Judge issues order blocking federal cuts to student mental health grants in AG Brown lawsuit

A federal judge has blocked the Trump administration from illegally cutting some congressionally approved funding for K-12 mental health programs after a coalition of 16 state attorneys general, led by Washington Attorney General Nick Brown, filed suit in June.

On Oct. 21, U.S. District Court Judge Kymberly Evanson rejected the U.S. Department of Education's motion to dismiss the case. In a preliminary injunction issued today, she said the department appears to have acted in an arbitrary and capricious manner, violating the Administrative Procedure Act. Evanson limited her injunction to the grantees that had submitted declarations to the court explaining how they'd been harmed by the cuts.

The attempted cuts targeted a bipartisan act of Congress that appropriated $1 billion for mental health supports in schools after the tragic deaths of 19 students and 2 teachers during a mass school shooting in Uvalde, Texas. During the first year of funding, grantees served nearly 775,000 students and hired nearly 1,300 school mental health professionals, according to the National Association of School Psychologists (NASP). NASP also found a 50% reduction in suicide risk at high-need schools, decreases in absenteeism and behavioral issues, and increases in positive student-staff engagement based on data from sampled programs.

On April 29, the Department of Education sent boilerplate notices to grantees claiming that their grants now conflicted with the Trump Administration's priorities and funding would be discontinued. The judge's preliminary injunction bars the cuts to mental health services from taking effect in three educational service districts in Washington as well as at the University of Washington.

"It's a relief to students and their families that a large number of these programs are shielded for now," Brown said. "We'll continue this fight in court until the administration agrees to follow the law and the will of Congress in supporting the mental health of young Americans."

The attorneys general filed the lawsuit in U.S. District Court for the Western District of Washington. The complaint alleges that the Department of Education's funding cuts violate the Administrative Procedure Act and the U.S. Constitution.

Joining the Washington State Attorney General's Office in filing the lawsuit are the attorneys general of California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Illinois, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, New Mexico, New York, Nevada, Oregon, Rhode Island, and Wisconsin.

The motion to dismiss order can be found here.

The preliminary injunction can be found here.

The complaint itself can be found here.

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