LANSING, Mich. (Michigan News Source) – State Superintendent of Public Education Dr. Michael Rice said that he couldn’t recall a time in his career when school funding was so murky.

School funding from the feds.

At issue is about 11% of K-12 school funding that comes through the federal government. President Donald Trump has said he wants to dismantle the U.S. Department of Education, and a final federal budget has yet to be approved. In 2024-25, K-12 schools received $2.27 billion from the federal government, or about 11% of the total $20.64 billion in total funding public schools received.

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“School leaders are in a tricky situation,” Rice said in a press release. “For many years, the state legislature would regularly complete its budget work in September, but differences among the budgets of the governor, House, and Senate were minimal. While budgets were finalized after school began, district leaders knew roughly what to expect.”

Rice continued: “The same is not true today. I don’t ever recall in my career so little clarity about approximately where school funding in the annual budget will land. It is troubling and, if not rectified very soon with the passage of a reasonable budget for schools, will ultimately hurt children.”

The Michigan Department of Education stated that Trump’s budget proposal would eliminate some federal grants for schools, including those that support migrant education and English Learners. The U.S. Department of Education had funded the migrant education program to the tune of $375 million a year from 2019 to 2023.

Congress has not approved the budget for fiscal year 2025-26.

Budget negotiations continue in Lansing.

Historically in Michigan, when the state Legislature isn’t controlled by one party, budget negotiations often times carried on through late September. So it isn’t a unique situation for school districts to start the school year without an approved budget.

Trump’s efforts to dismantle the U.S. Department of Education has been sidetracked by other issues, according to the libertarian think tank the Cato Institute. Trump issued his executive order on dismantling the Department of Education in March.

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Trump’s efforts have been delayed due to multiple lawsuits that have been playing out in court challenging cancelled contracts and layoffs within the Department of Education.

The cancelled contracts involved grants for research and teacher training, according to the Cato Institute.