Coalition sues Trump admin. for freezing billions in education funds
July 22 (UPI) -- A coalition of school districts, teachers' unions, nonprofits and parents has filed a lawsuit accusing the Trump administration of illegally withholding nearly $7 billion in Congress-approved education funding.
In the lawsuit filed Monday, the coalition asks a U.S. District Court in Rhode Island to compel the Department of Education and the White House Office of Management and Budget to release the funding, which supports low-income students, teacher training, English learners, immigrant students and after-school programs.
According to the lawsuit, the Department of Education is required to disburse Elementary and Secondary Education Act funds on July 1. But on June 30, states were informed that the department would not be disbursing nearly $7 billion in ESEA funds and that a new policy had been adopted requiring a review to first be conducted to ensure the money is spent "in accordance with the president's priorities," the lawsuit states, citing the letter.
The Trump administration provided the states with neither a timeline nor assurances that the funds would be released, according to the lawsuit.
The lawsuit comes as the Trump administration has been dismantling the Department of Education, in line with President Donald Trump's March executive order seeking to shutter the department and return its authorities to the states.
Last week, the conservative-leaning Supreme Court approved Trump's mass firings at the department. At the same time, 24 states and the District of Columbia sued the Trump administration over its freezing of billions of dollars in education funds.
American Federation of Teachers President Randi Weingarten described the Trump administration's freeze on Monday as throwing a "monkey wrench" at millions of U.S. educators.
"These are long-term, school-based programs, already passed by Congress and signed into law by the president," she said in a statement.
"Since day one, the Trump administration has attacked public education, undermining opportunity in America. Now it is trying to lawlessly defund education unilaterally through rampant government overreach. It's not only morally repugnant: the administration lacks the legal right to sacrifice kids' futures at the alter of ideology."
Among the plaintiffs are Alaska's largest school district, Anchorage School District; Cincinnati Public Schools and Fairbanks North Star Borough, among others.
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