Billions in previously paused federal funding for K-12 schools and adult education programs across the U.S. will be released, according to a July 25 announcement by White House officials.
In Wisconsin, the funding pause had jeopardized over $72.6 million just for K-12 schools, plus more for adult education programs. State officials warned that losing those funds, which were already worked into the upcoming academic year's budget, would potentially reduce programs kids rely on and drive layoffs in the Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction.
The future of the funding had been uncertain for weeks.
On June 30, the U.S. Department of Education said it would begin reviewing certain federal grant programs to ensure money is spent "in accordance with the President’s priorities and the Department’s statutory responsibilities."
That review paused the allocation of the funds, which are usually distributed to states on July 1.
At issue are five "Title" grant programs authorized through the Every Student Succeeds Act, which are used to support migrant children and those learning English as a second language, as well as educator training initiatives, new technology and after-school programs for high-poverty schools.
A sixth grant program that was reviewed by the Trump administration is used to support adults earning high school diplomas and learning English as a second language.
Wisconsin was among the 24 states, plus Washington, D.C., to join a lawsuit against Trump administration officials in response to the potential loss of funding.
In a July 14 announcement that Wisconsin had joined the lawsuit, Attorney General Josh Kaul called the funding pause "unconstitutional, unlawful, and arbitrary."
Just for K-12 programs, the funding put on pause accounted for about 14% of federal education funding for states and territories, according to the Learning Policy Institute.
For Wisconsin, about 11.5% of its total federal K-12 funding was at risk, according to the same data source. That sum was $72,636,782.
In his July 14 statement, Kaul said over $7.5 million for adult education grants had also been put on hold. That threatened programs serving nearly 34,000 adult students, he said.
That money will begin flowing back to states in the final week of July, White House officials told USA Today on July 25. That date applies to a majority of the funding streams that were being withheld, including those for migrant children, children learning English, educator grants, technology grants, and adult learners.
A few days earlier, on July 18, the White House made a commitment to release funds for the remaining program that had been under review. That's for after-school programs, called Nita M. Lowey 21st Century Community Learning Centers.
Cleo Krejci covers K-12 education and workforce development as a Report For America corps member based at the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. Contact her at [email protected] or follow her on Twitter @_CleoKrejci. For more information about Report for America, visit jsonline.com/rfa.
This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Millions in funding, previously jeopardized by White House review, will be released to Wisconsin
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