What the Government Shutdown Means for Education

With so many federal government workers facing furloughs because of the recent government shutdown, one must pause and wonder how shutdowns affect the education system, which receives funding from federal, state and local sources. The Huffington Post recently shared a piece detailing who is affected in education by the shutdown and how. Surprisingly, it is the youngest American citizens, primarily in preschool programs, who are already feeling the biggest impact.

Head Start in Peril

The furloughs of more than 800,000 workers have been caused by the inability of the House and Senate to compromise on a funding bill. Without a compromise, all nonessential government employees, like those employed at national parks, have been furloughed while essential services, like social security, will continue as normal.

If the shutdown continues beyond a week, schools will seriously begin to feel the effects. The Department of Education will be forced to furlough up to 90 percent of its employees, as per their contingency plan, and funding to schools and universities will be delayed with the exception of funds already appropriated for the beginning of October. With so many schools just beginning to unroll Common Core Standards and other reforms, no one will be there at the state or federal level to provide assistance or to answer questions.

While potential delays in federal education funding are a cause for concern for many, Head Start, a program of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, stands to feel the biggest impact. Still reeling from last spring’s sequestration that cut 57,000 head start slots, the 23 programs that are supposed to receive grants in October are at risk of losing that essential funding. The National Head Start Association (NHSA) Director Yasmina Vinci stated, “Beyond the headline numbers, this shutdown has real consequences. A government shutdown is one cut atop an already deep wound.”

The Five County Child Development Center, which operates Head Start classes in Prentiss, Mississippi, had to cancel its classes because they did not receive their latest federal funding. Director Jonathan Bines lamented the loss of their funding, since their program serves 900 children in a high-poverty area. In an area where one in four residents are considered to be living in poverty and the annual household income is $26,000, many families depend on Head Start so they can work. Bines said, “They don’t have any child care. Some of them are working. They’re trying to scramble to find a place to leave their children.”

Other Casualties

Fortunately, not every federally funded school will be affected by the shutdown. The Bureau of Indian Education schools won’t be impacted, since they have already received federal funding for the entire school year.

However, the Bureau of Indian Education colleges may be another story, as they are not “forward funded.” According to President of Navajo Nation, Ben Shelly, tribal colleges can only operate as long as funding is available. Federal funds cover two-thirds of the Navajo Nation budget, so those colleges could close quickly without a fast resolution. Shelly said, “It is unconscionable that the federal government will come to a complete halt due to a few unreasonable members of Congress. By failing to provide funding, Congress is once again failing to honor its trust responsibility to America’s first people.”

In addition to tribal colleges, many other colleges stand to be negatively affected. Financial aid programs should maintain the status quo, but grant monies may be few and far between. If universities were hoping for new grant monies to conduct educational research or to fund projects, they may need to hold their breaths. When the government came perilously close to a shutdown in 2011, a number of groups declared that they would not be able to fund new or existing grants in the case of a government shutdown. Hopefully, the government will come to a resolution soon, so our youngest and oldest students will not suffer the most.

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