Appropriations update: Possible federal government shutdown

Update, Oct. 1, 2025: At 12:01 a.m. this morning, October 1, the federal government began a partial shutdown for the first time since 2019. Yesterday the U.S. Senate failed to pass two different stopgap funding bills that would have averted a shutdown. Democrats voted down Republicans’ ‘clean’ continuing resolution (CR) that would extend FY 2026 funding until November 21. Republicans voted down Democrats’ bill that would have extended enhanced Affordable Healthcare Act subsidies, rolled back Medicaid cuts, and prevented the President from enacting rescissions. Two Senate Democrats and one Independent voted in support of the Republican CR on Tuesday night. Votes took place again today with lawmakers failing to get the 60 votes needed to pass the Republican CR that would float federal operations through Nov. 21. Negotiations do not appear to be taking place, and it is unclear how long a shutdown may last.  

Each federal agency has adopted a contingency plan during the shutdown, including the following agencies which help fund out of school time programming:

• The Department of Education’s (ED) contingency plan notes it will fund Title I and IDEA. 21st CCLC funding to state education agencies that reimburse local afterschool and summer learning programs will be uninterrupted as the program is operating on FY 2025 funding during the 2025-2026 school year.
   
• The Department of Health and Human Service’s contingency plan notes that the Administration for Children and Families (ACF), which oversee the Child Care Development Block Grant, will continue operations to support funded programs, including issuance and management of grant and contract awards for programs with multi-year or supplemental funding.
   
• The AmeriCorps agency shutdown plan outlines staffing requirements. Most AmeriCorps VISTA will continue to serve and will accrue living allowance during a temporary lapse of funding. The living allowances for cost-share and program-grant VISTAs will not be affected by a funding lapse. Members will be eligible for health care and childcare services under the existing contracts.

Government shutdowns create uncertainty and delays and prevent agencies from fulfilling their missions. Please reach out to us if we can be of assistance during this difficult time.

Update Sep. 29, 2025: This afternoon, the President met with the four leaders of the House and Senate majority and minority to discuss a way forward to keep the government funded when FY 2025 funding expires after midnight tomorrow. No breakthrough came as a result of the meeting.  Majority Leader John Thune said the Senate will vote again on Tuesday on the House-passed bill to fund the federal government — a repeat of a vote held on Sept. 19 that failed due to Democratic opposition.

Additionally, the Department of Education (ED) posted its contingency plan in case the government shuts down on Wednesday, Oct. 1,  due to lack of appropriations. ED’s plan would furlough 1,485 of the Departments 1,700 employees, leaving 215 people to disburse student aid, make new Title I and IDEA state grant funding available, and allow states and grantees to draw down funds that have already been enacted – such as 21st CCLC which is operating on FY 2025 funding during rhe 2025-2026 school year. Of the 215 employees who would not be furloughed, 115 are in the Office of Federal Student Aid, meaning that 95% of other ED employees would be furloughed on Wednesday. If the government stays shut for more than a week, more ED employees would be required to come back to work. The contingency plan does not mention the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) guidance that agencies may fire employees who are furloughed and ED described no plan to permanently lay-off employees.

If Congress fails to pass a continuing resolution (CR) that President Donald Trump signs by midnight September 30, a federal government shutdown will occur. Most federal K-12 education and afterschool funding, including 21st Century Community Learning Centers (21st CCLC) and the Child Care Development Fund (CCDF), have not been impacted by previous government shutdowns as they are forward funded or have multi-year funding mechanisms. The current shutdown follows a different script. If a shutdown is triggered, the Administration is planning for lay-offs of federal employees working on programs, projects, or activities that have discretionary funding or that are “not consistent with the President’s priorities.” As a result, it is difficult to predict the effect on critical funding for local afterschool programs or the national staff that support afterschool program funding streams.

