The US Department of Education is releasing $6.8 billion in education funding that it had originally frozen on June 30, including over $165 million for North Carolina.
The cuts would have made up nearly 10% of the state’s federal educational funding.
The agency issued the announcement on Friday.
On July 14, North Carolina Attorney General Jeff Jackson joined 24 other mainly Democratic- run states in suing the federal government to prevent it from freezing funds for North Carolina’s schools and educators.
Jackson joined the lawsuit, filed in Rhode Island, by the attorneys general of Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, District of Columbia, Hawaii, Illinois, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont, Washington, and Wisconsin, and the governors of Pennsylvania and Kentucky.
“National reports indicate that the US Department of Education has backed down and is releasing all frozen funds — $6.8 billion nationwide, including $165 million for North Carolina — after we filed suit last week,” North Carolina Attorney General Jeff Jackson said in a press release on Friday. “This should end weeks of uncertainty — our schools can now plan, hire, and prepare for a strong year ahead. My absolute best wishes to our state’s 1.5 million students who are ready to make this their best year yet.”
North Carolina superintendent of public instruction Mo Green also commented on the release of funding.
“It is good to see the federal government honor its commitment to our students, our educators, and our schools,” he said. “I hope this resolution and the release of funds next week marks a return to the predictable, reliable federal partnership that our schools need to serve students effectively.”
Democrat Gov. Josh Stein publicly thanked Secretary of Education Linda McMahon of New Bern on X for restoring the funding.
Thank you to New Bern native @EDSecMcMahon for releasing much-needed grant funding to help schools across NC better serve our kids. We shared a candid discussion about serving North Carolina’s children and families. I look forward to working together to expand workforce… pic.twitter.com/tQtDYtrwiF
— Governor Josh Stein (@NC_Governor) July 25, 2025
In addition to the lawsuit, 10 Republican senators joined together last week to urge the Trump administration to reverse its decision.
The congressionally authorized education funding was under review by the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) to determine if programs “grossly misused” government funds to promote a “radical leftwing agenda,” according to ABC News.
The Wake County Public School System had instituted a hiring freeze in anticipation of the funding freeze.
The CMS school board also sent a letter to the Department of Education asking officials to reverse their decision.
Nine of the 10 school districts that would have lost the most money per student are in rural North Carolina. The counties devastated by Hurricane Helene faced a roughly $18 million cut.
Friday’s announcement comes a week after OMB unfroze more than $1 billion in after-school and summer learning funds that had been under review. A senior administration official told ABC News that the states would have to adhere to new guardrails moving forward. Many programs also told the network that they received the after-school and summer learning funding earlier this week.
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