Sponsors
The bill preserves FY2024‑level supports for high‑need K–12 students and gives schools predictable supplemental funding through FY2027, but does so by increasing federal outlays and carving out these payments from PAYGO and regular appropriations discipline, risking higher long‑term fiscal costs and weaker incentives for adequate baseline funding.
K–12 students — including those in Title I, special education (IDEA), and McKinney‑Vento programs — keep current FY2024‑level federal supports through supplemental funding, avoiding cuts to tutoring, special education services, transportation, and outreach.
Local school districts and schools receive predictable, available supplemental dollars through FY2027 (funds remain available until expended), helping sustain staffing and school services over the next few years.
State and local governments — and local taxpayers — face reduced pressure to backfill federal shortfalls, potentially limiting the need for local tax increases or cuts to other local services.
Federal taxpayers fund supplemental appropriations without offsetting PAYGO entries, increasing federal outlays and fiscal cost in ways that are not scored under PAYGO.
Exempting these outlays from PAYGO and relying on supplemental restorations can reduce budget transparency and weaken long‑term congressional budget discipline, and may encourage reliance on after‑the‑fact top‑ups instead of adequate baseline appropriations.
Tying payments to the FY2024 explanatory statement amounts could trigger disputes over determinations and delay disbursement, creating implementation and timing risks for schools and grantees waiting for supplemental funds.
Based on analysis of 2 sections of legislative text.
Appropriates supplemental funds in FY2025–FY2027 to restore any reductions to listed federal K–12 and special education programs relative to FY2024 allocations.
Introduced February 27, 2025 by Edward John Markey · Last progress February 27, 2025
Provides supplemental appropriations for federal K–12 and special education programs in fiscal years 2025–2027 to restore any reductions from the FY2024 funding levels set in the explanatory statement for the 2024 consolidated appropriations law. For each listed “critical” program, the Treasury must pay an amount equal to any cut compared with the FY2024 allocation; those payments become available 30 days after each year’s regular appropriations law and remain available until spent. The measure defines which programs are covered (including IDEA, multiple ESEA titles and parts, and the McKinney‑Vento subtitle for homeless students), explains how to calculate a “reduction in funding,” and exempts the appropriations from certain PAYGO scorecards. It does not change program rules or create new entitlement authorities; it only restores funding when regular annual appropriations fall below the FY2024 baseline set by the 2024 explanatory statement.