Washington (Feb 27, 2025) - Senator Edward J. Markey (D-Mass.), member of the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committee, today introduced legislation to protect federal funding for public schools during the length of the Trump administration. The No Cuts to Public Schools Act would safeguard funds that allow public schools to serve low-income students, English learners, students with disabilities, homeless students, and students attending rural schools.
“Make no mistake - President Trump and Linda McMahon are mounting a full-scale attack on the public school system. The Trump administration and congressional Republicans want to slash public school funding and leave communities to deal with the fallout,” said Senator Markey. “Public schools are the cornerstones of our communities, the equalizers of opportunity and sources of hope for students, and the bedrock of our democracy. Federal funding to public schools must be protected from Trump’s pro-privatization, anti-student agenda.”
“Public schools are the latest battleground in the Trump administration’s war between the billionaires and regular working people. We need federal policy that puts kids first and creates opportunities and pathways to a better life. It will take decades for our families, our educators, our economy, our democracy and our nation’s standing to recover from this reckless and thoughtless destruction of public education in America,” said American Federation of Teachers Massachusetts President Jessica Tang. “Educators know dismantling the Department of Education and slashing federal funding or replacing them with block grants would be catastrophic, especially for the Commonwealth’s most vulnerable children – like the over 183,000 students with disabilities receiving support through IDEA, the over 41,000 infants and toddlers who receive Early Intervention, and the hundreds of schools with disproportionate levels of low-income students that rely on $206 million in Title I funding. Without intervention, we stand to lose generations of students who will be left behind.”
“One of America’s greatest achievements is providing universal public education to every inhabitant in the country. Educating our populace is the source of this nation’s collective economic, cultural, and civic strength. And it takes a broad commitment across local, state and federal governments to provide universal public education,” said Max Page, President of the Massachusetts Teachers Association. “Public schools depend on federal funds, especially in guaranteeing quality education for those who need the support the most – low-income students, students with disabilities, English-language learners, and many more. We heard the nominee for Secretary of Education say that there is no intention by the Trump administration to cut funding for public schools. Thus, we expect – and urge – Congress to show strong bipartisan support for the No Cuts to Public Schools Act so that we can protect our beloved and essential public schools.”
“Federal funding is critical for daily educational opportunities for our children. Currently, 10% of Massachusetts public school funding comes from federal programs. Across the Commonwealth, school committees and school administrations are grappling with historic inflationary pressures and increased costs,” said Jason Fraser, President of the Massachusetts Association of School Committees. “School districts are struggling just to maintain level-service budgets. Any decrease in federal funding for public education would be devastating to public school students whose futures depend on it.”
The No Cuts to Public Schools Act requires Congress to appropriate federal formula funding for education at Fiscal Year 2024 levels or higher through Fiscal Year 2027. In Fiscal Year 2024 in Massachusetts, the Department of Education provided more than $720 million to support 1,800 K-12 schools and more than 926,000 students, including:
Linda McMahon, President Trump's nominee to serve as Secretary of Education, was voted out of the HELP Committee on Thursday, February 20th, along party lines, 12-11. At her hearing before the HELP Committee, Senator Markey questioned McMahon on whether or not she would commit to cutting public education if Donald Trump directed her to do so. McMahon refused to answer. Her nomination is expected to come to a vote of the full Senate in coming days.
On February 6, 2024, Senator Markey led members of the Massachusetts congressional delegation, the Massachusetts Teachers Association, American Federation of Teachers Massachusetts, Massachusetts Association of School Committees, and Massachusetts Association of School Superintendents in a joint statement after President Trump vowed to dismantle the Department of Education.
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