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Yahoo
01-07-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Trump administration freezes $6.8 billion in federal education funds; California hit hard
The Trump administration on Monday moved to withhold a projected $6.8 billion nationwide in education funds — including at least $811 million from California — money appropriated by Congress to boost teacher training, after-school programs and classroom technology and to help students who are learning English and those who are from migrant families. Although the frozen funds make up less than 1% of California's total education budget, they have an outsize cumulative effect. And they involve dollars that already are accounted for in terms of staff hired and programs planned. The disruption would be substantial — and state education leaders, including Supt. of Public Instruction Tony Thurmond, said Monday evening that the problems are unfolding immediately. 'There have been many rumors about the Trump Administration cutting education funding, and now that rumors have become reality, it is worse than we imagined," Thurmond said in a statement to The Times. "Trump is illegally impounding billions of dollars appropriated by Congress to serve students this fiscal year." "This illegal action will harm students starting now," Thurmond added. "It cannot stand!' The administration listed the frozen programs by their federal designation: Title III-A, for example, supports students who are learning English. Title I-C helps overcome the learning challenges of the children of migrant workers. Both programs had all their funds withheld. Read more: California law faces revise as high court allows parents to 'opt out' of LGBTQ+ school stories Word of the federal action began to trickle out to worried school systems Monday afternoon. The notification, in an email from the federal Department of Education, was 84 words in length — and, according to education officials and advocates, included no amplification: "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," the email began. "Accordingly, the Department will not be issuing Grant Award Notifications obligating funds for these programs on July 1 prior to completing that review." The notification concluded: "The Department remains committed to ensuring taxpayer resources are spent in accordance with the President's priorities and the Department's statutory responsibilities.' The programs noted in the email make up more than 10% of federal spending on K-12 schools in 33 states, according to the Learning Policy Institute. The targets of the freeze are not especially surprising — all of the withheld funds are from programs the administration wants to slash or eliminate. And those details — and the justification for them — are clearly spelled out in President Trump's budget proposal for the next federal fiscal year, which begins in October. Read more: California violated civil rights of female students by allowing trans athletes to compete, feds say But the Trump administration is freezing funds that Congress approved for the fiscal year already in progress, which began in October 2024. Because of the way federal, state and local budgets line up, this money was due to reach states Tuesday and to be spent as part of the budget for the school district fiscal year, which begins Tuesday. School districts — on the expectation they would receive these funds appropriated by Congress — have generally already hired those expected to carry out these programs; many are long-standing efforts. The Education Department declined to comment late Monday — referring inquiries to the Office of Management and Budget. That office too had no immediate comment. But the administration already has made clear its rationale for ending these efforts in its budget proposal, which on Monday was inching closer to congressional approval. "To end overreach from Washington and restore the rightful role of State oversight in education, the Budget proposes to eliminate the misnamed English Language Acquisition program which actually de-emphasizes English primacy by funding [nongovernmental organizations] and States to encourage bilingualism," the administration stated. "The historically low reading scores for all students mean States and communities need to unite — not divide — classrooms using evidence-based literacy instruction materials to improve outcomes for all students." Read more: Revised LAUSD budget saves jobs today, trims future retiree health benefit contributions Advocates for English learners support "evidence-based literacy instruction," but take issue with much of the rest of the administration's assertions, including the claim that programs to help students learning English are divisive. "We want our students to gain proficiency in English so that they can access their education in English," said Martha Hernandez, executive director of Californians Together, a coalition of groups that advocates for English learners. "And the majority of English learners are in English-only settings. These funds help students learn English." Hernandez said there are about 5 million English learners speaking 100 different languages nationwide — about 1.1 million in California. The cut to migrant education is justified in budget documents as eliminating "programs that work to the detriment of children's academic success by encouraging movement from, rather than stability and consistency in, a single location. These programs have not been proven effective, are extremely costly, and encourage ineligible non-citizens to access [services] , stripping resources from American students." The migrant program's effectiveness is open to reasonable debate, but the assertion that it encourages lack of stability is difficult to square with the reality on the ground. Los Angeles Unified School District uses this funding for academic support to provide stability and academic continuity for these students and their families. The program in Nebraska describes itself as providing "educational services for migrant children to help reduce obstacles that result from repeated moves across school district boundaries." For students ages 3 to 5, the effort includes "promoting interest in learning and filling educational gaps at home to prepare students for Kindergarten" and also "helping families find affordable preschool options." The funding freeze has become yet another area of conflict between the Trump administration and local educators, especially in blue states and urban areas. However, this funding pullback, if it stands, also will fall heavily on rural areas and red states. Trump's authority to withhold these funds will almost certainly be challenged in court. It is unclear whether it will survive scrutiny within Congress. Federal law prohibits the executive branch from refusing to distribute congressionally appropriated dollars, although the president can ask Congress for permission to hold back funds. Congress has 45 days after such a request is made to approve the president's action. Otherwise, the money must be spent as originally intended. Sign up for Essential California for news, features and recommendations from the L.A. Times and beyond in your inbox six days a week. This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
