With the federal government currently shut down due to a budget impasse and partisan gridlock, it’s still worth looking at the key budget-related decisions awaiting lawmakers when they come back to the negotiating table.

Every year, Congress determines how much funding will be allocated to K-12 schools in the federal budget. Currently, House and Senate budget writers are considering proposed funding levels for Fiscal Year 2026 (FY26), which starts on October 1, 2025. Their decisions will impact millions of students, affecting their access to the resources and opportunities they need to learn, grow, and succeed academically.

The Senate proposal would fund public K-12 education at nearly the same levels as the previous year and reflects a bipartisan compromise. In stark contrast, the House proposal would slash school funding in Texas by $1.4 billion. It would:

• Cut $400 million from Title I funding, the largest educational program in America, which directs money to schools serving more than 3 million Texas students from low-income backgrounds;
• Eliminate ALL funding — $100 million — for English language acquisition, stripping crucial funding from programs that support more than 1 million Texas children and negatively impacting those students, their families, communities, and our state;
• Eliminate at least $200 million in funding for teacher training and preparation, at a time when more than half of new teachers hired in Texas are uncertified.

Examining the impact of the House funding proposal on Texas school districts, we found:

• All but three Texas districts would lose funding, at an average of $270 per student.
• The highest-poverty districts would lose approximately $566 million, or $466 per student.
• Small, rural districts would lose around $122 million, or $275 per student.

Want to know what’s at stake for your school district? EdTrust’s FY26 Federal Funding Tool shows how much federal funding your district has received and how much total and per-student funding would be cut under the House and Senate budget proposals.