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Trump administration to release $900M in withheld education funds to California
Students line up to enter their classrooms at Keyes Elementary School in Keyes on Nov. 15, 2023.
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Larry Valenzuela, CalMatters/CatchLight Local
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California Attorney General Rob Bonta announced Monday an agreement with the Trump administration to release the entire $6.8 billion in education funds that had been abruptly withheld from states by the administration a few weeks before the start of the school year.
The agreement will restore congressionally allocated funds for six programs that the Trump administration had announced it would withhold as of June 30, including those that provide educational support to migrant children and English learners, after-school and summer learning programs, and teacher training.
A spokesperson for the White House had stated the frozen funds, of which California receives $900 million, were reviewed for being “grossly misused to subsidize a radical leftwing agenda.”
The agreement follows a multi-state lawsuit filed by Bonta and 22 other state attorneys general, along with two state governors, which accused the Trump administration of illegally withholding funds due to the U.S. Congress’ constitutional right to appropriate the budget. The administration had previously agreed to release only a portion of the frozen funds shortly after the June 30 announcement and must now release all remaining funds no later than Oct. 3, according to the agreement.
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“The Trump Administration upended school programs across the country when it recklessly withheld vital education funding just weeks before the school year was set to begin,” Bonta said in a press release. “Our kids deserve so much better than what this anti-education Administration has to offer, and we will continue to fight to protect them from this President’s relentless attacks.”
Bonta has also filed ongoing lawsuits challenging the Trump administration’s broader cuts to education, including against the termination of grant funding for K-12 teacher preparation and the discontinuation of school mental health grants.
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