Shapiro leads lawsuit against Trump admin for pulling COVID-era school funding

Gov. Josh Shapiro, D-Pa., joined 15 states and Washington, D.C., to challenge President Donald Trump’s Department of Education for revoking millions in pandemic-era education funding for their states. 

Shapiro and the group of attorneys general from across the country filed a complaint to Education Secretary Linda McMahon and the Education Department, challenging the federal government’s rescission of funding allocated to “combat the devastating and ongoing effects” of the COVID-19 pandemic. 

The complaint alleges the funding was allocated through March 2026, and states were informed on March 28 “with no advance notice or warning” that the Department of Education had “rescinded extensions of time to liquidate grant funds previously approved by ED.” The complaint says the funds in question were allocated by Congress using a pandemic-era law. 

“Every Pennsylvania student deserves the freedom to chart their own course and the opportunity to succeed. I’m taking action to preserve that freedom and ensure no Pennsylvania student is harmed by the federal government’s decision to go back on its word,” Shapiro said. 

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Gov. Josh Shapiro, D-Penn., is challenging President Donald Trump’s Department of Education for allegedly revoking $185 million in pandemic-era education funding for Pennsylvania. (AP Images)

Shapiro said the $185 million in federal funding “owed to Pennsylvania” supports academic and mental health programs, implements and modernizes new technology and provides infrastructure improvements in schools. 

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The Pennsylvania governor argued that school districts and education agencies have already spent the allocated money, so canceling $185 million forces Pennsylvania taxpayers to pick up the tab on projects already underway. 

The complaint is co-signed by attorneys general from Arizona, California, Delaware, Hawaii, Illinois, Maine, Massachusetts, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Nevada, Oregon and Washington, D.C. 

The state leaders claim the Department of Education could not rescind their federal funding due to the “end of the pandemic,” because the pandemic had already ended when the funding extension was granted, and they argue they were not limited to COVID-19 specific programs. 

Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro speaks on Day 3 of the Democratic National Convention at the United Center in Chicago on Aug. 21, 2024. (REUTERS/Mike Segar)

Madi Biedermann, a spokesperson for the Education Department, told Fox News Digital in a statement, “COVID is over. States and school districts can no longer claim they are spending their emergency pandemic funds on ‘COVID relief’ when there are numerous documented examples of abuse and misuse.”

“The Department established a process to consider funding extension requests on a project-specific basis where it can be demonstrated that funds are being used directly mitigate the effects of COVID-19 on student learning. If the states suing were using these funds to remediate learning loss and support students, there would be no need for this lawsuit.”

The recession in pandemic-related federal education funding follows Trump’s fulfillment of a key 2024 campaign promise to dismantle the Department of Education. Trump signed an executive order last month directing McMahon to close the department and return educational authority to the states – a Republican idea often floated by presidential hopefuls but implemented for the first time during Trump’s second term. 

Secretary of Education Linda McMahon speaks to reporters at the White House in Washington, D.C., on March 20, 2025. (AP Photo/Ben Curtis)

Shapiro has relied on the judicial system during Trump’s second term to unlock federal funding for Pennsylvania. Earlier this month, the Pennsylvania governor joined 22 states and Washington, D.C., in a lawsuit against Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and the Department of Health and Human Services for canceling public health grants that prevent the spread of infectious diseases. 

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Shapiro also sued the Trump administration on Feb. 13, challenging Trump’s allegedly “illegal” federal funding freeze. Soon after, Shapiro celebrated that $2.1 billion in federal funds had been unfrozen and restored to Pennsylvania following his lawsuit and direct confrontation with the Trump administration.