AFT’s Weingarten Reacts to Lawsuit Against Trump Administration for Blocking Billions in Education Funding

WASHINGTON—AFT President Randi Weingarten issued the following statement after a coalition of school districts, parents, AFT affiliates and nonprofit organizations filed a lawsuit against the Trump-Vance administration for unlawfully withholding over $5 billion in education funding that Congress directed to support students for the 2025-26 school year. Without these funds, schools across the country face imminent cuts to academic programs, staffing and student services, particularly for those in under-resourced communities.

A motion for immediate relief via a preliminary injunction will follow this week.

“Millions of educators who have been busy planning for the new school year have instead had a monkey wrench thrown at them, causing huge financial uncertainty,” Weingarten said. “These are long-term, school-based programs, already passed by Congress and signed into law by the president: summer school, migrant education and English language acquisition programs, as well as districts’ ability to recruit, hire and retain effective educators.

“That’s why so many of our affiliates are filing this lawsuit, and I am proud of them for stepping up. They are showing the harm to students and the impediments faced by educators. Since day one, the Trump administration has attacked public education, undermining opportunity in America. Now it is trying to lawlessly defund education unilaterally through rampant government overreach. It’s not only morally repugnant: The administration lacks the legal right to sacrifice kids’ futures at the altar of ideology.”

The plaintiffs, represented by Democracy Forward, argue that the administration’s actions violate the Administrative Procedure Act, the Impoundment Control Act and the constitutional separation of powers. The coalition includes AFT Pennsylvania, the Anchorage School District, the CFT (California), the Cincinnati Public Schools, the Fairbanks North Star Borough School District, the Florida Education Association, the Florida Parent Teacher Association, the Illinois Federation of Teachers, the Kuspuk School District, New York State United Teachers, the Ohio Federation of Teachers, the Rhode Island Federation of Teachers and Health Professionals, and Texas AFT.

The case is Anchorage School District et al. v. Department of Education et al.

Read the complaint here.