All4Ed Flash: School Funding Chaos: Trump Admin Releases Funds, But Students Still Suffer
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The Trump administration will release nearly $5 billion in K-Grant funds after a freeze, impacting school districts’ hiring and programs. Despite the release, disruptions have already affected students, especially English learners and immigrant communities. Pressure from Republican senators and advocacy groups led to this decision, highlighting ongoing education funding issues.
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The Trump administration is backing down from its decision to freeze nearly $5 billion in fiscal year 2025 K–12 grant funds and says it will now release the money to states and school districts.
These funds—intended for academic support, English learners, immigrant students, and teacher training—were originally scheduled to be available on July 1, but their release was delayed due to a so-called “programmatic review.”
The U.S. Department of Education sent letters to states notifying them that the funding will be released starting the week of Monday, July 28, 2025.
While the administration has now said it will release these funds, the damage has already been done.
School districts have been forced to delay hiring teachers, cancel summer programs, and put professional development for educators on hold. In some communities, services for English learners and immigrant students were reduced or suspended entirely.
These disruptions not only impact student learning but also undermine trust and stability at the local level.
The announcement follows growing pressure on the administration. Last week, a group of Republican senators—including Capito, Collins, Boozman, Britt, Fischer, Hoeven, Justice, Murkowski, McConnell, and Rounds—sent a letter to OMB Director Russ Vought urging the administration to reverse its decision and release the funds.
Additionally, a coalition of school districts and advocacy groups filed a lawsuit against the administration, arguing the freeze was illegal.
Just a week earlier, the administration unfroze over $1 billion in after-school and summer learning funds that had also been under review.
According to a senior administration official, new “guardrails” will be required for states moving forward—though details on what those entail have not been fully released.
Senator Patty Murray of Washington state made a bold move by preventing one of the president’s nominees to the Department from receiving fast-track consideration by the Senate. “Trump is blocking money for your public schools, so I’m blocking his nominee,” Senator Murray said in a video post on X.
We want to thank all the officials who took bold action to protect our students and schools. We encourage listeners to reach out—call, email, or tag their offices on social media—and thank them for standing up for public education.
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