Trump wants to nix the U.S. Department of Education. How would that affect Minnesota schools?

President Donald Trump’s stated goal of dismantling the U.S. Department of Education is stoking fears of potential cuts in federal funding and the impact that would have on Minnesota schools.

On Tuesday, a group of elected, union and school leaders aired their concerns at St. Paul’s Maxfield Elementary School during a union-driven national day of action billed as a defense of public schools.

But how much money do Minnesota schools get from the federal government?

Minnesota receives about 10%, or $1.4 billion, of its school funding from the federal government, and newly confirmed U.S. Education Secretary Linda McMahon has maintained that Title I money for low-income schools would continue to flow.

But the Trump administration has threatened to pull federal funding from schools and colleges that don’t disband diversity programs. Meanwhile, state lawmakers are tasked with setting a new two-year budget.

So how much does Minnesota rely on federal funding of its schools?

The state’s school systems receive $233 million from the federal government for special education services, and can ill afford to lose it: They already must use state general fund dollars to help cover the costs.

In 1975, the federal government committed to pay 40% of special education services under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act. But in Minnesota, the contribution is about 7% to 8%, Daron Korte, an assistant commissioner at the state Department of Education, said recently.

Schools provide services for which they later seek federal reimbursement, and if money were paused or eliminated, “we would have to ask if the mandate to continue to provide services would continue,” and the state would probably have to fill the gap, Korte said.

McMahon has said she wouldn’t recommend reducing funding for special education, but she suggests shifting program oversight to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

The federal Title I program aims to go beyond core instruction with support services at schools with the highest levels of poverty and stiffest academic challenges — both urban and rural. Included are investments in reading, teacher coaching and attendance initiatives.

Minnesota is receiving about $194 million in Title I funding during the 2024-25 school year.

The funding was authorized by the Every Student Succeeds Act, which also provides:

A year ago, the U.S. Department of Agriculture dedicated $431 million to the state’s school nutrition programs, including $339 million now being used to help fund universal free school meals.

Schools seek federal reimbursement on a monthly basis, and at rates that rarely cover the full cost of the meals, Korte said. The state then steps in to supplement the funding, and its projected costs rise from about $400 million to $481 million over two years.

The USDA also provides about $2 million for school-based summer food programs.

Minnesota secured a $37.6 million federal grant to ease student access to “high quality, high performing charter schools” and to assist operators with start-up and expansion costs.

The grant was awarded in September 2023 and schools have three years to spend the funds.

“It’s a significant amount of money,” said Korte, and essential, he added, given the challenge of opening a school before you can collect funds for the students you serve.

Like other school districts, those on Minnesota reservations collect most of their funding from the state. But the federal stake tends to be larger. For example, about 40% of per-pupil funding in the Red Lake, Mahnomen and Nett Lake school districts comes from the federal government.

Sources include Title I and special-education funding, as well as Title VII “federal impact aid,” which goes to schools with boundaries on federally owned land.

The total of Title VII funding awarded statewide in 2024 was $16.3 million, of which about $10.3 million went to six school districts, including $7.4 million in Red Lake, $1.1 million in Mahnomen and $330,703 in Nett Lake, with majority Native student populations.

Title VII aid is designed to help cover the loss of property tax revenue and provides additional assistance to children with disabilities.