CTV News
30-06-2025
- Politics
- CTV News
Quebec unions lodge complaint over education cuts
A classroom in an elementary school, photographed in Toronto on Jan. 9, 2024. (The Canadian Press/Chris Young) Two federations affiliated with the Centrale des syndicats du Québec (CSQ) are filing a complaint with the Ombudsman regarding budget cuts in education. In their complaint filed on Monday, the Fédération du personnel de soutien scolaire (federation of school support Staff) and the Fédération du personnel professionnel de l'éducation (federation of professional education staff) are asking the Ombudsman to launch an investigation into the impact of budget cuts and the hiring freeze on services to students. They are also asking the Ombudsman to intervene publicly with the Ministry of Education and to make recommendations to ensure that students have access to the services they need. Quebec has announced budget cuts of $570 million for the new school year. But the president of the Fédération du personnel de soutien scolaire, Éric Pronovost, stressed that these cuts are in addition to the hiring freeze in effect since Nov. 1, and cuts to infrastructure projects. He cited several types of cuts: reduced hours for special education technicians and attendants for students with disabilities, for example. Other scenarios have been raised by other stakeholders in the education sector, such as employees on disability or maternity leave who are not being replaced, tighter criteria for access to specialized classes, and reduced extracurricular activities. Pronovost reported that some members are going on summer vacation without knowing what their duties will be when they return or how many hours they will be working. 'There is a lot of uncertainty right now. Our people are writing to us. They find it deplorable. Parents are writing to us. Many associations are writing to us. Humanely speaking, these cuts... waiting until the end of June to make these cuts is unacceptable, it's appalling,' he said. The process of investigating and publishing a report requested by the Ombudsman could take some time. 'We know it's going to be a long process, but as organizations, we had to file this complaint to put additional pressure on them because nothing is happening,' Pronovost said. He made no secret of the fact that he hopes the complaint filed by the two CSQ federations will have a deterrent effect. 'What we hope in all this is that the Minister [of Education, Bernard] Drainville will change his mind and back down on his budget cuts.' Why file a complaint with the Ombudsman rather than the Student Ombudsman, he was asked. One does not exclude the other, he replied. 'It's an avenue we are currently exploring.' Petition and Drainville Meanwhile, the petition calling for an end to budget cuts in education, sponsored by PQ MNA Pascal Bérubé and launched on Monday, June 23, had gathered more than 120,000 signatures by Monday noon. Minister Drainville has already asked school administrators to minimize cuts to direct services to students. He denied that these were cuts, stating that the government would slow the rate of growth of the education budget, which will increase by 5 per cent instead of 7 per cent in previous years. 'Since the CAQ came to power in 2018, the education budget has increased by 58 per cent. These are record investments! To those who are crying foul over cuts, look at the numbers. No government has ever invested so much, so quickly, in our schools,' the minister said last Thursday. This report by The Canadian Press was first published in French on June 30, 2025.
CBC
18-06-2025
- Politics
- CBC
School boards, staff slam Quebec for 'devastating' $570M budget shortfall
The Quebec government is under criticism for what school administrators are calling devastating cuts to the province's education system, which amount to $570 million less in funding for the upcoming school year. Teachers, parents and school principals are worried these budgetary restrictions could impact students' success and services offered to them. Joe Ortona, the president of the Quebec English School Boards Association, argues that this will make it impossible for school boards and service centres to stay true to their mission of educating students effectively. "We are completely shocked and devastated," Ortona said in an interview. "There is no way to be able to cut what the government is asking to cut. It is outright impossible. This will have an immensely detrimental impact on student success, without question." Ortona predicted that extracurricular activities, tutoring, arts programs and music programs will be on the "chopping block" across Quebec. He also added that these restrictions could mean fewer teachers, larger classrooms, more students falling behind and school closures if boards and service centres can't afford to keep them open. "The government is simply putting their mismanagement now on the backs of children's futures," he said. Jean-David Meunier, principal at François-Bourrin high school in Quebec City, said he had to re-read the letter he received from the Ministry of Education four times to make sure he hadn't made a mistake. "Every thousand dollars is important," Meunier told Radio-Canada. "We know we're in a difficult budgetary situation. But honestly, I didn't see that scenario coming." For his school of 575 students, he is being asked to work with several hundred thousand dollars less next year compared to the year that just ended. "It's going to be hard not to cut back on student services, because we're already being rigorous," said Meunier. "There's no fat." Drainville says school boards need to be more 'efficient' Bernard Drainville, Quebec's education minister, defended the government's position. Since 2018, the budget for schools has increased by seven per cent annually, he said, whereas this year the budget will increase by five per cent. "We will have to be more efficient with the money that's being spent, but at some point, school boards and [school service centres] need to respect the budget that they're given," Drainville told reporters on Wednesday, adding that over the past six years, the budget for education has increased by 58 per cent. Katherine Korakakis, president of the English Parents' Committee Association, said the budget shortfall will have an especially big impact on the most "vulnerable" students. She said some parents can afford for extra resources and tutors for their children, while for others, this isn't the case, making things "very stressful." Korakakis pointed out that parents already worry about student success and motivation. "How much more is this going to impede students staying in school?" she said.
