The day before states were supposed to receive the first tranche of their FY25 K-12 education funds, the Department of Education sent letters to states informing them that it was delaying allocations for seven large programs, which collectively total nearly $7 billion. While the delay had been hinted for several weeks, the inclusion of Title IV-A in the list of programs having their funds held back was a surprise, particularly since allocation figures had been announced previously for that program.

The programs whose funds are being withheld are as follows:

Title I, C: State Agency Program – Migrant Education – $375.6 million

Title II-A: Supporting Effective Instruction State Grants — $2.19 billon

Title IV-A: Student Support and Academic Achievement Grants — $1.38 billion

Title IV-B: 21st Century Community Learning Centers — $1.33 billion

Title III: English Language Acquisition Grants — $890 million

Adult Basic and Literacy Education Instruction — $629.6 million

English Literacy and Civics Education State Grants — $85.9 million

The Department’s letter to states explained the delay by saying that these programs were still undergoing review:

“Given the change in Administrations, the department is reviewing the FY 2025 funding for the [Title I-C, II-A, III-A, IV-A, IV-B] grant program(s), and decisions have not yet been made concerning submissions and awards for this upcoming academic year. Accordingly, the department will not be issuing Grant Award Notifications obligating funds for these programs on July 1 prior to completing that review. The department remains committed to ensuring taxpayer resources are spent in accordance with the President’s priorities and the department’s statutory responsibilities.”

Pushback from federal officials was delayed by Congress’ all-consuming focus on the budget reconciliation bill, but it has begun to emerge. Senate Appropriations Committee Ranking Member Patty Murray (D-WA) decried this delay in a statement. Murray said:

“President Trump and Russ Vought need to stop sabotaging our students’ futures and get these resources out the door. Local school districts can’t afford to wait out lengthy court proceedings to get the federal funding they’re owed — nor can they make up the shortfall, especially not at the drop of a pin. Every day that this funding is held up is a day that school districts are forced to worry about whether they’ll have to cut back on afterschool programs or lay off teachers instead of worrying about how to make sure our kids can succeed.”

Murray’s statement also included a helpful chart that showed how much total money each state would not be receiving on time. California’s total is nearly $928 million. Even the smallest states now have tens of millions of dollars at stake. The Learning Policy Institute has also put together a chart that shows the percentage of each state’s federation K-12 funds these allocation delays represent. For all states, the total funding delays are more than 10% of their federal K-12 dollars.

According to a recent EdWeek article, even before the Department’s letter to states, fears about allocation delays were causing school districts to lay-off staff, cancel programs and delay new contracts.  July 1 articles in the New York Times, the Associated Press, the Los Angeles Times, and K-12 Dive highlighted damage to afterschool programs, educators and English Learners.

In addition to this assault on education funding, it turns out that withholding federal funds is occurring throughout the federal government. A June 25th,  Washington Post article details how at least 200 federal government programs are enduring delays in FY 25 allocations. The goal is to test whether the President has the power to have final say on federal spending, something that a 1974 law prohibits him from doing. The article reads in part:

“In both internal communications and interviews, more than two dozen current and former employees across multiple agencies said the administration appears to be readying to push the boundaries of the law meant to prevent the president from unilaterally overturning spending decisions made by Congress. Key White House aides have long argued that the law is an unconstitutional limit on presidential power and suggested they will seek court rulings to overturn it, which could allow the White House to determine which spending to carry out.”

The resolution of this funding impasse is far from clear. Members of Congress, some of whom assailed OMB Director Russ Vought in a recent Senate hearing about the Administration overstepping its boundaries on funding, can and may weigh-in to force the Administration’s hand.

The courts may again become the only resort for this dispute. On July 1, the National Education Association filed an amended complaint, in a previously filed federal court action against the Department of Education for implementing the President’s Executive Order that includes claims related to the withholding of these funds. Specifically, NEA alleges that the Department of Education had violated the Appropriations and Spending Clauses in Article I of the Constitution by unlawfully impounding these funds and seeks an injunction barring this and other efforts to dismantle the Department of Education. State and or school district lawsuits may also be forthcoming.