Trump Administration Stops Grants Used For PBS Kids’ Education and Animation

The Trump Administration continues its Attack on what it deems “DEI” and “Woke Propaganda” with its latest casualty being Educational Animation for kids, as The administration has decided to terminate the Ready to Learn Grant, which has long been used to fund education initiatives and PBS Kids programming. The CPB had to inform PBS and 44 public media stations in 28 states and in the District of Columbia to pause the long-running program, which includes rural and urban communities throughout the country.

Following up on Trump’s Executive Order to stop federal funding for NPR and PBS, the CPB (Corporation of Public Broadcasting) issued a statement recently concerning the termination of the Ready to Learn Grant, mentioning that with the grant’s termination, it was effective immediately. Patricia Harrison, President and CEO of CPB, spoke about the termination and CPB’s willingness to work with Congress and the administration to preserve funding for the program.

“Nearly every parent has raised their kids on public broadcasting’s children’s content. 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 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.”

Meanwhile, Madi Biedermann, deputy assistant secretary for communications at the Department of Education, said the Ready to Learn Grants for PBS were eliminated due to “funding racial justice educational programming for 5-8 year-old children. This is not aligned with the Administration’s priorities. The Trump Department of Education will prioritize funding that supports meaningful learning and improving student outcomes, not divisive ideologies and woke propaganda.” The reference to “Woke Propaganda” appears to target shows that have non-white protagonists and their communities. Which includes the Emmy and Peabody Award-winning series, Molly of Denali, which focuses on Alaska Native Characters, Lyla in the Loop, which focuses on an African American/Jamaican girl that introduces young viewers to computational thinking and creative problem solving, Rosie’s Rules, about a five-year-old girl named Rosie Fuentes, a bilingual Mexican American girl from suburban Texas who is just beginning to learn about how the world around her works (debuted in 2022), and Alma’s Way, about a young Puerto Rican girl living in a Latino neighborhood in The Bronx. The existing grant was awarded to CPB and PBS during Trump’s first term, under then-Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos.

Ready to Learn Grants Background (CPB):

• Ready To Learn is authorized under the Elementary and Secondary Education Act.
  
• The U.S. Department of Education has held the Ready To Learn Programming grant competition every five years since 1995, and the Corporation for Public Broadcasting and PBS have won grants in every cycle.
  
• The 2020-2025 cycle, which expires on September 30, was approved by the first Trump Administration.
  
• Historically, grants from Ready To Learn have helped fund such well-known shows as “Sesame Street,” “Reading Rainbow, and “Clifford the Big Red Dog.” Shows funded by the current grant include the award-winning “Molly of Denali,” “Work It Out Wombats!” and “Lyla in the Loop.”
• In the most recent fiscal year, Ready To Learn content reached more than 1.8 billion video streams, 27.6 million digital game plays, 10.2 million television viewers, and 2 million mobile app downloads.

Time for a history lesson. On May 1, 1969, Fred Rogers, host of the longtime children’s television landmark Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood, appeared in Washington before the Senate Subcommittee on Communications to express his disagreement with a proposal by President Richard Nixon to cut federal funding for public broadcasting from $20 million to $10 million. In his address to the subcommittee chairman, Senator John O. Pastore, Rogers outlined his submitted testimony, stating that “one of the first things… a child learns in a healthy family is trust, and I trust… that you will read this. It’s very important to me.”

Fred Rogers detailed the emotional impact that television had on children and how it could be used to provide a guiding influence to them. He would also list his show’s budget, which consisted of $6,000 and was equal to the cost of “less than two minutes of cartoons,” referred to by Rogers as “animated bombardment.” The Senator’s tough demeanor would eventually soften as Rogers continued his passionate testimony. Pastore said that Fred Rogers’ plea had given him “goosebumps.” Pastore effused: “I think it’s wonderful. I think it’s wonderful,” and, after a slight pause, he made his conclusion clear: “Looks like you just earned the twenty million dollars.”

Ways to Support PBS Kids and NPR

• Donations-
  • PBS
  • Protect My Public Media
  • PBS SoCal
  • NPR

Source: Animation Magazine, CPB (1,2)

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