The Halt on Federal Grants for School Mental Health Professionals Sparks Concern
In a surprising move, the Trump administration has decided to stop the distribution of $1 billion in federal grants that have been aiding school districts across the United States in hiring mental health professionals such as counselors and social workers. The U.S. Department of Education has informed the affected districts that the Biden administration’s award of these grants violated federal civil rights law.
This funding was part of the 2022 Bipartisan Safer Communities Act, a legislative response to the tragic school shooting in Uvalde, Texas, where a teenage gunman killed 19 students and two adults, while injuring 17 others. The act aimed to address the growing student mental health crisis by injecting federal funds into schools.
Superintendent Derek Fialkiewicz of Corbett, Oregon, witnessed firsthand the positive impact of these grants. His district, serving 1,100 students, managed to triple its mental health staff from two counselors to seven professionals, thanks to the funding. “Before the grants, we realized, that’s just not sustainable for our students and especially coming out of COVID,” Fialkiewicz said.
With the grant, five new social workers were hired, fully funded by federal dollars. Fialkiewicz expressed shock when he learned that this vital support would be withdrawn. Just before receiving the notification, a Department of Education official had approved the addition of a telehealth service for students.
Republican Support for Mental Health Grants
The Bipartisan Safer Communities Act, including its mental health funding provisions, garnered notable Republican support. As stated by Republican Senators John Cornyn, Susan Collins, and Thom Tillis in a 2024 opinion piece, the act was designed to equip educators with tools to identify and address mental health crises among students.
The goal was to prepare and deploy 14,000 mental health professionals in schools, according to Mary Wall, former K-12 policy and budget overseer at the Department of Education under the Biden administration. She noted that around 260 districts had benefited from the grants.
With the withdrawal of funding, these districts now face the challenge of sustaining the mental health services they had planned for. Wall expressed concern that the preparation of new and existing mental health professionals is at risk.
Fialkiewicz shared his frustration: “To be able to provide those [mental health] services and then have it ripped away for something that is completely out of our control, it’s horrible. I feel for our students more than anything because they’re not gonna get the services that they need.”
Reasons for the Grant Withdrawal
In a statement to NPR, Madi Biedermann, deputy assistant secretary for communications at the Department of Education, explained the decision to end the grants: “Recipients used the funding to implement race-based actions like recruiting quotas in ways that have nothing to do with mental health and could hurt the very students the grants are supposed to help. We owe it to American families to ensure that taxpayer dollars are supporting evidence-based practices that are truly focused on improving students’ mental health.”
However, the 2022 federal grant notice explicitly stated that services provided must be “evidence-based.” Mary Wall challenges the department’s characterization, asserting the grants focused on evidence-based mental health support.
This decision reflects a broader application of a new interpretation of federal civil rights law by the Trump administration, which has affected various federal programs. Last month, the department threatened to revoke federal funding from K-12 schools if they continued DEI programming that could be deemed discriminatory.
The department cited excerpts from district applications to explain its stance, including a mention of training counselors to recognize and challenge systemic injustices. Yet, the original grant request encouraged districts to increase the diversity of mental health providers and ensure inclusive training.
Fialkiewicz confirmed that diversity was part of his district’s application, aligning with grant requirements. He emphasized that equitable hiring practices meant hiring the best candidate for the job. Now, those social workers face potential job loss.
