A coalition of 24 states and the District of Columbia sued the Trump administration on Monday over
$6.8 billion
in education funding that the administration has withheld a few weeks before the start of the school year.
The withheld money includes about 14 percent of all federal funding for elementary and secondary education across the country. It helps pay for free or low-cost after-school programs that give students a place to go while their parents work. It also covers training to improve the effectiveness of teachers and help for children learning English.
Attorneys general from 22 states signed onto the lawsuit, along with the governors of Pennsylvania and Kentucky. All are Democrats.
The lawsuit accuses the Trump administration of holding back the money illegally. The U.S. Constitution gives Congress the power of the purse, and the Impoundment Control Act of 1974 says that a president cannot unilaterally refuse to spend money that Congress has appropriated.
The lawsuit asks a federal judge in Rhode Island to order the release of the money, which was supposed to be sent to states on July 1.
The Department of Education notified state education agencies on June 30 that it was holding the money back while it conducted a review. The Trump administration has sought to slash federal spending and align the budget with the president’s political priorities.
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