Representative Lois Frankel (FL-22) joined 144 of her Congressional colleagues in sending a letter to Secretary of Education Linda McMahon and Office of Management and Budget Director Russ Vought, demanding the immediate release of nearly $7 billion in K-12 and adult education funding that the Trump Administration is illegally withholding from states and local school districts across the country. The lawmakers also requested answers regarding the Administration’s decision to withhold the funds and its failure to communicate with impacted communities.

In Palm Beach County, $32 million in critical funding is at stake—including support for academic enrichment, adult education and literacy, afterschool and summer programs, and more. The Boys & Girls Clubs of Palm Beach County is also awaiting $9 million in funding essential to its operations. Trump’s freeze threatens services for tens of thousands of children and jeopardizes the jobs of over 500 local educators and afterschool program staff in our area.

By law, these funds were required to be distributed by July 1. With the school year fast approaching, the Administration’s illegal delay is preventing school districts from planning and implementing vital programs—leaving vulnerable students at risk of falling behind academically and without safe, structured environments after school.

In their letter, the lawmakers requested responses to the following questions:

1. When will the Administration complete its review and release the funding Congress allocated for the upcoming school year?
2. Has the Administration provided any support or guidance to state and local education agencies during this period of uncertainty?
3. If a review of these funds was planned, why didn’t it begin earlier in the year? Was the delay or failure to release the funds related to staffing shortages at the Department of Education caused by the Administration’s own reductions in force?

For full text of the letter, click here.