Latest news with #USED
Yahoo
22-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Trump administration refuses to restore $10.6 million in aid to KY schools
U.S. Education Secretary Linda McMahon notified schools in March that the government was moving up the deadline for spending pandemic relief money. Some Kentucky school districts had already committed the funding to projects and services. (Photo by) The U.S. Department of Education denied a $10.6 million request to extend COVID relief funding submitted by the Kentucky Department of Education on behalf of school districts for nine projects. However, the federal department did extend COVID relief funding for two Boone County projects amounting to about $44,000. That includes $26,000 for an interactive online learning platform and another project to fund a year of Dolly Parton's Imagination Library. School districts and states previously had until March of 2026 to spend COVID-19 relief funds that had been approved. However, in a March 28 letter, U.S. Secretary of Education Linda McMahon told state education departments that the federal government was immediately halting nearly $3 billion in relief fund reimbursements. McMahon wrote in her letter that the U.S. Education Department would consider extending the pandemic relief money on a case-by-case basis. Altogether, Kentucky was hoping to preserve $38 million in expected federal funding for projects and services in local districts and $18 million for the Kentucky Department of Education (KDE). The state has not yet received a federal decision on the rest of the projects it submitted for reconsideration, a KDE spokesperson said. Kentucky earlier this month had asked the U.S. Department of Education (USED) to approve a deadline extension for Kentucky school districts to use the COVID relief funds for planned projects that would be in jeopardy without the dollars. Some have signed contracts or incurred other obligations and must now re-examine their district budgets. Kentucky Education Commissioner Robbie Fletcher expressed disappointment at the decision and said the state would appeal it. 'We expect the federal government to honor its promises to states and to our students,' he said. 'While I am pleased that USED will allow for Boone County to continue spending money on these two projects that were previously approved by the department last year, it is unfortunate that Kentucky has been denied more than $10 million – so far – to provide resources and improve the learning environment of our students,' Fletcher said in a Tuesday press release. 'While we hope for more good news in the coming days, we stand ready to appeal the projects that have been denied,' he continued. 'We will continue to fight for the resources our schools and districts have been promised by USED to continue their mission of providing the best education possible to Kentucky's students.' The KDE request that was denied included projects for school districts in Boone County, Christian County, Clinton County, Covington Independent, Jefferson County and Knox County. Christian County Public Schools had the most projects in the request — five — including about $7.9 million to construct a new high school. A spokesperson for the Christian County schools said in a statement that it will continue to focus on its mission to 'provide a high-quality education and celebrate student success' and work with legislators 'to advocate for the return of these funds to support the construction of the new Christian County High School.' 'Our focus, as always, is on supporting our students and staff,' the statement said. 'At this time, we are especially committed to celebrating the accomplishments of our seniors as they prepare for graduation and the next chapter of their lives.' Jefferson County Public Schools, the state's largest school district, requested about $340,000 to provide students experiencing homelessness with wraparound services. Mark Hebert, a spokesperson for JCPS, said in an email that the district is 'disappointed that the U.S. government is cutting funds that support the needs of our extremely fragile homeless student population.' The school district had signed a grant contract with the federal government and was using the funding for: Case management services for students who are homeless Food and hygiene items for students who are homeless Emergency short-term, or under five days, hotel vouchers for families in dangerous situations without shelter Transportation to ensure students who are homeless have stable schooling even when their families move from place to place Extended learning opportunities for unhoused students
Yahoo
02-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Kentucky school officials ask to extend federal COVID relief payouts for planned projects
Teachers greet students stepping off their bus at a Louisville public elementary school in 2022. () The Kentucky Department of Education has requested a funding extension for projects in 13 public school districts that are in jeopardy if the federal government continues to halt future payments of pandemic relief funds. In a Friday press release, Kentucky Education Commissioner Robbie Fletcher said KDE hopes the U.S. Department of Education approves a deadline extension to use COVID-19 relief funds but the school districts 'should not have to go through this extra step and the uncertainty because these projects had already been approved by USED.' The projects across the 13 school districts were to receive more than $35.5 million in promised funding from the federal government. The school districts had previously requested the expected money from the U.S. Department of Education. Some had signed contracts or incurred other obligations and must now re-examine their district budgets. Fletcher previously urged school superintendents to contact their lawmakers in Congress about the sudden stoppage of COVID-19 relief funds to Kentucky schools. School districts previously had until March of 2026 to spend COVID-19 relief funds that had been approved. However, in a March 28 letter, U.S. Secretary of Education Linda McMahon told state education departments that the federal government was immediately halting nearly $3 billion in relief fund reimbursements. McMahon's letter said the federal department would consider extending the pandemic relief funds' liquidation period on an individual project basis. KDE submitted information about the planned projects in a deadline extension request to USED. 