After bipartisan furor, Trump releases education funds

UNSPLASH

The Trump administration reversed course on cutting funds for public education Friday with the release of $6.8 billion nationwide, including $165 million for North Carolina.

Millions in federal funding for public education is heading to North Carolina after all.

The Trump administration announced Friday that nearly $7 billion in frozen appropriations would flow to state coffers, including more than $165 million for North Carolina. State Attorney General Jeff Jackson sued the administration last week challenging the freeze was unlawful and unconstitutional. 

“National reports indicate that the U.S. Department of Education has backed down and is releasing all frozen funds — $6.8 billion nationwide, including $165 million for North Carolina — after we filed suit last week,” Jackson said in a statement. “This should end weeks of uncertainty — our schools can now plan, hire, and prepare for a strong year ahead.” 

Federal lawmakers from both parties lobbied the Department of Education and Office of Management and Budget to free the money, which was previously appropriated by Congress for state use. Alma Adams, a Charlotte Democrat and ranking member of the House Higher Education and Workforce Development Subcommittee, sponsored a letter signed by 93 Democratic lawmakers calling on Appropriations Chair Tom Cole and Appropriations Subcommittee on Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies Chair Robert Aderholt to push the administration to release funding. Ten Senate Republicans joined in the push.

“I’m proud to see these Congressionally approved education funds finally released so we can better support our students, schools, and communities,” Adams said. “When it became clear these funds were being illegally withheld by the Trump Administration, House Democrats acted swiftly to ensure our school districts received the resources they were owed. Today, we won that fight but make no mistake, the work isn’t over.” 

North Carolina Superintendent of Public Instruction Mo Green applauded the move.

"It is good to see the federal government honor its commitment to our students, our educators, and our schools. I hope this resolution and the release of funds next week marks a return to the predictable, reliable federal partnership that our schools need to serve students effectively.” 

Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools, which was planning on adjustments to compensate for the loss of $12.5 million in federal money, applauded the change in policy.

“We are cautiously optimistic and grateful these resources will soon be available,” the district said in a statement. “We look forward to reviewing—and complying with—any new guidance from the U.S. Department of Education.”

Allison Socol, vice president at EdTrust, a Washington, D.C.-based nonprofit, slammed the freeze as unnecessary. Among the impounded funding was $1.3 billion for summer enrichment programs.

“Parents, families, students, school leaders, education advocates, and Democratic and Republican lawmakers demanded that the administration follow the law and release the funds Congress appropriated,” she said. “This victory belongs to them.

“But to be clear, this funding should never have been held hostage in the first place. President Trump and [Education Secretary Linda McMahon] have treated America’s students like unwitting characters in a reality TV show. It took an overwhelming wave of bipartisan and public pressure to get them to do what the law requires. And even still, we wait to see if these funds will be conditioned on the exclusion of undocumented children or other children who are the target of this administration.” 

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