LISTEN: Georgia Attorney General Chris Carr affirmed presidential authority to review education funding, while Democrats like U.S. Rep. Lucy McBath said the Department of Education needs to release the promised funds. GPB's Sarah Kallis reports.

Teacher

Bibb County teacher Heidi Hintermaier teaches a summer school reading class in Macon in June 2023.

Credit: Grant Blankenship/GPB News

Georgia will not join the 24 states and Washington, D.C., that are suing the Trump administration to release $6 billion in promised federal education grants, Georgia Attorney General Chris Carr said. 

“Legally, whether you like or do not like the policy, the President has the authority to ensure that these federal funds are being spent lawfully," he said in a statement provided to GPB News. "Like Governor Kemp, I will make sure that public education is fully funded in Georgia."

The suit argues withholding the funds violates the Impoundment Act, governing how a president withholds funding. Meanwhile, Democratic U.S. Rep. Lucy McBath called for the release of the funds on the House floor Tuesday.

“Instead of being in your child’s classroom, your money is sitting in Washington, D.C., here because the Secretary of Education could not be bothered to meet a deadline that is the difference between a school having an after-school program or not," McBath said. 

Georgia school districts were supposed to receive around $40 million from the U.S. Department of Education July 1 to pay for programs including after-school programs. Those funds are currently under review by the Department of Education and have not been released to states. 

Tags: Georgia  Georgia Politics  Education  federal funding cuts  department of education