Since leaving the Obama administration, Clinton has turned back to a longheld interest of hers: early-childhood education.

The number of applicants for this year's contest is down, but so is the money up for grabs.

The federal budget impasse was expected to affect up to 19,000 children who are served by the 23 Head Start grantees that receive their federal funding on Oct. 1.

Over the next few days, we'll be compiling a list of Frequently Asked Questions about the government shutdown and answering them on the blog.

With no end in sight to the shutdown, House Republicans are introducing a series of bills funding certain programs that have gotten political attention, including Head Start.

Can't get enough of congressional dysfunction? Are you one of the nearly 4,000 furloughed Education Department employees and have some time on your hands?

Bids for the second round of the round of the competition can't be emailed - they have to be delivered through snail mail.

There's been little impact so far from the government shutdown on K-12 schools around the country, but a handful of public and private school students in the Washington area are an unfortunate exception.

For now, school districts and states still aren't feeling major effects from a short-term, partial shutdown of the federal government.

The U.S. Department of Education and other government agencies are on partial shutdown now that Congress has failed to reach agreement on a temporary spending plan to keep the government open.