May 8, 2025
Trump administration consolidates 18 K-12 programs, slashing $4.5B in afterschool, rural school, and literacy grantsâLinda McMahon's Education Department redirects federal funds to block grants while Russell Vought's OMB withholds releases
The Trump administrationâs Fiscal Year 2026 âskinnyâ budget proposes consolidating 18 existing Kâ12 formula and competitive grant programs into a single $2 billion âKâ12 Simplified Funding Program,â cutting roughly $4.5 billion from the combined current funding level of about $6.5 billion for those programs. îciteîturn1search1îturn1search2î
The White House proposal would eliminate the 21st Century Community Learning Centers programâthe federal governmentâs primary afterâschool and summer learning grantâwhich currently receives about $1.3 billion a year and serves roughly 1.4 million students, raising alarms among providers that many afterâschool sites could close or shrink. îciteîturn1search0îturn1search6î
The budget request calls for an approximately 15% reduction in overall Department of Education discretionary funding, proposing $66.7 billion for FY2026 compared with roughly $78.7 billion the prior year, a cut the administration frames as part of winding down the agency. îciteîturn0search2îturn1search4î
Rural and lowâincome districts that depend heavily on federal grants would be hit especially hard: reporting from Maineâs MSAD 54 illustrates that federal dollars fund a large share of staff positions, free meals, mentalâhealth supports and afterâschool programming, leaving such communities vulnerable if consolidated funds are reduced or redirected. îciteîturn2search0îturn2search4î
A separate wave of personnel reductions at the Education Department in Mar. 2025 left the National Center for Education Statistics with only three staff on duty after many employees were placed on administrative leave or were laid off, a change researchers warn will undermine the federal governmentâs ability to collect and report reliable national education data. îciteîturn3search0îturn3search5î
The administration has also halted or canceled more than $1 billion in multiyear federal grants for schoolâbased mentalâhealth services that were authorized after the 2022 Uvalde school shooting, prompting criticism from educators and providers who say the cuts will reduce the pipeline of school psychologists and counselors. îciteîturn0search0îturn0search4î
The budget preserves core, formulaâdriven programs that Congress treats as prioritiesâmaintaining Title I at roughly its recent level and proposing an increase in IDEA funding to about $14.9 billionâbut it shifts dozens of smaller targeted programs into a single block grant that would give states more discretion while eliminating many programâspecific protections and reporting requirements. îciteîturn0search2îturn1search7î
Because a presidentâs budget is a request, Congress will ultimately decide which changes become law; the proposal has already prompted legal challenges and pushback from states, school leaders and advocacy groups who say the cuts would disproportionately harm students in highâneed and rural communities. îciteîturn0search1îturn1search6î
According to the article, what concern do parents express about eliminating after-school programs?
How much funding would Trump cut from 18 federal K-12 programs by consolidating them?
What does the National Education Association call Trump's proposed education cuts?
What percentage cut does Trump propose for the Education Department's overall budget?
What activities does the REACH Afterschool Program in Maine offer students?
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