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PreK–12 Policy and Budget Outlook 2025–2026

Publisher Simba Information – Reports
Published Sep 04, 2025
Length 109 Pages
SKU # CURP20362743

Description

Simba Information’s PreK–12 Policy and Budget Outlook 2025–2026 delivers a strategic overview of how federal and state funding priorities are shaping U.S. classrooms. Covering Title I, IDEA, CTE, and other major programs, the report highlights shifting state policy environments, adoption mandates, and budget constraints. It also underscores the growing impact of political debates around parental rights, DEI initiatives, and high-quality instructional material mandates on district decision-making, showing how these issues are altering procurement patterns and instructional priorities. The analysis further examines the ripple effects of reduced discretionary spending on district hiring, professional development, and supplemental program offerings. With districts navigating leaner funding cycles, rising costs, and new accountability pressures, the report provides essential guidance for publishers, EdTech providers, and policymakers who must align strategies with rapidly evolving fiscal, legislative, and instructional realities.

Table of Contents

109 Pages
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
INTRODUCTION AND METHODOLOGY
METHODOLOGY
CHAPTER 1: FEDERAL FUNDING: 2025 BRINGS SIGNIFICANT CUTS
FISCAL 2025 CONTINUING RESOLUTION MAINTAINS 2024 PRIORITIES
Table 1-1. 2024 Federal Elementary and Secondary Education Budget by Program Area (in millions)
Table 1-2. 2025 Special Education and Rehabilitation Services Budget by Program Area (in millions)
Table 1-3. 2025 Career and Technical Education Budget by Program Area (in millions)
A NEW ADMINISTRATION: CUTS AND CHAOS
2025 Allocation Delays
ESSER Funding Reversal
Immediate Cuts to Education
FY 2026 BUDGET PROPOSAL CONFIRMS PRIORITIES
Some Programs Escape Cuts
Budget Negotiations Underway
CHAPTER 2: STATES AND DISTRICTS FACE NEW FUNDING REALITIES
DISTRICTS DEAL WITH ESSER’S END
Labor Expenditures Are Difficult to Replace
Effectiveness of the Funding
The Educator’s Perspective
MORE POWER TO THE STATES, BUT
STATE EXPENSES OUTPACE REVENUES
Table 2-1. Public School Revenue Receipts Per Student in Fall Enrollment by State, 2022–2023 and 2023–2024
Table 2-2. Public School Current Expenditures Per Student in Fall Enrollment by State, 2022 – 2023 and 2023 – 2024
Table 2-3. Annual Percentage Change In General Fund Spending by Number of States in Each Tier
RAMIFICATIONS OF FEDERAL CUTS
Table 2-4. How School Districts Use Medicaid Reimbursement Funds
STATE AND LOCAL BUDGET PRESSURES
Table 2-5. Growth in State Revenues, Fiscal Year 2024–2025
PreK-12 Policy & Budget Outlook, 2025-2026
ii September 2025 © Simba Information
POPULATION, BUDGET WOES LEAD TO LAYOFFS, SCHOOL CLOSURES
Table 2-6. Big School Districts Having Highest Concentrations of Schools with Plummeting Enrollment, 2019–2020 to 2021–2022 School Years
CHANGES TO STATE FUNDING FORMULAS
STATE FUNDING PRIORITIES
CHAPTER 3: POLICY CHANGES GALORE
CHANGES IN POLICY FROM THE GET-GO
The Future of Research
Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion
OCR Actions
State and District DEI Trends
Immigration
School Choice
Table 3-1. States with School Choice Programs, by Type, 2024
IMPACTS OF THE “ONE BIG, BEAUTIFUL BILL”
CHAPTER 4: ACADEMIC POLICIES AND PRIORITIES IN FLUX
PROTESTS, OPT-OUTS, AND BANS OF BOOKS AND CURRICULUM
State and District Trends
Table 4-1. School Book Bans, 2021-2022 through 2023-2024 School Years
Legal Action
Freedom-to-Read Laws
FOCUS ON CORE SUBJECTS: LITERACY AND MATH
Table 4-2. Policy, Guidance, and Practices Supporting the Science of Reading by State, As of Mid-2025
EARLY EDUCATION
CAREER AND TECHNICAL EDUCATION
Table 4.3. Top 10 Policy Areas Affecting CTE, 2024
TECHNOLOGY TAKES A FRONT SEAT
Integration of Artificial Intelligence
State Attention on AI
Districts Delve Into AI in Schools
Table 4-4. District Tech Leaders’ Views on AI’s Potential for Positive Impact in Education
Table 4-5. Districts’ Generative AI Usage, 2024 and 2025
More Tools Available; Teachers Not Yet On Board
Table 4-6. K-12 Teachers’ Views of AI in the Classroom, 2023
Table 4-7. How Educators Rank the Benefits of AI in the Classroom
Media Literacy, Coding, and Computational Thinking
Computer Science
Privacy and Infrastructure Trends
PreK-12 Policy & Budget Outlook, 2025-2026
September 2025 © Simba Information iii
Other Tech Priorities
Table 4-8. District EdTech Initiatives, 2024
ASSESSMENTS
EXTENDED-DAY PROGRAMS
RELIGION IN PUBLIC SCHOOL INSTRUCTION
SPECIAL EDUCATION
COMPETENCY-BASED EDUCATION
Table 4-9. Competency-Based Education Policy by State, March 2025
CHAPTER 5: NON-ACADEMIC POLICIES IMPACT SCHOOL CULTURE AND LEARNING
TEACHER SHORTAGES AND DISSATISFACTION
Table 5-1. Average Salaries of Public School Instructional Staff by State, 2022–2023 and 2023–2024
States Are Taking Action
Changing View of Uncertified Teachers
Reduction in Federal Support
ABSENTEEISM AND POPULATION SHIFTS
Immigration Policies
Table 5-2. Share and Number of School-Aged Children in Immigrant Families by State, April 2025
Homelessness
HEALTH, BEHAVIOR, AND SAFETY
Social-Emotional Learning
School Shootings
CELL PHONES AND SOCIAL MEDIA USE
Table 5-3. Percentage of US Adults Supporting Middle and High School Cell Phone Bans
State Action
Table 5-4. Statewide Policies on Cellphone Usage in K-12 Public School Classrooms, June 2025
Social Media Usage
CYBERSECURITY AND PRIVACY
Federal Policy
State and Local Policy
INFRASTRUCTURE
DEI POLICIES’ IMPACT ON THE GROUND: TRANSGENDER STUDENTS
Transgender Students and Sports
Use of Gender Pronouns and Bathrooms
CHAPTER 6: WHAT’S AHEAD FOR VENDORS OF INSTRUCTIONAL MATERIALS?
Figure 6-1. Spending Growth Rates by Expenditure Category, 2020–2024 —>2024–2027

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