Delaware News

AG Jennings Wins Court Order Restoring Critical Education Funds to States

Department of Justice | Department of Justice Press Releases | Newsroom | Date Posted: Friday, May 9, 2025


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Attorney General Kathy Jennings today secured a court order forcing the Trump administration to restore states’ access to critical Department of Education programs. The funding, allocated by Congress, supports low-income and unhoused students while providing funding for services to address the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on K-12 students. On April 10, Attorney General Jennings joined a coalition of 15 other attorneys general and the Governor of Pennsylvania in suing the Trump administration for illegally ending access to over $1 billion in grants from the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA). The preliminary injunction issued today by Judge Edgardo Ramos of the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York orders the Department of Education to immediately restore states’ access to these critical funds as the case continues.
“It is a sad state of affairs when the courts have to step in and force the president to honor promises made to the American people,” said Attorney General Kathy Jennings. “Our schools, our teachers, our most vulnerable children were already counting on this money. We refused to stand by while the president and his administration attempted to strip the most vulnerable among us of their right to an equitable education, and we have won. We will continue to step up when this current administration falls into dereliction of duty, and frankly, cruelty.”
To mediate the long-term effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, ARPA funded three education-related programs to help support states’ school systems and direct more resources to the most vulnerable students. These programs – Homeless Children and Youth (HCY), Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief (ESSER), and Emergency Assistance to Nonpublic Schools (EANS) – provide essential resources to help schools and students recover from the lasting impacts of the pandemic.
Attorney General Jennings asserted that the Department’s arbitrary termination of the states’ access to these funds has resulted in a massive, unexpected budget gap that will cause unfathomable harm to both students and teachers.
Today, Judge Ramos granted the states’ motion for a preliminary injunction barring the Department from blocking access to ARPA funding. The preliminary injunction order that was issued prevents the Department from enforcing a March 28, 2025 letter from Education Secretary Linda McMahon that claimed to rescind states’ ability to access the funding.
Joining Attorney General Jennings filing this lawsuit are the attorneys general of Arizona, California, Hawai’i, Illinois, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Nevada, Oregon, and the District of Columbia, along with the Governor of Pennsylvania.
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AG Jennings Wins Court Order Restoring Critical Education Funds to States

Department of Justice | Department of Justice Press Releases | Newsroom | Date Posted: Friday, May 9, 2025


Navy blue background featuring the Delaware state seal in the center
Attorney General Kathy Jennings today secured a court order forcing the Trump administration to restore states’ access to critical Department of Education programs. The funding, allocated by Congress, supports low-income and unhoused students while providing funding for services to address the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on K-12 students. On April 10, Attorney General Jennings joined a coalition of 15 other attorneys general and the Governor of Pennsylvania in suing the Trump administration for illegally ending access to over $1 billion in grants from the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA). The preliminary injunction issued today by Judge Edgardo Ramos of the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York orders the Department of Education to immediately restore states’ access to these critical funds as the case continues.
“It is a sad state of affairs when the courts have to step in and force the president to honor promises made to the American people,” said Attorney General Kathy Jennings. “Our schools, our teachers, our most vulnerable children were already counting on this money. We refused to stand by while the president and his administration attempted to strip the most vulnerable among us of their right to an equitable education, and we have won. We will continue to step up when this current administration falls into dereliction of duty, and frankly, cruelty.”
To mediate the long-term effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, ARPA funded three education-related programs to help support states’ school systems and direct more resources to the most vulnerable students. These programs – Homeless Children and Youth (HCY), Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief (ESSER), and Emergency Assistance to Nonpublic Schools (EANS) – provide essential resources to help schools and students recover from the lasting impacts of the pandemic.
Attorney General Jennings asserted that the Department’s arbitrary termination of the states’ access to these funds has resulted in a massive, unexpected budget gap that will cause unfathomable harm to both students and teachers.
Today, Judge Ramos granted the states’ motion for a preliminary injunction barring the Department from blocking access to ARPA funding. The preliminary injunction order that was issued prevents the Department from enforcing a March 28, 2025 letter from Education Secretary Linda McMahon that claimed to rescind states’ ability to access the funding.
Joining Attorney General Jennings filing this lawsuit are the attorneys general of Arizona, California, Hawai’i, Illinois, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Nevada, Oregon, and the District of Columbia, along with the Governor of Pennsylvania.
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Graphic that represents delaware news on a mobile phone

Keep up to date by receiving a daily digest email, around noon, of current news release posts from state agencies on news.delaware.gov.

Here you can subscribe to future news updates.