State Superintendent of Public Instruction Tony Thurmond and the California Department of Education (CDE) announced on Thursday, July 31 that the CDE has received confirmation that it will receive the entirety of the nearly $1 billion in previously impounded federal education funds for the 2025-26 school year.
“California schools have been waiting for these resources to serve students, and now nearly $1 billion of illegally impounded federal education funds will finally reach our classrooms,” said Superintendent Thurmond. “We are moving swiftly to ensure these funds support students, educators, and school communities without further interruption.”
On July 25, 2025, CDE received official Grant Award Notifications (GANs) for several key federal programs, with the release of funds officially starting the week of July 28, 2025.
The CDE has now received GANs for the following formula-based funding sources, as well as an updated GAN for the 21st Century Community Learning Centers (21st CCLC) grant program.
• Title I-C, ESEA: Migrant Student Education
• Title II-A, ESEA: Supporting Effective Instruction State Grants
• Title II, WIOA: Adult Education and Family Literacy Act
• Title III-A, ESEA: English Language Acquisition
• Title IV-A, ESEA: Student Support and Academic Enrichment State Grants
With the release of these GANs, the CDE is moving quickly to draw down and distribute funds to local educational agencies (LEAs) across the state.
The release of these funds means California has been awarded the full allocation of federal education funding for the 2025-26 school year. These funds are critical for sustaining and expanding educational opportunities, especially for English learners, migrant students, adult learners, and those relying on community learning centers, said Thurmond.
The CDE will continue working with California’s congressional delegation to ensure that future federal funding is secured in the fiscal year 2026 budget. For ongoing updates and a consolidated list of federal education actions in 2025, visit the CDE 2025 Responses to Federal Actions web page.
