Hirono, colleagues urge administration to restore funding for Full-Service Community Schools

US Sen. Mazie Hirono (D-Hawaiʻi) joined a group of Senate Democrats this week in urging US Education Secretary Linda McMahon to reverse the Department of Education’s decision to discontinue $168 million in grants for the Full-Service Community School program.

In the letter, the senators said the funding cuts would affect community school programs in 12 states, including Hawaiʻi, where 22 public schools currently operate as community schools.

According to the Coalition for Community Schools, community schools participate in community-based efforts to coordinate and integrate educational, developmental, family, health and other comprehensive services in addition to providing access to such services in school to students, families and the community. Successful schools take into consideration the needs of the local community, providing the community with a voice in the process. 

The lawmakers said the decision to end the grants mid–school year could force schools to shut down programs that support student learning and help families access basic services. They also questioned the department’s explanation that the grants violated civil rights law, saying the rationale lacked detail and conflicted with congressional intent.

The letter was led by Hirono, Sens. Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.), Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) and Bernie Sanders (D-Vt.). It was also signed by Sens. Angela Alsobrooks (D-Md.), Cory Booker (D-N.J.), Tammy Duckworth (D-Ill.), Dick Durbin (D-Ill.), Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.), Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.), Andy Kim (D-N.J.), Adam Schiff (D-Calif.), and Ben Ray Lujan (D-N.M.).

According to the senators, the Full-Service Community Schools program has received bipartisan support for more than 15 years. In 2023, Congress increased annual funding for the program from $25 million to $150 million, a level that was maintained in fiscal years 2024 and 2025.

The letter states that many of the affected grants were awarded for five-year terms and still had two or three years remaining. Senators said schools were given little notice and limited opportunity to appeal the decision.

The group called on the Department of Education to reinstate all discontinued grants and refocus its efforts on supporting schools that serve high-poverty and underserved communities.

The full text of the letter is available here.