Federal Programs
Weekly Brief
Curated intelligence for district federal program leads
Provided by EnchantED LLC
House Subcommittee Advances FY2027 Education Bill: Title I Cut 12%, Title II-A and Title III Eliminated Entirely
On June 5, the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Labor, Health and Human Services, Education and Related Agencies advanced its FY2027 funding proposal on a party-line vote. The bill cuts the Department of Education by $8.1 billion — a 10% decrease from FY2026 enacted levels. Most critically for Indiana districts: Title I, Part A is cut by $1.9 billion (approximately 12%); Title II, Part A (Supporting Effective Instruction — professional development, class size reduction) is eliminated entirely; and Title III, Part A (English Language Acquisition) is eliminated entirely. The bill also rescinds $1.6 billion in Title II-A funding that was already approved in the FY2026 omnibus and is currently scheduled to flow to districts in October 2026. IDEA Part B, Title IV-A, and Perkins CTE received modest increases or were held level. The full House Appropriations Committee markup is scheduled for June 9.
This is a House proposal, not law — Congress passed a comparable Senate-written bill that preserved Title II-A and Title III for FY2026 after the House advanced similar cuts a year ago. The Senate is unlikely to accept these cuts in the same form. However, the October rescission of $1.6 billion in already-appropriated Title II-A funds is new and more immediately dangerous than prior-year proposals — it would claw back money districts have already counted on for FY2026 spending plans. Indiana districts that have budgeted FY2026 Title II-A funds for positions or contracts beginning this fall should flag this risk to their superintendents and finance officers now. Do not make binding commitments against anticipated October Title II-A receipts until the Senate acts.
What the FY2027 House Proposal Would Mean Specifically for Indiana — Title I Classrooms, EL Services, and Professional Development at Risk
Based on House Democratic analysis of the FY2027 bill and Indiana-specific impact data from prior comparable proposals, the FY2027 House bill’s cuts would, if enacted, eliminate federal support for English learner academic services for approximately 75,500 English learners in Indiana through the elimination of Title III; potentially remove more than 1,100 teachers from classrooms serving low-income Indiana students through the Title I reduction; and eliminate all Title II-A funding that supports professional development, instructional coaches, and class size reduction across the state. Indiana receives approximately $103 million in Title I, Part A annually. A 12% reduction would remove roughly $12–13 million from Indiana’s total allocation before subgrant distribution to LEAs.
These are planning-level estimates based on the current House proposal — they are not final. However, the scale of potential impact justifies immediate action on three fronts: (1) run your district’s own scenario analysis using your FY2026 Title I, Title II-A, and Title III allocations and model 12%, 25%, and 100% reductions; (2) brief your school board this month on the federal program funding landscape and what it could mean for staffing; and (3) ensure that any position or service currently funded with Title II-A or Title III has a documented rationale and — if possible — an identified local funding bridge if federal funds disappear. Documenting this now is both sound fiscal practice and good community communication.
House Bill Proposes to Rescind $1.6 Billion in Already-Appropriated Title II-A Funds Scheduled for October Distribution
One of the most operationally significant provisions in the FY2027 House bill is a proposed rescission of $1.6 billion in Title II-A funding that was included in the February 2026 FY2026 omnibus and is currently scheduled to become available to states and districts on October 1, 2026. Unlike future-year funding cuts, rescissions claw back money that has already been appropriated by Congress and which states and districts may be actively planning to use. AASA noted this provision specifically, calling it a double blow: eliminating Title II-A for FY2027 while simultaneously removing the second tranche of FY2026 Title II-A that would have reached districts this fall. The full Appropriations Committee markup is June 9; the bill would then need to pass the full House and be reconciled with the Senate.
Indiana districts should immediately identify what portion of their FY2026 Title II-A allocation has been drawn down versus what is still pending for the October 1 disbursement. If your district has commitments — contracts with professional development providers, instructional coach salaries, or class size reduction positions — that depend on the October Title II-A tranche, flag this as a budget risk now. Contact IDOE’s Office of Student Support and Accountability to understand the state’s current Title II-A obligation status. This rescission would need to pass the full Congress — the Senate would almost certainly oppose it — but the risk is real enough to warrant active monitoring and contingency planning.
