A coalition of 14 Democrat-led state attorneys general filed a lawsuit Friday against the U.S. Department of Education, seeking to block the agency from cutting school mental health grants the Trump administration has moved to terminate.
The plaintiffs, including attorneys general from California, New York, Illinois, and eleven other states, claim the DOE acted unlawfully when it stopped renewing the five-year grants in April 2025, citing a conflict with current administration priorities.
U.S. District Judge Kymberly Evanson has already issued a permanent injunction against the terminations, ruling the department’s move was “arbitrary and capricious” under federal administrative law. Despite that ruling, the DOE signaled it may still terminate “some or all” of the grants at the end of July if it wins a pending motion for clarification on the injunction’s scope.
The new lawsuit was filed “protectively,” according to the filing, in case the court’s clarification ruling narrows the injunction and leaves the grants exposed to cancellation.
“When a student is having mental health concerns, they need to have trusted counselors at their school who can help them navigate those tough times,” Oregon Attorney General Dan Rayfield said, as per Oregon Live. “The Trump administration is once again trying to strip mental health support from students who need it most.”
New York AG Letitia James echoed the claim. “The first time this administration tried to take mental health services away from children, we beat them in court,” she said. “Now they are trying to carry out the same illegal scheme.”
Plaintiff states are asking for a hearing on July 24 and a declaration that the department’s planned terminations are unlawful.
