North Carolina Attorney General Jeff Jackson announced Monday he is joining 22 other state attorneys general and two governors in a lawsuit against the U.S. Department of Education.
On July 1, the Department of Education notified states that they would not be receiving certain K-12 federal funds that are typically disbursed each July. That effectively froze $165 million in funding for North Carolina public schools.
"The Department of Education does not have the authority to withhold those funds, certainly not the night before they were set to arrive," Jackson said at the press conference. "We are taking them to court, and I am confident that we are going to prevail, because I think the legal argument here is very straightforward."
The brief memo the North Carolina Department of Public Instruction received on June 30 said that the funds would not be released "until further review" to ensure "taxpayer resources are spent in accordance with the President’s priorities."
The funding is used to support teacher professional development, before and after-school programs, services for English language learners, and programs for migrant students.
On Monday, State Superintendent Mo Green said filing a lawsuit against the U.S. government is not an action to take without considerable deliberation.
"The impact to North Carolina's public schools cannot be overstated, as these withheld funds make up about 10% of its federal funding," Green said. "Now hundreds of public school employees' positions are at risk, and thousands of students are faced with the reality that they may not be able to access the very funds they need to succeed."
Congress appropriated the total funds for each Title program in March at the same funding level as last year, but did not provide line item appropriations for these specific sub-programs. President Donald Trump had also singled out these sub-programs for possible funding cuts in his proposed budget.
More on the U.S. Department of Education's announcement of pause in funding
How much funding was frozen to NC school districts and charter schools?
The amount of funding on pause to each school district and charter school depends on the size and economic demographics of their student population and whether the school provides special services for migrant students. Other federal funding, including Title I funds for low-income students and IDEA funds for students with disabilities, which make up the bulk of federal funds schools receive, are not affected.
