This week the US Education Department announced that they are delaying over $50 million in federal funding for Fairfax, Loudoun, Prince William, Arlington, and Alexandria school divisions and beginning the administrative process for suspending or terminating that funding. Federal funding is critical to schools being able to provide adequate services and support for students with disabilities, English language learners, and students from low-income families. Rather than providing funds up front, the federal government is now making the school divisions spend their own funds first and then apply for reimbursement, which is far from certain. This change is in retaliation for those districts continuing to allow students to use restroom and locker room facilities that align with their gender identity.
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These actions are well outside the bounds of the normal process for when the federal government disagrees with school division policies, instead jumping straight to punishing students by withholding funding for critical services. We believe strongly that the federal government should not be weaponizing funding against our public schools over locally developed policies that protect and support students.
Hundreds of thousands of public school students live in those divisions and rely on federal funds for staffing, support programs, and disability accommodations. These funds are crucial to the safety and well-being of our students, educators, and communities and shouldn’t be used as a bargaining chip in a political game. We stand with these five NOVA districts and call on the federal government to rescind placing these districts on “high risk” status and halt the additional actions that threaten federal funds their students are entitled to.
