The nation’s second-largest teachers’ union and a Chicago-area nonprofit are suing the U.S. Department of Education over its decision to cut funding for community schools in the middle of approved, multiyear projects.
The American Federation of Teachers and the Brighton Park Neighborhood Council argue in the lawsuit, which was filed Dec. 29, that the Education Department “cut off funding without notice, without lawful justification, and without following required procedures,” according to the press release from the organizations.
The lawsuit comes a little more than two weeks after recipients of the active five-year grants from the Full-Service Community Schools programs received letters from a top Education Department official alerting them that, effective immediately, their projects won’t get any more federal money.
Education Secretary Linda McMahon’s actions “are only hurting young people and increasing stress and anxiety for hundreds of thousands of families,” said AFT President Randi Weingarten in the press release. “Here, there was no communication with districts or even a request to ask for modifications—these grants were simply terminated on a whim.”
More than 70 lawsuits have been filed against the Trump administration over its education actions or broader policy changes that affect education, according to an Education Week analysis.
The Education Department did not respond to a request for comment in time for publication.
The U.S. Department of Education’s website lists more than 70 recipients of Community Schools grants, which help school districts, colleges and universities, and nonprofit organizations provide food and housing assistance, medical care, and other services in school buildings.
The grantees were collectively expecting more than roughly $380 million in promised federal awards between now and 2028. All the discontinued grants had either two or three years of annual funding remaining in their five-year projects.
The 19 grants that received non-continuation notices were spread across 11 states and the District of Columbia. They amounted to nearly $61 million in funds that were due to flow Jan. 1, and another $107 million that was due to flow by 2028.
The notices of non-continuation stated that due to either a violation of federal civil rights law or a conflict with the current president’s policy agenda, “the grant is therefore inconsistent with, and no longer effectuates, the best interest of the Federal Government and will not be continued,” wrote Murray Bessette, the Trump-appointed acting head of the Education Department’s office of planning, evaluation, and policy development.
Patrick Brosnan, the executive director for the Brighton Park Neighborhood Council, which was a grantee, said he believes his organization’s work “advanced the stated mission of the U.S. Department of Education Full Service Community School grant to support low-income students and families in our community, to ensure their access to high-quality after-school academic support, and to provide technical and career support to help mold the workforce of the future.”
The federal government has been investing in the community schools model since the late 1970s. More recently, as some states began embedding community schools investments in their education funding formulas, the Biden administration pushed for substantially greater federal investment in the Full-Service Community Schools grant program. Congress ultimately boosted annual funding for the program from $25 million to $150 million, starting in 2023.
‘Promise Neighborhoods’ program also in jeopardy
A separate federal program, Promise Neighborhoods, grew out of a 2008 campaign promise from former President Barack Obama to invest in services for children in communities with high crime rates and low academic achievement. It’s modeled on the Harlem Children’s Zone in New York City.
The Trump administration earlier this year proposed axing both programs altogether in its 2026 budget. In October, the department laid off all but one employee in the office that manages these grants. Congress passed a law in November rescinding those layoffs, but employment for those workers is only assured through Jan. 30.
Both programs are now also part of the Trump administration’s broader plan to move Education Department programs to the Department of Labor. The move, announced last month, has already drawn a court challenge from 20 Democratic state attorneys general.
Federal lawmakers are at odds over the future of both programs. Senate appropriators from both parties want to largely maintain them, with full funding for Promise Neighborhoods and a $15 million cut to annual funding for Community Schools. House appropriators have approved a fiscal 2026 budget that instead grants Trump’s wish of zeroing out both programs.
“We hope and pray that these necessary grant funds are restored and we can continue to provide the needed services so that all students and families in our community can achieve their goals and thrive,” said Brosnan of the Brighton Park Neighborhood Council.
