00:00Well, thank you all for joining today. Good morning. I'm California Attorney General Rob Bonta, and I am joined by my colleagues, which I'm very proud to be able to do, Colorado Attorney General Phil Weiser, Massachusetts Attorney General Andrea Campbell, and Rhode Island Attorney General Peter Narona.
00:19And we're here today to announce the latest lawsuit we filed against the Trump administration for unlawfully and arbitrarily freezing $6.8 billion in education grants owed to states across the nation.
00:34Here in California, nearly $940 million, almost a billion dollars, is on the line. Funds, mind you, that Congress lawfully approved and appropriated, as is their job, as is their role in our constitutional democracy, a responsibility given to them by the U.S. Constitution.
00:54Congress holds the power of the purse, not the president. President Trump and Department of Education Secretary Lyndon McMahon have dealt a debilitating blow to our schools, throwing them into chaos just weeks ahead of the first day of school for many districts.
01:12Already, ongoing summer learning programs have been forced to shut down. Thoughtful strategic budgets, staffing plans, and contracts for the upcoming school year hang in the balance.
01:24Sadly, this is just the latest in a long string of unlawful attacks on K-12 education in our country since Trump took office.
01:32And make no mistake, our kids are the ones who will suffer the consequences and are suffering the consequences.
01:40In California, more than 5,800,000 children, almost 6 million, stand in the crosshairs of Trump's campaign to demolish education in America.
01:51My colleagues and I refuse to stand idly by and allow the president to torch our children's education, care, opportunities, and futures, all the while breaking the law, violating the Constitution, and trampling over the separation of powers.
02:08Before I dive into the details, I want to acknowledge that our lawsuit is the result of the incredible partnership and collaboration of a coalition of 23 attorneys general and two states and each of their teams, including the folks on my team in California, DOJ's civil rights, enforcement, and health, education, and welfare section.
02:29So thanks to all the team members that got us to this day.
02:32We have the honor and privilege as the attorneys general to talk about the cases and lead our teams.
02:36But this is very much a team effort, and I'm grateful for everyone's work to get us to this point.
02:41Trump and McMahon's actions are hurting children, hurting teachers and schools across the nation, which is why we're standing arm in arm from coast to coast, united in our determination to hold this administration accountable to the fundamentally American principle that every student has the right to equitable access to education.
03:01Trump and McMahon are waging a campaign to sever that access.
03:05They've made it clear that they've little regard for the law and no qualms risking our children's academic success and futures.
03:12In fact, out of the 31 lawsuits I and many of my colleagues have now filed against the Trump administration in the last 25 weeks, eight of them challenge unlawful attacks on education.
03:24This time, the administration froze $6.8 billion in federal funding owed to states, a quarter of which should have been available July 1st.
03:32Instead, on June 30th, the U.S. Department of Education sent a three-sentence-long boilerplate email from a nondescript address, alerting states that we wouldn't receive the funds we were waiting for.
03:44We were relying on, planning to use and distribute and disperse.
03:48The dismissive note came with little explanation or reasoning, let alone any legal basis.
03:55Let's be clear, Trump and McMahon have no right to hold these funds back.
04:01And in doing so, they're jeopardizing critical programs our students, families, and schools rely on, including after-school and summer learning programs,
04:11tutoring to help students in English and math, programs that train and prepare teachers so they're better equipped to teach our kids,
04:19support for children learning English, projects to improve our schools,
04:23and funding that helps ensure children who move around because their parents are migrant workers don't fall through the cracks or fall behind.
04:32Without the $6.8 billion in nationwide federal funding that's now frozen,
04:35districts and schools have been thrown into chaos, left with no choice but to consider pausing or shutting down programs and laying off teachers and staff.
04:44Some programs have already been shuttered, including summer programs that were already underway.
04:51The 21st Century Community Learning Centers at nearly 700 sites across California are on the line.
04:57These centers provide academic enrichment programs to disadvantaged children outside of regular school hours.
