Colorado has joined 15 other states in suing the U.S. Department of Education for cutting $1 billion in grants earmarked for youth mental health.

Of that $1 billion, nearly $10 million is at stake for institutions in Colorado, including the Poudre Valley School District R-1, the University of Denver, and the Colorado Department of Education, according to a state official. 

“Colorado is taking action because our educational leaders need every tool possible to support kids who are struggling with disconnectedness, loneliness, and isolation,” Attorney General Phil Weiser said in a news release release announcing the lawsuit.

The funding is made possible through the Department of Education’s Mental Health Service Professional Demonstration Grant, launched in 2018, and the School-Based Mental Health Services Grant Program, launched in 2020. The programs were established to increase access to mental health services for low-income people and in rural communities. 

In April, the U.S. Department of Education announced it would stop funding the programs because the grant awards made under the Biden administration “conflict with those of the current administration.”

The awards could “violate the letter or purpose of Federal civil rights law; conflict with the Department’s policy of prioritizing merit, fairness, and excellence in education; undermine the well-being of the students these programs are intended to help; or constitute an inappropriate use of federal funds,” a letter sent to recipients by a member of the Department of Education’s Office of Planning, Evaluation and Policy Development said. 

“The grant is therefore inconsistent with, and no longer effectuates, the best interest of the Federal Government and will not be continued,” the letter continued.

Congress authorized the grants in 2022 under the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act, which implemented several changes to school safety programs and gun laws following the school shooting in Uvalde, Texas.

To date, 260 education providers and organizations in 49 states have received funding through MHSP and SBMH grants. Last fall, the Colorado Department of Education received a $1.6 million yearly grant to help hire school-based mental health professionals in rural areas and in low-income parts of the state. 

While the grant was supposed to continue through 2029, funding will now stop at the end of the year, according to the U.S. Department of Education.

“We are deeply disappointed by this decision,” state education agency spokesperson Jeremy Meyer told Education Week. “Addressing the mental health needs of students remains one of the most urgent priorities identified by school and district leaders throughout Colorado.”