More than 20 states sue Trump administration over frozen after-school
and summer funding
[July 15, 2025]
By BIANCA VÁZQUEZ TONESS
EAST PROVIDENCE, R.I. (AP) — More than 20 states sued President Donald
Trump's administration on Monday over billions of dollars in frozen
education funding for after-school care, summer programs and more.
Some of the withheld money funds after-school and summer programming at
Boys & Girls Clubs, the YMCA or public schools, attended by 1.4 million
children and teenagers nationwide. Congress set aside money for the
programs to provide academic support, enrichment and child care to
mostly low-income families. But Trump’s administration recently froze
the funding, saying it wants to ensure programs align with the
Republican president’s priorities.
Led by California, the lawsuit alleges withholding the money violates
the Constitution and several federal laws. Many low-income families will
lose access to after-school programs if the money isn’t released soon,
according to the suit. In some states, school restarts in late July and
early August. The Department of Education did not immediately respond to
a request for comment.
After-school programs for the fall are in jeopardy
Darleen Reyes drove through a downpour last week to take her son to a
free Boys & Girls Club day camp in East Providence, Rhode Island. She
told camp administrators the flash flood warning would have kept her
away, but her son insisted on going.
Before kissing his mother goodbye, Aiden Cazares, 8, explained to a
reporter, “I wanted to see my friends and not just sit at home.” Then he
ran off to play.
In Rhode Island, the state stepped in with funding to keep the summer
programs running, according to the East Providence club, and the state
has joined the federal lawsuit. Other Boys & Girls Clubs supported by
the grants have found ways to keep open their summer programs, said Sara
Leutzinger, vice president for communications for the Boys & Girls Club
of America. But there isn’t the same hope for the after-school
programming for the fall.
Some of the 926 Boys & Girls Clubs nationwide that run summer and
after-school programs stand to close if the Trump administration doesn’t
release the money in the next three to five weeks, Leutzinger said. The
clubs receive funding from the federal 21st Century Community Learning
Centers program.
The YMCA and Save the Children say many of the centers they run are also
at risk of shuttering.
“Time is of the essence,” said Christy Gleason, executive director of
the political arm of Save the Children, which provides after-school
programming for 41 schools in rural areas in Washington state and across
the South, where school will begin as soon as August. “It’s not too late
to make a decision so the kids who really need this still have it.”
Rural and Republican-led areas especially affected
Schools in Republican-led areas are particularly affected by the freeze
in federal education grants. Ninety-one of the 100 school districts that
receive the most money per student from four frozen grant programs are
in Republican congressional districts, according to an analysis from New
America, a left-leaning think tank. New America’s analysis used funding
levels reported in 2022 in 46 states.
Republican officials have been among the educators criticizing the grant
freeze.
“I deeply believe in fiscal responsibility, which means evaluating the
use of funds and seeking out efficiencies, but also means being
responsible — releasing funds already approved by Congress and signed by
President Trump," said Georgia schools superintendent Richard Woods, an
elected Republican. “In Georgia, we’re getting ready to start the school
year, so I call on federal funds to be released so we can ensure the
success of our students.”
The Office of Management and Budget said some grants supported left-wing
causes, pointing to services for immigrants in the country illegally or
LGBTQ+ inclusion efforts.
But Congress' appropriation of the money was in a bill signed by Trump
himself, said Maurice “Mo” Green, North Carolina's Democratic
superintendent of public education. “To now suggest that, for some
reason, this money is somehow or another needing review because of
someone’s agenda, I think is deeply troubling,” Green told reporters
Monday after North Carolina joined the federal lawsuit.
In North Carolina, about 40 schools are already in session, so the state
is already trying to figure out ways to keep programs going, using state
and local money, along with some federal money that has not expired.
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Children play with building blocks before participating in math
activities during the East Providence Boys and Girls Club Summer
Camp at Emma G. Whiteknact Elementary School on Thursday, July 10,
2025, in Providence R.I. (AP Photo/Sophie Park)
The freeze affects programs including mental health services,
science and math education, and support for students learning
English, North Carolina Attorney General Jeff Jackson said, with the
most severe effects in smaller, rural school districts. The freeze
could also lead to approximately 1,000 teachers and staff being laid
off, Jackson said.
Summer clubs provide instruction for children
At the East Providence summer camp, Aiden, a rising third grader,
played tag, built structures with magnetic tiles, played a
fast-paced game with the other kids to review addition and
subtraction, learned about pollination, watched a nature video and
ate club-provided chicken nuggets.
Veteran teachers from his school corrected him when he spoke without
raising his hand and offered common-sense advice when a boy in his
group said something inappropriate.
“When someone says something inappropriate, you don’t repeat it,”
teacher Kayla Creighton told the boys between answering their
questions about horseflies and honeybees.
Indeed, it’s hard to find a more middle-of-the road organization in
this country than the Boys & Girls Club.
Just last month, a Republican and a Democrat sponsored a resolution
in the U.S. House celebrating the 165-year-old organization as a
“beacon of hope and opportunity.” The Defense Department awarded the
club $3 million in 1991 to support children left behind when their
parents deployed for the Persian Gulf. And ever since, the Boys &
Girls Club has created clubs on military installations to support
the children of service members. Military families can sign up their
kids for free.
“I suspect they will realize that most of those grants are fine and
will release them,” said Mike Petrilli, president of the Thomas B.
Fordham Institute, a conservative education policy think tank,
speaking of the Trump administration's review of the 21st Century
Community Learning Center grants.
But not everyone is so sure.
Families see few affordable child care alternatives
Aiden’s mother has started looking into afternoon child care for
September when kids return to school in Rhode Island.
“It costs $220 a week,” Reyes said, her eyes expanding. “I can’t
afford that.”
The single mother and state worker said she’ll probably ask her
14-year-old son to stay home and watch Aiden. That will mean he
would have to forgo getting a job when he turns 15 in the fall and
couldn’t play basketball and football.
“I don’t have any other option,” she said.
At home, Aiden would likely stay inside on a screen. That would be
heartbreaking since he’s thrived getting tutoring and “learning
about healthy boundaries” from the Boys & Girls Club program, Reyes
said.
Fernande Berard learned about the funding freeze and possible
closure from a reporter after dropping off her three young boys for
summer camp. “I would be really devastated if this goes away,” said
the nurse. “I honestly don’t know what I would do.”
Her husband drives an Uber much of the day, and picking up the kids
early would eat into his earnings. It’s money they need to pay the
mortgage and everything else.
If her boss approves, she’d likely have to pick up her children from
school and take them to the rehabilitation center where she oversees
a team of nurses. The children would have to stay until her work day
ends.
“It’s hard to imagine,” she said.
___
AP Education Writer Collin Binkley in Washington and Makiya Seminera
in Raleigh, North Carolina contributed reporting.
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