Utah school districts are scrambling to patch fall budgets this week after the Trump administration suddenly froze more than $35 million in federal K-12 funding for the state — part of a nationwide hold on $6.8 billion in education dollars.
On Monday, the Utah State Board of Education received an email from the U.S. Department of Education, saying that “the Department is reviewing” FY25 education funding for certain grant programs to ensure that “taxpayer resources are spent in accordance with the President’s priorities.” Money from the grant programs was scheduled, before the Trump administration’s freeze, to be released Tuesday.
“Decisions have not yet been made concerning submissions and awards for this upcoming academic year,” the message stated.
The grants under review were already approved by Congress and signed by Trump earlier this year as part of a continuing resolution that provides federal funding through the end of federal fiscal year 2025.
By law, states are meant to receive their federal education funds on July 1 each year.
“The delay in the FY 25 funding for these programs essentially means that as of July 1, 2025, the USBE, charters, and/or district may not have sufficient federal funds from prior year balances … to continue operations within these specific programs for this next school year,” Deputy Superintendent Scott Jones said in a statement.
The freeze has affected six federal grants, a spokesperson for the Utah State Board of Education said:
The U.S. Department of Education’s FY26 budget request proposes eliminating all of these grants.
USBE officials are still calculating how much funding for Adult Education is affected, which will push the total freeze above $35 million once finalized. That’s about 4% of the $800 million Utah typically receives in federal education funds, said Sharon Turner, spokesperson at the USBE.
Utah’s total public education budget last year was about $8 billion, with federal funding making up around 11% of that.
Federal grants typically cover a two-year period, Turner said, which means that continuing operations for “some” of the grant programs is “possible.”
“Currently, our USBE staff is working with every individual [school] to look at how many funds they have left over on these programs, and then to drag that money as far as they possibly can, until the funds come through,” Turner said.
If the funds don’t, then “we have a plan for that as well,” Turner said, but didn’t elaborate further.
Utah’s summer and afterschool programs already affected
Across Utah, 83 afterschool and summer academic programs receive funding through the 21st Century Community Learning Centers grant, said Ben Trentelman, executive director of the Utah Afterschool Network.
Together, those programs serve about 10,000 children, most of whom come from economically disadvantaged families.
Trentelman said that because Congress had already approved the federal education budget (which included funding for summer and afterschool programs through the 21st Century Community Learning Centers grant), state agencies believed they were going to get those dollars.
“Those are funds that school districts and afterschool programs had already been promised,” Trentelman said. “If those funds aren’t there, then our Department of Education is not able to reimburse afterschool and summer programs for costs that they incur to run their programs.”
He called the freeze “unconstitutional.”
“The President is doubling back on funds that he committed to these programs that support these kids,” Trentelman said.
The programs, which are typically administered through local school districts, may be forced to discontinue or serve fewer children, Trentelman said.
“It really depends now, at this point, on the risk that many of these organizations feel like they’re prepared to take in order to sustain their operations,” he said. “It’s very difficult, because there are no clear answers or guidance on what they can expect, or when they will get any answers from the Department of Education.”
Layoffs are also a possibility, Trentelman said, as the districts will have to consider whether they can afford staff to run afterschool programs once school starts in the fall.
“This is also the time when afterschool programs start preparing to hire for the school year, preparing to train new staff for the school year; they’re getting ready to gather supplies and really to gear up to serve thousands of kids throughout the state,” he said.
Utah now administers around $15 million to support afterschool programs, and 40% of that is federally funded, Trentelman said.
He argued that afterschool programs and summer programs are “essential services” that continued operating even through the COVID-19 pandemic.
“If these programs were deemed essential, then I don’t understand why they’re not still considered essential right now,” he said. “A lot of times, the parents that are utilizing these programs are working multiple jobs, and it’s not an option for them to be home during the afterschool hours when their kids are in need of their support.”
