Gov. Evers’ Statement on Suing to Stop Trump Administration from Gutting Funding to Address Teacher Shortages and Enhance Teacher Quality to Help Improve Student Outcomes

MADISON — Gov. Tony Evers today released a statement regarding a new multi-state lawsuit to stop the Trump Administration from gutting critical federal funding at the U.S. Department of Education to fund programs designed to address teacher shortages and enhance teacher quality nationwide toward ultimately helping improve student outcomes in classrooms across the country, especially in rural communities and high-need subject areas like math and special education.

“For the Trump Administration to slash crucial funding designed to train and retain talented educators and enhance teacher quality at a time when we’re facing significant challenges keeping educators in our classrooms and we have so much work to do to improve outcomes for our kids, it’s reckless and irresponsible,” said Gov. Evers. “Our kids, families, schools, seniors, veterans, and so many Americans will pay the price for Republicans’ constant attempts to gut popular programs that folks depend on every day, from Medicaid to jobs that support our veterans and programs to help make sure students receive the best instruction.”

According to the lawsuit filed today by a multi-state coalition, the Trump Administration, over the course of a few days last month, arbitrarily terminated approximately $600 million in critical grants authorized by the U.S. Congress to address nationwide teacher shortages and improve teacher quality by educating, placing, and supporting new teachers, especially in rural communities and high-need subject areas like math and special education. The Trump Administration’s drastic cuts to federal funding eliminated two key programs established by the U.S. Congress aimed at training new educators and enhancing teacher quality, which would ultimately help improve outcomes for kids in classrooms across the country.

The governor’s announcement today comes as Gov. Evers declared 2025 the Year of the Kid in Wisconsin and introduced the most “pro-kid” budget in state history. Additionally, the Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction (DPI) recently released its annual Educator Preparation Program and Workforce Analysis Report outlining the state’s educator retention crisis. According to DPI’s report, only 55.6 percent of Wisconsin’s licensed educators choose to stay in their profession after seven years of teaching, and for special education educators, less than half choose to remain in their profession.

According to a 2023 report by the Wisconsin Policy Forum, the average annual teacher turnover rate from 2009 to 2023 in Wisconsin was 11.5 percent, reaching an alarming 15.8 percent in the 2022-23 school year. This includes both the highest levels of teachers moving between districts and leaving the profession altogether. The report found that both rural and city districts, districts with large populations of low-income students and students of color, and small school districts were the most impacted.

NOTE: This press release was submitted to Urban Milwaukee and was not written by an Urban Milwaukee writer. While it is believed to be reliable, Urban Milwaukee does not guarantee its accuracy or completeness.