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by Safura Syed, Verite News, Louisiana Illuminator
August 5, 2025

Hundreds of billions of dollars in cuts to federal health care spending, passed last month as part of President Donald Trump’s “One Big Beautiful Bill,” could mean that, over the next 10 years, millions more Americans will be left without health insurance of any kind. But the sweeping domestic policy bill — which Trump signed into law on July 4 — won’t just impact American households. They could also hit public school budgets.

School districts across the country rely on federal Medicaid dollars to pay for medical services and counseling for students, as well as related personnel expenses, such as school nurse salaries. Medicaid payments to schools total more than $7 billion every year, including tens of millions every year to Louisiana public schools, according to a Healthy Schools Campaign study released this March.

But much of that funding could be at risk following the passage last month of Trump’s massive domestic policy bill.  For schools, particularly those in high-poverty areas such as New Orleans — where 60% of children are enrolled in public health insurance programs — Medicaid cuts could mean less access to health care for students.

The cuts could also stretch school budgets in other areas. Schools are legally required to provide certain medical services, such as for students with disabilities who are enrolled in a special education program. Jessie Mandle, the national program director of the Healthy Schools Campaign, said some schools may have to make difficult budget decisions — weighing cuts to non-medical staffing, building maintenance or school programming — in order to pay for those services.

“I want to make sure that school districts understand that these tough decisions that they’re making now are directly connected … to the provisions of this bill, that they are not making these devastating choices in isolation, that they are making these decisions because of the provisions of this bill,” Mandle said.

Rather than direct budget cuts, the new law achieves Medicaid cost savings primarily through changes to how the program is administered — including a work requirement and a more stringent renewal process — that will make it harder for people to qualify for and stay on Medicaid. The Congressional Budget Office has estimated that nearly 12 million people could lose health coverage over the next decade as a result of the changes.

Schools that provide health services to students enrolled in Medicaid bill their costs to the program through the Louisiana Department of Health. The department reimburses schools for the health care services they provided over the school year, including the salaries of the people who provided them. Money from the reimbursements can be reinvested anywhere in the school, increasing the amount of funding that schools have access to in a given fiscal year.

But if fewer students are enrolled in Medicaid, then less Medicaid money will be available to schools.

Sabrina Corner, a Medicaid recipient whose son, Kaleb Bolden, is in eighth grade at Mary McLeod Bethune Charter School in Gentilly, said the school’s medical services have been instrumental in making sure he takes his medication. Kaleb, who has Type 1 diabetes, needs to take insulin after every meal and any period of physical activity, including gym and band class.

“The school plays a big part,” Corner said. “Because he is a child, he can’t do it himself. He needs to have supervision and of course I can’t just leave my job or wherever I am to give him the meds. And it’s very important that he gets his meds because it’s his life. He has to take this in order for him to live every day.”

It’s not clear how much Bethune receives in Medicaid reimbursement funding. Though it’s a charter school governed by an independent nonprofit board, it is one of five charter schools for which the NOLA Public Schools district administers federal funds. As a result, unlike most New Orleans schools, it does not independently report its Medicaid reimbursements to the Louisiana Department of Education.

Bethune school officials did not respond to emails and phone calls from Verite News.

According to school financial data maintained by the Department of Education, public schools across the state received about $85 million in Medicaid reimbursements during the 2023-2024 school year, the last year for which financial data is readily available. Of that, $5.3 million went to schools in New Orleans, a Verite News analysis found.

Nearly half of that went to KIPP New Orleans Schools. With eight schools in its portfolio, KIPP New Orleans is the largest charter school operator in the NOLA Public Schools district, which is made up almost entirely of charters.

According to Kristen Horwood, director of budget planning and fund administration for KIPP New Orleans, the charter network received about $900,000 this year in Medicaid reimbursements for this school year. But that number has previously been much higher. In the 2023-2024 school year, for example, Medicaid reimbursements to KIPP New Orleans schools totaled more than $1.9 million, according to state records.

“Without that funding, we’d have to scale back on everything,” Horwood said. “We would have to reduce workforce. We would have to reduce programs, including academic interventions for students. It’s just basically getting down to the basics, which is not enough to give our students what they need.”

Special education services could be threatened, too

Under the federal Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, which governs special education services, public school students with disabilities must be placed on education plans tailored to their needs.

Such plans may call for students to be given extra time on tests or provided access to speech-to-text software for assignments. But they can also include medical services, such as physical therapy, mental health counseling or speech pathology.

Schools are legally required to follow those plans. And the federal government reimburses certain medical costs for special education students  — but only if they’re enrolled in Medicaid.

Nationwide, Medicaid cuts in schools are expected to lead to school health staff layoffs, a reduction in mental and behavioral health services and a reduction in resources for students with disabilities, according to the March survey of 1,440 public schools across all 50 states by Healthy Schools Campaign. The combined effects of these rollbacks will affect student achievements, survey respondents and Horwood said.

