\/p>\n\u201cOnce they put themselves on the record and announce a competition, I\u2019d be surprised if they subsequently went, \u2018Oh gosh, silly us, actually [OMB director] Russ Vought doesn\u2019t want us to do this so we\u2019re not going to do it,\u2019\u201d said Jaci King, a research, policy, and advocacy consultant for the American Association of Colleges for Teacher Education.<\/p>\nOthers feel less confident. \u201cJust because there\u2019s a grant competition doesn\u2019t mean that the agency is obligated to award funds if they don\u2019t believe enough or any of the applicants meet the requirements,\u201d Martin said.<\/p>\nFor the rest of the 35 programs, no competition has been announced. Without eventually gaining access to the fiscal 2026 dollars, the department likely wouldn\u2019t be able to give out new awards for those programs, or even supply funding for ongoing awards. <\/p>\nSix organizations currently in their first year with Assistance in Arts Education grants are expecting another round of funding in September. That money won\u2019t arrive if OMB doesn\u2019t apportion the $37 million in fiscal 2026 funds Congress approved for the arts program, said Amanda Karhuse, assistant executive director for advocacy and public policy at the National Association for Music Education.<\/p>\nThe same is true for nearly $46 million for Native Hawaiian Education grants and another $45 million for Alaska Native Education grants. <\/p>\nThe Partners in Development Foundation, which runs early childhood programs at 38 sites across Hawaii, is one of several organizations that could have to scale back operations if the department doesn\u2019t run a new competition for the Native Hawaiian Education program, Shawn Malia Kanaiaupuni, the foundation\u2019s CEO, told EdWeek in March<\/svg><\/a>.<\/p>\n\u201cThe hardest part is knowing that these services support children and families who rely on them every day,\u201d Kanaiaupuni said at the time.<\/p>\nWill funding stay frozen or will it flow?<\/h2>\nSeveral scenarios could play out from here, depending on the program. <\/p>\nOMB could delay apportionment of congressionally appropriated funds long enough that the agency doesn\u2019t have time to run competitions or award new grants. <\/p>\nThe Trump administration could attempt to argue\u2014as it did last year<\/svg><\/a>\u2014that authorizing spending on certain education grant programs violates the Constitution.<\/p>\nThe executive branch could also simply decline to spend the funds at all, allowing them to expire and sending them back to the Treasury. All told, nearly $1.4 billion in congressionally appropriated fiscal 2026 education funds OMB is currently withholding will expire and return to the U.S. Treasury in less than five months if OMB doesn\u2019t release the money by then, according to Education Week\u2019s analysis of OMB apportionments.<\/p>\nExperts say these moves would amount to the president impounding funds<\/svg><\/a>, which is illegal unless Congress approves a request from the White House to rescind previously approved spending. The president hasn\u2019t yet asked Congress to rescind any fiscal 2026 appropriations.<\/p>\nAlternatively, the appropriated funding may ultimately flow, albeit behind schedule. <\/p>\nUntil it does, said Martin, \u201cevery withholding incrementally increases the pressures on schools and districts and community organizations.\u201d\n<\/p><\/div>\n
For some programs, documents show OMB making spending contingent on an \u201cagreed-upon spending plan\u201d with the Education Department that hasn\u2019t been made public. That\u2019s the case for $5.8 million in \u201cdemonstration and training grants\u201d<\/svg><\/a> for supporting teachers training to serve students with vision and hearing impairments.<\/p>\nElsewhere, published agreements leave some questions unanswered. <\/p>\nOMB on April 7 published a fiscal 2026 spending plan<\/svg><\/a> for the Institute of Education Sciences, the Education Department\u2019s research arm. The document<\/svg><\/a> shows $438 million in congressional appropriations for IES\u2014but Congress approved $765 million, and it\u2019s not clear whether OMB will unlock the remaining $327 million. <\/p>\nThat\u2019s on top of $289 million in fiscal 2025 money<\/svg><\/a> OMB also hasn\u2019t yet cleared the Education Department to spend. <\/p>\nDelayed funding is likely to scramble worthwhile efforts to collect data on what\u2019s happening in America\u2019s schools, said Rachel Dinkes, the president and CEO of Knowledge Alliance, a nonprofit that advocates for education research.<\/p>\n\u201cI think there\u2019s a real need to know what\u2019s happening with AI and social media and cellphone bans [in schools]. I believe there would be strong bipartisan support for IES executing on that,\u201d Dinkes said. \u201cShould they apportion the money fully, this is something they could execute on.\u201d<\/p>\nTypically, apportionments appear seamlessly in agency accounts<\/h2>\nCongress created the apportionment process<\/svg><\/a> more than a century ago to discourage federal agencies from spending more money than they had. <\/p>\nDuring recent presidential administrations, OMB would routinely apportion full congressional appropriations for most education programs within a month of lawmakers passing the budget.<\/p>\n\u201cThere is always an assumption that OMB is going to apportion the money per Congress\u2019 instruction because we have not seen a case, at least in recent memory, where the administration refuses to apportion or declines to apportion funds,\u201d said Julia Martin, director of policy and government affairs for the Bruman Group, a law firm that represents state education departments and school districts.<\/p>\nThat\u2019s changed under President Donald Trump, with the typically obscure OMB playing a central role in the internal operations of other federal agencies. <\/p>\nApportionment documents published in the last three months show 35 Education Department programs with most or all of their fiscal 2026 congressional appropriations listed as \u201cunallocated,\u201d meaning the Education Department doesn\u2019t yet have permission to spend those funds for the line item with which they\u2019re associated.<\/p>\nThe documents for many of those programs show attached, legally binding footnotes that explicitly prohibit the agency from spending the money until OMB executes another apportionment. Most also have attached footnotes saying all spending must comply with Trump\u2019s executive order<\/svg><\/a> banning government spending on \u201cDEI\u201d initiatives, broadly defined.<\/p>\nThe second Trump administration\u2019s use of apportionments to help shape its federal policy agenda<\/svg><\/a> closely resembles the OMB section of the conservative policy document known as Project 2025<\/svg><\/a>\u2014written by OMB\u2019s current chief, Russell Vought. <\/p>\nApportionment \u201cis essential to the effective financial stewardship of taxpayer dollars,\u201d Vought wrote<\/svg><\/a>. \u201cOMB can then direct on behalf of a President the amount, duration, and purpose of any apportioned funding to ensure against waste, fraud, and abuse, and<\/i> ensure consistency with the President\u2019s agenda and applicable laws.\u201d<\/p>\nDuring both of Trump\u2019s presidential terms, career officials who typically execute apportionments have been replaced by political appointees. All of the education apportionments in 2025 and 2026, for instance, were signed by OMB\u2019s Anne DeCesaro, a Trump appointee<\/svg><\/a> who previously served as a Republican congressional committee staffer.<\/p>\nOMB has also moved to shield its actions from public view. The office abruptly pulled down its apportionment database<\/svg><\/a> in March 2025, arguing that the information it displayed could \u201chave a chilling effect on the deliberations within the Executive Branch\u201d and jeopardize national security. OMB restored the database six months later, after two courts ruled that wiping the website was illegal<\/svg><\/a> and ordered its return. The legal dispute is ongoing<\/svg><\/a>.<\/p>\n\u201cCongress used to be able to pass bills that provided funding and with some certainty know that that funding would be provided,\u201d said Cerin Lindgrensavage, an attorney for Protect Democracy, a nonprofit that has led many lawsuits challenging Trump administration actions, including the removal of OMB\u2019s apportionments database. \u201cIf the administration is going to abuse this part of the process to redirect or withhold that funding, Congress and the people who\u2019ve asked Congress to make these investments can no longer be confident those investments are going to be made according to law.\u201d<\/p>\nNew grant competitions offer hope to some, but not all<\/h2>\nThe Education Department has already begun soliciting applications for new awards for four of the education grant programs with currently frozen funds.<\/p>\nThey include grants for helping teachers work with students who have visual or hearing impairments<\/svg><\/a>, expanding gifted and talented programs in K-12 schools<\/svg><\/a>, providing pay bonuses to high-performing teachers and principals<\/svg><\/a>, and providing effective professional development opportunities<\/svg><\/a>.<\/p>\nFor some advocates, it\u2019s reassuring to see competitions launched for programs the Trump administration targeted for cuts last year<\/svg><\/a>.<\/p>\n\u201cOnce they put themselves on the record and announce a competition, I\u2019d be surprised if they subsequently went, \u2018Oh gosh, silly us, actually [OMB director] Russ Vought doesn\u2019t want us to do this so we\u2019re not going to do it,\u2019\u201d said Jaci King, a research, policy, and advocacy consultant for the American Association of Colleges for Teacher Education.<\/p>\nOthers feel less confident. \u201cJust because there\u2019s a grant competition doesn\u2019t mean that the agency is obligated to award funds if they don\u2019t believe enough or any of the applicants meet the requirements,\u201d Martin said.<\/p>\nFor the rest of the 35 programs, no competition has been announced. Without eventually gaining access to the fiscal 2026 dollars, the department likely wouldn\u2019t be able to give out new awards for those programs, or even supply funding for ongoing awards. <\/p>\nSix organizations currently in their first year with Assistance in Arts Education grants are expecting another round of funding in September. That money won\u2019t arrive if OMB doesn\u2019t apportion the $37 million in fiscal 2026 funds Congress approved for the arts program, said Amanda Karhuse, assistant executive director for advocacy and public policy at the National Association for Music Education.