Maryland and Delaware join lawsuit against DOE
Salisbury, Md. – Last month, Maryland and Delaware Attorneys joined 13 other attorneys general to prevent the U.S. Department of Education from terminating congressionally approved school-based mental health programs.
Maryland Attorney General Anthony G. Brown’s office has said the cuts could cost Maryland schools and universities over $3 million in funding.
In a statement released by his office, Brown said:
“Once again, the U.S. Department of Education is trying to eliminate grants that Maryland schools rely on to provide critical mental health and counseling services for our children. We joined this lawsuit because our children’s well-being should never be traded away to fit a political agenda.”
TidalHealth told WMDT in an email statement that while TidalHealth is not a party to the litigation and does not administer the federal grants involved, so we can’t speak to the case or its outcome.
“Behavioral health need among young people on the Lower Eastern Shore is real and growing, and that rural communities like ours have fewer practitioners to meet it,” a TidalHealth spokesperson said. “We remain committed to working with our school systems and community partners to expand access to care for children and families in our region, and we’ll continue to do that regardless of how any individual funding stream is resolved.”
President of the teachers’ union Delaware State Education Association Tameka Mays echoed the need for school-based supports.
“Students struggling with serious mental health issues need the support of trusted school-based professionals, and yet the Trump Administration is once again trying to strip those supports from our schools,” Mays said in a statement. “Thankfully, we have elected leaders, like Attorney General Kathy Jennings, who are willing to stand up and fight for the federal funding that’s owed to our state, including roughly $70 million in court-ordered, education-related funding that’s already been restored to our students, our schools, and our communities.”
This comes after the Department of Education said it would discontinue over 200 school-based mental health programs last year for including priorities “out of line” with the Trump Administration.
“Grants the Department determined should not be continued prioritized the racial characteristics of providers and divisive ideologies instead of focusing on competent provision of proven mental health interventions for students,” DOE officials said in a statement released by the DOE.
Despite a court order last year not to impede the continuation of the grants, state officials allege the department is continuing to circumvent the court’s order.
