The longest federal government shutdown in history—lasting 43 days—did not stop the members of the National Student Council (NSC) from making their voices heard.
Audrey Schroeder, NSC secretary and a senior at the Pennsylvania Leadership Charter School in West Chester, was one of many NSC representatives from 21 states, the District of Columbia, Guam and Puerto Rico that that gathered in Capitol Hill a couple weeks ago to meet with members of Congress about educational policy and issues that are important to students.
“We brought [these issues] to the hill in hopes of retaining the budget that was spent on these items the past fiscal year of 2025,” she says. “These are all items that are incredibly important to us, and incredibly important to the students that we represent across the country.”
No Time Like the Present
While the trip to Capitol Hill is an annual tradition for the National Student Council, this year’s meeting carried a different tenor than previous years. Since the beginning of 2025, nearly half of the Department of Education’s employees were laid off, and between Oct. 1 and Nov. 13, 90% were furloughed because of the shutdown.
During that time, education funding was not being distributed to schools across the country that rely on it, so it was more important than ever to advocate for their needs.
This year, the NSC also had to advocate for policies that would keep existing programs funded and operational. Title I, which funds schools serving low-income populations; Title II, which funds training for teachers; and Title IV, which has become a crucial source of funding for mental health services in schools; are all under threat of budget cuts and even being defunded entirely. Though a temporary bill that passed Nov. 12 to end the shutdown reversed layoffs and helped fund education through Jan. 30, a final budget for fiscal year 2026 has not been passed.
The NSC met with state representatives for all the states its members are from Oct. 28, and the staffers of representatives who were not able to attend.
Schroeder notes that the NSC’s members were met with bipartisan enthusiasm from the representatives they spoke with.
“Being able to interact with lawmakers and fellow students across the country, who were just as passionate about the same advocacy that I am, was honestly life changing in so many ways,” she recalls. “I was surrounded by adults who understood the struggles that I saw within the education system and with these budget cuts. In the end, I really do feel like we made a change, and we made a difference by letting our voices be heard.”
