The recent government shutdown, which began twenty days ago on October 1st, has not yet significantly impacted Minnesota’s educational system and is unlikely to do so, assuming that the shutdown length does not stretch for several months. The longest shutdown on record, under the Trump administration, lasted for 35 days from December 2018 to January 2019.
Federal funds represent only about 5 percent of Minnesota’s education budget for the 25-26 school year. The vast majority of those earmarked federal dollars are from the Title I grant and the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), both of which have already awarded their funds to Minnesota schools this school year.
This summer, the Trump administration froze education funds set aside for grants that supported English learners, migrant education, teacher training, after-school programs, and adult education, but thawed their approach and released the money after bipartisan backlash. Many states are now in the process of suing the Department of Education over what they call the illegal withholding of these funds. Since these funds have already been released, the federal government shutdown cannot affect Minnesota’s use of the money.
On November 1, some federal grant money will cease to flow for the Head Start program, which provides preschool services and community assistance for low-income families. The drop in funds could impact 1,356 Minnesotan families, unless local state or community funding is procured. However, the Minnesota Department of Children, Youth and Families has already authorized programs to use state funds, which “ensures that programs can remain open and continue to provide care” for the foreseeable future.
As far as school lunches go, the US Department of Agriculture has funding for the Child Nutrition Programs “at least through October.” These programs include the National
School Lunch Program, the School Breakfast Program, the Special Milk Program, the Child
and Adult Care Food Program, the Summer Food Service Program, the Fresh Fruit and
Vegetable Program, State Administrative Expenses, and Summer EBT. If the shutdown lasts longer than October, then reimbursements for schools could be delayed, meaning that schools will have to pull on their own reserves or look to the state for temporary assistance.
In conclusion, if the shutdown ends before or just after All Saints Day, Minnesota’s education system will have experienced a relatively minor disruption. But more changes could be coming down the pipeline.
Nationally, the Department of Education is experiencing a shakeup due to the funding disruption. Education Secretary Linda McMahon has laid off 465 employees during the government shutdown. McMahon said that these layoffs won’t impact future disbursements of government funding, and has also publicly called for the dismantlement of her department in the past. While the recent layoffs have been challenged in court, McMahon won the right to cut over 1,000 jobs in the Department of Education in July. She won another minor legal victory this summer as courts ruled in an emergency decision that she could cut half of the Office of Civil Rights staff. The government shutdown, it seems, has allowed her to come one step closer to her goal of cutting the Department of Education and making it a subsidiary of the Department of Labor.
While federal shakeups at the Department of Education will undoubtedly impact Minnesota’s education system, the rapidly changing situation and continuous ongoing lawsuits make it difficult to prognosticate the extent and quality of the alterations.
