States sue over Trump administration's sudden halt of pandemic relief
aid for schools
[April 11, 2025]
By CAROLYN THOMPSON
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 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.
[to top of second column]
|
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.
All contents © copyright 2025 Associated Press. All rights reserved |
