The Trump Administration’s proposed budget for fiscal year 2026 for the Department of Education would strip nearly $12 billion from public schools nationwide, a move that would fall hardest on the students and districts most in need.
According to analysis from the Education Law Center, the proposal eliminates or consolidates multiple existing programs and slashes resources that fund English learner instruction, after-school programs, arts and technology, and student wellness supports. For Texas, the impact would be particularly severe, with districts across the state projected to lose millions of dollars that sustain critical services.
What the Budget Proposal Does
The proposal collapses 18 targeted K–12 programs into a single “K–12 Simplified Funding Program,” removing federal guardrails that now ensure money goes where it is most needed. While framed as additional flexibility, the change amounts to a cut of about $4.5 billion, roughly 70% compared to FY2024 funding levels for those programs. Combined with broader reductions across early childhood and higher education, the Department of Education’s discretionary budget would shrink by nearly $12 billion.
For Texas educators, parents, and communities, the stakes are clear. Districts that depend heavily on federal support to deliver after-school enrichment, bilingual education, and student wellness services could see those programs disappear.
Wealthier districts with deeper local tax bases may be able to soften the blow, but schools in rural areas and those serving high numbers of low-income students and English learners cannot. The result will be a widening equity gap at a time when public schools are already under strain.
Texas Schools Face Steep Losses
The Education Law Center has published a district-by-district calculator showing projected impacts. In the Rio Grande Valley, districts that serve large populations of English learners stand to lose substantial sums. In Houston and the Dallas–Fort Worth metro area, the losses could amount to tens of millions of dollars, forcing difficult decisions about which programs to scale back. And in rural districts, where federal dollars often provide a lifeline for technology access, after-school programming, and student mental health supports, even small cuts could leave students without basic opportunities to thrive.
Critics of the budget proposal point out that turning earmarked programs into block grants shifts power to state governments but also removes accountability. Without federal requirements, states could divert money away from programs designed to reduce disparities.
In Texas, where state leaders have often resisted targeted interventions in public schools, that risk is particularly acute. The danger is not just less money, but less certainty that the remaining funds will be used to support the students who need them most.
Meanwhile, in Higher Education …
These cuts also come alongside new proposed restrictions on the Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) program. In March, President Donald Trump issued an executive order directing the Department of Education to disqualify from PSLF any employer engaged in activity with a so-called “substantial illegal purpose,” a vague and undefined standard used to target nonprofits, schools, and local governments involved in work the administration opposes. This work ranged from immigrant rights to racial equity to peaceful protest.
The department’s negotiated rulemaking panel rejected the proposal, but the administration is moving forward with a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking, which is open for public comment until Sept. 17. The public comment period is now open, and we encourage all members to submit your stories about the impact and purpose of PSLF in order to push back against harmful changes.
If finalized, the rule would unlawfully give the secretary of education broad discretion to strip PSLF eligibility from educators and civil society organizations, in direct conflict with Congress’s intent when it created the program in 2007.
Texas AFT urges educators and community members to mobilize against both the budget cuts and the PSLF restrictions. This toolkit from the Public Schools Strong coalition offers resources for spreading awareness, contacting lawmakers, and organizing locally to oppose the FY2026 budget cuts.