Today, the Trump administration released its budget proposal for FY27, the first step in the process for Congress finalizing and passing a budget for the coming fiscal year. Overall, the administration’s budget request for the U.S. Department of Education includes $76.5 billion in discretionary funding for ED for 2027—a $2.3 billion (2.9%) decrease from 2026.

Importantly: The administration’s budget request is non-binding and Congress is in no way required to fulfill or act upon the recommendations made in the budget. Presidential budget requests for federal programs often serve as the starting point for congressional negotiations, but final annual appropriations legislation requires a bipartisan vote to pass Congress.

We analyzed President Trump’s budget proposal so you don’t have to. Here’s what you need to know:

K-12 Education

Make Education Great Again (MEGA) Grants: New for 2027! Just kidding, it’s just like last year’s K-12 Simplified Funding Program. The Trump administration is proposing to consolidate several ESEA programs into one grant program that states can flexibly use to fund activities “based on their needs.” 

  • To that end, the proposal requests $2 billion for new MEGA grants that would go directly to states “to pursue locally-driven improvements in math and reading” and to continue to support elementary and secondary education grant programs in accordance with states’ “unique needs.”
  • MEGA is catchy, but is unlikely to win over Congress—especially in an election year. The familiar dynamic that the president proposes and Congress disposes will almost certainly continue to hold true. 

Title I Grants: The proposal requests level-funding for Title I at $18.4 billion. As the cornerstone of federal support for high-poverty districts, the program continues to offer substantial local flexibility to target academic support and school improvement strategies.

Title II Supporting Effective Instruction: The proposal folds it into the broader MEGA framework, framing this as streamlining rather than a cut. Title II has been a perennial target for elimination, yet Congress has repeatedly preserved at least some funding, so its fate remains uncertain.

Title III English Language Acquisition: The proposal would eliminate the program and fold activities into the broader MEGA grant, despite being the only dedicated federal stream for English learners. Given the administration’s 2025 public‑benefit interpretation, advocates anticipate heightened scrutiny of how Title III–type services reach undocumented or mixed‑status students.

Charter School Grants: The proposal maintains funding for Charter School Grants at $500 million. However, it includes policy adjustments aimed at expanding technical assistance, facilities aid, and subgrants, positioning charter schools as one of the primary “winners” within the K-12 portfolio.

Comprehensive Literacy State Development Grants: Similar to other targeted programs, these grants are zeroed out and folded into the MEGA proposal. Despite the loss of a dedicated line item, the administration’s emphasis on evidence-based literacy suggests continued political backing for “science of reading” investments.

Office of Career, Technical, and Adult Education (OCTAE): The administration’s budget request for ED does not include any funding for OCTAE and instead requests an additional $1.4 billion in the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) budget for the agency to administer the federal programs previously housed at OCTAE. The proposal is aligned with the interagency agreement that the administration announced last year in which DOL assumed a greater role for the administration of career and technical education, adult education, and other programs previously administered by ED.

Higher Education

Federal Pell Grants: The proposal requests an additional $10.5 billion for the federal Pell Grant program. The administration cited its interest in maintaining the current maximum allowable Pell Grant award at $7,395 and the need to cover the current shortfall in the Pell Grant program as the reason for the requested increase.

Federal Work Study: The proposal requests $123 million for Federal Work Study, a $1.1 billion decrease from FY26 levels.

Other Higher Education Programs: The proposal requests eliminating several higher education programs that the administration believes “duplicate other programs, are more appropriately supported with State, local, institutional, or private funds; are outside of the Department’s core mission; are unconstitutional; or have not shown evidence of effectiveness.” This proposal eliminates funding for minority-serving institutions, college access programs, child care on college campuses, and the Fund for the Improvement of Postsecondary Education (FIPSE), among other programs.

The proposal calls for continued funding for:

  • The Strengthening HBCUs Program at $405.8 million (a decrease from $838.9 million in FY26).
  • Strengthening Historically Black Graduate Institutions Program at $102.5 million (an increase from $101.3 million in FY26).
  • The Strengthening Tribally Controlled Colleges and Universities Program at $53.8 million (a decrease from $108.4 million in FY26).

Institute of Education Sciences: In its proposal, the administration noted it is currently reimagining “a more efficient, effective, and useful IES to improve support for evidence-based accountability, data-driven decision making, and education research for use in the classroom.” As it continues the process, the administration is requesting $261.3 million for IES activities, including $137 million for National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP).

This article is sourced from Whiteboard Notes, our weekly newsletter of the latest education policy and industry news read by thousands of education leaders, investors, grantmakers, and entrepreneurs. Subscribe here.