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More than a million people across the country are enrolled in adult education every year. Many of these programs rely on federal funds to pay for English-as-a-second-language instruction and GED classes. Now funding for these programs may be at risk because the Trump administration is withholding grant money that traditionally is disbursed on July 1. Sarah Asch in Austin reports on the possible impact that this funding pause will have nationwide.
SARAH ASCH, BYLINE: Maricela Juarez dropped out of school when she completed eighth grade, and soon after, she became a teen mom. By age 25, Juarez had six children, and her dreams of establishing a career and moving out of public housing felt unachievable. Her formal education interrupted, she worked in construction and cleaned houses to pay the bills. It wasn't until her youngest got to high school that Juarez enrolled in GED classes at Austin Community College in 2013.
MARICELA JUAREZ: It took me a long time to get through all the material that I needed to get. The math part was very, very hard.
ASCH: Juarez's GED opened the door for her to get an associate's degree in 2020. Last December, she got her bachelor's from Texas State University in criminal justice.
JUAREZ: I feel extremely blessed. I just thought it was, you know, like, impossible dream.
ASCH: Roughly $716 million in funding for adult education programs like the one that helped Juarez is being withheld from states as the Department of Education reviews funding for a number of different grant programs. This money pays for GED classes, workforce training and English-language instruction. Kathy Dowdy, the adult education dean at Austin Community College, said delaying these funds puts their programs at risk.
KATHY DOWDY: Since COVID, we're especially needed to help students realize their strengths, and we help them find their way. It's a second chance.
ASCH: Adult education helps people meet their goals and offers certifications in high-demand fields. That includes HVAC repair, health care and manufacturing. Sharon Bonney, CEO of the national advocacy organization Coalition on Adult Basic Education, said she fears many of the people enrolled in adult education programs could have their studies interrupted in the next few weeks.
SHARON BONNEY: Closures will start immediately. We've already heard from a number of local programs. This is going to be across-the-board mass closures and layoffs.
ASCH: These dollars usually flow to states from the Department of Education as part of the Workforce Innovation and Opportunities Act, which passed in 2014. Bonney estimates that of the more than $700 million on hold, California was slated to receive the most, at about $117 million. Texas was second on the list, at around $78 million. Florida and New York were both set to receive about $50 million. Bonney said this will have ripple effects beyond the individual students impacted.
BONNEY: Adult education is a talent pipeline into workforce and to community colleges. That talent pipeline will be immediately cut in half.
ASCH: This will make it harder for employers to fill jobs and for workers to increase their earnings. Even with the federal grant, Texas typically only has funding to cover about 3% of the need for adult education in the state. That's according to estimates by the Texas Workforce Investment Council. Many programs, including the one at Austin Community College that supports English-language education, were operating with long waitlists. Here's Dowdy again.
DOWDY: And that was with the funding. Now without the funding, that waitlist will just grow.
ASCH: Maricela Juarez says she is proof that adult education changes lives. She now works at Austin Community College, helping students seeking career training.
JUAREZ: When you're living in a below-poverty or poverty level, you just don't think that you can make it out of there unless you actually see someone that has been where you are and you can see that as an example.
ASCH: But for now, that pipeline for second chances is contingent on the Trump administration releasing federal funding. I'm Sarah Asch in Austin.
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