AFT’s Weingarten on the Trump Administration’s K-12 Funding Freeze

WASHINGTON—AFT President Randi Weingarten issued the following statement after the Education Department’s decision to illegally freeze essential funding to states for K-12 programs for the 2025-26 school year:

“Since day one, the Trump administration has attacked public education, undermining both K-12 and higher education, and with it opportunity in America.

“The administration has been stopped by the courts and the court of public opinion at every turn, and instead of recognizing that Americans want to invest in our children’s future, they turn their backs on the voices of parents, educators and our students.

“Last year they tried to condition federal aid on schools adhering to their political and ideological whims. That was stopped by the courts. Now, they have delayed disbursements of billions in desperately needed federal funds for student services and instruction, as the Education Department weighs whether the money will be spent according to Trump’s ‘priorities.’

“This is another illegal usurpation of the authority of the Congress. Plus it directly harms the  children in our nation.

“K-12 public school leaders across the country who should have been able to start planning months ago for the summer and the upcoming school year are instead left mired in financial uncertainty. Summer and after-school programs, migrant education and English language acquisition are all endangered, as well as school districts’ ability to recruit, hire and retain effective educators. Educational services for all students may be jeopardized if states are forced to make up the difference.

“This is lawless. These are congressionally approved programs for this year, and the Trump administration is trying to defund education unilaterally through government overreach. The administration does not have the right to starve children because of its ideology.

"Withholding funds for student services and instruction alone is wrong. And it’s being done at a time when the Trump administration is pushing a big, ugly betrayal of a bill that will kick millions off healthcare and snatch food away from children, all while handing massive tax cuts to Trump’s billionaire friends.

“We urge the Education Department to do the right thing and release these critical resources now. Withholding them achieves no purpose and students will be harmed.”