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Paraprofessionals and school-related personnel are often overlooked because of their support roles. They are the last ones hired and often the first ones fired when budgets get tight. This certainly seems true right now as the Trump administration withholds nearly $7 billion in education funds, effective July 1, which has hamstrung summer school programs, hindered English language support, halted professional development this summer, and left before- and after-school programs in limbo for the coming school year.
Paraprofessionals are key employees in all these programs. For example, in Alabama, some programs have stopped student registration and hiring as the federal government withholds $68 million in funds. Richard Franklin, president of the AFT’s Birmingham chapter, called the sudden stop overtly partisan and warned against playing “political games” with children’s lives.
Connecticut public schools, which stand to lose about $47 million, will be thrown into crisis, warned Sen. Chris Murphy (D-Conn.). Dozens of jobs were cut in Bridgeport. New Haven schools are expecting to lay off 129 employees, while Hartford allocated an extra $3 million to support after-school programs.
Farther west in Missouri, public schools in St. Louis are supposed to receive more than $17 million in federal funds for the 2025-26 school year, which is about 13 percent of the school system’s operating budget. And that’s not even counting the Special School District of St. Louis County, which serves students with disabilities. That district receives about $72 million in federal funding each year, with $41 million allocated under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act.
And in California, Trump’s illegal action withholds almost $811 million from the state’s public schools―$110 million from the Los Angeles Unified School District alone.
Sen. Patty Murray (D-Wash.) pointed out that President Donald Trump himself approved all this education funding in March. Since the abrupt stop, officials in many states have accused Trump of punishing children over matters of ideology. Despite the Trump administration’s unfounded hunch that these programs “subsidize a radical leftwing agenda,” working families have relied on them for generations.
AFT President Randi Weingarten called withholding funds “lawless,” noting that it usurps the power of Congress. She also noted that educators have an obligation “to teach every child in America. We don’t look and say, ‘Do you have a green card or do you not?’ And ... they’re disproportionately hurting the schools in the states that voted for them.”
The affected programs support migrant education (Title I-C), effective instruction and professional development (Title II), English language acquisition (Title III-A), student support and academic enrichment (Title IV-A) and the 21st Century Community Learning Centers (Title IV-B).
Child advocates nationwide are decrying the action as irresponsible because it leaves working families in the lurch for child care and leaves children unsupervised.
Part of a bigger picture
The halt in federal money for this fiscal year is part of a larger, worrisome shortfall in local public school budgets. Chicago schools, for instance, are facing an unrelated $734 million budget deficit, up from $529 million and threatening layoffs for school crossing guards and special education classroom assistants. Chicago Teachers Union President Stacy Davis Gates said the only sustainable funding solution is to tax the rich.
In New York City, a bill that would provide every union para with a recurring $10,000 stipend is stalled in the city council. “There’s been no response at all,” said Priscilla Castro, chair of the United Federation of Teachers’ paraprofessionals chapter. “Paraprofessionals are the backbone of our schools, and without them, the schools cannot run. It’s heartbreaking that it’s still being ignored.”
Back in Washington, D.C., the Education Department calls Trump’s $7 billion withholding of funds a normal budget review (it is not) and has declined to say how long the review will take.
[Annette Licitra from media reports]