The U.S. Department of Education announced Friday afternoon it would release more than $5 billion in federal K-12 education funding that it withheld from districts for nearly a month.
The $5 billion federal funding freeze included an estimated $26.3 million earmarked for Montana schools. Local districts cited concern and confusion about the freeze’s impacts as they worked to plan their budgets for the next school year.
“We have remained confident that these funds would be released in a timely manner,” said Susie Hedalen, the state’s superintendent of public instruction Friday.
“As districts approach key budget deadlines, the Office of Public Instruction will continue to work closely with schools to support planning and implementation. We appreciate the Department’s thorough review and release of these important resources.”
Funds from four programs will be released: Migrant Student Education, Supporting Effective Instruction State Grants, English Language Acquisition and Student Support and Academic Enrichment State Grants.
Those programs provide funding for teacher training, along with support for English language learners and migrant students.
The administration released part of the funds — $1.3 billion — earmarked for 21st Century Community Learning Centers last Friday.
The Department of Education announced the freeze on June 30, a day before they were originally supposed to be released. Trump’s administration planned to conduct a review prior to the funds’ release. The pause came despite the funds already receiving congressional approval.
The funds’ release comes following bipartisan pressure and legal action.
More than 20 states signed onto a lawsuit July 14 calling for the release of the funds. Ten Republican senators, led by Sen. Shelley Moore Capito from West Virginia, also signed a public letter July 16. The letter pushed for the administration to release the funding.
“These funds go to support programs that enjoy longstanding, bipartisan support like after-school and summer programs that provide learning and enrichment opportunities for school aged children which also enables their parents to work and contribute to local economies,” the letter stated.
It also emphasized some of the funds went toward adult learners, and suggested, “We should be making educational opportunities easier for these students, not harder.”
The funds’ release will begin next week, according to a press release from Montana’s Office of Public Instruction.