Education Department Rule Takes Effect: Every Grant Payment Request Now Needs a 255-Character Written Justification
WASHINGTON: A new U.S. Department of Education (ED) grant payment rule took effect on November 1: every time a grant recipient draws down previously approved federal funds through the department's G5 system, it must now attach a written justification of no more than 255 characters. Under the department's September 28 memorandum, the requirement, part of an initiative called "Defend the Spend," implements Executive Order 14222, signed by President Donald Trump on February 26, 2025, titled "Implementing the President's 'Department of Government Efficiency' Cost Efficiency Initiative," which the department says aims to ensure transparency and accountability in federal spending.
Each justification must include all of the following: the name of the grant program (the memorandum gives examples including Perkins V, ESEA Title I, Part A, IDEA Part B, Section 611, and Innovative Approaches to Literacy); the expense categories and amounts, which must total the amount of the payment request; the date range covering the earliest and latest expenses in the request; and no personally identifiable information, such as names, employee IDs or Social Security numbers. The memorandum suggests a sentence frame of "[Grant Program Name]: [Line item] $, [Line item] $; Dates [start]-[end]."
The memorandum says the process should not change the timeline for processing a payment request, unless the request triggers procedural or internal control concerns. If a recipient submits an invalid or incomplete justification, the department will send an email asking for additional information, and the payment request will not be approved until the clarification is accepted. In certain cases, such as duplicate payment requests or requests for unallowable costs, a justification can be rejected outright, with the recipient notified by email. Grants co-administered with partner agencies through interagency agreements were already subject to the requirement; from November 1, it applies to all ED grants administered through G5.
Congressman Raja Krishnamoorthi led ten fellow lawmakers in a letter to Education Secretary Linda McMahon and the memorandum's signer, Murray Bessette, warning that the requirement could delay funding for reading instruction, special education and other essential school services. "If a justification triggers additional review, the payment can be held pending further explanation. For a small district with limited finance staff and tight cash flow, even a temporary delay could jeopardize payroll or interrupt services for students," the lawmakers wrote. They also wrote: "Congress appropriated these funds to support public education and expand opportunities for students, not for the administration to slow-walk their disbursement by creating new bureaucratic red tape."
The lawmakers requested written responses by October 30 to ten questions, including what specific statutory authority the department relies on to impose new requirements on the disbursement of congressionally appropriated funds; on what basis formula programs such as Title I, Part A and IDEA Part B are covered; what standard will be used to decide whether a justification is "invalid or incomplete"; whether justifications will be reviewed by staff, automated systems, or both; how many department staff have been assigned to review them; and whether the department has estimated the administrative burden and cost the requirement will impose on states, districts, colleges and community-based organizations. The signers included Representative Judy Chu of California. Bessette is the department's Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary and Acting Assistant Secretary for the Office of Planning, Evaluation and Policy Development. The department says the requirement is intended to improve transparency.
Source: GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)
Photo: 位于华盛顿的美国教育部大楼（Lyndon Baines Johnson Building）入口（2025年2月摄，资料图）。照片：G. Edward Johnson，CC BY 4.0，经 Wikimedia Commons。
