Educators today face both opportunities and challenges in securing educational funding for their classrooms. With the administration moving to downsize or dismantle the U.S. Department of Education, shifts in funding policy are underway. Programs like Title I, Part A, state-level enhancement funding, and afterschool programs are being reevaluated, consolidated, or even eliminated. To ensure your classrooms prosper — whether through STEM education, project-based learning, or other cutting-edge resources for education — it’s essential for teachers and administrators to understand how current policy changes are altering what funds are available, how they’re used, and who controls them.
Schools receive funding from multiple sources, but the average teacher has been kept in the dark as to how they can influence the spending of educational funds to benefit their classrooms. The teaching profession is full of the most giving people I have experienced, but they have some of the lowest salaries. This discrepancy is an issue that teachers face regularly. To begin a school year, a teacher must purchase an extreme amount of supplies to make their classroom workable. Most school principals do not supply teachers with basic office supplies, art supplies, bulletin boards, or classroom decorations, yet these are things that are expected of each and every teacher.
Spending wisely is a necessity, but understanding the sources and regulations regarding the educational funds that schools have access to is a bit of information that most teachers have never learned. To create engaging, learning environments, teachers and administrators must understand current funding structures and adapt proactively.
Understanding Title I, Part A: Equity in Action & Current Impacts
Title I, Part A is a cornerstone federal program under Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) that provides funding for schools with large proportions of low-income students. It supports reading and math interventions, professional development, instruction for English learners, and supplies to ensure equitable access to educational resources and student engagement initiatives.
Current Impacts under the Administration
Block Grant Proposal (K-12 Simplified Funding Program): The FY 2026 budget calls for consolidating multiple federal K-12 grants—including Title I, Title II, Title IV—into a single state formula grant. This could reduce oversight and limit targeted supports for students with special needs or English learners.
Workforce Reductions & Oversight Shrinkage: The Department is cutting its staff dramatically—over 1,300 positions so far, nearly half of its workforce. This reduces capacity for federal oversight -which could be a good thing, and program monitoring -which may cause more fraud or misuse of funds.
What Teachers & Schools Should Do
- Document how Title I funds were used in past years, what outcomes they achieved (reading, test scores, attendance), and how they support STEM education, critical thinking, or project-based learning.
- Monitor state education agency announcements for changes in allowable uses or reporting requirements.
- Engage with Title I stakeholder meetings or school board forums to preserve targeted funding for students who rely on it most.
- Enhancement Funds
Enhancement Funds: State-Level Examples & Effects
“Enhancement funds” (or similarly named programs) provide more flexible, localized funding for teacher and classroom needs beyond core budgets — everything from supplies and technology to enrichment activities. How these funds are managed varies widely by state, and the current administration’s efforts to dismantle the Department of Education are reshaping their stability
Mississippi
Mississippi operates Educational Enhancement Funds (EEF), which give teachers direct stipends (often via debit cards) to purchase classroom supplies, instructional technology, or STEM education tools.
Funds must be used by strict deadlines (often March), with detailed record-keeping required.
Louisiana
Louisiana runs the Educational Excellence Fund (EEF), part of a trust created from tobacco settlement revenues. Schools can use these funds for instructional purposes, technology, and project-based learning resources.
This could limit how much flexibility schools have for purchasing modern educational resources like robotics kits or coding robots.
Wisconsin
While Wisconsin does not operate a formal enhancement fund, philanthropic and state initiatives—such as the Wisconsin Teacher Pledge—support professional development and educator retention.
Tennessee
Tennessee allocates teacher stipends (currently about $200 per year, with proposals to increase to $500) for classroom supplies.
Texas
Texas passed HB 2, an $8.5 billion public education package that includes increased funding for operations, salaries, and technology planning.
California
California’s After School Education and Safety (ASES) program and its alignment with 21st Century Community Learning Centers (CCLC) funds provide both direct school support and afterschool enrichment.
Proposed federal cuts to 21st CCLC would undermine California’s extended learning system, requiring the state to backfill lost funds.
Administration Effects on Enhancement Funds
With the Department of Education workforce cut nearly in half and many categorical programs slated for elimination, the current administration’s policies directly affect enhancement funds:
Less federal support: Programs that once matched or supplemented state enhancement funds (like Title II and Title IV) are being folded into a block grant, often with major cuts.
Greater state responsibility: States like Mississippi, Louisiana, and Tennessee may need to expand their own enhancement allocations if federal support shrinks.
