The Trump administration is slated to release a fraction of the education funds it froze earlier this summer, a move that will provide money to Washington for after-school and summer programs.
The administration will release about $21.3 million to the state on Monday, according to a spokesperson for the Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction.
Several weeks ago, the administration abruptly withheld about $6.8 billion in education funding for states that had already been approved.
That included an estimated $137 million for K-12 students in Washington for the coming year. The amount represents 15.6% of Washington’s K-12 federal funding.
In an announcement Friday, the office of U.S. Sen. Patty Murray, D-Wash., said the administration was expected to release $1.33 billion that had been frozen nationwide through the Nita M. Lowey 21st Century Community Learning Centers Program.
Murray said President Donald Trump should unfreeze the remaining funds.
“Every penny of this funding must flow immediately,” she said in a statement. “Whether or not parents know the afterschool program they depend on will exist should not depend on whether Republicans will push back against Trump’s lawlessness — he should simply get the funding out, just as the law requires him to do.”
The U.S. Department of Education told states it wanted to review the funding for the grant programs “given the change in administrations.”
Washington school districts received about $6.5 million under the 21st Century Community Learning Centers program in the 2024-25 school year. Altogether, Washington received about $20.86 million through the program in the most recent school year, not only through school districts but also through other entities, including community organizations, tribal compact schools and charter schools, according to OSPI data.
Last year, the Orondo School District in Douglas County received $362,418 through the program, according to OSPI data.
Superintendent Stephanie Andler said in an interview Thursday — before Friday’s reversal — that the money helps the district run its after-school and summer programs.
“We’re very rural, and a lot of our families work in agriculture, where you work very long days. So it’s really great for us to have an after-school program because it provides care for the kiddos — really fun, hands-on activities that are STEAM-related,” Andler said.
The district, roughly a half-hour drive north of Wenatchee, is small: about 108 full-time students were enrolled last year, according to state data.
“We don’t always have the extra funding to be able to run something like that without a special grant that would help us run it,” Andler said.
The announcement came after Republican senators urged Trump to release the funding.
In a letter sent Wednesday, 10 Republican senators said the withheld money supported programs that had long-standing bipartisan support and were critical to local communities.
The Office of Management and Budget has said some grants supported left-wing causes, pointing to services for immigrants in the country illegally or LGBTQ+ inclusion efforts.
“We share your concern about taxpayer money going to fund radical left-wing programs,” the Republican senators wrote. “However, we do not believe that is happening with these funds.”
Washington joined other states Monday in a lawsuit to release the funds.
On Friday, Washington state school Superintendent Chris Reykdal called the partial release of funds “a start.”
“These funds support important partners that deliver after-school programs,” he said in a statement. “The department needs to release the additional withheld funds that are crucial to supporting students in school.”
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
