Multiple states are suing after the U.S. Department of Education abruptly canceled millions of dollars in grants that were supposed to go toward training special education teachers.
California, Rhode Island and Wisconsin filed suit this week over the lost grants. The states were each in the middle of a five-year funding cycle when the Trump administration yanked the funds after determining that they “reflect the prior administration’s priorities and policy preferences and conflict with those of the current administration.”
The grants were issued as part of the State Personnel Development Grant Program, a long-running effort under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act to support personnel preparation and professional development for those serving children with disabilities from early intervention through the transition years. Typically, multi-year grants issued under the program are reviewed annually to ensure that performance and financials are in order, but it is rare for awarded funds to be cut off especially without advance notice, the lawsuit filed in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California claims.
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The grants were among 25 funded under IDEA Part D that the Education Department’s Office of Special Education Program halted last September. They were flagged for mentioning diversity, equity and inclusion “no matter how fleeting,” the states said in their lawsuit. The references were included in the states’ original applications, which were submitted between 2021 and 2024. At that time, the states note that the Education Department required applicants to implement equity programs.
Because the grants were canceled just weeks before the federal funds were expected to arrive, the states said that they did not have extra money to support the efforts and had to shut down their programs.
“The Trump administration discontinued critical grants designed to improve outcomes for students with disabilities by building the capacity of educators, administrators and systems to ensure timely appropriate services and navigate early intervention,” said California Attorney General Rob Bonta who is leading the lawsuit. “This harmful and unlawful action denies vulnerable students the resources they need to learn and succeed.”
The lawsuit, which names the Education Department and Secretary of Education Linda McMahon, alleges that the grant cancellations violated the Administrative Procedures Act because they relied on new priorities that were not made public through the required notice and comment period. In addition, the states say that the federal government wrongly asserted “nearly limitless discretion to discontinue grants based on new priorities,” failed to provide a “reasoned explanation” for the terminations and changed its position and misled states by “requiring their applications to highlight equity initiatives and then penalizing them for the very same initiatives.”
The states are asking the court to reinstate their grants.
Amelia Joy, a spokesperson for the Department of Education, did not directly address the lawsuit’s claims.
“The department is dedicated to ensuring every child with a disability receives the special education and related services they are legally entitled,” Joy said. “Children with disabilities must receive the services guaranteed under federal law, delivered by qualified personnel prepared to strengthen educational outcomes. The Trump administration has made historic investments to support students with disabilities and will continue to help states expand proven learning methods that produce stronger results.”
