Trump administration cuts $1 billion in school mental health grants, citing conflict of priorities
![AP logo]()
Updated: 12:58 PM CDT Apr 30, 2025
ON YOUR MENTAL HEALTH TONIGHT. BELIEVE IT OR NOT, WE ARE NEARING THE END OF THE SCHOOL YEAR, AND STUDENTS MAY HAVE A LOT OF THINGS ON THEIR PLATES RIGHT NOW. FOR EXAMPLE, FROM PRACTICES, WE WERE JUST TALKING ABOUT PRACTICES, PERFORMANCES, END OF THE YEAR PROJECTS, FINALS. OF COURSE, MEDICAL EXPERTS SAY AS THE SCHOOL YEAR WINDS DOWN, ANXIETY CAN RAMP UP, BUT IT LOOKS DIFFERENT IN KIDS AND TEENS THAN IT DOES IN ADULTS. KIDS MAY START TO PROCRASTINATE IN THE MORNING. THEY MIGHT TRY TO MISS THE BUS. THEY MIGHT TRY TO SKIP CLASS. YOUR CHILD MIGHT START TALKING BACK TO THEIR TEACHERS OR NOT COMPLETING ALL OF THEIR ASSIGNMENTS. THESE THINGS MAY SEEM LIKE BEHAVIORAL ISSUES, BUT EXPERTS SAY THAT’S NOT ALWAYS THE CASE. WE REALLY WANT TO GET CURIOUS ABOUT WHAT THEY’RE COMMUNICATING AND MAKE SURE WE’RE GETTING TO THE ROOT, BECAUSE FOR SOME KIDS, IT’S ACTUALLY ANXIETY. SO LET’S BRING IN DOCTOR VARSHA RADHAKRISHNAN INTO THE CONVERSATION. A PSYCHIATRIST AT TUFTS MEDICAL CENTER. GOOD TO SEE YOU, DOCTOR. DOCTOR, IT’S GREAT TO SEE YOU. SO. SO AS WE WERE JUST SAYING, WE WERE TALKING ABOUT THE COMMON SIGNS, PROCRASTINATING, MISSING THE BUS, SKIPPING CLASS, MAYBE TALKING BACK TO A TEACHER OR SOMEONE IN SCHOOL. ANY ONE OF THOSE THINGS WOULD GET A PARENT’S ATTENTION, RIGHT? AND NOT IN A POSITIVE WAY. SO WHY DO SOME KIDS CHOOSE TO ACT OUT WHEN THEY’RE FEELING ANXIOUS? WELL, WHEN KIDS AND TEENS FEEL ANXIOUS, THEY MAY MAY ACT OUT BECAUSE THEY MAY NOT ALWAYS HAVE THE WORDS OR TOOLS OR SPACE TO REALLY EXPRESS WHAT THEY’RE FEELING, OR THEY FEEL OVERWHELMED BY STRESS AND UNCERTAINTY. SO ACTING OUT CAN ACTUALLY BE A SUBCONSCIOUS CALL FOR HELP. A BEHAVIOR IN A CERTAIN WAY THAT KIDS JUST DON’T QUITE KNOW HOW TO MANAGE, RATHER THAN A DELIBERATE CHOICE TO MISBEHAVE. SO WHAT ARE SOME GOOD QUESTIONS THAT PARENTS CAN ASK THEIR KIDS IF THAT’S THE CASE? PARENTS CAN USE OPEN ENDED, NON-JUDGMENTAL QUESTIONS TO HELP KIDS FEEL HEARD AND SUPPORTED. SO QUESTIONS LIKE, IS ANYTHING WORRYING YOU? HOW CAN I HELP YOU? IS THERE SOMETHING MAKING YOU FEEL SCARED? IT’S IMPORTANT TO ALWAYS LISTEN CALMLY TO VALIDATE CHILDREN’S FEELINGS. AVOID GETTING OVERLY EMOTIONAL IMMEDIATELY AS THE INITIAL RESPONSE, AND JUMPING IN TO FIX THINGS RIGHT AWAY. SO SO DOCTOR, WHEN YOU DO THAT, WHAT CAN PARENTS THEN DO TO HELP THEM COPE WITH IT? OR IS IT BETTER TO LET THE KIDS, YOU KNOW, NAVIGATE THEIR OWN WAY, FIGURE IT OUT? NO. IT’S ALWAYS IMPORTANT THAT PARENTS OFFER THEIR SUPPORT BY ACKNOWLEDGING THEIR CHILD’S FEELINGS, TEACHING THEM COPING SKILLS, AND ENCOURAGING PROBLEM SOLVING TOGETHER RATHER THAN, YOU KNOW, LEAVING KIDS TO THEIR OWN DEVICES TO FIGURE IT OUT ALONE. NOW, OF COURSE, WHILE KIDS, IT’S IMPORTANT TO HAVE DISCIPLINE ON ONE HAND, BUT IT’S ALSO IMPORTANT THAT KIDS HAVE THE OPPORTUNITY TO LEARN WHAT WORKS FOR THEM IN A SAFE ENVIRONMENT. AND IF ANXIETY IS SERIOUSLY INTERFERING WITH THEIR DAILY LIFE, IT’S IMPORTANT TO ALSO SEEK PROFESSIONAL HELP. YOU KNOW, DISCIPLINE ALONE IS NOT ALWAYS EFFECTIVE FOR THESE ANXIETY DRIVEN BEHAVIORS. ALL RIGHT.
