Attorney General Andrea Campbell
FILE PHOTO/STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE
BOSTON – The U.S. Department of Education plans to release “the vast majority” of $6.8 billion in education grants it withheld from states in June, though the “chaos and confusion” the freeze caused in Massachusetts can’t be undone, according to Attorney General Andrea Campbell.
Education Secretary Linda McMahon made the funding announcement Friday prior to a session about federal education priorities at the National Governors Association summer meeting in Colorado Springs, Colorado.
The funding, more than $107 million of which is expected to be funneled into Massachusetts schools, was initially expected to be released to districts on July 1. It is now expected to be released to states this week.
The federal agency told state officials June 30 that expected grants were under review “to make sure they align with President Trump’s priorities.” Gov. Maura Healey’s administration said that Massachusetts districts were counting on the funding for things like behavioral and mental health programs, summer and after-school programs, purchasing classroom materials and bullying prevention and intervention.
On July 7, Healey said that without the grant funds school districts would “be forced to lay off staff, delay or cancel programs and services, and disrupt learning.”
Campbell and 22 attorneys general on July 14 sued the Trump administration over the freeze, which her office called an “unconstitutional, unlawful and arbitrary decision.” The governors of Pennsylvania and Kentucky also joined the suit.
“Faced with a lawsuit brought by 23 attorneys general and two governors, the Department of Education has rightly decided to release billions in critical funding, $107 million of which is allocated to Massachusetts, which it had no legal right to withhold in the first place,” Campbell wrote in a statement Friday. “The chaos and confusion that this disruption has caused to our school districts, who were depending on this money to be released on July 1, cannot be undone.”
Massachusetts Teachers Association President Max Page told the News Service that while there’s relief across the state, districts will likely continue to feel “constantly unsettled” in the midst of continuing concerns over uncertainty about federal education policy and funding.
“Obviously we’re pleased and there’s a great sense of relief that money already allocated by Congress is already being released,” Page said. “It is appalling that this administration is playing political football with money that Congress allocated and that all of our districts depended on. It never should have happened at all.”
Massachusetts Association of School Superintendents Executive Director Mary Bourque called the announcement “a wonderful surprise” after three weeks of school districts feeling “upset and nervous” about how they would be able to begin the school year without the federal grant funding.
In a statement Friday, McMahon said, “We have to rethink how we’re doing education.”
“We are looking at all of the different aspects that can get students a productive educational environment, to get them into the workforce. From beginning to end, the goal is to get people into a productive job to support their family and to be part of the community and the citizenry of the country,” McMahon said.
At the NGA meetings in Colorado, Gov. Healey was appointed to the National Governors Association Executive Committee, which “guides the NGA’s operations and priorities,” according to Healey’s office. Healey did not attend the meetings.
The NGA said that just prior to a session in Colorado, McMahon announced that the Trump administration plans to release more than $5 billion in “previously appropriated education funds.”
“Clarity in funding distribution is essential for states to function,” NGA Chair and Colorado Gov. Jared Polis and NGA Vice Chair Oklahoma Governor Kevin Stitt said in a statement. “If money is appropriated and states and territories have made plans, it’s essential it’s distributed. We are thankful these bipartisan discussions with Secretary McMahon and other key officials during the NGA Summer Meeting led to the distribution of these education funds.”