Colorado education leaders on Wednesday demanded that the Trump administration immediately release roughly $70 million in withheld K-12 funds, saying that without the money, some school classrooms could be without teachers and districts will need to slash programs and services for students.
Their calls — which were echoed by Gov. Jared Polis and other Democratic leaders — came after the U.S. Department of Education withheld that money Tuesday, along with billions in K-12 funding nationwide, pending a review.
The federal government has not explained why the money is being held up, or if it’s coming at all, beyond saying that the administration wants to make sure the grants align with President Donald Trump’s priorities.
“This action is not just a logistical crisis — it is a moral and constitutional breach,” Denver Public Schools Superintendent Alex Marrero and Board of Education President Carrie Olson wrote in a joint statement Wednesday.
“The decision to delay the distribution of congressionally appropriated education funds is a dangerous overreach of executive authority and a direct affront to public education, especially for communities that rely most heavily on these supports,” Marrero and Olson said.
DPS, the state’s largest school district, faces a $10 million to $15 million shortfall in its billion-dollar budget if the federal government doesn’t release the K-12 money it has withheld.
The funding was required, by law, to go to states Tuesday to be used for multilingual students, teacher training and afterschool programs.
“This funding for our schools is already obligated, and it’s absurd that the federal government withheld it,” Polis said in a statement. “…The funding freeze is a direct attack on children, families and Colorado educators and would take away critical resources from our schools.”
Colorado advocates and DPS leaders said in statements Wednesday that the money being withheld is funding that serves the state’s most vulnerable students, including children from migrant families and those learning English, as well as pupils from rural and low-income communities.
The delay or end of the money threatens bilingual education programs, mental health support, special education services and after-school programs for Latino, Black and multilingual learners, Marrero and Olson said.
“The absence of these resources, combined with the uncertainty about their future availability, places an enormous burden on Colorado school districts that have already planned their budgets, staffing and programs for the coming school year,” leaders of the Colorado Education Association, Colorado Association of School Executives, Colorado Association of School Boards and the Colorado Rural Schools Alliance said in a joint statement.
“This delay will almost certainly force school leaders to make difficult choices, including scaling back or eliminating essential services that students and families count on,” they added.
The decision by the Trump administration to withhold the money comes at a difficult time for Colorado’s K-12 districts, which are already facing budget constraints at the state level and have said that the end of federal funding would lead to bigger cuts — even layoffs — for schools.
The Trump administration has threatened to pull funding from K-12 districts for what it calls illegal diversity, equity and inclusion practices. The president’s 2026 budget proposal also called for Congress to eliminate the programs that are now under review.
“Withholding these critical dollars just days before the new school year begins will result in widespread disruption: classrooms without teachers, students without essential support services, and schools facing impossible budget shortfalls,” Marrero and Olson said in their statement.
“Denver Public Schools stands with our colleagues across the country and demands the immediate release of these funds,” they added. “We will not sit idly by as our communities are left vulnerable and our children are forced to bear the cost of political gamesmanship.”
Get more Colorado news by signing up for our Mile High Roundup email newsletter.
