Education Dept. Lifts Freeze on Remaining Federal Funds
Advocates say they want to make sure it doesn鈥檛 happen again.
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A freeze on federal education funding that prompted two lawsuits has been lifted, and states will be able to access the money next week, the U.S. Department of Education announced Friday.
The White House Office of Management and Budget (OMB), which argued that districts were spending the money to advance a 鈥渞adical left-wing agenda,鈥� has completed its review of five different programs totaling $5.5 billion, said Madison Beidermann, spokeswoman for the department.
The funds support education for English learners and migrant students and pay for staff training and extra instructional positions. The news came a week after the administration released over $1.3 billion for summer and afterschool programs, which was also held up for review.
The department alerted states June 30, one day before they expected to receive the money, that the review was in process, forcing programs to cut staff and end summer programs early. Congress appropriated the funds for this coming school year, and President Donald Trump signed the budget in March.
The release of the funds, announced just hours before Education Secretary Linda McMahon was scheduled to meet with the nation鈥檚 governors in Colorado Springs, Colorado, comes as superintendents nationwide were preparing to eliminate services like literacy and math coaches, according to conducted by AASA, the School Superintendents Association. Half of the 628 chiefs who responded from 43 states said they would have to lay off staff who work with special education students if the funds weren鈥檛 released. American Federation of Teachers President Randi Weingarten brought the message to attendees at the union鈥檚 annual TEACH conference in Washington, D.C.
鈥淭he administration backed down and we are getting the money,鈥� she said to a cheering audience. 鈥淭hose of you who lobbied yesterday, thank you. Those of you who brought the lawsuit, thank you.鈥�
Attorney generals from 24 blue states and the District of Columbia over the freeze, arguing that the administration鈥檚 actions were harming schools. School districts, parents, unions and nonprofits filed a on July 21, saying that OMB has never stood in the way of the department鈥檚 practice of releasing the funds in two steps, first on July 1 and the rest on Oct. 1. joined their Democratic colleagues in pressuring the administration to free up the money.
Friday鈥檚 announcement doesn鈥檛 mean the legal fight is over. In a statement, Skye Perryman, president and CEO of Democracy Forward, which is handling the second case, said the legal team would 鈥渃ontinue to monitor the situation and work in court to ensure the administration fully complies with the law and that these resources reach the schools and students who need them most.鈥�
Districts can now start the school year without the shortfall, but that doesn鈥檛 mean advocates鈥� worries are over about future disruptions to funding. The July 1 distribution date is a longstanding practice, not something written into the law.
Tara Thomas, government affairs manager for AASA, said her organization wants to 鈥渉ave additional conversations鈥� with Congress or the administration to 鈥渆nsure that this type of uncertainty at the last minute doesn’t happen again. Districts need to continue to rely on stable, timely, reliable federal funding.鈥�
Another fight over education funds could also be ahead. The White House is reportedly preparing another that would target education funding. Thomas said she didn鈥檛 know what might be included, but it could be cuts that the Department of Government Efficiency made to grant programs.聽
On Friday, Trump signed a , pulling back $9 billion in funds from public television and foreign aid.
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