Roughly $106 million in federal funds that support underserved children are in limbo for Tennessee after the U.S. Department of Education missed a key deadline to allocate the money.
The K-12 funds are part of $6.2 billion approved by Congress and signed into law by President Donald Trump earlier this year. They were expected to be released by July 1 as schools plan for the upcoming school year. But a June 30 notice sent to congressional staff said that money is under review due to the change in presidential administrations, USA TODAY reported.
“The Department remains committed to ensuring taxpayer resources are spent in accordance with the President’s priorities and the Department’s statutory responsibilities,” Brandy Brown, a top Education Department official, wrote in the notice.
More: Billions in federal funding for schools on hold
Sean Braisted, a spokesperson for Metro Nashville Public Schools, said that the district does not anticipate any immediate impacts on programming but that district officials are monitoring developments and will adjust accordingly, if needed.
“These congressionally mandated programs support essential services for our students — including those who are learning English, need additional academic support, or benefit from extended learning opportunities — and help ensure we have effective educators in every classroom,” Braisted told The Tennessean in a July 3 email. “We support efforts to fully fund these programs at or above previous levels.”
Monica Chi walks her children to Clovercroft Elementary on the first day of school in Franklin, Tenn., Monday, Aug. 5, 2024. Holding Chi’s hand is Abigail, 6, and Henry, 4, as Caroline, 9, walks behind her.
What $106 million in frozen federal funds support in Tennessee schools
The funds in question go toward academic supports for immigrant and other underserved students, students who are learning English, academic enrichment programs and after-school and summer programs.
The funds include $106,353,503 for Tennessee, according to an analysis of 2024 education funding by the Learning Policy Institute, an independent education research nonprofit. The $106 million makes up 13.4% of the total federal K-12 funding for Tennessee. Here’s how those funds break down across the five programs they support:
Migrant Education: $1,477,499
Supporting Effective Instruction: $45,641,868
English Language Acquisition: $10,040,570
Student Support and Academic Enrichment: $25,202,772
21st Century Community Learning Centers: $23,990,794
The full Learning Policy Institute analysis can be found at LearningPolicyInstitute.org/blog/states-face-uncertainty-k-12-funding-remains-unreleased.
This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: Trump administration puts $106M on hold for Tennessee schools