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Left: New York Attorney General Letitia James speaks during a press conference regarding former US President Donald Trump and his family’s financial fraud case on September 21, 2022 in New York (photo by YUKI IWAMURA/AFP via Getty Images). Right: Donald Trump speaks at a ‘Save America’ rally on October 22, 2022 in Robstown, Texas (photo by Brandon Bell/Getty Images).
New York Attorney General and longtime Donald Trump foe Letitia James banded together with 15 other attorneys general and Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro to file a lawsuit against the Trump administration for cutting off over $1.1 billion in funding meant to help low-income students and address long-term effects of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The case, filed in federal court in New York, requests a declaratory and injunctive relief to stop the Department of Education (DOE) from ending access grants — that were approved by Congress — from the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA).
In the complaint, the plaintiffs argue that the funding “provides essential support for a wide range of critical education programs and services needed to address, among other things, the impact of lost instructional time; students’ academic, social, and emotional needs; the safety of school environments; and the disproportionate impact of the coronavirus on economically disadvantaged students, including homeless children and children in foster care.”
James said in a press release that the funds in question not only support critical repairs and improvements to school buildings, but also the purchase of additional library books and playground equipment, as well as the addition of wheelchair-accessible buses. Joining James and Shapiro in the lawsuit are the attorneys general of Arizona, California, Delaware, Hawaii, Illinois, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, New Jersey, New Mexico, Nevada, Oregon, and the District of Columbia.
The coalition of plaintiffs argues that on March 28, Education Secretary Linda McMahon “abruptly and arbitrarily reversed course” without warning and ordered funding to end as of 5 p.m. that day. Initially, states had been informed that the funding would be available to them until March of 2026. The stated purpose of the rescission in funding was that the COVID-19 pandemic was over.
According to the complaint, the DOE’s “drastic and abrupt change in position triggered chaos” for state and local education agencies. Programs will need to be immediately dissolved or disbanded and employees immediately dismissed, the complaint noted.
“The result of [DOE’s] rescission is a massive, unexpected funding gap that is causing serious harm to the public, cutting off vital education services, all to the detriment of the students whom Congress intended to benefit,” the filing argues.
The lawsuit says that Congress did not tie the availability of funds to the period of the COVID-19 crisis itself, but that it was intended to “make up for lost instruction time in the aftermath of the pandemic.” As a result of the sudden and unexpected loss of funding, plaintiff states say their school districts will face devastating harm as they have to suddenly end programs and services, fire teachers and providers, and default on obligations to private businesses.
The filing included the chart below that listed funding losses that range from $914,868 in Minnesota to $245,876,498 in Maryland.
(image via court filing).
“The Trump administration’s latest attack on our schools will hurt our most vulnerable students and make it harder for them to thrive,” said James in a statement Thursday “Cutting school systems’ access to vital resources that our students and teachers rely on is outrageous and illegal. As a proud graduate of New York public schools, I will continue to use every tool at my disposal to fight for our schools and make sure every child has access to a quality education.”
Likewise, Shapiro said, “Congress and the federal government made a commitment to our students, and school districts across Pennsylvania started construction to make schools safer, delivered supplies to students, and invested to create more opportunity for our kids based on that commitment.”
“Now the Trump Administration is trying to renege on its commitments to our kids and leave Pennsylvania taxpayers holding the bag,” Shapiro continued. “Every Pennsylvania student deserves the freedom to chart their own course and the opportunity to succeed. I’m taking action to preserve that freedom and ensure no Pennsylvania student is harmed by the federal government’s decision to go back on its word.”
You can read the full filing here.
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