AG Brown asks court to enforce order preserving school mental health grants

# AG Brown Seeks Court Enforcement of School Mental Health Grants Order

Washington Attorney General Nick Brown and 15 other state attorneys general filed a motion Tuesday asking a federal court to enforce its December order requiring the U.S. Department of Education to continue congressionally approved school mental health grants. The department defied that order earlier this month by awarding grantees only six months of funding instead of the full year, effectively halting some projects and severely burdening others.

The Mental Health Service Professional Demonstration Grant Program and the School-Based Mental Health Services Grant Program were established by Congress in 2018 and 2020 to increase student access to mental health services. The Department of Education initially discontinued the grants last April, later revealing they had been targeted for their perceived diversity, equity, and inclusion efforts. Brown's coalition filed a lawsuit in July 2025, and a federal district court ruled the discontinuations unlawful in December 2025.

Without full-year funding certainty, grantees cannot properly plan budgets, retain staff and graduate students, or provide adequate mental health services to students. Brown stated the federal government must comply with the court's order and Congressional intent to provide necessary mental health support to youth.