Attorney General Kathy Jennings has obtained a court order mandating the Trump administration to reinstate states' access to key Department of Education programs. These funds, allocated by Congress, are intended to support low-income and unhoused students and provide services addressing the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on K-12 education. On April 10, Jennings joined forces with 15 other attorneys general and the Governor of Pennsylvania in legal action against the Trump administration for allegedly halting access to over $1 billion in grants from the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA).
Judge Edgardo Ramos of the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York issued a preliminary injunction requiring the Department of Education to immediately restore states' access to these funds as litigation proceeds.
“It is a sad state of affairs when the courts have to step in and force the president to honor promises made to the American people,” said Attorney General Kathy Jennings. “Our schools, our teachers, our most vulnerable children were already counting on this money. We refused to stand by while the president and his administration attempted to strip the most vulnerable among us of their right to an equitable education, and we have won. We will continue to step up when this current administration falls into dereliction of duty, and frankly, cruelty.”
The ARPA supports three educational programs: Homeless Children and Youth (HCY), Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief (ESSER), and Emergency Assistance to Nonpublic Schools (EANS). These initiatives aim to help schools recover from pandemic-related challenges.
Jennings argued that ending states' access created a significant budget shortfall with potentially severe consequences for students and educators. Judge Ramos's injunction prevents enforcement of a March 28 letter from Education Secretary Linda McMahon rescinding states' funding access.
In addition to Jennings, attorneys general from Arizona, California, Hawai’i, Illinois, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Nevada, Oregon, and Washington D.C., along with Pennsylvania's governor participated in filing this lawsuit.