AG Neronha files yet another lawsuit against Trump, this time for education funds

The President has violated the law. Has he harmed Rhode Islanders? "Of course he has,” said Attorney General Peter Neronha.

Rhode Island Attorney General Peter Neronha is leading a coalition of 23 attorneys general and two governors in filing a lawsuit against the Trump Administration for its “unconstitutional, unlawful, and arbitrary” decision to freeze funding for six longstanding programs administered by the U.S. Department of Education. Without this funding, many educational programs will shutter – ongoing summer learning programs have already been left unfunded.

The cuts to funding that usually arrive annually on July 1, announced in a three-sentence email from the Department of Education, indicated that the funding was under “review” to ensure “taxpayer resources are spent in accordance with the President’s priorities and the Department’s statutory responsibilities.”

The breakdown of the impact of cuts on Rhode Island, according to the Rhode Island Department of Education, is estimated to be:

• $10.8 million for professional development programs for teachers

• $6.7 million for student support and academic enrichment

• $6.5 million for after-school and summer programs

• $3 million for English language acquisition programs

• $2.4 million for adult education

“Rhode Islanders ask me all the time: How do we decide when to bring an action against the Trump Administration?” said Attorney General Neronha. “And the answer to that question is really simple. The first question we ask ourselves is, has the president broken the law? If he has, have Rhode Islanders and Americans been harmed? That's the second question. And the third question is, do we have legal standing to bring an action against the administration and on the conduct here?

“This was not a decision that we had to wrestle with. It was a very simple decision to make to bring this lawsuit.

“The President has again broken the law. We've seen this story before, where the President ignores the will of Congress. Its principal power, the power that school children all across America learned, is the power of the purse. Only Congress can decide how our tax money is spent. Only Congress can decide precisely how that money is spent, and it's the President's job to faithfully execute the law, including the spending laws - the budgets passed by Congress.

“We've seen the President violate this over and over and over again. We brought lawsuits, several of them right here in Rhode Island, because the president simply doesn't have that power. He's violated the law. Has he harmed Rhode Islanders and the residents of our states and the District of Columbia? Of course he has.”

From the press release:

The attorneys general argue that the funding freeze violates the federal funding statutes, the Appropriations Act, Apportionment, the Administrative Procedures Act, the separation of powers doctrine, equitable ultra vires, and the Presentment Clause, and ask the court for declaratory and injunctive relief.

In Rhode Island, an estimated $29 million in federal education funding is frozen.

“Education is critically important to Americans’ development, mobility, and success, which is probably why the President seeks to undermine it,” said Attorney General Neronha. “Every time this Administration unlawfully withholds critical federal funding, they know that what they are doing is unconstitutional, and yet they ignore the law anyway. This time, the President is aiming for the growth and enrichment of our young people by freezing essential funding, approved by Congress, for a wide range of important educational programs, leaving the Rhode Island Department of Education and similar agencies across the country to scramble. Further, we know that the pandemic has had a dramatically negative impact on our kids’ education, and with this latest move, the Administration intends to add insult to injury. We must collectively reject their attempts to stifle and oppress everyday Americans. Enough is enough.”

For decades, Rhode Island and other states have used funding under these programs to carry out a broad range of programs and services, including educational programs for migratory children and English learners; programs that promote effective classroom instruction, improve school conditions and the use of technology in the classroom; community learning centers that offer students a broad range of opportunities for academic and extracurricular enrichment; and adult education and workforce development efforts.

Under federal statutory and regulatory requirements, each year the Department of Education makes around 25% of the funds for these programs available to states on or about July 1 to permit state and local educational agencies to plan their budgets for the academic year ahead. The States have complied with the funding conditions set forth under the law and have State plans that the Department of Education has already approved. The States have received these funds, without incident, for decades, including as recently as last year. However, this year, on June 30, state agencies across the country received a notification announcing that the Department of Education would not be “obligating funds” for six formula funding programs on July 1.

This funding freeze has immediately thrown into chaos plans for the upcoming academic year. Local education agencies have approved budgets, developed staffing plans, and signed contracts to provide vital educational services under these grants. Now, as a result of the Trump Administration’s actions, states find themselves without sufficient funding for these commitments, just weeks before the start of the 2025-2026 school year. Essential summer school and after-school programs, which provide childcare to working parents of school-age children, are already being impacted. The abrupt freeze is also wreaking havoc on key teacher training programs as well as programs that make school more accessible to children with special learning needs, such as English learners.

