The Trump administration will release $1.3 billion in education funding for after-school programs — including more than $12.8 million for Colorado — after it lifted a hold Friday on a portion of frozen K-12 grants.
The U.S. Department of Education did not release all of the money the agency unexpectedly froze earlier this month. Nationwide, K-12 school districts are still without more than $5 billion that they expected to receive for the 2025-26 academic year.
“I’m grateful this funding is being returned to its rightful place, in our schools, classrooms, and other after-school programs. It should not have been frozen to begin with,” Gov. Jared Polis said in a statement. “… I continue to call on the Trump Administration to do the right thing and restore the remaining withheld funding back to our students.”
President Donald Trump’s administration has not said if it plans to release about $67 million that it is still withholding from Colorado’s K-12 school districts.
Districts expected to receive the money — which was approved by Congress for multilingual students, teacher training and other programs — earlier this month and had already budgeted the money for the upcoming school year.
“Without the grant funds, schools may face significant cuts to programs and services that families and educators rely on,” Colorado Education Commissioner Susana Córdova said in a statement. “These programs help ensure every child — no matter where they live — has the opportunity to learn, grow and succeed.”
The federal Education Department’s decision to release some of the money comes days after several states, including Colorado, sued the Trump administration for not releasing the funding.
In a letter sent Wednesday, Republican senators said the withheld money supported programs that had longstanding bipartisan support and were critical to local communities.
“We share your concern about taxpayer money going to fund radical left-wing programs,” the senators wrote to the Office of Management and Budget. “However, we do not believe that is happening with these funds.”
The money being released Friday pays for free programming before and after school and during the summer, providing child care so low-income parents can work, or giving options to families who live in rural areas with few other child care providers.
The programs go beyond child care, offering reading and math help to kids, along with enrichment in science and the arts.
The release of the after-school money was a “huge sigh of relief,” said Lake County Superintendent Kate Bartlett, who had been making plans to scale back the after-school program in her Leadville-based district.
“What this preserves is a safe and warm place for kids, and it also preserves what we view as a key plank in economic stability for the community that allows parents to keep working a full day,” she said.
The Associated Press and the New York Times contributed to this story.
