Kansas to receive frozen federal education funds

TOPEKA (KSNT) – Federal education officials are releasing more than $5 billion in previously withheld education funds across the nation.

The U.S. Department of Education (ED) is releasing funds tied to grants that were approved by Congress earlier this year. The grants provide funding for services for professional development for teachers, services for English learners, academic enrichment and more.

The ED froze around $45 million in federal education funds for Kansas earlier this year. The Kansas Department of Education (KSDE) told 27 News it is expecting to get the funding ahead of the 2025-2026 school year.

The KSDE reports that previously withheld Title funds will now be released. These funds are tied to the following programs:

• Title I, Part C: Migrant Education.
  • Title I-C for migrant education provides support to students from families whose jobs in industries like fisheries and food processing necessitate that they live in different states during different seasons.
• Title II, Part A: Teacher and School Leader Supports.
  • Title II-A funds, also known as Supporting Effective State Instruction grants, pay for districts to offer professional development that helps educators and administrators learn new curriculum approaches, instructional practices, and technology tools.
• Title III, Part A: English Learners.
  • Title III-A funding covers a wide range of services for English learners, whose number represent Kansas’ fastest-growing population of public school students. Under civil rights law, school districts must ensure students who are still learning English have equal access to education, as their peers do.
• Title IV, Part A: Student Support and Academic Enrichment.
  • Title IV, Part A improves students’ academic achievement by increasing the capacity of state educational agencies (SEAs), local educational agencies (LEAs), schools, and local communities to 1) provide all students with access to a well-rounded education; 2) improve school conditions for student learning; and 3) improve the use of technology to improve academic achievement and digital literacy of all students.

The KSDE also said that it will receive funds for Title IV, Part B: 21st Century Before and After-School Programs. Boys & Girls Clubs in Kansas and the KSDE previously told 27 News these funds would cause many after-school programs to be reduced or ended ahead of the upcoming school year.

Kansas received around $42.9 million in funds for the above Title programs during the 2024-2025 school year. The KSDE reports it will not know what the final allocations for the 2025-2026 school year will be until sometime next week.

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