But it is Congress, not the Executive Branch, that possesses the power of the purse. The Constitution does not permit the Executive Branch the power to unilaterally refuse to spend appropriations that were passed by both houses of Congress and were signed into law. Yet that is exactly what the Trump Administration is attempting to do here. In today’s lawsuit, the coalition asked the Court to declare the funding freeze unlawful, as courts have repeatedly done in other multistate cases, and block any attempts to withhold or delay this funding.

Attorney General Neronha co-leads the coalition together with the attorneys general of California, Colorado, and Massachusetts, and is joined in filing the lawsuit by the attorneys general of Arizona, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Illinois, Maine, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, Oregon, Vermont, Washington, Wisconsin, and the District of Columbia, as well as the governors of Kentucky and Pennsylvania.

“The Trump Administration’s unlawful withholding of education funds harms Rhode Island’s students, families, and teachers,” said Rhode Island Commissioner of Elementary and Secondary Education Angélica Infante-Green. “Without this $29 million in Congressionally approved federal funding for Rhode Island students, there will be cuts to before and after school programs, Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) learning, and education resources for multilingual learners. This will also negatively impact Rhode Island’s science of reading instruction, as well as professional development support for Rhode Island’s hardworking teachers.

“Rhode Island students have been making significant strides in educational progress, post-pandemic. Delays and cuts in federal funds put progress and momentum in every district in Rhode Island at risk. RIDE is working closely with education leaders across the state, and across the country, doing everything we can to protect our students and limit disruptions to their learning.”

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Last week, United States Representative Seth Magaziner held a press conference to speak out against the Trump administration’s decision to withhold nearly $7 billion in federal education funding, including nearly $30 million for Rhode Island, with no clear explanation. Joining him were Rhode Island Commissioner of Elementary and Secondary Education Angélica Infante-Green and Providence Mayor Brett Smiley.

“The Trump administration has made the cruel and unprecedented decision to strip $30 million from Rhode Island schools and students with no clear explanation,” said Representative Magaziner. “This hurts teachers, students, and working parents. We’re coming together at every level to express our strong opposition and to make clear: we will use every tool available to protect school funding.”

Here’s the video:

The unprecedented and abrupt move, announced last week by the Department of Education, is estimated to rip away $29.3 million from Rhode Island, accounting for 17 percent of the K-12 funding Rhode Island receives from the federal government.

Magaziner, local leaders, and representatives from the Providence After School Alliance and Dorcas International gathered to sound the alarm on the impact of cuts on the Ocean State.

“By withholding these education funds, the Trump Administration is hurting students and families in Rhode Island,” said Commissioner Infante-Green. “These funds support before and after school programs, English language education, and professional development programs for teachers, which are targeted to student academic achievement. In recent years, Rhode Island students have made significant educational progress. Without funding, our students risk losing that momentum.”

“Withholding this funding is going to hurt all families and students,” said Mayor Smiley. “At a moment where we should be further investing in comprehensive after-school learning programs and improved supports for math and English, this decision will have a devastating impact on Providence families, educators, and students. I want to thank Representative Magaziner and the entire federal delegation for their leadership and advocacy on this issue, and I continue to urge federal officials to recognize the tangible impact cutting this funding would have on our children.”

“In the 2023-24 school year, there were over 5,000 students across Rhode Island, more than 1,300 in Providence alone, served in after-school programs funded by 21st Century Community Learning Centers (21stCCLC). These funds enable low-income youth to access after-school enrichment and hands-on learning programs that develop skills and abilities that support their future success,” said Eric Gurna, Interim Executive Director of the Providence After School Alliance. “Study after study has shown that participation in afterschool and summer programs leads to positive outcomes for students, schools, and communities.”

“Federal funding provides educational services to thousands of Rhode Island adults who lack basic literacy and foundational skills,” said Milagro Sique, Chief Operating Officer, Dorcas International Institute of Rhode Island. “Learning or improving English helps Rhode Islanders enter or advance in the workforce, yielding significant returns in economic productivity and reduced public spending. We must continue to meet the basic needs of our state’s most vulnerable populations.”

During the event, Magaziner made clear that he is committed to aggressively pursuing all legislative and legal avenues to restore the funding.