U.S. Department of Education (USDE)

A program promising much-needed mental health professionals for rural Oklahoma schools is on the chopping block of funding cuts from the Trump Administration.

Nearly $78 million in funding for Oklahoma schools is being withheld by the Trump administration as part of a nationwide block of federal education funding.

New details of the administration's budget proposal for fiscal year 2026 came after a federal judge blocked the president's efforts to close the U.S. Education Department.

The federal judge also told the administration to reinstate department employees who lost their jobs during the reduction-in-force announced in March.

Congress created the grants in the aftermath of the school shooting in Uvalde, Texas. The goal was to help schools hire mental health professionals, including counselors and social workers.

The Trump administration has told states they have until April 24 to promise to end DEI programs in K-12 schools, or risk losing federal dollars.

The department sent a letter to state leaders threatening the loss of funds for K-12 schools that don't follow its interpretation of civil rights laws.

Special education laws and the U.S. Department of Education have evolved together over nearly five decades. Now, the Trump administration seems to want to separate the two.

This Week in Oklahoma Politics' panel discusses President Trump's executive order calling for the dismantling of the U.S. Department of Education, State Superintendent Ryan Walters' legal victory in a case regarding anti-bullying enforcement and more.

NPR's Emily Kwong speaks with former Education Secretary John B. King Jr. about the dismantling of the education department and recent arrests of international scholars.