The Trump administration has suddenly disqualified $42 million in federal grants to schools in Michigan that had already been approved, reported FOX 2 Detroit on Monday.
The Michigan Department of Education "announced that just after 5 p.m. on March 28, education departments around the country received a notice from the U.S. Department of Education about a change in reimbursement policy. School districts that had received permission to submit delayed requests for late reimbursement for pre-approved projects will no longer receive the money," reported Jack Nissen.
The approval was yanked, per the report, "because the deadline for those requests was moved from March 28, 2026, to March 28, 2025, with the notice arriving just after the deadline was retroactively moved up."
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The funding in question would have gone to HVAC systems, ventilation, window upgrades, and "other building infrastructure for 27 different districts," including schools in Flint, Hamtramck, Lincoln Park, Pontiac, and Woodhaven-Brownstown.
"Walking back a federal commitment to pandemic relief funds ... is unacceptable," said Dr. Michael Rice, the Michigan state superintendent. "Twenty-seven districts across the state have preapproved financial obligations that met criteria set by the U.S. Department of Education for extending the districts’ deadlines to request reimbursement of these funds. Instead, Secretary McMahon and the Trump Administration abruptly withdrew approval."
The Trump administration is more broadly trying to dismantle the U.S. Department of Education altogether, fulfilling a decades-long dream of far-right activists who have long seen the department's enforcement of student civil rights as an interference in state government. The administration acknowledges that certain civil rights functions and the administration of financial aid to college students are required by Congress, but hopes to transition them to other agencies.
The NAACP and the National Education Association have filed a lawsuit against this move, arguing the administration violated the constitutional separation of powers and the Administrative Procedure Act.