Attorney General William Tong has filed a second lawsuit to block the U.S. Department of Education from terminating $3 million in school-based mental health grants serving Hartford, New Britain, Vernon and Waterbury.

Congress appropriated $1 billion to place 14,000 mental health professionals in high-need U.S. schools after a series of school shootings. In their first year, the programs served nearly 775,000 students, with sampled projects showing a 50% drop in suicide risk and declines in absenteeism.

Attorney General William Tong, said, "For the second time in one week, we are back in court, facing off against a President refusing to release Connecticut funds. On Tuesday, it was homelessness funding. Now, it's $3 million for mental health support for Connecticut kids—funding that the court has already ordered must be released. Trump is taking money meant for our kids to bankroll ballrooms and tax breaks for billionaires. We're going to keep fighting for as long as it takes to stop this cruelty and chaos."

The department notified Connecticut and other coalition states in April 2025 that grants would be discontinued, later citing perceived support for diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) initiatives. Tong joined a coalition lawsuit that July, and in December 2025 a federal court ruled the discontinuations unlawful and barred the department from implementing them.

Although the department issued continuation awards through December 2026, it funded only six months at a time and has now moved to terminate the grants outright, a move the coalition says is designed to sidestep the injunction. The lawsuit alleges the terminations violate the Administrative Procedure Act and U.S. Constitution.

Fourteen other attorneys general joined the lawsuit, which seeks a preliminary injunction to preserve mental health staffing for students through 2029.