Trump Administration Agrees to Release Frozen Education Funds
California Attorney General Rob Bonta announced Friday that the Trump administration has agreed to release the remainder of federal education funding that had been frozen earlier this summer, resolving a multistate lawsuit by October 3.
Bonta co-led a coalition of 23 attorneys general and two states that sued after the administration halted six longstanding Department of Education programs on June 30, just weeks before the school year was set to begin. The freeze jeopardized more than $900 million in California alone, threatening after-school and summer learning programs, teacher preparation efforts, and support services for English learners.
Under the agreement, the administration will release the full balance of withheld funds, and both sides filed a joint motion to dismiss the case. The decision follows an earlier partial release in late July after the lawsuit was filed.
“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,” said Attorney General Bonta. “Fortunately, after we filed our lawsuit, the Trump Administration backed down and released the funding it had previously withheld. Today’s agreement ensures the rest of this funding is released, as scheduled, in October, successfully resolving our lawsuit. Over the past six months, state attorneys general have been a bulwark in the fight against the Trump Administration’s reckless and illegal efforts to slash, withhold, or condition federal funding, and we are not taking our foot off the gas. 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.”
The blocked funds supported a wide range of initiatives, including programs for migrant children, classroom instruction and technology upgrades, school safety and climate improvements, community learning centers, and adult workforce education.
Bonta and his coalition argued the freeze violated federal education statutes, appropriations law, and constitutional principles governing separation of powers and the budget process. A preliminary injunction was sought in July to force the release of funds.
The California Department of Education confirmed that by late July it had received grant award notifications for funds already disbursed, ensuring that the state could move forward with the programs at risk.
Bonta has repeatedly clashed with the Trump administration over education policy, filing lawsuits in defense of teacher preparation grants, school mental health programs, and pandemic relief funds. In recent years, his office has secured more than $200 million for California schools to address long-term impacts of COVID-19 in addition to this week’s settlement.
