On January 20, 2026, the House and Senate Appropriations Committees released a bipartisan funding proposal for the FY26 federal budget that covers several major areas, including education. See the bill text here. The proposal, for the most part, maintains funding at FY25 levels, at about $79 billion. It also does not include the President’s proposal to cut the U.S. Department of Education’s budget by 15% or to combine many K–12 programs into a single block grant. 

While this proposal still needs to be adopted, given that this bill and others already released are bipartisan and bicameral proposals, Congress is aiming to approve full-year FY 26 spending levels across the federal government within the next two weeks. 

Regarding Expanded Learning funding, the agreement proposes to maintain level funding for 21st Century Community Learning Centers at $1.3 billion. As a reminder, the federal FY 26 budget runs from Oct 1, 2025-Sept 30, 2026. Congress has not adopted a budget for this current FY and so the federal government operates under a continuing resolution. FY 26 funds California’s FY 2026-27 budget for 21st CCLC. 

In addition to the funding levels, the bill addresses other education related issues. Two key items that impact 21st CCLC include:

• Interagency Agreements: The bill includes provisions emphasizing limits on the Administration’s ability to transfer funds or responsibilities from the U.S. Department of Education (USED) to other federal agencies. This responds to recent Administration efforts to shift education funding and functions through agreements with other agencies. These limits are made especially clear in the bill’s explanatory materials (see pages 82-84).
• Timing of State Formula Grants: The bill includes an explicit requirement that USED release state formula grant funding on time for FY26 (and for advance funding of FY27). This requirement includes formula grants under the major K-12 funding streams. This is likely a response to the delay in releasing nearly $7 billion in state formula funds in July 2025.

Big Picture Takeaways:

• Major proposed cuts were rejected by Congress. Many programs the President proposed to eliminate or sharply reduce, such as Title II, TRIO, Pell Grants, and early childhood programs, are preserved.
• Some programs, including Title I, IDEA, Head Start, and child care, see modest funding increases.
• Congress is clearly signaling that education dollars should stay within the Department of Education and be released to states in a timely manner.

Fo more details comparing the proposed FY26 levels for certain Education Department activities, check out this K-12 Dive article: Bipartisan K-12 budget proposal would stall gutting of Education Department.

Resources:

• K-12 Dive article: Bipartisan K-12 budget proposal would stall gutting of Education Department
• Afterschool Alliance latest blog (01/21/2026)
• Current Policy Landscape webpage for the latest policy news and updates impacting afterschool and summer programs.
• Register for next Afterschool Alliance Policy Pulse webinar.