Attorney General Bonta Secures Preliminary Injunction in Lawsuit to Protect Vital Education Funding

OAKLAND – California Attorney General Rob Bonta today issued a statement on the decision by the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York granting a preliminary injunction to prevent the federal government from rescinding access to hundreds of millions of dollars in vital education funding while litigation proceeds. In California alone, over $200 million in previously awarded and obligated funding is at stake – funding that school districts are already putting to use for programs such as afterschool and summer learning initiatives, the purchase of educational technology, and the provision of mental health services and support.  

“The Trump Administration continues to break the law, and we continue to hold him accountable,” said Attorney General Bonta. “I’m pleased by the court’s decision today allowing vital education funding to continue to flow into our schools while our case continues. We will not stop fighting to ensure these unlawful, nonsensical funding cuts never see the light of day. Our students deserve nothing less.”

BACKGROUND 

On March 28, 2025, Education Secretary Linda McMahon notified state departments of education that the U.S. Department of Education had unilaterally rescinded access to previously awarded and obligated education funding that is currently being used by school districts to support the academic recovery of students following the COVID-19 pandemic. These programs and services address, among other things, the impact of lost instructional time; students’ academic, social, and emotional needs; and the disproportionate impact of the pandemic on economically-disadvantaged students,  including homeless children and children in foster care.  

On April 10, 2025, Attorney General Rob Bonta and a coalition of states challenged the Department of Education’s actions. The states argue that the Department’s decision to rescind access to this funding is arbitrary and capricious in violation of the Administrative Procedures Act, exceeds the Department’s statutory and regulatory authority under the law, and will cause immediate and devastating harm to school districts in California and across the nation.

A copy of the court's order is available here.