Trump Admin Unexpectedly Canceled $168 Million In Fed Funding For Public Schools Across America in December - Including $6M For Wayne County Community Schools - To Connect Families To Food, Housing Assistance, Medical Care And Other Services

Schumer: Trump Admin Must Restore Critical Fed Grants That Help Wayne County Students Thrive

After the Trump administration canceled $168 million in federal funding for public schools across America, including $6 million for Wayne County Community Schools, U.S. Senator Chuck Schumer today demanded U.S. Department of Education Secretary Linda McMahon immediately reverse its cancellation of Full-Service Community Schools grants.

Schumer explained that all eleven districts in Wayne County receive federal assistance through this program, bringing extracurricular activities, mental health resources, and a food pantry to students. Schumer said eliminating these grants will force schools to choose between absorbing costs and eliminating services, and said the Trump administration must immediately restore this critical federal support for Wayne County.

"Ripping away support for students in rural areas, in the middle of the school year, is just plain cruel. The Full-Service Community Schools grant program helps hundreds of students and their families across Wayne County find their next meal or access health care," said Senator Schumer. "Refusing to deliver $168 million in federal funding, including $6 million for Wayne County, Congress allocated with bipartisan support, without reason, is wrong, and possibly illegal. The Trump administration must immediately restore these federal grants so Wayne County Community Schools can continue connecting families to the resources they need to help their kids thrive."

The Department of Education's Full-Service Community Schools grants help connect families to food, housing assistance, medical care, and other services. A significant portion of that federal funding supports the hiring of community schools coordinator positions in mostly rural school buildings. Wayne County Community Schools has supported Wayne County families for 15 years, supporting the needs of local families. All eleven school districts in Wayne County receive federal assistance through this program, supporting more than 18 schools and community partners in providing extracurricular activities, mental health resources, and a food pantry to low-income students. The program improves student academic achievement, reduces chronic absenteeism, and supports student wellbeing.

In December, the Trump administration abruptly canceled $168 million in Full-Service Community Schools grants two weeks before the next round of funding was set to arrive. This includes Wayne County Community Schools' $6 million grant, $3 million of which Wayne County was expecting this month. Cancelling these grants will now force schools to make difficult choices between absorbing costs and eliminating positions.

In a letter to U.S. Department of Education Secretary Linda McMahon, Schumer and colleagues explained that cutting these critical grants off in the middle of the school year will hurt rural communities across the country, forcing some schools to eliminate vital services for students or families. The senators said that Congress increased annual funding for the Full-Service Community Schools grant program from $25 million to $150 million with bipartisan support, and failing to deliver these grants could rip away essential services to underserved students. The senators demanded that the Trump administration reinstate all Full-Service Community Schools grants.

Schumer and colleagues' letter to Secretary McMahon can be found HERE or below:

Dear Secretary McMahon:

We write to express our strong opposition to the Department of Education's ("the Department") recent action on December 12^th, 2025, to discontinue $168 million in Full-Service Community Schools grants serving students across 12 states. Pulling expected federal grant funds from public schools in the middle of the school year, built around community partnerships and parent engagement, is just plain wrong. Congress authorized and appropriated funds specifically for the Full-Service Community Schools program because research shows community schools improve student academic achievement, reduce chronic absenteeism, and support student wellbeing. We demand that the Department fully reinstate all Full-Service Community Schools grants that were abruptly discontinued.

The Full-Service Community School grant program supports school districts and public schools in their mission to meet students' needs so they can succeed academically and in life, focusing on the school as a community center that can connect families to food, housing assistance, medical care, and other services. Community leadership and school coordinators partner to co-locate services and provide cost-effective resources that are deemed necessary by the families they serve-a community-based approach that has been successful in both rural and urban areas. Multiple studies show that community schools lead to more positive academic outcomes for students and more successful schools. Discontinuing these grants puts students' progress in jeopardy.

On December 12^th, 2025, the Department abruptly discontinued $168 million in grants to community schools just two weeks before their next round of funding was set to arrive. Across the country, nineteen grant recipients received letters alerting them that, effective immediately, their projects would no longer receive future federal funding under their approved grant awards, including in many rural communities. Your decision is forcing schools and community partners to eliminate vital services for students and families in the middle of the academic year, with no transition period or alternative support.

Full-Service Community Schools grants are generally authorized for five years, providing schools and partners with the stability to plan for the reliable delivery of services. The grants that were abruptly cancelled had either two or three years remaining in their approved five-year projects. This unnecessary termination of education funding is alarming families, disrupting carefully-planned programs that support children, and jeopardizing services for thousands of students in underserved communities. Schools that built partnerships with community organizations, hired staff, and made multi-year commitments to families now face breaking those promises through no fault of their own.

The Department claims that affected grantees violate civil rights law or conflict with the administration's policy priorities, but this rationale lacks any specificity. Grant recipients received letters providing few details, and just one week or less to appeal. These discontinuations directly contradict bipartisan congressional intent for this program. In 2023, Congress increased annual funding for the Full-Service Community Schools program from $25 million to $150 million, which was maintained in fiscal year 2024 and 2025 appropriations laws, reflecting bipartisan recognition that schools serving high-poverty communities require comprehensive support. All federal grants must abide by applicable requirements, but the Department has failed to produce legitimate reasons, including any grantee performance-related information, to discontinue multi-year grants that Congress authorized and appropriated, that grantees are implementing successfully, and that provide essential services to our underserved students.

We demand that you reinstate all community school grants that have been abruptly discontinued and respectfully suggest that the Department refocus its efforts to support community schools in their efforts to meet the needs of and improve education outcomes for all students.

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