UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION

OFFICE OF PLANNING, EVALUATION AND POLICY DEVELOPMENT

January 12, 2017

Memorandum to: 

Chief State School Officers 

From: 

Erica Navarro

Director, Budget Service

U.S. Department of Education

Subject: The FY 2017 Continuing Resolution and State Formula Grant Programs

I am writing to clarify the impact of the second Fiscal Year (FY) 2017 Continuing Resolution 

(Public Law 114-254, or CR) on Department of Education (Department) programs. The second 

CR generally, with the exception of a small across-the-board reduction, provides funding through 

April 28, 2017 for Department programs at the same levels and under the same terms and 

conditions as the FY 2016 appropriation, and it allows obligations to occur at the same level and 

time period that has occurred in the past. 

We do not expect the CR to impede normal operations for most Department formula grant 

programs because those programs are “forward-funded,” which means that funds are typically 

appropriated in advance of the upcoming school year and are obligated on July 1(and in some 

programs, on October 1 as well) of the fiscal year. Thus, Department formula grant programs for 

the current 2016-2017 school year were funded by the FY 2016 appropriations act, and were 

obligated to States last July and October. These funds are generally not affected by the CR. 

There are some exceptions to this general rule. There are small (less than two-tenths of one 

percent) across-the-board reductions to FY 2016 allocations for the four accounts with advance 

appropriations—Education for the Disadvantaged (Title I, ESEA), School Improvement 

Programs (Title II, ESEA), Special Education (IDEA Part B), and Career, Technical, and Adult 

Education (Perkins State Grants). In addition, the Impact Aid program relies on FY 2017 

appropriations to fund program activities in the current 2016-2017 school year. The Department 

is currently working with the Office of Management and Budget to minimize the impact of these 

exceptions and ensure normal operations for the affected programs.

The CR also will also result in the delay of the normal release of information on final 

appropriations levels for FY 2017. For example, the Department typically would release 

preliminary FY 2017 allocations for State formula grant programs in February or March of 2017. 

This fiscal year, because the Department must wait for final appropriations action to publish 

preliminary allocations, we anticipate that this information will not be available until late spring 

or early summer of 2017, or just prior to the usual announcement of final allocations on July 1. 
The CR also impacts programs authorized by the Elementary and Secondary Education Act 

of 1965 (ESEA), which was recently reauthorized by the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA). 

The ESSA eliminated several previously authorized programs, while also establishing new 

programs. The CR, however, would nominally continue to fund certain expired programs. The 

Department, relying on both the ESSA and preliminary House and Senate action on the FY 2017 

appropriations bill, does not anticipate continued operation of the expired programs (i.e., School 

Improvement Grants, Mathematics and Science Partnerships, Transition to Teaching, Elementary 

and Secondary School Counseling, the Physical Education Program, and Advanced Placement). 

The Department further intends to administer all ESEA programs for which funding is 

anticipated in FY 2017 consistent with the requirements of the ESSA, including all applicable 

regulations, rather than the previous version of the ESEA referenced in the CR. This approach is 

consistent with both the transition provisions of the ESSA and Congressional intent as expressed 

in preliminary House and Senate FY 2017 appropriations bills.

If you have additional questions or concerns, I encourage you to reach out to your program office 

contacts or me and we will do everything possible to assist you.