News Comes After The Administration Met With Litigation And Public Pressure 

Rhode Island — After a nationwide coalition of school districts, teachers, parents, and education advocates filed a lawsuit this week challenging the Trump-Vance administration’s unlawful freeze of nearly $6 billion in education funding, and amidst public pressure, the Trump-Vance administration has reportedly agreed to release funds for critical education programs it had been withholding. This reversal follows a suit filed earlier this week by school districts, parents, and educators. The suit, which is pending in federal district court in Rhode Island, is Anchorage School District et al. v. Department of Education et al., and the plaintiffs are represented by Democracy Forward, Jacobson Lawyers Group, and Deluca, Weizenbaum, Barry, and Revins. 

“If these reports are true, this is a major victory for public education and the communities it serves,” said Skye Perryman, President and CEO of Democracy Forward. “This news following our legal challenge is a direct result of collective action by educators, families, and advocates across the country. These funds are critical to keeping teachers in classrooms, supporting students in vulnerable conditions, and ensuring schools can offer the programs and services that every child deserves. We will continue to monitor the situation and work in court to ensure the administration fully complies with the law and that these resources reach the schools and students who need them most. While this development shows that legal and public pressure can make a difference, school districts, parents, and educators should not have to take the administration to court to secure funds for their students. Our promise to the people remains: we will go to court to protect the rights and wellbeing of all people living in America.”

Congress had directed that these funds, supporting essential academic programs, staffing, and services for the 2025–2026 school year, be distributed to states on July 1. The Trump-Vance administration’s refusal to release the funds threatened immediate harm to schools, especially those serving low-income students, English learners, and under-resourced communities.

The legal team at Democracy Forward in this case includes Steven Bressler and Kali Schellenberg.

Read the complaint here and the motion for preliminary injunction here.

###

Democracy Forward Foundation is a national legal organization that advances democracy and social progress through litigation, policy, public education, and regulatory engagement. For more information, please visit www.democracyforward.org.