Half of all states in the U.S. have opted into a program that gives local schools more control over spending, with the aim of improving learning outcomes and serving the needs of their specific communities.
The U.S. Department of Education (ED) on Friday is announcing its approval of Arizona, Nevada, and South Carolina for the “Ed-Flex” program, bringing the total number of participating states to 25, Breitbart News has exclusively learned. ED said the participation of half the nation is “reshaping how education agencies respond to local needs and drive student academic achievement.”
“Reaching 25 Ed-Flex states is a watershed moment that proves the paradigm is shifting in American education,” said Kirsten Baesler, assistant secretary for the Office of Elementary and Secondary Education. “Innovation does not flow from top-down mandates, but rather it thrives when state and local leaders are given the regulatory freedom to adapt and respond directly to their students. This milestone is a call for every state leader to build on the momentum and prioritize placing decision-making where it belongs – closest to the student.”
The Ed-Flex program was created in 1999 and reauthorized in 2015 under the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA). The program allows participating states to waive certain federal requirements for how federal money is spent, which is ultimately supposed to reduce bureaucracy and allow states and local schools to move more quickly and effectively with the purpose of improving student outcomes.
In September 2025, 11 states had Ed-Flex authority, and in the 2023-2024 school year, ED-Flex states reported granting approximately 575 waivers, according to ED. The most common uses of Ed-Flex authority, as recorded by the State Department, were for allowing local educational agencies (LEAs) to carry over more than 15 percent of funds for basic programs across fiscal years and for allowing schools flexibility with mandatory spending minimums for certain kinds of education grants.
Arizona Superintendent of Public Instruction Tom Horne said opting into the program is a “welcome decision that allows Arizona’s local district and charter schools to have more control over how they spend money for education.”
“People at the local level have far more knowledge to make good decisions as opposed to out-of-state decision makers. Having Ed-Flex authority will result in better decisions and better use of federal funds to improve student achievement,” Horne said.
Nevada Superintendent of Public Instruction Dr. Victor Wakefield called ED’s approval of Ed-Flex for his state “an important step toward providing more flexibility for our districts and schools in the use of federal Title funding.”
“Nevada’s participation in Ed-Flex is the direct result of valuable feedback provided earlier this year during my statewide listening tour and complements broader efforts led by Governor Joe Lombardo and the Nevada Legislature to modernize and streamline processes,” Wakefield said. “Our shared goal is to focus time and resources on what matters most: high-quality teaching and learning.”
South Carolina Superintendent of Education Ellen Weaver remarked that the “best education policies don’t create more hoops to jump through.”
“They create more opportunities for students to learn, grow, and succeed. That’s exactly what this flexibility allows us to do,” Weaver said. “We are grateful to the U.S. Department of Education for approving South Carolina’s Ed-Flex application and for its confidence in our state’s ability to responsibly leverage this flexibility to better support districts, empower educators, and keep the focus where it always belongs: on students and their success.”
ED said record participation in the program comes after the department sent a letter to states last year encouraging them to apply. Both Republican- and Democrat-run states have opted in to the program.
The department said it wanted to grow the program in response to President Donald Trump’s executive order calling for the dismantling of the Department of Education. While it would take an act of Congress to officially disband ED, Education Secretary Linda McMahon has been working to wind down the department by downsizing its workforce and outsourcing major functions to other government agencies.
ED notes that while Ed-Flex waiver authority is broad, certain “fundamental requirements” may not be waived, “including those pertaining to health, safety, and civil rights; provisions of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA); and requirements relating to parental participation and involvement.”
Katherine Hamilton is a political reporter for Breitbart News. You can follow her on X @thekat_hamilton.
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