OLYMPIA, WA (MyBellinghamNow.com) – The Department of Education is facing a lawsuit regarding its plan to cut school mental health grants.

Washington Attorney General Nick Brown—alongside 14 other attorneys general—filed a lawsuit Friday, July 10 to prevent the department from terminating them.

The congressionally approved grants have been used to fund the instatement of 14,000 mental health professionals into schools across the country.

As a result, nearly 775,000 elementary and secondary students have received mental and behavioral health services.

The Department of Education announced that the grants would be discontinued in April of 2025. The department alleges the grants conflicted with the Trump administration’s priorities.

Brown led a coalition in filing an initial lawsuit against the department months later, resulting in a court order requiring new grant continuation decisions to be made.

The department continued providing funding for a six month period after the order was issued before pivoting to its plan to terminate the funds at the end of July.

The decision is projected to cost Washington schools and universities over $20 million.