05:03They help students meet standards in reading and math, and during the summer, they provide meals to students, a lifeline to families in need.
05:12The Migrant Education Program, which serves 78,000 students at 20 regional programs across the state,
05:18has been hit hard by this funding freeze, and you can be sure the migrant youth and families who rely on it will feel the impact, unfortunately, feel the pain.
05:27The California Adult Literacy Professional Development Project, which trains educators who teach adult education,
05:33has been instructed to do the bare minimum to stay afloat.
05:36They've already had to end or pause contracts with educators and small businesses.
05:40Trump and McMahon are wreaking havoc on our states and schools, rocking families who count on the support and stability of these programs
05:47and holding our children back from their full potential.
05:52It's unconscionable, unlawful, and can't go unchecked.
05:57And it won't.
05:58With this lawsuit, my colleagues and I are asking the court to immediately block any attempt to withhold or delay this funding.
06:05Last week, I had the opportunity to spend the afternoon at a summer program at Bel Air Park Elementary School in Napa, California.
06:12I saw firsthand the care, compassion, education, and programming made possible by the County Office of Education,
06:20the school district, and the expanded learning team, as well as AmeriCorps tutors and mentors.
06:25I watched them make minestrone soup in their cooking class and even chopped some onions with them.
06:30I saw the art projects they were working on.
06:32I saw the exercise that they were getting, including giving me a run for my own money in zombie tag.
06:38They called it Z-Tag.
06:39I saw how much the program meant to those kids, how irreplaceable it is for them and their families.
06:46I talked to volunteers and educators who devoted their careers to teaching and supporting our young kids.
06:52Fortunately, so far, the county has been able to backfill the federal funding the program didn't get on July 1st.
06:58But let's be clear, that is a Band-Aid solution.
07:02Their before, after, and summer school programs are all at risk.
07:07Programs that serve the community's highest need schools.
07:09As their associate superintendent said, this freeze is, quote,
07:12yet another federal action that introduces pain and uncertainty into the educational system of our community.
07:21Trump may wrongly claim he's going after waste, fraud, and abuse, but the unfortunate irony is the long-term cost of Trump's unlawful attack on our students, families, schools, and communities is tremendous.
07:35Working parents will be left without reliable, affordable child care.
07:38Teachers and staff will join the growing throng of unemployed Americans thanks to Trump's anti-worker policies, and students will fall behind.
07:46In 2022, out of 37 developed nations, American students ranked 28th in math and 12th in science.
07:54Those numbers don't stand a chance of improving if you slash before, after, and summer school programming.
08:00Fire tutors.
08:01Cut programs that teach English and support disadvantaged students.
08:05End programs that ensure our teachers are the best they can be
08:07and prevent schools from bringing in the technology and resources they need to educate our children.
08:13President Trump can shout America first all he wants, but his anti-education agenda will only ensure we come in dead last.
08:23It shouldn't be too much to ask that the President of the United States follow the law,
08:28and yet we've had to sue him 31 times in 25 weeks for breaking the law, undermining Congress's authority,
08:35and failing to make good on federal financial obligations.
08:38As a former businessman, you'd think he'd have learned that you can't rack up a list of unpaid debts and get away with it.
08:44Our states are owed the billions in federal funding that Trump and McMahon have frozen,
08:48and we're going to court to see that it's reinstated.
08:51Before I turn it over to my colleagues to say a few words,
08:53I want to shout out the incredible public servants at California DOJ,
08:56who've worked hard to make today's lawsuit possible.
08:59Jewel Boyd, Lee Sherman, Jesse Bassbaum,
09:02Elia Herrera, Emilia Morris, Christopher Tenorio, Joshua Sodheimer, Virginia Corrigan, Irina Trasobin.
09:10It's an honor to serve alongside each and every one of you.
09:12And with that, please allow me to now turn it over to my colleague, Colorado Attorney General, Phil Weiser.
