Trump administration freezes $396 million in Florida education funds

The U.S. Department of Education sent school officials in Florida and across the nation scrambling this week as it announced plans late Monday to freeze funds that Congress approved in March to help some of the nation’s neediest students.

Florida schools were set to receive about $396 million of the $6.8 billion in federal grants — which support programs such as migrant education, after-school programs and English language instruction — as part of a scheduled distribution on Tuesday.

Across the Tampa Bay region, Hillsborough County schools were in line to get more than $15 million, Pinellas County schools around $10 million and Pasco County schools about $8.5 million. The freeze did not include the two largest grants, Title IA for low-income students and the Individuals With Disabilities Act.

Instead, superintendents and state education department leaders held a conference call to discuss next steps as they prepare for a new academic year. Districts already had begun cutting positions and programs in expectation of a lean state budget, but it had appeared the federal money was secure for now.

“We’ve got to wait and see what decisions are made,” said Bill Montford, chief executive of the Florida Association of District School Superintendents, who helped organize the call. “Who knows? The federal government may make a different decision and it may not be necessary to let people go — at least this year."

In an early version of his fiscal 2026 education budget request, Trump signaled his intention to zero out these line items as part of an effort to streamline several federal education grants into a single block states would get with fewer strict guidelines.

For English language acquisition, for instance, the administration wrote: “Parents, states and localities, not the federal government, are best suited to determine what evidence-based literacy instructional materials will improve outcomes for all students, without the unnecessary administrative burden imposed by the federal government.”

Members of Trump’s team have argued that the president does not have to spend all the money allocated by Congress. Lawsuits are expected to challenge the impoundment effort they have promoted.

Some districts have started planning for the worst-case scenario.

“They’re very worried, especially if they have to dip into reserves,” Montford said, noting that some districts pay for hundreds of positions with the federal money. “This is a serious issue, but not one that superintendents can rush into.”

Pinellas County school district budget preparers didn’t include any money in their proposed fiscal 2026 spending plan under the federal grants for English language acquisition and academic enrichment programs. They also projected a decrease in the federal support for teacher professional training.

Superintendent Kevin Hendrick told school board members at a recent workshop that the district tries to cover nonrecurring costs with the money, just in case it is canceled. Often, though, it goes toward the salary and benefits of “very important positions” that the district relies on to conduct its business.

Pinellas’s Title II professional development grant plans include money for instructional aides, an assessment coordinator and a teacher recruitment specialist, among other jobs.

“If that allocation went away, all of those functions would go away,” Hendrick told the board, whose members had questioned the budget reductions put forth by staff.

The district then would have to balance out whether the federally funded positions and programs are important enough to shift money from items in other sections of the budget.

“And we don’t have a large budget to make up for it,” Hendrick said.

Caution and pessimism were common throughout Florida districts as officials weighed the possible implications. In some ways, the reaction mirrored the way districts readied themselves for a cut in state support for advanced and career education programs — they made plans to cut with contingencies to bring programs back if the money appeared.

Lawmakers backed off plans to cut that funding in the face of student and parent backlash.

Montford said incoming Education Secretary Anastasios Kamoutsas told superintendents that the state department will keep them in the loop as the federal funding situation plays out.

“I feel very good that our (Department of Education) clearly understands the challenges that our school districts have, and they’ll be working with our school districts to find a solution,” he said. “School districts are very good at making adjustments as necessary. But we’ve made so many adjustments it’s beginning to hurt more and more.”

Department spokesperson Sydney Booker said the state is monitoring the federal government’s progress reviewing the programs for which it paused funding.

“We are committed to working with each school district to minimize any impacts to Florida’s students,” Booker said, “and we are confident that the U.S. Department of Education will do what is in the best interests of students as they make final decisions regarding these funds.”

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