STATEMENT FROM THE NEA FOUNDATION
Regarding U.S. Department of Education Full-Service Community Schools Grant Discontinuations, December 22, 2025
The NEA Foundation is issuing this statement to inform education stakeholders about recent developments affecting the U.S. Department of Education’s Full-Service Community Schools (FSCS) program and our deep concern about the implications for students, educators, and communities.
Recent Grant Discontinuations
On December 12, 2025, as many as 20 of the 70 recipients of active Full-Service Community Schools grants received letters notifying them that they would receive no additional federal program funding—just two weeks before their next scheduled disbursements (Education Week). These grants had two to three years of funding remaining for previously approved five-year grants.
The impact of these cuts is devastating, Spread across 11 states and the District of Columbia—the cuts amounted to nearly $61 million in funds that were due to flow Jan. 1, and another $107 million that was due to flow by 2028. The loss of those funds could lead to layoffs for dozens of public school educators nationwide within weeks. In Idaho alone, 60 community schools coordinators across 47 rural school sites have salaries funded in part or in full with the now-excised grant funds. School districts and nonprofit organizations that made commitments to support students, families, and staff with these approved funds now face impossible choices about which services to discontinue and how to communicate sudden program closures to students, families, and communities.
The Department has not publicly announced which grants have been discontinued or confirmed the status of remaining grants, leaving all grantees, and the communities depending on them, in profound uncertainty.
Why This Matters to The NEA Foundation
The NEA Foundation is informed and inspired by the lived experience of millions of public-school educators, students, and communities. The Foundation champions policies, partnerships, and practices that close educational opportunity gaps and support educators, schools, and communities in creating the conditions necessary for students to succeed.
For five years, The NEA Foundation has helped build community schools serving more than 14,000 students and educators in historically under-resourced communities across Arkansas, Louisiana, and Mississippi. Our work is informed by the lived experience of public-school educators and students, and it is grounded in research demonstrating that integrated student supports, strong family engagement, and school and community partnerships improve students’ academic and nonacademic outcomes.
What’s at Stake
The community schools strategy brings together educators, families, community partners, and local leaders to confront barriers to student success. Aligning local, regional, and national resources, community school partners develop coordinated academic, social, health, and mental health supports; address students’ basic needs; and connect students to meaningful college and career pathways. These are concrete supports that students and families rely on every day. The approach is about empowerment and democracy in action—building communities’ capacity to create local solutions to meet students and schools’ most pressing concerns.
When federal funding for community schools is abruptly withdrawn, the impact is immediate and destabilizing. Educators are forced to absorb the consequences of decisions made far from their classrooms, while students lose access to essential supports that directly affect their ability to learn, stay healthy, and succeed.
Congressional Investment at Risk
The Full-Service Community Schools program has existed since the late 1970s with bipartisan congressional support. Based on demonstrated success, Congress increased the federal community schools program from $25 million to $150 million in fiscal year 2023. The 70 current FSCS grantees were collectively expecting more than $380 million in promised federal awards through 2028. These were competitive awards made through established processes, with grantees making commitments based on the federal government’s promise of multi-year support.
Schools and school districts cannot effectively support student success if funding commitments can be withdrawn without warning. Community schools require years of relationship-building, infrastructure development, and community engagement. Their abrupt termination undermines years of progress.
Moving Forward
The NEA Foundation will continue supporting community schools with our own resources and philanthropic partnerships. We remain deeply committed to this approach and to the educators, students, and communities we serve. The country’s philanthropic organizations, however, cannot replace the scale of investment that federal support provides.
The community schools strategy represents a locally driven, evidence-informed approach to improve students and schools’ success. It deserves the sustained, reliable federal support that Congress has consistently provided across multiple administrations.