Forbes
07-06-2025
- Health
- Forbes
How Campus Counseling Centers Can Increase Capacity With Little Money
Broken piggy bank getty Some might believe that increasing the capacity of campus counseling centers to better serve students requires a large financial investment. This perception might seem daunting, especially in light of a 2025 report by Inside Higher Ed describing significant budget cuts at multiple colleges. However, below are five possible ways to increase the capacity of campus counseling centers with little money. A 2022 report by the American Medical Association defined scope of practice as the range of activities that health professionals are authorized, trained and prepared to perform. Health professionals develop a scope of care statement to inform the public about the services they provide. This makes it efficient for when the public is searching for a provider and prevents providers from absorbing into their practice clients with concerns beyond the scope of care. It might be tempting to believe that campus counseling centers should have an unlimited scope of care, and many centers don't provide a concise scope of care statement. However, this goes against best practices. Scope of care statements which summarize the services and limitations of counseling centers are needed. In addition, all staff counselors need to operate under the stated scope of care. When different staff counselors provide different scopes of care to different students, this reduces capacity because stakeholders might expect services that cannot be regularly provided. A indicated by a 2023 report from the Center of Collegiate Mental Health, counseling centers gave 56% of all appointments to 20% of clients. Many of these clients were likely those with high clinical needs who were absorb into their counseling centers' normal operations. As discussed in a 2024 report on using an absorption model to treat students with high needs is often ineffective. It's likely more effective to arrange specialized services for these students, and there are several ways to do this. As discussed in the report on some centers have partnered with treatment centers to bring high level services onto campus. Others might develop memorandums of understanding with off-campus providers to facilitate referrals. Regardless, counseling centers should avoid an absorption model unless they have high capacity and decide to intentionally utilize this model. It's important to note that third-party telehealth vendors may or may not be able to treat students with high clinical needs. Some schools might financially invest into a third-party vendor thinking that more online counselors will automatically increase capacity (and without thinking about scope of care). However, if the counseling center is spending the majority of sessions on high needs students, then a more effective, and often less expensive approach, might be to arrange specialized services for this group of students. A discussed in a 2022 report by Inside Higher Ed, many current counseling center's clients have previously received services from the center. It's not surprising that, without after-care services, many students with episodic symptoms will return to the center and need additional services. There are several ways to provide after-care services. Some centers might provide individualized self-management plans upon termination of counseling. As discussed in the report by Inside Higher Ed, other centers might expand the principles within the field of substance use disorders and promote a mindset of recovery and peer support for those who've completed counseling. The report by Inside Higher Ed also discussed how many staff counselors experience high levels of burnout. Because counselors with high levels of burnout might be less efficient, counseling centers should address sources of high burnout. For some counselors, serving on crisis/on-call rotations is a high source of burnout; however, other staff members might enjoy this work more than carrying a caseload. Thus, realigning staff duties to accommodate these preferences might be helpful. Other options include flex-scheduling, pre-determined caseload sizes, reducing outside committee assignments, and regular team building and self-care activities. Many counseling centers have a robust mental health outreach program, but sometimes these programs are similar to those provided by a campus health promotion office. For large campuses, redundant programing is often needed, and there may be times in which saturating a campus with an outreach initiative is warranted. However, if a counseling center is struggling with capacity, and the campus has an active health promotion office, then it might be helpful for the health promotion office to take the lead in conducting outreaches. It's possible that other campus partners can also meet certain sub-clinical needs better than the counseling center. For example, a student success office might be better equipped to address concerns related to procrastination and time management. Likewise, a student activities office might be better equipped to address homesickness. Few, if any, campus partners can provide the clinical services that the counseling center provides. Thus, avoiding redundant services is often a key to increasing capacity.
