AFT and Chicago Nonprofit Organization Sue U.S. Department of Education for Unlawful Public Education Funding Cuts

WASHINGTON - The AFT and the Brighton Park Neighborhood Council (BPNC) filed a lawsuit today challenging the U.S. Department of Education's abrupt and unlawful decision to terminate millions of dollars in funding for Full-Service Community Schools in the middle of approved, multi-year projects. Democracy Forward and Jacobson Lawyers Group PLLC represent the plaintiffs.

The lawsuit explains that, despite strong performance by grantees and clear congressional direction, the Department cut off funding without notice, without lawful justification, and without following required procedures. As a result, more than $60 million in unused, congressionally appropriated funds designated to support students, families, and communities in vulnerable situations are set to expire on December 31, 2025.

Full-Service Community Schools provide wraparound services-including social, health, nutrition, and mental health support, and family resources-particularly in high-poverty and rural areas. For decades, congressionally-appropriated funding for multi-year grants based on the school's performance has been approved by the federal government. The complaint alleges that the Department, under the Trump-Vance administration, has abandoned that established process and replaced it with newly created policy preferences that were never adopted through lawful rulemaking.

The plaintiffs argue that the Department's actions violate the Administrative Procedure Act, federal education law, and Congress's direction to the agency to use the funds it appropriated to fund community schools.

"We at BPNC were shocked and dismayed to learn of the termination of our FSCS grant with ACT Now and Chicago Public Schools. We have been diligently working in partnership with Curie High School and Chicago Public Schools to implement the highest quality after-school programs and services for all students and community members. We believe that our partnership with Chicago Public Schools and ACT Now advanced the stated mission of the U.S. Department of Education Full Service Community School grant to support low-income students and families in our community, to ensure their access to high-quality afterschool academic support, and to provide technical and career support to help mold the workforce of the future," said Patrick Brosnan, Executive Director of Brighton Park Neighborhood Council. "We hope and pray that these necessary grant funds are restored, and we can continue to provide the needed services so that all students and families in our community can achieve their goals and thrive,"

"The Department of Education is not Linda McMahon's personal plaything where she gets to decide what legally mandated functions stay or go or whether spending is allocated or not-and yet she repeatedly acts like it," said AFT President Randi Weingarten. "From cutting summer school and after school programs last June, to deep Medicaid and SNAP cuts, to now gutting community school grants in the middle of a school year, her actions are only hurting young people and increasing stress and anxiety for hundreds of thousands of families. Here, there was no communication with districts or even a request to ask for modifications-these grants were simply terminated on a whim. They fund crucial medical, dental, nutrition, after school tutoring, and enrichment programs that increase academic achievement and attendance, boost high school graduation rates, and reduce achievement gaps. And the data show that for every dollar spent on community schools, there is a $7 return on investment.

"For a secretary who claims she's concerned about achievement and attendance, why terminate a program that boosts both? And for a secretary who is crisscrossing the country talking about civics, why not simply follow the law and allocate the community school grants to the districts that have been counting on them?"

"President Trump's assault on public education in America has consistently been swiftly and decisively rebuffed in communities and courts across the country. We are again heading to court -this time during the holiday season-to protect students, families, educators, and communities from the cruelty and lawlessness of this administration," said Skye Perryman, President and CEO of Democracy Forward. "The U.S. Department of Education cannot ignore the law, override Congress, and pull the rug out from under schools and programs that rely on congressionally-approved funding, and we are going to court to secure a ruling to prevent these harms."

"The Department of Education is unlawfully refusing to spend tens of millions of dollars that Congress appropriated to help students and their families get the support they need to succeed. We are proud to stand with these organizations who are demanding more for our nation's students," said Lynn Eisenberg from Jacobson Lawyers Group.

The case is Brighton Park Neighborhood Council et al. v. McMahon et al.

Read the complaint here.

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The AFT represents 1.8 million pre-K through 12th-grade teachers; paraprofessionals and other school-related personnel; higher education faculty and professional staff; federal, state and local government employees; nurses and healthcare workers; and early childhood educators.