AG Nessel Files Brief In Lawsuit to Prevent DoE Cuts to School Mental Health Grants

Michigan AG Dana Nessel and 14 of her secret cabal of Democratic Attorneys General have filed a lawsuit against the U.S. Department of Education over their latest (9/29/26) rules revision for a mental health grant program that Congress established (20 U.S.C. 7112(6)) following the 2018 school shooting in Parkland, Florida.

The DoE summary of their latest rules, published on September 29, 2025:

SUMMARY:

The Department of Education (Department) announces final priorities, requirements, and definitions under the School-Based Mental Health Services (SBMH) Program, Assistance Listing Number (ALN) 84.184H. We may use one or more of these priorities, requirements, and definitions for competitions in fiscal year (FY) 2025 and later years. These final priorities, requirements, and definitions are designed to target activities with the purpose of increasing the number of credentialed school-based mental health services providers, specifically school psychologists, in high-need local educational agencies (LEAs) available to provide mental health services to students. These priorities, requirements, and definitions replace the Notice of Final Priorities, Requirements, and Definitions published in the Federal Register on October 4, 2022 (87 FR 60092). However, those priorities, requirements, and definitions remain in effect for previous grant competitions in which the notices inviting applications (NIAs) were published before the Department finalized the proposed priorities, requirements, and definitions in this notice.

It is not yet clear why the full cabal of 22 Democratic AGs did not sign on to this suit.  Dissention in the ranks?

https://www.michigan.gov/ag/news/press-releases/2026/07/10/ag-nessel-joins-lawsuit-to-prevent-department-of-educations-cuts-to-school-mental-health-grants

https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2025/09/29/2025-18900/school-based-mental-health-grant-program

AG Nessel Joins Lawsuit to Prevent Department of Education’s Cuts to School Mental Health Grants
By Danny Wimmer - July 10, 2026

LANSING – Today, Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel filed a lawsuit (PDF) with 14 other attorneys general to prevent the U.S. Department of Education from unlawfully terminating congressionally approved school-based mental health grants. In defiance of a court order, the administration plans to terminate these grants at the end of July, which is projected to cost Michigan schools and universities more than $6 million.

“The federal government should always prioritize the well-being of our students,” said Attorney General Nessel. “Instead, it insists on abandoning schools to combat the mental health crisis alone. The White House is treating children’s lives as disposable by bypassing court orders and unlawfully terminating these grants, but we will do whatever it takes to protect our kids and secure the funds they were promised.”

In the wake of devastating school shootings, members of Congress from both parties came together to appropriate $1 billion to permanently bring 14,000 mental health professionals into U.S. schools most in need, especially in low-income and rural communities. The programs have been an incredible success. In their first year, the programs provided mental and behavioral health services to nearly 775,000 elementary and secondary students nationwide. Sampled projects showed real results: a 50% reduction in suicide risk at high-need schools, decreases in absenteeism and behavioral issues, and increases in positive student-staff engagement.

In April 2025, the department notified grantees in Michigan and the other coalition states that their grants would be discontinued for allegedly conflicting with the Trump administration's new priorities. The department later revealed the grants had been targeted for their perceived support for diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI).

In July 2025, Attorney General Nessel joined the coalition in filing a lawsuit in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Washington against the department over the discontinuation of the grants. In December 2025, the coalition secured an order declaring the department’s discontinuations were unlawful and requiring it to make new continuation decisions. The court also issued a permanent injunction that prohibited the department from implementing the discontinuations “through any means.”

The department has admitted most of the grants should have been continued, but they have nonetheless engaged in an ongoing campaign to hinder, threaten, and ultimately try to eliminate the mental health grants in Michigan and the other coalition states. Although the department issued continuation awards through December 31, 2026, the department only provided funding for approximately seven months, making planning difficult because grantees do not know how much funding they will get for the fall. The department also threatened not to provide funding for the second half of the year and are making grantees jump through unnecessary hoops to access funds—diverting resources and staff from supporting student mental health to filling out superfluous paperwork.

The department claimed it planned to review the grants at the six-month mark and then make additional funding determinations. But instead, the department has targeted the grants protected by the original injunction and announced they plan to terminate the grants altogether at the end of July. By calling this a termination rather than a discontinuation, the administration seeks to circumvent the court’s order, which required them to follow the law with respect to these important mental health grants. Although Attorney General Nessel 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 these critical grants.

The attorneys general allege that the Department of Education’s plan to terminate the mental health grants violate the Administrative Procedure Act and the U.S. Constitution. The attorneys general have moved for a preliminary injunction to prevent the grants from being terminated.

Joining Attorney General Nessel in filing the lawsuit are the attorneys general of California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Illinois, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Mexico, New York, Oregon, Rhode Island, Washington and Wisconsin.