During past shutdowns, federal agencies would suspend non-essential discretionary functions and furlough non-essential staff, while “essential” services (such as national security, border protection, air traffic control, and others) would continue operating without immediate pay under the authority of contingency shutdown plans. The Trump Administration has discretion (via the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) and agency heads) to classify and direct which functions and employees are considered essential and allowed to continue working during the lapse. According to a memo shared with the media, this week the Administration instructed federal agencies to prepare reduction-in-force plans for mass firings during a possible government shutdown, specifically targeting employees who work for programs that are not legally required to continue. The memo states:

“…agencies are directed to use this opportunity to consider Reduction in Force (RIF) notices for all employees in programs, projects, or activities (PPAs) that satisfy all three of the following conditions: (1) discretionary funding lapses on October 1, 2025; (2) another source of funding, such as H.R. 1 (Public Law 119-21) is not currently available; and (3) the PPA is not consistent with the President’s priorities.”

Based on those three criteria, school meals including afterschool meals would not be impacted, and it appears programs like 21^st CCLC and CCDF which utilize FY2025 funding for the 2025-2026 school year should not be impacted. AmeriCorps programs could be impacted. Federal grantees should be in touch with their state or federal agency program officers for specific instructions and guidance as federal agencies finalize their shutdown contingency plans. As additional information becomes public, we will update this blog.

How did we get here?

Last week, the House narrowly approved (217-212) a CR that extends government funding until November 21 and then recessed until October 7 – six days after existing government funding expires on October 1. Last Friday, the Senate voted down the House-passed CR (44-48). That same day, a Democratic Senate CR that would have extended government funding until October 31 also failed to pass (47-45). The Democratic CR included a provision permanently extending enhanced “Affordable Care Act” (ACA) tax credits, which help people with low incomes better afford healthcare coverage.  The Democrats’ CR also included language that would “extend the availability of funds that have been improperly frozen” by the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) under the Trump Administration. Additionally, the CR included provisions to prevent future rescissions of previously appropriated funding.

The failure of the Senate to pass any CR has set up the standoff, with no government funding bill ready for the President to sign before October 1, the first day of FY 2026. After voting on September 19, the Senate left town for a one-week recess, leaving just two scheduled legislative workdays remaining before the September 30 funding deadline. The House isn’t scheduled to return to session until after October 1. As of now, there are no ongoing or scheduled negotiations between House and Senate Republicans and Democrats to address the impasse. A meeting to discuss FY 2026 funding between the President and House and Senate Democrat leadership scheduled for Thursday, September 25, was cancelled by President Trump earlier in the week.

What would a shutdown mean?

Federal agencies and employees are immediately affected. For this shutdown, it is possible that some of the layoffs directed by the Administration will become permanent. This is unusual; typically, staff designated for unpaid furlough return once the shutdown is resolved. During the shutdown, agencies must outline which functions will and will not be sustained during the shutdown. For the afterschool field, past shutdowns provide a few examples of potential impact. In 2018 and 2013, the most recent shutdowns, some afterschool programs housed at federal properties, including military bases, museums, U.S. Department of Interior and/or National Park Service facilities, were forced to close for the duration of the shutdown, however federal grants like 21st CCLC, Childcare Development Block Grant vouchers, and school meals including afterschool meals and snacks, were all not impacted previously. Federal offices that support programs, like U.S. Department of Education staff, Corporation for National and Community Service staff, and others, will not be accessible by phone, email or in-person during a shutdown. Questions or support needed from these offices will have to wait until the government is funded again.

Post-Shutdown Possibilities

Once the immediate impasse is overcome, an FY 2026 spending deal still needs to be reached. Overall spending amounts must be agreed to; then several options could be pursued:

• 12 individual spending bills, which the House and Senate Appropriations Committees estimate will need several weeks to pass
   
• Consolidated funding bills, which could be a large omnibus spending bill or a series of several smaller funding bills
   
• A full year continuing resolution like the one we saw signed into law in March for FY 2025

 The final spending levels for all programs, including 21st CCLC, will not be known until the FY2026 appropriations process is finalized.  In their work thus far on the FY2026 budget, both the Senate Appropriations Committee’s bill and the House Appropriations bill set 21st CLCC funding at $1.329 billion, the same amount as FY2025. Overall, the bipartisan Senate FY 2026 Labor, Health and Human Services and Education spending bill is preferable to the partisan House plan, which proposes a 15% cut to the Department of Education, including a $4.7 billion reduction in Title I spending.

The weeks ahead are critical to weigh in with Congress about the importance of federal afterschool funding, which provides support for local school and community-based organizations that serve almost 1.4 million children.