The freeze of over $6 billion in federal funds for K-12 education caused interruptions to summer programming, state experts said, and more juggling of funding streams is likely to come.
At its meeting last week, state lawmakers on the New Mexico Legislature’s Federal Funding Stabilization Subcommittee received an update on federal education funds and possible upcoming impacts to schools, students and teachers due to the Trump administration’s recently passed “big, beautiful bill.” Legislative Education Study Committee Senior Fiscal Analyst Daniel Estupiñan explained to lawmakers that because of the programmatic review announced earlier this summer, schools received federal funds four weeks late and some are now hesitant to trust that federal funds will be available in the future.
The freeze affected programs that support migrant children, English learners and after-school programs. Estupiñan noted that the impacted student groups also fall under at-risk groups identified by the Yazzie/Martinez educational equity lawsuit.
“That four-week hold, along with the lack of guidance from the federal government about how to navigate that withholding, contributed to some pretty significant disruptions to summer programming and local budget planning for the next school year, to the point where we had summer programs around the state that could have had to shut down with only a few days’ notice,” Estupiñan said during the meeting. “[Districts are] rethinking whether these federal funding sources are as sustainable and reliable as they used to be.”
Estupiñan also said that because Trump signed the GOP’s reconciliation bill into law on July 4, school districts could be at risk of losing hundreds of millions of dollars in federal funding for student services, school-based Medicaid services, school meals, the state’s public school funding formula and other programs. He explained that the bill reduces Medicaid and Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program enrollment, which informs how much federal money is given to the states for such programs.
New Mexico Public Education Department Director of Strategic Services Kenneth Stowe highlighted to committee members several programs that had federal funding rescinded. These include school-based mental health centers in Silver City and several central New Mexico communities; the Education Innovation and Research Program; and several technical support centers. He added that the Comprehensive Literacy State Development Grant, State Personnel Development Grant and other programs are still at risk for losing federal funding support.
“I know that there are members of this committee that are former educators and should definitely know how certainty during the beginning of the year really affects the planning for the rest of the school year,” Stowe said. “Repeated funding delays…last minute requests to re-certify compliance in federal law, abrupt policy reversals — this has all been things that our districts and schools have had to respond to, that have affected their ability to effectively really focus on the kids, the classrooms, the teachers.”
He said uncertainty created by the federal government has led local districts to create budgets “to account for multiple scenarios.”
“It’s a lot of duplication of effort for our districts and schools,” Stowe said. “This means a loss of time and capacity [for kids], and we’re just reducing the quality of educational services.”
New Mexico is one of over 20 states that joined a lawsuit over the administration’s freeze of federal K-12 and adult education funds, and the interpretation of federal public benefits.
Subcommittee Co-Chair Sen. Bill Soules (D-Las Cruces) proposed that the Legislature consider overfunding “department secretaries so they’ve got available carryover to use when needed,” like in cases of federal uncertainty, “which is much more nimble than a legislative body that puts it into a specific budget line.”
Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham’s general counsel on July 30 told lawmakers the governor will probably call a special session in late August or early September, in part to address the fallout from federal funding reductions.