<\/p>\nThe same is true for nearly $46 million for Native Hawaiian Education grants and another $45 million for Alaska Native Education grants. <\/p>\nThe Partners in Development Foundation, which runs early childhood programs at 38 sites across Hawaii, is one of several organizations that could have to scale back operations if the department doesn\u2019t run a new competition for the Native Hawaiian Education program, Shawn Malia Kanaiaupuni, the foundation\u2019s CEO, told EdWeek in March<\/svg><\/a>.<\/p>\n\u201cThe hardest part is knowing that these services support children and families who rely on them every day,\u201d Kanaiaupuni said at the time.<\/p>\nWill funding stay frozen or will it flow?<\/h2>\nSeveral scenarios could play out from here, depending on the program. <\/p>\nOMB could delay apportionment of congressionally appropriated funds long enough that the agency doesn\u2019t have time to run competitions or award new grants. <\/p>\nThe Trump administration could attempt to argue\u2014as it did last year<\/svg><\/a>\u2014that authorizing spending on certain education grant programs violates the Constitution.<\/p>\nThe executive branch could also simply decline to spend the funds at all, allowing them to expire and sending them back to the Treasury. All told, nearly $1.4 billion in congressionally appropriated fiscal 2026 education funds OMB is currently withholding will expire and return to the U.S. Treasury in less than five months if OMB doesn\u2019t release the money by then, according to Education Week\u2019s analysis of OMB apportionments.<\/p>\nExperts say these moves would amount to the president impounding funds<\/svg><\/a>, which is illegal unless Congress approves a request from the White House to rescind previously approved spending. The president hasn\u2019t yet asked Congress to rescind any fiscal 2026 appropriations.<\/p>\nAlternatively, the appropriated funding may ultimately flow, albeit behind schedule. <\/p>\nUntil it does, said Martin, \u201cevery withholding incrementally increases the pressures on schools and districts and community organizations.\u201d\n<\/p><\/div>\n
Elsewhere, published agreements leave some questions unanswered. <\/p>\n
OMB on April 7 published a fiscal 2026 spending plan<\/svg><\/a> for the Institute of Education Sciences, the Education Department\u2019s research arm. The document<\/svg><\/a> shows $438 million in congressional appropriations for IES\u2014but Congress approved $765 million, and it\u2019s not clear whether OMB will unlock the remaining $327 million. <\/p>\nThat\u2019s on top of $289 million in fiscal 2025 money<\/svg><\/a> OMB also hasn\u2019t yet cleared the Education Department to spend. <\/p>\nDelayed funding is likely to scramble worthwhile efforts to collect data on what\u2019s happening in America\u2019s schools, said Rachel Dinkes, the president and CEO of Knowledge Alliance, a nonprofit that advocates for education research.<\/p>\n\u201cI think there\u2019s a real need to know what\u2019s happening with AI and social media and cellphone bans [in schools]. I believe there would be strong bipartisan support for IES executing on that,\u201d Dinkes said. \u201cShould they apportion the money fully, this is something they could execute on.\u201d<\/p>\nTypically, apportionments appear seamlessly in agency accounts<\/h2>\nCongress created the apportionment process<\/svg><\/a> more than a century ago to discourage federal agencies from spending more money than they had. <\/p>\nDuring recent presidential administrations, OMB would routinely apportion full congressional appropriations for most education programs within a month of lawmakers passing the budget.<\/p>\n\u201cThere is always an assumption that OMB is going to apportion the money per Congress\u2019 instruction because we have not seen a case, at least in recent memory, where the administration refuses to apportion or declines to apportion funds,\u201d said Julia Martin, director of policy and government affairs for the Bruman Group, a law firm that represents state education departments and school districts.<\/p>\nThat\u2019s changed under President Donald Trump, with the typically obscure OMB playing a central role in the internal operations of other federal agencies. <\/p>\nApportionment documents published in the last three months show 35 Education Department programs with most or all of their fiscal 2026 congressional appropriations listed as \u201cunallocated,\u201d meaning the Education Department doesn\u2019t yet have permission to spend those funds for the line item with which they\u2019re associated.<\/p>\nThe documents for many of those programs show attached, legally binding footnotes that explicitly prohibit the agency from spending the money until OMB executes another apportionment. Most also have attached footnotes saying all spending must comply with Trump\u2019s executive order<\/svg><\/a> banning government spending on \u201cDEI\u201d initiatives, broadly defined.<\/p>\nThe second Trump administration\u2019s use of apportionments to help shape its federal policy agenda<\/svg><\/a> closely resembles the OMB section of the conservative policy document known as Project 2025<\/svg><\/a>\u2014written by OMB\u2019s current chief, Russell Vought. <\/p>\nApportionment \u201cis essential to the effective financial stewardship of taxpayer dollars,\u201d Vought wrote<\/svg><\/a>. \u201cOMB can then direct on behalf of a President the amount, duration, and purpose of any apportioned funding to ensure against waste, fraud, and abuse, and<\/i> ensure consistency with the President\u2019s agenda and applicable laws.\u201d<\/p>\nDuring both of Trump\u2019s presidential terms, career officials who typically execute apportionments have been replaced by political appointees. All of the education apportionments in 2025 and 2026, for instance, were signed by OMB\u2019s Anne DeCesaro, a Trump appointee<\/svg><\/a> who previously served as a Republican congressional committee staffer.<\/p>\nOMB has also moved to shield its actions from public view. The office abruptly pulled down its apportionment database<\/svg><\/a> in March 2025, arguing that the information it displayed could \u201chave a chilling effect on the deliberations within the Executive Branch\u201d and jeopardize national security. OMB restored the database six months later, after two courts ruled that wiping the website was illegal<\/svg><\/a> and ordered its return. The legal dispute is ongoing<\/svg><\/a>.<\/p>\n\u201cCongress used to be able to pass bills that provided funding and with some certainty know that that funding would be provided,\u201d said Cerin Lindgrensavage, an attorney for Protect Democracy, a nonprofit that has led many lawsuits challenging Trump administration actions, including the removal of OMB\u2019s apportionments database. \u201cIf the administration is going to abuse this part of the process to redirect or withhold that funding, Congress and the people who\u2019ve asked Congress to make these investments can no longer be confident those investments are going to be made according to law.\u201d<\/p>\nNew grant competitions offer hope to some, but not all<\/h2>\nThe Education Department has already begun soliciting applications for new awards for four of the education grant programs with currently frozen funds.<\/p>\nThey include grants for helping teachers work with students who have visual or hearing impairments<\/svg><\/a>, expanding gifted and talented programs in K-12 schools<\/svg><\/a>, providing pay bonuses to high-performing teachers and principals<\/svg><\/a>, and providing effective professional development opportunities<\/svg><\/a>.<\/p>\nFor some advocates, it\u2019s reassuring to see competitions launched for programs the Trump administration targeted for cuts last year<\/svg><\/a>.<\/p>\n\u201cOnce they put themselves on the record and announce a competition, I\u2019d be surprised if they subsequently went, \u2018Oh gosh, silly us, actually [OMB director] Russ Vought doesn\u2019t want us to do this so we\u2019re not going to do it,\u2019\u201d said Jaci King, a research, policy, and advocacy consultant for the American Association of Colleges for Teacher Education.<\/p>\nOthers feel less confident. \u201cJust because there\u2019s a grant competition doesn\u2019t mean that the agency is obligated to award funds if they don\u2019t believe enough or any of the applicants meet the requirements,\u201d Martin said.<\/p>\nFor the rest of the 35 programs, no competition has been announced. Without eventually gaining access to the fiscal 2026 dollars, the department likely wouldn\u2019t be able to give out new awards for those programs, or even supply funding for ongoing awards. <\/p>\nSix organizations currently in their first year with Assistance in Arts Education grants are expecting another round of funding in September. That money won\u2019t arrive if OMB doesn\u2019t apportion the $37 million in fiscal 2026 funds Congress approved for the arts program, said Amanda Karhuse, assistant executive director for advocacy and public policy at the National Association for Music Education.<\/p>\nThe same is true for nearly $46 million for Native Hawaiian Education grants and another $45 million for Alaska Native Education grants. <\/p>\nThe Partners in Development Foundation, which runs early childhood programs at 38 sites across Hawaii, is one of several organizations that could have to scale back operations if the department doesn\u2019t run a new competition for the Native Hawaiian Education program, Shawn Malia Kanaiaupuni, the foundation\u2019s CEO, told EdWeek in March<\/svg><\/a>.<\/p>\n\u201cThe hardest part is knowing that these services support children and families who rely on them every day,\u201d Kanaiaupuni said at the time.<\/p>\nWill funding stay frozen or will it flow?<\/h2>\nSeveral scenarios could play out from here, depending on the program. <\/p>\nOMB could delay apportionment of congressionally appropriated funds long enough that the agency doesn\u2019t have time to run competitions or award new grants. <\/p>\nThe Trump administration could attempt to argue\u2014as it did last year<\/svg><\/a>\u2014that authorizing spending on certain education grant programs violates the Constitution.<\/p>\nThe executive branch could also simply decline to spend the funds at all, allowing them to expire and sending them back to the Treasury. All told, nearly $1.4 billion in congressionally appropriated fiscal 2026 education funds OMB is currently withholding will expire and return to the U.S. Treasury in less than five months if OMB doesn\u2019t release the money by then, according to Education Week\u2019s analysis of OMB apportionments.<\/p>\nExperts say these moves would amount to the president impounding funds<\/svg><\/a>, which is illegal unless Congress approves a request from the White House to rescind previously approved spending. The president hasn\u2019t yet asked Congress to rescind any fiscal 2026 appropriations.<\/p>\nAlternatively, the appropriated funding may ultimately flow, albeit behind schedule. <\/p>\nUntil it does, said Martin, \u201cevery withholding incrementally increases the pressures on schools and districts and community organizations.\u201d\n<\/p><\/div>\n
