On Monday, July 21, Florida joined multiple states who are now filing lawsuits against the United States Government. As it stands, almost $400 million in federal funding is being withheld from school districts across the country as students, faculty, and staff head back to the classroom.
The Florida Parent and Teacher Association has joined a coalition of associations and groups in a national lawsuit against the Trump administration which includes, “school districts, parent teacher organizations and teacher’s unions from Rhode Island, Texas, Ohio, Illinois, California and Pennsylvania.” The lawsuit is seeking a preliminary injunction that will allow for the immediate release of the funds that have been approved by Congress.
Unfortunately, South Florida is heavily impacted by this administration’s attack on education. Miami-Dade and Broward County Public Schools are set to lose $35 million and $30 million, respectively, in funding. This money is essential for training and paying for staff, providing English language learner services (ELL), migrant education, afterschool and tutoring programs, and so much more.
During a school board meeting, Miami-Dade schools superintendent Jose L. Dotres made clear that he “had no plans for the school district to join as a party to a lawsuit” as he preferred to lobby lawmakers. In a statement to the Herald, Jude Bruno (president-elect of the Florida PTA) said that the group moved forward with the lawsuit because there is no legislative session in progress to address an urgent and grave issue.
If the funds are not secured, multiracial and multilingual municipalities like Miami-Dade will see over 1,000 faculty and staff positions disappear with over 80,000 English language learners left in the balance. Unlawfully withholding funds from public schools is apart of a longstanding plan from the right which intends to defund public education while bolstering private and charter education. By destroying the infrastructure that makes public goods work, the Trump administration is attempting to make an argument that public education is “broken” or “unusable.”
If the funding is not released, Miami-Dade and similar districts may face staffing reductions and cuts to critical educational services that support English language learners and other vulnerable student populations. The lawsuit is currently pending in federal court, with plaintiffs seeking a preliminary injunction to expedite the release of the funds. In the meantime, school districts are preparing for the start of the academic year amid budget uncertainty.
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