Trump administration cuts $1 billion in school mental health grants, citing conflict of priorities
![AP logo]()
Updated: 12:58 PM CDT Apr 30, 2025
The Trump administration is moving to cancel $1 billion in school mental health grants, saying they reflect the priorities of the previous administration.Grant recipients were notified Tuesday that the funding will not be continued after this year. A gun violence bill signed by Democratic President Joe Biden in 2022 sent $1 billion to the grant programs to help schools hire more psychologists, counselors and other mental health workers.A new notice said an Education Department review of the programs found they violated the purpose of civil rights law, conflicted with the department’s policy of prioritizing merit and fairness, and amounted to an inappropriate use of federal money.The cuts were made public in a social media post from conservative strategist Christopher Rufo, who claimed the money was used to advance “left-wing racialism and discrimination.” He posted excerpts from several grant documents setting goals to hire certain numbers of nonwhite counselors or pursue other diversity, equity and inclusion policies.“No more slush fund for activists under the guise of mental health,” Rufo wrote.The Education Department confirmed the cuts. In an update to members of Congress that was obtained by The Associated Press, department officials said the Republican administration will find other ways to support mental health.“The Department plans to re-envision and re-compete its mental health program funds to more effectively support students’ behavioral health needs,” according to the notice.President Donald Trump's administration has cut billions of dollars in federal grants deemed to be related to DEI and has threatened to cut billions more from schools and colleges over diversity practices. The administration says any policy that treats people differently because of their race amounts to discrimination, and it argues that DEI has often been used to discriminate against white and Asian American students.
WASHINGTON — The Trump administration is moving to cancel $1 billion in school mental health grants, saying they reflect the priorities of the previous administration.
Grant recipients were notified Tuesday that the funding will not be continued after this year. A gun violence bill signed by Democratic President Joe Biden in 2022 sent $1 billion to the grant programs to help schools hire more psychologists, counselors and other mental health workers.
A new notice said an Education Department review of the programs found they violated the purpose of civil rights law, conflicted with the department’s policy of prioritizing merit and fairness, and amounted to an inappropriate use of federal money.
The cuts were made public in a social media post from conservative strategist Christopher Rufo, who claimed the money was used to advance “left-wing racialism and discrimination.” He posted excerpts from several grant documents setting goals to hire certain numbers of nonwhite counselors or pursue other diversity, equity and inclusion policies.
“No more slush fund for activists under the guise of mental health,” Rufo wrote.
The Education Department confirmed the cuts. In an update to members of Congress that was obtained by The Associated Press, department officials said the Republican administration will find other ways to support mental health.
“The Department plans to re-envision and re-compete its mental health program funds to more effectively support students’ behavioral health needs,” according to the notice.
President Donald Trump's administration has cut billions of dollars in federal grants deemed to be related to DEI and has threatened to cut billions more from schools and colleges over diversity practices. The administration says any policy that treats people differently because of their race amounts to discrimination, and it argues that DEI has often been used to discriminate against white and Asian American students.
