It’s September, which means that the deadline for funding the U.S. government (Sept. 30) is quickly approaching. So, I thought I would use this article to focus on a few things happening at the federal level when it comes to funding for programs like ESSA Title I and Title III.

Federal Education Funding for the 2026-2027 School Year

Congress passed education funding for the current school year, including funding ESSA Title III at the same level as last year. The U.S. Department of Education (USED) awards funding to states on July 1st, and federal education funding awards were sent to states on time this year (last year we saw about a month delay in the awards of those funds). Thus, there shouldn’t be any delays for schools or districts receiving Title III funding in the 2026-2027 school year (SY). Awarding funds and distributing funds to states (who then send funds to districts and schools) are actually two separate things, but it can be confusing because some funding is sent to states at the same time the funds are awarded (see below).

Federal Education Funding Cycle

Understanding the funding cycle for how states, districts, and schools receive ESSA funding is important to understanding the significance of some of what is happening at the federal level. First, some important dates to remember:

The federal funding year (fiscal year) doesn’t align with the calendar year. The federal fiscal year begins on October 1st each year and ends on September 30th the next year. The U.S. government must pass an appropriations bill (aka budget) into law each year before October 1st to keep the government funded and avoid a government shutdown. Federal education funding passed for the October 1st deadline is provided to states, districts, and schools in the next school year (so the education funding passed for the 10/1/2026 deadline is distributed to states for the 2027-2028 SY, not the current 2026-2027 SY). Part of the federal education funding passed for the October 1st deadline is sent to states on July 1 the following year, and the rest is sent to states on October 1st of that year.

Continuing Resolutions

Since I started following federal education funding nearly 20 years ago, I have only seen the government pass an appropriations bill into law on time (before Oct. 1) once. I have seen multiple government shutdowns, but the U.S. Congress typically passes what’s called a Continuing Resolution or CR to avoid shutdowns. What a CR typically does is keep the government funded at the same level as it is currently, but kicks the deadline for when a new budget must be passed to a later date.

At the beginning of September this year, the U.S. Congress passed a CR, kicking the date into December for passing an appropriations bill that would provide ESSA funding for the 2027-2028 SY. We usually see CRs being passed closer to the October 1st deadline, but Congress passed a CR early because they wanted to avoid a messy budget fight or government shutdown so close to elections. This also gives members more time to campaign. What this means is that we’ll have to wait until later in the year (or next year if Congress passes another CR) to see if Congress funds Title III for the 2027-2028 SY, and how much funding will be provided.

Federal Funding Distribution Changes

USED decided to change the way it sends funding to states. This doesn’t affect when states should receive funds, but how they receive them. Most federal agencies have their own system for how they distribute funds to states, and states must set up the fiscal mechanisms necessary in order to receive funds from federal agencies. The USED has its own system, but decided to move its funding distribution to the Department of Labor (DOL). This affects multiple federal education funds because USED handles more than just ESSA funds. When this new arrangement was initiated, there were some disruptions when the first federal education funds (non-ESSA funds) were distributed via the DOL system due to states needing more time to change from USED’s funding system to the DOL’s funding system. Because of this, the ESSA funding that was distributed on July 1, 2026, went through the USED system. USED has indicated that the October 1, 2026, ESSA funding distribution will also go through USED’s system. For now, we shouldn’t see disruptions in ESSA funding for the current school year.