Washington Update, July 3, 2025
Dear Colleagues:
July 1 was supposed to be “money-drop day.” Instead, district CFOs opened their inboxes to a four-sentence memo from the U.S. Department of Education (ED) announcing that six big formula grants are “under review” and will not be released. Here’s the fuller picture.
Total frozen: $6.8 b. ED says the pause aligns with the administration’s FY 26 budget request, which zeroes these lines out. Critics call it an illegal “impoundment” that bypasses Congress and violates the 1974 Impoundment Control Act； state coalitions are already drafting lawsuits. (edweek.org, stevevladeck.com)
State snapshot
- California: ≈ $811 m on ice—including $120 m for mental-health services. (sfchronicle.com)
- Florida: ≈ $396 m withheld; districts warned vendors that literacy-coach contracts may be cancelled. (tampabay.com)
(Learning Policy Institute has a rough state-by-state tally here. (learningpolicyinstitute.org)
Why this matters
- Budget chaos ➜ classroom chaos. Districts balanced FY 25-26 budgets on money that’s now missing; quickest fix is to trim contracts or delay student services.
- Equity double-hit. Every frozen dollar targets kids who move, learn English, or need a safe place after school—the students least able to absorb a cut.
- Civil-rights exposure. EL and migrant services are legal mandates; districts must backfill with local funds or risk OCR findings.
- Human-capital drain. Summer layoffs of PD coaches and STEM instructors push talent out of the profession weeks before school starts.
- Dangerous precedent. If this stands, any future administration could “pocket-veto” education funds mid-year, making long-term planning a guessing game.
What we can do this week
- Surface real numbers. Push district-level loss estimates and program stories to congressional delegations now—appropriators have 45 days to force ED to release the funds.
- Line up bridge dollars. Urge state chiefs and governors to deploy GEER or rainy-day funds to keep legally required services afloat through September.
- Document everything. Save contracts, staffing commitments, and student rosters tied to frozen streams; they’re evidence for reimbursement or litigation.
- Communicate early. Draft plain-language letters so families (especially newcomer and migrant) aren’t blindsided by service gaps.
Congress is already signaling bipartisan unease. The more concrete your local stories, the harder it is for Washington to ignore the harm. Let’s turn today’s disruption into tomorrow’s fix—fast.
Onward,
Kait
