By COLLIN BINKLEY and MAKIYA SEMINERA, AP Education Writers

WASHINGTON (AP) — The government shutdown has been a source of anxiety for school leaders wondering how long grant money will last and who can help them interpret federal laws. For Education Secretary Linda McMahon, it offers a preview of what she hopes to make permanent.

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Much of the department’s work has gone completely cold. No new grants are being awarded, and civil rights investigations have been halted. Money is still flowing for key programs, but in many respects, schools and states are on their own.

That’s the vision President Donald Trump has promoted since his presidential campaign — a world where states fully have the reins of education policy with little or no influence from the federal government.

Even before the shutdown, mass layoffs had left the agency with 2,400 employees, down from 4,100 when Trump took office. Remaining workers have mostly been furloughed during the budget impasse, leaving some 330 who are responsible for carrying out duties that are deemed essential.

In a recent social media post, McMahon said the shutdown proves her department is unnecessary. “Two weeks in, millions of American students are still going to school, teachers are getting paid, and schools are operating as normal,” McMahon wrote.

She offered a more direct assessment days later, after the agency hit its 46th year: “We don’t need a birthday cake,” she wrote. “We need an eviction notice.”

Some say the shutdown’s impact has been more significant. They warn that funding for preschool centers and school meals is running out, and students with disabilities might not be getting the help they need.

Here’s what we know about the impact so far.

Schools mostly have the money they need — for now

Most of the billions of dollars the Education Department steers to schools each year went out the door in October, leaving schools funded until July.

Other programs that aren’t funded in advance face more uncertainty. That includes federally funded Head Start preschool centers and school nutrition programs funded by the U.S. Department of Agriculture, said Julia Martin, director of policy and government affairs at the Bruman Group, an education law firm.

Districts are required to cover the cost of school meals and then seek reimbursement from the Department of Agriculture, but the agency said it only has two months of reimbursements left amid the shutdown.

“Districts are really worried that they’re going to have to dig deep into their pockets to fund meals,” Martin said.

The last remnants of federal COVID-19 aid are still being released by the Education Department, but reimbursements have slowed with fewer staff reviewing the requests, Martin said.

America’s public schools are primarily funded by states and cities, but federal funding plays an important role. The billions sent already to schools include grants to help low-income students, those with disabilities and other populations.

Grant competitions to award smaller amounts of money have largely frozen. Schools and states that already received grants can keep spending them down, but all new grantmaking has ceased, the department said. At the college level, federal Pell grants for low-income students are still flowing, and the FAFSA financial aid form is still being processed.

FILE – The U.S. Department of Education building is photographed in Washington, Dec. 3, 2024. (AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana, File)

With the government shuttered, schools look elsewhere for a help desk

Ordinarily, states and schools rely on the department to answer questions on a wide range of topics — from special education laws to statewide academic assessments to laws requiring public schools to provide certain services to students at private schools.

That work, known as technical assistance, has halted during the shutdown, and the Trump administration has moved to eliminate it almost entirely. A new round of layoffs this month targeted most workers in the Office of Elementary and Secondary Education.

Also gutted was the Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services, which ensures that students with disabilities get the services they’re entitled to under federal law. It maintains “very regular” communication with states to field questions on coordinating aid to families and eliminating waitlists, said Katy Neas, CEO of The Arc of the United States, a disability rights group.

The new layoffs have been halted by a federal judge. But as the shutdown drags on, more states are likely to break federal laws unknowingly because they can’t get help from the government, said Neas, who led the special education office under former President Joe Biden.

“People of good intention and good faith are going to have honest questions that they’re not going to be able to get an answer for,” Neas said.

Some states have turned instead to law firms for advice, but there are not always clear answers. In August, the department rescinded 2015 guidance explaining schools’ legal obligations to students who are learning English. But with no new guidance replacing it before the government shutdown, schools have questions about their responsibilities, said Martin, of the Bruman law firm.

“In the meantime, a lot of districts are just going to continue to follow the old guidance because it’s the best thing they have,” Martin said.

What’s next for the department?

McMahon has acknowledged that only Congress can fully eliminate the Education Department, despite Trump’s campaign pledge to shut it down. As a workaround, officials have been developing plans to transfer core functions to other agencies.

The Education Department already moved some of its adult and career education programs to the Labor Department in July. The Labor Department now oversees federal Perkins grants, which go to states to fund career and technical education.

In court filings, the Education Department has said it was pursuing a similar deal to put the Treasury Department in control of the $1.6 trillion federal student loan portfolio.

The Supreme Court paved the way for that work to continue in a July decision overturning a lower court order blocking the department’s wind-down.

