August 25, 2025 - OAKLAND – California Attorney General Rob Bonta today secured an agreement requiring the Trump Administration to release the full balance of remaining education funding at issue in a multistate lawsuit by no later than October 3, 2025. Last month, Attorney General Bonta co-led a coalition of 23 attorneys general and two states in suing the Trump Administration over its unconstitutional, unlawful, and arbitrary decision to freeze funding for six longstanding programs administered by the U.S. Department of Education just weeks before the school year was set to start. In California, over $900 million in federal education funding was frozen, jeopardizing key programs for after school and summer learning, teacher preparation, and to support students learning English. Days later, the Trump Administration released the first tranche of funding that had previously been withheld. The multistate coalition and the Trump Administration today jointly filed a motion to dismiss the case under the terms of an agreement that ensures the remaining funding is released on time, providing California and the multistate coalition with the full relief they had sought in the lawsuit.

“The Trump Administration upended school programs across the country when it recklessly withheld vital education funding just weeks before the school year was set to begin,” said Attorney General Bonta. “Fortunately, after we filed our lawsuit, the Trump Administration backed down and released the funding it had previously withheld. Today’s agreement ensures the rest of this funding is released, as scheduled, in October, successfully resolving our lawsuit. Over the past six months, state attorneys general have been a bulwark in the fight against the Trump Administration’s reckless and illegal efforts to slash, withhold, or condition federal funding, and we are not taking our foot off the gas. Our kids deserve so much better than what this anti-education Administration has to offer, and we will continue to fight to protect them from this President’s relentless attacks.”

BACKGROUND

On June 30, the Trump Administration abruptly and unlawfully froze funding for six longstanding programs administered by ED just weeks before the school year in many parts of California is set to start. For decades, California and other states have used funding under these programs to carry out a broad range of programs and services, including educational programs for migrant children and English learners; programs that promote effective classroom instruction, improve school conditions, and support 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. 

On July 14, Attorney General Bonta co-led a coalition in filing a lawsuit and motion for a preliminary injunction, arguing that the freeze violates federal funding statutes and regulations authorizing these critical programs and appropriating funds for them, federal statutes governing the federal budgeting process, and the constitutional separation of powers doctrine and the Presentment Clause.   

On July 25, the California Department of Education (CDE) received notice from ED that beginning the week of July 28, 2025, ED would begin releasing previously impounded federal funds for the current federal and education fiscal year. CDE subsequently received Grant Award Notifications confirming that the entirety of the funds that ED was required to make available to the states on July 1 had been released. 

Attorney General Bonta is committed to defending California’s educational institutions and students against the Trump Administration’s illegal attacks. Attorney General Bonta has filed lawsuits challenging the unlawful termination of grant funding for K-12 teacher preparation programs; the mass firings and dismantling of ED; unlawful conditioning of K-12 education funding; and the discontinuation of school mental health grant funding. He’s also secured other relief for California schools including the funding released this week and $200 million in previously awarded education funding to address the long-term effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on schools.

A copy of the motion to dismiss with stipulations is available here.

Source: CA. DOJ