New York Attorney General Letitia James and a coalition of 14 other state attorneys general sued the U.S. Department of Education and Secretary Linda McMahon on July 10, accusing the agency of trying to unlawfully cut federal funding for school-based mental health services.
The lawsuit targets the Mental Health Service Professional Demonstration Grant Program and the School-Based Mental Health Services Grant Program, both created by Congress after the Parkland, Fla., and Uvalde, Texas, school shootings. In December 2025, Ms. James and the coalition won a permanent injunction blocking the department’s first attempt to end the grants. The department now plans to “terminate” the same funding as soon as July 31, a move the coalition says merely relabels the same unlawful action, according to a July 10 news release from Ms. James’ office.
New York could lose at least $19 million in approved funding, including more than $7.6 million for the State University of New York system. SUNY Binghamton could lose 10 full-time mental health staff serving over 9,000 rural students, and SUNY Buffalo could lose a fellowship program supporting roughly 3,000 students in Western New York.
The programs placed more than 1,200 school mental health professionals in their first year, cutting student wait times for care by 80% and suicide risk at high-need schools by 50%, according to the coalition’s filing.
The 14 other attorneys general are from California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Illinois, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, New Mexico, Oregon, Rhode Island, Washington and Wisconsin.
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