07.25.25

In Face of Widespread Blowback, Trump Admin Finally Releases Education Funds It’s Blocked for Weeks—Forcing Layoffs, Program Closures, & Needless Chaos

 

Senator Murray responds after raising alarm bells for weeks

 

ICYMI: Senator Murray Demands All Remaining Education Funds Blocked By Trump Get Released Immediately

 

Washington, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senator Patty Murray (D-WA), Vice Chair of the Senate Appropriations Committee, issued the following statement after the Trump administration finally relented and gave notice it will release the remaining $5.5 billion in federal funding for K-12 schools and adult education programs that it has been blocking for weeks:

 

“Instead of spending the last many weeks figuring out how to improve after-school options and get our kids’ reading and math scores up, because of President Trump, communities across the country have been forced to spend their time cutting back on tutoring options and sorting out how many teachers they will have to lay off.

“There is no good reason for the chaos and stress this president has inflicted on students, teachers, and parents across America for the last month, and it shouldn’t take widespread blowback for this administration to do its job and simply get the funding out the door that Congress has delivered to help students.

“This administration deserves no credit for just barely averting a crisis they themselves set in motion. You don’t thank a burglar for returning your cash after you’ve spent a month figuring out if you’d have to sell your house to make up the difference.

“It’s time for President Trump, Secretary McMahon, and Russ Vought to stop playing games with students’ futures and families’ livelihoods—and end their illegal assault on our students and their schools.”

 

The Trump administration’s decision to withhold nearly $7 billion dollars in funding has sent school districts nationwide scrambling to determine how they could fill the, in many cases, massive budget hole and whether they’ll have to lay off teachers or end after school programs in the coming weeks. Over the last few weeks, school districts have made clear they will have to end afterschool programs and lay teachers off, told parents to prepare backup options, and adult literacy programs have been forced to lay off staff.

 

Today, the Trump administration finally relented and confirmed it will get this funding out, as the law requires, after weeks of creating panic and stress for schools and families alike.

 

Here are the funding streams President Trump blocked for weeks—all of which are programs he requested to eliminate in his budget request:

  • $2.19 billion: Supporting Effective Instruction State Grants (Title II-A), which support professional development and other activities to improve the effectiveness of teachers and school leaders, including reducing class size.
  • $1.33 billion: 21st Century Community Learning Centers (Title IV-B), which support high-quality before and after-school programs focused on providing academic enrichment opportunities for students.
  • $1.38 billion: Student Support and Academic Enrichment Grants (Title IV-A), which provide flexible funding for school districts for a wide range of activities including supporting STEM education, accelerated learning courses, college and career counseling, school-based mental health services, and improving school technology, among many others.
  • $890 million: English Language Acquisition (Title III-A), which supports language instruction to help English language learners become proficient in English.
  • $376 million: Migrant Education (Title I-C), which supports the educational needs of migratory children, including children of migrant and seasonal farmworkers.
  • $715 million: Adult Basic and Literacy Education State Grants (including Integrated English Literacy and Civics Education State Grants), which support adult education and literacy programs to provide the basic skills to help prepare adults and out-of-school youth for success in the workforce.

 

These funds typically flow on July 1st of every year—but the Trump administration let states and stakeholders know on July 1st that it would not be moving the funding. It failed to provide any rationale, with the Department of Education directing questions to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB), and it has still failed to articulate an acceptable reason for withholding the funds.

 

Senator Murray immediately called on Trump to release the funding, led her colleagues in demanding the funds flow, and last week, objected to fast-track consideration of President Trump’s nominee to serve as Assistant Secretary for Legislation and Congressional Affairs at the Department of Education while the funding blockage continues. When the Trump administration moved but one fraction of the blocked funds last Friday, she called on Trump to immediately move the rest.

 

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