State and local governments are primarily responsible for education funding and administering K-12 and higher education.
In 2024, 14% of the MO education funds came from federal revenues.
Major K-12 federal funding programs are authorized under ESEA and IDEA, pre-date the ED, and require Congressional approval to enact changes.
In the U.S., education is primarily the responsibility of state and local governments (U.S. Department of Education (ED) 2025a). States, local governments, and public and private organizations establish schools and colleges, develop curricula, and determine requirements for enrollment and graduation. The Department of Education (ED) was established in 1979 to consolidate federal education programs and manage education activities (20 U.S.C. 3402). It supplements state, local, and private efforts (U.S. ED 2025b).
The ED establishes policies related to federal education funding, collects and research on schools, identifies major issues in education, and enforces federal laws prohibiting discrimination in federally-funded programs (U.S. ED 2025c). Federal funding laws for elementary and secondary education include:
Federal funding makes up about 8% of elementary and secondary education funds nationally (U.S. ED 2025a). These funds come from the ED and other federal agencies such as the Department of Health and Human Services’ Head Start program, and the Department of Agriculture’s School Lunch program.
Some federal funding programs are awarded based on funding formulas used by states to allocate education funds to school districts. These include:
Other federal funding programs for MO schools include grants to support career and technical education, school food service, education and training to access employment, and helping adults gain literacy and math skills (Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE) 2023).
In the 2022 federal fiscal year, the government allocated $96.2 billion for K-12 education nationwide (USA Facts 2024). The largest portion went to the Child Nutrition Program administered by the Department of Agriculture (28%), followed by Title I (19%) and special education services (15%).
In 2024, federal revenue made up 14% of DESE’s combined state, local, and federal education funding (Personal Communication Monsees 2025, Figure 1). State and local sources contributed 38% and 48%, respectively. On average, federal funding represented 12% of MO education funding from 2002 to 2024.
Figure 1. MO local, state, and federal funding. Percentage of local, State, and federal revenues from 2000 to 2024. Data from MO DESE, Personal Communication Monsees 2025.
Federal funding increased in 2021 as the result of emergency relief programs awarded to local education agencies, including charter schools, to address the impact of COVID-19 (U.S. ED 2025d). COVID-19 funds are set to expire in the 2024-2025 school year.
Previous presidential administrations have attempted to close or change the operations of the ED to reflect shifts in educational policy and administration (Stallings 2002). A March 20th 2025 executive order directs the Secretary of Education to take steps to facilitate the closure of the ED (Executive Order 14202 2025). On March 21st, the ED workforce was reduced from 4,133 to 2,183 employees (U.S. ED 2025e).
Only Congress, through legislation, can approve modifications to federal education laws and funding (NCSL 2025). These would include changing how funds can be used, program requirements, and amounts administered by the ED. However, if major programs were cut, MO is projected to lose $283 million for Title I schools, $293 million for IDEA, $30 million for Impact Aid, and $93 million for all other programs (Education Law Center 2025).
References
20 USC 239. An Act to strengthen and improve educational quality and opportunities in the Nation’s elementary and secondary schools. STATUTE-79-Pg27.pdf.
20 USC 3401 1979. An Act to establish a Department of Education. 88.pdf
20 USC 1400 2004. An Act to reauthorize the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act. E:\PUBLAW\PUBL446.108.
20 USC 2301 2018. An Act to reauthorize the Carl D. Perkins Career and Technical Education Act of 2006. PUBL224.PS.
42 USC CHAPTER 119, SUBCHAPTER VI, Part B: Education for Homeless Children and Youths. 42 USC CHAPTER 119, SUBCHAPTER VI, Part B: Education for Homeless Children and Youths
Anglum JC (2023) Separate and unequal in St. Louis? Strengths and limitations of school-level funding data using a QuantCrit framework. Urban Education, 60(5): 1255-1296. https://doi.org/10.1177/00420859231192082
Anglum JC, Shores K, Steinberg MP (2022) federal stimulus aid and school finance. In Recent advancements in education finance and policy. T Downes, KM Killeen (Eds). Information Age Publishing. https://eric.ed.gov/?id=ED616810.
Education Law Center (2025) How much federal education aid could your state lose?https://edlawcenter.org/research/trump-2-0-federal-revenue-tool/
Executive Order 14202 2025-Improving Education Outcomes by Empowering Parents, States and Communities. March 20, 2025. Link
Goldhaber D, Falken G, Theobald R (2024) ESSER Funding and School System Jobs: Evidence from Job Posting Data. Working Paper No. 297-0424. National Center for Analysis of Longitudinal Data in Education Research (CALDER). ED652725.pdf
Monsees K (2025) MO Department of Elementary and Secondary Education. Personal Communication.
MO Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (2023) School Budget. https://dese.mo.gov/media/pdf/school-budget.
MO House of Representatives (2024) 2024 Budget Fast Facts. https://house.mo.gov/AppropriationNotes.aspx?fileid=465.
MO House of Representatives (2002-2024) Budget Fast Facts. https://house.mo.gov/Budget.aspx.
National Conference of State Legislatures (2025) FAQ: The Education Department and the Federal Role in Education. https://www.ncsl.org/state-legislatures-news/details/faq-the-education-department-and-the-federal-role-in-education
National Education Association (2025) Rankings of the States 2024 and Estimates of School Statistics 2025. 2025_rankings_and_estimates_report.pdf
Stallings DT (2002) A brief history of the United States department of education, 1979–2002. Phi Delta Kappan, 83(9): 677-683. https://doi.org/10.1177/003172170208300910.
The Education Trust (2024) The State of Funding Equity in Missouri. Link
The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), Part B: Key Statutory and Regulatory Provisions. https://www.congress.gov/crs-product/R41833
Title I, Part A: Improving Basic Programs Operated by Local Educational Agencies - U.S. Department of Education (2025). https://www.ed.gov/grants-and-programs/formula-grants/school-improvement/improving-basic-programs-operated-by-local-educational-agencies-esea-title-i-part-a
U.S. Department of Education (2025a) Federal Role in Education. https://www.ed.gov/about/ed-overview/federal-role-in-education
U.S. Department of Education (2025b) Mission of the U.S. Department of Education. https://www.ed.gov/about/ed-overview/mission-of-the-us-department-of-education
U.S. Department of Education (2025c) An Overview of the U.S. Department of Education: How Does ED Serve Students? https://www.ed.gov/about/ed-overview/an-overview-of-the-us-department-of-education--pg-2
U.S. Department of Education (2025d) Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief Fund. https://www.ed.gov/grants-and-programs/formula-grants/response-formula-grants/covid-19-emergency-relief-grants/elementary-and-secondary-school-emergency-relief-fund
U.S. Department of Education (2025e) U.S. Department of Education Initiates Reduction in Force https://www.ed.gov/about/news/press-release/us-department-of-education-initiates-reduction-force
