Attorney General Bonta Challenges U.S. Department of Education’s Discontinuation of Critical Grants Awarded for Special Education Services

OAKLAND - California Attorney General Rob Bonta today led a multistate lawsuit challenging the U.S. Department of Education's (Department) discontinuation of awarded grants under the State Personnel Development Grant (SPDG) program. These competitive grants provide critical funding for the professional development of special education staff and support services for children with disabilities. In California, more than 880,000 students are eligible for special education services. Although the California Department of Education (CDE) had been awarded a five-year SPDG grant in 2022, the Department discontinued the grant in September 2025 because of conclusory, baseless concerns about equity-related initiatives. In the lawsuit, Attorney General Bonta and the coalition urge the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California to find the discontinuation of funds unlawful and emphasize the harmful impact of the discontinuation on essential resources for schools, educators, and parents that support students with disabilities.

"It is disgraceful that President Trump has disregarded the needs of students with disabilities, claiming that supporting their needs is not in the best interest of the federal government. The Trump Administration discontinued critical grants designed to improve outcomes for students with disabilities by building the capacity of educators, administrators, and systems to ensure timely appropriate services and navigate early intervention," said Attorney General Bonta. "This harmful and unlawful action denies vulnerable students the resources they need to learn and succeed. California is fighting to ensure the continuation of the grant that supports these necessary initiatives for special education."

The SPDG program was established in 2004 through the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) to improve long-term outcomes for vulnerable populations. For decades, the Department administered the SPDG program in a routine and predictable manner by publishing a notice inviting applications and identifying relevant priorities that had been subject to notice and comment. After providing an initial award, the Department determines whether the grant should continue for the following year based on enumerated performance and financial metrics. In 2022, CDE applied for and received a five-year SPDG award to implement critical reforms to California's personnel development in early intervention, early education, and transitional services to improve results for young children with disabilities or at risk for developmental delays. In total, the grant would have provided CDE with $2.1 million per year, a total of $10.5 million over the five-year term, of which it only received funding for three budget periods. During the funded period, California successfully met all program goals and performance requirements and timely submitted all required performance and financial reports.

Nevertheless, in January 2025, President Trump abruptly departed from this settled practice and called for the review and termination of federal grants that funded equity-related initiatives. In September 2025, the Department sent CDE a notice that stated it was discontinuing the funding in its entirety based on vague claims that the programs were not "in the best interest of the Federal Government." After the discontinuation, CDE's Request for Reconsideration was summarily denied.

In the lawsuit, Attorney General Bonta and the coalition argue that the Department's discontinuation of funding violated the Administrative Procedure Act (APA) because it was contrary to law, without observance of procedure required by law, and arbitrary and capricious. The discontinuations also violated the Spending Clause of the United States Constitution. More specifically, the Department acted unlawfully because, among other reasons:

• It relied on unpublished new priorities that had not been subject to the notice-and-comment procedures required by the General Education Provisions Act, the Department's own regulations, and the APA.
• It misapplied the continuation regulation by treating the "best interest" provision as allowing them to have unlimited discretion to discontinue grants based on new priorities.
• It changed its position and misled the states by first requiring their applications to highlight equity initiatives and then penalizing them for the very same initiatives, and by failing to consider extensive reliance interests.
• It failed to provide the kind of "reasoned explanation" required by the APA and instead relied on conclusory language.

In filing the lawsuit, Attorney General Bonta is leading the attorneys general of Rhode Island and Wisconsin.