At her Senate confirmation hearing, McMahon also said special education programs might fit under the Department of Health and Human Services, and that the Education Department’s Office for Civil Rights could be moved to the Justice Department.

The Associated Press’ education coverage receives financial support from multiple private foundations. AP is solely responsible for all content. Find AP’s standards for working with philanthropies, a list of supporters and funded coverage areas at AP.org.

BY SEUNG MIN KIM, Associated Press

WASHINGTON (AP) — Seemingly frustrated by the government shutdown and Democrats’ unwillingness to accept a Republican funding bill, President Donald Trump is once again demanding that the Senate eliminate the legislative filibuster.

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The filibuster is a longstanding parliamentary tool that halts action on most bills unless 60 senators in the 100-member chamber vote to move forward. Over the years, it has stymied policy priorities for Democrats and Republicans alike, and Trump has been complaining about the maneuver since his first White House term.

Getting rid of it would be a way for Republicans to immediately end the now month-long shutdown, he said. “It is now time for the Republicans to play their ‘TRUMP CARD,’ and go for what is called the Nuclear Option — Get rid of the Filibuster, and get rid of it, NOW!” the president wrote on his social media site Thursday night.

But majority Republicans have strongly resisted calls to eliminate the legislative filibuster, since it would dilute their power if and when they are in the minority again. In its best form, the filibuster encourages compromise and dealmaking.

Here are some common questions about the filibuster, and why it’s coming up now in the shutdown debate.

What is a filibuster?

Unlike the House, the Senate places few constraints on lawmakers’ right to speak. But senators can use the chamber’s rules to hinder or block votes. That’s what’s effectively a filibuster — a term that, according to Senate records, began appearing in the mid-19th century.

The filibuster isn’t in the Constitution and it wasn’t part of the Founding Fathers’ vision for the Senate. It was created inadvertently after Vice President Aaron Burr complained in 1805 that the chamber’s rule book was redundant and overly complicated, according to historians.

But how the filibuster is used today doesn’t resemble the public’s longstanding perception of the tactic, which was made famous by the 1939 film, “Mr. Smith Goes to Washington,” in which James Stewart played a senator who spoke on the floor until exhaustion.

Now, senators inform their leaders — and often confirm publicly — that they will filibuster a bill. No lengthy speeches required. Nonetheless, the Senate still needs to muster 60 votes to move past that obstacle. If they get that, then senators can move to final passage, which only requires a simple majority.

Wait — isn’t the filibuster already gone?

Yes, but only for nominations. In 2013, then-Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., led Senate Democrats in eliminating the filibuster for all nominations except for candidates to the Supreme Court, triggering what’s known in the Senate as the “nuclear option.” Democrats were fed up with repeated Republican filibusters of President Barack Obama’s nominees, especially to the influential U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit.

Kentucky Sen. Mitch McConnell, then the minority leader, furiously warned Democrats that they’d come to regret going nuclear. And he returned the favor in 2017, when Republicans moved to eliminate the filibuster on Supreme Court nominees as they confirmed Neil Gorsuch to the high court.

Trump mentioned in his Truth Social post that eliminating the filibuster would help Republicans get the “best Judges” and the “best U.S. Attorneys,” but it’s unclear what he meant since he needs only a simple majority to install those picks.

Democrats came close to dumping the legislative filibuster for voting rights legislation in 2022, but faced resistance from then-Sens. Kyrsten Sinema of Arizona and Joe Manchin of West Virginia. They said changes to the filibuster would haunt Democrats if Republicans regain control of Congress and the White House — which the GOP did, not long after.

Earlier this year, Republicans changed the Senate’s rules further to make it easier to confirm large groups of the least controversial executive branch nominees. But they have resisted calls from Trump to eliminate so-called “blue slips” that allow both senators to sign off on some lower court judges regardless of party.

What does this have to do with the shutdown?

As with any government funding bill — and most other legislation — Republicans need help from at least a handful of Democrats to clear the 60-vote threshold in the Senate since they control just 53 votes.

In exchange for their votes on a stopgap funding bill, most Democrats have been demanding an extension of subsidies for people who purchase health coverage under the Affordable Care Act. Republicans say that’s a costly nonstarter, especially on a bill that keeps the federal government operating for a mere seven weeks.

Democrats argue that because the Senate needs 60 votes to advance funding bills, that gives them leverage. As the shutdown drags on, frustrated Republicans have been floating the idea of getting rid of the filibuster in order to erase that leverage.

“Maybe it’s time to think about the filibuster,” said Sen. Bernie Moreno, R-Ohio, on Fox News earlier this month. “Let’s just vote with Republicans. We’ve got 52 Republicans. Let’s go, and let’s open the government. It may get to that.” (There are 53 GOP senators, but one — Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul — is a committed ‘no’ on funding bills.)

