Federal Funding - Colorado Public Education Watch

2026

April 2026

March 2026

Feb. 2026

Federal cuts strip funding that supports Native American students | Tribal Radio
- “Today, the U.S. Department of Education (the Department) announced that it will end discretionary funding to several Minority-Serving Institutions (MSI) grant programs that discriminate by conferring government benefits exclusively to institutions that meet racial or ethnic quotas.”
- This funding cut removes $350 million in 2025 alone from institutions serving primarily Black, Asian American, Pacific Islander, Hispanic, and Native American populations.
Trump administration must keep funding Colorado’s poorest families, judge rules in temporary reprieve | Durango Herald
In Trump’s First Year, at Least $12 Billion in School Funding Disruptions | Ed Week
Schools Brace for Mid-Year Cuts as ‘Big, Beautiful Bill’ Changes Begin | Ed Week
Iowa first state awarded ESEA waiver under Trump administration | K-12 Dive
Lawsuits challenge $60M cancellation of community schools grants | K-12 Dive
School finance reforms made funding more equal by income, but not by race | Brookings
School Funding: The 3 Big Questions to Watch in 2026 | Ed Week

2025

Dec. 2025

Sept. 2025

NEPC Talks Education: An Interview With Kevin Welner and Robert Kim About Recent Changes to K-12 Federal Education Policy | NEPC
Trump Admin. Cancels Dozens More Grants, Hitting Civics, Arts, and Higher Ed. | Ed Week
- That’s the case for Alma Olivas, coordinator of the GEAR UP program for the Greeley-Evans Weld County school district in Colorado. Olivas’s district is in the middle of a seven-year federal grant that pays her salary and supports a program that helps 2,400 middle and high school students stay on track for pursuing higher education.Some of Olivas’s fellow GEAR UP grantees have already heard that their awards for the upcoming fiscal year have been canceled. As of Sept. 16, however, the department hasn’t told Olivas either way what to expect on Oct. 1.“It’s just been a roller coaster,” Olivas said. “At this point, my priority is working with our students. We’re trying to make it the best for them. If funding is eliminated, we’ll figure it out once they tell us.”

June 2025

April 2025

With federal funding on the line, school leaders weigh Trump DEI order | NPR
- The Education Department has not responded to multiple requests for details on what constitutes a violation and its plans to enforce this interpretation of civil rights law. But in a statement released with the April 3 directive, Craig Trainor, the U.S. Education Department’s acting assistant secretary for civil rights, said, “Unfortunately, we have seen too many schools flout or outright violate these [civil rights] obligations, including by using DEI programs to discriminate against one group of Americans to favor another based on identity characteristics.”
Trump education cuts will affect Colorado, lawmakers are warned | Chalkbeat
- Former U.S. Department of Education employees and state education leaders warned Wednesday that cuts to the federal agency will likely cause disruptions to Colorado’s education system and student learning. The cuts already are impacting students with disabilities.
DOGE abruptly cut a program for teens with disabilities. This student is ‘devastated’ | NPR
- One of these programs, cancelled on Feb. 10, was called Charting My Path for Future Success. It was a research-based effort to help students with disabilities make the sometimes difficult transition from high school into college or the world of work and self-sufficiency.

March 2025

What the Latest Federal Funding Law Means for Schools | Education Week
- The federal budget resolution approved by Congress Friday to avert a government shutdown leaves the door open for continued disruption to federal funding for education, even as core funding streams remain largely untouched.

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