On July 14th, 24 states and the District of Columbia sued President Donald Trump, the U.S. Department of Education (USDE) and the White House’s Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for withholding over $6 billion in federal education funding for the upcoming school year. A statement by one of the plaintiffs called the withholding of funds “illegal” and “unjustified” and said it has “thrown schools nationwide into chaos.”
The states had expected to have access to the congressionally approved fiscal year 2025 funds on July 1st. States then planned to disburse the funds to local school districts and subgrantees. Programs at risk from the withholding of funds include English learner services, academic supports, migrant student assistance, after-school programming, adult education and professional development. The plaintiffs aver that the “abrupt freeze is wreaking similar havoc on key teacher training programs as well as programs that make school more accessible to children with special learning needs, such as English language learners.” Plaintiffs also claim the withholding of nearly $6.9 billion is “contrary to law, arbitrary and capricious, and unconstitutional.”
Plaintiffs include Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Illinois, Kentucky, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, North Carolina, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Vermont, Washington, Wisconsin, and the District of Columbia.
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