Trump education budget hits preschool funding, civil rights, but boosts charter schools

President Trump is proposing massive cuts to education in his Friday budget request to Congress for fiscal 2026, including reduced funding for preschools, adult learning and the Education Department's Office of Civil Rights.

“The President’s Skinny Budget reflects funding levels for an agency that is responsibly winding down, shifting some responsibilities to the states, and thoughtfully preparing a plan to delegate other critical functions to more appropriate entities. It supports the President’s vision of expanding school choice and ensuring every American has access to an excellent education,” Education Secretary Linda McMahon said in a statement.

The biggest changes include consolidating 24 K-12 grant programs and seven Individuals with Disabilities Act (IDEA) programs into two funding streams. The move, the Trump administration said, is to take away the influence of the Education Department on the states and give more power to parents of students with disabilities.  

Trump wants to get rid of adult education programs costing $729 million, saying they are not working and focusing on younger students will “make remedial education for adults less necessary.” 

Preschool development grants would receive a cut of $315 million under his budget proposal, which says the grants were a “tool of the last administration to push diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI).” 

“Through this program, Federal funding was provided to create a guidebook on ‘Lessons for Creating Quality Care for Oregon's LGBTQIA+ Families’ in collaboration with an organization called ‘Pride Northwest,’” the White House’s fact sheet said.  

In another move to reduce the size of the Department of Education, the Trump administration is looking to cut 35 percent of the funding for the Office of Civil Rights, which investigates discrimination complaints against both K-12 schools and higher education institutions.  

Howard University, the country's only federally chartered historically Black college or university, would have its funding cut to 2021 levels in a move the president says would make the funding commitment more sustainable.

Charter schools, popular with Trump and other Republicans, were the only educational institutions to avoid the administration’s proposed cuts on Friday, getting an additional $60 million in funding.

“The Skinny Budget saves billions in taxpayer dollars from going to duplicative, unaligned, or non-essential programs. I look forward to presenting a complete FY 2026 budget in the future and working with Congress to deliver on the promise for a new era in education,” McMahon said.  

Lawmakers, meanwhile, are hard at work on their own spending bills. Republicans, who control both chambers, have been divided on the best way to fund the government while advancing Trump's agenda.