The US Department of Education has ended a long-running federal grant program that helped fund PBS Kids programming and local educational initiatives across the country. The department notified the Corporation for Public Broadcasting Friday night that the 2020-2025 Ready to Learn grant, effective immediately, was terminated.
The Ready to Learn grant competition has occurred every five years since 1995, with the Corporation for Public Broadcasting and PBS receiving grants in every cycle. These grants have provided funding for educational media content aimed at young children, particularly those in low-income communities. Over the last two five-year cycles, CPB and PBS together received over $200 million through the program, according to Education Department data.
The funding has supported the creation of popular educational television shows. Early programs funded by the grant included Dragon Tales and Between the Lions. More recent shows, such as Work It Out Wombats! and Ready Jet Go!, expanded the focus to include subjects like computational thinking and scientific inquiry.
The termination affects PBS and 44 public media stations that receive portions of the grant. VPM Media Corporation, the public media station serving Richmond and Petersburg, Virginia, is among those impacted. VPM had used Ready to Learn funding for local family engagement projects.
VPM was awarded grants in 2022 and 2023 to develop Learning Neighborhoods programs. These local initiatives involved reading activities, distribution of educational materials, and parenting tips at preschools in Richmond and Petersburg. VPM was awarded $75,000 for the period from October 2024 through September 2025 before the grant was canceled.
Jayme Swain, VPM President and CEO, announced the grant’s termination Monday and said the decision is one of several actions taken against public media. President Donald Trump has proposed eliminating all federal funding for CPB in his fiscal 2026 budget request and asked Congress to rescind previously approved funds for public media.
CPB President and CEO Patricia Harrison commented on the grant's history and impact. "Nearly every parent has raised their kids on public broadcasting’s children’s content," Harrison said. "For the past 30 years, Ready To Learn-funded PBS Kids content has produced measurable, real-world impacts on children’s learning."
VPM confirmed it has put its Learning Neighborhoods project on hold as it assesses whether the program can continue. The station stated it remains committed to families who use VPM and PBS Kids resources and hopes to find a way to continue its partnership work.
