$6.8 Billion in Federal Funds Have Been Denied to Public Schools, Including Programs for English Learners
IDRA Federal Advocacy Action Alert – July 2, 2025
The federal government is withholding billions of dollars of funds promised to public schools across the country. Congress appropriated $6.8 billion for this fiscal year for programs that support educator training, English language acquisition, academic enrichment programs, education for migrant students, family engagement, and after-school and summer programs.
State and federal laws require schools to educate all children and to provide learning programs and other opportunities that ensure students have equal access to a high-quality education. Federal funds are essential to protecting students’ civil rights.
The federal government was supposed to release funds for these programs by July 1 so that state education agencies and school districts can accurately budget, plan for the summer and academic year, and provide critical services to students, teachers and families.
But, on June 30, the U.S. Department of Education notified states that they would not receive the funds they were due. The notice emphasized that any questions about the funds should be sent to the Office of Management and Budget, not to the Department of Education.
A recent analysis by the Learning Policy Institute highlights the massive financial impact this impoundment of funds will have on public schools and the steps for challenging this action. All states will experience cuts across five programs, representing 10% or more of their total federal funding for K-12 schools:
- Title I-C for migrant education: $375 million
- Title II-A for educator professional development: $2.2 billion
- Title III-A for English learner services and academic programs: $890 million
- Title IV-A for student support and academic enrichment programs: $1.3 billion
- Title IV-B for before- and after-school and summer academic enrichment programs for low-performing schools: $1.4 billion
These cuts will harm students in communities across the country who already experience the impacts of underfunded schools. For example, states in the U.S. South, many of which rely heavily on federal funds to serve English learners, are being denied their share of the $890 million in Title III funds appropriated by Congress to support English language acquisition.
- Texas: $139,856,554
- Florida: $56,531,629
- Georgia: $21,500,979
- North Carolina: $19,338,744
- Virginia: $17,505,784
- Tennessee: $10,040,570
- South Carolina: $6,440,752
- Louisiana: $5,210,062
- Alabama: $4,760,452
- Arkansas: $4,044,284
- Mississippi: $2,165,168
- Washington, D.C.: $1,452,833
Withholding these funds threatens the academic achievement and overall success of English learners, who make up more than 10% of students in U.S. K-12 schools. English learners are in every community across our country. For example, in Texas, Title III funds serve more than 1 million English learners and over 600 school districts with large rural communities use Title III, including to hire paraprofessionals and instructional staff.
To make matters worse, threats to these funds will likely extend beyond this withholding. The President’s proposed budget for FY 2026, released a few weeks ago, threatens cuts to the same programs, including completely eliminating Title III funding for public schools that serve English learners across the country.
You can act now to protect students and ensure public schools across the country receive the funding they need to serve all students.
Learn More
IDRA joined the National Association for Bilingual Education (NABE) and partners across the country for a virtual news conference discussing the impacts of withholding federal funds from public schools. Learn more from the speakers about the programs, students, teachers, and families who will be impacted and join a large community of advocates calling for the release of funds.
Find media coverage of the virtual call: Los Angeles Times, New York Times, and Chalkbeat.
Act Now to Get Funds Released
Contact your members of Congress and urge them to pressure the Office of Management and Budget to release these critical funds for public schools and students.
NABE has compiled resources below.
- Sample letter for you to contact members of Congress
- Call and email scripts for you to contact members of Congress
- Information for contacting members of Congress
- Information for contacting the Office of Management and Budget (OMB)
- Information for contacting the Department of Education
Share your Story
Immigrant Connections and the National Newcomer Network are collecting stories from students, families, educators and others to raise awareness among federal lawmakers and the media about what the loss of federal funds will mean for students and schools. Submit your concerns anonymously.
Other Helpful Resources
This report from the Migration Policy Institute provides an overview of federal funding sources for public schools to serve English learner students: Funding English Learner Education: Making the Most of Policy and Budget Levers.
These state-by-state factsheets created by the American Federation for Teachers (AFT) detail how much funding your state receives from the U.S. Department of Education for particular K-12 and higher education programs.
This table from the National Education Association (NEA) provides information on how much funding each state stands to lose for English learners, students with disabilities, poor children, Pell grants, and career and technical education grants should certain funding administered by the Department of Education be eliminated.
This IDRA & Every Texan report provides an overview of bilingual education programs in Texas, including a background of funding and policy recommendations for improving outcomes for English learner students.
For more information about IDRA’s work to support English learners, see our resources here or contact Morgan Craven, J.D., IDRA’s National Director of Policy, Advocacy, and Community Engagement at morgan.craven@idra.org.
