Defunding sources like PBS kids and how it’ll impact thousands of children.

What is PBS kids? 

PBS Kids is a US public television program with educational shows such as “Sid the Science Kid” and “Daniel Tiger.” These TV shows teach young children important life skills that prepare them for kindergarten while also teaching creativity skills. There are 30+ shows on this program that are completely free! This program provides free education to children across the US. PBS Kids is also a website with free interactive games, which makes learning fun. (https://pbskids.org/) 

This program has been around since 1999 and has helped millions of children. With more than 371 million monthly streamers and a percentage of 98% of American children having access to it.

What is the Trump administration planning to do? 

The department of education has eliminated the “Ready to Learn” program, a program used to fund educational programs for kids. This resulted in a loss of $23 million that would have funded educational programs for children, including those on PBS.  On May 1st  2025, President Trump signed an executive order instructing the Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB) to halt all funding for PBS and NPR. (https://www.pbs.org/newshour/politics/trump-signs-executive-order-directing-federal-funding-cuts-to-pbs-and-npr) (https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/trump-administration/trump-signs-executive-order-stop-federal-funding-npr-pbs-rcna204375 )

How can defunding this program be hurtful? 

When PBS Kids loses funding, this weakens and eliminates access to high-quality, non-commercial education for thousands of children. This will force PBS Kids to charge families to stream their shows in order for them to stay in business. Meaning this source that was made to promote school-readiness for all children across the US will no longer be available to children in low-income families. 

How do Herron students feel about this? 

Amora Escobar says: 

“Growing up I watched Pbs kids and it helped me grow a lot in the mental area. Along with it I learned how to have fun and use my imagination, a skill important for child development. PBS Kids made me more confident in myself and made learning enjoyable. Putting all this into consideration, I don’t believe that Trump should defund educational sites such as PBS Kids because it takes away from the educational benefits that all children should have access to.” 

Angelina Thornburgh says: 

“I don’t believe that it is beneficial for Trump to defund PBS Kids because it deprives children of the experience of having a fun and educational childhood. Especially with the pandemic happening that put thousands of students behind. This was a site that I personally enjoyed watching daily and I would love for future generations to enjoy the same experience.” 

Though it may seem like a small problem to some, there are children who depend on sources like PBS Kids to learn. If these sources are taken away, along with the DEI program in schools, the accessibility to an education for people in lower-income families will be very slim.