Earlier this week, state education officials across the country received an abrupt three-sentence memo from the U.S. Department of Education. The memo notified them that certain federal funds for K-12 schools expected to be sent to states this week would be frozen until further review.
Tuesday marked the start of a new fiscal year for state governments and public schools anticipating these funds. The North Carolina Department of Public Instruction typically receives the funds every July and then disburses them to individual school districts.
“Without the nearly $169 million in supports that these grants fund, some of our most vulnerable students will lose access to critical academic resources," North Carolina Superintendent of Public Instruction Maurice “Mo” Green said in a written statement to WUNC. "This includes students who face unique educational challenges such as frequent moves, poverty and the need to acquire English as a second language."
Green added the delay in funding comes dangerously close to the beginning of the school year and creates unnecessary challenges for schools as they plan and staff for the coming year.
"I respectfully urge President Trump and his administration to reassess and swiftly release these funds so that we can adequately prepare to serve all students across North Carolina for the 2025-26 school year,” Green said.
The federal programs under review — and the total amount North Carolina schools and the Department received for each of them last year — are:
- $67.9 million - Title II-A for teacher professional development
- $38.9 million - Title IV-B for before and after-school programs
- $37.2 million - Title IV-A for academic enrichment
- $19.3 million - Title III-A for English-learner services
- $5.4 million - Title I-C for migrant education
President Trump also named these programs for elimination in his proposed budget.
DPI Spokesperson Jeanie McDowell said department officials are in the process of assessing the impact of the delayed funds. "No decisions have been made regarding potential future communications or other actions," McDowell said, when asked if the state might appeal the decision or file a lawsuit.
Local school districts have received little guidance, leading to uncertainty
The news came as a surprise to administrators at local school districts, who said Wednesday that they had not yet received guidance from state or federal agencies to explain the funding freeze.
Based on their most recent budgets, Wake County Schools could stand to lose at least $8 million in funds; Durham Public Schools $3 million; and Chapel Hill-Carrboro City Schools about $466,000 total from these paused programs.
"Other than reading news reports… we've not yet received any official communications," said Chapel Hill Carrboro-City Schools’ Chief Communications Officer Andy Jenks said Wednesday.
Superintendent Green sent a memo to school districts and charter schools Thursday afternoon advising them on the funding freeze.
The delay in information has left school districts with more uncertainty about their budgets for the upcoming school year.
But Jenks and Wake County Schools’ chief communications officer both indicated that they're feeling some relief in the fact that the largest federal funding programs schools receive — IDEA funds for students with disabilities and the majority of Title I for schools in low-income communities – were not mentioned in the memo.
"At the moment, our understanding from at least one news report is that Title I and IDEA are not affected, which would mean the majority of our (federal) funding and programming is safe," Jenks said. "However, we are still working to learn more through official channels."
Editor's note: This story has been updated to reflect that State Superintendent Mo Green sent a memo to public schools Thursday afternoon with guidance on the issue.
