The Trump administration is releasing roughly $6.8 billion in previously frozen federal funds for K-12 programs, the Department of Education announced Friday. The announcement was made as Secretary Linda McMahon attended the National Governors Association (NGA) Summer Meeting in Colorado Springs, Colorado.

The Office of Management and Budget (OMB) "has completed its review of Title I-C, Title II-A, Title III-A and Title IV-A ESEA funds and Title II WIOA funds and has directed the Department to release all formula funds. The agency will begin dispersing funds to states next week," department spokesperson Madi Biedermann told Fox News Digital. 

More than 20 Democratic attorneys general sued the Trump administration earlier this month, describing the Department of Education's federal funding freeze as unconstitutional and "debilitating" to states just weeks ahead of a new school year.

The bipartisan group of governors, including the NGA's outgoing chair, Gov. Jared Polis of Colorado, and its vice chair, Gov. Kevin Stitt of Oklahoma, thanked McMahon for unlocking the funding during the NGA's education session Friday. 

DEMOCRAT AGS SUE TRUMP FOR 'UNCONSCIONABLE' FREEZE ON $6.8B IN K-12 SPENDING

"How can we better communicate to make sure that this chaos and uncertainty doesn't occur again around funding and that people know things earlier?" Polis asked McMahon on the Colorado Springs stage. 

"No guarantees from me that we will eliminate all the communications gaps that do happen, but I can say that part of it is just the transition aspect," McMahon explained.

The education secretary said the other aspect of the federal funding freeze was that the OMB budget office "took some time to really review the title funding to look at all the programs, etc., before they were released. They were well satisfied. So, now, those funds are going to be going out."

TRUMP ADMIN SEEKING TO PULL FUNDING FROM LOCAL GOVERNMENTS SLAPPED WITH JUDGE'S PRELIMINARY INJUNCTION

McMahon assured the governors that now that they have reviewed title funding and gone through the process, "we wouldn't find ourselves in the same situation."

Several of the governors who attended Polis and McMahon's education discussion and had the opportunity to ask questions thanked the education leader for returning the federal title funds to the states. 

Polis kicked off the NGA's summer session in Colorado Springs Friday with his signature policy agenda, "Let’s Get Ready! Educating All Americans for Success." 

EDUCATION SECRETARY LINDA MCMAHON TOUTS COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY'S $200M SETTLEMENT 'TEMPLATE'

McMahon said she was appreciative of the governors' questions and comments, and she committed to visiting as many states and speaking with as many governors as possible to grasp the full scope of the country's diverse educational needs. 

In an exclusive interview with Fox News Digital ahead of her remarks, McMahon affirmed her commitment to collaborating with governors as the Trump administration seeks to dismantle the Department of Education. 

"It's just incredibly important that if we are going to return education to the states, we have to talk to the governors," McMahon said. 

"Clearly, education is a nonpartisan issue," McMahon added. "If we're going to return education to the states, that just means giving them back the part that is now provided by the federal government, and they're anxious for it." 

Trump signed an executive order earlier this year to dismantle the Department of Education, fulfilling one of his key campaign promises during the 2024 presidential election. 

Fox News Digital's Breanne Deppisch contributed to this report. 

EXCLUSIVE: Artist Amy Sherald canceled her upcoming exhibit featuring a portrait of a transgender Statue of Liberty at the Smithsonian’s National Portrait Gallery after Vice President JD Vance raised concerns the show included woke and divisive content, Fox News Digital has learned. 

President Donald Trump signed an executive order in March that placed Vance in charge of overseeing the removal of programs or exhibits at Smithsonian museums that "degrade shared American values, divide Americans based on race, or promote programs or ideologies inconsistent with Federal law and policy." 

Vance said Sherald’s "American Sublime" exhibit violated Trump’s executive order and was an example of woke and divisive content during a meeting June 9 with the Board of Regents, a source familiar with the meeting told Fox News Digital. 

ARTIST PULLS ART FROM SMITHSONIAN GALLERY AFTER MUSEUM TRIES TO ALTER HER TRANS STATUE OF LIBERTY PAINTING

"Vice President Vance has been leading the effort to eliminate woke indoctrination from our beloved Smithsonian museums," an administration official said in an email to Fox News Digital. "On top of shepherding the One Big Beautiful Bill through the Senate and helping President Trump navigate international crises, the vice president has demonstrated his ability to get President Trump’s priorities across the finish line."

Sherald, best known for painting former first lady Michelle Obama’s official portrait in 2018, announced Thursday she was pulling her show, "American Sublime," from the Smithsonian’s National Portrait Gallery slated for September, The New York Times first reported. 

Sherald said she was rescinding her work from the exhibition after being told that the National Portrait Gallery had some concerns about featuring the portrait of the transgender Statue of Liberty during the show. The painting, "Trans Forming Liberty," depicts a trans woman with pink hair wearing a blue gown. 

TRUMP WHITE HOUSE CALLS OUT SMITHSONIAN FOR PUSHING 'ONE-SIDED, DIVISIVE POLITICAL NARRATIVES

"These concerns led to discussions about removing the work from the exhibition," Sherald said in a statement, The New York Times first reported Thursday. "While no single person is to blame, it’s clear that institutional fear shaped by a broader climate of political hostility toward trans lives played a role. 

"This painting exists to hold space for someone whose humanity has been politicized and disregarded. I cannot in good conscience comply with a culture of censorship, especially when it targets vulnerable communities.

"At a time when transgender people are being legislated against, silenced and endangered across our nation, silence is not an option," Sherald added. "I stand by my work. I stand by my sitters. I stand by the truth that all people deserve to be seen — not only in life, but in art."

The Smithsonian did not immediately respond to a request for comment regarding Vance’s involvement in the matter. 

DEFUNDING DEI: HERE’S HOW THE TRUMP ADMINISTRATION HAS UNDONE BIDEN’S VERY PRIZED PROGRAMS

The White House said the removal of Sherald’s exhibit is a "principled and necessary step" toward cultivating unity at institutions like the Smithsonian. 

"The ‘Trans Forming Liberty’ painting, which sought to reinterpret one of our nation’s most sacred symbols through a divisive and ideological lens, fundamentally strayed from the mission and spirit of our national museums," Trump special assistant Lindsey Halligan said in a statement to Fox News Digital. 

"The Statue of Liberty is not an abstract canvas for political expression. It is a revered and solemn symbol of freedom, inspiration and national unity that defines the American spirit."

Other members of the Smithsonian’s Board of Regents include the Chief Justice of the United States, John Roberts, along with senators John Boozman, R-Ark.; Catherine Cortez Masto, D-Nev.; and Gary Peters, D-Mich., along with several other House members. 

Fox News’ Gabriel Hays contributed to this report.