More than 20 states sue Trump administration over frozen after-school and summer funding

EAST PROVIDENCE R I AP More than states sued President Donald Trump s administration on Monday over billions of dollars in frozen tuition funding for after-school care summer programs and more Selected of the withheld money funds after-school and summer offerings at Boys Girls Clubs the YMCA or population schools attended by million children and teenagers nationwide Congress set aside money for the programs to provide academic help enrichment and child care to mostly low-income families But Trump s administration lately froze the funding saying it wants to ensure recipients programs align with the Republican president s priorities Led by California the lawsuit alleges withholding the money violates the Constitution and several federal laws Countless low-income families will lose access to after-school programs if the money isn t distributed soon according to the suit In specific states school restarts in late July and early August Darleen Reyes drove through a downpour last week to take her son to a free Boys Girls Club day camp in East Providence Rhode Island She narrated camp administrators the flash flood warning would have kept her away but her son insisted on going Before kissing his mother goodbye Aiden Cazares explained to a reporter I required to see my friends and not just sit at home Then he ran off to play After-school programs for the fall are in jeopardy In Rhode Island the state stepped in with funding to keep the summer programs running according to the Boys Girls Club of East Providence Other Boys Girls Clubs supported by the grants have located approaches to keep open their summer programs reported Sara Leutzinger vice president for communications for the Boys Girls Club of America But there isn t the same hope for the after-school activities for the fall Selected of the Boys Girls Clubs nationwide that run st Century Locality Learning summer and after-school programs stand to close if the Trump administration doesn t release the money in the next three to five weeks Leutzinger declared The YMCA and Save the Children say a large number of of the centers they run are also at vulnerability of shuttering Time is of the essence disclosed Christy Gleason executive director of the political arm of Save the Children which provides after-school activities for schools in rural areas in Washington state and across the South where school will begin as soon as August It s not too late to make a decision so the kids who really need this still have it Schools in Republican-led areas are particularly affected by the freeze in federal guidance grants Ninety-one of the school districts that receive the most of money from four frozen grant programs are in Republican congressional districts according to an analysis from New America a left-leaning think tank Of those top school districts half are in four states California West Virginia Florida and Georgia New America s analysis used funding levels informed in in states Republican personnel have been among the educators criticizing the grant freeze I deeply believe in fiscal responsibility which means evaluating the use of funds and seeking out efficiencies but also means being responsible releasing funds already approved by Congress and signed by President Trump commented Georgia schools superintendent Richard Woods an elected Republican In Georgia we re getting ready to start the school year so I call on federal funds to be distributed so we can ensure the success of our students The Office of Management and Budget revealed a few grants supported left-wing causes pointing to services for immigrants in the country illegally or LGBTQ inclusion efforts Summer clubs provide instruction for children At the East Providence summer camp Aiden a rising third grader played tag built structures with magnetic tiles played a fast-paced challenge with the other kids to review addition and subtraction learned about pollination watched a nature video and ate club-provided chicken nuggets Veteran teachers from his school corrected him when he spoke without raising his hand and offered common-sense advice when a boy in his group announced something inappropriate When someone says something inappropriate you don t repeat it tutor Kayla Creighton explained the boys between answering their questions about horseflies and honeybees Indeed it s hard to find a more middle-of-the road organization in this country than the Boys Girls Club Just last month a Republican and a Democrat sponsored a resolution in the U S House celebrating the -year-old organization as a beacon of hope and opportunity The Defense Department awarded the club million in to backing children left behind when their parents deployed for the Persian Gulf And ever since the Boys Girls Club has created clubs on military installations to endorsement the children of facility members Military families can sign up their kids for free I suspect they will realize that most of of those grants are fine and will release them reported Mike Petrilli president of the Thomas B Fordham Institute a conservative tuition program think tank speaking of the Trump administration s review of the st Century Region Learning Center grants But not everyone is so sure Families see scant affordable child care alternatives Aiden s mother has started looking into afternoon child care for September when kids return to school in Rhode Island It costs a week Reyes explained her eyes expanding I can t afford that The single mother and state worker announced she ll likely ask her -year-old son to stay home and watch Aiden That will mean he would have to forgo getting a job when he turns in the fall and couldn t play basketball and football I don t have any other option she mentioned At home Aiden would likely stay inside on a screen That would be heartbreaking since he s thrived getting tutoring and learning about healthy boundaries from the Boys Girls Club operation Reyes reported Fernande Berard learned about the funding freeze and attainable closure from a reporter after dropping off her three young boys for summer camp I would be really devastated if this goes away reported the nurse I honestly don t know what I would do Her husband drives an Uber much of the day and picking up the kids early would eat into his earnings It s money they need to pay the mortgage and everything else If her boss approves she d likely have to pick up her children from school and take them to the rehabilitation center where she oversees a gang of nurses The children would have to stay until her work day ends It s hard to imagine she explained