Overview

• The Trump administration has discontinued $1 billion in school mental health grants funded by the 2022 Bipartisan Safer Communities Act.
• An Education Department review found the programs violated civil rights laws by implementing race-based recruiting quotas unrelated to mental health services.
• The department plans to reallocate the funds through a redesigned grant process focused on evidence-based behavioral health practices.
• Critics, including mental health advocates, argue the decision undermines bipartisan efforts to address student mental health needs following the Uvalde school shooting.
• Conservative activist Christopher Rufo first disclosed the cancellation, framing the grants as promoting leftist DEI agendas rather than mental health support.