LANSING — Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel joined a coalition of 16 state attorneys general in filing a lawsuit (PDF) late Monday against the U.S. Department of Education for illegally cutting congressionally approved funding for mental health programs in K-12 schools.  

After the tragic deaths of 19 students and two teachers during a mass school shooting in Uvalde, Texas, a bipartisan Congress appropriated $1 billion in order to permanently bring 14,000 mental health professionals into schools. According to the National Association of School Psychologists (NASP), grantees served nearly 775,000 students and hired nearly 1,300 school mental health professionals during the first year of funding. NASP also found a 50% reduction in suicide risk at high-need schools, decreases in absenteeism and behavioral issues, and increases in positive student-staff engagement based on data from sampled programs. 

The Department of Education awarded grants spanning a five-year project period and makes yearly decisions to continue each grant’s funding. As required by its regulations, the Department of Education considered the grantee’s performance when deciding whether to continue funding. 

On April 29, 2025, the Department of Education sent boilerplate notices to grantees claiming that their grants now conflicted with the Trump Administration’s priorities and funding would be discontinued. In Michigan, three recipients were affected: the Michigan Department of Education, Grand Valley State University, and the Lansing School District. These grants were specifically aimed at increasing the number of mental health professionals in educational settings, including school counselors, social workers, and psychiatrists. Like many states, Michigan is already facing a critical shortage of school-based mental health professionals. The Department’s non-continuation decision will worsen these shortages, leaving Michigan students with even less access to essential mental health support in schools. 

“Mental health should be a priority for any administration – especially when it comes to our students,” Nessel said. “Cutting funding that Congress has already approved isn’t just illegal – it's irresponsible. It will only deepen the mental health crisis in our schools. I will continue fighting to restore these critical resources and ensure Michigan students have the support they need to succeed.” 

The attorneys general filed the lawsuit in U.S. District Court for the Western District of Washington. The complaint alleges that the Department of Education’s funding cuts violate the Administrative Procedure Act and the U.S. Constitution. The attorneys general ask a federal judge to rule the funding cuts are illegal and seek an injunction rescinding the non-continuation decision. 

Joining Attorney General Nessel in filing the lawsuit are the attorneys general of California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Illinois, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Mexico, New York, Nevada, Oregon, Rhode Island, Washington, and Wisconsin.