Dear County and District Superintendents and Charter School Administrators:

Update Regarding Impoundment of Federal Education Funds

We are reaching out to update the field about communications that the California Department of Education (CDE) received yesterday regarding federal education funds for the 2025–2026 school year.

According to brief emails received from the U.S. Department of Education (ED), the Trump Administration has impounded several streams of federal education funding, including Title I-C, II-A, III-A, IV-A, and IV-B, as well as the Adult Basic Education Grants to States grant program, including the Integrated English Language and Civics Education program. We believe this action is unlawful, and we are working with our partners to pursue all available legal remedies.

Although the grants mentioned above have been impounded, CDE has been receiving Grant Award Notifications (GANs) for other federal programs, including Title I-A and IDEA. Our Fiscal Services team is working quickly to access those funds and any others currently available.

We understand the uncertainty that our school communities are experiencing due to this latest action by the Trump Administration. With the information we have at this stage, we cannot make recommendations about how local educational agencies (LEAs) should proceed with related programs at this time. Any decisions about pausing, stopping, or continuing to provide services funded by these dollars are at the discretion of LEAs.

Still, we are determined to continue our resolve as an education system that puts the needs of our students, educators, and school communities at the center of everything we do. Our commitment remains clear: California will continue moving the needle on student achievement in spite of adversity created by politics in Washington, and we at CDE will continue to work tirelessly to ensure that our local educational agencies have the resources needed to support our students and school communities.

California and other states have already filed suit against the Administration based on prior acts to unlawfully withhold funding. Courts have already taken action in our favor in these cases. We will continue to pursue all available legal remedies to the Trump Administration’s unlawful withholding of federal funds appropriated by Congress.

The California Department of Education will continue to keep the field apprised of important information in response to federal actions related to public education. For a consolidated list of our responses to 2025 federal actions, please see the 2025 Responses to Federal Actions web page on the CDE website at https://www.cde.ca.gov/nr/fa/.

Sincerely,

David Schapira
Chief Deputy Superintendent
Chief of Staff
California Department of Education

Ingrid Roberson
Chief Deputy Superintendent
California Department of Education