Challenging the Federal Government’s Unlawful Discontinuation of Critical School-Based Mental Health Grants

Every student deserves access to a supportive school environment and the mental health care needed to thrive in and out of the classroom. Nowhere is this need more urgent than in the McKinleyville Union School District, located in Humboldt County—home to California’s highest rate of Adverse Childhood Experiences, with 58% of students experiencing traumatic events like abuse or homelessness before they turn 18. This reality is reflected in extraordinarily high suicide rates, widespread substance abuse, and family instability—factors that create significant barriers to learning without mental health supports and intervention.

Rural communities like McKinleyville, which also has a significant Native population, are on the frontlines of the national youth mental health crisis, yet too often, resources are scarce. There is a critical shortage of pediatric psychologists and psychiatrists in the region, and waitlists for counseling and other mental health treatments can stretch for months. Even families with private insurance often struggle to find a clinician. For those who do secure an in-person appointment, travel to a provider within Humboldt County can take several hours. For many students, school may be the only place they can access mental health support.

Recognizing this acute need, and following the 2018 Parkland school tragedy, Congress created the School-Based Mental Health Service Grant Program to ensure that schools could proactively support students’ mental health and prevent violence and suicide. In 2024, McKinleyville Unified School District—together with a countywide consortium—was awarded a five-year, $7 million grant to build a network of care for students. With these funds, McKinleyville would be able to bring on additional mental health professionals, a support coach, and a dedicated project director—a transformative expansion for a district that previously had only one counselor for 850 students.

But only months into the program, the federal Department of Education, under the new Trump Administration, abruptly announced that the grant would be discontinued without any review of the District’s performance—violating both the grant’s terms and the U.S. Constitution. This arbitrary and capricious action will force the district to lay off new staff, shut down critical supports, and leave some of California’s most vulnerable students without access to the care they desperately need.

In October 2025, Public Counsel, Morrison Foerster, and the California Tribal Families Coalition joined forces to represent McKinleyville Unified School District and file suit in federal court. The lawsuit seeks to enjoin the Department of Education from discontinuing this critical mental health grant in violation of federal law, gutting the support that McKinleyville’s students—and countless students in rural districts nationwide—depend on.

Across the country, low-income, rural, and Native students are too often treated as unworthy of meaningful educational opportunities and denied the resources needed to break cycles of trauma. The cost of the federal government’s actions is measured in preventable tragedies and deepening inequity. Our suit demands only that the federal government follow the law, thereby ensuring that children in every community can access the mental health services they need to learn, grow, and thrive.