Attorney General Ellison secures full relief for Minnesota schools in lawsuit against Trump Administration challenging withholding of education funds
August 26, 2025 (SAINT PAUL) — Attorney General Keith Ellison announced today that he secured an agreement requiring the Trump Administration to release the full balance of remaining education funding at issue in a multistate lawsuit by no later than October 3, 2025. Last month, Attorney General Ellison joined a coalition in suing the Trump Administration over its unconstitutional, unlawful, and arbitrary decision to freeze funding for six longstanding programs administered by the U.S. Department of Education (ED) just weeks before the school year was set to start. In Minnesota, $74 million in federal education funding was frozen, jeopardizing key programs for after school and summer learning, teacher preparation, and to support students learning English. Days later, the Trump Administration released the first tranche of funding that had previously been withheld. The multistate coalition and the Trump Administration today jointly filed to dismiss the case under the terms of an agreement that ensures the remaining funding is released on time, providing Minnesota and the multistate coalition with the full relief they had sought in the lawsuit.
"I’m pleased that my team and I were able to stop the Trump Administration from breaking the law and withholding $74 million from Minnesota classrooms just weeks before the start of the new school year,” said Attorney General Ellison. “Since Donald Trump was sworn in again in January of 2025, my office has stopped his administration from withholding hundreds of millions of dollars in funding and grants for our state. When Minnesotans pay taxes to the federal government, we expect at that money to come back to Minnesota to support our schools, improve our infrastructure, fund first responders and law enforcement, and improve people’s lives. If Donald Trump and his administration continue to break the law and try to seize those funds, I will continue to meet them in court.”
Background
On June 30, the Trump Administration abruptly and unlawfully froze funding for six longstanding programs administered by the U.S. Department of Education just weeks before the school year in many parts of Minnesota is set to start. For decades, Minnesota and other states have used funding under these programs to carry out a broad range of programs and services, including educational programs for migrant children and English learners; programs that promote effective classroom instruction, improve school conditions, and support the use of technology in the classroom; community learning centers that offer students a broad range of opportunities for academic and extracurricular enrichment; and adult education and workforce development efforts.
On July 14, Attorney General Minnesota joined a coalition of 23 attorneys general and two states in filing a lawsuit and motion for a preliminary injunction, arguing that the freeze violates federal funding statutes and regulations authorizing these critical programs and appropriating funds for them, federal statutes governing the federal budgeting process, and the constitutional separation of powers doctrine and the Presentment Clause.
On July 25, Minnesota received notice from ED that beginning the week of July 28, 2025, ED would begin releasing previously impounded federal funds for the current federal and education fiscal year. Minnesota subsequently received Grant Award Notifications confirming that the entirety of the funds that ED was required to make available to the states on July 1 had been released.
A copy of the motion to dismiss with stipulations is available here.