Court Blocked School Mental Health Grant Terminations

A federal judge issued a preliminary injunction stopping the Department of Education from ending critical grant funding.

Updated on Sept. 27, 2026 in Special Education

Bold flat-color editorial illustration of a brass bell sitting atop a school roofline, navy, cream, and deep red palette. — A federal judge in Washington issued an injunction preventing the Department of Education from terminating school mental health grants. AI Illustration. Upload story photo >

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Should federal funding for school-based mental health programs be protected from administrative termination?

The U.S. District Court for the Western District of Washington has issued a preliminary injunction blocking the Department of Education from terminating school mental health grants. This decision stems from a lawsuit filed by a coalition of 15 attorneys general challenging the legality of the department's plan.

Why it matters

The grant programs are vital for addressing severe shortages of mental health professionals in schools across the country. The court found that the department failed to provide grantees proper notice and retroactively applied new priorities to existing funding.

The legal challenge involves 15 attorneys general opposing the termination of the Mental Health Service Professional Demonstration Grant Program and the School-Based Mental Health Services Grant Program.

The players

U.S. Department of Education

This federal agency oversees national education policy and sought to re-evaluate and terminate existing mental health grants.

U.S. District Court for the Western District of Washington

This federal court holds jurisdiction over the lawsuit and issued the injunction against the department's termination plan.

The details

The court determined the department's attempt to re-evaluate grants based on new priorities was likely unlawful, noting a failure to account for grantee reliance on established funding. This preliminary injunction follows a previously issued temporary restraining order against the plan.

September 27, 2026: The preliminary injunction was issued by the U.S. District Court.

Culture Shift

The ruling aligns with broader efforts to protect federal investments in school safety infrastructure, which gained significant momentum following school tragedies in Parkland, Florida and Uvalde, Texas. By blocking the grant terminations, the court has prioritized continuity for schools currently addressing mental health professional shortages.

This court intervention ensures that school districts currently participating in these federal programs can maintain their mental health staffing without immediate fear of funding loss. Schools reliant on these grants can continue their current programming while the legal dispute proceeds.

The takeaway

The court's intervention highlights the necessity of administrative transparency when modifying long-term educational funding commitments. Districts should continue to monitor the lawsuit's progress to ensure they remain eligible for grant distributions as the litigation unfolds.