ED Releases Guidance on Lapse in Appropriations As Congress Continues Work on Funding Package
By Maria Carrasco, NASFAA Staff Reporter
As the Department of Education (ED) and several other agencies within the federal government face a lapse in appropriations, which started over the weekend, ED on Monday published guidance about Federal Student Aid's (FSA) operations during this partial government shutdown.
Currently, Congress is working to pass a package that would fund ED and other agencies through the end of the 2026 fiscal year, which is September 30. On Friday, the Senate advanced the package by a vote of 71-29, which, among other things, flat funds the Pell Grant, Federal Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grant (FSEOG), and Federal Work-Study (FWS) programs at FY 2025 levels.
In an electronic announcement, ED wrote that this lapse in appropriations will have “minimal impact on students, borrowers, schools, lenders, and guarantee agencies and their ability to participate in the Title IV programs.” Additionally, the department noted that its federal offices – including regional offices outside of Washington, D.C. – will be closed. However, the majority of FSA processors, contact centers, and websites remain operational.
Outlining FSA’s operations during this partial shutdown, ED noted that communications on the FSA Knowledge Center website will be limited during the lapse in appropriations. However, ED will continue to update its student-facing websites, such as StudentAid.gov, and users will still be able to log in their StudentAid.gov account.
Students and their contributors can still start, complete, and submit a FAFSA during this partial shutdown. The FAFSA Partner Portal is still available to institutions. The FAFSA Processing System will continue to accept data from institutions and applicants, process Institutional Student Information Records (ISIRs), and send FAFSA Submission Summaries.
The Common Origination and Disbursement (COD) website is operational, and institutions can continue to award and disburse funds using their 2025-26 allocations. The FSA Partner Connect website is also operational, and institutions can continue to submit eligibility actions using FSA Partner Connect.
Most of FSA’s customer service contact centers remain open, including 1-800-4-FED-AID. However, contact centers that are staffed by FSA employees are closed, such as the eZ-Audit contact center and the School Eligibility and Oversight Services Branch contact center.
Additionally, student loan servicers are still operating, ED wrote, and borrowers should still make payments on federal student loans. ED warned that processing of refunds and discharges could be delayed.
While the FSA Training Center website remains operational, any webinars or training workshops scheduled during this lapse in appropriations will be canceled. ED will reschedule any of the canceled training once appropriations resume.
The House could clear the package as soon as Tuesday. Stay tuned to Today’s News for updates on the appropriations process.
Publication Date: 2/3/2026
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