The Bottom Line

The latest education policy news from the South

May 30, 2025

State and Legislative Updates from SEF’s Government Affairs Team

The weeks of 5/19 – 5/30

Greetings all,

As May comes to a close, we continue to witness a number of major policy updates throughout the South and at the federal level. We have spotlighted a few here, along with short descriptions in our state and federal sections below.

Two significant items recently occurred in states that are still in session. In Texas, the legislature approved an $8.5 billion package to strengthen public schools. According to the Texas Tribune, the funding amounts to a $55 per-student increase to the base allotment. However, it falls short of the $1,300 per-student increase school officials advocated for to keep up with inflation. It is worth noting that this funding package comes after the governor signed a bill a few weeks ago that created the nation’s largest school voucher program.

In Louisiana, the Senate President wants to cautiously roll out the state’s latest voucher program and fund it at $50 million, while the governor and his House colleagues wish to allocate $94 million for it. The Senate leader wants to use the $44 million in savings to fund tutoring programs for elementary school students rather than directing more money into the voucher program.

And in case you missed it, a judge ruled to halt the Trump administration’s efforts to dismantle the U.S. Department of Education last week. Meanwhile, the U.S. House of Representatives passed a Budget Reconciliation bill that would create a $5 billion national school voucher program, despite extensive evidence that voucher recipients do not show improved test score results.

We are grateful for all you do to support the education of students of color and students from low-income families throughout the region. We hope you find these resources helpful as you continue to support young people and educators in the South.

Latest from SEF

Department of Education Reinstates Southern Education Foundation’s Civil Rights Education Grant According to Preliminary Injunction – This week, SEF received formal notice from the U.S. Department of Education that, pursuant to a court order regarding a preliminary injunction issued last week, its Equity Assistance Center-South grant has been reinstated. The preliminary injunction pertains to the period during which the case is pending, so the reinstatement is not permanent; however, the court found that SEF was likely to succeed on the merits of its claim that the Department violated federal law.
SEF’s 2025 Issues Forum, Miles to Go: The Road to Education Justice, is set for November 4-6 in New Orleans, LA. The call for papers and session proposals is now open.

State Updates

Alabama

College computer science program for Black women canceled weeks before start – The Legacy program is a collaboration between seven predominantly white and historically Black colleges, planned to work with 600 students from Mississippi, Ohio, Michigan, and Alabama through 2028. The University of Alabama and Tuskegee University were two of seven colleges that offered programming funded by one of the grants terminated by the National Science Foundation in April. The program’s halt comes just weeks before students were set to arrive on campus in June. (AL.com/Education Lab) Read More

Delaware

Delaware State University freezes hiring amid growing uncertainty around public funding – Delaware State University has instituted a year-long hiring freeze amid concerns over federal and state funding support, potentially slowing the decade-long revitalization underway at the state’s only historically Black college and university. (Delaware Online) Read More

Florida

Education commissioner to leave post, become interim president at University of West Florida – Education Commissioner Manny Diaz Jr. will lead the University of West Florida as interim president, the school’s trustees voted. (Florida Phoenix) Read More

Kentucky

Public education group launches listening tour to build campaign for Kentucky schools – An organization that led a statewide campaign against last year’s proposed constitutional amendment to allow the legislature to fund nonpublic schools is seeking more insight about education from communities across Kentucky. (Kentucky Lantern) Read More

Louisiana

Advocates push lawmakers to restore millions for child care program – Funding for early education doesn’t appear to be in jeopardy this year, but advocates want last year’s cuts to be reversed. (WWNO) Read More
Louisiana Senate will reduce funding for Gov. Landry’s private school vouchers, chamber leader says – The Senate president said his chamber will dramatically scale back funding for the new private school voucher program compared to what Gov. Jeff Landry and the House of Representatives have pledged. Instead of spending an extra $44 million on the program, Sen. Henry said the Senate would put the funding toward a tutoring program for kindergarten to third-grade students that launched last year but is currently unfunded in the budget. (Louisiana Illuminator) Read More

Missouri

State lawmakers add grade-level performance to standardized test results – Missouri parents may soon have a better understanding of whether their child is performing at or above grade level on the state’s standardized test under a sweeping education bill that awaits the governor’s signature. (Missouri Independent) Read More

