Washington State Sues Trump Administration Over Unlawful Conditions on Funding for K-12 Schools

$1.4 billion in federal financial assistance at risk in Washington 

SEATTLE — Washington State Attorney General Nick Brown today, as part of a coalition of 19 attorneys general, filed a lawsuit challenging the U.S. Department of Education’s threat to withhold federal funding from state and local agencies that refuse to abandon lawful programs and policies promoting equal access to education.

The federal government provides Washington with approximately $1.4 billion in congressionally mandated financial support each year for a wide variety of needs and services related to children and education. Federal funding supports programs that ensure students from low-income families have the same access to education as their peers, help schools support migrant students and English learners, and provide special education and related services to students with disabilities. To receive these funds, state and local education agencies provide written assurances they will comply with Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which prohibits discrimination in education. Washington state has consistently and regularly certified its compliance with civil rights laws.

However, an April 3 U.S. Department of Education letter to state and local educational agencies stated continued federal education funding depends on certifying they are not operating programs that support diversity, equity, and inclusion.

“A complete education depends on students learning in a safe and inclusive environment,” Brown said. “Washington state’s policies put students first, and I will not let the Trump administration roll that back.”

The department’s April 3 letter to state and local educational agencies forces them to choose between two options:

• Refuse to certify compliance based on vague guidelines of what constitutes unlawful diversity, equity, and inclusion programs then place federal funding in peril; or
• Certify compliance with its vague guidelines then attempt to identify and eliminate lawful diversity, equity, and inclusion programs.

Even if the state complies with the department’s demands, it could still face liability for failing to fully comply with the vague and ill-defined federal order.

Faced with these choices, Washington state informed the department that it continues to stand by its prior certifications of compliance with civil rights laws and would not comply with the department’s extraneous and improper certification request.

In filing today’s lawsuit, Attorney General Brown and the multistate coalition seek to bar the department from withholding any funding based on these unlawful conditions. Brown and the other attorneys general assert that the department’s attempt to terminate federal education funding violates the Spending Clause, the Appropriations Clause, the Administrative Procedures Act, and the separation of powers. 

Attorney General Brown joins the attorneys general of California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Illinois, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont, and Wisconsin in filing the lawsuit.

A copy of the complaint is available here.

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