ED’s Proposal to Eliminate IDEA Significant Disproportionality Data Collection Draws Broad Opposition — Comment Period Closed
The comment period on ED’s March 23 Federal Register proposal to eliminate two key data collections from the IDEA Part B State Performance Plan and Annual Performance Reports closed in late May, drawing significant opposition from special education organizations, disability rights advocates, and a coalition of state attorneys general. ED proposed removing data reporting requirements for: (1) significant discrepancies in suspension and expulsion rates for students with disabilities by race and ethnicity; and (2) significant disproportionality — racial and ethnic overrepresentation in special education identification, placement, and discipline. The Council of Administrators of Special Education (CASE), EdTrust, and the American Bar Association’s disability rights section all filed formal opposition, with CASE calling ED’s rationale that OCR data provides an adequate substitute “deeply flawed” given OCR’s staff reductions.
The underlying Equity in IDEA regulation — which requires states and districts to identify and remedy significant disproportionality — is not being rescinded. Districts must still conduct disproportionality analyses and take corrective action if identified. What changes if the federal data collection is eliminated is that the national transparency mechanism for tracking these disparities disappears, making it harder for advocacy groups, researchers, and families to benchmark Indiana districts against national data. Indiana districts currently identified for significant disproportionality should continue their required interventions and coordinate with IDOE’s Office of Special Education. ED is expected to issue a final rule later this year; monitor the Federal Register.
SNAP Enrollment Drops 3.3 Million Following OBBBA Eligibility Tightening — Student Food Security Implications for Title I Districts
New federal data released this week show that participation in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) has fallen by approximately 3.3 million people over the past year as the OBBBA tightened work requirements and eligibility criteria. The new work requirement rules, effective in most states, require able-bodied adults without dependents up to age 54 (previously 49) to complete 20 hours per week of qualifying employment, training, or community service. States with higher-than-average food insecurity rates and large agricultural workforces are seeing disproportionate enrollment drops. Education researchers have long documented a strong correlation between SNAP participation and student academic outcomes, absenteeism, and school readiness.
Indiana districts use SNAP data in two operationally important ways: (1) Community Eligibility Provision (CEP) eligibility for school meals — CEP thresholds depend in part on the percentage of students directly certified through SNAP and other means-tested programs; if SNAP enrollment falls, CEP eligibility calculations may shift for some Indiana schools currently at or near the threshold; and (2) Title I concentration of poverty calculations — SNAP and related means-tested program participation is one metric used to document school poverty for consolidated planning purposes. District data coordinators should re-verify CEP eligibility thresholds against updated SNAP enrollment data before finalizing FY2026–27 meal program elections. Contact IDOE’s Office of School and Community Nutrition for state-specific guidance.
TSL FY2026 Grant Closes June 9 — Final Days for Indiana Applicants to Submit via GrantSolutions
The Teacher and School Leader (TSL) Incentive Program FY2026 application closes Monday, June 9, 2026, via DOL’s GrantSolutions platform. TSL awards support multi-year educator compensation reform, performance-based evaluation systems, and career ladder initiatives at the LEA, consortium, or SEA level. This competition is administered under the ED-DOL Elementary and Secondary Education Partnership; applications submitted through Grants.gov will not be accepted. With House Republicans this week proposing to eliminate both Title II-A and Title III — the programs most closely aligned with educator quality and development — a competitive TSL award could represent a meaningful hedge for Indiana districts committed to sustaining professional development infrastructure.
Applications should be complete and in final authorized-representative review now — June 9 is Monday. Confirm that your GrantSolutions account is active, your authorized organization representative (AOR) has submit permissions in GrantSolutions (not just Grants.gov), and your SAM.gov registration remains current. Submit no later than Friday, June 7, to allow time to resolve any last-minute platform issues. Technical failures submitted after the deadline do not guarantee an extension; document any platform errors immediately and contact the GrantSolutions help desk if issues arise.
Charter School Enrollment Reaches 3.8 Million — National Alliance Data Signals Continued Enrollment Pressure on Traditional Public Districts
The National Alliance for Public Charter Schools released updated data this week showing that charter school enrollment in the United States has grown to approximately 3.8 million students across roughly 8,150 charter schools — up from approximately 3.4 million in 2022. Enrollment in charter schools has grown in 32 of the past 33 years tracked. States with the highest charter enrollment growth include Texas, Florida, North Carolina, and Arizona. Indiana, which has a mature charter sector, is not among the fastest-growing states, but the data underscore the broader trend toward enrollment diversification that affects Title I per-pupil calculations, concentration-of-poverty metrics, and equitable services planning.
