Democratic governors demand release of $6.8B in delayed federal education funds
In a letter penned Thursday to Education Secretary Linda McMahon, 18 Democratic governors demanded the release of $6.8 billion in federal education funds that had been appropriated for the states, but that the Trump administration has delayed.
The letter signed by governors of California, Colorado, New York and other states comes just days after the Supreme Court cleared the way for the Trump administration to continue dismantling the department with mass layoffs that were originally halted in May by a federal judge.
Delaying delivery of the funds — for teacher recruitment and training, STEM education, education enhancing technology, digital literacy skills and afterschool programs — could negatively impact school operations, the governors wrote in the letter.
The letter points out that on June 30, the Education Department informed states that it would not issue grant award notifications for programs due to an internal review. Affected funds $1.3 billion provided by the Title IV, Part A program, which funds student support, academic enrichment, technology and digital literacy.
Kansas Gov. Laura Kelly, who was among those who signed the letter, said in a news release Thursday that the delay would affect nearly $43 million the state was set to receive for K-12 education this year. The delays are disruptive, the news release said, and will potentially force program cuts, hiring delays and service reductions for at-risk students.
“Withholding this funding is unprecedented and severely limits the ability of public schools and adult education providers to implement evidence-based interventions, close learning gaps, and support students most in need,” the Thursday letter reads. “The longer the delay continues, the harder it becomes for schools to deliver on the very goal these federal programs are designed to achieve — improving student outcomes. There is no justification for withholding these funds. Our schools cannot wait. Our students should not have to suffer the whims of administrative overreach.”
After Donald Trump won the election last November, several state education departments expressed concern about disruption to education technology funding, as Trump campaigned on vows to eliminate the Education Department. Officials in some states, such as New Hampshire, told StateScoop last December they were creating contingency plans in the event the department would be dismantled.
