Federal money is on its way to Texas schools. But district leaders are cautious
A little over a month after the beginning of a federal education funding freeze that threw school budgets nationwide into turmoil, Texas education officials say they have access to the money that was put on hold.
A spokesperson for the Texas Education Agency confirmed Wednesday that the agency had received the federal grant funding that was held up during the freeze. The agency will re-send grant award notifications to school districts across the state over the next few weeks.
But school officials in Fort Worth and across Texas say the uncertainty created by the funding freeze means they no longer feel they can rely on federal grant money to fund services for high-need students in their districts.
Trump administration releases frozen education funds
Trump administration officials announced in June that they planned to pause funding for several education grants while they reviewed those programs. In all, more than $6 billion in education funding was put on hold, including $667 million that was designated for Texas.
The funding that was paused was designated for four grant programs:
- Title I, Part C – Migrant Education
- Title II, Part A – Supporting Effective Instruction
- Title III, Part A – English Language Acquisition
- Title IV, Part A – Student Support and Academic Enrichment
Administration officials announced July 25 that they planned to release the funding that was frozen. The announcement came after a group of Republican senators called on President Donald Trump to end the freeze. Trump administration officials initially paused funding for a fifth program, Nita M. Lowey 21st Century Community Learning Centers, also known as Title IV, Part B. But the U.S. Department of Education released that money earlier last month.
But school officials aren’t celebrating the release of the grant funding just yet. The Trump administration’s proposed budget for the 2026 fiscal year eliminates funding for a number of education-related programs, including those that were affected by the funding freeze this year. If the final budget package that eventually reaches President Trump’s desk doesn’t include funding for those programs, the release of this year’s grant money could amount to a temporary reprieve rather than a permanent win for school districts.
Fort Worth ISD won’t reopen frozen positions
About $10 million in funding designated to go to Fort Worth ISD was tied up in the funding freeze. During a virtual meeting on July 29 organized by the education advocacy group EdTrust Texas, district Superintendent Karen Molinar said the timing of the freeze made it especially difficult to deal with. The district begins its budgeting process in October, she said, so district leaders had spent months making plans based on the amount of funding they expected to get from local, state and federal sources.
When the federal money was pulled back, just weeks before the beginning of the school year on Aug. 12, district leaders had to scramble, Molinar said. Fort Worth ISD cut contracts with external vendors and paused its work with four community partner groups that provide services like college access help and mental health counseling for students.
Although Fort Worth ISD expects to receive its allotment of grant money soon, Molinar said the district won’t immediately reopen the positions it froze during the federal funding pause. If the district can’t count on that money being available in the future, leaders need to take a closer look at their budget and figure out how to be more efficient, she said.
That situation isn’t ideal, Molinar said, especially since most of that funding goes toward services for bilingual and other high-need student groups. But school officials can’t in good conscience keep hiring staffers with federal money, knowing that they may have to cut them if that funding doesn’t come through, she said.