North Carolina

Paying more for less? State lawmakers propose UNC System tuition increases, budget cuts – State Republican lawmakers are eyeing large cuts to higher education spending and considering whether to require state universities to raise in-state tuition for the first time in years — a decision that comes as the state legislature seeks to find ways to fund further tax cuts. (WRAL News) Read More

Oklahoma

Bill allowing local universities to offer four-year degrees passes State Senate – The Oklahoma Senate passed a bill that would allow four local universities to offer four-year degrees and duplicate their current offerings. Langston University, the state’s only Historically Black College and University, expressed disappointment, stating that the legislation poses significant challenges for smaller institutions like Langston University. (Fox 23 News) Read More
Lawmakers send bill expanding access to subsidized child care to governor – A bill creating a program to expand access to the state’s child care subsidy program for employees of child care facilities was sent to the governor’s desk in a move aimed at supporting recruitment and retention in the child care workforce. (StateImpact Oklahoma) Read More

South Carolina

$500M for colleges, a bigger share for traditional public schools: How the state budget funds education – The state’s traditional K-12 public schools will receive a bigger share of new funding in the coming school year under a compromise approved this week. An adjustment in calculations ultimately shifted nearly $10 million of a $112 million sum from charter schools to traditional public schools, according to data provided by the state Department of Education. (South Carolina Daily Gazette) Read More
Public schools in the state could hire non-certified teachers – A new law could change who is allowed to teach in South Carolina classrooms, and in some cases, they may not be certified teachers. Supporters think the law could help with the state’s teacher shortage. But not everyone is on board. (WSPA News) Read More

Tennessee

What to know as state scores release, third graders face retention – The widespread effects of the state’s reading and retention law will be felt again this year for thousands of public school third and fourth graders and their families. (The Tennessean) Read More
State leads nation in FAFSA completion rate – The Tennessee Higher Education Commission announced that the state achieved its highest ever FAFSA completion rate with a 75.7% among Tennessee Promise applicants. (WSMV) Read More

Texas

State legislature approves $8.5 billion boost for public schools after years of stagnant funding – The state House gave the final stamp of approval to HB 2, authorizing roughly $8.5 billion in funding for public schools, sending the bill to Gov. Greg Abbott’s desk, where it is soon expected to become law. (The Texas Tribune) Read More
Gov. Greg Abbott plans to sign Ten Commandments bill after Senate approval – SB 10, legislation that would require the Ten Commandments to be displayed in all public school classrooms was advanced by the state Senate, sending the legislation to Gov. Greg Abbott’s desk after the House of Representatives passed an amended version. (NBC News) Read More
State poised to add $100 million to child care scholarship program – Lawmakers are using previously unallocated federal dollars to provide an additional $100 million in child care scholarships to help address the state’s waitlist of 95,000 children. (The Texas Tribune) Read More
State to expand how schools discipline students – Schools will be able to use harsher punishments to discipline students after the state legislature passed a sweeping package. HB 6 would extend how long schools can place students in in-school suspensions from three days to as long as they see appropriate. (The Texas Tribune) Read More

National/Federal Updates

Early Childhood Education

Five-decade study: Black girls build on preschool success, while Black boys struggle in some measures – Decades before the Trump administration forbade using federal funding for research into the topic, Craig Ramey wondered if high-quality early education for Black children in North Carolina might improve their life outcomes. (The Hechinger Report) Read More
The labor market case for early childhood education – Two recent studies reveal just how much parents (or other caregivers) benefit from having access to free early childhood education programs. These studies remind us to consider the return on investment in public early childhood education beyond just the children who enroll. (BROOKINGS) Read More

