Immigration protests in Los Angeles and President Trump’s military response are dominating the news cycle, but it’s Trump’s threat to decimate California’s federal funding that has education experts worried.
Golden State schools would be particularly harmed by such a move, advocates say, and in many places, state and local leaders could struggle to make up the difference.
Trump and Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) have raged at each other this week over protests against the former’s immigration crackdown, with the president floating Newsom’s arrest and the governor seeking an emergency judicial intervention to stymie Trump’s deployment of the National Guard, which was denied.
But Trump’s funding threat came before the anti-Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) clashes in Los Angeles, originally spurred by a transgender high schooler qualifying for the state track and field championship.
“THIS IS NOT FAIR, AND TOTALLY DEMEANING TO WOMEN AND GIRLS,” he said in a post on Truth Social late last month. “Please be hereby advised that large scale Federal Funding will be held back, maybe permanently, if the Executive Order on this subject matter is not adhered to.”
Then, on Friday, reports emerged that the administration was advancing plans for sweeping cuts, with the White House criticizing California on issues including immigration and energy.
California K-12 schools received $8 billion from the federal government for the 2024-2025 school year, making up to 6 percent of the state’s K-12 funding, according to the Legislative Analyst’s Office.
State lawmakers, currently plotting out the next fiscal year, may have to make sudden pivots.
“I think [because] we’re in the middle of state budget negotiations right now that these conversations are very much live, but we know California is ready and willing to push back and to keep the promise of access to an education, access to a college degree, for millions of Americans and for Californians here,” said Joshua Hagen, vice president of policy and advocacy at the Campaign for College Opportunity.
While no money has yet been frozen, Trump has previously targeted both states and schools with federal funding cuts in order to try to get them to bow to his demands.
And the president, who has embraced the Los Angeles fight over immigration, could use it to justify action he was already eyeing.
“This administration has threatened cuts to education and crucial social programs that the entire country’s working class communities rely upon. Now, he has the working of people of California in his cross hairs at the same time that he’s unlawfully sending the National Guard and now the Marines here to California to increase the terror his administration is inflicting upon our immigrant communities,” said Randa Wahbe, president of the Community College Association, an affiliate of the California Teachers Association.
The potential cuts would be “destabilizing to our faculty, to our students, to our staff, to our communities. Our students need more resources and opportunities, not fewer. Our communities need more investment, not less,” Wahbe said. “So these threats and attacks are not only cruel, but they’re also dehumanizing.”
She pointed out that although California has the largest higher education system in the country, almost 70 percent of faculty are parttime, creating an already difficult situation with the budget as she argues these employees are not paid enough.
And California students, like those nationwide, are still struggling with learning loss and other test score-related problems.
The 2025 Education Recovery Scorecard in February found the average U.S. student last year remained nearly half a grade level behind in math and reading compared to pre-pandemic levels.
“Our country has been decreasing in terms of overall education performance compared to the rest of the world,” said Marshall Tuck, CEO of EdVoice. “At a time where our country is already losing ground to other countries on education, which is a huge problem for us, competitive and long term, we absolutely should be investing in education, not cutting.”
If Trump administration follows through with the cuts, there is no foolproof plan to make up the gap. Conversations are ongoing in the state legislature, and schools have some reserves, but those would only last for so long.
“I know our community colleges have district reserves that they will need to tap into to help sustain necessary services. The amount of reserves in each district varies. So that’s not a long-term solution,” said Wahbe.
Kindra Britt, the director of communications for California County Superintendents, pointed out that students from immigration communities could be squeezed from two different directions, facing ICE arrests among their family and friends while their schools see budget cuts.
“In the onslaught of threats that we’ve been receiving since he came into office, it’s always been where it’s going to hit vulnerable students the most,” Britt said.
“Now, obviously, this huge focus on immigrants, hitting low-income communities, English learners, things like that. It’s just a massive distraction and a time suck, if I’m being honest,” she added. “We’re exhausted and our job is focused on providing services to students. This is an exciting time of year. It’s graduation, and it’s just getting clouded in the continuous and exhausting distraction from the federal level.”
