The Trump administration announced this week it was withholding $26 million in federal grant funding to Vermont’s public schools, part of a broader freeze of more than $6 billion nationwide for after-school and summer programs and English language instruction.

Funds for these programs were supposed to be distributed on July 1. But the U.S. Department of Education alerted the state Agency of Education they were holding the funds back “on the evening of June 30,” according to a press release by the Agency of Education.

The federal department told state education officials they will conduct a review of the programs, but did not provide a timeline for when that would be completed, according to the agency’s press release.

The abrupt pause in funding will likely disrupt local school districts’ operations. Those federal funds are built into local districts’ budgets for the 2025-26 school year, according to the release.

Vermont Secretary of Education Zoie Saunders said in the release the decision to withhold these funds, “disrupts districts’ ability to staff critical positions and provide a wide range of programming, including efforts to reduce chronic absenteeism and improve literacy outcomes.”

“This decision also contributes to a culture of uncertainty that takes away from the important work our schools need to focus on to support our students,” Saunders said.

Six federal grant programs were affected by the funding pause, according to the Agency of Education, including programs to provide instructional and support services to migrant children and their families.

The funds supported the University of Vermont-run Vermont Migrant Education Program that serves children who have relocated alone or with their families to obtain seasonal or temporary employment in agriculture, the Agency of Education release said.

Another program has supported instructional services and supports within school districts for English language learners. Those grant dollars were used to fund multilingual liaisons to help families integrate into their schools and communities through summer school and after-school English language services.

Other federally funded programs helped finance mentoring programs and professional development for teachers. The state agency said in its release the programs were “essential to improving academic outcomes as well as supporting the retention of effective educators.”

Another program supported programming for mental health services, which the state agency said was critical to reducing chronic absenteeism.

The Agency of Education said it was “actively working with districts to mitigate the impact of this decision by conducting outreach and providing one-on-one intensive support to the field.”

“The Agency is proud of the critical investments that Vermont public schools have made using these federal funds and will continue to support districts in navigating the uncertainty in the federal funding landscape,” the agency said in its release.