Trump administration sued by 16 states and D.C. over sudden halt of pandemic relief aid for schools
Public officials in 16 states and the District of Columbia sued the Trump administration Thursday to restore access to pandemic relief aid for schools, saying the Education Department's abrupt halt of hundreds of millions of dollars of promised funding will force cuts to vital services.
The lawsuit was filed in U.S. District Court in Manhattan by a coalition of 16 Democratic attorneys general, led by New York's Letitia James, plus Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro, also a Democrat. It claims the administration's refusal to release the aid violates federal law because it reversed a prior decision to allow states to access the money through March 2026.
States were notified late last month that the Education Department would not honor deadline extensions granted by the Biden administration to spend the remainder of COVID relief aid approved by Congress to help schools and students recover from the lasting impacts of the pandemic. Schools were supposed to spend the last of the relief by January but many sought, and were granted, more time.
In announcing the reversal, Education Secretary Linda McMahon said schools had "ample time" to spend the money, but the agency would consider requests for extensions for individual projects. The department did not say how much money is left of the total $189 billion approved.
New York state lost access to $134 million, James' office said in a press release. It said the relief funding has supported repairs and improvements to school buildings and the purchase of library books, playground equipment and wheelchair-accessible buses. Districts also relied on the aid for programs and services for homeless students, as well as tutoring for students who fell behind because of missed classroom time.
"The Trump administration's latest attack on our schools will hurt our most vulnerable students and make it harder for them to thrive," James said. "Cutting school systems' access to vital resources that our students and teachers rely on is outrageous and illegal."
Joining the lawsuit were 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.
Last month, President Trump announced the signing of an executive order that would begin the process of dismantling the Department of Education "once and for all."
Since Mr. Trump took office in January, the Education Department's staff has already been slashed in half, and the administration is making plans to transfer some of its functions to other departments.
Despite the president's rhetoric, fully eliminating the Department of Education would require an act of Congress. To advance most legislation in the Senate requires 60 votes, meaning seven Democrats would need to vote for it along with all Republicans.
