IDEA to be Preserved in President’s Budget, but with Changes

Since President Trump was elected, before he even took office there has been much speculation about how he would structure and fund federal education programs. We recently got that first look through the President’s proposed budget. The speculation that IDEA would be defunded has not come to pass, but there are things to indicate where the program might go. (It is important to remember that Congress can completely ignore the President’s budget- but it is useful to understand what may come to pass if Congress can get the votes.)

How IDEA Came to Be and has Been Structured

The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) is a landmark U.S. federal law that ensures students with disabilities are provided with Free Appropriate Public Education (FAPE) tailored to their individual needs. Here's a concise history of IDEA:

The policy started as the Education for All Handicapped Children Act (1975). The law was enacted in response to widespread exclusion of children with disabilities from public schools. It guaranteed:

• FAPE in the Least Restrictive Environment (LRE).

• Individualized Education Programs (IEPs).

• Procedural safeguards for students and families.

 In 1990 the bill was renamed and reauthorized as IDEA and included the following key changes:

• Added autism and traumatic brain injury as eligible disability categories.

• Added transition services for students as they move into adulthood.

The next reauthorization in 1997:

• Emphasized access to the general education curriculum.

• Required general education teachers to be part of the IEP team.

• Strengthened discipline procedures and parental involvement.

And finally in the most recent major authorization in 2004:

• Aligned IDEA with the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB).

• Promoted early intervention and Response to Intervention (RTI).

• Addressed highly qualified teacher requirements.

• Improved dispute resolution processes.

IDEA has played a critical role in providing basic requirements for students with disabilities.

What Has the President Proposed?

The President is still indeed planning on funding IDEA, but the budget itself consolidates many of the programs. The Trump administration's proposed budget for Fiscal Year 2026 suggests level funding for the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) at its current funding level of $14 billion. While there's a proposed increase of $677 million for the main IDEA Part B grant program, it's not a net increase in funding, but rather a redirection of funds from other eliminated IDEA subprograms. This means that while funding for some specific IDEA initiatives might be cut, the overall investment in IDEA would remain the same.

The proposed budget proposes two block grants: 

The "K12 Simplified Funding Program”, which according to AASA would: “consolidate most currently funded formula and competitive grant programs for elementary and secondary education into a single State formula grant program” to provide flexibility to districts and reduce administrative burden. However, the total for this block grant would be $2 billion, while cutting programs that total more than $6 billion - a significant reduction in resources and investments for K-12 education.   Most notably, Title II, REAP, Title IV, Parts A & B, and McKinney-Vento are all proposed to be a part of the consolidating block grant– and do not receive any specified funding for FY26. See table below. 

Programs eliminated and not included in K-12 SFP: 

• Title I, Part, C

• Title III

• Teacher and School Leader Incentive Grants

• Supporting Effective Educator Development (SEED) Grants

• Full-Service Community Schools “

Similarly, the proposal includes consolidating many special education services and programs which would be incorporated into IDEA grants. These programs include:

Preschool Grants for Children with Disabilities, Personnel Preparation, Technical Assistance and Dissemination, State Personnel Development Grants, Parent training and information centers, and Educational Technology, Media, and Materials. EdWeek has a great breakdown on what all of these grants do and if they are competitive.

There is no doubt that whatever passes, IDEA will look different. It will be critical to keep a close watch on how everything plays out to know if funds your school or district was counting on will continue in the same way. It is also critical to look at new programs- there may even be options that weren’t there before. Keeping your pulse on these changes will be of the utmost importance to ensure that you are aware of what is now competitive. Keeping in the loop will ensure your students have the resources they need.