Judge orders U.S. Department of Education to unwind unlawful cancellation of school mental health grants

The U.S. Department of Education acted unlawfully by abruptly discontinuing previously approved grants to fund extra mental health professionals in K-12 schools, a federal judge ruled in a multistate lawsuit led by Washington Attorney General Nick Brown.

The states succeeded in arguing that the department acted illegally when it told grantees it would discontinue the mental health program grants because they conflicted with the Trump administration's new priorities. U.S. District Court Judge Kymberly Evanson of the Western District of Washington granted the states' summary judgment motion and ordered the two sides to meet and agree on a timeline for the department to make lawful continuation decisions.

In the wake of devastating school shootings, members of Congress from both parties came together to appropriate $1 billion to permanently bring 14,000 mental health professionals into U.S. schools most in need, especially in low-income and rural communities. The programs have been a success-providing mental and behavioral health services to nearly 775,000 K-12 students nationwide in the first year and reducing wait times for students to receive help.

"We're facing a youth mental health crisis. Making sure our kids have proper support should never be subject to political whim," Brown said. "This is why we stand firm against this administration's utter disregard for the law."

The Department of Education awarded grants spanning a five-year project period, with yearly decisions made on whether to continue each grant's funding. As required by its regulations, the department considered the grantee's performance when deciding whether to continue funding.

But on April 29, the Department of Education abruptly sent boilerplate notices to grantees saying their grants no longer aligned with the Trump administration's priorities and would be discontinued. On June 30, Brown and the other attorneys general challenged that action, saying the department's actions were arbitrary and capricious, violating the Administrative Procedure Act (APA).

Judge Evanson agreed with Brown and the other attorneys general that the department violated the APA.

"Nothing in the existing regulatory scheme comports with the Department's view that multi-year grants may be discontinued whenever the political will to do so arises," Evanson wrote.

Her order comes after a three-judge Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals panel on Dec. 2 rejected the Department of Education's request for a stay of Evanson's preliminary injunction issued in October. The judges said the department failed in its arguments that the district court lacked jurisdiction in the case.

A copy of the order granting the states' motion for summary judgment is available here. A copy of the appeals court judges' order denying the department's request for a stay is available here.

Joining Brown in the lawsuit were the attorneys general of California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Illinois, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, New Mexico, New York, Nevada, Oregon, Rhode Island, and Wisconsin.

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