RALEIGH — North Carolina Attorney General Jeff Jackson announced that he is joining a 25-state coalition lawsuit against the Trump administration over a federal education funding freeze that affects $168.7 million in North Carolina school funding and that he says threatens nearly 1,000 educator jobs statewide.
“Public schools across North Carolina, especially in rural areas, need this money to keep teachers in the classroom and keep kids safe while they learn,” Jackson said in a July 14 press release. “It’s unlawful and unconstitutional for the Department of Education to withhold money that Congress has appropriated. I’m going to court to get this money for our students, our schools, and North Carolina families.”
Jackson is joined by attorneys general from Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, District of Columbia, Hawaii, Illinois, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont, Washington, and Wisconsin, along with the governors of Pennsylvania and Kentucky.
Only two of the states joining the lawsuit have a Republican attorney general: Dave Sunday (Pennsylvania) and Russell Coleman (Kentucky). The governors of those two states, Gov. Josh Shapiro and Gov. Andy Beshear, respectively, are both Democrats.
The lawsuit, filed in U.S. District Court for the District of Rhode Island, alleges the U.S. Department of Education’s (USDOE) withholding of the funding violates the U.S. Constitution and the Impoundment Control Act, as well as the Administrative Procedure Act since Congress had already appropriated the funds in question to be made available by July 1.
“In addition to being wrong and harmful, this is completely against the law,” Jackson said during the press conference. “Congress created these programs. It authorized funding for these programs. The department of education does not have the authority to now withhold those funds; Certainly not the night before they were set to arrive.”
The lawsuit asks the courts to “Preliminarily and permanently enjoin” the USDOE from implementing the funding freeze.
During a live streamed press conference announcing the lawsuit, Jackson was asked about the legislature’s moves to limit him from entering the state into lawsuits against the Trump administration. Jackson noted the measure had passed one chamber but not the other.
“I think this is a great example of why not to do something like that,” said Jackson. “This is potentially $169 million to the state. This is why you want an independent attorney general who has the authority to do exactly this thing.”
Including the current lawsuit, this is at least the 10th time Jackson has entered the state into legal activities against actions by the Trump administration.
North Carolina Superintendent Mo Green implied during the press conferment that the USDOE funding review was due to “someone’s agenda” and called it “deeply troubling.”
The main argument in a declaration of support filed by Green is that the state’s districts built their school year budgets based “in reasonable anticipation” of receiving the funding by July 1 and that there is “immediate harm” due to the funding freeze.
Green warned in his declaration that the funding freeze jeopardizes compliance with federal education laws, risking services for vulnerable students and potentially forcing staff layoffs, program cuts and increased financial burdens on the state.
The USDOE’s funding review is in line with the Trump administration’s broader efforts to eliminate what it considers nonacademic ideologies from classrooms, including diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) programs.
In a statement to The Hill about the freeze, an Office of Management and Budget spokesperson said, “This is an ongoing programmatic review of education funding. Initial findings show that many of these grant programs have been grossly misused to subsidize a radical leftwing agenda.”
Details of the funding freeze
The USDOE froze $6.8 billion in federal education grants nationwide on June 30, just hours before the funds were scheduled to be released to states on July 1.
In the USDOE’s June 30 message to state departments of education, the U.S. Department of Education stated: “Given the change in Administrations, the Department is reviewing the FY 2025 funding for the [Title I-C, II-A, III-A, IV-A, IV-B] grant program(s), and decisions have not yet been made concerning submissions and awards for this upcoming academic year.”
The department said it “remains committed to ensuring taxpayer resources are spent in accordance with the President’s priorities and the Department’s statutory responsibilities.”
The freeze affects five specific grant programs under the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) that North Carolina schools were expecting to receive for the 2025-2026 school year.
According to a July 3 statement by Green, the frozen total approximately $168.7 million for North Carolina:
- Title I, Part C (Education of Migratory Children): $5.4 million
- Title II, Part A (Supporting Effective Instruction): $67.9 million
- Title III, Part A (English Language Acquisition): $19.3 million
- Title IV, Part A (Student Support and Academic Enrichment): $37.2 million
- Title IV, Part B (21st Century Community Learning Centers): $38.9 million
Green’s July 3 statement said he notified school districts that planning allotments for these grant programs must be temporarily withdrawn since “Public School Units cannot apply for or receive funds that have not yet been awarded to the state.”
According to Jackson and Green’s impact analysis, the funding freeze affects at least 922 full-time equivalent positions across North Carolina’s 115 traditional school districts, with additional impacts on charter schools. An additional 59 positions at the North Carolina Department of Public Instruction are also funded through these grants.
The frozen funds represent less than 1% of North Carolina’s total $18 billion in state public school spending. Per Jackson’s initial press release, the frozen $168.7 million is “nearly 10% of the state’s federal education funding.”
Data shared in Jackson’s press release says rural school districts will suffer the largest drop in investment per student, with some districts losing more than $300 per pupil. Nine of the 10 school districts losing the most money per student are in rural North Carolina.
Counties devastated by Hurricane Helene face cuts of $18 million, according to Jackson’s remarks during the July 14 press conference announcing the lawsuit.
Despite those claims, the state’s largest districts face the most significant gaps in funding are: Mecklenburg County, $12.2 million; Wake County, $8 million; Guilford County, $6.2 million, and Forsyth County, $5.5 million.
Wake County Public School System extended its 90-day hiring freeze as well as spending restrictions and out-of-state travel. Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools said it either must “understaff classroom support positions or incur $1 million in monthly debt.”
Green said during the press event that districts have “three months at the outside” to operate without the frozen funds, noting that some schools have already started and “we’ve got to deal with those issues now.” He said “carry-over” funds may have to be tapped to cover the gap.
The same day Jackson announced North Carolina was joining the lawsuit, the U.S. Supreme Court blocked an order issued by U.S. District Judge Myong Joun that would have forced the Trump administration to hire back 1,400 U.S. Department of Education employees who were let go earlier this year in March as part of the administration’s slimming down of the federal workforce.
The unsigned 6-3 ruling included the dissent of the three progressive justices on the court (Sonia Sotomayor, Elena Kagan and Ketanji Brown Jackson), claiming, “Only Congress has the power to abolish the Department.” The USDOE was created decades ago under the 1979 Department of Education Organization Act signed into law by President Jimmy Carter.
