Dive Brief:
- A coalition of 14 school districts, parents, teachers unions and nonprofit organizations is suing the federal government over its withholding of education funds, adding to growing national consternation that K-12 programs are facing cancellations, delays and layoffs due to the missing money.
- The lawsuit, filed in U.S. District Court in Rhode Island, argues that the Trump administration's withholding of about $6.2 billion in funds for low-income students, English learners, after-school programs, immigrant students and teacher training violates the Administrative Procedure Act, the Impoundment Control Act, and the constitutional separation of powers.
- Uncertainty about the release of the funding is causing districts to prepare to eliminate academic services for students, layoff teachers and staff, reduce after-school and summer programming, and cut teacher training, according to a survey of 628 superintendents in 43 states conducted this month by AASA, the School Superintendents Association.
Dive Insight:
The frozen funds, which represent about 7.6% of the entire U.S. Department of Education's budget for fiscal year 2025, were expected to be accessible to states and districts on July 1.
The White House's Office of Management and Budget said last week it would release $1.3 billion for after-school and summer programming. On Tuesday, the Afterschool Alliance said numerous states reported receiving 21st Century Community Learning Centers grant notification letters Monday evening. The budget period for the award is July 1, 2025, through Sept. 30, 2026.
Title I funding for low-income schools and districts and grants for special education services under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, which collectively make up the bulk of federal K-12 funding, were released as expected on July 1.
OMB told K-12 Dive in an email last week that it has been conducting a “programmatic review of education funding" to ensure the grants comply with Trump administration policies and priorities. The office has said "initial findings show that many of these grant programs have been grossly misused to subsidize a radical leftwing agenda.”
OMB has not provided a timeframe for the review of the remaining frozen funds, which include:
- Title II-A for professional development: $2.2 billion.
- Title IV-A for student support and academic enrichment: $1.4 billion.
- Title III-A for English-learner services: $890 million.
- Title I-C for migrant education: $375 million.
The 51-page lawsuit, filed on Monday against OMB and the Education Department, said the plaintiff districts, parents, unions and organizations "do not want to spend their time suing the federal government; they want to do their jobs serving students and communities."
Jeffery Freitas, president of California Federation of Teachers, said in a Monday statement, "These illegal funding cuts will harm our students, their educators, our communities, and will leave our nation’s future success in jeopardy."
The lawsuit calls for the immediate release of the withheld funds. The plaintiff coalition is represented by Democracy Forward, Jacobson Lawyers Group, and Deluca, Weizenbaum, Barry, and Revins.
According to the AASA survey, 29% of districts indicated that they need access to the frozen funds by Aug. 1 to avoid cutting critical programs and services for students. Survey respondents said they would have to notify parents and educators about the loss of programs and services by August 15.
"Without timely disbursement of funding, the risk of disruption to essential educational supports for children grows significantly," AASA said.
The frozen funds represent at least 10% or more of states’ overall K-12 federal revenues from the Education Department, according to the nonpartisan Learning Policy Institute.
The funding freeze has prompted another legal challenge. On July 14, 24 states and the District of Columbia sued President Donald Trump, OMB and the Education Department, saying the “abrupt freeze is wreaking similar havoc on key teacher training programs as well as programs that make school more accessible to children with special learning needs, such as English language learners.”
That complaint was also filed in the U.S. District Court in Rhode Island.
Additionally, a group of 10 Republican senators is pressuring OMB to make the funds accessible.
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