After a Tornado of False Starts, Educators Remain in the Dark on School Funding
On Monday, Trump appeared to freeze millions of dollars in grants for students and schools. Or did he? Two days later, many aren鈥檛 sure.

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When a federal judge President Donald Trump鈥檚 freeze on federal grant funding just before 5 p.m. Tuesday, it offered a degree of clarity after a day of widespread confusion in the world of education.
Less than a day later, Trump appeared to rescind the Office of Management and Budget that set the funding 鈥減ause鈥 in motion.
But just 30 minutes after that, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt to 鈥escind the rescission. 鈥淭his is NOT a rescission of the federal funding freeze,鈥 she posted. 鈥淚t is simply a rescission of the OMB memo.鈥
She described her post as an attempt to 鈥渆nd the confusion.鈥
It didn鈥檛.
鈥淔or an administration that wants to make the argument that public education is dysfunctional and not serving our students well, they are amplifying and contributing to that narrative,鈥 said Amy Loyd, CEO of All4Ed, a policy and advocacy organization. Until last October, she served in the Department of Education as assistant secretary for the Office of Career, Technical and Adult Education.
For now, it鈥檚 unclear which programs will be affected as the new administration takes stock of spending it deems wasteful or contrary to the president鈥檚 agenda. Those goals include freeing up funds for , ending 鈥渨okeness鈥 and passing a tax cut package. Start-up funds for charter schools, school lunches, funding for homeless students and hundreds of other federal grants 鈥渨ill be reviewed by department leadership for alignment with Trump administration priorities,鈥 said education department spokeswoman Madison Biederman.
OMB said it spared major 鈥渇ormula鈥 grants, like Title I for low-income students, special education funding and Impact Aid to districts serving military families. While the administration said Head Start wouldn鈥檛 be impacted, the preschool program among thousands to be reviewed.
The administration originally gave agencies until Feb. 7 to identify grants that advance, among other things, 鈥淢arxist equity, transgenderism and green new deal social engineering policies.鈥 Over several chaotic hours, district leaders and advocates tried to interpret whether their programs would be cut while coming to terms with the enormity of the president鈥檚 actions.
鈥淭his is more than a typical partisan divide,鈥 said Fatima Goss Graves, president and CEO of the National Women鈥檚 Law Center. 鈥淭his is an unusual and unprecedented power grab and every member of Congress should be concerned.鈥
Challenging the administration鈥檚 pause on funding Congress had already appropriated, three associations sued Tuesday, asking for a temporary restraining order 鈥渢o maintain the status quo.鈥 Just before 5 p.m., as the freeze was about to start, U.S. District Judge Loren AliKhan granted the request, noting the 鈥渟pecter of irreparable harm.鈥
Afterschool programs, food banks and organizations that arrange for children to be driven to cancer treatment centers are among those that would be impacted, said Rick Cohen, a spokesman for the National Council of Nonprofits, one of the groups that filed . Another plaintiff, Main Street Alliance, a network of small businesses, said its members include child care centers that serve low-income families using federal assistance so they can work.
鈥楪rave situation鈥
For many leaders, Tuesday was a rollercoaster.
Just after lunch, Marvin Connelly, superintendent of the Cumberland County Schools in North Carolina, was trying to figure out how he鈥檇 handle a potential freeze on over $2 million in Impact Aid 鈥 funds that help make up for lost property tax revenue when there鈥檚 a nearby military installation. A high-poverty district, Cumberland schools serve over 8,000 children of active service members stationed at Fort Liberty.
鈥淲e could really be in a grave situation,鈥 he said. Less than two hours later, he learned the funds would not be affected.

Meanwhile Barbara Duffield, executive director of SchoolHouse Connection, which supports homeless students, was participating on a panel at a conference in Washington when some nonprofit leaders told her they were unable to access federal funds for homeless youth and families.
鈥楲ayers of 产耻谤别补耻肠谤补肠测鈥
The effort to pause funding followed the president鈥檚 first-day that prohibits federal spending on diversity, equity and inclusion. On Thursday, the administration hundreds of guidance documents, reports and training materials related to DEI and put staff members focusing on equity within the department on leave.
鈥淲ho knew dismantling could happen this quickly?鈥 Ian Rowe, a senior fellow at the conservative American Enterprise Institute and the founder of a network of charter schools, told 社区黑料. 鈥淚f these moves put America on a path to becoming a colorblind society, that is a very good thing.鈥
Many conservatives argue such programs amount to a form of illegal discrimination and waste money. Neera Deshpande, a policy analyst at the Independent Women鈥檚 Forum, pointed to that shows the Fairfax County Public Schools in Virginia spent $6.4 million to staff its equity office.
鈥淲hat is that money accomplishing besides adding layers of bureaucracy to the school system, burdening teachers, and taking away time and money from schools that could be used for instructional purposes or even extracurricular activities for students?鈥 she asked. 鈥淓very dollar that is allocated toward DEI is a dollar that’s not allocated toward 鈥 teacher salaries or arts programs or literacy support or sports.鈥
The reversal in priorities at the federal level has left some nonprofit leaders in a bind. When former President Joe Biden was in office, the director of a teacher apprenticeship initiative applied for a Department of Labor grant to help recruit a diverse pool of potential teachers. Now, he doesn鈥檛 know whether that emphasis will hurt his application.
鈥淚 hope they can strike a balance with sanity here,鈥 said the man, who asked not to be named to keep from jeopardizing the grant. 鈥淚’m not going to talk about the diversity part, but we still have a significant crisis in the teacher pipeline. We have to attract individuals into this profession.鈥
鈥楾op-down review鈥
With more than targeted for potential review, it鈥檚 unclear which might ultimately be left on the chopping block.
But at least one Republican said the National School Lunch Program shouldn鈥檛 be off limits. On , Georgia GOP Rep. Rich McCormick suggested low-income students shouldn鈥檛 depend on schools for meals. The program, which costs roughly $17 billion, provides free and reduced-price meals for over 28 million children during the school year and extends services through the summer with the help of parks, recreation centers and other community organizations.
鈥淵ou鈥檙e telling me that kids who stay at home instead of going to work at Burger King, McDonald鈥檚, during the summer, should stay at home and get their free lunch instead of going to work?鈥 he asked. 鈥淚 think we need to have a top-down review.鈥
Other advocates noted that while federal funds make up only about 10% of a district鈥檚 operating budget, some school systems rely on those dollars more than others. In 2023, AASA, the School Superintendents Association, created showing that overall, federal funds account for a larger share of district budgets in GOP-led states, mainly those in the South and West.
鈥淎ny conversation about federal funding levels 鈥 whether a cut in overall level or a proposal to freeze access 鈥 requires us to be very honest about the role of federal dollars in local school districts, and to be candid about the facts of who 鈥 is more reliant on federal dollars,鈥 said Noelle Ellerson Ng, associate executive director for advocacy governance at AASA.
Responding to news reports that the president had rescinded the freeze memo, Leavitt, the press secretary, posted that the president鈥檚 executive orders nonetheless 鈥渞emain in full force and effect.鈥
Ng doesn鈥檛 know where that leaves the nation鈥檚 schools, but she鈥檚 run out of patience. Regarding Leavitt鈥檚 post, she asked, 鈥淒id it attempt to end confusion, or add a layer for today?鈥
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