DEI appears to be the reason the Trump administration is slashing $1 billion in school mental health grants that were created after the Uvalde mass shooting, according to multiple reports.
The grants, which will be discontinued at the end of the year, were part of the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act, passed in 2022. The Education Department targeted programs that train counselors and therapists to identify systemic racism and race-related trauma, USA Today reported.
“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,” Education Department spokesperson Madi Biedermann said in a statement to USA Today.
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According to The Associated Press, the Education Department may create another source of funding for school mental health. The agency told Congress that the administration will “re-envision and re-compete its mental health program funds to more effectively support students’ behavioral health needs.”
American Federation of Teachers President Randi Weingarten warned the move will lead to more school shootings. She noted schools had hired thousands of psychologists, mental health workers and counselors with the Uvalde-era funding.
“This is a direct attack on the safety and well-being of America’s children—a repugnant act of moral vandalism that will endanger millions of lives,” Weingarten said. “Parents, students and educators want safe and welcoming schools, but instead, gun violence remains, shockingly, the No. 1 killer of young people.”
The Trump administration has been trying to eliminate diversity, equity and inclusion programs from K12 and higher education—from curricula to after-school activities to operations. The Education Department had threatened to withhold federal funding if schools didn’t end their initiatives by April 24.
About a dozen states announced their schools would not comply with the directive. Last week, multiple judges blocked the administration, ruling its actions constituted unlawful censorship and violated schools’ First Amendment free speech protections.
