PBS Faces Crisis After Government Pulls Plug on Kids TV Grant
PBS has furloughed 25% of its PBS Kids staff after the U.S. Department of Education abruptly ended a key grant program that's funded educational children's television for over 30 years.
Current reported that the move was announced by PBS President Paula Kerger during her keynote speech at the 2025 PBS Annual Meeting in Atlanta, just days after the Department pulled the plug on the Ready To Learn grant program for 2020–2025. That decision halted federal funding to PBS and 44 local public media stations mid-cycle.
'We've been forced to furlough really talented members of our staff at PBS as we figure out how to continue to advance the PBS Kids service,' Kerger said. 'We are going to keep fighting.'
The Ready To Learn initiative has historically supported the creation of educational programming aimed at underserved children and families. Its unexpected termination now threatens the production of beloved PBS Kids shows and the jobs behind them—including freelance writers and producers whose contracts rely on episodic production orders.
A PBS spokesperson confirmed the scale of the layoffs, citing the funding loss as a critical blow to the network's ability to deliver high-quality, accessible content. 'This decision removes a critical resource that for over 30 years has enabled us to create high-quality, educational PBS Kids content while opening up worlds of possibilities for millions of children across the country.'
The Writers Guild of America East called the cuts 'an attack on children and families' and urged Congress to fully restore federal funding for public children's programming. "Our children deserve no less," the union said in a statement.
Other grantees, including Minnesota-based TPT, have also cut staff as a result. TPT had received $4.6 million in Ready To Learn funds for the current grant cycle to support its animated series Skillsville.
While PBS Kids remains a staple in homes across America, its future—at least in its current form—now hangs in the balance.
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