California, Rhode Island, and Wisconsin Sue Department of Education Over Special Education Grant Cancellations1
In a major legal challenge to the Trump administration's dismantling of the federal education bureaucracy, a multi-state coalition has sued the U.S. Department of Education2 over the abrupt cancellation of millions of dollars in special education grants.
The lawsuit, filed in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California in mid-June 2026, was brought by California, Rhode Island, and Wisconsin. All three states were in the middle of five-year funding cycles under the federal State Personnel Development Grant Program when their funding was terminated without prior notice.
Allegations of Administrative Procedure Violations
The State Personnel Development Grant Program is designed to train special education instructors, administrators, and system specialists to improve educational outcomes and navigate early intervention services for students with disabilities.
The lawsuit alleges that the Department of Education's sudden cancellation of these grants violates the Administrative Procedure Act3 (APA). The states argue that while grants are routinely reviewed on an annual basis, terminating active multi-year funding cycles without a reasoned explanation is unlawful and represents an abuse of federal power.45 The plaintiffs claim the federal government has wrongly asserted "nearly limitless discretion to discontinue grants based on new priorities" without adhering to statutory administrative processes.
“The Trump administration discontinued critical grants designed to improve outcomes for students with disabilities by building the capacity of educators, administrators and systems to ensure timely appropriate services and navigate early intervention,” said California Attorney General Rob Bonta, who is leading the lawsuit. “This harmful and unlawful action denies vulnerable students the resources they need to learn and succeed.”
Federal Government Defense
The Department of Education has defended the cuts as part of a broader effort to restructure educational investments and expand alternative learning methods.
“The department is dedicated to ensuring every child with a disability receives the special education and related services they are legally entitled,” said Department of Education spokesperson Amelia Joy. “The Trump administration has made historic investments to support students with disabilities and will continue to help states expand proven learning methods that produce stronger results.”
The lawsuit represents a significant new front in the legal contestation of the Trump administration's executive actions, which have increasingly leveraged administrative reorganizations, interagency funding transfers, and grant cancellations to bypass congressional intent and restructure federal agencies6.
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An instance of Unilateral executive policy shifts trigger immediate litigation and legislative blockades. — Unilateral executive cancellations of multi-year education grants triggered a swift multi-state lawsuit alleging administrative violations. ↩︎
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An instance of Executive workarounds to dissolve federal departments trigger immediate state lawsuits and legislative blockades. — States filed immediate lawsuits under the APA to block unilateral executive grant cancellations aimed at dissolving federal education programs. ↩︎
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An instance of Legislative budget caps cannot be leveraged as executive mandates to unilaterally dismantle federal programs. — State attorneys general successfully sued to block the administration's attempts to translate funding priorities into the unilateral cancellation of mult-year fiscal grants. ↩︎
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An instance of Unilateral executive budget withholdings trigger immediate separation-of-powers standoffs. — The executive's abrupt cancellation of active multi-year special education grants triggered an immediate multi-state lawsuit under the Administrative Procedure Act. ↩︎
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An instance of Bipartisan legislative coalitions and federal courts block the executive use of administrative funding freezes to bypass Congress. — States filed a federal lawsuit to stop the executive department from using sudden grant terminations to bypass congressional intent. ↩︎
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An instance of Internal bureaucratic reshuffling bypasses the legislative hurdles of formal policy changes. — The executive branch utilized sudden, unilateral grant cancellations to bypass established congressional funding expectations and state agreements. ↩︎