A sudden freeze in education funding

This would lay off 1,000 educators in NC

Yesterday, for the first time since becoming Attorney General, I called a press conference at my office.

Here’s why:

Two weeks ago - out of the blue - North Carolina received a three-sentence email from the U.S. Department of Education.

It said that $165 million in education funding, scheduled to arrive the next day, was being frozen indefinitely.

No clear reason was given. Since then, the department has refused to answer our questions.

It turns out that email went to all 50 states. The total amount frozen nationwide: roughly $7 billion.

In North Carolina, the impact will be severe.

These funds support afterschool and summer programs for over 10,000 students, STEM education, adult literacy classes, mental health support, services for English learners, and smaller class sizes for elementary school kids.

And if the freeze isn’t reversed soon, about 1,000 educators in our state could lose their jobs - just weeks before 1.5 million kids return to school.

Every school district in the state will take a hit, but rural communities will suffer most. The top three counties facing the deepest per-student cuts are Ashe, Polk, and Graham.

So, I’ve joined a group of attorneys general in suing the U.S. Department of Education.

Why?

Because this isn’t just harmful - it’s illegal. And not in a gray-area kind of way. This is clear-cut.

Congress created these programs. Congress reviewed and approved state plans for them. And then Congress authorized the funding.

The Department of Education does not have the legal authority to override that process. It’s not their money to freeze. The law here isn’t vague.

If we allow this kind of move to stand, we set a dangerous precedent - one where federal departments can undermine Congress and hold states hostage to their political whims. That’s exactly what the law is designed to prevent.

Our lawsuit seeks a preliminary injunction - an immediate court order to end the freeze while the case proceeds. That would protect students and schools from further harm. We hope to get a ruling within a few weeks.

My thanks to Superintendent Mo Green for joining us in this effort. He’s been great to work with and has brought compelling details to the consequences facing our students if this isn’t fixed.

---

Here’s my take on what may really be going on with this last-minute freeze:

I don’t know whether the people behind this move at the Department of Education truly believe they’ll win in court. It was recklessly executed and the administration’s track record on similar overreaches is poor.

But my sense is that winning in court may not be the point.

When I was in Congress, I saw how often deliberate failure was used as a media strategy. A fringe member would pick an unwinnable fight, lose, and then claim their real prize: wall-to-wall press coverage.

This feels like the first stage of that cycle. The fight has been picked, the next step is losing in court, then we get the outrage and indignation that ricochets through various echo chambers - and that’s the payoff. If your claim to national attention is perpetual outrage, this whole thing starts to look pretty calculated.

That said, I still have to beat them in court, and I plan to.

The Lighthouse Fund

This is timely.

You might remember that, in my last email, I told you about our new Lighthouse Fund.

As you might recall, the idea is to ensure that, once a month, I can afford to send a strong digital message to roughly one million independent voters in NC. That costs about $9,500.

The goal is to maintain a baseline level of awareness so that when campaign season gears up, we aren’t starting from scratch with those voters.

Well, this moment is perfect for a digital message like that - and I can even show you the product in advance.

I made a video specifically addressing the education funding freeze and here it is on YouTube:

I think this is exactly the kind of message that voters need to hear at this moment, and I hope you’ll help me reach them.

The best way to support this effort is a small, monthly donation - but of course, we’d also appreciate a one-time contribution. You can do either one here (ActBlue) or here (non-ActBlue).

Thanks, as always, and I’ll keep you posted.

- Jeff Jackson