Washington, D.C. – Today, Congresswoman Marilyn Strickland sent a letter, alongside her colleagues, to former WWE executive and egregiously unqualified U.S. Department of Education Secretary Linda McMahon, and Director of the Office of Management and Budget Director, Russell Vought, questioning the delayed funds for Washington state public schools.
“As provided for by the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA), these funds are necessary for maintaining after school programs, professional development for teachers, support for families and students, and English language learning programs. The Administration’s decision to freeze these dollars for an unknown amount of time will impact more than 10% of all K-12 funding. Continued delays will directly endanger our students, administrators, teachers, and their families,” write the lawmakers.
The Department of Education has failed to release a set of FY25 formula funding to school districts across Washington state. A surprise funding pause is disruptive for students, school administrators, teachers, families, and more.
“It is extremely disappointing that school districts may be forced to make challenging staffing and programmatic decisions because of these delays…Our students and educators will suffer because of these consequential decisions,” concluded the lawmakers.
School districts count on receiving updates on this funding each year, by July 1. The Department of Education is already delayed in providing any updates to schools and their districts – the current lack of information is unacceptable.
The Department of Education must unfreeze these critical funds, to truly support students and their communities as they prepare to start their school year.
Read the full letter here, or below:
July 10, 2025
Honorable Linda McMahon Honorable Russell Vought
Secretary Director
U.S. Department of Education Office of Management and Budget
400 Maryland Ave SW Executive Office of the President
Washington, DC 20202 725 17th St. NW
Washington, DC 20503
Dear Secretary McMahon and Director Vought,
We write to you on behalf of school districts across Washington state with deep concern about the delayed release of FY25 Title I Part C, Title II Part A, Title III, and Title IV Part B allocations, and respectfully request that you release these funds to our state by August 1, 2025.
As provided for by the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA), these funds are necessary for maintaining after school programs, professional development for teachers, support for families and students, and English language learning programs. The Administration’s decision to freeze these dollars for an unknown amount of time will impact more than 10% of all K-12 funding. Continued delays will directly endanger our students, administrators, teachers, and their families.
This pause is disruptive for public schools in our state and their ability to finalize budgets and make staffing and programmatic decisions for the upcoming school year. Typically, school districts can count on receiving information about these formula grants by July 1. This deadline has now passed, and school administrators are still waiting. School districts have received insufficient communication from your Department about when they can expect more information about these critical funds to be released.
In March of 2025, Congress passed a Continuing Resolution that appropriated $45 billion to support K-12 education. It is the Department of Education’s obligation to provide state educational agencies with formula program information by July 1 so that school districts can determine their annual budgets. Continued withholding of Congressionally appropriated funds by the President is illegal and puts school administrators in an impossible situation.
Without these funds, teachers will lose access to the resources they need to encourage and empower student success in their classrooms. On March 1, 2025, President Trump issued an Executive Order to declare English as the national language of the United States. Now, non-English speaking students will be at a greater disadvantage due to the lack of available aid. Additionally, the drawn-out delay punishes hard working families who rely on after-school programs and community engagement activities that keep their children safe outside of regular school hours. If after-school programming is reduced, parents may be forced to choose between going to work or taking a pay cut.
It is extremely disappointing that school districts may be forced to make challenging staffing and programmatic decisions because of these delays. Washington state is expected to lose out on $136,876,849 in federal support if this funding is not released urgently. We urge you to answer the following questions:
1) When can school districts expect to receive these funds?
2) Given that half of the Department of Education’s workforce has been let go, how will resources and attention be dedicated to addressing the growing needs of our students and families?
3) Does the Department of Education guarantee to provide efficient and accurate updates to school districts about their decisions regarding the future release of these federal dollars?
Our students and educators will suffer because of these consequential decisions. We urge you to work quickly to unfreeze this funding no later than August 1, 2025, so that school administrators can be prepared to best support our nation’s students for the upcoming school year.
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