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Sixteen States Sue Education Department to Restore $1 Billion in School Mental Health Grants

The lawsuit asserts that the Education Department’s April suspension of grants violated federal law, prompting a request for an injunction to restore funding

Sixth grade reading teacher at a charter school on Feb. 20, 2025 in Houston.
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A Black woman stands behind a podium and in front of a large blue background and a New York State flag.

Overview

  • Sixteen Democratic-led states filed federal lawsuits this week naming the Department of Education and Secretary Linda McMahon as defendants.
  • They challenge the April decision to cut $1 billion in grants from the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act, which funded school-based mental health services.
  • The complaints argue the department breached the Administrative Procedure Act and congressional appropriations by rescinding DEI-linked contracts without proper rulemaking.
  • In the first year of funding, grantees hired about 1,300 mental health professionals and served nearly 775,000 students under the Uvalde-inspired program.
  • Plaintiffs are seeking injunctions to block the terminations and reinstate the grants, and the Education Department has yet to issue a substantive public response.