Attorney General James Wins Lawsuit Protecting Youth Mental Health Services

NEW YORK – New York Attorney General Letitia James today released the following statement after a federal judge granted her motion for summary judgment declaring the Trump administration’s attempts to discontinue funding for school-based mental health programs illegal:

“Children across the country are facing record-high rates of mental health challenges. Instead of helping them, the federal government has fought tooth and nail to eliminate the services they rely on, which were created in response to the horrific tragedies in Parkland and Uvalde. Following Friday’s ruling, we can continue to honor the memory of all those we have lost to the mental health crisis by supporting our young people with empathetic, easily accessible mental health care.”

Attorney General James and 15 other attorneys general sued the U.S. Department of Education in July to stop the administration from abruptly ending two grant programs that fund mental health professionals in schools. These programs were created by a bipartisan majority in Congress following a series of tragic school shootings, including in Parkland, Florida, and Uvalde, Texas. The funding was meant to address the youth mental health crisis and expand access to counselors, social workers, and psychologists in schools across the country.

On December 19, the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Washington granted the coalition’s motion for summary judgment, declaring the funding lapse illegal. The court’s decision will preserve at least $19 million in previously approved mental health funding for New York schools.