On July 27, 2026, a federal judge temporarily prevented the Trump administration’s continued attempts to revoke school-based mental health grants awarded under the Biden administration. The 15 states behind the lawsuit were awarded up to $1 billion in mental health grants that were at risk of being cancelled beginning July 31st. The temporary restraining order protects the plaintiffs until a further decision is made in the case.
The USDE has said it intends to cancel up to $1 billion for some states despite a court order preventing its first attempt to do so last year.
Previously, a December 2025 order from the same court found that the administration’s first attempt at terminating the grants was unlawful and permanently blocked them, despite an attempted appeal by the U.S. Department of Education (USDE). In fact, the order said that it is unlawful to make funding decisions for already-approved multi-year grants by “evaluating their original grant applications against new unpublished priorities not in effect at the time that the Grants were approved.”
Although the July 27th decision is temporary, the court said that the USDE “has formulated a plan to re-review Grants for termination based on unlawful reasons,” and the states were likely to succeed in the case on at least some of their allegations, including that the administration’s cancellations were arbitrary and capricious. The temporary restraining order expires August 24, 2026, at which time a preliminary injunction or other means of pausing things may be issued until a final decision is made in the case.
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