The U.S. Federal Government expects to spend $140,000,000,000.00 on Department of Education in 2025. This represents 3% of all Federal spending in 2025.
The U.S. Department of Education (ED) is a federal agency established in 1979 with the mission to promote student achievement and preparation for global competitiveness by fostering educational excellence and ensuring equal access. The department's primary responsibilities include administering federal financial aid for education, collecting data on America's schools to guide improvements, focusing national attention on key educational issues, and prohibiting discrimination to ensure equal access to education.
The Department of Education is funded primarily through discretionary appropriations, which Congress allocates annually for programs such as Title I grants for disadvantaged schools, special education services, and federal student aid programs like Pell Grants. Some student aid programs generate revenue through repayments on federal student loans, though this revenue is used to offset costs rather than directly fund the department.
In Fiscal Year (FY) 2025, the Department of Education had total budgetary resources amounting to approximately $102.71 billion, distributed among its 10 sub-components. Agencies spend available budgetary resources by making financial promises called obligations. The total budgetary resources are broken out by agency sub-component, reflecting how much funding has been obligated for the fiscal year.
There have been numerous reported examples of wasteful spending at Department of Education . See below for some of the most recent reported cases.
