The U.S. Department of Education has halted some of the 107 grants from the only federal program specifically created to help teachers improve techniques for working with English learners.
Those grantees received non-continuation letters from the Department of Education on September 23 and were given seven calendar days to file an appeal. As of September 25, Department of Education officials had not clarified precisely how many National Professional Development Program (NPD) grantees received non-continuation letters.
The NPD grant program was designed to help fund training programs that work with both pre- and in-service teachers across the country. The program is part of Title III funding that covers supplemental support for English learners鈥 education. Examples of NPD grant work include helping teachers work with families of English learners in Texas and developing grow-your-own bilingual teacher programs in Massachusetts.
鈥淭he department re-awarded the majority of NPD program grants and non-continued those that do not align with the administration鈥檚 priorities,鈥 said Madi Biedermann, the deputy assistant secretary for communications for the Department of Education. 鈥淭he non-continued grant funds are being reinvested into high-quality NPD programs that better serve students.鈥
The NPD grants are among scores of education grants the Trump administration has recently halted. Teachers across the country report lacking sufficient professional development to support the growing population of English learners enrolling in K-12 schools.
All the grantees who received non-continuation letters said they plan to appeal. They include Tina Cheuk, an NPD grantee and associate professor of elementary science education at California Polytechnic State University. 鈥淚 just want the Department of Education to follow the law. NPD grants are part of Title III and congressionally mandated,鈥 Cheuk said.
With the newly announced funding cuts, grantees must end much of the work already underway this school year. 鈥淭he harm is really directly to students and young people who want to be teachers. Now the barriers are even higher,鈥 Cheuk said.
Education Week (9/25/25) By Ileana Najarro