That\u2019s on top of $289 million in fiscal 2025 money<\/svg><\/a> OMB also hasn\u2019t yet cleared the Education Department to spend. <\/p>\nDelayed funding is likely to scramble worthwhile efforts to collect data on what\u2019s happening in America\u2019s schools, said Rachel Dinkes, the president and CEO of Knowledge Alliance, a nonprofit that advocates for education research.<\/p>\n\u201cI think there\u2019s a real need to know what\u2019s happening with AI and social media and cellphone bans [in schools]. I believe there would be strong bipartisan support for IES executing on that,\u201d Dinkes said. \u201cShould they apportion the money fully, this is something they could execute on.\u201d<\/p>\nTypically, apportionments appear seamlessly in agency accounts<\/h2>\nCongress created the apportionment process<\/svg><\/a> more than a century ago to discourage federal agencies from spending more money than they had. <\/p>\nDuring recent presidential administrations, OMB would routinely apportion full congressional appropriations for most education programs within a month of lawmakers passing the budget.<\/p>\n\u201cThere is always an assumption that OMB is going to apportion the money per Congress\u2019 instruction because we have not seen a case, at least in recent memory, where the administration refuses to apportion or declines to apportion funds,\u201d said Julia Martin, director of policy and government affairs for the Bruman Group, a law firm that represents state education departments and school districts.<\/p>\nThat\u2019s changed under President Donald Trump, with the typically obscure OMB playing a central role in the internal operations of other federal agencies. <\/p>\nApportionment documents published in the last three months show 35 Education Department programs with most or all of their fiscal 2026 congressional appropriations listed as \u201cunallocated,\u201d meaning the Education Department doesn\u2019t yet have permission to spend those funds for the line item with which they\u2019re associated.<\/p>\nThe documents for many of those programs show attached, legally binding footnotes that explicitly prohibit the agency from spending the money until OMB executes another apportionment. Most also have attached footnotes saying all spending must comply with Trump\u2019s executive order<\/svg><\/a> banning government spending on \u201cDEI\u201d initiatives, broadly defined.<\/p>\nThe second Trump administration\u2019s use of apportionments to help shape its federal policy agenda<\/svg><\/a> closely resembles the OMB section of the conservative policy document known as Project 2025<\/svg><\/a>\u2014written by OMB\u2019s current chief, Russell Vought. <\/p>\nApportionment \u201cis essential to the effective financial stewardship of taxpayer dollars,\u201d Vought wrote<\/svg><\/a>. \u201cOMB can then direct on behalf of a President the amount, duration, and purpose of any apportioned funding to ensure against waste, fraud, and abuse, and<\/i> ensure consistency with the President\u2019s agenda and applicable laws.\u201d<\/p>\nDuring both of Trump\u2019s presidential terms, career officials who typically execute apportionments have been replaced by political appointees. All of the education apportionments in 2025 and 2026, for instance, were signed by OMB\u2019s Anne DeCesaro, a Trump appointee<\/svg><\/a> who previously served as a Republican congressional committee staffer.<\/p>\nOMB has also moved to shield its actions from public view. The office abruptly pulled down its apportionment database<\/svg><\/a> in March 2025, arguing that the information it displayed could \u201chave a chilling effect on the deliberations within the Executive Branch\u201d and jeopardize national security. OMB restored the database six months later, after two courts ruled that wiping the website was illegal<\/svg><\/a> and ordered its return. The legal dispute is ongoing<\/svg><\/a>.<\/p>\n\u201cCongress used to be able to pass bills that provided funding and with some certainty know that that funding would be provided,\u201d said Cerin Lindgrensavage, an attorney for Protect Democracy, a nonprofit that has led many lawsuits challenging Trump administration actions, including the removal of OMB\u2019s apportionments database. \u201cIf the administration is going to abuse this part of the process to redirect or withhold that funding, Congress and the people who\u2019ve asked Congress to make these investments can no longer be confident those investments are going to be made according to law.\u201d<\/p>\nNew grant competitions offer hope to some, but not all<\/h2>\nThe Education Department has already begun soliciting applications for new awards for four of the education grant programs with currently frozen funds.<\/p>\nThey include grants for helping teachers work with students who have visual or hearing impairments<\/svg><\/a>, expanding gifted and talented programs in K-12 schools<\/svg><\/a>, providing pay bonuses to high-performing teachers and principals<\/svg><\/a>, and providing effective professional development opportunities<\/svg><\/a>.<\/p>\nFor some advocates, it\u2019s reassuring to see competitions launched for programs the Trump administration targeted for cuts last year<\/svg><\/a>.<\/p>\n\u201cOnce they put themselves on the record and announce a competition, I\u2019d be surprised if they subsequently went, \u2018Oh gosh, silly us, actually [OMB director] Russ Vought doesn\u2019t want us to do this so we\u2019re not going to do it,\u2019\u201d said Jaci King, a research, policy, and advocacy consultant for the American Association of Colleges for Teacher Education.<\/p>\nOthers feel less confident. \u201cJust because there\u2019s a grant competition doesn\u2019t mean that the agency is obligated to award funds if they don\u2019t believe enough or any of the applicants meet the requirements,\u201d Martin said.<\/p>\nFor the rest of the 35 programs, no competition has been announced. Without eventually gaining access to the fiscal 2026 dollars, the department likely wouldn\u2019t be able to give out new awards for those programs, or even supply funding for ongoing awards. <\/p>\nSix organizations currently in their first year with Assistance in Arts Education grants are expecting another round of funding in September. That money won\u2019t arrive if OMB doesn\u2019t apportion the $37 million in fiscal 2026 funds Congress approved for the arts program, said Amanda Karhuse, assistant executive director for advocacy and public policy at the National Association for Music Education.<\/p>\nThe same is true for nearly $46 million for Native Hawaiian Education grants and another $45 million for Alaska Native Education grants. <\/p>\nThe Partners in Development Foundation, which runs early childhood programs at 38 sites across Hawaii, is one of several organizations that could have to scale back operations if the department doesn\u2019t run a new competition for the Native Hawaiian Education program, Shawn Malia Kanaiaupuni, the foundation\u2019s CEO, told EdWeek in March<\/svg><\/a>.<\/p>\n\u201cThe hardest part is knowing that these services support children and families who rely on them every day,\u201d Kanaiaupuni said at the time.<\/p>\nWill funding stay frozen or will it flow?<\/h2>\nSeveral scenarios could play out from here, depending on the program. <\/p>\nOMB could delay apportionment of congressionally appropriated funds long enough that the agency doesn\u2019t have time to run competitions or award new grants. <\/p>\nThe Trump administration could attempt to argue\u2014as it did last year<\/svg><\/a>\u2014that authorizing spending on certain education grant programs violates the Constitution.<\/p>\nThe executive branch could also simply decline to spend the funds at all, allowing them to expire and sending them back to the Treasury. All told, nearly $1.4 billion in congressionally appropriated fiscal 2026 education funds OMB is currently withholding will expire and return to the U.S. Treasury in less than five months if OMB doesn\u2019t release the money by then, according to Education Week\u2019s analysis of OMB apportionments.<\/p>\nExperts say these moves would amount to the president impounding funds<\/svg><\/a>, which is illegal unless Congress approves a request from the White House to rescind previously approved spending. The president hasn\u2019t yet asked Congress to rescind any fiscal 2026 appropriations.<\/p>\nAlternatively, the appropriated funding may ultimately flow, albeit behind schedule. <\/p>\nUntil it does, said Martin, \u201cevery withholding incrementally increases the pressures on schools and districts and community organizations.\u201d\n<\/p><\/div>\n
Delayed funding is likely to scramble worthwhile efforts to collect data on what\u2019s happening in America\u2019s schools, said Rachel Dinkes, the president and CEO of Knowledge Alliance, a nonprofit that advocates for education research.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think there\u2019s a real need to know what\u2019s happening with AI and social media and cellphone bans [in schools]. I believe there would be strong bipartisan support for IES executing on that,\u201d Dinkes said. \u201cShould they apportion the money fully, this is something they could execute on.\u201d<\/p>\n
