Wisconsin is again suing the U.S. Department of Education over its efforts to terminate federal grants meant to increase the number of school-based mental health professionals
The lawsuit, filed July 10 by Wisconsin and 14 other states in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Washington, seeks to prevent the Trump administration from terminating the grants at the end of July. In a statement, the Wisconsin Department of Justice said the move defies a federal court order in December that declared earlier attempts to discontinue the grants unlawful
Wisconsin Attorney General Josh Kaul said the cuts “would be seriously misguided.” Ending the grants would eliminate about $12.5 million in federal funding for the University of Wisconsin-Madison and the Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction, according to the state Department of Justice
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Congress expanded the school-based mental health grants after the 2022 school shooting in Uvalde, Texas. The bipartisan initiative was aimed at helping schools nationwide hire and train psychologists, counselors, social workers and other mental health professionals
The DPI was awarded a $10 million, five-year grant in 2024 as part of the initiative. The agency said schools and universities have used the money to expand options for counseling certification, develop “grow your own” programs for aspiring school-based mental health providers and offer statewide training and professional development to improve retention rates of mental health professionals
The University of Wisconsin-Madison also used the money to train school psychology graduates to work in high-need schools after graduation
“Wisconsin students and communities continue to face an urgent need for school-based mental health support,” State Superintendent Jill Underly said in a statement. “This grant program was helping schools meet that need by expanding access to critical services and increasing capacity of trained mental health professionals to support students.”
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It’s not the first time the grants have been under threat. Seventeen states, including Wisconsin, sued the U.S. Education Department last year after the agency abruptly canceled the grants, totaling $1 billion. A spokesperson for the Education Department previously said the Trump administration took issue with programs that educated mental health professionals about systemic racism and trained therapists to focus on race-related stress and trauma
A federal judge later ruled the Education Department’s decision violated federal law, and barred the agency from discontinuing the grants. According to the new lawsuit, the agency later provided six months of funding while saying it would award additional money after a midyear review
Instead, the department announced plans to terminate the grants altogether, the complaint said. The states involved in the lawsuit argue the administration is attempting to sidestep the court’s order by “terminating” the grants rather than “discontinuing” them
A hearing is scheduled for July 24 on whether the existing court order also bars the Education Department from terminating the grants. According to the complaint, the department has said it will begin terminating “some or all” of the grants July 31 if a judge rules in its favor
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The states are also asking the court to issue a preliminary injunction preventing the grants from being terminated while the lawsuit proceeds
Kayla Huynh covers K-12 education, teachers and solutions for the Journal Sentinel. Contact:khuynh@gannett.com. Follow her on X:@_kaylahuynh
Kayla Huynh’s reporting is supported by Herb Kohl Philanthropies and reader contributions to theJournal Sentinel Community-Funded Journalism Project. Journal Sentinel editors maintain full editorial control over all content. To support this work, visitjsonline.com/support. Checks can be addressed to Local Media Foundation (memo: “JS Community Journalism”) and mailed to P.O. Box 85015, Chicago, IL 60689
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This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel:WI sues U.S. Education Department over school mental health grant cuts