Funding uncertainty: Delays and withholding of federal funds create ripple effects, making it harder for schools to plan purchases of cutting-edge resources for education, like robotics kits or assistive technology.
General Budget Educational Funds & Administration Impacts
State governments distribute general budget educational funds to public schools, often based on Average Daily Attendance (ADA). These funds cover essentials: textbooks, computers, supplies, building operations, and professional development. Teachers seldom control these budgets, but they can influence spending via proposals and advocacy.
Impact from the Current Administration
Decreases in the Department’s workforce and diminishing oversight may reduce transparency in how general funds are allocated or monitored.
With proposed budget cuts and consolidation of federal K-12 funding, some funds that previously flowed into general operations through such routes may be delayed or repurposed.
Delays and withholding of grant notifications (including Title I, Title IV, 21st CCLC) have already affected schools’ abilities to budget. For instance, in many states, notifications for 21st CCLC grants were delayed or withheld as part of the federal review process.
What Teachers Should Do
Present costed, researched requests for materials or programs (e.g. robotics kits, steam integration, or assistive technology) tied to outcomes.
Time requests early—before April—to align with budget cycles and potential surplus funds.
Afterschool Program Funds:
Afterschool and summer learning programs are essential for many students—they provide academic help, enrichment (arts, STEM), and safe spaces outside of standard school hours.
Funding Sources & Current Threats
21st Century Community Learning Centers (21st CCLC) is the only federal program dedicated solely to afterschool / summer learning. The administration’s FY 2026 proposal would eliminate dedicated funding for this program, zeroing out its budget and folding it into a broader K-12 block grant with steep cuts (~69%) in funding.
Title IV, Part A (Student Support and Academic Enrichment Grants), Title II, Migrant Education, and English Language Acquisition programs also support afterschool STEM, arts, and intervention services. These are under review, delayed, or proposed for elimination.
Grants may be withheld or delayed: in several states, including California, large sums of federal education and afterschool-program funding have been held back while the federal government reviews alignment with new priorities.
Practical Effects & What You Can Do
Afterschool programs may reduce hours, drop sites, or limit enrollment—especially in rural or under-resourced areas where alternative support is limited.
Teachers and program leaders should document student outcomes (learning gains, attendance, enrichment), partnership effectiveness, and cost per student to strengthen grant applications.
Engage local community stakeholders and school boards to support afterschool funding advocacy. EDGEucating is happy to work with you on proposals for project-based learning extension, robotics programming, or STEM classroom enrichment to show impact. Also, feel free to utilize some of our blog articles and free resources such as “Grant Writing Basics for Beginners.”
What is Changing: Dissolution of the U.S. Department of Education & Broader Policy Shifts
An executive order has been signed directing the Secretary to wind down parts of the Department, returning more authority to states and reducing federal oversight. Essential functions like Title I funding, Pell Grants, and IDEA may be preserved, but many administrative support roles will be eliminated.
Consolidation of programs: The FY 2026 budget proposes merging 18 separate formula or competitive grant programs (including afterschool, arts, Title II, Title IV) into a single block grant (K-12 Simplified Funding Program). Many programs will see large cuts or loss of dedicated funding.
Conclusions for Education Funding
Knowing more about the funding of schools will make it easier for teachers to secure the funds necessary to do what they want within their classrooms. Administrators have so many different aspects of their jobs that budgeting needs are sometimes not as well understood as they should be. Teachers are the biggest cogs in the machine that is education and their views and needs can guide spending when the teachers are a part of the process. To protect classroom learning, student engagement, and ensure access to cutting-edge resources for education, teachers, school leaders, and communities must stay informed and act:
- Monitor federal policy changes.
- Advocate locally: bring specific, well-researched requests.
- Document outcomes of past funding for Title I, enhancement, and afterschool programs.
- Collaborate with parents, community organizations, and district leaders to show the broad impact.
Every stakeholder in education should be considered when budgeting all funds, but without guidance and input, those who budget the funds cannot know every want and need of each and every person. Getting involved and voicing those needs will make classrooms better for the teachers and the students. For more information about classroom funding, visit our blog article “What Teachers NEED To Buy With Their Classroom Budget” or “Implementing K-12 Technology Integration.”
These are uncertain times, but with a good strategy, many of the threats to funding can be managed or countered. It all begins with knowledge and involvement.
