Dive Brief:

• Fiscal year 2018 begins in October, and the budget that will guide spending may follow a blueprint from the Heritage Foundation for 2017 that called for cutting formula funding by 10%, or $2.3 billion — which would most critically impact Title I aid but may spare IDEA money, according to Education Week.
• The blueprint also calls for cutting competitive and project grant funding by $1.8 billion and cutting 10% per year from the Head Start budget in an effort to phase out the program, which is overseen by the Department of Health and Human Services.
• Last year the House appropriations panel approved a budget bill for 2017 that would have cut $1.3 billion from the Education Department, cutting funding from teacher-quality grants, the Office for Civil Rights and the entire Education Innovation and Research Program — though IDEA and Title I funding would rise.

Dive Insight:

President Donald Trump, on the campaign trail, made a number of big statements about the Education Department and has given few concrete details since then. He said he would find $20 billion in existing funding to allocate to private school vouchers, but it is unclear how he would fit that into a 2018 budget. He has also said he would eliminate the Department of Education, though that wouldn’t mean all department programs would be eliminated.

The Department of Education as a cabinet level entity has only existed since the Carter administration. It began operating in 1980. Meanwhile, Title I funding has been around since 1965. It was created as part of a package of civil rights legislation during the Johnson administration.