The long-anticipated ‘big, beautiful bill’ narrowly passed through the Senate on Tuesday, drawing concern from leading education organizations.
In a 51-50 vote that required Vice President JD Vance to break a tie, the bill, an extension of President Donald Trump’s 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, would make most of the tax cuts permanent, while increasing spending for border security, defense and energy production, CBS News reports.
Republican leaders are celebrating the bill’s passage, including U.S. Senator Mitch McConnell (R-Kentucky), who released this statement following the announcement:
The U.S Senate just passed President Trump’s One Big Beautiful Bill. We’re bolstering border security, investing in programs that assist our farmers, raising take-home pay for working Kentuckians, and preventing the largest tax hike in American history. My full statement below: pic.twitter.com/zM2qnJiXi2
— U.S. Senator Mitch McConnell (@SenMcConnell) July 1, 2025
President Trump also posted on Truth Social, writing that the biggest winner following the bill’s passage is the American people, “who will have permanently lower taxes, higher wages and take home pay, secure borders, and a stronger and more powerful military.”
What educators have to say
The bill will have an impact on K12 education funding, generating responses from organizations like AASA, The School Superintendents Association and the National Education Association, which strongly oppose its passage.
“This legislation marks a significant and historic step backwards in the federal government’s commitment to support every child, in every zip code, through public education,” AASA Executive Director David R. Schuler said in a statement.
More specifically, the organization points to the use of public funds to support private schools. The bill will funnel billions of dollars to families and students who “already have the means to attend private school,” reads AASA’s statement.
“Our country cannot afford to fund a secondary private system of education that is able to pick and choose which children they serve; this is a costly mistake that jeopardizes America’s prosperity and sets our public schools back.”
Becky Pringle, president of the National Education Association, said the bill is “a betrayal of students, educators, and working families.” The teachers union argues the bill slashes funding for education, health care and nutrition, putting vulnerable students at risk.
“The senators who voted for this bill are turning their backs on those who need their support the most,” Pringle said. “This bill will devastate our schools and communities—all to finance massive tax breaks for the ultra-wealthy.”
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