As you may have seen in the news, the federal government shut down last night at midnight after the White House and Congress could not agree on a continuing resolution.
What this means for schools:
- Most K-12 schools won't see an immediate impact, since they received most of their funding for the 2025-26 school year in August.
- The final portion of Title I, IDEA, and other non-competitive funding is still scheduled to go out to states and districts today per the Department of Education's contingency plan.
- The exceptions are Head Start Centers and schools that receive Impact Aid funding, which supports schools near military bases, tribal lands, or national parks.
The Department of Education plans to furlough 95% of its workforce, keeping mostly staff in the Office of Financial Aid.
There's Still Time to Contact Congress
As Congress debates the FY 2026 federal budget, proposed cuts to education could have serious consequences for visual and performing arts programs in schools. Both President Trump and the House of Representatives have proposed over $12 billion in reductions to the U.S. Department of Education. These cuts include the complete elimination of funding for the Assistance for Arts Education (AAE) program, which supports access to arts. Many organizations that received multi-year AAE grants are already seeing their funding canceled.
The House proposal also slashes Title I funding for low-income schools by 27% and blocks support for diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives. In contrast, the Senate's budget plan protects most education funding, including a reduced but continued investment in AAE.
In response, lawmakers have reintroduced the Equitable Arts Education Enhancement Act to support arts education at Minority-Serving Institutions. The Arts Education Alliance is actively advocating for Congress to preserve and expand funding for a well-rounded education. Over 2,500 individuals have already contacted their representatives to support arts education-and your voice can help too.
Please sign and share the federal funding campaign, which requests to immediately end the government shutdown and works to reduce the impact of federal cut on theatre teachers and their students.
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Joshua Streeter
Educational Theatre Association
Advocacy & Impact Manager
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