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Trump administration restores federal funding. NM schools are still waiting to see it.
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The Trump administration $7 billion in federal funding that was withheld from K-12 public schools. But the state鈥檚 Public Education Department, which is tasked with distributing the money to schools and programs, has not seen those funds restored yet, according to its Chief Financial Officer, Marian Rael.
鈥淎ccording to the announcement from USDOE (U.S. Department of Education), the awards would start coming in this week. If they do that in alphabetical order, it may be a few days before we see anything,鈥� PED spokesperson Janelle Garc铆a wrote in a statement.
The funding cuts would鈥檝e impacted English language learner programs, immigrant student support systems and after-school programs. PED estimated that the funding freeze would have impacted $40 million it receives in federal funds.
Districts across the country were given a day鈥檚 notice on June 30 that expected funding wouldn鈥檛 be released as scheduled. On July 14, more than 20 Democratic-led states, including New Mexico, filed a lawsuit against the Trump administration.
鈥淥ur office is closely reviewing this announcement and its impact on New Mexico, and we鈥檙e encouraged that this critical education funding is being restored,鈥� Lauren Rodriguez, chief of staff for New Mexico Attorney General Ra煤l Torrez, said in a statement.
While still not resolved, Rodriguez called the development 鈥渰span}a step in the right direction for students, educators, and families across our state.鈥�
According to the New York Times, the administration on July 18 , mainly going toward after-school programs. Then, on Friday, it was announced the remaining frozen funds would be released. The U.S. Office of Management and Budget and the Education Department did not respond to a request for comment from the Journal.
鈥淲e鈥檙e thrilled by the news that the federal government has decided to release Title II, Title III and Title IV funding that we use to provide services to English language learners and newcomer students and to support continuous learning and growth among our educators, with the ultimate goal of improving student outcomes,鈥� Martin Salazar, spokesperson for Albuquerque Public Schools, said in a statement.