Where do Republicans stand on dumping the filibuster?

Unlike many other demands from Trump, GOP senators have generally resisted his calls to get rid of the filibuster.

Senate Majority Leader John Thune has long defended the filibuster, and began his tenure as the Senate’s top official in January pledging to preserve it.

He reiterated those sentiments in early October, saying the filibuster is “something that makes the Senate the Senate” and that the “60-vote threshold has protected this country.” His spokesman emphasized on Friday after Trump’s comments that Thune’s position hasn’t changed.

Veteran senators who have seen the chamber swing back and forth from Democratic to Republican control are generally the ones who are the most firm on keeping the filibuster. But even some newer members agree.

“The filibuster forces us to find common ground in the Senate,” Sen. John Curtis, R-Utah, elected in 2024, said on social media on Friday. “Power changes hands, but principles shouldn’t. I’m a firm no on eliminating it.”

Oftentimes, House Republicans weigh in on Senate strategy, urging GOP senators to follow Trump’s wishes to eliminate the filibuster. But House members — unfortunately for them — have no influence on what the Senate does.

Speaker Mike Johnson said he texted with the president after Trump’s late-night demand but refused to publicly weigh in on the filibuster question.

“It’s not my call,” Johnson said during his daily press conference at the Capitol.

By AMANDA SWINHART and KIMBERLEE KRUESI, Associated Press

EAST CORINTH, Vt. (AP) — For nearly 40 years, a tiny town in Vermont has attracted hoards of “Beetlejuice” fans eager to visit where the whimsical horror movie’s most famous scenes were filmed.

With a population hovering just around 1,500, “Beetlejuice” mania has helped put East Corinth on the map not only for fans of the movies, but also those looking for a spooky-themed road trip.

“It was like one of those coming of age films for me,” said “Beetlejuice” fan Lisa Pinkerton, who traveled with her family from England and decided to include a stop in East Corinth. “It brings back all those memories of watching it with friends at the time. It’s nice to put it all into place and see the sort of Hollywood magic that happens.”

The original “Beetlejuice” was released in 1988, where it was set in the fictional town of Winter River, Connecticut. The story is centered around a recently deceased couple played by Geena Davis and Alec Baldwin trying to scare a family out of their home. When their attempts fail, the couple hire “bio-exorcist” Beetlejuice, played by Michael Keaton, but quickly regret that decision.

But in reality, director Tim Burton chose East Corinth, located near the New Hampshire border, for many of the iconic scenes.

This includes shooting the 100-year-old building that serves as the movie’s Miss Shannon’s School for Girls, where Lydia Deetz, played by Winona Ryder, attends school, as well as the red covered bridge where the main characters Adam and Barbara Maitland drive off and plummet to their death.

East Corinth resident Sarah Polli lives beside the bridge used in the film, and her garage was converted into the Winter River Fire Department, with the rest of her home serving as Jane Butterfield’s Real Estate and Travel Agency. Her uncle, Maurice Page, was the only local who scored a role in the film.

“He was supposed to be the barber, but he kept ad-libbing, which frustrated Tim Burton,” Polli said. “So, he gave him a nonspeaking part basically and he became Ernie dusting off the statues in front of the library.”

Page can be seen in the film saying, “Hi, how are you?” to the Maitlands as they drive by in their yellow Volvo.

“I think it was a lot of fun for everyone, but a lot of the older people in town, I think they thought that this was going to be a pleasant, bucolic movie about the countryside. There was some shock when the movie came out,” said Polli.

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Burton, a moody gothic hero, returned to the Vermont town to film the sequel — “Beetlejuice Beetlejuice” — which has only helped spark more tourists flocking to East Corinth.

Polli says the town welcomes fans, who residents affectionately refer to as “juicers,” from all over the world.

“It’s just been a continuous stream. I’ve met people from France, Germany, Spain, Denmark, Belgium, Great Britain, all over Canada and all over the United States. It’s just amazing,” she said.

Wade Pierson, who grew up in East Corinth, created a walking tour for fans like Pinkerton, highlighting the various filming locations that can be seen around town. Because some of the scenes incorporated a bit of movie magic, Pierson’s roughly 10-minute, self-guided tour helps enthusiasts visualize the films’ iconic sets with the use of large signs featuring screenshots from the films.

“People say, ‘Where’s the house?’ It was a movie set, so it was taken down,” Pierson said. “We do have a picture on a pole that if you stand in the right place and squat down, you can line it up with the hill across the river, take a pretty realistic looking photo of what it looked like when they shot the film.”

