24 States Sue Trump Over $6.8 Billion Withheld From Education

A coalition of 24 states and the District of Columbia sued the Trump administration on Monday over $6.8 billion in education funding that the administration has withheld a few weeks before the start of the school year.

The withheld money includes about 14 percent of all federal funding for elementary and secondary education across the country. It helps pay for free or low-cost after-school programs that give students a place to go while their parents work. It also covers training to improve the effectiveness of teachers and help for children learning English.

Attorneys general from 22 states signed onto the lawsuit, along with the governors of Pennsylvania and Kentucky. All are Democrats.

The lawsuit accuses the Trump administration of holding back the money illegally. The U.S. Constitution gives Congress the power of the purse, and the Impoundment Control Act of 1974 says that a president cannot unilaterally refuse to spend money that Congress has appropriated.

The lawsuit asks a federal judge in Rhode Island to order the release of the money, which was supposed to be sent to states on July 1.

The Department of Education notified state education agencies on June 30 that it was holding the money back while it conducted a review. The Trump administration has sought to slash federal spending and align the budget with the president’s political priorities.

A spokesman for the White House Office of Management and Budget said that an initial review found instances of federal education money being “grossly misused to subsidize a radical left-wing agenda.” Among the examples he cited was a seminar on “queer resistance in the arts.”

The White House did not respond immediately to a request for comment about the lawsuit.

The White House has not said when the money might be released. It has proposed eliminating dedicated funding for the programs in its 2026 budget, ending some of the programs outright and collapsing others into a smaller pot of education funding for states.

President Trump and his team have said they believe the Impoundment Control Act is unconstitutional, and have argued that the president should have a greater say over spending in many areas of government.

Mr. Trump has said he also wants to eliminate the Department of Education, arguing that education should be more fully controlled by the states, though only Congress can abolish a cabinet-level agency.

The withholding of $6.8 billion for education has been sharply criticized by a growing chorus of Democrats, as well as by some Republicans.

Rep. Mike Lawler, a Republican who represents suburban areas north of New York City, urged President Trump to release $1.3 billion of the money to be used for after-school and other programs that keep children occupied outside of school hours, including in the summer.

He argued in a statement that the programs fulfill the Trump administration’s goal of giving power over education to the states, because state education agencies manage the money and choose which organizations receive it.

Nationwide, the withheld federal money funds after-school and other services for an estimated 1.4 million children, or nearly 20 percent of all students who participate in after-school programs, according to the Afterschool Alliance, an advocacy group. Most of the students in the programs come from lower-income households, and through after-school, they typically receive academic help, enrichment and a free snack or meal.

“Work doesn’t end at 3 o’clock,” said Christy Gleason, executive director of the Save the Children Action Network, which runs after-school programs at 41 schools, mainly in rural areas.

In many rural areas, the federally funded after-school programs are the only option. Cutting them would leave working parents there with few alternatives for child care, she said.

The withheld money includes $2.1 billion to help train, mentor and retain effective teachers, with a focus on low-income school districts. It also includes $1.4 billion in flexible funding for schools to spend on art, music, mental health services, physical education and technology. Smaller amounts go toward helping children learning English; adult literacy and education; and support for children of migrant farmworkers.

In Monterey County, Calif., about one in eight students qualify for the federal program for children of migrant farmworkers, said Deneen Guss, the county superintendent, who works with 24 local school districts.

The students’ parents move seasonally to harvest crops like strawberries and vegetables, education officials said. Many of them arrive in the county in March and move on again in October, creating academic and emotional challenges for students.

The federal money helps pay for academic support and other needs, like helping children sign up to see a doctor or dentist. The Trump administration has proposed eliminating the program, claiming that it is ineffective and strips taxpayer money from American students.

Most students in the Monterey County program are U.S. citizens or are in the country legally, Dr. Guss said.

Because the money to pay them has been withheld, the county has issued a layoff notice for about 30 employees who work as family specialists, teachers’ aides and in other positions, said Ernesto Vela, an assistant superintendent in the Monterey County Office of Education.

“All of the staff, if the funds do not come in, then essentially their last day of work is Sept. 7,” he said.

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