November 2025
After 43 days, the federal government shutdown ended on November 12 with President Trump signing the FY 2026 appropriations agreement into law. Federal agencies that support education research and statistics—including the Institute of Education Sciences (IES), the National Science Foundation (NSF), and the National Institutes of Health (NIH)—have resumed data collection and reporting activities as well as the consideration and awarding of new grants.
The agreement passed the Senate on November 10, with support of eight Democrats to reach the 60-vote threshold, and the House followed on November 12, approving it 222–209. Democrats secured a provision for a planned Senate vote in December on the extension of Affordable Care Act health care subsidies.
Under the deal, three FY 2026 appropriations bills—Agriculture, Legislative Branch, and Military Construction and Veterans Affairs—received full-year funding. All other agencies, including IES, NSF, and NIH, will operate under a continuing resolution (CR) through January 30, 2026, maintaining FY 2025 funding levels.
The Senate next plans to advance a package including the Commerce, Justice, Science (CJS) bill—funding NSF—and the Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education (LHHS) bill—funding IES and NIH. Senate proposals would maintain IES’s $793.1 million top line and contain smaller cuts to NSF and NIH, compared with House proposals. More details on the LHHS and CJS proposals can be found in the September and July 2025 AERA Highlights, respectively.
In addition to the funding impacts, the agreement restores positions affected by the reduction in force (RIF) initiated on October 10 across several agencies. At the Department of Education, the RIF affected staff in the Office of Elementary and Secondary Education, the Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services, and the Office for Civil Rights. Although a preliminary injunction had paused the RIF due to litigation, the new law effectively reinstates these jobs, ensuring that critical staffing for education programs and oversight is restored.
However, a November 18 statement by Education Secretary Linda McMahon announced interagency agreements that would shift a range of departmental functions to other federal agencies as part of the administration’s broader effort to dismantle the Department of Education.
While IES programs were not included in this announcement, the agreements would affect many other Education Department programs, including: