Sen. Mark Kelly (D-Arizona) is raising concerns about the effects the Trump administration’s actions are having on community colleges, noting that uncertainty over funding and changes in policies can hamper their work, especially in workforce and economic development.
In an August 21 letter to U.S. Education Secretary Linda McMahon, Kelly noted the overall impact community colleges have on local, state and regional economies, highlighting the work of Maricopa Community Colleges in preparing skilled workers for Arizona’s growing semiconductor manufacturing industry through its Semiconductor Technician Quick Start Program.
“If the Trump administration wants to expand domestic manufacturing, community college programs like Quick Start are essential to supporting and advancing this goal,” Kelly wrote. “These types of programs should receive more federal support, not less.”
Kelly said the administration’s vague directives, uncertainty over federal funding and lack of contacts at the Education Department due to staffing cuts “hurts their ability to serve students and communities effectively.”
The senator listed the following four questions he would like ED to answer by September 1:
- Has the administration evaluated the specific impacts of recent policy changes, including grant freezes and mass firings of federal workers, on community colleges?
- What measures is the administration taking to provide greater stability and support to community colleges, ensuring that programs with positive contributions to local economic development can continue uninterrupted?
- What proactive steps is the administration taking to engage with community colleges and adequately equip them as they begin the upcoming academic year?
- How is the administration communicating with and involving community colleges in the implementation of Executive Order 14278?
In its fiscal year 2026 budget proposal, the Trump administration would like funding eliminated for programs such as Adult Basic Education, HEA Title III-A Strengthening Institutions, Childcare Access Means Parents in School (CCAMPIS), TRIO, GEAR UP and Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grants (SEOG). The budget also proposes eliminating a host of Labor Department programs, including the Strengthening Community College Training Grants (SCCTG) and Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act Title I formula programs, and replacing them with block grant to the states.
However, Senate appropriators last month rejected many of his proposed cuts, including ones that would affect community colleges. For example, the Senate’s bipartisan funding measure would preserve the $65-million SCCTG program, as well as keep funding for TRIO, GEAR UP, CCAMPIS, SEOG and the Postsecondary Student Success Grant Program.
