Maine is suing the Trump administration over its move to sever mental health grants for schools.
In the 48-page lawsuit filed in U.S. District Court in Seattle on Monday, attorneys general from Maine and 15 other states write that the U.S. Department of Education informed grant recipients on April 29 that the grants conflict with the Trump administration’s priorities and would be discontinued.
Congress approved, and then-President Joe Biden signed into law, those funds in 2022 after the massacre at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas, where a gunman killed 19 children and two teachers and wounded 17 others.
That funding was meant to help schools hire 14,000 mental health professionals.
The attorneys general said the Trump administration is violating both federal law and the U.S. Constitution. They called the cuts “arbitrary and capricious,” with the department providing no individualized justification for the cuts nor considering the impact on children who rely on those services.
“I cannot think of a more worthy priority than ensuring children receive mental health services they need,” Attorney General Frey said in a statement. “These funds were Congressionally designated, with bipartisan support, for this critical service in the wake of the Uvalde tragedy. Withholding these funds is not only cruel, it is illegal.”
During the first year of funding, schools hired nearly 1,300 mental health professionals who served nearly 775,000 students. That resulted in a 50 percent reduction in suicide risk and decreases in absenteeism and behavioral issues, as well as an 80 percent reduction in student wait time for services, according to the lawsuit.
In Maine, that funding has been used to hire or retain 14 mental health professionals who have served 5,000 students. If the Trump administration prevails, Maine will lose $3 million in grants.
The attorneys general are asking for the judge to issue a preliminary injunction preventing the administration from severing the grants and rule the move illegal.
In addition to Maine, attorneys general from California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Illinois, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, New Mexico, New York, Nevada, Oregon, Rhode Island, Washington and Wisconsin have joined the lawsuit.