'Compounding the problem is that in order to get the extension to spend this money from USED, school districts and KDE have signed contracts that obligated how the money would be spent,' Fletcher said. 'Those contracts still exist, and some hard decisions have to be made about how to pay for these projects if USED does not honor its previous commitments.' The school districts identified by KDE in the extension request are Boone County, Carter County, Caverna Independent, Christian County, Clinton County, Covington Independent, Knox County, Laurel County, Letcher County, Owsley County, Perry County, Pike County and Trigg County. The districts planned to use their remaining pandemic relief funds for various projects, such as construction of school buildings and ordering new buses. Letcher County Schools planned to use its remaining more than $3 million in pandemic relief funds to buy 25 school buses to replace ones lost during the July 2022 floods in Eastern Kentucky. The district's superintendent, Denise Yonts, said the district must pay for the buses regardless of what the federal education department decides, according to KDE's press release. 'The board will have to go back to the drawing board on the budget,' Yonts said in the statement. 'Right now, we have to look at the contingency and what other resources we have.' In addition to the school districts' projects, KDE had $18 million in unspent pandemic relief funds that were initially approved to be used through March 2026. KDE planned to use the money for initiatives like expanding the amount of students for the Kentucky Governor's School for the Arts program this summer, supporting summer learning for students in 13 school districts and enhancing career and technical education for students with disabilities in four school districts.
Yahoo
01-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Nearly all Kentucky public schools sign compliance form with Trump's view on civil rights
A high school classroom. (Getty Images) Nearly all of Kentucky's 171 public school districts have signed an agreement to adhere to the Trump administration's new restrictions on diversity, equity and inclusion programs in public schools. Only two school districts — Fayette and Jefferson counties — did not sign a form from the U.S. Department of Education to certify their compliance with the Trump administration's interpretations of civil rights law, according to documents from the Kentucky Department of Education. Sent last month, the federal agency's certification form says that 'any violation of Title VI — including the use of Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion ('DEI') programs to advantage one's race over another — is impermissible' and using 'certain DEI practices can violate federal law.' Title VI of the 1963 Civil Rights Act prohibits discrimination on the basis of race, color and national origin in programs and activities receiving federal financial assistance. The school superintendents of Fayette and Jefferson counties instead provided alternative documents saying they comply with federal and state laws. Jefferson County has the state's largest student enrollment, followed by Fayette County. KDE provided the documents to the Kentucky Lantern in response to an open records request. In a joint statement to news outlets last week about the district's decision, Fayette County Public Schools Superintendent Demetrus Liggins and school board Chair Tyler Murphy said they 'want to reaffirm that Fayette County Public Schools remains steadfast in our commitment to ensuring every student receives the support they need to thrive.' The statement said the decision was based on data about students' needs within the district. 'As we affirm each year, we continue to fully comply with the requirements of Title VI and all civil rights laws, not simply as a legal obligation, but as a reflection of who we are and what we stand for,' Liggins and Murphy said. 'We will also continue to support and defend the programs that help our students — all of our students — reach their full potential. That is a commitment that has not and will not change.' Jefferson County Public Schools Superintendent Marty Pollio wrote in an April 22 letter to USED that 'the schools within our district are in compliance with' federal law, including Title VI. A spokesperson told the Lantern that as of Thursday, JCPS had not received any further communication from USED regarding the form. Kentucky Education Commissioner Robbie Fletcher has previously said KDE signed the form a couple of weeks ago, but added the form 'is not without issues,' in a message to superintendents across the state. KDE did not suspend or pause any of its existing programs since it received the form from USED. Fletcher also advised that 'school districts should consult with board counsel on whether the district will sign the certification form.' One superintendent, Teresa Morgan of Hardin County Schools, pushed back on USED's request to sign the form. 