The Department of Education is currently withholding $7 billion of previously allocated funds for K-12 schools with minimal explanation. The day before they were supposed to be released, state educational agencies were informed that the funds would not be released despite the fact that the money had already been appropriated by Congress and approved by President Trump in March. These funds are crucial in paying for such things as after school care, teacher training and English language learning. As the new school year rapidly approaches, school districts in almost every state are scrambling to figure out how to deal with the loss of this funding.
In the state of Colorado, the estimated loss of funding sits around $70 million. Set to be released on July 1, this money would have funded support services and paid for teachers and staff to run essential programs. “One of the worst things you can do to a school district going into a new school year is create uncertainty and instability and that lends itself to being not as prepared as you could be for welcoming students in in the fall,” said Colorado Education Association president Kevin Vick. (denver7.com, 7/2/2025)
In a letter to parents on July 2, 2025, Dr. Alex Marrero, Superintendent of Denver Public Schools (DPS) and Dr. Carrie Olson, President of DPS Board of Education, wrote about the disruption that the withholding of these dollars will cause in Denver Schools. “The decision to delay the distribution of congressionally-appropriated education funds is a dangerous overreach of executive authority and a direct affront to public education, especially for communities that rely most heavily on these supports.” As well, Marrero and Olson expressed their concern for the Black, Latino and multilingual learners of their community. As stated in the same letter, this delay “weakens our national commitment to equity and public trust in government.”
Colorado Gov. Jared Polis has called this funding freeze “absurd.” In a statement issued on July 2, Polis stated, “This funding freeze is a direct attack on children, families, and Colorado educators and would take away critical resources from our schools.” Polis also remains “committed to protecting needed resources for Colorado schools and urged the Trump administration to reconsider this harmful freeze.”
Despite these statements made by School district officials and the Governor, Colorado and most every other state is looking into contingency plans should these funds stay frozen. Whether or not money can be found from other sources or if programs will be cut has yet to be determined.
