Learning Policy Institute President and CEO Elena Silva co-authored this commentary
Earlier this month, President Trump signed sweeping legislation that included massive cuts to Medicaid, estimated at over $1 trillion over the next decade, an average of close to $100 billion annually. While much attention has been paid to these Medicaid cuts, most people don’t realize the devastating impact these funding cuts will have on schools and students across the country, (including in states where Medicaid operates under different names, like Medi-Cal in California or TennCare in Tennessee). Even fewer understand that many of the cuts are strategically timed to begin toward the end of 2026, after many voters make their midterm election decisions.
When we think about Medicaid, we typically think about health insurance. But Medicaid is also among the largest funding sources for K–12 public schools, providing an estimated $7.5 billion annually to pay for essential services for student learning and development. For the median U.S. school district, Medicaid provides health coverage for over 40% of children.
School districts rely on Medicaid funds to cover speech, physical, and occupational therapies; specialized medical equipment; assistive technologies; and transportation. Medicaid helps to pay for the salaries of school nurses, psychologists, speech therapists, and many others who work directly in our schools. It also helps to fund mental and behavioral health services, which have become increasingly critical as schools respond to rising rates of anxiety, depression, and suicidal behaviors among students. When a 3rd-grader gets reading support for their dyslexia, when a school psychologist provides counseling to a high schooler having a mental health crisis, or when a nurse administers insulin to a middle school student with Type 1 diabetes, it is often Medicaid that pays the bill.
