Federal Funding for K-12 Schools Explained

School funding is the top concern that keeps district leaders up at night, according to a 2024 survey conducted by EdWeek. [1] School funding comes in a patchwork of sources, ranging from state and local funding to federal grants and programs.

With federal funding for K-12 schools at high levels of uncertainty, both with the end of ESSER funds and with a new administration in the White House, it’s essential to understand the current state of federal funding and what might be coming next. 

The Basics

The federal government provides about 13% of funding for public K-12 education. [2]

Most funding for schools comes from the state and local levels. State and local governments provide over 85% of funding for public K-12 education, based on the most recent data available (2022). [3]

There is high variance in the amount of federal funding a K-12 school receives. Some districts receive zero federal dollars, while some pay for as much as 75% of their expenses using federal funding. Federal funding depends on factors like poverty level, student demographics, population density, and availability of state and local funding. [4]

Key Federal Programs

Federal funding supports many well-known programs. Over half of federal education funding supports low-income students. [5]

The largest federally funded K-12 programs include: [6]

• Child nutrition programs (27.9% of federal K-12 budget, 2022): These include the National School Lunch Program and the School Breakfast Program
• Education for the disadvantaged (19.0%): Title I funding supports schools with relatively high proportions of low-income students
• Special education (15.1%): The federal government supplies up to 40% of special education funding annually across America  
• Head Start (11.2%): Head Start pays for free preschool and support services for children from low-income families 

Funding comes from different sources. Federal funding is distributed to schools across America via a patchwork of government departments and agencies. 

About 46% of federal funding comes from the Department of Education. This funding includes: [7]

• Education for the disadvantaged
• Special education
• School improvement programs
• Vocational and adult education 

Several other departments also provide funding for K-12 schools, including: [8]

• Department of Agriculture: child nutrition programs
• Department of Health and Human Services: Head Start
• Department of Labor: Job Corps and education workforce training programs
• Department of Defense: overseas dependents schools and Junior Reserve Officers Training Corps (JROTC) programs A visitor management system should allow schools to welcome, screen, and manage all visitors for enhanced school safety – plus, have the ability to do more. 

Funding comes in different forms. Some funding streams are provided to all schools which meet certain eligibility criteria (e.g., the National School Lunch program, which applies to all schools with certain income demographics). Other funding streams come in the form of grants, which schools may apply to.  

Historical Trends 

During 2021–22, the latest year of data available, public schools received $124.9 billion from the federal government. [9] $2.5K in spending per K-12 student came from federal funding (2022). [10]

Federal funding for K-12 schools has historically been even lower. In the ten years prior to the pandemic, federal funding for schools decreased by 30%. [11] In the 2019-2020 school year, prior to pandemic relief and ESSER fund spending, federal spending accounted for just 7% of all K-12 funding. [12]

State and local funding sources have been tasked with shouldering a greater share of responsibility for funding education. Between 2010–11 and 2020–21, public school revenues increased by 16 percent in constant dollars. However, federal funding for public schools decreased 30% in constant dollars in the ten years prior to the pandemic. [13] State and local funding sources have been required to come up with the difference. 

Looking Ahead 

Federal funding for K-12 schools is in flux. Here’s what might be coming next. 

Funding for schools could decrease to pre-pandemic levels. 

During the pandemic, Congress appropriated $189.5 billion in funding for schools – an unprecedented amount which translated to an average $1,000 allocation per student for the past five school years. [14]

With the federal deadline for ESSER fund expenses passed in January 2025, schools should anticipate a return to non-pandemic funding levels, subject to other potential policy changes at the federal level.

Congress will appropriate federal funding for schools later this year.

Congress passes a federal budget for each fiscal year. The budget for FY2025-2026 is scheduled to be enacted by October 1, 2025 (though in practice, Congress has completed the budgetary process on-time under the current system just 4 times in its history and has not passed the budget on-time since 1997). [15]

School administrators should keep tabs on the federal appropriations process over the coming months to identify changes in federal funding levels and plan accordingly for their own school district’s needs.

Federal funding for schools could be slowed or halted by executive branch agencies.  

In January 2025, the White House announced a federal funding freeze which left many schools and education organizations uncertain about the status of their federal funds.  

The announcement appeared to indefinitely suspend hundreds of billions of dollars in federal grant funding, including federal education programs. The freeze was paused by a federal judge and withdrawn by the White House. [16]

“[School] programs are running on paper-thin margins,” said Tara Thomas, government affairs manager for AASA, the School Superintendents Association. “Districts have to pass a balanced budget and so, if [federal funding] goes in the red, they’re going to have to pull money from elsewhere.” [17]

School administrators should continue to monitor potential changes to education programs moving forward. 

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