The fiscal year 2012 budget process has been anything but typical or predictable. While fiscal year 2012 starts in just a few weeks on October 1, 2011, the annual appropriations process is far from complete, and funding for federal education programs has not yet been finalized. Nevertheless, congressional action in the months that have led up to the start of fiscal year 2012 will have important effects on education funding levels set in the appropriations process as well as for other programs, such as student loans and education tax benefits. This brief by the New America Foundation's Federal Education Budget Project explains how the congressional budget process affects education funding, with special emphasis on the unique circumstances of the fiscal year 2012 budget process. (Contains 24 notes.)