Congress created the apportionment process<\/svg><\/a> more than a century ago to discourage federal agencies from spending more money than they had. <\/p>\nDuring recent presidential administrations, OMB would routinely apportion full congressional appropriations for most education programs within a month of lawmakers passing the budget.<\/p>\n\u201cThere is always an assumption that OMB is going to apportion the money per Congress\u2019 instruction because we have not seen a case, at least in recent memory, where the administration refuses to apportion or declines to apportion funds,\u201d said Julia Martin, director of policy and government affairs for the Bruman Group, a law firm that represents state education departments and school districts.<\/p>\nThat\u2019s changed under President Donald Trump, with the typically obscure OMB playing a central role in the internal operations of other federal agencies. <\/p>\nApportionment documents published in the last three months show 35 Education Department programs with most or all of their fiscal 2026 congressional appropriations listed as \u201cunallocated,\u201d meaning the Education Department doesn\u2019t yet have permission to spend those funds for the line item with which they\u2019re associated.<\/p>\nThe documents for many of those programs show attached, legally binding footnotes that explicitly prohibit the agency from spending the money until OMB executes another apportionment. Most also have attached footnotes saying all spending must comply with Trump\u2019s executive order<\/svg><\/a> banning government spending on \u201cDEI\u201d initiatives, broadly defined.<\/p>\nThe second Trump administration\u2019s use of apportionments to help shape its federal policy agenda<\/svg><\/a> closely resembles the OMB section of the conservative policy document known as Project 2025<\/svg><\/a>\u2014written by OMB\u2019s current chief, Russell Vought. <\/p>\nApportionment \u201cis essential to the effective financial stewardship of taxpayer dollars,\u201d Vought wrote<\/svg><\/a>. \u201cOMB can then direct on behalf of a President the amount, duration, and purpose of any apportioned funding to ensure against waste, fraud, and abuse, and<\/i> ensure consistency with the President\u2019s agenda and applicable laws.\u201d<\/p>\nDuring both of Trump\u2019s presidential terms, career officials who typically execute apportionments have been replaced by political appointees. All of the education apportionments in 2025 and 2026, for instance, were signed by OMB\u2019s Anne DeCesaro, a Trump appointee<\/svg><\/a> who previously served as a Republican congressional committee staffer.<\/p>\nOMB has also moved to shield its actions from public view. The office abruptly pulled down its apportionment database<\/svg><\/a> in March 2025, arguing that the information it displayed could \u201chave a chilling effect on the deliberations within the Executive Branch\u201d and jeopardize national security. OMB restored the database six months later, after two courts ruled that wiping the website was illegal<\/svg><\/a> and ordered its return. The legal dispute is ongoing<\/svg><\/a>.<\/p>\n\u201cCongress used to be able to pass bills that provided funding and with some certainty know that that funding would be provided,\u201d said Cerin Lindgrensavage, an attorney for Protect Democracy, a nonprofit that has led many lawsuits challenging Trump administration actions, including the removal of OMB\u2019s apportionments database. \u201cIf the administration is going to abuse this part of the process to redirect or withhold that funding, Congress and the people who\u2019ve asked Congress to make these investments can no longer be confident those investments are going to be made according to law.\u201d<\/p>\nNew grant competitions offer hope to some, but not all<\/h2>\nThe Education Department has already begun soliciting applications for new awards for four of the education grant programs with currently frozen funds.<\/p>\nThey include grants for helping teachers work with students who have visual or hearing impairments<\/svg><\/a>, expanding gifted and talented programs in K-12 schools<\/svg><\/a>, providing pay bonuses to high-performing teachers and principals<\/svg><\/a>, and providing effective professional development opportunities<\/svg><\/a>.<\/p>\nFor some advocates, it\u2019s reassuring to see competitions launched for programs the Trump administration targeted for cuts last year<\/svg><\/a>.<\/p>\n\u201cOnce they put themselves on the record and announce a competition, I\u2019d be surprised if they subsequently went, \u2018Oh gosh, silly us, actually [OMB director] Russ Vought doesn\u2019t want us to do this so we\u2019re not going to do it,\u2019\u201d said Jaci King, a research, policy, and advocacy consultant for the American Association of Colleges for Teacher Education.<\/p>\nOthers feel less confident. \u201cJust because there\u2019s a grant competition doesn\u2019t mean that the agency is obligated to award funds if they don\u2019t believe enough or any of the applicants meet the requirements,\u201d Martin said.<\/p>\nFor the rest of the 35 programs, no competition has been announced. Without eventually gaining access to the fiscal 2026 dollars, the department likely wouldn\u2019t be able to give out new awards for those programs, or even supply funding for ongoing awards. <\/p>\nSix organizations currently in their first year with Assistance in Arts Education grants are expecting another round of funding in September. That money won\u2019t arrive if OMB doesn\u2019t apportion the $37 million in fiscal 2026 funds Congress approved for the arts program, said Amanda Karhuse, assistant executive director for advocacy and public policy at the National Association for Music Education.<\/p>\nThe same is true for nearly $46 million for Native Hawaiian Education grants and another $45 million for Alaska Native Education grants. <\/p>\nThe Partners in Development Foundation, which runs early childhood programs at 38 sites across Hawaii, is one of several organizations that could have to scale back operations if the department doesn\u2019t run a new competition for the Native Hawaiian Education program, Shawn Malia Kanaiaupuni, the foundation\u2019s CEO, told EdWeek in March<\/svg><\/a>.<\/p>\n\u201cThe hardest part is knowing that these services support children and families who rely on them every day,\u201d Kanaiaupuni said at the time.<\/p>\nWill funding stay frozen or will it flow?<\/h2>\nSeveral scenarios could play out from here, depending on the program. <\/p>\nOMB could delay apportionment of congressionally appropriated funds long enough that the agency doesn\u2019t have time to run competitions or award new grants. <\/p>\nThe Trump administration could attempt to argue\u2014as it did last year<\/svg><\/a>\u2014that authorizing spending on certain education grant programs violates the Constitution.<\/p>\nThe executive branch could also simply decline to spend the funds at all, allowing them to expire and sending them back to the Treasury. All told, nearly $1.4 billion in congressionally appropriated fiscal 2026 education funds OMB is currently withholding will expire and return to the U.S. Treasury in less than five months if OMB doesn\u2019t release the money by then, according to Education Week\u2019s analysis of OMB apportionments.<\/p>\nExperts say these moves would amount to the president impounding funds<\/svg><\/a>, which is illegal unless Congress approves a request from the White House to rescind previously approved spending. The president hasn\u2019t yet asked Congress to rescind any fiscal 2026 appropriations.<\/p>\nAlternatively, the appropriated funding may ultimately flow, albeit behind schedule. <\/p>\nUntil it does, said Martin, \u201cevery withholding incrementally increases the pressures on schools and districts and community organizations.\u201d\n<\/p><\/div>\n
During recent presidential administrations, OMB would routinely apportion full congressional appropriations for most education programs within a month of lawmakers passing the budget.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere is always an assumption that OMB is going to apportion the money per Congress\u2019 instruction because we have not seen a case, at least in recent memory, where the administration refuses to apportion or declines to apportion funds,\u201d said Julia Martin, director of policy and government affairs for the Bruman Group, a law firm that represents state education departments and school districts.<\/p>\n
That\u2019s changed under President Donald Trump, with the typically obscure OMB playing a central role in the internal operations of other federal agencies. <\/p>\n
Apportionment documents published in the last three months show 35 Education Department programs with most or all of their fiscal 2026 congressional appropriations listed as \u201cunallocated,\u201d meaning the Education Department doesn\u2019t yet have permission to spend those funds for the line item with which they\u2019re associated.<\/p>\n
The documents for many of those programs show attached, legally binding footnotes that explicitly prohibit the agency from spending the money until OMB executes another apportionment. Most also have attached footnotes saying all spending must comply with Trump\u2019s executive order<\/svg><\/a> banning government spending on \u201cDEI\u201d initiatives, broadly defined.<\/p>\nThe second Trump administration\u2019s use of apportionments to help shape its federal policy agenda<\/svg><\/a> closely resembles the OMB section of the conservative policy document known as Project 2025<\/svg><\/a>\u2014written by OMB\u2019s current chief, Russell Vought. <\/p>\nApportionment \u201cis essential to the effective financial stewardship of taxpayer dollars,\u201d Vought wrote<\/svg><\/a>. \u201cOMB can then direct on behalf of a President the amount, duration, and purpose of any apportioned funding to ensure against waste, fraud, and abuse, and<\/i> ensure consistency with the President\u2019s agenda and applicable laws.\u201d<\/p>\nDuring both of Trump\u2019s presidential terms, career officials who typically execute apportionments have been replaced by political appointees. All of the education apportionments in 2025 and 2026, for instance, were signed by OMB\u2019s Anne DeCesaro, a Trump appointee<\/svg><\/a> who previously served as a Republican congressional committee staffer.<\/p>\nOMB has also moved to shield its actions from public view. The office abruptly pulled down its apportionment database<\/svg><\/a> in March 2025, arguing that the information it displayed could \u201chave a chilling effect on the deliberations within the Executive Branch\u201d and jeopardize national security. OMB restored the database six months later, after two courts ruled that wiping the website was illegal<\/svg><\/a> and ordered its return. The legal dispute is ongoing<\/svg><\/a>.