Over a million people across the country are enrolled in adult education every year — this includes GED classes, workforce training and English language instruction.
But now, roughly $716 million in funding for these programs may be at risk because the Trump administration is withholding grant money that traditionally is disbursed on July 1.
These programs are designed to help people like Maricela Juarez, who dropped out of school when she completed 8th grade and soon after became a teen mom.
By age 25, Juarez had six children and her dreams of establishing a career and moving out of public housing felt unachievable.
Her formal education interrupted, she worked in construction and cleaned houses to pay the bills.
It wasn’t until her youngest got to high school that Juarez enrolled in GED classes at Austin Community College in 2013.
“It took me a long time to get through all the material that I needed to get,” Juarez said. “The math part was very, very hard.”
Juarez’s GED opened the door for her to get an associates degree in 2020. Last December, she got her bachelor’s from Texas State University in criminal justice.
“I feel extremely blessed,” she said. “I just thought it was an impossible dream.”
Kathy Dowdy, the adult education dean at Austin Community College, said delaying these funds puts programs like the one that helped Juarez at risk.
“Since COVID, we’re especially needed to help students realize their strengths,” Dowdy said. “We help them find their way. It’s a second chance.”
Adult education helps people meet their goals and offers certifications in high demand fields — that includes HVAC repair, healthcare and manufacturing.
Sharon Bonney, CEO of the national advocacy organization Coalition on Adult Basic Education, said she fears many of the people enrolled in adult education programs could have their studies interrupted in the next few weeks.
“Closures will start immediately,” Bonney said. “We’ve already heard from a number of local programs. This is going to be across-the-board mass closures and layoffs.”
These dollars usually flow to states from the Department of Education as part of the Workforce Innovation and Opportunities Act, which passed in 2014.
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Bonney estimates that of the more than $700 million on hold, California was slated to receive the most at about $117 million. Texas was second on the list at around $78 million. Florida and New York were both to receive about $50 million.
Bonney said this will have ripple effects beyond the individual students impacted.
“Adult education is a talent pipeline into the workforce and into community colleges,” she said. “That talent pipeline will be immediately cut in half.”
This will make it harder for employers to fill jobs and for workers to increase their earnings.
Even with the federal grant, Texas typically only has the funding to cover about 3% of the need for adult education in the state. That’s according to estimates by the Texas Workforce Investment Council.
Many programs — including the one at Austin Community College that supports English language education — were operating with long waitlists.
“And that was with the funding,” Dowdy said. “Now without the funding, that wait list will just grow.”
Maricela Juarez said she is proof that adult education changes lives. She now works at Austin Community College, helping students seeking career training.
“When you’re living in or below poverty or poverty level, you just don’t think that you can make it out there,” she said. “Unless you actually see someone that has been where you are and you can see that as an example.”
