Frozen education funding robs NC students of the American dream | Opinion
We can see a local erasure of the American dream in North Carolina. The U.S. Department of Education froze nearly $165 million in federal funding for education in North Carolina, specifically including millions of dollars for programs that support English learners and migrant students. It’s part of the more than $6 billion in a nationwide funding freeze.
Children of all backgrounds should have the right to learn English and have the same opportunities as their peers. Isn’t that the American dream? If you believe in this country, you should want all children to have a fair shot.
ourBRIDGE for KIDS is a nonprofit organization based in Charlotte that offers afterschool programs and summer programs that teach hundreds of children English, assist them with their homework and feed them dinner. The organization risks losing $826,000 with the funding freeze — nearly one-third of the funding it expected for the upcoming school year.
When a child has difficulty grasping English, or other parts of school life, it leads to a feeling that a child can never be a part of what is around them. Lisa Luth is the chair of the board at ourBRIDGE, remembers a child who said the program was the first time they felt welcome in the U.S.
“You try going to Germany, not having any idea how to speak German, but still being expected to turn in homework,” Luth said.
Luth thought that complicating children’s ability to learn speak the primary language of the country was denying them opportunity.
“All learning for all kids to give your kids the best shot in the best place. It’s a universal thing. It’s why families leave dangerous places and pick up to start a better life,” Luth said.
In many cases, the students who struggle most with English are the ones whose access to opportunity is already limited. The Employee Research Benefit Institute used 2022 data to find the median income of those who spoke English “not well” or “not well at all.” They had a median personal income of $15,043. The median personal income in the U.S. was $42,220. This could lead to dozens of heartbreaking fates for children, now stripped of their flag and shoved closer to the poverty line.
The federal government said these programs are used “to promote illegal immigrant advocacy organizations.” Most of the children who will be harmed by this potential loss of funding are here legally. According to data from the Migration Policy Institute, the majority of English learners in public schools were born in the United States.
This doesn’t feel like a fiscal decision, but a political one. A similar theme courses through many of the programs that are currently “under review.” More than $5 million was frozen for programs that support students in North Carolina whose parents are migratory or seasonal farm workers. $19 million in funding for services for students learning English is also in jeopardy, and nearly $20 million for programs that teach adults basic literacy and English.
Though it has a targeted and powerful effect on migrant children, the administration’s decision could also affect every student in the state. North Carolina has joined other states in suing the Trump administration for withholding the funding. N.C. Attorney General Jeff Jackson said the cuts could result in the elimination of about 1,000 education jobs, and will disproportionately affect rural school districts. It could hurt an entire generation of students.
These programs have nothing to do with increasing or decreasing immigration. They’re about taking care of the struggling Americans already here. The American dream is a timeless concept that all politicians, both Democrat and Republican, invoke to reference the beauty of our country. That dream can’t prevail if some children don’t even get a fair start to be Americans.