The blockade affects multiple areas of education funding.
Most of the blocked money for Oklahoma is concentrated in five funds:
More than $31 million is in Title II-A funds for Oklahoma. Title II-A funds go toward professional development for school employees, including teacher and principal certification programs. They intend to increase school staff to improve student performance and provide low-income students with access to effective faculty.
More than $16 million is in Title IV-A funds, which aim to provide students with well-rounded educations, improve school conditions and improve technology use to expand digital literacy and performance.
Another $15.7 million in Title IV-B funds is blocked. In Oklahoma, they're used to allocate money toward community learning centers that provide academic services to students and families in low-performing, impoverished school districts.
Around $6.4 million is frozen in Title III-A funding. These funds provide assistance to children learning English, including language instruction programs. Title IV of the Civil Rights Act requires educational institutions to assist English learners and provide them with participation.
Around $7.8 million in funding for adult literacy and civics education is also frozen. This includes Adult Education and Literacy, and Integrated English Literacy and Civics Education funds, which provide services to adult English learners to function as productive U.S. citizens.
According to the 2025 National Assessment of Educational Progress, Oklahoma ranked near the bottom in math and reading levels compared to all other states. The state placed 48th in eight-grade reading scores and 45th in math.
Other research released in the past two years suggests that about one in five Oklahomans struggles with English comprehension.
Oklahoma State Superintendent of Public Instruction Ryan Walters said Oklahoma school districts should budget according to funding already awarded by the Department of Education.
"We appreciate the fact that the Trump Administration is working diligently to ensure our taxpayer dollars are being stewarded with care. OSDE is working in lockstep with the Trump Administration to assist with our mutually-aligned education priorities," Walters said. "OSDE recommends that districts budget using only allocations that USDE has awarded for state fiscal year 2026."
The national freeze
The move comes weeks before the 2025-26 school year in the state, which typically begins in mid-August. Education funding is also expected at the beginning of the fiscal year, which began on July 1.
The Department of Education reportedly wrote it was reviewing the funding and that money would not be distributed before the review is finished.
Nearly one-third of the funding goes to Texas, California and Florida – the three most populous states in the country.
California alone sees a $900 million freeze. Oklahoma has around 10% of California's population.
A coalition of nonprofit organizations, which filed NAACP v. US, moved for a preliminary injunction against the Trump administration in response.
"Today's filing asks the Court to block multiple unlawful actions the administration has taken that harm students, schools and communities across the country," a press release reads.
In Tulsa, Union Public Schools Superintendent John Federline sent a message to faculty listing eight projects impacted. The projects, which go unnamed, are derived from the funds frozen by the federal government.
He asked employees not to make purchase orders, travel requests or some hires for the projects.
"Like most school districts across the country, at Union we rely on these dollars to provide vital supports to students, professional development for educators, and adult learning programs," Federline said. "We are monitoring this situation closely, but please be advised that existing encumbrances may be affected as we learn more."
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