Education department โFaces โShutdown Impacts, Butโฃ Core funding Protected
WASHINGTONโฃ (AP) – โA potential government shutdown would trigger disruptions at teh Department of Education, haltingโ civil rightsโข investigations and delaying aid to school districts reliant โคonโฃ federal land revenue, though core fundingโ streams for schools with high povertyโฃ rates and students with disabilities would continue.
The shutdown’s impact will be uneven. Title I funding, โwhich supports schools with large numbers of students from low-income families, and funding โฃunder โthe individuals with Disabilities โEducation Act (IDEA) โฃare โexpected to remainโ uninterrupted. However,other programs face delays. Impact Aid, which โprovides financial assistance to school districts impacted by federal activities like military bases and federal land โmanagement, willโข likelyโ see payment disruptions. Overโ 1,200โค districts across all 50 states receive Impactโ Aid.
theโ Departmentโ has indicated it โwill โฃrevise its contingency plan if โtheโ shutdown extends beyond oneโค week to mitigateโ further disruptions to school โขdistricts.
A notable consequenceโฃ ofโค the shutdown will be the suspension โof theโ Department’s โcivil โrights investigations into allegations of discrimination at schools and universities. The office responsible for โthese investigations has already been operating with a reduced staff as layoffs in March, having lost roughly half its personnel. โThis staffing reduction previously raised concerns about the office’s ability to address a growingโข backlogโข of complaintsโ alleging discrimination based on race, sex, or disability.
Department data already shows a decline โคin the resolution of civil rights cases alongside an increase inโฃ new complaints from families. work on all pending cases will cease during the shutdown.
AP Education Writer collin Binkley contributed to this report.
The Associated Press’ education โcoverage receives financial support โfrom multiple private โfoundations. AP is solely responsible for all content. โAP’s standards for working with philanthropies, a list of supporters and funded coverage areas are available at โคAP.org.
