“These mental health programs were established by Congress following a wave of tragic and unacceptable school shootings, and they do critical work to ensure students can not only succeed but thrive,” Bonta said in a 2025 statement announcing the original lawsuit. “The loss of this funding would cause immense harm to California students, especially in our low-income and rural communities. The California Department of Justice will not stand idly by—we’re once again taking the Trump Administration to court, this time to protect the mental health and well-being of our students.”
A coalition of at least 15 attorneys general have filed a lawsuit challenging the U.S. Department of Education’s decision to terminate mental health funding for schools across the country.
“The Trump Administration is once again trying to take critical mental health funding away from the schools that need it most,” Bonta said in a press release. “Congress made clear that students across the country deserve access to these services. That’s why we’re going back to court.”
In July 2025, Bonta and 15 other state attorneys general filed a lawsuit challenging the discontinuation of the Mental Health Service Professional Demonstration Grant Program and the School-Based Mental Health Services Grant Program. Both grants were approved by Congress following mass shootings in Parkland, Florida, and Uvalde, Texas, to help address nationwide shortages of school-based counselors, social workers, and other mental health professionals.
“These mental health programs were established by Congress following a wave of tragic and unacceptable school shootings, and they do critical work to ensure students can not only succeed but thrive,” Bonta said in a 2025 statement announcing the original lawsuit. “The loss of this funding would cause immense harm to California students, especially in our low-income and rural communities. The California Department of Justice will not stand idly by—we’re once again taking the Trump Administration to court, this time to protect the mental health and well-being of our students.”
In response to this initial filing, the Trump administration told the court that it had terminated the programs because their missions conflict with the White House’s current stance on diversity, equity, and inclusion. A federal court, however, disagreed with the administration’s position; the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals ruled against the Department of Education not just once, but twice.
Bonta now claims that, despite a series of “adverse court rulings,” the Trump administration is still looking for ways to defund the two programs. “By calling this a termination rather than a discontinuation, the Administration seeks to circumvent the court’s order, which required them to continue these important mental health grants,” Bonta’s office said in a press release. “Although Attorney General Bonta and the coalition continue to fight this attempt to circumvent the court’s order, they have filed this new lawsuit to prevent these planned terminations and cover any gaps that would threaten this funding.”
Bonta is also seeking a preliminary injunction, which would prevent the Department of Education from terminating the grants pending the case’s outcome.
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