Meanwhile, the schoolhouse building has since been sold to a “Beetlejuice” enthusiast who hopes to restore and transform it into a community center that can serve as a “Beetlejuice” museum and theater.

Decked out in “Beetlejuice”-themed Halloween decorations, Pierson’s home is located directly across from the schoolhouse, where he says he’s had a front-row seat to the filming of both movies.

“I literally have the honor of living across the street from Miss Shannon’s, which is a living, standing movie set,” he said. “The more people that enjoy it, the better.”

Kruesi reported from Providence, Rhode Island.

As thousands of kids prepare to hit the streets in Southern California dressed as Labubus, pop stars and monsters on Halloween, local authorities are sharing tips to keep trick-or-treaters safe as they grow their candy bounties.

Despite often-viral claims of Halloween candy laced with drugs, metal or other dangers, pedestrian safety is a primary concern for health care professionals, said Helen Arbogast, who leads the injury prevention program at Children’s Hospital Los Angeles.

Kids, especially ages 4 to 12, are more likely to be hit and killed or injured by vehicles on Halloween compared to other days of the year, and hospitals like CHLA see an uptick of pedestrian injuries on Halloween.

“It’s a busy time, but it’s late in the day and you have some of the less practiced pedestrians on the road,” Arbogast said. “We do see a fair amount of children who are hit by cars, who have falls, they might trip.”

Despite claims that spread each year of Halloween candy laced with drugs or metal, road safety should be top of mind for families taking kids trick-or-treating, experts say.

There are many ways families can reduce this risk, including making their trick-or-treaters more visible, Arbogast said.

Adults can carry flashlights, put reflective stickers on children’s costumes and accessories and place glow sticks in candy bags or give them to kids as necklaces and bracelets. When she takes her family and another trick or treating, Arbogast said she’ll be wearing a yellow vest with reflective patches with all the adults in the group carrying flashlights and surrounding the kids as they walk.

When Sgt. Nick Jensen with Garden Grove police supervises his kids and others on Halloween, he makes sure there’s an adult in the front and back of the group, each with a flashlight to help drivers see them and to look for obstacles in dimly lit yards and driveways.

Everyone in Jensen’s party has to travel together. They go to each home as a group and don’t move on to the next until an adult has done a head count.

“Keep them kind of on a short leash, per se, cause kids, they’re kids,” said Officer Ryan Railsback with Riverside police. “They like to dart out in traffic, and they get distracted really quick.”

When his kids were of trick-or-treating age, Railsback said he’d plan a route in advance and had an idea of how long it would take. His kids knew not to knock on a door unless he was with them. He encouraged parents to go up with their younger kids, but said those with older kids could also supervise from a sidewalk where they have a view of the door.

Parents should educate their kids on traffic safety, especially if they don’t often walk at night, Arbogast said. Talk to them about looking both ways when they cross the street, only crossing at corners and marked intersections, making eye contact with drivers before crossing and looking for headlights or backup lights, she said.

Since the COVID-19 pandemic, Arbogast said some families have also started driving next to their children who are trick-or-treating. She recommended adults walk with kids, so that they can get out in their community, get active and learn pedestrian safety through practice.

“When you get to an intersection, don’t do the work for them,” Arbogast said. “Don’t look both ways and not teach them to look both ways, because if they’re walking with you and they’re relying on you to do all the safety components, when they’re alone, they’re not going to know what to do.”

With middle and high schoolers using e-bikes and e-scooters more and more, Arbogast said families also need to keep an eye out for riders. She encouraged parents to tell older kids to trick-or-treat on foot, as e-bikes and e-scooters are often quieter than cars and ridden on sidewalks even though street legal ones can reach speeds of up to 28 miles per hour.

Drivers should slow down between about 5 p.m. and 9:30 p.m. and be especially vigilant, turning down music and other distractions and keeping lights on while driving on the road or entering and exiting driveways, Arbogast said.

“Even as you’re coming home from work and ready to get to dinner,” Arbogast said, “be thinking about other families that may have started trick or treating.”

There have been few credible cases of candy tampering in the past, Arbogast said, but she encouraged parents to still check their kids’ candy once they get home to make sure everything is properly wrapped and sealed.

In terms of costumes, Arbogast said parents should check that their kids’ costumes fit properly and won’t create tripping hazards. She also recommended using makeup rather than masks to improve visibility. Anaheim police urged families not to let their kids carry prop guns or other weapons that could be mistaken for real ones.

Jensen encouraged adults going to Halloween parties to have a designated driver or use rideshare if they’re planning to drink or use other substances.

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