Kelly asks for federal funds to be restored

Kansas Gov. Laura Kelly has requested the federal government reinstate more than $22 million in federal funding appropriated following the COVID-19 pandemic.

April 15, 2025 - 2:04 PM

Gov. Laura Kelly sent a letter to the U.S. Department of Education requesting the administration of President Donald Trump reverse a decision to freeze $22.6 million allocated to the state for benefit of students and teachers. This is a 2023 image of Kelly meeting students at Jardine Elementary in Topeka. Photo by Sherman Smith/Kansas Reflector

TOPEKA — Gov. Laura Kelly said Tuesday a request was submitted to the U.S. Secretary of Education Linda McMahon to reinstate more than $22 million in federal funding appropriated to Kansas to help students who fell behind during the COVID-19 pandemic catch up with peers and to retrain teachers in the science of reading.

The U.S. Department of Education announced in March that approximately $3 billion in pandemic relief funds would be frozen nationwide.

The Kansas State Department of Education had received an extension on the deadline for expending the funds, but the…

Already a subscriber?