A federal judge ruled that the U.S. Department of Education acted unlawfully by abruptly discontinuing grants to fund extra mental health professionals in K-12 schools. Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul and a coalition of 16 attorneys general filed the lawsuit in July, arguing that the education department violated the Administrative Procedure Act when it told grantees in April it would discontinue the mental health grants program because it conflicted with the Trump administration’s new priorities.
After the 2023 mass school shooting in Uvalde, Texas that killed 19 students and two teachers, Congress appropriated 1 billion dollars to permanently bring 14,000 mental health professionals into schools that needed them most. During the first year of funding, grantees served almost 775,000 students and hired about 1,300 school mental health professionals, according to the National Association of School Psychologists as reported by the attorney general’s office.
As part of the ruling, the two sides will meet and agree on a timeline for the Department of Education to make lawful grant continuation decisions. “I applaud this ruling that ensures mental health professionals stay in schools in Illinois and across the country,” Raoul said. “These services not only support our students, but they keep our schools and communities safe.”
Illinois joined California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, New Mexico, New York, Nevada, Oregon, Rhode Island, Washington and Wisconsin in filing the lawsuit.
This article is an AI-assisted summary. All facts and figures are drawn from the original report: https://www.shawlocal.com/news/2025/12/23/illinois-applauds-court-ordering-department-of-education-to-restore-school-mental-health-grants/