The roughly $6 billion in education programming that was frozen by the Trump administration earlier this month is being released, according to a Department of Education spokesperson on Friday.
This includes all title program funding for English language acquisition, teacher development and adult education, among other programs, the spokesperson confirmed.
The US Department of Education building is seen in Washington, D.C., on Feb. 13, 2025.
Saul Loeb/AFP via Getty Images, FILE
ABC News has obtained a copy of one of the letters that the U.S. Department of Education sent to states, notifying them that the funds will be released starting the week of Monday July 28, 2025. So far, state education agencies in Nebraska, Mississippi, Rhode Island and Utah have confirmed to ABC News that they have received notifications from the U.S. Dept. of Education that the funds will be released. The letter says that states are prohibited from violating federal laws, Office of Management and Budget regulations and presidential executive orders in utilizing the funds.
On Thursday, in an interview with ABC News, Secretary of Education Linda McMahon suggested the roughly $6 billion in education programming that was paused and under review by the OMB could be released by the end of the year.
“We want to make sure that we have the right focus on what we’re trying to do with our students,” McMahon said.
Education Secretary Linda McMahon speaks during a Senate Appropriations hearing, Tuesday, June 3, 2025, on Capitol Hill in Washington.
Julia Demaree Nikhinson/AP
The congressionally authorized education funding was under review to determine if programs “grossly misused” government funds to promote a “radical leftwing agenda.”
Various advocacy groups have applauded the administration’s decision to release the funds and criticized the delay, with some expressing concerns over FY2026 funding.
Skye Perryman, president and CEO of Democracy Forward, which is representing plaintiffs in the federal lawsuit Anchorage School District et al. v. Department of Education et al., which challenged the freezing of the funds, said, in part, that the release is a “major victory for public education and the communities it serves.”
“We will continue to monitor the situation and work in court to ensure the administration fully complies with the law and that these resources reach the schools and students who need them most,” Perryman added.
National Parents Union President Keri Rodrigues celebrated this “hard-earned win” and thanked advocating for pushing for releasing the funds, but said that advocates “must also call out the members of Congress who allowed this chaos to unfold.”
Montserrat Garibay, the advocacy chair for the National Association for Bilingual Education (NABE), celebrated the release of the funds in a statement to ABC News, saying the group will “keep organizing for FY26 budget.” NABE uses Title III funding, which supports English learners, but Garibay said that funding for next year is still not guaranteed.
“The skinny budget for FY26 eliminates Title III funding,” Garibay said. “The funding for Title III means that our most precious assets and the future of our country will receive the services they need to thrive in our country and learn English. It means that educators will receive professional development to serve our students.”
Last week, several Republican senators sent a letter to OMB Director Russ Vought urging the Trump administration to reverse its decision to withhold the more than $6 billion in federal funds for education programs already appropriated by Congress. Additionally, a coalition of school districts and advocacy groups sued the Trump’s administration over the funding freeze.
Friday’s announcement comes a week after OMB unfroze more than $1 billion in after-school and summer learning funds that had been under review. A senior administration official said the states would have to adhere to new guardrails moving forward. Many programs told ABC News they received the after-school and summer learning funding earlier this week.
It’s unclear how soon states will receive the additional education funding that was released today, but the school year starts in the coming days for many districts nationwide.