Experts say Texas needs more money for adult education. Federal funding for it is increasingly uncertain

The Trump administration has made big promises to cut federal spending, and the Department of Education has been one target. 

Trump signed an executive order in March dismantling the agency and returning oversight of education to states, though that order has been held up in court. 

And while many have focused on what that would mean for public school funding, there has been less discussion about how these changes will affect adult education. 

Adult education programs in Texas — which encompass GED classes, English as a second language instruction, and job training — receive a mix of federal and state funding through the Texas Workforce Commission. 

“We put out a request for applications. Entities from across the state who have demonstrated experience in serving adult learners can apply for those funds,” said Mahalia Baldini, the commission’s director of adult education and literacy. “Typically those organizations are community colleges, independent school districts, nonprofits…think about any entity that’s really just focused on serving adult learners in the state.”

The commission distributes grants throughout Texas via 28 regions. Each region has a primary provider that uses these funds to meet adult learning targets in their areas. 

McLennan Community College in Waco receives a mix of federal and state dollars to support adult education and literacy efforts in the area. These dollars are distributed by the Texas Workforce Commission to providers across the state. Sarah Asch / Texas Standard

For Waco and the surrounding counties, that provider is McLennan Community College. This summer, a small group of GED students at McLennan are preparing to take their math exams — among them is Brittnay Camp, who started taking GED courses last August.

Camp said she was motivated to go back to school because she wants to become a paramedic.

“I started in the fire department as a volunteer and I got into the medical world,” she said. “I want to (be a) paramedic but you can’t be a paramedic without a GED.”

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McLennan has been trying to do a lot with a little for students like Camp for a while now.

The Texas Workforce Investment Council found that federal and state grants only pay for about 3% of adult education needs statewide – and that need is substantial. The council’s report from last December estimates about 4.7 million Texans qualify for adult education services. That’s about 1 in 5 Texans over the age of 16. 

Funding from the Department of Education makes up most of the money that pays for these services in Texas – about 80%. But as the Trump administration works to cut spending and eliminate the Department of Education, that funding is increasingly uncertain. 

The money is usually allocated in the spring. But Sharon Bonney – the CEO of a national advocacy organization called the Coalition on Adult Basic Education – said this year, spring came and went with no announcement about incoming money.

“We were really fighting for it even in June,” Bonney said. “We knew that local programs would have to start laying people off, and it would come down to closures if the funding didn’t come through.”

The Texas Workforce Commission was also waiting. In the midst of the uncertainty, TWC staff proposed at least allocating a smaller budget so providers of adult education in Texas had some ability to plan for the months ahead.

Workforce Commission CFO Chris Nelson brought the proposal to commissioners at a meeting in May.

Nelson proposed the TWC allocate all of the $9.5 million in state funding that usually goes to adult education, as well as all of the money from the federal Temporary Assistance for Needy Families program. But, Nelson’s proposal to the commission was to only include half of the biggest chunk of federal funding. 

A few weeks ago, the Department of Education finally released adult learning funds— though they left out money usually dedicated to support English language learners.

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The Texas Workforce Commission said the agency is prepared to make amendments to their original funding estimates and distribute the remaining dollars. However, they will wait until we receive the final grant award notification from the Department of Education, which usually happens on July 1.

But even with the funding on its way, adult learning advocate Sharon Bonney says she’s still concerned it’s at risk of being taken back. In early June, for example, the administration requested Congress claw back over $9 billion of previously approved funding.

“Typically we would say, ‘oh, we’re safe,’” she said. “We have the funding that we need just for this next year, at the very least. But now, if it was clawed back, that would be a real hardship for the field.”

And then there’s Trump’s so-called “skinny budget” – which proposes cutting adult education funding entirely. 

The budget proposal document claims that as control of public education returns to the states, K-12 outcomes will improve, making remedial education for adults less necessary. It also outlines a plan to redirect resources to programs that prepare people for meaningful careers. 

Glenda Rose is the managing director of the Texas Center for the Advancement of Literacy and Learning at Texas A&M. She said she couldn’t speak on behalf of the center, but based on her personal experience teaching adult education, this plan to redirect funds shows a misunderstanding of what adult ed is really for. 

“If you are going to go into a meaningful career, you have to have the foundation of literacy to do the training for that career,” Rose said.

Rose said that adult education is usually career-oriented. But this is especially true in Texas, where the Workforce Commission oversees the adult ed grants and sets the program requirements. In most other states, adult ed is under the state department of education.

“Texas is way far ahead of the group as far as this training component,” Rose said. “We’ve pretty much got it down. But they’re saying we’re ineffective. And it infuriates me because it shows a real lack of understanding about what we’re doing.”

This focus on career training is evident in the state targets that providers like McLennan Community College have to meet to maintain their funding.

Michelle Telg-Moore is the program director of adult education and literacy at McLennan. She said providers are required to offer workforce literacy programs.

“For instance, this year we did a class with a local hotel where we were teaching English skills to people in their housekeeping department,” Telg-Moore said.

Education can also be combined with career training in healthcare or manufacturing. And programs are designed to help professionals who have immigrated to the U.S. or who were recently released from prison.

“Another thing we do is they’re called ‘second chance programs’ where recently released individuals who want to get back into society… How can we help those students as well?,” she said. “So we have a really large mandate that we’re trying to accomplish in six counties.”

Telg-Moore says, with funding uncertain, her team is looking at ways to combine services and classes without outright cutting programs.

“I was talking with someone yesterday, I was in a meeting, I’m like, ‘well, this could happen, or this could happen, or this can happen, or this could happen,’” she said. “So we’re just waiting.”

While Telg-Moore and her team strategize about how to move forward, students in the McLennan adult education building are moving toward their learning goals.

Silas Prickett has actually already passed GED math, but he said he keeps coming to the class because he likes the teacher. He also wants to stay up to date on his math skills for when he takes the test required to enlist in the military.

“If my wife lets me go to the Marine Corps then I’ll go there, but if not, we’ll probably stick with the Army,” he said. “As soon as I get the GED, I’m gonna shake everybody’s hand, thank them so very much for helping me out, and start studying.” 

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