The Corporation for Public Broadcasting said today that the Trump administration has terminated grants that have long been used to fund education initiatives and PBS Kids programming.
The CPB said that it was informed by the Department of Education on Friday that the 2020-25 Ready to Learn grant was being canceled, forcing it to inform PBS and 44 public media stations to pause the long-running program.
“Nearly every parent has raised their kids on public broadcasting’s children’s content,” Patricia Harrison, president and CEO of the corporation. “For the past 30 years, Ready To Learn-funded PBS Kids content has produced measurable, real-world impacts on children’s learning. Ready To Learn has received strong bipartisan support from Congress and every Administration for the last 30 years because of the programs’ proven educational value in advancing early learning skills for all children. We will work with Congress and the Administration to preserve funding for this essential program.”
A spokesperson for the Department of Education did not immediately return a request for comment.
The grants have helped fund such shows as Molly of Denali, Work It Out Wombats! and Lyla in the Loop. Ready to Learn was established to improve education for preschool and early elementary students, with goals of reaching those in low-income communities.
The Ready to Learn grant was authorized as a 1992 amendment to the Elementary and Secondary Education Act. The Corporation for Public Broadcasting and PBS have received grants each five year cycle, with the latest expiring on Sept. 30. According to the Education Department, CPB and PBS were expected to receive a total of $105 million under the program for the past five years.
The grants are separate from the congressional appropriation to the CPB, which has been $535 million.
Last week, Trump signed an executive order ordering the CPB to end federal funding to PBS and NPR. But the CPB and those networks have challenged the president’s authority to do so, as Congress directly authorized and funded CPB to be a private nonprofit corporation wholly independent of the federal government.” Trump also ordered other federal agencies to end funding to public media.