For Indiana federal program coordinators, charter growth is relevant in two ways: first, Title I and other formula funds follow students to the LEA in which they are enrolled — if students leave traditional public schools for charters, district allocations may shift at the next census cycle; second, Title I equitable services obligations apply when students attend private schools — but charter schools that are LEAs have their own Title I obligations and are not covered by the district’s equitable services plan. Indiana districts should verify that any charter schools operating within their geographic boundaries are correctly classified as independent LEAs or nonpublic schools in their consolidated application, as this classification determines equitable services obligations.
Submit by Friday, June 7 to allow a weekend buffer. Confirm GrantSolutions AOR access, SAM.gov active registration, and that your application package is fully uploaded. With the House proposing to eliminate Title II-A, a TSL award offers multi-year federal support for educator development that would survive the current appropriations fight.
The window is open now. Funded with Title I school improvement dollars — these funds are not subject to the FY2027 House rescission proposals hitting Title II-A. CSI and TSI schools should confirm eligibility, identify a transformation partner, and begin the application. This is a multi-year, sustainable investment — 60 applications were received in Cohort 5. Don’t wait for the appropriations fight to resolve before applying.
Active grantees should have filed their midyear reports by June 1. Non-grantees: the new competition is overdue — continue building your needs documentation. Given the Grad PLUS elimination’s impact on school psychology pipelines and the FY2027 House proposal to eliminate Title II-A (which some districts use for counselor and psychologist professional development), the SBMH competition is increasingly the primary federal path to school mental health staffing support.
The FY2027 House bill leaves Title IV-A relatively intact — making the CPE program a more stable pipeline than Title II-A or Title III for CTE-aligned investments. Confirm your GrantSolutions registration is active, and monitor for the competition deadline posting. Review your district’s current Title IV-A allocation with IDOE before applying to ensure applying does not conflict with your consolidated plan.
Reading the FY2027 House Bill: What Indiana Districts Should Do Right Now — Even Though It Won’t Pass As Written
Every year, the House Appropriations Subcommittee advances a Labor-HHS-Education bill with significant education cuts, and every year, the final enacted legislation looks much closer to the Senate’s more moderate version. FY2026 followed this pattern exactly: the House proposed deep cuts to Title I and eliminated Title II-A and Title III; the enacted FY2026 omnibus largely preserved all three programs. The pattern is likely to repeat — but three things are different this year that warrant closer attention from Indiana districts.
First, the October rescission is new and operationally dangerous. Proposing to claw back $1.6 billion in already-appropriated Title II-A funds that are scheduled to reach districts October 1 is different from proposing future-year cuts. Even if this provision ultimately fails in conference, it introduces budget uncertainty that districts should plan around now by not committing those funds until the Senate acts.
Second, the political environment for program preservation is weaker than in prior years. With HELP Committee Chair Cassidy out of the race, a potential Trump-aligned successor, and a Senate Republican caucus that has shown more deference to administration priorities this cycle, the Senate backstop that saved Title II-A in FY2026 is less certain. The Senate bill will still be more moderate — but the margin of difference may be smaller.
Third, this is the right moment to communicate externally. School board members, principals, and community stakeholders should understand what is at stake. A clear, factual one-page summary of what Title I, Title II-A, and Title III fund in your district — translated into real programs and real positions — is more persuasive with legislators and board members than dollar figures alone. The time to build that narrative is now, while the FY2027 bill is moving, not after a conference agreement is reached.
Watch the June 9 full House Appropriations Committee markup closely — amendments to restore Title I, Title II-A, and Title III funding may be offered and voted on, and the outcome will signal how aggressively House leadership plans to pursue education cuts on the floor. The TSL grant closes June 9 — last chance to submit. Also monitor for Senate Appropriations Committee action on the FY2027 Labor-HHS-Education bill, which when released will establish the parameters for what the final enacted legislation will look like. Indiana districts should also watch for any Grants.gov posting of the new School-Based Mental Health Services competition, which remains overdue.
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