<\/p>\n\u201cCongress used to be able to pass bills that provided funding and with some certainty know that that funding would be provided,\u201d said Cerin Lindgrensavage, an attorney for Protect Democracy, a nonprofit that has led many lawsuits challenging Trump administration actions, including the removal of OMB\u2019s apportionments database. \u201cIf the administration is going to abuse this part of the process to redirect or withhold that funding, Congress and the people who\u2019ve asked Congress to make these investments can no longer be confident those investments are going to be made according to law.\u201d<\/p>\nNew grant competitions offer hope to some, but not all<\/h2>\nThe Education Department has already begun soliciting applications for new awards for four of the education grant programs with currently frozen funds.<\/p>\nThey include grants for helping teachers work with students who have visual or hearing impairments<\/svg><\/a>, expanding gifted and talented programs in K-12 schools<\/svg><\/a>, providing pay bonuses to high-performing teachers and principals<\/svg><\/a>, and providing effective professional development opportunities<\/svg><\/a>.<\/p>\nFor some advocates, it\u2019s reassuring to see competitions launched for programs the Trump administration targeted for cuts last year<\/svg><\/a>.<\/p>\n\u201cOnce they put themselves on the record and announce a competition, I\u2019d be surprised if they subsequently went, \u2018Oh gosh, silly us, actually [OMB director] Russ Vought doesn\u2019t want us to do this so we\u2019re not going to do it,\u2019\u201d said Jaci King, a research, policy, and advocacy consultant for the American Association of Colleges for Teacher Education.<\/p>\nOthers feel less confident. \u201cJust because there\u2019s a grant competition doesn\u2019t mean that the agency is obligated to award funds if they don\u2019t believe enough or any of the applicants meet the requirements,\u201d Martin said.<\/p>\nFor the rest of the 35 programs, no competition has been announced. Without eventually gaining access to the fiscal 2026 dollars, the department likely wouldn\u2019t be able to give out new awards for those programs, or even supply funding for ongoing awards. <\/p>\nSix organizations currently in their first year with Assistance in Arts Education grants are expecting another round of funding in September. That money won\u2019t arrive if OMB doesn\u2019t apportion the $37 million in fiscal 2026 funds Congress approved for the arts program, said Amanda Karhuse, assistant executive director for advocacy and public policy at the National Association for Music Education.<\/p>\nThe same is true for nearly $46 million for Native Hawaiian Education grants and another $45 million for Alaska Native Education grants. <\/p>\nThe Partners in Development Foundation, which runs early childhood programs at 38 sites across Hawaii, is one of several organizations that could have to scale back operations if the department doesn\u2019t run a new competition for the Native Hawaiian Education program, Shawn Malia Kanaiaupuni, the foundation\u2019s CEO, told EdWeek in March<\/svg><\/a>.<\/p>\n\u201cThe hardest part is knowing that these services support children and families who rely on them every day,\u201d Kanaiaupuni said at the time.<\/p>\nWill funding stay frozen or will it flow?<\/h2>\nSeveral scenarios could play out from here, depending on the program. <\/p>\nOMB could delay apportionment of congressionally appropriated funds long enough that the agency doesn\u2019t have time to run competitions or award new grants. <\/p>\nThe Trump administration could attempt to argue\u2014as it did last year<\/svg><\/a>\u2014that authorizing spending on certain education grant programs violates the Constitution.<\/p>\nThe executive branch could also simply decline to spend the funds at all, allowing them to expire and sending them back to the Treasury. All told, nearly $1.4 billion in congressionally appropriated fiscal 2026 education funds OMB is currently withholding will expire and return to the U.S. Treasury in less than five months if OMB doesn\u2019t release the money by then, according to Education Week\u2019s analysis of OMB apportionments.<\/p>\nExperts say these moves would amount to the president impounding funds<\/svg><\/a>, which is illegal unless Congress approves a request from the White House to rescind previously approved spending. The president hasn\u2019t yet asked Congress to rescind any fiscal 2026 appropriations.<\/p>\nAlternatively, the appropriated funding may ultimately flow, albeit behind schedule. <\/p>\nUntil it does, said Martin, \u201cevery withholding incrementally increases the pressures on schools and districts and community organizations.\u201d\n<\/p><\/div>\n
The second Trump administration\u2019s use of apportionments to help shape its federal policy agenda<\/svg><\/a> closely resembles the OMB section of the conservative policy document known as Project 2025<\/svg><\/a>\u2014written by OMB\u2019s current chief, Russell Vought. <\/p>\nApportionment \u201cis essential to the effective financial stewardship of taxpayer dollars,\u201d Vought wrote<\/svg><\/a>. \u201cOMB can then direct on behalf of a President the amount, duration, and purpose of any apportioned funding to ensure against waste, fraud, and abuse, and<\/i> ensure consistency with the President\u2019s agenda and applicable laws.\u201d<\/p>\nDuring both of Trump\u2019s presidential terms, career officials who typically execute apportionments have been replaced by political appointees. All of the education apportionments in 2025 and 2026, for instance, were signed by OMB\u2019s Anne DeCesaro, a Trump appointee<\/svg><\/a> who previously served as a Republican congressional committee staffer.<\/p>\nOMB has also moved to shield its actions from public view. The office abruptly pulled down its apportionment database<\/svg><\/a> in March 2025, arguing that the information it displayed could \u201chave a chilling effect on the deliberations within the Executive Branch\u201d and jeopardize national security. OMB restored the database six months later, after two courts ruled that wiping the website was illegal<\/svg><\/a> and ordered its return. The legal dispute is ongoing<\/svg><\/a>.<\/p>\n\u201cCongress used to be able to pass bills that provided funding and with some certainty know that that funding would be provided,\u201d said Cerin Lindgrensavage, an attorney for Protect Democracy, a nonprofit that has led many lawsuits challenging Trump administration actions, including the removal of OMB\u2019s apportionments database. \u201cIf the administration is going to abuse this part of the process to redirect or withhold that funding, Congress and the people who\u2019ve asked Congress to make these investments can no longer be confident those investments are going to be made according to law.\u201d<\/p>\nNew grant competitions offer hope to some, but not all<\/h2>\nThe Education Department has already begun soliciting applications for new awards for four of the education grant programs with currently frozen funds.<\/p>\nThey include grants for helping teachers work with students who have visual or hearing impairments<\/svg><\/a>, expanding gifted and talented programs in K-12 schools<\/svg><\/a>, providing pay bonuses to high-performing teachers and principals<\/svg><\/a>, and providing effective professional development opportunities<\/svg><\/a>.<\/p>\nFor some advocates, it\u2019s reassuring to see competitions launched for programs the Trump administration targeted for cuts last year<\/svg><\/a>.<\/p>\n\u201cOnce they put themselves on the record and announce a competition, I\u2019d be surprised if they subsequently went, \u2018Oh gosh, silly us, actually [OMB director] Russ Vought doesn\u2019t want us to do this so we\u2019re not going to do it,\u2019\u201d said Jaci King, a research, policy, and advocacy consultant for the American Association of Colleges for Teacher Education.<\/p>\nOthers feel less confident. \u201cJust because there\u2019s a grant competition doesn\u2019t mean that the agency is obligated to award funds if they don\u2019t believe enough or any of the applicants meet the requirements,\u201d Martin said.<\/p>\nFor the rest of the 35 programs, no competition has been announced. Without eventually gaining access to the fiscal 2026 dollars, the department likely wouldn\u2019t be able to give out new awards for those programs, or even supply funding for ongoing awards. <\/p>\nSix organizations currently in their first year with Assistance in Arts Education grants are expecting another round of funding in September. That money won\u2019t arrive if OMB doesn\u2019t apportion the $37 million in fiscal 2026 funds Congress approved for the arts program, said Amanda Karhuse, assistant executive director for advocacy and public policy at the National Association for Music Education.<\/p>\nThe same is true for nearly $46 million for Native Hawaiian Education grants and another $45 million for Alaska Native Education grants. <\/p>\nThe Partners in Development Foundation, which runs early childhood programs at 38 sites across Hawaii, is one of several organizations that could have to scale back operations if the department doesn\u2019t run a new competition for the Native Hawaiian Education program, Shawn Malia Kanaiaupuni, the foundation\u2019s CEO, told EdWeek in March<\/svg><\/a>.<\/p>\n\u201cThe hardest part is knowing that these services support children and families who rely on them every day,\u201d Kanaiaupuni said at the time.<\/p>\nWill funding stay frozen or will it flow?<\/h2>\nSeveral scenarios could play out from here, depending on the program. <\/p>\nOMB could delay apportionment of congressionally appropriated funds long enough that the agency doesn\u2019t have time to run competitions or award new grants. <\/p>\nThe Trump administration could attempt to argue\u2014as it did last year<\/svg><\/a>\u2014that authorizing spending on certain education grant programs violates the Constitution.<\/p>\nThe executive branch could also simply decline to spend the funds at all, allowing them to expire and sending them back to the Treasury. All told, nearly $1.4 billion in congressionally appropriated fiscal 2026 education funds OMB is currently withholding will expire and return to the U.S. Treasury in less than five months if OMB doesn\u2019t release the money by then, according to Education Week\u2019s analysis of OMB apportionments.<\/p>\nExperts say these moves would amount to the president impounding funds<\/svg><\/a>, which is illegal unless Congress approves a request from the White House to rescind previously approved spending. The president hasn\u2019t yet asked Congress to rescind any fiscal 2026 appropriations.<\/p>\nAlternatively, the appropriated funding may ultimately flow, albeit behind schedule. <\/p>\nUntil it does, said Martin, \u201cevery withholding incrementally increases the pressures on schools and districts and community organizations.\u201d\n<\/p><\/div>\n
