Legislative Affairs

Yesterday, Congressional leaders announced an agreement on a path forward for lawmakers to avert partial federal shutdowns for federal agencies and programs with funding expiring this and next week. 

Negotiators agreed on funding for half of the appropriations bills, including: Agriculture-FDA, Commerce-Justice and Science, Energy and Water Development, Interior, Military Construction-VA, and Transportation-HUD. This "minibus" package will be finalized by March 8.

The other remaining appropriations bills still need to be negotiated and will be finalized by March 22, including: Defense, Financial Services and General Government, Homeland Security, Labor-Health and Human Services-Education (L-HHS-ED), Legislative Branch, and State and Foreign Operations.

Lawmakers need a continuing resolution (CR) to buy some time to finalize these deals and pass them into law. This afternoon, the U.S. House passed a stopgap bill to keep federal programs running. The bill will go to the Senate with the aim of passing the CR by the weekend. Some hardline conservatives are expected to oppose the CR and the first "minibus" package since they want steep cuts in federal spending, even if it means allowing a shutdown. However, Congressional leaders expect there is enough bipartisan support to pass the bill regardless.

While there is consensus around the first six bills, there is still a lot of uncertainty about whether Congress can finalize the remaining six bills by March 22. The latter half includes the Labor-HHS-Education and the Defense bills, which are some of the largest and often more contentious spending bills. The final FY24 L-HHS-ED bill will determine how much school districts will get for Title I, IDEA, and other education programs for the 2024-2025 school year, so we expect to have more information on federal K-12 funding within the next three weeks.


What About FY25 Funding?
Once FY24 is wrapped up, policymakers will pivot to FY25 appropriations (which affects federal funding for schools in the 2025-2026 school year). President Biden is scheduled to deliver his State of the Union address to Congress on March 7, which often highlights high-priority budget items of the Administration. The President is also expected to release his FY25 budget proposal on March 11, but that may be delayed until March 22 in light of recent events with FY24 appropriations. 


ASBO Federal Update: 2024 Elections & K-12 Forecast (Webinar-Tuesday, March 12, 12-1 PM ET)
For school business professionals looking to stay informed of the latest federal education news, register for ASBO International's upcoming webinar on Tuesday, March 12. ASBO International's policy team will provide a federal funding and policy update and share insights on how the U.S. elections could impact K-12 education.