California Attorney General Rob Bonta has filed a motion to enforce a court order requiring the U.S. Department of Education to restore discontinued school mental health grants, according to a Wednesday announcement.
Following a December order by the U.S. District Court for the Western District to fully reinstate unlawfully discontinued grants, the department issued funding to recipients for only six months, rather than the standard full year, according to the announcement. The department’s decision to deny a full year of funding will “effectively end some grantee projects,” as school districts will lose staff and be unable to budget for the fall semester, the announcement said.
“In California and nationwide, grantees have issued layoff notices, and even though they take effect months later, the ongoing uncertainty complicates planning and staffing for critical programs that support students’ mental health,” said Attorney General Bonta, who had sued the department as part of a coalition of 16 state attorneys general. “We urge the Court to hold the Administration fully accountable for failing to comply with its order.”
By claiming that grants will “continue under protest,” the department is making grant recipients “jump through unnecessary hoops,” such as filling out reimbursement forms that have usually only been required for recipients who mismanaged funds, and forcing grantees to “submit a meaningless performance report before any new data is available,” said the announcement. The department also threatened to withhold six months of funding that recipients need for the fall semester.
The Trump administration first notified schools and universities last April that their grants would be abruptly canceled, citing grant recipients’ alleged efforts toward diversity, equity and inclusion.
The federal Mental Health Service Professional Demonstration Grant Program addresses a shortage of school-based mental health service providers, with the goal of bringing 14,000 additional mental health staff to U.S. schools. According to the announcement, sampled grants have shown a 50% reduction in suicide risk at high-need schools, an 80% reduction in student wait time for services and a 95% retention rate for mental health professionals who were hired to serve students.
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