Today, after weeks of pressure from educators, Democratic and Republican members of Congress, state governors, and attorneys general, the Trump administration announced that it would release $5.5 billion in fiscal year 2025 K-12 and adult education funding that it had withheld from allocating to states for more than three weeks. The following programs will now have their funds released: Title I-C Migrant Education; Title II-A Supporting Effective Instruction; Title III English Language Acquisition; Title IV-A flexible health, safety, and well-rounded education funding; and Adult Basic Education.
Sen. Shelley Moore Capito (R-WV), who had led a letter signed by nine other Republican senators that demanded the release of the funds, issued a statement that declared: “Today’s announcement means that all of the remaining funding requested is now unfrozen.” She went on to say: “The education formula funding included in the FY 2025 Continuing Resolution Act supports critical programs that so many rely on. 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. That’s why it’s important we continue to protect and support these programs. I made this clear to OMB Director Vought and was glad he followed through on my request to release all of the education formula dollars that states across the country are expecting to receive.”
As with the earlier release of afterschool funds, it appears that the administration will carefully monitor the usage of these funds to ensure their alignment with administration policies. According to Washington Post story that broke this news, “guardrails” would be in place “to ensure these funds will not be used in violation of executive orders or administration policy.” Last week, the administration informed states that afterschool funds could not be used to support undocumented students, a difficult requirement to meet as school districts do not collect information on students’ immigration status.
This announcement will presumably bring to an end the multiple lawsuits filed in response to the administration’s freezing of these funds and will allow school districts to open the 2025-26 school year without the uncertainty that thousands or, in some cases, millions of dollars in federal funds will not be available to them.
