With billions of federal dollars frozen by the Trump administration, 85% of school district leaders say they now have to find alternative sources to pay for contracts they have already entered into. Half those leaders say they will have to cut staff to make ends meet if the money doesn鈥檛 arrive, according to a new survey.
The survey, from AASA, the School Superintendents Association, paints a picture of how the Trump administration鈥檚 choice not to distribute more than $5 billion in federal school funds Congress approved in March is affecting districts as they prepare for the upcoming school year. Districts planned and approved their 2025-26 budgets with the expectation that the federal funding would arrive as it usually does鈥攁nd is required to under federal law鈥攁round July 1.
To close the resulting budget holes, nearly three-quarters of leaders with contracts covered by the frozen funds say they will likely have to cut academic supports for students鈥攍ike literacy and math coaches鈥攁nd 83% plan to cut professional development for staff, according to the survey administered from July 11 to July 18.
More than 600 superintendents across 43 states responded to the survey, which asked the district leaders how the funding freeze is affecting鈥攐r is expected to affect鈥攑ublic schools and students.
On July 18鈥攖he last day the AASA survey was open to superintendents鈥攖he Trump administration told states they鈥檒l start receiving Title IV-B funding for after-school programs on July 21鈥攅ffectively unfreezing $1.4 billion while leaving more than $5 billion frozen.
鈥淭his is happening [in] real time, without any pre-planning and without any pre-warning, and so to put school districts in a situation where we鈥檙e trying to, on the fly, figure it out for the next year impacts students and it impacts families,鈥� said Krestin Bahr, the superintendent in Gig Harbor, Wash., who participated in the AASA survey. 鈥淲e鈥檙e flying a plane, and we鈥檙e trying to build the plane at the same time in the air, which is not very helpful.鈥�
Districts that rely most on federal funding are at greatest risk
Nearly one-quarter of respondents said they鈥檝e already had to make 鈥渢ough choices about how to reallocate funding,鈥� the survey says.
An additional 29% said if they don鈥檛 have access to the federal funds by Aug. 1, they, too, will have to decide which programs, services, or staff to cut to account for the frozen federal dollars.
鈥淒istricts that rely heavily on federal funding鈥攐ften those serving the most vulnerable student populations鈥攖ypically have limited access to alternative state and local resources. For these districts, timely access to federal funds during the summer months is critical to maintaining continuity of services and meeting student needs in the upcoming school year,鈥� the AASA report detailing the survey results says.
President Donald Trump on March 15 signed into law a continuing resolution that maintained current funding levels for federal education programs in the fiscal year that starts this October.
Most of the money Congress allocated in that spending package for education was . But on June 30, the Trump administration told states that for seven grant programs that support teacher training, after-school programs, and English learners, among other things, the money wouldn鈥檛 flow as scheduled because of an 鈥渙ngoing programmatic review鈥� of past spending aimed at rooting out a 鈥渞adical left-wing agenda.鈥�
Education advocates and Democratic lawmakers have decried the move as unconstitutional and argue that it will directly harm the nation鈥檚 K-12 students. Two dozen states sued the Trump administration in federal court on July 14, asking a judge for an injunction that would restore the funds for their schools. Ten Republican senators later joined the chorus, calling on the administration in a July 16 letter to release the funding.
On July 21, four school districts and several state teachers鈥� unions sued the U.S. Department of Education and the federal Office of Management and Budget, .
The districts say they rely on the money to pay staff salaries, provide translation services, provide teacher training, purchase curriculum, and more.
While the Trump administration withholds money from six grant programs, it did distribute the Education Department鈥檚 two largest K-12 funding streams: Title I (to support economically disadvantaged students) and the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (for services for students with disabilities).
Superintendents are grappling with how to move ahead without the funds
State education agencies and districts have been forced to grapple with how to move forward in the absence of the expected federal funds in the weeks since they learned those grants wouldn鈥檛 arrive.
Some superintendents, including Heidi Sipe in Umatilla, Ore., have paused hiring for some positions that the district has previously partially or fully paid for with the now-frozen federal money.
Sipe, who spoke with Education Week before AASA administered the survey, said she is exploring how to 鈥渞eallocate鈥� some staff members whose salaries were federally financed to other roles covered by the district鈥檚 general fund.
Cheryl Jordan in Milpitas, Calif., who also spoke before the AASA survey, said that her district had already implemented a hiring freeze in June to address budget constraints, but 鈥渢here is a possibility for those positions that were funded by grants鈥� to be cut altogether.
For many, the reality is that the students in need of the greatest amount of support will suffer most from the cuts, district leaders and experts say.
Along with English learners and migrant students, students in rural areas, those with disabilities, and students from low-income families are likely to feel disproportionate impacts from the loss of these funds. Federal funding formulas for education tend to target school systems with large populations of high-need students, which means cuts to federal aid hit hardest for many districts with large populations of students who require additional investment.
鈥淭hese funds have been critical in reducing class sizes, attracting and retaining exceptional teachers, and offering the training and resources our students need to thrive,鈥� Sharlene McDonald, the superintendent of the Tarrant City schools in Alabama, said in the survey results released by AASA. 鈥淲ithout this support, our progress in closing achievement gaps and promoting academic success is at serious risk.鈥�
Quintin Shepherd, the superintendent in Pflugerville, Texas, added: 鈥淚t鈥檚 not just about dollars ... it鈥檚 about the message we send to our most vulnerable students when we withhold the very support they need to succeed.鈥�
Bryan Huber, the superintendent of the Page County schools in Virginia, said about 27% of his district鈥檚 revenue comes from federal funds. (Nationwide, the federal government typically pays for 8-10% of public school costs.) Amid the current funding freeze, Huber said his district may reduce professional development and classroom resources such as technology.
鈥淲e will get through it,鈥� he said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 just the nature of pulling funding at this stage of our fiscal year 鈥� makes it very difficult as a leader to set our folks up for success.鈥�
