Attorney General Raúl Torrez has joined a coalition of 16 attorneys general in filing a federal lawsuit against the U.S. Department of Education. The lawsuit aims to prevent the department from cutting mental health funding for K-12 students, which was secured through the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act. This legislation was led by New Mexico Senator Martin Heinrich.
"It is one of our greatest responsibilities to protect the mental health and safety of our children," said Attorney General Raúl Torrez. "This funding was secured by Congress—thanks in large part to the leadership of Senator Heinrich—to address the trauma and mental health challenges students face after school shootings and during an ongoing youth mental health crisis. The Department’s decision to abruptly eliminate this funding is not only reckless, but it also defies the law and threatens to dismantle programs that are saving lives."
The Bipartisan Safer Communities Act, passed in 2022 following a school shooting in Uvalde, Texas, allocated $1 billion to expand access to school-based mental health services. The goal was to place 14,000 mental health professionals in schools serving high-need and rural communities. According to the National Association of School Psychologists, these programs have reduced suicide risk by 50%, improved school attendance, and increased staff-student engagement.
Despite these outcomes, on April 29, 2025, the Department of Education issued notices discontinuing the grants due to unspecified conflicts with current policy priorities. The coalition's lawsuit claims this action violates federal law, including the Administrative Procedure Act and statutory protections under the Safer Communities Act.
New Mexico is joined in this legal action by attorneys general from California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Illinois, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, New York, Nevada, Oregon, Rhode Island, and Wisconsin. They are seeking intervention from the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Washington to block these cuts and require compliance with existing commitments.
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