Melissa Francis, a New Orleans parent union organizer with grassroots advocacy group Step Up Louisiana, agreed.

“The students who have disabilities often rely on Medicaid to cover therapies for speech, physical therapy, occupational therapy,” Francis said. “I know these cuts will limit these services, making it harder for them to function in school.”

And New Orleans schools already struggle to accommodate students’ individual education plans, Francis said. The Orleans Parish School Board has been under a federal consent agenda since 2015 that monitors school compliance with IEPs for students with special needs. In the decade since, monitors have found that half of the schools in the district in noncompliance with special education requirements.

Until about a decade ago, schools were only eligible for Medicaid funding that was directly tied to special education. But in 2014, the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services changed existing policy so that health care costs for all Medicaid-enrolled students are reimbursable, even if those services — such as vision and hearing exams — are free for all students.

Louisiana was the first state to expand its school-based Medicaid program in 2015, allowing reimbursements for nursing services delivered to all students on Medicaid. And in 2020, Louisiana expanded the program to cover all medically necessary services for students on Medicaid. New Schools for New Orleans, an education advocacy group, found in 2023 that New Orleans schools had an estimated $10.5 million in possible Medicaid reimbursable funding, but due to complexities in billing and lack of resources, schools were only receiving around 40% of that. Since then, New Schools for New Orleans, the Orleans Parish School Board and the New Orleans City Council have collaborated to increase the amount of Medicaid reimbursements schools receive.

Orleans Parish School Board member Olin Parker said the NOLA Public Schools district has made expanding access to physical and mental health services for students one of its priorities. He fears that reduced Medicaid reimbursements will force schools to make cuts elsewhere in their budgets to keep up with federal requirements for special education students.

“Now you’re spending your own fund balance on what used to be reimbursable services, that means you have less money to pay your teachers,” Parker said. “That means you have less money to invest into your school buildings. That means you have less money to invest in the programming that’s happening at your schools.”

This article first appeared on Verite News New Orleans and is republished here under a Creative Commons Attribution-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License. PARSELY = { autotrack: false, onload: function() { PARSELY.beacon.trackPageView({ url: “https://veritenews.org/2025/08/04/trump-medicaid-cuts-school-budgets/”, urlref: window.location.href }); } }

Louisiana Illuminator is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Louisiana Illuminator maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Greg LaRose for questions: info@lailluminator.com.

The post Medicaid cuts in Trump’s tax and spending law could burden school budgets appeared first on lailluminator.com

Note: The following A.I. based commentary is not part of the original article, reproduced above, but is offered in the hopes that it will promote greater media literacy and critical thinking, by making any potential bias more visible to the reader –Staff Editor.

Political Bias Rating: Left-Leaning

This article presents a critical view of the Medicaid cuts enacted under former President Donald Trump’s domestic policy bill, highlighting negative consequences for vulnerable populations, particularly children in low-income and special education programs. The focus on how the bill reduces access to health care and strains school resources reflects a perspective more commonly associated with progressive or left-leaning viewpoints, which emphasize the importance of social safety nets and government-funded health programs. While the article is fact-based and includes quotes from both officials and affected individuals, its framing underscores concern about budget cuts and policy impacts in a way that aligns with left-leaning critiques of conservative fiscal policies.

SUMMARY: The Lafayette City and Parish councils have several key items on their agendas this week. The parish plans to put two failed property tax millages back on the ballot in a November special election to avoid a $24 million budget shortfall impacting roads and public health. A $400,000 parish contribution is proposed for South Larriviere Road improvements, matching a federal grant. The Northeast Regional Library is moving forward with a 99-year lease on Holy Rosary Institute land. Lafayette City Council will allocate $3 million in federal transit grants and $189,000 for traffic calming projects. The city will donate adjudicated properties to Acts of Love, a nonprofit focused on affordable housing. Additionally, Lafayette will enter a state agreement to maintain DOTD roads including I-10 and I-49. The Bloomberg Mayors Challenge grant application is underway to address stormwater infiltration.

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The post Plans for Northside library up for first vote – The Current appeared first on thecurrentla.com

SUMMARY: The Ouachita Green Internship Program offers middle and high school students (grades 8–12) living in Ouachita Parish, including public, homeschool, or those attending school outside the parish, a chance to earn community service hours. Interns commit to two hours monthly, with flexible scheduling to fit busy lives. The program involves community cleanups, education, recycling events, and household waste disposal projects, fostering teamwork and local impact. Last year, 42 interns contributed over 1,000 service hours. Applications are available at ouachitagreen.org, with a deadline of August 21. The program also offers scholarships, awards, and opportunities for broader community involvement.

NBC 10 News Today: Ouachita Green Internship Program

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