Federal shutdown week 5: SNAP and Head Start impacts grow

This blog was updated on October 30 to reflect additional information on the impact of the shutdown.

As we begin week 5 of federal government shutdown, there remains little sign of a strategy to negotiate a reopening and pass a continuing resolution for Fiscal Year (FY) 2026. The House of Representatives remains largely out of session after passing a continuing resolution on September 19. The Senate is again in session this week and failed for the 13th time on October 28 to pass a continuing resolution that would keep the government open until November 21. Efforts to pass stand-alone bills that would address specific needs, such as Sen. Johnson’s (R-Wisc.) Shutdown Fairness Act, which would pay some federal employees, have also failed to reach the necessary 60 votes to pass. There are faint, positive signs of bicameral, bipartisan negotiations seeking to make progress on the 12 individual spending bills for FY 2026 (including the Labor, HHS, Education spending bill) and packaging some of the bills in a series of legislative vehicles that could pass the House and Senate once the government reopens. 

With no resolution to the impasse in site, the number of concerns are mounting and include:

• Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP): A critical issue for schools and students, especially in Title I schools. SNAP benefits are at risk of not going out at all for November. While this concern will not directly impact school meal eligibility or other school funding, schools and communities are scrambling to set up food pantries or otherwise support students who already face challenges and will be facing hunger on the weekends and when school is out. Afterschool meals, school breakfast and school lunch will be more important than ever for low-income students. The CACFP Afterschool Meal program can be used to provide meals on the weekends or during holiday breaks, which can help support families who may lose SNAP benefits. One school district in Maryland has expanded access to hot afterschool meals to help “more families manage through uncertain times.” From a policy perspective, USDA can use the contingency funds and flexibilities under existing law to provide SNAP benefits. But, on October 24, USDA issued a memo stating that contingency funds would not be used in this instance. Republicans and Democrats in Congress have called on USDA to tap into these contingency funds to support SNAP. On October 28, the District of Columbia and 25 states sued USDA, stating that the Department is legally required to continue providing SNAP benefits during the shutdown. The lawsuit calls on the court to compel the USDA to use its contingency funds to keep the program running. More information is available from the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities. Advocates can reach out to USDA  in support of continuing SNAP benefits.
   
• School and afterschool meals: While USDA’s contingency plan posted on October 1 stated that school meals, including afterschool meals would be reimbursed through the end of October, the recent memo from USDA issued last Friday suggests that the programs will continue in November. According to USDA, school-based Child Nutrition Programs, which include the National School Lunch Program, School Breakfast Program, and Child and Adult Care Feeding Program that houses afterschool meals, received $23 billion from its annual Section 32 tariff funds to carry out these programs during the shutdown.
   
• Head Start: Some afterschool programs operate or support Head Start centers for children aged 3 to 5. Without a bipartisan agreement to fund the government, nearly 65,000 children and families across 41 states and Puerto Rico are at risk of losing access to Head Start on November 1st. Continuity of care is essential to healthy child development, yet without FY 2026 government funding, 141 Head Start programs are at risk of closing their doors. Head Start closures or interruptions in service would disrupt family stability and economic security, cutting off access to nutritious meals, physical and mental health checkups, and other vital supports. Learn more from the National Head Start Association.
   
• Reduction in Force (RIF) at federal agencies: On October 10, the Administration laid off 4,000 federal employees, including most of the U.S. Department of Education staff who oversee Elementary and Secondary Education programs. Administration officials stated the layoffs were in response to the federal government shutdown and lack of appropriations for FY 2026. Five days after OMB Director Russell Vought’s RIF announcement, a U.S. district court judge barred the administration from moving forward with additional layoffs during or because of a government shutdown. The judge found that these actions were “both illegal and in excess of authority.” In response, the administration paused some RIFs but argued that not all federal employees affected by the layoffs were covered by the court order. On October 28, a federal judge in San Francisco granted a preliminary injunction to indefinitely block the Trump administration from proceeding with widespread RIFs for about 4,000 federal employees, or issuing new RIF notices, while the case proceeds through the court. As a result, some of the 21^st CCLC staff at the federal Department of Education who had previously been laid off are now employed but furloughed.  
   
• Programs Serving Native Communities: The Senate Committee on Indian Affairs held an oversight hearing on October 29 focusing on the impacts of government shutdowns and reductions in force on Native Communities. Witnesses such as Kerry Bird, President of the National Indian Education Association, pointed to changes and furloughs within the Department of Education affecting Impact Aid and other programs that have left Native-serving education programs and funding at public schools extremely vulnerable. He also spoke to the Johnson-O’Malley (JOM) program within the Bureau of Indian Education which has been impacted by the lack of FY 2026 appropriations, putting in jeopardy supplemental academic, cultural, and afterschool programming for nearly 300,000 Native students in public schools nationwide.

For the many families and students impacted by the shutdown, from losing access to critical benefits to federal employees not being paid, some support is available. The offices of individual members of Congress are likely the best avenue to connect with local support. Use this tool to find your members of Congress. Most members have web pages with local resources, frequently asked questions, and a form to request constituent help.

Whether you are directly impacted by the shutdown or not, voice your concerns about how the shutdown is affecting kids, families, and communities and urge Congress to pass the FY 2026 budget, including robust funding for afterschool and summer programs.