This story was originally reported by Nadra Nittle of The 19th. Meet Nadra and read more of their reporting on gender, politics and policy.
State officials and teacher union leaders are reeling after President Donald Trump’s decision Tuesday to freeze over $6 billion in federal K-12 education funding for the upcoming school year — a move critics say will further kneecap schools after mass cuts and layoffs at the Department of Education earlier this year raised widespread fears about the future of public education in the United States.
The Trump administration told school officials that it is withholding funding typically released July 1 for services such as reading and math support, summer and after-school programs and assistance for migrant students and English learners.
The nation’s two largest states, California and Texas, stand to lose the most funding due to the freeze, but no state will go unaffected if the funds aren’t released imminently.
The National Education Association (NEA), the nation’s largest labor union, said that schools could be forced to slash the salaries of educators or begin layoffs, both moves that could cause classroom sizes to balloon and destabilize this woman-dominated profession. NEA President Becky Pringle called the freeze “outrageous and unconscionable.”
“Withholding billions in promised federal education funding that students need and states had planned to use to support children in their states is a cruel betrayal of students, especially those who rely on critical support services,” Pringle said in a statement. “Schools are already grappling with severe teacher shortages, burnout, and under-resourced classrooms, and here comes the federal government ripping resources away from public schools.”
Pringle said that withholding federal funding is part of the Trump administration’s pattern of hobbling public education by starving it of key resources in an effort to champion private and religious schools that aren’t obligated to admit the most vulnerable students, particularly those with learning disabilities or special needs or who belong to marginalized groups based on their race, religion or gender identity.
Randi Weingarten, president of the American Federation of Teachers (AFT), said in a statement that Trump has attacked public education since the day he took office, describing his funding freeze as an “illegal” and ideologically-driven ploy to defund education. The programs affected, she pointed out, are congressionally approved.
The Trump administration “has delayed disbursements of billions in desperately needed federal funds for student services and instruction, as the Education Department weighs whether the money will be spent according to Trump’s ‘priorities,’” Weingarten said. “This is another illegal usurpation of the authority of the Congress. Plus, it directly harms the children in our nation.”
Instead of planning for the upcoming school year, K-12 public school leaders across the country are left uncertain about what services they can provide or even who they can hire, Weingarten said.
Tony Thurmond, California’s superintendent of public instruction, estimated that the Trump administration is denying roughly $1 billion to the Golden State. He said in a statement that the administration did not legally justify why they’re withholding the funds.
“The administration is punishing children for the sole reason that states refuse to cater to Trump’s political ideology,” Thurmond said. “The administration is withholding funds that employ vital school staff who provide critical resources and supports for learning for all students. Every child will feel the impact of this disruption delivered shortly before the start of the school year, when our students, educators, and families should be anticipating the year ahead and making plans to support our children’s learning and growth.”
He noted that California has previously taken legal action against the Trump administration and is prepared to do the same now to ensure that it can serve public school students in the state.
Using an analysis from the Learning Policy Institute, the Texas AFT estimates that the Lone Star State will lose $660.8 million unless the federal funds are released soon. As Texas endures a severe teacher shortage, the program that will be most affected supports effective instruction, or professional development and recruitment/retention efforts for educators in the state.
“It wasn’t enough for DOGE [the federal Department of Government Efficiency] to cut the Department of Education staff and programming that protect the rights of our most vulnerable students,” said Zeph Capo, president of Texas AFT, in a statement. “It wasn’t enough for Texas special education classrooms to lose over half a million in needed federal funds. And it apparently wasn’t enough for Gov. Greg Abbott to veto a program that feeds the poorest kids in our state over summer break. No, Trump had to take hundreds of millions more from Texas schools already struggling amid rising costs and chronic underfunding.”
Capo was especially outraged that the freeze takes aim at programs in the state to boost student achievement, given Texas leaders’ emphasis on academic performance when they threaten government takeovers of school districts, which the Houston Independent School District has experienced. He asked why Texas lawmakers aren’t speaking up about Trump’s impoundment of the funding.
“If they won’t say a word to challenge Trump’s cuts, it’s an admission that they share his goal of undermining and ultimately privatizing public education in this country,” Capo said. “Texas students deserve classrooms that are fully funded and talented teachers who are paid what they’re worth. Texas voters deserve leaders who will fight tooth and nail for our schools.”
National education leaders noted that the funding freeze coincides with the Senate’s recent passage of Trump’s so-called One Big Beautiful Bill, which they argue will also hurt children in this country. The bill has moved to the House for a vote.
Weingarten characterized the legislation as the “big, ugly betrayal of a bill.” The bill, she said “will kick millions off healthcare and snatch food away from children, all while handing massive tax cuts to Trump’s billionaire friends.”
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