24 Democratic states and the District of Columbia sue the Trump Administration for freezing funding for after-school programs

Twenty-four Democratic-led states, along with the District of Columbia, on Monday filed a lawsuit against the Trump administration, challenging the decision to pause funding for $6 billion earmarked for after-school programs, including English classes for non-native speakers, teacher trainings, expansion of science and arts programs, and anti-bullying efforts.

The legal action, spearheaded by New York Attorney General Letitia James, argues that the withholding of these funds, which were to be released on July 1, violates the Constitution and several federal laws.

According to the suit, the pause in funding has created an immediate impact on educational programs. Summer programs have been canceled or put at risk, while teacher development and English language classes for non-native students have been suspended or scaled back.

Along those lines, the states claim they were not notified in advance, which prevented them from seeking alternatives to cover the funding shortfall. "The federal government cannot use our children’s classrooms to advance its assault on immigrant and working families,” Letitia James declared in a statement on her website.

“This illegal and unjustified funding freeze will be devastating for students and families nationwide, especially for those who rely on these programs for childcare or to learn English. Congress allocated these funds and the law requires they be delivered. We will not allow this administration to rewrite the rules to punish the communities it doesn’t like.” 

For his part, an Office of Management and Budget spokesman, quoted by The Hill, defended the decision, saying the pause is in response to an "ongoing programmatic review" on education funding.

According to the spokesman, preliminary findings show that some programs have been misused. Along those lines, he delcared, “in one case, NY public schools used English Language Acquisition funds to promote illegal immigrant advocacy organizations. In another, Washington state used funds to direct illegal immigrants towards scholarships intended for American students.”