Minnesota education commissioner speaks to dismantling of DOE, federal funding loss

The first day of school is about six weeks away and school districts in Minnesota and across the nation are scrambling to figure out how to go forward without the U.S. Department of Education.

The U.S. Supreme Court gave the Trump administration the go-ahead to mothball DOE on Monday. The department has been around since 1979.

On top of the lack of federal guidance, schools are strapped after the Trump administration froze $6.8 billion in education funding that was due to be disbursed on July 1. Monday, Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison joined a lawsuit with 22 other state attorneys general suing to unblock the money, hoping to secure Minnesota’s allotted $47 million.

Minnesota Education Commissioner Willie Jett joined MPR News host Cathy Wurzer on Morning Edition to share how the department is navigating the uncertainty and what it’s hearing from teachers and families.

The following conversation has been lightly edited for clarity. Listen to the interview by clicking the player button above.

The withheld money is part of federal education grants known as Title funds. How key is this money?

For our schools in Minnesota, the funding being withheld is massive. How concerning is it? The bottom line is, kids and school districts need stability. They need predictability. And so I want to make sure that I’m clear that the Minnesota Department of Education, we're still here, and we're going to continue to work on behalf of our partners and on behalf of students, regardless of their background or their circumstance.

What is Minnesota Department of Education telling school districts about federal funding?

It's hard to tell school districts anything of certainty. We have contacted the federal department. We have sent emails. We have tried to be in contact to try to understand when and where and how the funds are going to come in and when they're going to flow in.

When it comes to career and technical education, after-school programs, English language courses, the schools and districts are sitting there at this point in time, because they've already set their budgets in July, and they're trying to figure out do they need to make cuts? Should they make cuts? And so, what are you telling school districts? To hang in there, but they're going to have to make some tough decisions if we don't get some clarity.

How has Minnesota Department of Educatin interacted with the U.S. Department of Education up until now?

Prior to this, I'm not going to say it's always been smooth, because there have always hiccups, but for decades, the federal department was in charge of allocating money to the Minnesota Department of Education, so we can get money out and dispense it to school districts across the state. And that's flowed for years, and this unpredictability, this moment in time, just feels catastrophic.

Among the programs that have already lost money are English as a Second Language and special needs students. Can you speak more to what the impact might be in Minnesota and what else could be on the chopping block?

Well, again, I'm going to come back to our schools depending on that stability. And so the lack of information from the federal government is a concern.

If I'm going to get specific, you can go to Title 1, Part C: These investments ensure that our children, whose families move a lot due to farm and fishing work, have access to consistent, rigorous academic work. I could go to Title 2, Part A: These investments support the recruitment, retention and professional development of effective educators in public and private schools, reducing class size or improving academic achievement for all.

I can go to Title 4, Part B: These investments provide academic enrichment opportunities outside of school hours for students who attend low-performing schools. I could go to Title 3, Part A: These investments support English language proficiency, ensuring all learners meet state academic standards. I could go to Title 2: These investments support instruction for adults to improve reading, writing, math and English language skills.

What have we heard from the federal government? To be frank, not much.

On June 30, we received short notices from the U.S. Department of Education, and it came from a no reply email, stating that the new administration would be reconsidering federal education investments in accordance with the president's priorities, and that they would not be sending those funds by the July 1 deadline. And again, that puts students and districts at risk.