What Trump’s education budget means for state lawmakers in 2026

The Trump administration recently released its latest education budget. Unsurprisingly, it seeks to reduce funding overall (by $2.3 billion), eliminate funding in certain federal K-12 programs, streamline others, and “dismantle the Federal education bureaucracy,” which it says, “has failed the Nation’s children, teachers, and families.”

This comes on the heels of last month’s announcement that the Department would be leaving its long-established home building for a smaller one, another symbol of the administration’s intent to permanently shrink the federal role in education.

Where are we today with the federal push to wind down the U.S. Department of Education? And what does it mean for Utah state leaders as they work during the interim session to study issues for the next state legislative session?

We dive into both below.

The new education budget reveals that the goal and momentum remain the same

The new budget reveals that the goal of eliminating the U.S. Department of Education remains the same, but so is the slow-moving momentum in Congress to make sweeping changes more permanent.

Cutting funding for certain grant programs

The administration’s budget calls for removing funding for specific grants that provide services for students who are English language learners, migrant education and special programs for migrant students, teacher development, and more, similar to what it proposed last year. The administration’s budget explains the reason for each proposed elimination, including controversial training, materials, or summits on gender or racial ideologies that were disseminated through the programs.

During 2025, states, including Utah, were surprised to see funding for many of these programs unexpectedly paused while the administration reviewed whether they were being implemented properly. While the funding eventually came through, the administration’s repeated proposals to eliminate and pause these programs highlight their vulnerability going forward. With last year as a test run, states should move with the possibility in mind that these funds might be paused, reduced, or eliminated completely in the future.

The elimination of college-preparation programs

Also, similar to last year, the budget targets programs that help low-income, first-generation students prepare for postsecondary options, including both TRIO and GEAR UP (Gaining Early Awareness and Readiness for Undergraduate). According to the budget summary document, these programs are among those being eliminated because other programs make them duplicative, they are better supported at the state and local levels, they are outside the core mission of the Department, or they have been ineffective.

Utah is a recipient of both of these grant programs (for instance, Utah Valley University and Utah State University administer GEAR UP Utah, and TRIO programs are found at the University of Utah). If these programs were to be reduced or eliminated, the state would need to be prepared to consider whether to continue them and, to what extent, to pay for them. The state may need to altogether reconsider how it prepares students for postsecondary opportunities at the secondary level, since it’s already doing a complete rethink of its higher education institutions.

The possibility of a block grant

The new budget also seeks to consolidate multiple grants into a block grant called the Make America Great Again (MEGA) grants, which allow states to decide how to spend the money, with the stipulation that at least 25% be set aside for both literacy and math instruction. The block grant idea is not new from this administration, but it is probably also unlikely.

Utah, like many states, has done significant work on literacy in recent years and passed a major legislative reform in 2026 that includes third-grade retention for students not reading at grade level. If the block grant becomes a reality and the required allotments for literacy are outlined, this is good news for Utah, which is already working in this area. This means a block grant would likely not ruffle these initiatives and signals interest in flexibility, which a state like Utah would likely welcome.

Other issues lawmakers should be focusing on during the interim

The budget increases funding for Pell Grants, among other things. But the likelihood of a radical overhaul of these programs remains low with the current Congress. As education scholar Rick Hess noted, much of what’s happened so far in federal education policy change has been reversed fairly quickly, and, in reality, most changes have been reorganizations rather than the elimination of laws, regulations, or funding.

What this means for state leaders is to be prepared for changes but hold steady to state priorities. With Utah’s legislative interim meetings beginning in May, we recommend that the state education interim committees focus on the following areas.

Education choice

Utah should continue to protect its education choice programs, including finding ways to offer parents options even if the Utah Fits All Scholarship Program is found unconstitutional in its current form. New funding or protections could allow this program to remain in a new form if necessary.

Utah should consider a constitutional amendment that secures parental rights in education, including the right to education options.

State lawmakers should not ignore opportunities to improve long-standing education choice options like open enrollment, which need greater transparency and parent- and user-friendliness as private education choice grows and attracts families.

The new federal budget states its support for education choice, noting the new federal tax credit scholarship and additional money for charter schools, which shows that the education choice moment is still happening.

Literacy and math

State and federal leaders seem aligned on the fact that literacy and math scores are in desperate need of help. Utah’s strong literacy reforms this year represent especially promising progress in these areas; that is, if implementation can be done well. We hope that as lawmakers continue to study literacy policy, they seek out early reports from local districts and schools on how implementation of the new literacy is working, so that early refinements can be made, and success is more likely. The work is not over now that a bill has been passed; it’s just beginning.

Preparing for a rainy day

This year, Utah policymakers tested the state budget by asking agencies, including the USBE, to recommend budget reductions if a 5% haircut were required. Though in the end, closer to 0.8% reduction became a reality for USBE, these preparations helped create a framework should Congress back Trump’s proposals to eliminate funding in other places. While Trump’s advocacy may not yet be piercing Congress for more lasting change, that doesn’t mean the administration won’t use whatever muscular levers it has to make short-run changes that affect the dollars the state relies on now.

Conclusion

For those eager to reduce the federal education footprint, the budget is welcome news. However, because much of the proposal is repetitive and Congress has not taken up much of it, policy advocates should continue to focus on state-level policy.