Maryland joined nearly two dozen states and the District of Columbia in suing the Trump administration for withholding $6.8 billion in previously authorized education grants intended for K-12 and adult education programs.

According to the Maryland Attorney General’s Office, the federal Department of Education notified states on June 30 that it was rescinding the money for six formula programs. That, the attorneys general argue, violates various federal laws and regulations as well as the Constitution’s separation of powers doctrine.

Statewide, $110 million is on the line — nearly $99 million anticipated by the Maryland State Department of Education and $11.49 million for adult education programs, according to state schools officials.

The lawsuit, filed in the federal District Court of Rhode Island, seeks a ruling that declares the funding freeze unlawful and makes the funds available to the states again.

“This reckless funding freeze is directly harming Maryland’s students by taking more than $110 million from Maryland K–12 schools and adult education programs, which has jeopardized teacher training, thrown essential special needs services into chaos, and left families scrambling to find childcare before the start of a new school year,” Maryland Attorney General Anthony Brown said in a statement Monday.

The federal Department of Education traditionally makes about a quarter of these funds available for states around July 1 each year, according to the attorney general’s office. But this year broke the trend, as the education department says it is aligning spending with the executive branch’s priorities.

“The Department remains committed to ensuring taxpayer resources are spent in accordance with the President’s priorities and the Department’s statutory responsibilities,” the Department of Education’s June 30 notice to the Maryland State Department of Education said in part, according to court documents.

But the attorneys general argue it wasn’t up to the Trump administration, stating in court filings that Congress designated the funding streams as “formula grants,” which the government is obligated to disperse to the states.

“The frozen funding does not derive from discretionary or competitive grant programs. Formula funds are calculated automatically using specific formulas written into the law and administered by (the Department of Education),” State Superintendent of Schools Carey Wright wrote in a court document.

The Maryland State Department of Education is still working to understand the full effects of the funding freeze, which might result in layoffs, she wrote.

Maryland school districts have already created budgets for the upcoming school year that assumed they would receive the formula funding, according to Wright. And some Maryland school districts “have active summer programming that is funded in whole or (in) part by the funding that is currently being withheld.”

Representatives from the Maryland State Department of Education declined to comment, citing the ongoing litigation.

Instead, the department released a statement: “We are committed to supporting our school systems, students, and families as the uncertainty of the federal funding landscape for many programs continues. Our state is not deterred from our focus on maintaining high standards and accountability that drives student success.”

Baltimore City Public Schools is losing more than $11 million in funding that was meant to support 29 full-time positions, “critical contractual support,” instructional materials and other resources, Kimberly Hoffman, executive director of data monitoring and compliance for the district, wrote in a court filing.

Hoffman listed programs such as professional development, teacher recruitment, English education for multilingual learners and AP classes as items the now-withheld federal money contributed to.

When asked for comment, Baltimore City Public Schools referred The Baltimore Sun to a portion of Hoffman’s court declaration.

“Because these federal funds have been withheld, City Schools will face challenges in ensuring that staffing, materials, and other resources will be fully in place for the start of the 2025-2026 school year,” Hoffman wrote. “As a result, (the Department of Education’s) actions threaten to undermine the carefully planned and targeted interventions and supports that City Schools has invested to continue its recognized progress in student growth.”

Anne Arundel County will lose $4.2 million if the funding is not reinstated.

More than 28,000 Maryland adult learners, including those learning English and those working toward their high school diplomas, are served by education department formula grants authorized under the Adult Education and Family Literacy Act, Erin Roth, assistant secretary of the Maryland Department of Labor’s Division of Workforce Development and Adult Learning, wrote in court filings.

The AEFLA money supports nine full-time Adult Education and Literacy Services employees, 100 subgrantee employees, more than 1,000 part-time subgrantee instructors, instructional materials, educational software licenses and assessments for adult learners, Roth wrote.

Cuts to adult learner programming “concretely limit(s) their economic mobility,” as those without a high school diploma in Maryland in 2023 earned about 20% less than those who have one, Roth said in the filing.

The Department of Education said last week it was ending “taxpayer subsidization of illegal aliens in career, technical, and adult education programs” under AEFLA and other statutes.

The state Department of Labor declined to comment due to the ongoing litigation.

The Department of Education is even making cuts to itself, as the president and Education Secretary Linda McMahon work toward their goal of dismantling it. The Supreme Court greenlit layoffs of nearly 1,400 of the department’s employees on Monday.

“We will carry out the reduction in force to promote efficiency and accountability and to ensure resources are directed where they matter most — to students, parents, and teachers,” McMahon said in a statement Monday after the decision came down. “As we return education to the states, this Administration will continue to perform all statutory duties while empowering families and teachers by reducing education bureaucracy.”

The government’s deadline to respond to the lawsuit is July 28.

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