'It is with great disgust and sadness that I am signing this document,' Morgan wrote in an addendum to the form. 'The fact that federal funds would be withheld from our neediest students — simply because of a refusal to sign a document that serves to further divide our country — is deeply troubling.' Morgan declined to expand on her comment in an email Thursday morning. The federal form outlined possible consequences for a state or local education agency that protects a DEI program that violates the new federal guidance, including losing federal funding or facing a federal lawsuit. One school district that did sign the form, Bowling Green Independent Schools, did so 'at the request of the Kentucky Department of Education commissioner,' said district spokesperson Leslie McCoy in an email to the Lantern. She added the district believes it is 'in compliance with all state and federal nondiscrimination laws' and has not received further contact from USED about Title VI compliance. USED's targeting of DEI practices comes as Republicans at the national and state levels seek to roll back such measures, particularly in education. The GOP-controlled Kentucky General Assembly passed a law earlier this year to ban DEI programs at Kentucky public universities and colleges. President Donald Trump signed an executive order aimed at eliminating DEI programs within the federal government shortly after he assumed office in January. The 2023 U.S. Supreme Court decision to strike down affirmative action in higher education admissions has further fueled backlash against DEI programs. That ruling is cited in the USED form K-12 school officials were asked to sign. In general, DEI initiatives focus on supporting marginalized people in areas where they have been historically excluded. But they've come under fire, and not just from the right, as discriminatory themselves. DEI programs, the U.S. Department of Education acting assistant secretary for civil rights wrote in a February letter, 'frequently preference certain racial groups and teach students that certain racial groups bear unique moral burdens that others do not.' Kentucky's legislature has not outlawed DEI in public K-12 schools, although legislation was filed this year to do so. Sen. Lindsey Tichenor, R-Smithfield, filed bills that would have prohibited DEI initiatives in the state's public schools as well as state and local governments. Neither bill got a committee hearing.
Yahoo
01-04-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
KY education commissioner sounds alarm about sudden halt in federal COVID payments to schools
Kentucky school districts had been told they had until March 2026 to be reimbursed for projects they are funding with COVID-19 relief funds. But last week the Trump administration abruptly ended the payments a year earlier than expected. (Getty Images) Kentucky Education Commissioner Robbie Fletcher on Tuesday urged school superintendents to contact their lawmakers in Congress about a sudden halt in payments from federal pandemic relief funds. His call to action comes after U.S. Secretary of Education Linda McMahon notified state education departments on March 28 that they no longer had another year, as expected, to spend COVID funds and that the U.S. Education Department (USED) was immediately halting nearly $3 billion in COVID-relief fund reimbursements. McMahon said the Education Department would consider extending the deadline for spending the money on 'an individual project-specific basis.' Fletcher wrote in his Tuesday letter that after the federal department changed how states could request COVID relief funds in February, the Kentucky Department of Education (KDE) 'has not received COVID grant funding the next business day as was previously the case' and was paying 'district grant recipients and asking the federal government to reimburse us.' 'At this point in time, we have asked to be reimbursed for nearly $5 million, with no response from USED,' Fletcher said. 'This latest message from USED will harm a variety of our schools and districts across the state even more. KDE and/or our school districts have already committed or spent these funds because we were promised a liquidation period ending March 2026.' Fletcher said 19 districts asked for an extension to fully spend their COVID relief dollars totaling $84.1 million. Thirteen districts have $34 million remaining 'that should be accessible to spend for the benefit of students, primarily on construction projects or bus purchases' before the original deadline of March 2026. Shortening the fund liquidation date by a year 'leaves our districts and KDE in a difficult position,' Fletcher said. Some of the projects that are now in jeopardy include providing educational technology services to public schools, including online school registration services and e-transcript services for high school seniors. The state has also used COVID funding for programs to help students make up for learning loss outside of regular school hours. Fletcher ended the letter encouraging superintendents and other stakeholders to contact their federal legislators, along with contact information for the offices of each member of Kentucky's congressional delegation. 'Take the time to explain to our federal legislators how the sudden change in the liquidation deadline for COVID relief funds by the U.S. Department of Education will negatively impact our schools and districts, particularly the most vulnerable populations in the Commonwealth,' Fletcher wrote. The pause in COVID funding reimbursements comes days after President Donald Trump signed an executive order directing McMahon to close the U.S. Education Department.