Apportionment \u201cis essential to the effective financial stewardship of taxpayer dollars,\u201d Vought wrote<\/svg><\/a>. \u201cOMB can then direct on behalf of a President the amount, duration, and purpose of any apportioned funding to ensure against waste, fraud, and abuse, and<\/i> ensure consistency with the President\u2019s agenda and applicable laws.\u201d<\/p>\nDuring both of Trump\u2019s presidential terms, career officials who typically execute apportionments have been replaced by political appointees. All of the education apportionments in 2025 and 2026, for instance, were signed by OMB\u2019s Anne DeCesaro, a Trump appointee<\/svg><\/a> who previously served as a Republican congressional committee staffer.<\/p>\nOMB has also moved to shield its actions from public view. The office abruptly pulled down its apportionment database<\/svg><\/a> in March 2025, arguing that the information it displayed could \u201chave a chilling effect on the deliberations within the Executive Branch\u201d and jeopardize national security. OMB restored the database six months later, after two courts ruled that wiping the website was illegal<\/svg><\/a> and ordered its return. The legal dispute is ongoing<\/svg><\/a>.<\/p>\n\u201cCongress used to be able to pass bills that provided funding and with some certainty know that that funding would be provided,\u201d said Cerin Lindgrensavage, an attorney for Protect Democracy, a nonprofit that has led many lawsuits challenging Trump administration actions, including the removal of OMB\u2019s apportionments database. \u201cIf the administration is going to abuse this part of the process to redirect or withhold that funding, Congress and the people who\u2019ve asked Congress to make these investments can no longer be confident those investments are going to be made according to law.\u201d<\/p>\nNew grant competitions offer hope to some, but not all<\/h2>\nThe Education Department has already begun soliciting applications for new awards for four of the education grant programs with currently frozen funds.<\/p>\nThey include grants for helping teachers work with students who have visual or hearing impairments<\/svg><\/a>, expanding gifted and talented programs in K-12 schools<\/svg><\/a>, providing pay bonuses to high-performing teachers and principals<\/svg><\/a>, and providing effective professional development opportunities<\/svg><\/a>.<\/p>\nFor some advocates, it\u2019s reassuring to see competitions launched for programs the Trump administration targeted for cuts last year<\/svg><\/a>.<\/p>\n\u201cOnce they put themselves on the record and announce a competition, I\u2019d be surprised if they subsequently went, \u2018Oh gosh, silly us, actually [OMB director] Russ Vought doesn\u2019t want us to do this so we\u2019re not going to do it,\u2019\u201d said Jaci King, a research, policy, and advocacy consultant for the American Association of Colleges for Teacher Education.<\/p>\nOthers feel less confident. \u201cJust because there\u2019s a grant competition doesn\u2019t mean that the agency is obligated to award funds if they don\u2019t believe enough or any of the applicants meet the requirements,\u201d Martin said.<\/p>\nFor the rest of the 35 programs, no competition has been announced. Without eventually gaining access to the fiscal 2026 dollars, the department likely wouldn\u2019t be able to give out new awards for those programs, or even supply funding for ongoing awards. <\/p>\nSix organizations currently in their first year with Assistance in Arts Education grants are expecting another round of funding in September. That money won\u2019t arrive if OMB doesn\u2019t apportion the $37 million in fiscal 2026 funds Congress approved for the arts program, said Amanda Karhuse, assistant executive director for advocacy and public policy at the National Association for Music Education.<\/p>\nThe same is true for nearly $46 million for Native Hawaiian Education grants and another $45 million for Alaska Native Education grants. <\/p>\nThe Partners in Development Foundation, which runs early childhood programs at 38 sites across Hawaii, is one of several organizations that could have to scale back operations if the department doesn\u2019t run a new competition for the Native Hawaiian Education program, Shawn Malia Kanaiaupuni, the foundation\u2019s CEO, told EdWeek in March<\/svg><\/a>.<\/p>\n\u201cThe hardest part is knowing that these services support children and families who rely on them every day,\u201d Kanaiaupuni said at the time.<\/p>\nWill funding stay frozen or will it flow?<\/h2>\nSeveral scenarios could play out from here, depending on the program. <\/p>\nOMB could delay apportionment of congressionally appropriated funds long enough that the agency doesn\u2019t have time to run competitions or award new grants. <\/p>\nThe Trump administration could attempt to argue\u2014as it did last year<\/svg><\/a>\u2014that authorizing spending on certain education grant programs violates the Constitution.<\/p>\nThe executive branch could also simply decline to spend the funds at all, allowing them to expire and sending them back to the Treasury. All told, nearly $1.4 billion in congressionally appropriated fiscal 2026 education funds OMB is currently withholding will expire and return to the U.S. Treasury in less than five months if OMB doesn\u2019t release the money by then, according to Education Week\u2019s analysis of OMB apportionments.<\/p>\nExperts say these moves would amount to the president impounding funds<\/svg><\/a>, which is illegal unless Congress approves a request from the White House to rescind previously approved spending. The president hasn\u2019t yet asked Congress to rescind any fiscal 2026 appropriations.<\/p>\nAlternatively, the appropriated funding may ultimately flow, albeit behind schedule. <\/p>\nUntil it does, said Martin, \u201cevery withholding incrementally increases the pressures on schools and districts and community organizations.\u201d\n<\/p><\/div>\n
During both of Trump\u2019s presidential terms, career officials who typically execute apportionments have been replaced by political appointees. All of the education apportionments in 2025 and 2026, for instance, were signed by OMB\u2019s Anne DeCesaro, a Trump appointee<\/svg><\/a> who previously served as a Republican congressional committee staffer.<\/p>\nOMB has also moved to shield its actions from public view. The office abruptly pulled down its apportionment database<\/svg><\/a> in March 2025, arguing that the information it displayed could \u201chave a chilling effect on the deliberations within the Executive Branch\u201d and jeopardize national security. OMB restored the database six months later, after two courts ruled that wiping the website was illegal<\/svg><\/a> and ordered its return. The legal dispute is ongoing<\/svg><\/a>.<\/p>\n\u201cCongress used to be able to pass bills that provided funding and with some certainty know that that funding would be provided,\u201d said Cerin Lindgrensavage, an attorney for Protect Democracy, a nonprofit that has led many lawsuits challenging Trump administration actions, including the removal of OMB\u2019s apportionments database. \u201cIf the administration is going to abuse this part of the process to redirect or withhold that funding, Congress and the people who\u2019ve asked Congress to make these investments can no longer be confident those investments are going to be made according to law.\u201d<\/p>\nNew grant competitions offer hope to some, but not all<\/h2>\nThe Education Department has already begun soliciting applications for new awards for four of the education grant programs with currently frozen funds.<\/p>\nThey include grants for helping teachers work with students who have visual or hearing impairments<\/svg><\/a>, expanding gifted and talented programs in K-12 schools<\/svg><\/a>, providing pay bonuses to high-performing teachers and principals<\/svg><\/a>, and providing effective professional development opportunities<\/svg><\/a>.<\/p>\nFor some advocates, it\u2019s reassuring to see competitions launched for programs the Trump administration targeted for cuts last year<\/svg><\/a>.<\/p>\n\u201cOnce they put themselves on the record and announce a competition, I\u2019d be surprised if they subsequently went, \u2018Oh gosh, silly us, actually [OMB director] Russ Vought doesn\u2019t want us to do this so we\u2019re not going to do it,\u2019\u201d said Jaci King, a research, policy, and advocacy consultant for the American Association of Colleges for Teacher Education.<\/p>\nOthers feel less confident. \u201cJust because there\u2019s a grant competition doesn\u2019t mean that the agency is obligated to award funds if they don\u2019t believe enough or any of the applicants meet the requirements,\u201d Martin said.<\/p>\nFor the rest of the 35 programs, no competition has been announced. Without eventually gaining access to the fiscal 2026 dollars, the department likely wouldn\u2019t be able to give out new awards for those programs, or even supply funding for ongoing awards. <\/p>\nSix organizations currently in their first year with Assistance in Arts Education grants are expecting another round of funding in September. That money won\u2019t arrive if OMB doesn\u2019t apportion the $37 million in fiscal 2026 funds Congress approved for the arts program, said Amanda Karhuse, assistant executive director for advocacy and public policy at the National Association for Music Education.<\/p>\nThe same is true for nearly $46 million for Native Hawaiian Education grants and another $45 million for Alaska Native Education grants. <\/p>\nThe Partners in Development Foundation, which runs early childhood programs at 38 sites across Hawaii, is one of several organizations that could have to scale back operations if the department doesn\u2019t run a new competition for the Native Hawaiian Education program, Shawn Malia Kanaiaupuni, the foundation\u2019s CEO, told EdWeek in March<\/svg><\/a>.<\/p>\n\u201cThe hardest part is knowing that these services support children and families who rely on them every day,\u201d Kanaiaupuni said at the time.<\/p>\nWill funding stay frozen or will it flow?<\/h2>\nSeveral scenarios could play out from here, depending on the program. <\/p>\nOMB could delay apportionment of congressionally appropriated funds long enough that the agency doesn\u2019t have time to run competitions or award new grants. <\/p>\nThe Trump administration could attempt to argue\u2014as it did last year<\/svg><\/a>\u2014that authorizing spending on certain education grant programs violates the Constitution.<\/p>\nThe executive branch could also simply decline to spend the funds at all, allowing them to expire and sending them back to the Treasury. All told, nearly $1.4 billion in congressionally appropriated fiscal 2026 education funds OMB is currently withholding will expire and return to the U.S. Treasury in less than five months if OMB doesn\u2019t release the money by then, according to Education Week\u2019s analysis of OMB apportionments.<\/p>\nExperts say these moves would amount to the president impounding funds<\/svg><\/a>, which is illegal unless Congress approves a request from the White House to rescind previously approved spending. The president hasn\u2019t yet asked Congress to rescind any fiscal 2026 appropriations.<\/p>\nAlternatively, the appropriated funding may ultimately flow, albeit behind schedule. <\/p>\nUntil it does, said Martin, \u201cevery withholding incrementally increases the pressures on schools and districts and community organizations.\u201d\n<\/p><\/div>\n
