Billions in frozen school grants to be released, says Education Department
The freeze, aimed at aligning spending with White House priorities, had alarmed superintendents and nonprofits nationwide. In Maryland's Harford County, the withheld funds accounted for more than half of the budget for the district's annual summer camp for English learners. 'Without the funds, we couldn't have hired certified teachers or kept our summer programs alive,' one district official said.Last week, the administration partially reversed course by releasing $1.3 billion for after-school and summer programmes. The rest of the funding — covering everything from bilingual education to teacher development — will now follow.Ten Republican senators had urged the White House to act, calling the programmes 'longstanding' and 'bipartisan.' Sen. Shelley Moore Capito said, 'These programs let parents work while their kids learn. They help adults gain skills and boost local economies.'The Office of Management and Budget had initially argued that some of the affected programmes supported a 'radical left-wing agenda.' But in a sharply worded letter, GOP senators responded, 'We do not believe that is happening with these funds.'Sen. Patty Murray slammed the administration for the delay. 'Because of President Trump, communities across the country were forced to spend their time cutting back on tutoring options and sorting out how many teachers they will have to lay off,' she said.The grants under review included:$2 billion for teacher development and class size reduction$1 billion for academic enrichment, including STEM$890 million for English learners$376 million for migrant education$715 million for adult literacyMajor districts stood to lose millions. Los Angeles Unified received $62 million from these programs in 2022–23. Philadelphia schools got $28 million, and Miami's received over $24 million.Smaller districts also faced big gaps. Schools in Burlington, Vermont; Pine Bluff, Arkansas; and Norristown, Pennsylvania received over $300 per student from the same funds.As the funds are finally unlocked, educators across the country are breathing a sigh of relief — and refocusing on classrooms instead of courtrooms- EndsWith inputs from Associated PressMust Watch
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