Attorney General Ellison secures agreement with Trump Administration to protect $530 million in Minnesota education funding

Agreement protects federal education assistance related to diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility initiatives and to support students with disabilities

February 6, 2026 (SAINT PAUL) —Today, Attorney General Keith Ellison secured an agreement with the Trump Administration to prevent it from withholding federal funding from state and local education agencies that refuse to abandon lawful programs and policies related to diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility (DEIA), which promote equal access to education in K-12 classrooms across the nation. Attorney General Ellison secured this agreement as part of a coalition with 18 other attorneys general. The agreement protects roughly $530 million in education funding for Minnesota.

“I remain deeply disappointed, though entirely unsurprised, that Donald Trump would try to unlawfully cut programs that support students from poor families, students with special needs, and students in foster care or without housing," said Attorney General Ellison. "As Minnesotans, we believe that every child, no matter their race, gender, the wealth of their family, or zip code, deserves the best education possible. That’s why I sued Donald Trump to block those harmful cuts, and why I’m pleased to have won an agreement protecting over half a billion dollars for Minnesota schools every year."

On April 3, 2025, the U.S. Department of Education (Department) informed state and local agencies that they must sign a document setting forth the Trump Administration’s new interpretation of Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 in relation to diversity, equity, and inclusion efforts — or else risk immediate and catastrophic loss of federal education funds.  

Minnesota, like many other states, acknowledged that it does and will comply with federal nondiscrimination statutes, regulations, and case law, but refused to certify its compliance with the Department’s new requirements, as there is no lawful or practical way to do so given the Department’s vague, contradictory, and unsupported interpretation of Title VI.  

On April 25, 2025, Attorney General Ellison and a multistate coalition filed a lawsuit asserting that the Department’s attempt to terminate federal education funding based on its misinterpretation of Title VI violates the Spending Clause, the Appropriations Clause, the separation of powers, and the Administrative Procedure Act. A complementary lawsuit filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland, American Federation of Teachers, et al. v. United States Department of Education, obtained an important victory vacating the April 3 certification request. That decision recently became final when the parties filed an agreement dismissing the Administration’s appeal.   

Today’s agreement resolves this lawsuit and secures the critical commitment from the Administration to apply the relief obtained in the American Federation of Teachers lawsuit to schools in Minnesota. It prevents the Administration from withholding any funding based on these unlawful conditions. 

The agreement protects the roughly $530 million in financial support that the U.S. Department of Education provides Minnesota each year for a wide variety of needs and services related to children and education. This funding includes financial support to ensure that students from low-income families have the same access to high-quality education as their peers, provides special education services, recruits and trains highly skilled and dedicated teachers, funds programming for English language learners, and provides support to vulnerable children in foster care and without housing.  

Joining Attorney General Ellison in signing this agreement are the attorneys general of California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawai‘i, Illinois, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont, Washington, and Wisconsin.