⚖ Oral Arguments, with Context

The Second Circuit considers an unpaid charter-school funding dispute. Federal money awarded to New York in 2011 was supposed to reach schools through the state education department. Some of that money expired before it was drawn down. Schools say they were left with approved expenses that had not been reimbursed. The state asked the federal Education Department for permission to use money from a separate 2018 grant to fill that gap. The department refused, and the schools challenged that refusal. The district court ruled for the federal government, concluding the department lacked legal authority to grant the request. The older grant operated under No Child Left Behind; the newer one under the Every Student Succeeds Act. Both support charter schools, but the parties disagree about how far the money and the rules can carry over. An appropriation is Congress's authorization to spend federal money for specified purposes; a grant is an award made under that authority. The Purpose Statute generally limits spending to those purposes, unless another law provides otherwise. A waiver permits an agency to set aside a particular requirement. The charter-school law gives the education secretary limited waiver authority over requirements the secretary administers. The schools will contend that this authority allows the department to consider their request. The government will argue that using newer funds for older obligations crosses a congressional spending limit that the secretary cannot waive. This is a dispute about the agency's legal power, not simply whether paying these school expenses would be a good policy choice.

Strom v. Cardona (No. 25-2066) — U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit, argued October 22, 2026.