Photo courtesy of kcrg.com

MIAMI – The President Donald Trump administration is planning to end the National Blue Ribbon Schools program, which honors high-performing schools and students for narrowing academic gaps between student groups.

The program was placed on the chopping block for Trump’s Big Beautiful Bill, as his administration is scaling back on federal role in education and handing it over  to state governments.

Madi Biedermann, a spokesperson for the department, said in the letter that the move was “in the spirit of Returning Education to the States” — a common refrain from Education Secretary Linda McMahon as the Trump administration has slashed staff at the department and sought to reduce federal spending on education.

“State leaders are best positioned to recognize excellence in local schools based on educational achievements that align with their communities’ priorities for academic accomplishment and improvement,” Biedermann wrote. “Awards conceived by those closest to the communities and families served by local schools will do more to encourage meaningful reforms than a one-size-fits-all standard established by a distant bureaucracy in Washington, D.C.”

States had already nominated schools for the award.

In fact, the deadline for states to sign off on their picks was just one week prior to the cancellation letter. In some cases states had informed schools that they had won, pending the official federal announcement.

It was unclear if Florida will take up  Blue Ribbon Schools program.