(LATEST UPDATE: July 25) The remaining $5.5 billion in frozen education funds were restored to districts by the Trump administration Friday afternoon.
The restored grants, which were blocked at the beginning of July, support after-school programs, English language learners, migrant education and professional development.
“We are pleased public schools will receive the funding as appropriated by Congress for the 2025-26 school year,” said David Shuler, executive director of AASA, The School Superintendents Association. “On the heels of our survey released Tuesday, detailing how disruptive withholding these funds would be for our nation’s students, we thank our members and allies on the Hill.”
Republican and Democratic members of Congress had pressured the administration to release the funds, which had been withheld while the programs were reviewed for divisive content.
“The programs are ones that enjoy longstanding, bipartisan support like after-school and summer programs that provide learning and enrichment opportunities for school-aged children, which also enables their parents to work and contribute to local economies, and programs to support adult learners working to gain employment skills, earn workforce certifications, or transition into postsecondary education,” Sen. Shelley Moore Capito (R-WV) said in a statement.
(LAST UPDATE: July 23)‘Devastating’ is how one superintendent characterized the impact of the Trump administration’s ongoing freeze on several K12 funding streams.
Many superintendents surveyed in recent weeks are concerned that the loss of billions of dollars in grants will force them to cut academic programs and even lay off teachers, according to a poll released by AASA, The Superintendent’s Association. Most are now using local funds to sustain programs that would’ve received federal grants.
“As a district serving a majority of low-income and minority students, the loss of federal funds will have a devastating impact on our ability to provide high-quality education,” Superintendent Sherlene McDonald of Alabama’s Tarrant City Schools told AASA.
More from DA: Budget pressures will force districts to make tough cuts
“These funds have been critical in reducing class sizes, attracting and retaining exceptional teachers, and offering the training and resources our students need to thrive,” McDonald said.
Over the weekend, the administration released $1.3 billion of the approximately $7 billion being withheld. The restored funds support after-school and summer 21st Century Learning Centers. But states and districts are still waiting to learn whether they will receive funding for English language learners, migrant education and professional development.
The superintendents surveyed warned of the following cuts:
- Nearly 75% will eliminate academic services such as targeted literacy and math coaches, before and after school programming, tutoring, credit recovery, CTE and dual enrollment.
- Half will lay off teachers and personnel, including math and English interventionists and staff who work with English-language learners and special education students.
- Half will cut after-school and extracurricular offerings, including STEM/STEAM opportunities, performing arts and music programs, and AP coursework.
- Four out of five respondents will reduce or eliminate professional development.
About 30% of respondents said they would have to make cuts if funding isn’t restored by Aug. 1. “It’s not just about dollars,” Superintendent Quintin Shepherd of the Pflugerville Independent School District told AASA. “It’s about the message we send to our most vulnerable students when we withhold the very support they need to succeed.”
The Trump administration said the funds were being blocked while various programs are reviewed for divisive content.
“Districts should not be in this impossible position where the administration is denying funds that had already been appropriated to our public schools by Congress,” AASA said in a statement. “The remaining funds must be released immediately—America’s children are counting on it.”
