The Lyndon Baines Johnson Department of Education Building pictured on Nov. 25, 2024. (Photo by Shauneen Miranda/States Newsroom)
By MICHAEL CRIMMINS
Glasgow News 1
The remaining education funds that were withheld by the federal government have been released.
At the end of June, the Trump administration announced the freezing of $6.8 billion appropriated by Congress pending a review to ensure spending aligns with White House priorities. Kentucky’s share of the educational funds is $87 million, according to Kentucky Governor Andy Beshear. As previously reported the freeze would have resulted in nearly $2 million being taken from the three local school districts.
The funds were supposed to be allocated to the states by July 1.
Late last week, Kentucky Department of Education Commissioner Robbie Fletcher announced that the department had “received notice from the United States Department of Education that…the U.S. Department of Education will release the remaining Elementary and Secondary Education Act…funding that was previously withheld.”
At this time, Fletcher said the department has not “recieved official award notices, including final amounts of each award.”
The funding goes to four programs, according to Fletcher.
They are:
- Title I-C, ESEA: Migrant Student Education;
- Title II-A, ESEA: Supporting Effective Instruction State Grants;
- Title III-A, ESEA: English Language Acquisition;
- Title IV-A, ESEA: Student Support and Academic Enrichment State Grants
Earlier this month, on July 18, the federal government released roughly $1.3 billion earmarked for 21st Century Learning Centers, which “supports the creation of community learning centers that provide academic enrichment opportunities during non-school hours for children, particularly students who attend high-poverty and low-performing schools,” according to the Kentucky Education Department.
The administration recieved backlash over the freeze from both major political parties with Republican Senator Mitch McConnell cosigning a letter urging their release and Democratic Governor Andy Beshear joining a lawsuit against the administration.
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