OMB has also moved to shield its actions from public view. The office abruptly pulled down its apportionment database<\/svg><\/a> in March 2025, arguing that the information it displayed could \u201chave a chilling effect on the deliberations within the Executive Branch\u201d and jeopardize national security. OMB restored the database six months later, after two courts ruled that wiping the website was illegal<\/svg><\/a> and ordered its return. The legal dispute is ongoing<\/svg><\/a>.<\/p>\n\u201cCongress used to be able to pass bills that provided funding and with some certainty know that that funding would be provided,\u201d said Cerin Lindgrensavage, an attorney for Protect Democracy, a nonprofit that has led many lawsuits challenging Trump administration actions, including the removal of OMB\u2019s apportionments database. \u201cIf the administration is going to abuse this part of the process to redirect or withhold that funding, Congress and the people who\u2019ve asked Congress to make these investments can no longer be confident those investments are going to be made according to law.\u201d<\/p>\nNew grant competitions offer hope to some, but not all<\/h2>\nThe Education Department has already begun soliciting applications for new awards for four of the education grant programs with currently frozen funds.<\/p>\nThey include grants for helping teachers work with students who have visual or hearing impairments<\/svg><\/a>, expanding gifted and talented programs in K-12 schools<\/svg><\/a>, providing pay bonuses to high-performing teachers and principals<\/svg><\/a>, and providing effective professional development opportunities<\/svg><\/a>.<\/p>\nFor some advocates, it\u2019s reassuring to see competitions launched for programs the Trump administration targeted for cuts last year<\/svg><\/a>.<\/p>\n\u201cOnce they put themselves on the record and announce a competition, I\u2019d be surprised if they subsequently went, \u2018Oh gosh, silly us, actually [OMB director] Russ Vought doesn\u2019t want us to do this so we\u2019re not going to do it,\u2019\u201d said Jaci King, a research, policy, and advocacy consultant for the American Association of Colleges for Teacher Education.<\/p>\nOthers feel less confident. \u201cJust because there\u2019s a grant competition doesn\u2019t mean that the agency is obligated to award funds if they don\u2019t believe enough or any of the applicants meet the requirements,\u201d Martin said.<\/p>\nFor the rest of the 35 programs, no competition has been announced. Without eventually gaining access to the fiscal 2026 dollars, the department likely wouldn\u2019t be able to give out new awards for those programs, or even supply funding for ongoing awards. <\/p>\nSix organizations currently in their first year with Assistance in Arts Education grants are expecting another round of funding in September. That money won\u2019t arrive if OMB doesn\u2019t apportion the $37 million in fiscal 2026 funds Congress approved for the arts program, said Amanda Karhuse, assistant executive director for advocacy and public policy at the National Association for Music Education.<\/p>\nThe same is true for nearly $46 million for Native Hawaiian Education grants and another $45 million for Alaska Native Education grants. <\/p>\nThe Partners in Development Foundation, which runs early childhood programs at 38 sites across Hawaii, is one of several organizations that could have to scale back operations if the department doesn\u2019t run a new competition for the Native Hawaiian Education program, Shawn Malia Kanaiaupuni, the foundation\u2019s CEO, told EdWeek in March<\/svg><\/a>.<\/p>\n\u201cThe hardest part is knowing that these services support children and families who rely on them every day,\u201d Kanaiaupuni said at the time.<\/p>\nWill funding stay frozen or will it flow?<\/h2>\nSeveral scenarios could play out from here, depending on the program. <\/p>\nOMB could delay apportionment of congressionally appropriated funds long enough that the agency doesn\u2019t have time to run competitions or award new grants. <\/p>\nThe Trump administration could attempt to argue\u2014as it did last year<\/svg><\/a>\u2014that authorizing spending on certain education grant programs violates the Constitution.<\/p>\nThe executive branch could also simply decline to spend the funds at all, allowing them to expire and sending them back to the Treasury. All told, nearly $1.4 billion in congressionally appropriated fiscal 2026 education funds OMB is currently withholding will expire and return to the U.S. Treasury in less than five months if OMB doesn\u2019t release the money by then, according to Education Week\u2019s analysis of OMB apportionments.<\/p>\nExperts say these moves would amount to the president impounding funds<\/svg><\/a>, which is illegal unless Congress approves a request from the White House to rescind previously approved spending. The president hasn\u2019t yet asked Congress to rescind any fiscal 2026 appropriations.<\/p>\nAlternatively, the appropriated funding may ultimately flow, albeit behind schedule. <\/p>\nUntil it does, said Martin, \u201cevery withholding incrementally increases the pressures on schools and districts and community organizations.\u201d\n<\/p><\/div>\n
\u201cCongress used to be able to pass bills that provided funding and with some certainty know that that funding would be provided,\u201d said Cerin Lindgrensavage, an attorney for Protect Democracy, a nonprofit that has led many lawsuits challenging Trump administration actions, including the removal of OMB\u2019s apportionments database. \u201cIf the administration is going to abuse this part of the process to redirect or withhold that funding, Congress and the people who\u2019ve asked Congress to make these investments can no longer be confident those investments are going to be made according to law.\u201d<\/p>\n
The Education Department has already begun soliciting applications for new awards for four of the education grant programs with currently frozen funds.<\/p>\n
They include grants for helping teachers work with students who have visual or hearing impairments<\/svg><\/a>, expanding gifted and talented programs in K-12 schools<\/svg><\/a>, providing pay bonuses to high-performing teachers and principals<\/svg><\/a>, and providing effective professional development opportunities<\/svg><\/a>.<\/p>\nFor some advocates, it\u2019s reassuring to see competitions launched for programs the Trump administration targeted for cuts last year<\/svg><\/a>.<\/p>\n\u201cOnce they put themselves on the record and announce a competition, I\u2019d be surprised if they subsequently went, \u2018Oh gosh, silly us, actually [OMB director] Russ Vought doesn\u2019t want us to do this so we\u2019re not going to do it,\u2019\u201d said Jaci King, a research, policy, and advocacy consultant for the American Association of Colleges for Teacher Education.<\/p>\nOthers feel less confident. \u201cJust because there\u2019s a grant competition doesn\u2019t mean that the agency is obligated to award funds if they don\u2019t believe enough or any of the applicants meet the requirements,\u201d Martin said.<\/p>\nFor the rest of the 35 programs, no competition has been announced. Without eventually gaining access to the fiscal 2026 dollars, the department likely wouldn\u2019t be able to give out new awards for those programs, or even supply funding for ongoing awards. <\/p>\nSix organizations currently in their first year with Assistance in Arts Education grants are expecting another round of funding in September. That money won\u2019t arrive if OMB doesn\u2019t apportion the $37 million in fiscal 2026 funds Congress approved for the arts program, said Amanda Karhuse, assistant executive director for advocacy and public policy at the National Association for Music Education.<\/p>\nThe same is true for nearly $46 million for Native Hawaiian Education grants and another $45 million for Alaska Native Education grants. <\/p>\nThe Partners in Development Foundation, which runs early childhood programs at 38 sites across Hawaii, is one of several organizations that could have to scale back operations if the department doesn\u2019t run a new competition for the Native Hawaiian Education program, Shawn Malia Kanaiaupuni, the foundation\u2019s CEO, told EdWeek in March<\/svg><\/a>.<\/p>\n\u201cThe hardest part is knowing that these services support children and families who rely on them every day,\u201d Kanaiaupuni said at the time.<\/p>\nWill funding stay frozen or will it flow?<\/h2>\nSeveral scenarios could play out from here, depending on the program. <\/p>\nOMB could delay apportionment of congressionally appropriated funds long enough that the agency doesn\u2019t have time to run competitions or award new grants. <\/p>\nThe Trump administration could attempt to argue\u2014as it did last year<\/svg><\/a>\u2014that authorizing spending on certain education grant programs violates the Constitution.<\/p>\nThe executive branch could also simply decline to spend the funds at all, allowing them to expire and sending them back to the Treasury. All told, nearly $1.4 billion in congressionally appropriated fiscal 2026 education funds OMB is currently withholding will expire and return to the U.S. Treasury in less than five months if OMB doesn\u2019t release the money by then, according to Education Week\u2019s analysis of OMB apportionments.<\/p>\nExperts say these moves would amount to the president impounding funds<\/svg><\/a>, which is illegal unless Congress approves a request from the White House to rescind previously approved spending. The president hasn\u2019t yet asked Congress to rescind any fiscal 2026 appropriations.<\/p>\nAlternatively, the appropriated funding may ultimately flow, albeit behind schedule. <\/p>\nUntil it does, said Martin, \u201cevery withholding incrementally increases the pressures on schools and districts and community organizations.\u201d\n<\/p><\/div>\n
