NC Newsline – The U.S. Department of Education said Friday it would release some frozen federal grant funds for after-school programs, following lawsuits from 24 states and pressure from 10 Republican senators.
The freeze, announced by the Trump administration earlier this month, affects programs like 21st Century Community Learning Centers, a federal program that supports afterschool programs for low-income students in North Carolina.
State education advocates had warned that about 11,000 students and 125 programs across North Carolina were at risk. The freeze on the $35 million grant, part of a broader $165 million allotment in congressionally approved education funds for North Carolina, threatened to eliminate academic enrichment, nutritional support, and safe, supervised environments for children while their parents are at work.
“This outcome was the result of a collective effort from parents, program leaders, youth advocates, and community champions that came together to speak up for what matters. It has shown us how many people across North Carolina and across the country support these important programs, and how important it will be to maintain and expand this funding moving forward into FY 26,” said Elizabeth Anderson, director of the NC Center for Afterschool Programs — a project of the Public School Forum of North Carolina.
Anderson said the organization will wait until the funds are released on Monday to make a full statement.
“After a careful review of the circumstances, the Department has determined that it will release a portion of the impacted grant funds while the litigation proceeds,” the department said in a statement reported by the Associated Press.
The rest of the withheld grants, close to $5 billion, which funds adult literacy and English language instruction, continues to be withheld.
North Carolina Attorney General Jeff Jackson, along with 24 other state attorneys general, sued the U.S. Department of Education this week over the withholding of the funds. The money, which was due to be delivered by July 1, was suddenly paused on the evening of June 30 with little explanation.
“In communities all across this country, people are tremendously relieved that the Trump Administration will release the FY25 after-school and summer learning program funds it had withheld,” said Jodi Grant, executive director of the Afterschool Alliance in a released statement. “Working parents in particular are breathing an enormous sigh of relief.”
