The Trump administration has taken aim at the educational landscape of the U.S. nationwide, but a recent reversal of $158 million in K-12 education-related funds in New Jersey has eased financial gaps that would have put a strain on educators and school staff members alike.
New Jersey’s public schools were at risk of losing $140 million in federal funding for the upcoming school year, which is set to begin in September. That money is now being released to school districts after a legal challenge from a coalition of 23 state attorneys general, including New Jersey Attorney General Matthew Platkin, and two additional states, Kentucky and Pennsylvania.
The move is heralded by state officials and those in the education sector as a win, after a patchwork of federal and state funding decisions in recent months. Funding certainty has left the futures of students in limbo, though some initial cuts–especially those affecting education and community colleges–have been reversed or partially restored.
“From the beginning, we have made clear that the President’s attempt to freeze $158 million in critical education funding for New Jersey was illegal and deeply damaging to students, families, teachers, and schools,” stated New Jersey Attorney General Matt Platkin at a presser. “There is simply no excuse for the Trump administration’s reckless attempt to claw funding away from afterschool care and summer programs.”
Legal Action Restores Critical Education Funds
On June 30, the Trump administration unexpectedly froze funding for six long-term federal educational programs. The funding withheld nationwide was more than $6 billion in already approved education grant dollars to states under the Office of Management and Budget.
The freeze put a dent in funding for a range of initiatives, including programs for students with special needs, English language learners, summer and afterschool care programs, teacher training, adult education and community learning centers–initiatives that act as an educational safety net, educators said.
New Jersey stood to lose approximately $142.9 million or 12.7% of its K-12 funding if the Trump administration had cancelled these funds, according to a report released by Learning Policy Institute, a non-partisan think tank.
New Jersey’s public schools rely heavily on state and local property taxes, with only a small share of funding coming from the federal government. During the 2020-21 school year, just 5.3% of the state’s education revenue was federally funded, according to the National Center for Education Statistics.
Impact on Major School Districts and Programs
Some of the largest school districts, including Bridgewater-Raritan Regional, Livingston Public Schools, Union City School District, Newark Public School District, and Jersey City Public Schools, were at risk if these funds were cancelled under the direction of the Trump administration.
School districts are already planning for the 2025-26 school year, and the funding freeze threatens to disrupt a range of long-established K-12 and wraparound programs. Among them were grants supporting after-school care, teacher professional development, academic tutoring, and services for English language learners.
“We are talking millions of dollars for the Jersey City public schools that would have just been taken from us,” said Jersey City Superintendent Dr. Norma Fernandez in an interview with New Jersey Urban News. “This is excellent news!”
She added that prior to the announcement, school districts were at an impasse when it came to the federal government withholding funds meant to support multi-purpose initiatives, including the hiring of school counselors and mental health professionals.
“We were looking at a significant shortfall in our personnel being cut if these funds did not get released,” added the superintendent. The estimated financial deficit would have been $15 million in costs.
Federal programs such as Title I funding, which is allocated towards high-poverty districts, alleviate challenges for students who may need mental health support, tutoring programs, and summer credit recovery programs, before and after school programs, Fernandez said.
Challenges Facing Early Childhood and Adult Education
Title I funds also extend itself to preschool programs under the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA), a legal pathway nationwide to ensure access to quality education for children, which educators indicated to New Jersey Urban News would have “financially shocked” families already cost-burdened.
Early childhood programs were already facing high demand, with more than 650,000 children lacking placement, according to a report by the Afterschool Alliance, a nonprofit organization in Westfield, New Jersey.
“If you look at the specific elements that were addressed by this funding, it has the greatest impact on families of lower means,” said Mike Gottesman, a retired attorney and founder of the New Jersey Public Education Coalition, a grassroots organization working in the public education sphere. “Why cut before and after school programs that are needed to allow those parents to continue working? It is clearly intended to make it even more difficult for them to survive.”
Gottesman believes that the initial decision to withhold funding was part of a broader measure to weaken federal support for K-12 public schools.
“It has been an ‘us versus them’ which has been the strategy in Trump administration one and two,” he added, referring to the dismantling of the U.S. Education Department, with more than 1,300 workers laid off this year.
Title III funding under ESSA supports New Jersey’s English learners and immigrant students with language instruction, translation services, and bilingual programming. Districts must use these funds to supplement, not replace, required programs.
The grant program is focused on language instruction for English learners and immigrant students, designed to improve English proficiency and academic achievement. In New Jersey, districts receiving Title III funds must supplement state-required bilingual or ESL programs–these funds cannot replace local funding for federally mandated services.
“Our partners who receive funding for adult education need these funds to continue with free GED programs, adult basic education, and ESL,” said Crystal Orr, the founder and president of Urban League of Union County, in an email written out to New Jersey Urban News.
“This is essential to helping more people be equipped for the workforce and have the opportunity to make a living wage,” she added. The nonprofit organization was established in 1944, according to their site, and offers a lifeline of social services in education, housing and health, among other essential services.
Remaining Funding Gaps and Ongoing Concerns
However, other reductions, including those tied to the federal Digital Equity Act, which would have funded programs such as skills training, telehealth access, and workforce education in the state, remain unresolved, with a total cancellation of $2.75 billion in federal funding.
The program has been referred to in the past by the Trump administration in New Jersey as being “racist” and “unconstitutional.” Organizations that depend on the allocation of these state funds explained why access to these funds is vital to strengthening the labor and educational market.
In addition to these ongoing challenges, many in the education sector warn that vulnerable student populations, such as English learners and immigrant families, remain at risk. The Trump administration’s initial reductions to ESL and second language education programs have sparked particular concern among advocates, who say that these services are vital for supporting students’ language development.
“It is not surprising to see an administration that wants to take away the rights of education from immigrant children,” said Mark Weber, a lecturer on education policy at Rutgers Graduate School of Education and special analyst at the New Jersey Policy Perspective. “These children need to learn English in order to be productive citizens and participate fully in the workforce. So why would we cut something like that is beyond me.”
Editor’s note: This story was corrected to update the name of the Urban League of Union County.