As of October 1, 2025, the federal government officially shut down after Congress failed to pass a continuing resolution (CR) before FY 2025 funding expired at midnight. The House narrowly passed a bill to extend funding through November 21, but the Senate rejected it, along with a Democratic proposal to extend funding until October 31 and renew expiring health care subsidies. With both chambers now recessed until October 6, there is no immediate path to reopening the government.
This marks the first shutdown since the record-long 34-day closure in 2018-19. Agencies have released contingency plans, but uncertainty remains as the Office of Management and Budget and the Office of Personnel Management issued conflicting guidance on whether furloughed federal staff will return to work once funding is enacted or face mass layoffs.
For the Department of Education (ED), the impacts are especially unclear. ED’s shutdown plan states it will continue to fund Title I and IDEA, but does not specify whether all advance FY 2026 funding will be available to states as in prior years. Because of the complex mix of FY 2025 forward funding, FY 2026 advance appropriations, and multi-year funding streams, it is difficult to predict how school budgets will be affected until the shutdown is resolved.
While we do not know if the shutdown will last until our meeting, we think that is unlikely. Either way, all hotel-based programming will proceed as planned, and contingency plans are in place to ensure our members will have opportunities to meet with their legislators.
On September 16, 2025, ED’s Office for Civil Rights (OCR) notified Chicago Public Schools, New York City Public Schools, and Fairfax County Public Schools that they could lose a combined $65 million in MSAP grants due to “civil rights compliance issues.” In Chicago, OCR cited the district’s Black Student Success Plan and gender-affirming policies and required changes within three days. After CPS requested discussions instead of immediate changes, the Department terminated its MSAP funding on September 25. New York City and Fairfax also received letters focused on gender-affirming policies, and both lost MSAP funding after declining to comply. Fairfax, already designated “high risk” for Title IX issues, is appealing an initial court ruling. MSA is closely monitoring these developments and their implications for current and future MSAP grantees.
