$12 Billion in Education Grants Disrupted as TRIO Competitions Stall
March 15, 2026 · 2 min read
Jared Klein
More than $12 billion in federal education funding has been disrupted over the past year, and the turbulence isn't slowing down. As of March 10, 2026, the Department of Education has still not launched grant competitions for TRIO — the suite of programs that serves nearly 800,000 low-income and first-generation college students annually — despite direct requests from senators to begin the process.
The stalled competitions add to a cascade of disruptions that began last summer, when the administration froze $7 billion in education grants before reversing course under legal pressure in July 2025.
Which Programs Are Caught in Limbo
Beyond TRIO, several grant programs have been terminated, transferred, or left without active competitions:
- Career-Connected High Schools — quietly discontinued with no replacement announced
- Native Hawaiian and Alaska Native Education Programs — no competitions held since 2023, though Congress allocated $45 million for each in February 2026
- Community Schools programs — halted in several states; Connecticut backfilled with $4 million in state funds
- Child Care Means Parents In School — transferring to HHS with no timeline for new competitions
Separately, hundreds of ongoing competitive grants worth $2.2 billion were discontinued in 2025, affecting districts and organizations mid-project.
The Bigger Structural Shift
The Department of Education is in the middle of the largest program transfer in its history. Title I, II, III, and IV programs are moving to the Department of Labor. Mental health and community school grants shift to HHS. Native American education funding goes to Interior.
For applicants, the practical effect is uncertainty about where to apply, which program officers manage their portfolio, and whether existing relationships with federal reviewers carry over. No agency has published updated competition timelines for transferred programs.
What Educators and Nonprofits Should Do
Organizations that depend on TRIO, community schools, or career-technical grants should build budget scenarios that assume delayed federal dollars. Several states — including Iowa and Connecticut — have requested spending flexibility waivers that could help bridge gaps.
Monitoring where each program lands post-transfer is essential. Granted tracks federal education opportunities across agencies, making it easier to follow programs as they move between departments and identify alternative funding sources during the transition.