For some advocates, it\u2019s reassuring to see competitions launched for programs the Trump administration targeted for cuts last year<\/svg><\/a>.<\/p>\n\u201cOnce they put themselves on the record and announce a competition, I\u2019d be surprised if they subsequently went, \u2018Oh gosh, silly us, actually [OMB director] Russ Vought doesn\u2019t want us to do this so we\u2019re not going to do it,\u2019\u201d said Jaci King, a research, policy, and advocacy consultant for the American Association of Colleges for Teacher Education.<\/p>\nOthers feel less confident. \u201cJust because there\u2019s a grant competition doesn\u2019t mean that the agency is obligated to award funds if they don\u2019t believe enough or any of the applicants meet the requirements,\u201d Martin said.<\/p>\nFor the rest of the 35 programs, no competition has been announced. Without eventually gaining access to the fiscal 2026 dollars, the department likely wouldn\u2019t be able to give out new awards for those programs, or even supply funding for ongoing awards. <\/p>\nSix organizations currently in their first year with Assistance in Arts Education grants are expecting another round of funding in September. That money won\u2019t arrive if OMB doesn\u2019t apportion the $37 million in fiscal 2026 funds Congress approved for the arts program, said Amanda Karhuse, assistant executive director for advocacy and public policy at the National Association for Music Education.<\/p>\nThe same is true for nearly $46 million for Native Hawaiian Education grants and another $45 million for Alaska Native Education grants. <\/p>\nThe Partners in Development Foundation, which runs early childhood programs at 38 sites across Hawaii, is one of several organizations that could have to scale back operations if the department doesn\u2019t run a new competition for the Native Hawaiian Education program, Shawn Malia Kanaiaupuni, the foundation\u2019s CEO, told EdWeek in March<\/svg><\/a>.<\/p>\n\u201cThe hardest part is knowing that these services support children and families who rely on them every day,\u201d Kanaiaupuni said at the time.<\/p>\nWill funding stay frozen or will it flow?<\/h2>\nSeveral scenarios could play out from here, depending on the program. <\/p>\nOMB could delay apportionment of congressionally appropriated funds long enough that the agency doesn\u2019t have time to run competitions or award new grants. <\/p>\nThe Trump administration could attempt to argue\u2014as it did last year<\/svg><\/a>\u2014that authorizing spending on certain education grant programs violates the Constitution.<\/p>\nThe executive branch could also simply decline to spend the funds at all, allowing them to expire and sending them back to the Treasury. All told, nearly $1.4 billion in congressionally appropriated fiscal 2026 education funds OMB is currently withholding will expire and return to the U.S. Treasury in less than five months if OMB doesn\u2019t release the money by then, according to Education Week\u2019s analysis of OMB apportionments.<\/p>\nExperts say these moves would amount to the president impounding funds<\/svg><\/a>, which is illegal unless Congress approves a request from the White House to rescind previously approved spending. The president hasn\u2019t yet asked Congress to rescind any fiscal 2026 appropriations.<\/p>\nAlternatively, the appropriated funding may ultimately flow, albeit behind schedule. <\/p>\nUntil it does, said Martin, \u201cevery withholding incrementally increases the pressures on schools and districts and community organizations.\u201d\n<\/p><\/div>\n
\u201cOnce they put themselves on the record and announce a competition, I\u2019d be surprised if they subsequently went, \u2018Oh gosh, silly us, actually [OMB director] Russ Vought doesn\u2019t want us to do this so we\u2019re not going to do it,\u2019\u201d said Jaci King, a research, policy, and advocacy consultant for the American Association of Colleges for Teacher Education.<\/p>\n
Others feel less confident. \u201cJust because there\u2019s a grant competition doesn\u2019t mean that the agency is obligated to award funds if they don\u2019t believe enough or any of the applicants meet the requirements,\u201d Martin said.<\/p>\n
For the rest of the 35 programs, no competition has been announced. Without eventually gaining access to the fiscal 2026 dollars, the department likely wouldn\u2019t be able to give out new awards for those programs, or even supply funding for ongoing awards. <\/p>\n
Six organizations currently in their first year with Assistance in Arts Education grants are expecting another round of funding in September. That money won\u2019t arrive if OMB doesn\u2019t apportion the $37 million in fiscal 2026 funds Congress approved for the arts program, said Amanda Karhuse, assistant executive director for advocacy and public policy at the National Association for Music Education.<\/p>\n
The same is true for nearly $46 million for Native Hawaiian Education grants and another $45 million for Alaska Native Education grants. <\/p>\n
The Partners in Development Foundation, which runs early childhood programs at 38 sites across Hawaii, is one of several organizations that could have to scale back operations if the department doesn\u2019t run a new competition for the Native Hawaiian Education program, Shawn Malia Kanaiaupuni, the foundation\u2019s CEO, told EdWeek in March<\/svg><\/a>.<\/p>\n\u201cThe hardest part is knowing that these services support children and families who rely on them every day,\u201d Kanaiaupuni said at the time.<\/p>\nWill funding stay frozen or will it flow?<\/h2>\nSeveral scenarios could play out from here, depending on the program. <\/p>\nOMB could delay apportionment of congressionally appropriated funds long enough that the agency doesn\u2019t have time to run competitions or award new grants. <\/p>\nThe Trump administration could attempt to argue\u2014as it did last year<\/svg><\/a>\u2014that authorizing spending on certain education grant programs violates the Constitution.<\/p>\nThe executive branch could also simply decline to spend the funds at all, allowing them to expire and sending them back to the Treasury. All told, nearly $1.4 billion in congressionally appropriated fiscal 2026 education funds OMB is currently withholding will expire and return to the U.S. Treasury in less than five months if OMB doesn\u2019t release the money by then, according to Education Week\u2019s analysis of OMB apportionments.<\/p>\nExperts say these moves would amount to the president impounding funds<\/svg><\/a>, which is illegal unless Congress approves a request from the White House to rescind previously approved spending. The president hasn\u2019t yet asked Congress to rescind any fiscal 2026 appropriations.<\/p>\nAlternatively, the appropriated funding may ultimately flow, albeit behind schedule. <\/p>\nUntil it does, said Martin, \u201cevery withholding incrementally increases the pressures on schools and districts and community organizations.\u201d\n<\/p><\/div>\n
\u201cThe hardest part is knowing that these services support children and families who rely on them every day,\u201d Kanaiaupuni said at the time.<\/p>\n
Several scenarios could play out from here, depending on the program. <\/p>\n
OMB could delay apportionment of congressionally appropriated funds long enough that the agency doesn\u2019t have time to run competitions or award new grants. <\/p>\n
The Trump administration could attempt to argue\u2014as it did last year<\/svg><\/a>\u2014that authorizing spending on certain education grant programs violates the Constitution.<\/p>\nThe executive branch could also simply decline to spend the funds at all, allowing them to expire and sending them back to the Treasury. All told, nearly $1.4 billion in congressionally appropriated fiscal 2026 education funds OMB is currently withholding will expire and return to the U.S. Treasury in less than five months if OMB doesn\u2019t release the money by then, according to Education Week\u2019s analysis of OMB apportionments.<\/p>\nExperts say these moves would amount to the president impounding funds<\/svg><\/a>, which is illegal unless Congress approves a request from the White House to rescind previously approved spending. The president hasn\u2019t yet asked Congress to rescind any fiscal 2026 appropriations.<\/p>\nAlternatively, the appropriated funding may ultimately flow, albeit behind schedule. <\/p>\nUntil it does, said Martin, \u201cevery withholding incrementally increases the pressures on schools and districts and community organizations.\u201d\n<\/p><\/div>\n
The executive branch could also simply decline to spend the funds at all, allowing them to expire and sending them back to the Treasury. All told, nearly $1.4 billion in congressionally appropriated fiscal 2026 education funds OMB is currently withholding will expire and return to the U.S. Treasury in less than five months if OMB doesn\u2019t release the money by then, according to Education Week\u2019s analysis of OMB apportionments.<\/p>\n
Experts say these moves would amount to the president impounding funds<\/svg><\/a>, which is illegal unless Congress approves a request from the White House to rescind previously approved spending. The president hasn\u2019t yet asked Congress to rescind any fiscal 2026 appropriations.<\/p>\nAlternatively, the appropriated funding may ultimately flow, albeit behind schedule. <\/p>\nUntil it does, said Martin, \u201cevery withholding incrementally increases the pressures on schools and districts and community organizations.\u201d\n<\/p><\/div>\n
Alternatively, the appropriated funding may ultimately flow, albeit behind schedule. <\/p>\n
Until it does, said Martin, \u201cevery withholding incrementally increases the pressures on schools and districts and community organizations.\u201d\n<\/p><\/div>\n