Attorney General Phil Weiser helps lead lawsuit against Trump administration for freezing $6.8 billion in education funding just weeks before school year start

July 14, 2025 (DENVER) – Attorney General Phil Weiser today sued the Trump administration over its unconstitutional, unlawful, and arbitrary decision to freeze $80 million in federal funding for Colorado schools and students.

On June 30, the Office of Management and Budget and the U.S. Department of Education announced that $6.8 billion of education funding was under “review.” The decision has thrown our schools and educational programs into chaos as they determine which services, educators, and programming will need to be cut – some of it immediately. The impacts will be felt most by our low-income students and multilingual learners.

“I have heard directly from Colorado school superintendents how disruptive and reckless this arbitrary freeze of federal funding is to them,” said Attorney General Weiser. “Schools deserve to be treated fairly and this administration’s lack of regard for the impact of this lawless decision is appalling. I am proud to co-lead this case and will continue to ensure that this administration does not harm Colorado by acting in an illegal fashion.”

“These funds help close opportunity gaps, support educators, and create safe, engaging learning environments,” said Colorado Education Commissioner Susana Córdova. “Without this funding, districts across Colorado will be forced to cut critical services just weeks before the school year begins. The United States has long believed that every child, regardless of background or ZIP code, should have the resources they need to thrive. We must continue to support the American dream, which starts with vibrant schools and support for kids.”

For decades, Colorado and other states have used funding under these programs to carry out a broad range of programs and services, including educational programs for migratory children and English learners; programs that promote effective classroom instruction, improve school conditions and the use of technology in the classroom; community learning centers that offer students a broad range of opportunities for academic and extracurricular enrichment; and adult education and workforce development efforts.

Each year, the Department of Education is required to make the funds for these programs available to states on or about July 1 to permit state and local educational agencies to plan their budgets for the academic year ahead. The states have complied with the funding conditions set forth under the law and have plans that the Department of Education has already approved. The states have received these funds, without incident, for decades, including as recently as last year. This year, however, on June 30 state agencies across the country received a notification announcing that the Department of Education would not be “obligating funds for” for these programs.

This funding freeze has immediately thrown into chaos plans for the upcoming academic year. Local education agencies have approved budgets, developed staffing plans, and signed contracts to provide vital educational services under these grants. Now, because of the Trump administration’s actions, states find themselves without sufficient funding for these commitments, just weeks before the start of the 2025-2026 school year.

Essential summer school and afterschool programs, which provide childcare to working parents of school age children, are already being impacted. In Pueblo, one regional migrant office has already communicated that it will be closing as of August 1 due to lack of funding. The abrupt freeze is also wreaking havoc on key teacher training programs as well as programs that make school more accessible to children with special learning needs, such as English learners.

But it is Congress, not the Executive Branch, that possesses the power of the purse. The U.S. Constitution does not give the Executive Branch power to unilaterally refuse to spend appropriations that were passed by both houses of Congress and were signed into law. Yet that is exactly what the Trump administration is attempting to do here.

The attorneys general argue that the funding freeze violates the federal funding statutes and regulations authorizing these critical programs and appropriating funds for them, violates federal statutes governing the federal budgeting process, including the Anti-Deficiency Act and the Impoundment Control Act, and violates the Administrative Procedure Act, the constitutional separation of powers doctrine, and the Presentment Clause. They ask the court to declare the funding freeze unlawful – as courts have repeatedly done in other multistate cases – and block any attempts to withhold or delay this funding.

Attorney General Weiser co-leads the coalition together with the attorneys general of California, Massachusetts, and Rhode Island. He is also joined in filing the lawsuit by the attorneys general of Arizona, Delaware, District of Columbia, Hawaii, Illinois, Maine, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, Oregon, Vermont, Washington, and Wisconsin. Joining the coalition of attorneys general are the governors of Kentucky and Pennsylvania.

Read a copy of the lawsuit (PDF).

###

Media Contact:
Lawrence Pacheco
Chief Communications Officer
(720) 508-6553 office
lawrence.pacheco@coag.gov