Education Department says it will release billions in remaining withheld grant money for schools

By COLLIN BINKLEY, Associated Press

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Trump administration is releasing billions of dollars in grants to schools for adult literacy, English language instruction and other programs, the Education Department said Friday.

President Donald Trump’s administration had withheld $6 billion in funding on July 1 as part of a review to ensure spending aligned with the White House’s priorities.

The funding freeze had been challenged by several lawsuits as educators, Congress members from both parties and others called for the administration to release money schools rely on for a wide range of programs.

Last week, the department said it would release $1.3 billion of the money for after-school and summer programming. Without the money, school districts and nonprofits such as the YMCA and Boys and Girls Club of America had said they would have to close or scale back educational offerings this fall.

The release of that money came days after 10 Republican senators sent a letter imploring the administration to allow frozen education money to be sent to states.

The Education Department said Friday the Office of Management and Budget had completed its review of the programs and will begin sending the money to states next week.

U.S. Sen. Shelley Moore Capito, R-W.Va., was among the Congress members calling for the release of the grants. She said it is important to protect the programs.

“The programs are ones that enjoy longstanding, bipartisan support like after-school and summer programs that provide learning and enrichment opportunities for school aged children, which also enables their parents to work and contribute to local economies, and programs to support adult learners working to gain employment skills, earn workforce certifications, or transition into postsecondary education,” she said.

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