Trump threatens to hold back $811 million in federal education grants to CA

SAN FRANCISCO (KGO) -- With just hours' notice, California and other states found out they won't be receiving federal money for schools.

The Trump administration told the state it is holding back millions in funding that doesn't meet the President's priorities.

That means California could lose over $800 million - money that the state had already budgeted for this school year.

State Superintendent Tony Thurmond said it's illegal to impound the funds.

We spoke with his Chief of Staff David Schapira.

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"They cannot withhold funding from states, from the education systems from students just because they want us to comply with their political agenda - this was money that was appropriated by Congress and the President cannot unilaterally keep it from students," Schapira said.

Earlier this month, Education Secretary Linda McMahon told Bloomberg holding back funding was an option, pointing to the state letting transgender athletes participate in girls' and women's sports.

There are a few different pots of funding being withheld.

The money would have gone toward after-school programs - services for English learners, migrants and professional development.

"How critical it is that our students receive the funds that are meant to benefit them and how important it is that we not punish children for states not conforming to the President's political ideology," Schapira said.

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ABC7 News asked Schapira what happens next.

"At every turn that the Trump administration has tried this, we have challenged these sorts of actions in court and have been successful," Schapira said.

The email sent by the United States Department of Education said in part:

"The Department remains committed to ensuring taxpayer resources are spent in accordance with the President's priorities and the Department's statutory responsibilities."

"Unfortunately, for the programs for which we have received notices. The administration has made clear to us that they are not issuing those grant awards today. That means that, unlike normal time,s we will not be able to draw down funds in those critical problematic areas to benefit the students of California in the ways that Congress intended when they appropriated those dollars. This is real," said Schapira

Nathalie Chavez is a San Francisco educator who has spent years teaching literacy intervention and students who are learning English as their second language. She is concerned this freeze will disrupt a demographic of students who depend on these services to succeed.

"Without a team of different professionals all working together to meet those students' needs, it's more likely that those students will fall behind," said Chavez. "We try our best, but the more and more programs that are cut, the more it's put on teachers' plates, and it's really difficult to make all those things happen."

In a statement, SFUSD said:

"We are assessing potential impacts and will continue to follow CDE guidance."

"Just this month actually, SFUSD passed a $1.3 billion balance budget. There were some very challenging decisions that we had to make to ensure that we fully funded our services and our programs across SFUSD. With a $1.3 billion budget, about 5% of our funds come from the federal government and those will have an impact of course on our district," said Phil Kim, SFUSD Board of Education president.

The notice from the administration hit California a day before the July 1 deadline, when the funds are typically distributed by the federal government. Instead of planning for this distribution, Thurmond promises to fight.

"We will pursue every legal avenue available to us to have these funds restored," said Thurmond.