K-12 Education

Don’t Call It a Comeback: Segregated Schools Have Been Here for Years – Decades after the watershed Brown v. Board of Education decision, multiple studies confirm that K-12 public schools across the country are more racially segregated today than they were in 1954, when the case was decided. (Word in Black) Read More
Judge blocks dismantling of Education Department, reinstates hundreds of workers – A federal judge temporarily reinstated hundreds of Education Department workers laid off by the Trump administration and blocked the president’s executive order attempting to dismantle the decades-old agency. (USA Today) Read More
9 things to know about the big, private-school voucher plan in Republicans’ tax bill – House Republicans’ reconciliation bill, which includes a first-of-its-kind national school voucher program, is now heading to the Senate. NPR interviewed researchers, advocates (for and against), tax experts, and more on the potential risks and benefits of this plan. (National Public Radio) Read More
Rapidly expanding school voucher programs pinch state budgets – Characterizing vouchers as an “entitlement program,” Gov. Hobbs said the state could spend more than $1 billion subsidizing private education in the upcoming fiscal year. It’s a dilemma that some budget experts fear will become more common nationwide as the costs of school choice measures mount across the states, reaching billions of dollars each year. (Stateline) Read More
5 Ways to Create Fair School Funding Formulas – This series of briefs, EdTrust’s Policy Positions on School Funding, outlines five core policy positions that shape our beliefs about what state leaders should do to more adequately and fairly fund schools to meet the diverse needs of all students, fostering environments where every student can thrive. (EdTrust) Read More
The Digital Equity Act tried to close the digital divide. Trump calls it racist and acts to end it – After years of progress closing the digital divide, Trump’s move to kill the Digital Equity Act threatens to strip rural, low-income, and older Americans of critical access to technology, education, and opportunity. (Associated Press) Read More
Beyond the Bottom Line: A New Framework for K-12 Fiscal Accountability– The Trump administration’s push to scale back the federal role in education could mean more autonomy for states. This framework, developed through conversations with advocates and policymakers, provides flexible solutions that can be tailored to each state’s unique K–12 funding needs, capacity, and goals. (Bellwether) Read More

Higher Education

The House reconciliation bill will harm student parents – In a party-line vote, Congressional Republicans passed a reconciliation bill that would do massive harm to higher education funding and public safety net programs that parenting students rely on to succeed in college. (New America) Read More
The Republican budget bill rips college away from the working class – The budget bill that House Republicans passed funds tax cuts for the rich. The bill will also disproportionately hurt low-income students by making it harder for them to borrow and repay their loans and by tightening the rules for Pell Grant recipients. (The New Republic) Read More
House Republicans’ Proposed Income-Driven Repayment Plan for Student Loans – In this brief, the Urban Institute analyzes changes the House Committee on Education and the Workforce proposed to the income-driven repayment plans for federal student loans under the fiscal year 2025 budget reconciliation process. (Urban Institute) Read More
HBCU leaders gather to create blueprint for future of higher education – HBCU leaders gathered at Claflin University to develop a comprehensive blueprint for sustainability and self-agency among HBCUs. (Diverse: Issues in Higher Education) Read More
College Board cancels award program for high-performing Black and Latino students – The College Board this month changed the criteria for its National Recognition Program awards in a move that could shift tens of thousands of scholarship dollars from Black and Latino students to white students. (The Hechinger Report) Read More
Losing faith: Rural, religious campuses are among the most endangered – Many religiously affiliated institutions are in rural areas where access to higher education is more limited than in urban and suburban places and is becoming less available still as public universities in rural states have merged or closed, or cut dozens of majors. (The Hechinger Report) Read More
Debt Without a Degree: The Coming College Completion Crisis – While the federal government debates student loan forgiveness and repayment plans, far too little focus is placed on the root cause of this crisis: college completion. It is critical to talk about ending the student debt crisis in addition to addressing the barriers that keep students from finishing what they start. (EdTrust) Read More
College enrollment continues to climb, nearing recovery – Undergraduate enrollment remains slightly below 2020 levels, but college enrollment as a whole is making a steady recovery, driven in part by growth in certificate programs and at two-year public institutions, according to new data from the National Student Clearinghouse Research Center. (Inside Higher Ed) Read More

As always, please let us know if you have any questions or concerns, and if we can assist with any government affairs or advocacy issues moving forward.

Sincerely,

Fred Jones, Senior Director of Public Policy and Advocacy,

fjones@southerneducation.org

Darian Burns, Legislative and Public Policy Analyst,

dburns@southerneducation.org

Allison Boyle, Research and Policy Specialist,

aboyle@southerneducation.org

Review the archive of past updates: