Attorney General Bonta Secures Preliminary Injunction Continuing to Block Trump Administration’s Plan to Terminate School Mental Health Funding
OAKLAND — As part of a coalition of 15 attorneys general, California Attorney General Rob Bonta this week secured a preliminary injunction from the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Washington that continues blocking the U.S. Department of Education’s (Department) effort to terminate federal funding that helps schools recruit and train mental health professionals and provide essential mental health services. Congress established the Mental Health Service Professional Demonstration Grant Program and the School-Based Mental Health Services Grant Program following the school shootings in Parkland, FL and Uvalde, TX to address shortages of school-based counselors, psychologists, social workers, and other mental health professionals, particularly in high-need schools. The new ruling continues to block the Department’s termination plan, which the court first halted through a temporary restraining order earlier this year.
“The Trump Administration has repeatedly tried to cut critical mental health funding for schools, and we haven’t hesitated to fight back,” said Attorney General Bonta. “This preliminary injunction keeps these vital resources available to students and families who need them the most. We will keep holding this Administration accountable and defending the rule of law.”
After Attorney General Bonta and a coalition of attorneys general successfully blocked the Department’s earlier effort to discontinue these grants, the Department announced a new plan to end the funding under a different regulation, leading the coalition to file a lawsuit that resulted in the preliminary injunction.
The court granted the coalition’s motion for a preliminary injunction because it found that the attorneys general are likely to succeed in showing that the Department’s termination plan is unlawful. The court found that the Department sought to re-evaluate grants based on new priorities that did not exist when grantees applied for the funding and failed to adequately consider grantees’ reliance on that funding. The court also found that the Department did not provide grantees with the notice and opportunity to be heard required before terminating the funding.
Joining Attorney General Bonta in challenging the Department’s termination plan are the attorneys general of Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Illinois, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, New Mexico, New York, Oregon, Rhode Island, Washington, and Wisconsin.
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