Philly schools will receive $25 million after Trump administration releases $5 billion in frozen funding
The Philadelphia School District's funds are earmarked for instruction for English learners and other programs. Federal officials had feared a "leftwing agenda."
The U.S. Department of Education is releasing more than $5 billion in delayed funding to public schools nationwide this week, officials said.
President Donald Trump’s administration had ordered more than $6 billion, which was supposed to be disbursed on July 1, frozen as officials checked to ensure that the programs receiving the funds aligned with White House priorities. In Pennsylvania, $230 million in school funding was frozen.
The holdup created a nerve-wracking several weeks for many districts that had banked on the funds to run key programs, and as a new school year approaches.
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Christina Clark, a district spokesperson, said the district had just over $25 million held up for English language instruction, staff professional development, and instruction for students from economically disadvantaged homes.
The funding that had been withheld nationwide included $2 billion for teacher training and plans to reduce class sizes, $1 billion for academic enrichment, $890 million for students learning English, $376 million for money to educate the children of migrant workers, and $715 million for adult literacy programs.
The frozen funds were the subject of several lawsuits, including one that Gov. Josh Shapiro joined on behalf of Pennsylvania. Several Republican senators also urged the White House to release the funds, which Congress had appropriated earlier this year in a bill signed by Trump.
The Office of Management and Budget had initially said some of the grant funding was being used to support a “radical leftwing agenda” — promoting LGBTQ inclusion and supporting immigrants living in the country illegally.
The Republican senators who asked the White House to release the funds said they shared the administration’s concern, but “however, we do not believe that is happening with these funds,” the senators wrote.
This article contains information from The Associated Press.